CLODAGH MCKENNA’S HONOURABLE VENTURES
Affairs, 15 December 2020
It’s a long way from the suburbs of Cork to hobnobbing at Highclere Castle, aka the Downton Abbey castle, but celebrity chef Clodagh McKenna has managed it quite nobly. Since hooking up in 2017 with her fiancé, Harry (Henry) Herbert, whose father was the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, McKenna has moved into Broadspear, which is… Read more »
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CLAIRE FULLAM’S INSTAGRAM EXIT
Affairs, 14 December 2020
Popular Instagrammer Claire Fullam, aka Claire Balding, bade a tearful farewell to her 85k followers over the weekend. Announcing that she was signing off the social media site permanently, Fullam attributed her decision to trolls sending her threats and people gossiping about her in online forums, following remarks she made on the day the Late… Read more »
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CULTURE FILES
Affairs, 11 December 2020
PLANS TO enhance the state’s soft power overseas continue with two new Government appointments. Ten years after many a scheme was floated amid the rubble of recession, official efforts, on paper at least, are beginning to look like something approaching coherence. In 2018, the Government launched the ‘Global Ireland 2025’ plan with Leo Varadkar announcing… Read more »
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JACK CHAMBERS’ IRISH DOUBLE ACT
Affairs, 11 December 2020
MYLES NA gCopaleen would be impressed to witness the woes of the Official Languages Bill in Leinster House. Every now and then a piece of legislation demonstrates its value before reaching enactment. Earlier in October, Culture Minister Catherine Martin was “delighted” that debate had finally commenced on amendments which will strengthen the status of the… Read more »
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RTE’S COVID HURLY-BURLEY
Affairs, 11 December 2020
THE IRONY of RTÉ’s website po-facedly reporting on the Sky News Covid-19 rule-breaking debacle hasn’t been lost on the rest of us. The British station’s founding presenter Kay Burley has been taken off air for six months after celebrating her 60th birthday last weekend in an extravaganza that saw London’s Covid-19 guidelines breached. An internal… Read more »
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HELEN MCENTEE’S CRITICS
Affairs, 10 December 2020
BABY NEWS has brought a welcome change in media coverage for Justice Minister Helen McEntee, but not everyone is happy. October’s Court of Appeal ruling, which upheld certain reporting restrictions, has been greeted with disdain across the press. The ban on identifying children who have been murdered has greatly exercised journalists. RTÉ and the Irish… Read more »
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WILLIAMS AIR PUSH
Affairs, 10 December 2020
FRESH FROM his adventures on the high seas, Paul Williams has returned to the “cocaine highway”, this time by air. The intrepid crime fighter took to the skies with the Air Corps on maritime defence and security operations in October ahead of another report in this week’s Irish Independent. Readers followed Williams over some of… Read more »
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ANNA DALY’S SIDE HUSTLE
Affairs, Behind the Scenes, 10 December 2020
COULD THE fact that her former colleague is currently embroiled in an equal pay battle with Virgin Media Television have inspired Ireland AM presenter Anna Daly to start up her new clothing brand? This week’s launch of Little Bliss by Anna happened to coincide with a High Court judge giving the broadcaster permission to challenge… Read more »
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LOUIS WALSH’S NEW ACT
Affairs, Behind the Scenes, 10 December 2020
SO CALLED ‘pop guru’ Louis Walsh has just incorporated a new management company and wound up his long time business, Brill Management Ltd, where the finances have been struggling to make the hit parade in recent times. Certainly, Louis is a chap who knows the value of money and recently announced that while he considers… Read more »
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BARRY WARD’S TRAINING
Affairs, 8 December 2020
VIRGIN MEDIA viewers were treated to some brass neck revisionism on Thursday courtesy of Fine Gael’s Barry Ward. While those TDs who voted against paying student nurses ran for cover last week, it fell to the Senator to defend the Government’s embarrassing delay. In the Dáil this afternoon, Micheál Martin accused the opposition of “short… Read more »
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A WHOLE LOTTIE INFLUENCING AT 2FM
Affairs, Behind the Scenes, Media, 8 December 2020
AS SHE beeps at them while driving her brand new wheels through the RTÉ car park, brand ambassador and 2fm entertainment presenter, Lottie Ryan, must surely attract envious glances from colleagues. Or maybe naked jealousy, since there appears to be a recent relaxing of the national broadcaster’s previously iron-cast rules forbidding presenters from entering into… Read more »
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BRIAN STANLEY AND HETEROSEXUAL BLUESHIRTS
Affairs, 8 December 2020
STRANGELY, THERE was no loud indignation from Fine Gael ministers or TDs on the day that Sinn Féin TD, Brian Stanley tweeted about Leo Varadkar’s Tory-like opposition to workers pay rises compared to his support for social reform.
Why not? Vlad had been elected as FG leader that day in June, 2017 while Stanley was at that stage a six-years long TD and SF spokesperson on communications and climate change.
The reason is that it would have been virtually impossible for Blueshirt politicians to cry foul for any gay taunts against Vlad — real, perceived or imagined — at the time as the only quarters from which such comments came from were within losing leadership candidate, Simon Coveney’s support base.
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NOEL SMYTH’S CREDITORS MEETINGS
Affairs, Business Briefs, 7 December 2020
IT LOOKS like an eventful end of 2020 is in store for solicitor-turned-property-developer Noel Smyth, with a number of his businesses the subject of creditors meetings next week.
Dealmaker Smyth (who was Ben Dunne’s legal eagle when the walls came crashing down around Squire Haughey) is probably best known these days for his takeover of the Arnotts retail group, albeit essentially a Dublin property play on his part.
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MCGUIRK’S LACK OF GOODWILL TO ALL MEN
Affairs, 7 December 2020
It may be the season of goodwill, but John McGuirk is not feeling too benevolent towards Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, or undocumented migrants in this country. As well as being editor of Gript, McGuirk is a regular contributor to The Irish Catholic, where, one presumes, the “love thy neighbour as thyself” commandment still resonates…. Read more »
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MARTIN’S LAST ORDERS
Affairs, 4 December 2020
INTERESTING TO see that Micheál Martin has finally worked up a thirst. That other great Corkman, Fr Mathew, would have been disappointed to see An Taoiseach finally succumb to temptation on Wednesday, when he assured the Dáil that “there is nothing I would like better right now than a pint in some rural pub in… Read more »
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PAUL CLARKSON’S BREXIT
Affairs, 4 December 2020
THE APPOINTMENT of Paul Clarkson as the new Government press secretary is sure to yield some useful insights. The Ulsterman’s time as Group Managing Editor at The Sun in London coincided with a crucial period in Anglo-Irish relations, beginning as it did just two months before the Brexit referendum took place. On voting day The… Read more »
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GENE MURTAGH’S GOOD TIMING
Affairs, Business Briefs, 4 December 2020
A FEW weeks ago the Irish Times awarded the minted CEO of building materials giant Kingspan, Gene Murtagh, its ‘Business Person of the Month’ accolade.
At the time the gong was handed out at the start of October this year, Kingspan shares were trading at around €77.50, having risen by a dizzying 93% since a pandemic-related low in March this year.
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INFLAMING THE IRISH TIMES
Affairs, 3 December 2020
DID THE Irish Times slip in its commitment to civility in public discourse this week? The paper has long cautioned against the corrosive impact of online rage and kneejerk reaction in what it believes is an age of dangerous polarisation. Late last month, the Irish Times was almost alone in standing back from the controversy… Read more »
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KEN MAGINNIS’ SUSPENSION
Affairs, 3 December 2020
THE RECOMMENDATION that former Ulster Unionist MP, Ken Maginnis, be suspended from the House of Lords for 18 months for “bullying … homophobic and offensive” behaviour towards more than one MP and a parliamentary security officer may have come as a surprise to some southern journalists. The ‘Dublin’ media has long regarded Maginnis as a… Read more »
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SHADOWY FIGURES
Affairs, 2 December 2020
WITH HEADLINES again promising that Brexit talks are entering “endgame”, warnings about the threat of Loyalist violence have made their now customary appearance. As the big promises disintegrated and Downing Street floundered in negotiations, the British and Unionists in particular have sought to leverage fears of a return to paramilitarism in a bid to gain… Read more »
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NOT-SO KEANE ON BARRY’S EDGE
Affairs, 2 December 2020
FANS OF Barry Egan were said to be bereft upon discovering that last weekend’s newly-launched Sindo “People & Culture” section did not include his gossip column, The Edge. The SoCoDu set were reportedly inconsolable at the realisation that their Champagne-swilling Marbella antics will no longer get an outing, and how the nation will survive without… Read more »
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THE COLLISON’S DONATIONS
Affairs, 1 December 2020
THE SPIRIT of giving around the Late Late Toy Show reached well beyond our shores this year with a generous donation all the way from Silicon Valley. Among the record viewing figures and over six million raised for charity, were Stripe founders and billionaire brothers, the Collisons, who were clever not to let the opportunity… Read more »
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THE NOT-SO-ECO-FRIENDLY QUEENS OF ARCHIVE
Affairs, 1 December 2020
ITS VINTAGE INSPIRED creations have been worn by Imelda May and Holly Willoughby, and its founders are big believers in “female empowerment” and sustainability. All very noble, but whether the fabrics used by the Queens of Archive brand are truly eco-friendly is up for debate. Speaking on RTÉ’s The Business Show recently, co-founder Sarah Plunkett… Read more »
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REARING THE IRISH
Affairs, 30 November 2020
THE DECISION to rebrand Independent News and Media is certainly a symbolic one. INM, which includes the Indo, Sindo, Herald, Belfast Telegraph, Sunday World and several regional titles is set to be known as Mediahuis Ireland in the new year. With its harp logo and roots in the Parnell era, it is of some note… Read more »
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GREENS GONE TO THE DOGS
Affairs, 30 November 2020
THE GREEN Party has managed to lose a large swathe of its animal-loving supporters in one fell swoop, due to its lack of support for the recent bill to defund the Irish greyhound racing industry. All 12 of the Green TDs voted against the Social Democrats’ motion to oppose increased funding for the sector, redirect… Read more »
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LEFT MERGERS
Affairs, 27 November 2020
AS THE SEASON of goodwill approaches, the prospect of left unity begins to look likely. After years of fractious splits and territorial divisions, socialist TDs are set to fly the same red flag. People Before Profit and RISE have worked closely since the election. Joint campaigns and statements, a united front urging the Green Party… Read more »
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MACSHARRY’S COLD WAR
Affairs, 27 November 2020
THE LIGHT of liberty will continue to shine under the watchful eye of Marc MacSharry. Fianna Fáil’s Mr Angry is ever vigilant as to the authoritarian creep threatening the foundations of Irish democracy. Responding to the news that Nphet had advised against reopening the hospitality sector this week, MacAngry hit back asking “why not just… Read more »
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ALI RYAN’S BARELY-THERE NEW DIRECTION
Affairs, 27 November 2020
WHILE WE all wait with bated breath to see who will take home the gongs at her Gossies 2021 awards, founder Ali Ryan has adopted a new persona. Not content with running online gossip site Goss.ie, Ryan is channelling an Erin-Brockovich-meets-Elle-Woods vibe these days. The 31-year-old has set up an Instagram page called Bare it… Read more »
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EIR OF CAUTION
Affairs, 26 November 2020
IT HAS been a bruising week for Carolan Lennon as the Eir chief executive faced scrutiny in the media and at the Oireachtas. The company has been the subject of sustained negative comment in the Dáil in recent years. TDs across all parties regularly express the frustration of constituents over Eir’s list of sins in… Read more »
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MORAL GUARDIANS
Affairs, 26 November 2020
TOUCHING TO see some Irish hacks express solidarity with their colleagues across the Irish Sea. The departure of long standing Guardian columnist Suzanne Moore has generated plenty of controversy, and raised eyebrows. Over 7000 words for the conservative website Unherd this week, Moore has finally opened up about her ordeal, suggesting that she was bullied… Read more »
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LATE LOBBYISTS
Affairs, 26 November 2020
AS DEBATE on reform of the Lobbying Act commenced in Dáil Éireann this week, the careers of some former politicians are in renewed focus. Amendments tabled by Pearse Doherty and Máiréad Farrell on Tuesday were countered by Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath to the effect that change will be put on ice for at least… Read more »
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SIZING UP ROZ PURCELL’S CONTROVERSIAL CLOBBER
Affairs, 26 November 2020
FROM BEING the hottest commercial model in the country and a place in the Top 10 in the Donald Trump-owned Miss Universe in 2010, Roz Purcell’s career has pivoted in recent years to espouse a wholesale promotion of inclusivity and body positivity. While the slender Tipperary woman’s sharing of her stretch marks and cellulite has… Read more »
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MUNDY SINGING THE BLUES
Affairs, Behind the Scenes, 25 November 2020
THE ANNOUNCEMENT of the beneficiaries of the Government’s €1.7m Music Industry Stimulus Package was less harmoniously received than Minister Catherine Martin might have hoped. Much of the discord centres around the fact that while some musicians won’t be given a red cent, other artists are set to receive financial support through all three of the… Read more »
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HELEN’S HISTORY
Affairs, 24 November 2020
WHILE HER name echoes around Dáil Eireann, Helen McEntee was instead holding a press conference. Following Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, the Justice Minister has gained approval for new measures to amend the Harassment, Harmful Communications and other Related Offences Bill. Back in the Dáil, Alan Kelly pointed out the absurdity of the Justice Minister outside talking… Read more »
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WOULFE PACK
Affairs, 24 November 2020
THE WOULFE saga continues as another week kicks off in Dáil Eireann. Tuesday afternoon was again dominated by the absence of Justice Minister Helen McEntee. The entire opposition have only one issue on their minds and Micheál Martin faced question after question about it. The Government may have avoided the spectacle of impeachment proceedings but… Read more »
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LIAM LYNCH’S MAGAZINE STORY
Affairs, 24 November 2020
HAVING ANNOUNCED himself on the Irish publishing scene in 2017 when picking up a bunch of magazine titles, including women’s glossy Irish Tatler, things haven’t quite worked out according to plan for Irish American investor Liam Lynch. Irish Studio Media Ltd (ISM) was set up in November 2017, when Lynch’s New York-based Irish Studio operation… Read more »
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