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€20M ‘KIN’ CONUNDRUM

Date: March 23, 2023 -

WHILE THE crux of the opening episode of RTÉ’s second series of Kin (see review p23) is the €90m cost of the Kinsella family’s deal with a Turkish gang, the financial wheeling and dealing to get the expensive series off the ground is every bit as intriguing as the plot onscreen. Starring the likes of… Read more »

TED CUNNINGHAM’S COURT CASE

Date: March 23, 2023 -

THE LATEST development relating to Tipperary farmer Patrick Quirke’s conviction for murdering Bobby Ryan (aka DJ Mr Moonlight) in 2011 has been the subject of much discussion in legal circles but a separate case, featuring one Ted Cunningham, that is set to surface this week will also focus the legal eagles’ minds. Quirke won a… Read more »

ENDA KENNY’S SPACE MISSION

Date: March 23, 2023 -

THE COLOURFUL story of an alleged spy working for the National Space Centre (NSC) in Cork got quite the kicking in the Sindo last weekend, with the claim that Marina Sologub is a Russian spy dismissed as “baloney” (see p12). Goldhawk, however, is more interested in the fact that the NSC turns out to be… Read more »

BARRY NAPIER’S SATISFACTION

Date: March 23, 2023 -

CONGRATULATIONS Are in order for telecoms entrepreneur Barry Napier of Cubic Telecom fame, who has just satisfied a whopping €1m judgment from AIB. As revealed by Goldhawk (see The Phoenix 2/7/21), Napier surprisingly found himself on the end of the hefty judgment in June 2021. As a result, six weeks later High Court judge Karen… Read more »

CHEF ADRIAN’S CULINARY FLOPS

Date: March 23, 2023 -

HE HAS been touted as a “hot young chef” for several years but is the ambitious and television-friendly Adrian Martin displaying a penchant for biting off more than he can chew? At 31, the Cavan chef has now closed the doors of both of his fine-dining restaurants in Dublin and London. Opening on the back… Read more »

VOL. 41 NO. 06

Date: March 23, 2023 -

MICHEÁL MARTIN’S NEW FRIENDS

Date: March 23, 2023 -

AS The Phoenix has repeatedly pointed out, the Government, and in particular Micheál Martin, has in the last year moved further and further away from Ireland’s neutrality. Our engagement with the “European Peace Facility” and “European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine” are two concrete examples of this trend. Recent reports of a… Read more »

SISTERS’ MANSION HOUSE SUMMIT

Date: March 23, 2023 -

THIS WEEK a conference called the National Menopause Summit kicks off at the Round Room in Dublin’s Mansion House, fronted by Davina McCall no less. All of the €170-a-pop tickets have sold out, which is good news for the organisers, while many of the participants look set to boost their business in the burgeoning menopause… Read more »

BARON’S PAEAN TO EOGHAN HARRIS

Date: March 23, 2023 -

THE ULTIMATE British Tory journalist, Charles Moore – official biographer of the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher and past editor of the Daily Telegraph, Spectator and Sunday Telegraph (he still writes for all three) – recently paid a visit to former British colony Aawland. Charles Moore, who also goes under the moniker Baron Moore of Etchingham,… Read more »

IFA ‘MODERATES’

Date: March 23, 2023 -

If you run an industrial operation where there is a risk of pollution, you will require a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Large-scale pig and poultry farms also require such a licence. There is, however, one glaring loophole and that is the regulation of larger beef and dairy operations. Both of these have… Read more »

MANCHESTER BOMB: MI5 INCOMPETENCE

Date: March 23, 2023 -

MI5 DIRECTOR GENERAL Ken McCallum has said he is “profoundly sorry” that his service did not prevent the Manchester Arena suicide bombing, in which 22 people perished and over 1,000 were injured. The attack was perpetrated by Salman Abedi, a native of Manchester and took place on May 22, 2017, four days after Abedi returned… Read more »

THE RIGHT STUFF?

Date: March 23, 2023 -

NADIA DOBRIANSKA, the Irish-speaking Ukrainian refugee, has over the last year maintained a high profile in the Irish media. In recent months, for example, she has appeared in articles in publications including the Irish Times and Irish Examiner and on a number of shows on Raidió na Gaeltachta. Her fluency in Irish is unquestionable, but… Read more »

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE – RUGBY BALLS

Date: March 23, 2023 -

I am, like most of the country, mesmerised by this Irish rugby team – but also enraptured by how unIrish it is, how it shuns all the Irish melodramas of gallant efforts, brave attempts and almost greatness. Fintan O’Toole, Irish Times An ever-expanding population of admirers has come to recognise the conveyor belt of brilliant… Read more »

VLAD IN THE US

Date: March 23, 2023 -

After his initial acute bout of foot-in-mouth disease last week with his maladroit gaffe about the fate of interns in Clinton’s administration, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s political judgement and understanding didn’t improve when the subject of Irish unification was broached. After apologising to Hillary Clinton for his “ill-judged” joke, as he described it, Varadkar went on… Read more »

PRESIDENT BIDEN CONGRATS IRELAND

Date: March 23, 2023 -

AS TÁNAISTE and foreign minister Micheál Martin embarked on his trip to the US for the annual St Patrick’s Day performance, his press release emphasised Ireland’s support for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, in other words the accommodation so far of 75,000 circa refugees from that war. This commitment was again emphasised in a… Read more »

‘SERIOUSLY GOOD BIT OF STUFF’

Date: March 23, 2023 -

Unnoticed by the Irish media – ie her former colleagues – European ombudsman Emily O’Reilly pulled off the rare feat last week of uniting the far left and the extreme right of European politics. Her annual address to the Strasbourg-based parliament on the subject of her just-published annual report was a tour de force, taking… Read more »

‘SUNDAY TIMES’ IMPLOSION

Date: March 23, 2023 -

THE PURGE or exodus of seasoned journalists from the Irish edition of the Sunday Times has been well chronicled in these pages, as has their replacement in some cases by much younger (and much less well paid) hacks. However, the latest personnel crisis at the paper has been caused by the resignation of two of… Read more »

IRELAND WORST POLLUTER IN EU

Date: March 23, 2023 -

At first glance, there was nothing radically new in the release this week by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of its synthesis report, which draws together the various strands of its blockbuster Sixth Assessment Report into a condensed, more accessible format. There is,… Read more »

NOT SOLD ON SWIFT

Date: March 23, 2023 -

THE MOST high-profile of the items acquired by the state at the 2021 auction of the contents of Howth Castle was a full-length portrait of Jonathan Swift picked up for nearly €¼m. It turns out that the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI) wasn’t particularly bothered about getting its hands on the work. In 2018, the… Read more »

A PRIVATE AFFAIR AT IMMA

Date: March 23, 2023 -

GOLDHAWK WAS interested to see that an exhibition kicks off in Imma next month focused on the Mary and Alan Hobart Collection. Entitled Championing Irish Art, all of the featured paintings are privately owned by Mary Hobart, whose hubby, Alan, was a high-profile art dealer in London until his death in 2021. He also featured… Read more »

ELLMARIE’S STRONG MEDICINE

Date: March 23, 2023 -

THE IRISH Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) has made it very clear in recent years that maintaining up-to-date records of all medications administered to horses under its care is a non-negotiable requirement for trainers. It is surprising then that some trainers are still falling foul of this rule and the latest to be handed a hefty… Read more »

DAVY’S DAY TO FORGET

Date: March 23, 2023 -

PLENTY OF people were surprised when Davy Russell announced his intention to temporarily return to race riding less than three weeks after retiring from the saddle in December following a glorious career. His return was viewed as a dig out to Gordon Elliott after the trainer’s number one jockey, Jack Kennedy, broke his leg and… Read more »

GLEESON HAS HIS CAKE…

Date: March 23, 2023 -

RTÉ AND ITV racing presenter Brian Gleeson knows how to strike a deal and they probably don’t come any sweeter than the one involving his former horse, A Dream To Share. Gleeson not only bred the Cheltenham Bumper winner but also bred his dam, Hikari. Having already grossed over €400,000 in sales from the progeny… Read more »

SURPRISE RESULT FOR MULLINS

Date: March 23, 2023 -

TATTERSALLS CASHED in on Cheltenham fever by holding a select auction of Irish point-to-point winners in the winners’ enclosure following racing on the Thursday. After witnessing so many scenes of jubilation earlier in the day, buzzed-up speculators had to dig deep into their pockets to acquire potential future Cheltenham winners. It was no surprise to… Read more »

IMMA’S NEW CHAIR

Date: March 23, 2023 -

THERE IS set to be a change at the top in Imma, with broadcasting entrepreneur David Harvey stepping down as chairman after seven-and-a-half years. Although he was reappointed by arts minister Catherine Martin at the end of 2020 after his initial five-year term, Goldhawk understands that Harvey made it clear at the time that he… Read more »

KIN 2 – RTÉ ONE

Date: March 23, 2023 -

AFTER A slow start to the first season, gangland series Kin proved a rarity for RTÉ – a drama that achieved a significant level of both critical and audience traction. While the second season’s much-hyped debut still contained the occasional longueur, it nevertheless proved a novelty for viewers in being an essentially domestic offering that was often… Read more »

CRH’S SHARE PRICE COULD DOUBLE AFTER US MOVE

Date: March 23, 2023 -

AS CRH boss Albert Manifold looks towards his legacy, the CEO is rebranding the group as an American business by moving its so-called primary listing to New York. In doing so, Dublin-headquartered CRH will be able to take advantage of the higher market rating that US companies attract in the building materials sector. The big… Read more »

PTSB MISSING OUT ON ULSTER BANK JAM

Date: March 23, 2023 -

IT WAS surprising to read media reports earlier this month with headlines such as “Permanent TSB swings to €267m pre-tax profit amid gain from Ulster Bank deal”, presumably inspired by outgoing chairman Robert Elliott. He noted in his 2022 review: “We are reporting a very significant increase in profitability for 2022, with our reported pre-tax… Read more »

ANNE HERATY’S HEIRLOOM

Date: March 23, 2023 -

GOLDHAWK’S FAVOURITE jeweller Chupi Sweetman is profiled in this issue (see p17), having raised a fair whack of moolah for her eponymous brand. It turns out that some familiar faces have come on board here. A high-profile investor in Chupi turns out to be the minted co-founder of the CPL recruitment agency, Anne Heraty, who… Read more »

NEIL JORDAN’S ‘MARLOWE’

Date: March 23, 2023 -

IT’S NOT necessarily a good look for a film when the names in the credits immediately after the lead actor are those of the director’s wife and his film’s producer. But so it is with Neil Jordan’s much-hyped Marlowe. Liam Neeson’s name is followed by Brenda Rawn and Alan Moloney, playing “office secretary” and “office… Read more »

JEREMY HUNT’S FILM PLOT

Date: March 22, 2023 -

ONE-TIME arts minister John O’Donoghue likened film production incentives to a “Dutch auction”, whereby governments compete to give away the most money to film and television producers. Now that the UK is free of EU state-aid shackles, Jeremy Hunt’s recent budget promised a range of “reforms” to Britain’s TV and film tax reliefs. In what… Read more »

OUR MAN IN THE CARIBBEAN

Date: March 22, 2023 -

Sindo READERS were this month treated to a colourful article from long-time scribe Liam Collins, who had been, er, “wintering in Barbados” and ended up on the tiny island of Canouan, part of the Caribbean empire owned by Dermot Desmond. Surely the most interesting line in the piece was that Dermo “had ended our brief,… Read more »

IRISH TIMES HOT AIR

Date: March 22, 2023 -

Times are tough in the print media, but there was still a collective gasp at the decision of the Irish Times last weekend to run a half-page advert headed “Look to us for energy security and climate action”. The climate warriors in question are the Canadian Energy Centre, a fossil fuel industry front dedicated to… Read more »

SPY GAMES

Date: March 22, 2023 -

TWO SHARPLY contrasting takes on alleged Russian ‘spy’ Marina Sologub – booted out by Australian authorities and the subject of much spooky speculation by Sunday Times security correspondent John Mooney – have been presented by the ST and Sunday Independent. Born in Kazakhstan but educated in Ireland since childhood, Sologub worked at the National Space… Read more »

O’REILLY V HOURIGAN

Date: March 22, 2023 -

THE GREEN Party chairperson and ultra-loyal lieutenant of Eamon Ryan, senator Pauline O’Reilly, is gunning for Neasa Hourigan TD as the latter contributed greatly to the embarrassing swell of support to retain the eviction ban, not to mention the danger it posed to the Government. Obviously warming to her role in disciplining dissident voices, O’Reilly… Read more »

SUE GRAY STILL TO RUN UK?

Date: March 8, 2023 -

THE MOST powerful woman in Britain – according to various British sources – is Sue Gray and she has now emerged as British Labour Party leader Keir Starmer’s chief of staff. This, some say, is a sure sign that the permanent UK government and its intelligence eyes are convinced Labour will be in power before… Read more »