Affairs, 28 February 2020

DOES FOREIGN MINISTER Simon Coveney feel feel a little exposed by a review of the ousting of Bolivia’s elected government? The manner in which Evo Morales was driven from office in October has come under fresh scrutiny. The Bolivian President was forced to step down last year amid accusations of electoral fraud and an interim… Read more »

Affairs, 27 February 2020

SOME GOOD NEWS for cash-strapped artists with the announcement of Áitiúil, a new “micro grant programme” seeking to support local cultural initiatives. Up to €5,000 is on offer for projects which “sustain the environment, innovation, peacemaking, festivals and events”. What’s not to like? The generous benefactor behind this tempting largess is property giant, Airbnb, where… Read more »

Affairs, 27 February 2020

THE OFFICIAL LINE from government that Irish troops are engaged in a “training mission” in Mali is increasingly looking like yet another strained military euphemism. Currently described as the UN’s “most dangerous mission”, conflict in the region is highly volatile with local and multinational forces failing to contain Islamist factions and the widespread breakdown of… Read more »

Affairs, 26 February 2020

GOLDHAWK has previously noted that Fianna Fáil stood alone as the only party not to include any reference to licensing reform in its general election manifesto. Attention on the night time economy has grown significantly over the last eighteen months with tentative plans launched by Culture Minister, Josepha Madigan, Oireachtas committee initiatives by Sinn Féin… Read more »

Affairs, 25 February 2020

THE POST-ELECTION hysteria reached new heights over the weekend with Sinn Féin’s plans to hold public rallies. Judging by some of the reaction, a series of meetings in hotel function rooms has emerged as an unlikely but serious threat to the Republic. FF have described the plans as “right out of the Trump playbook”, while… Read more »

Affairs, 25 February 2020

LABOUR’S RETURN with a majority of TDs from outside Dublin masks deeper problems beyond the capital. This election was the first in almost ninety years that the party ran no candidate in Kerry. The Spring dynasty has withered with Dick’s nephew Arthur leaving politics after the 2016 election and Graham’s grandson Dan bowing out before… Read more »

Affairs, 21 February 2020

GOLDHAWK WAS surprised to see An Taoiseach share an article from Gript Media with his 47,000 Facebook followers on Wednesday. Varadkar, who normally prides himself on attention to detail, appears to have gotten sloppy in a rush to land a hit on political opponents. Vlad should read some other articles like the suggestion that his… Read more »

Affairs, 21 February 2020

Like Bobby Ewing out of the shower, the past is once again a dream for Michael Martin. For ten years the Corkman has sought to present the face of a caring social democratic Fianna Fáil. A posture now past its sell by date as Martin prepares for the inevitable union with Fine Gael. A key… Read more »

Affairs, 21 February 2020

THERE HAS BEEN much speculation about the extent to which Saoirse McHugh has been odds with her own party. That considerable theatrical horror ensued in the media when the Achill islander expressed reservations about a carbon tax only underlines how increasingly questioned but minimally threatening measures have come to be perceived at large as totemic… Read more »

Affairs, 21 February 2020

Ireland’s links to the controversial Cerrejón mine in Colombia has come under fresh scrutiny following the publication of a new report from Christian Aid. A vast proportion of coal burned at the Moneypoint station in Clare has been sourced from the mine which has long been associated with grave human and environmental abuses. A public… Read more »

Affairs, 21 February 2020

MEMBERS OF ALL PARTIES bar Fine Gael signed up for pledges organised by the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign during the general election and the Occupied Territories Bill remains a live issue in Irish politics. The largest party Fianna Fáil commits to progress on the legislation in its manifesto and the new Dáil retains a majority… Read more »

Affairs, 19 February 2020

Gript Media continue to revolutionise Irish journalism by er, digging up old social media posts. This time Sinn Féin’s Reada Cronin has been targeted over tweets going back as far as 2013. A Gript report was again picked by the Indo and Irish Times leading the newly elected TD to deactivate her online accounts. Previously… Read more »

Affairs, 19 February 2020

WITH THE Labour Party leadership campaign underway candidates will be brandishing their credentials in between lofty speeches and waving the Starry Plough. Aodhán Ó Ríordáin is not the shy and retiring type when it comes to self-promotion. Goldhawk only hopes that he doesn’t lose the run of himself as he did previously. Following an unsuccessful… Read more »

Affairs, 13 February 2020

WITH EVEN SEASONED Irish politicos grasping to make sense of the election outcome, there isn’t much hope for observers abroad. Several anglophone reporters have responded in the best and increasingly only way they know how. Shoehorning events from a distinct and foreign country into their own narratives about Brexit and Trump. That is, we are… Read more »

Affairs, 13 February 2020

EVEN AS SIGNS grew more and more ominous, Fine Gael could hardly have anticipated just how badly the election would pan out. The party return with two seats in only two constituencies. No seats in five, topped the poll in just one and survived numerous lucky escapes without a quota. Varadkar was humiliated in Dublin… Read more »

Affairs, 12 February 2020

SINN FÉIN’S positioning as the party of alternative has been successful beyond all expectation but recent history has shown that it has been more a case of following where others have led. With Fianna Fáil humbled in 2011, the party could have been expected to emerge as the de facto opposition but it was instead… Read more »

Affairs, 12 February 2020

UPON HOLDING his seat in County Kerry, Danny Healy Rae celebrated by taking a pop at the Green agenda: “To hell with the planet and the fellas that say we must save the planet and forget about the people! I’m not one of those people. I make no apologies to anyone, anywhere for that,” Healy… Read more »

Affairs, 12 February 2020

FIANNA FÁIL was once considered one of the most formidable political organisations in Europe, with a success rate the envy of parties across Europe. When the writing was on the wall in 2011, many observers clung to the theory that an unrivalled machine in every corner of Ireland would kick in to save the day…. Read more »

Affairs, 11 February 2020

Following the exit of Mary Mitchell O’Connor, new blood Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has emerged as the only Blueshirt in Dún Laoghaire. Maria Bailey’s replacement edged out the minister and took the last seat without reaching a quota. Having already clocked up a few combative television appearances while votes were counted, the new TD is well… Read more »