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Consuelo O’Connor

MAIREAD RONAN’S BUSINESS PARTNER

Date: May 20, 2021 - High Society

THERE IS a new name at the Faro Beauty operation co-owned by radio and TV presenter Mairéad Ronan. Mairéad’s marketing pal, Aoife Dunne, has just joined the party. Dunne is behind something called The Social Editor, which is a social media branding consultancy. The good news for her clients is that the business “is constantly… Read more »

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RTÉ’S EMPTY CHAIRS

Date: May 20, 2021 - Affairs of the Nation

STILL NO sign of white smoke from the media department, where minister Catherine Martin continues to sit on the names of the nominations from the Joint Oireachtas Committee (JOC) to Moya Doherty’s RTÉ board. Patience is wearing pretty thin. The terms of the previous JOC nominees – Eoin McVey, Fionnuala Sheehan, Margaret Ward and Shane… Read more »

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Ashling Kilduff

ASHLING KILDUFF’S DESIGN FLAW

Date: May 20, 2021 - High Society

GOLDHAWK WAS surprised to note a creditors’ meeting has been called for the company behind the well-known Design Centre in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre. The fashion outlet has been part of the centre since the 1980s and for the past 15 years or so has been under the control of long-term manager Ashling Kilduff, although… Read more »

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Henry Beeby

BEEBY ROLLS THE DICE

Date: May 20, 2021 - Sport of Kings

THE NEWS that Goffs is wheeling out its tried and tested ‘Million’ formula this year came as something of a bolt from the blue but the auction house was desperate to hold onto customers. The surprise move can be easily explained by the fact that the auction house’s flagship yearling sale – the Orby Sale… Read more »

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Hibernian Hotel

IAN SKEFFINGTON’S BIG PLANS

Date: May 20, 2021 - The Hot Water Brigade

A PLANNING application has been lodged by a company called Flodale Ltd for the retention of accommodation at the Hibernian hotel in Abbeyleix, which operated these days as a direct provision centre by former chartered surveyor Ian Skeffington. He also has big plans to expand his group. The planning application is seeking the retention of… Read more »

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Simon Coveney

CUNNING COVENEY’S CONTORTIONS

Date: May 20, 2021 - Affairs of the Nation

FOREIGN MINISTER Simon Coveney always likes to come over as the Palestinians’ best friend in public but his latest pronouncements are especially duplicitous. In an effort to divert from his sabotage of the Occupied Territories Bill during government formation talks last year, Covetous last week attacked the Aunt Sally target of the EU for having… Read more »

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Vol. 39 No. 10

Date: May 20, 2021 -

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ACTING UP

Date: May 20, 2021 - Affairs of the Nation

THINGS ARE heating up off screen over relations between the Irish Equity actors’ union and the lobby group for production companies, Screen Producers Ireland (SPI). Elsewhere in the magazine (see p14) Goldhawk profiles Susan Kirby, the chief executive of SPI, who is faced with a rebellion from an increasingly bolshie Equity, just months after an… Read more »

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Eoghan Harris

HARRIS HOIST

Date: May 20, 2021 - Affairs of the Nation

THE DEFENESTRATION of Eoghan Harris by Sunday Independent editor Alan English and publisher Peter Vandermeersch had little to do with sexism and everything to do with the national question, despite the tone of the debate surrounding the writer’s demise. Harris’s fans still exist but they were long ago eclipsed by events and the new politics… Read more »

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PETER KELLY’S ROUGH RIDE

Date: May 20, 2021 - Affairs of the Nation

FILINGS IN the Companies Office throw some light on the scale of last year’s collapse of businesses controlled by Ballymore Eustace bloodstock breeder Peter Kelly. He found himself in a bit of a pickle in 2018, after he got embroiled in a row over a big overseas bloodstock deal. This resulted in his Emerald Equine… Read more »

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Catherine Martin

FILM BOARD’S NEW CAST

Date: May 20, 2021 - Affairs of the Nation

RATHER LATE in the day, the board of the state funding agency for film and television, Screen Ireland (SI), has finally been appointed by arts minister Catherine Martin. Remarkably, the SI board had muddled along with just four of its quota of seven members for a full 12 months before the terms of those remaining… Read more »

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President Deby

IRISH COLONIAL ADVENTURE

Date: May 20, 2021 - Foreign Frolics

TUCKED AWAY at the bottom of page 7 of the Irish Times on April 21 last was a short, innocuous report headlined, “Chad’s long-time president Déby killed after battle with rebels”. How much does this matter to Irish people, one might ask? Quite a lot, actually. The deepening involvement of Irish soldiers in what is… Read more »

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Peter Vangeel

KBC’S IRISH AFFAIR

Date: May 20, 2021 - Foreign Frolics

KBC BANK Group has had a tangled relationship with Ireland since coming here in the late 1970s but, happily, despite rejecting the Irish market it has managed to maintain positive coverage from an accommodating Irish media. Take the announcement two years ago that KBC chairman Thomas Leysen was to stand down after eight years at… Read more »

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Paul Kehoe

RTÉ’S BOOT CAMP

Date: May 20, 2021 - Hush Hush

SINCE 2019, RTÉ has partnered with Motive Television to produce Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week, and preparations for the third series began last autumn. Described in application forms as Ireland’s “Ultimate Military Bootcamp” a number of men and women undergo challenges on the show, such as a 22km mountain march, being buried alive, interrogation, etc. But… Read more »

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Gerry Thornley

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: May 20, 2021 - The Hot Air Brigade

Ringrose has more creative flair, footwork and passing range than any of the centres chosen. His missed tackle count has always been misunderstood, for in most cases they are good reads redirecting opponents back into traffic inside. Gerry Thornley, Irish Times, submitted by reader Newly released text messages between Stephen Donnelly and Tony Holohan show… Read more »

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Ivana Bacik

KATE GETS DOSE OF THE BLUES

Date: May 20, 2021 - Last Refuge

KATE O’CONNELL’S melodramatic wail about a Leo Varadkar leadership faction undermining her prospects of a nomination in the Dublin Bay South byelection is wide of the mark. Until it became clear – via all 12 FG branches in DBS mandating convention delegates to vote for… Read more »

Eimear Haughey

SEÁN LEMASS DOUBLY HONOURED

Date: May 20, 2021 - Last Refuge

SO ESTEEMED is the late taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Seán Lemass in the eyes of today’s party members that the party held not one but two events in Dublin to mark the 50th anniversary of his death last week. Indeed, so anxious were the organisers of the two events that they almost appeared to… Read more »

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Ted Tynan

THE FIRST (AND LAST) ITEM …

Date: May 20, 2021 - Last Refuge

BRENDAN BEHAN suggested that the first item on the agenda of any organisation should be the Split. It seems that this same proposition is appropriate to the endgame as well, as both the Workers’ Party (WP) and the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI), once stalwarts of the left, of trade unionism, and even civil rights,… Read more »

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Darina Allen

ROUND UP THE USUAL LOBBYISTS

Date: May 20, 2021 - Fowl Emissions

THE REVELATION that two of our national institutions – Guinness stout and chef Darina Allen – tested positive for glyphosate, the chemical in Roundup weedkiller, is not a huge surprise. When you consider how much of it is doused on this island by local authorities, farmers and gardeners, it would be a shock if any… Read more »

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Climate Disinformation Coillte Climate Action EU Livestock NDC Claude Etchelamendy Ed Brophy Richard Boyd-Barrett Kish Dale Crammond Frank Mitloehner Shell Greenwashing Meta Data Centres Ireland

AN TAISCE’S MEDIA DETRACTORS

Date: May 20, 2021 - Fowl Emissions

POLITICAL CORRESPONDENTS mostly do a good job of presenting themselves as objective, analysing the political fray from on high. But occasionally it gets so rowdy they can’t help reaching down and throwing a few punches. The fracas over Glanbia’s planned €140m cheese factory in Kilkenny was too much for the Indo’s Fionnan Sheahan, who basically… Read more »

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Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

BOG CUTTINGS

Date: May 20, 2021 - Bog Cuttings

‘Fat Mayo Cunt’ Jason Doherty (34) of Castle Park, Buncrana, appeared before Buncrana District Court in Donegal charged with public order offences. Judge Alan Mitchell heard that the defendant had been spotted wandering around near his home in the early hours of February 7 last. As he was being arrested for his own safety, Doherty… Read more »

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Jane Trenaman

JANE TRENAMAN’S OPERA ROLE

Date: May 20, 2021 - High Society

THE LATEST arrival on the board of the National Opera House is Jane Trenaman, daughter of Shrewsbury Road moneybags Fred Trenaman. No doubt, Jane’s fundraising skills will be put to good use by the owners of the opera house, Wexford Festival Trust, which will be looking to put some actual bums on seats for its… Read more »

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Sarah Glennie

NEW FACE FOR NCAD

Date: May 20, 2021 - Behind the Scenes

SIMON HARRIS has advertised for expressions of interest from candidates interested in serving on the board of the beleaguered National College of Art and Design (NCAD), an institution that has in the not so distant past been characterised by dreadful governance and financial management issues and which, it turns out, continues to struggle financially. The… Read more »

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Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

MARY KELLY’S PRODUCTION

Date: May 20, 2021 - Behind the Scenes

CHANGE IS in the air at Wexford Festival Opera (see p18) but the good news is that the finances have started to look healthier, following a setback in 2018. The jury is out, however, on the potential financial impact of this year’s planned 70th anniversary event. The review from festival chair Mary Kelly included in… Read more »

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Podcast - My Therapist Ghosted Me

MY THERAPIST GHOSTED ME – VOGUE WILLIAMS / JOANNE MCNALLY

Date: May 20, 2021 - PodcastsReviews

IF WATCHING her shilling laundry capsules during every second TV ad break isn’t enough Vogue Williams for fans, a new podcast has now launched. As Williams co-hosts it with comedian and fellow loudmouth Joanne McNally, listening with the volume turned down is a useful strategy for anybody embarking on the weekly series. Those allergic to… Read more »

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WHITE CITY - KEVIN POWER

WHITE CITY – KEVIN POWER

Date: May 20, 2021 - BooksReviews

IT HAS been 13 years since the publication of Kevin Power’s debut novel, Bad Day in Blackrock (subsequently filmed as What Richard Did). The book tapped into aspects of social class and the corrupting nature of privilege that surfaced in the news at the time – issues that are also central to this hit-and-miss follow-up…. Read more »

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Jim Bolger

JIM BOLGER’S DAWN RAID

Date: May 20, 2021 - Sport of Kings

JIM BOLGER has pulled off one of his finest coups in his 80th year with the repatriation of the stallion Dawn Approach. A former 2000 Guineas and four-time Group 1 winner, who was bred and raced by Bolger before he sold him for big bucks to Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum, Dawn Approach subsequently proved a… Read more »

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Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

SAM CURLING’S SURPRISE

Date: May 20, 2021 - Sport of Kings

WHEN THE Sam Curling-trained Call Me Freddie appeared in the declarations for a low-grade hurdle at Cork recently, his credentials for a successful outing were reflected by the 50/1 opening price. A result was therefore clearly not on the cards. The horse had not finished within 30 lengths of the winner on his last five… Read more »

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Jessica Harrington

COVID CASH BOOST

Date: May 20, 2021 - Sport of Kings

SINCE RACING resumed after the Covid enforced break in June last year, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) has been coming down hard on those who may have breached the strict protocol that was introduced to allow racing operate in a Covid landscape. It has proved a nice little earner. This enforcement has provided a… Read more »

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Sean Corkery

DATALEX BANKING ON POST-PANDEMIC BOOST

Date: May 20, 2021 - Moneybags

THE PANDEMIC has traumatised the airline industry. With Datalex’s revenue dropping 38% last year from $45m to $28m (following a 30% fall in 2019), it is impressive that the group continues to fly at all. Indeed, according to the annual report, the company is in a “strong position to respond to this latest challenge”. This… Read more »

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Ger Rabbette

UNIPHAR NEEDS RIGHT PRESCRIPTION TO JUSTIFY ITS HUGE RATING

Date: May 20, 2021 - Moneybags

IT IS impressive how Uniphar has come through the worst of the pandemic. Some other players in the field struggled, such as the McCauley chain, which turned in a €3m loss, while Ramona Nicholas’s Cara group went into examinership. Uniphar, however, has delivered but there has to be a question mark over its stratospheric share rating…. Read more »

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Dudley Dolan

UCD COMPANY FAILS TEST

Date: May 20, 2021 - The Hot Water Brigade

IT’S THE end of the road for Q-Validus Ltd, a UCD-backed company that emerged on the back of what was called the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), a 1990s computer literacy certification programme. Q-Validus has been headquartered for almost 15 years at NexusUCD on the university’s Belfield campus and was set up to assist clients… Read more »

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Sheila O’Riordan and Nina Gillett

NINA GILLETT’S KEY TO SUCCESS

Date: May 20, 2021 - The Hot Water Brigade

DOCUMENTS FILED in the Companies Office by Nindav Ltd show a loss for its first six months to the end of 2019 of €60,000. This turns out to be an entity controlled by Catherine Eustace, who may be better known to readers as Nina Gillett, formerly one-half of the high-profile, short-term let operator Key Collections,… Read more »

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Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE

Date: May 20, 2021 - The Hot Water Brigade

THE ACCOUNTS just filed for Principle Management (the firm that was incorporated after Live Nation acquired Paul McGuinness’s company of the same name in 2013) reveal an impressive €5.5m was paid out in dividends to the US owners. The 2019 figures predate the pandemic, which may knock a few bob off the bottom line in… Read more »

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Alan Hynes

MORE TUSKAR CREDITORS

Date: May 20, 2021 - The Hot Water Brigade

DOCUMENTS JUST filed by the liquidator of Tuskar Property Holdings Ltd (TPH), Myles Kirby, reveal that unsecured creditors were owed a hefty €3.5m when it was wound up in March last year, while there was another €1m outstanding to debenture holders. The Tuskar name is, of course, closely associated with the controversial accountant Alan Hynes,… Read more »

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Thomas Leysen

MEDIAHUIS: ROGER CASEMENT’S NEMESIS

Date: May 20, 2021 - Affairs of the Nation

LAST WEEK saw a corporate PR initiative designed to highlight the brand name of Mediahuis, new owners of the now defunct Independent News & Media (INM). In cheery, happy-clappy tones, various employees ‘volunteered’ expressions of delight via a video promotion with their new employer, Belgian company Mediahuis, whose chairman, Thomas Leysen is the controlling shareholder…. Read more »

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