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April 8 - April 21, 2016
Affairs of the Nation
MICHAEL TWEE’S SHARPER TONE
NO wonder the director of the Iona Institute, David Quinn, denounced President Michael D Higgins’ 1916 commemorative speeches in the Irish Independent last week. Quinn railed against Higgins’ left wing... Read more »
IVAN YATES TO LEAVE NEWSTALK
IVAN Yates has decided to leave Newstalk and this time he means it. The broadcaster is now in negotiation with station bosses about the manner and timing of his departure,... Read more »
BRENDAN HOWLIN’S DIVINE RIGHT
IF Alan Kelly is addicted to power, then Brendan Howlin is a megalomaniac who believes he can assume leadership of the Labour Party without the bother of a vote. Or... Read more »
Sponsored Content
Dovida’s Live-in Care Service
A compelling alternative to nursing home care, delivered by the most experienced care provider in Ireland Michael Wright, Director of Growth, Dovida Ireland Growth in nursing... Read more »
DENIS O’BRIEN’S TOPAZ LOSS
GOLDHAWK was always suspicious of the reports that Denis O’Brien had sold his Topaz petrol retailer to the Canadian giants Couche-Tard for E450m. Now figures filed in Canada by the... Read more »
MICHAEL NUGENT’S MANY COLOURS
ATHEIST IRELAND (AI) founder and chairman, Michael Nugent, struck a blow for the Enlightenment by refusing an official invite to the state ceremony celebrating the 1916 Rising. In a most... Read more »
TV3 and RTE’s DG
DISAPPOINTED luvvies at RTÉ, whose new director general, Dee Forbes, is neither a programmer nor even a production techie, may be even more traumatised to learn that her Irish broadcasting... Read more »
Kelly’s Heroes
THE seriously diminished Parliamentary Labour Party might want to reconsider their ferocious onslaught against Alan Kelly given the sort of firepower the minister’s brother, Declan Kelly, has recently acquired. Declan... Read more »
Pillars of Society
Joe Duffy
ADDRESSING a gathering of rebels’ relatives in the incongruous top-hat-‘n’-tails surrounds of Dublin’s RDS, President Michael D Higgins thanked historians and descendants of the... Read more »
The Young Bloods
Noel Rock TD
IN AN otherwise disappointing election, a shining light for Fine Gael in Dublin was the surprise success of 28-year-old Noel Rock in Dublin North-West,... Read more »
ESB’s Ardnacrusha Power Station Reopens for Free Public Tours This Summer
ESB is once again running guided tours at Ardnacrusha Power Station in Co Clare this summer, offering the public a rare opportunity to explore one of Ireland’s most significant... Read more »
Fit to Print?
IRISH TIMES: 1916-2016
THE Irish Times souvenir edition of the 1916 Rising managed the notable feat of airbrushing out of history not only Sinn Féin but its own reportage of the event 100... Read more »
THE GUARDIAN ON IRELAND
PUBLISHERS Cork University Press (CUP), recently advertised an interesting critique of the Northern troubles, entitled Britain’s Algeria, France’s Ireland, written by Toronto based author and teacher Patrick Anderson. However, even... Read more »
Ní Bheoláin Libel
PRIVACY is fast becoming the new weapon of choice by those who claim undue coverage of their affairs in the media, and two minor celebs have recently taken such cases... Read more »
Last Refuge
MORE POWER TO LEO’S LEADERSHIP BID
WHAT is Leo Varadkar playing at with his outspoken support for Averil Power in the TCD Senate election? The Irish Independent, edited by Mr Averil Power, aka Fionnan Sheahan, first... Read more »
ENDA’S POTENTIAL NEW CABINET
THAT 50:50 gender-based cabinet pledged by Enda Kenny before the election can be binned under the new circumstances. The appointment of probably four male Independent ministers means that Fine Gael... Read more »
FF Coalition Split
AT least five senior Fianna Fáil figures are now in favour of a ‘grand’ coalition with Fine Gael, and it comes as no surprise that three of them constitute an... Read more »
SINN FÉIN ON THE SIDELINES
THE party political leader watching the slow dance towards a government – more monochrome (blue) than rainbow coloured – with greater anxiety than even Enda Kenny or Micheál Martin is... Read more »
Bog Cuttings
MAN STRUCK IN HORSE MANURE ROW A CO CLARE pensioner has been convicted of assault in a row with his neighbour over the pensioner piling horse manure on a wall... Read more »
Fowl Emissions
HOW GREEN WILL GOVERNMENT BE?
AS talks on forming a government drag on, what hope of an environmentally friendly government? With 2015 the hottest year on record globally, and Ireland careering towards a huge –... Read more »
Bird's Eye View
NI: GUESS WHO’S NOT COMING TO DINNER
IN January, Belfast City Council voted in favour of a motion to host a dinner for the NI and the ROI football teams (both their managers are Northerners) to congratulate... Read more »
JIM NUGENT’S LATEST SETBACK
THERE WAS yet another setback last month for one of Bertie Ahern’s ‘dig-out’ pals, Jim Nugent. His attempt to extend protection from assorted creditors was reversed by Judge Mary Baker,... Read more »
Foreign Frolics
THE PROBLEMS WITH THE KARADŽIĆ VERDICT
by BINOY KAMPMARK THE uneven distribution of justice is the bane of any system that purports to be fair. The problems are made even more problematic when it comes to... Read more »
The Hot Air Brigade
I’ve done all the F16 zero gravity stuff. I don’t believe in the rock star way to go, but if that was the way it were to happen I wouldn’t... Read more »
High Society
POWER SHIFT AT GEORGIAN SOCIETY
THERE HAVE been some significant changes at the Irish Georgian Society (IGS) where the committee of management has increased its control over the body,... Read more »
Dominic Silvester’s Extension
ONE MAN who will be keeping a close eye on the European rugby this weekend is the (usually) Bermuda-based Dominic Silvester, who also faces... Read more »
GLUCKSMAN GALLERY’S ‘HEDGE FUND WAG’
THE GLUCKSMAN Gallery in UCC has added some significant overseas firepower to its board in the form of two London-based players – arts consultant Lawrence O’Hana and Giancarla ‘Gianni’ Alen-Buckley,... Read more »
CEA: There is No Such Thing as Director-lite
THE Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) enforces any breach of company law by companies or the directors of a company. Michael Dillon, CEA’s Director of Legal, explains that... Read more »
Behind the Scenes
PHANTOM’S EXPENSIVE GHOST
THE INVESTORS in TXFM (formerly Phantom105.2) have taken a bath, with Denis O’Brien failing to escape the worst of the hit despite having got in at a bargain price five... Read more »
Helen O’Neill’s Seat
THE LATEST addition to the board of Limerick University’s Concert Hall is Ballsbridge-based academic Helen O’Neill, hailing from UCD, where she is Professor Emeritus of Economics. She is also on... Read more »
ED GUINEY’S AWARD WINNING PERFORMANCE
ONE OF the obligatory functions of a state agency is to ‘lay’ its annual report before the Oireachtas in order that deputies and senators may peruse it and, if they... Read more »
Sport of Kings
TURF CLUB TRIBULATIONS
AN INTERESTING addition to Simon Coveney’s Horse Racing Ireland Act 2016 is a clause which allows Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) to dictate to the industry any directive that takes its... Read more »
SEAN POWER’S SEANAD RACE
FIANNA FÁIL councillor for the constituency of Kildare South (Horse Racing Ireland territory), Sean Power – who is also president of the Irish Stablestaff Association (ISA) – has declared himself... Read more »
BOOKIE’S BUG BLUES
BETFAIR, the online betting exchange that merged with Paddy Power in a €10bn deal earlier this year, continues to experience problems with its online software (see The Phoenix 26/2/16). Since... Read more »
DISCIPLINING THE HRI SUITS
ELSEWHERE in Simon Coveney’s new Horse Racing Ireland Act 2016, the Bowler Hats have been handed the power to sanction employees of Brian Kavanagh’s Horse Racing Ireland (HRI). Under its... Read more »
Reviews
A FANATIC HEART – RTÉ 1
THIS two-part documentary traced familiar aspects of WB Yeats’s life – including his obsessive interest in fairytales, the occult and Celtic mythology. There was the usual focus on the poet’s... Read more »
Books
BISHOP’S DELIGHT – PATRICK McGINLEY (NEW ISLAND)
PATRICK MCGINLEY was born in Co. Donegal in 1937 and moved to England during the 1960s. His earlier novels – particularly Bogmail, Foggage and Goosefoot – enjoyed some success as... Read more »
MADAME DE MARKIEVICZ ON TRIAL – PAVILION THEATRE
AMID ALL the salutes and flag-waving, one of the more welcome aspects of this year’s 1916 commemorations has been the willingness to examine the psychology of the leaders of the... Read more »
Moneybags
Petroneft battle could bring Oil India centre stage
IT IS bizarre that two Irish quoted companies, Petroneft and Petroceltic, should have similar names, operate in the same oil and gas industry, have... Read more »
Food sales key driver for Applegreen
UNDER THE management of Bob Etchingham, the fuel retailing forecourt company, Applegreen, has been powering ahead. However, it is now on a very high... Read more »
Croke Park’s Newest Hospitality Experience
THIS EXCLUSIVE section blends the hospitality experience of Croke Park with a social, shared space, giving you the best of both worlds to enhance your match-day experience. Located in... Read more »
Brief Cases
Tony Killoran’s Music Shop
THE MUSIC retailing business has been a tough one to be in in recent times, with the likes of HMV and Virgin shutting up shop here. Nevertheless, the oldest name... Read more »
Breifne, Martin And Barty O’Brien
THERE WAS an interesting High Court order obtained by a liquidator last month in relation to the winding up of a company called Barty O’Brien Ltd, a Kildare-based contract cleaning... Read more »
Olivia Gaynor-Long’s Books
THE BANKRUPT Stokes brothers – Christian and Simon – are back in the news due to an upcoming High Court appearance to provide details of their property holdings. However, Olivia... Read more »
Tony Killarney’s Resignations
LAST MONTH, telecoms multi-millionaire Tony Killarney was revisiting an episode in his business career he would rather forget, when he filed documents in the Companies Office forcing his resignation from... Read more »
Patrick Enright’s Punishment
THE DECISION by the President of the High Court, Peter Kelly, to strike Patrick Enright, formerly of Patrick Enright & Co Solicitors, Castleisland, Co Kerry, off the Roll of Solicitors... Read more »
Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern at National Design & Craft Gallery
The highly anticipated Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern exhibition has arrived at Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) National Design and Craft Gallery in Kilkenny. Running from February... Read more »
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