Affairs of the Nation

Affairs of the Nation

WHAT HAPPENED THE AIR CORPS?

WHEN he finally got around to visiting Blacksod last Monday – a full week after the loss of outsourced helicopter 116 and its four crew members – the Minister for... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

JOHN BRENNAN ESCAPES ‘CATASTROPHIC COLLAPSE’

NEXT MONTH, Judge Tom O’Donnell delivers his sentence in the high profile case relating to the collapse of a lift at the Killarney Plaza Hotel in 2011 that seriously injured... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

IAN BAILEY’S FRENCH FARCE

THE STATE’S timing of its presentation of the French extradition warrant to bring Ian Bailey to Paris on the charge of murdering Sophie Toscan du Plantier is most interesting. It... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Affairs of the Nation

Gender Bias

THE WAKING The Feminists lobby has generated plenty of fallout over the last year (with Garry Hynes of Druid Theatre the latest to come under fire) but there has been... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Privacy Funding

WITH THE 21-day High Court case involving Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) Helen Dixon, Facebook Ireland and Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems now concluded, Judge Caroline Costello has reserved her judgment.... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR …

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Far Left) THE vicarious grand standing of Irish liberals still engaged in competitive outrage at US president Donald Trump – under the slogan, Irish Stand – produced... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

ALAN SHATTER’S REVENGE

FORMER JUSTICE minister Alan Shatter turned up at Trinity College Dublin last week to launch a provocative book by two feminist academics – Feminism, Prostitution and the State – which... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

EGYPTIAN CONTEMPT FOR IRELAND

A THUNDERING statement from Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghail in January threatened that millions of euro worth of business with Egypt would be blocked unless the near four-year detention and... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Consenting Turbines

A RULING from An Bord Pleanála has just granted something called “substitute consent” for a planning development that had previously been deemed by the courts to be unauthorised. This could... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Pillars of Society

Tim Collins

WHEN in January 2016 Tim Collins became Newstalk’s fifth CEO in 11 years, he was presumably unaware that its owner, Denis O’Brien, was already... Read more »

The Young Bloods

The Young Bloods

Alan Farrell TD

FINE Gael’s Alan Farrell (39) likes to shoot his mouth off. The Dublin Fingal TD has been something of a thorn in Enda Kenny’s... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Fit to Print?

MORE POWER TO TRAVELLERS

SUNDAY TIMES hack Brenda Power, champion of settled people persecuted by jackbooted Travellers, offered an ingenious response within days of the government recognising Travellers as an ethnic group last month.... Read more »

Fit to Print?

HARRIS HEDGES BET

PUNTERS looking for guidance on the fluctuating Fine Gael leadership tussle should keep a watch on Sunday Independent seer Eoghan Harris who often proclaims his unerring ability to forecast the... Read more »

Fit to Print?

INM Libels

WHAT a stirring clarion call to defend freedom of expression was made by Independent News & Media (INM) recently and what a compelling case the group put in its submission... Read more »

Last Refuge

Last Refuge

COVENEY GOOD FOR (CORK) BUSINESS

THE MESSAGE being purveyed by Simon Coveney’s political and business supporters is that Simon is good for business and has the support of corporate Ireland in his bid for the... Read more »

Last Refuge

Vlad’s Numbers

LEO VARADKAR’S supporters have been spooked by that Irish Times poll showing that Simon Coveney was ahead in the Fine Gael leadership contest among not only party voters (by 5%)... Read more »

Last Refuge

TERRY PRONE’S SISTERLY ADVICE

ENDA KENNY’S emotional hand wringing about the “truly appalling” uncovering of hundreds of babies at the Tuam mother-and-baby home – “he was personally shocked” etc – was in sharp contrast... Read more »
Mary Lou McDonald

Last Refuge

MARY LOU’S TIME HAS COME

THAT Sunday Times poll showing Sinn Féin overtaking Fine Gael (23% to 22%) will hardly be realised in a general election, although the party will retain some of its poll... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

‘I am Brian Boru’ A TIPPERARY man was charged and fined by Ennis District Court after he gave a false name and address to gardaí. Martin Morgan (60), 5 Silver... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Fowl Emissions

DENIS NAUGHTEN ABANDONS CLIMATE ACTION

IS DENIS Naughten now Ireland’s Minister for Not Telling People What To Do? The recently published draft National Mitigation Plan (NMP) is a 91-page masterclass in leadership from the rear.... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Bird's Eye View

VARADKAR’S UNIONIST LINE

LEO VARADKAR went to France for St Patrick’s Day and gave interviews in the Irish embassy in Paris to French news media which demonstrated that his views on the north... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

What [Brendan] O’Connor does is select the right people with the strongest voices, it plays to his strengths and allows him freedom of movement. I’d describe him as like a... Read more »

High Society

High Society

High Society

CHANELLE McCOY’S FASHION SENSE

A THIRD woman set to join the judges in the new series of RTÉ’s Dragons’ Den and although probably best known today as the... Read more »

High Society

High Society

PAUL McGUINNESS’S PARTNER

WITH the hype building nicely for Sky Atlantic’s upcoming big budget Cote d’Azur crime series Riviera – written by Neil Jordan and John Banville... Read more »

High Society

High Society

The Taking of Christ

Although it happened at a time Which we now call Easter, Caravaggio’s colours are of Autumn, Walnut, chestnut, damson; Framed in a timeless proscenium A play about love’s treachery Is... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

THE ABBEY’S UNPAID CHAIR

WITH A new chair of the Abbey Theatre to be appointed, following the retirement of former High Court judge Bryan McMahon, the list of applicants will be limited by the... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

ARTS COUNCIl MONEY MAN

A NEW adviser is in place at 70 Merrion Square, whose job it is to advise Arts Council clients how to tap the coffers of the wealthy. Last summer, the... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

IFB MEMBERS’ ‘RELATED TRANSACTIONS’

COMPARED TO much larger statutory bodies like RTÉ, Annie Doona’s Irish Film Board (IFB) has always taken its time when it comes to releasing its annual report. Last week’s quiet... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Sport of Kings

CHASING THE IRISH NATIONAL

WITH AN increased prize-fund of a cool €1/2m, the Boylesports Irish Grand National is now Ireland’s most valuable jumps race – one that will most likely have a major bearing... Read more »

Sport of Kings

THE JAPANESE ARE COMING

LEOPARDSTOWN boss Pat Keogh has long made known his desire to see a Japanese-trained horse compete at the track and he has come a step closer to realising that ambition.... Read more »
Jessica Harrington

Sport of Kings

CHELTENHAM TALES

CHELTENHAM delivered the usual array of stories but it is a festival one jockey will rather forget. Barry Geraghty’s injury two weeks before the festival provided a gilt edge opportunity... Read more »

Sport of Kings

SARAH FORAN’S TAX BILL

Sarah Foran (Left) RACEHORSE owner, Sarah Foran may have to scale back her racing interests after she made a €114,000 settlement with the Revenue Commissioners in the last quarter of... Read more »

Reviews

Reviews

BECKETT FRIEL PINTER FESTIVAL – GATE THEATRE

AFTER HIS 33 years at the helm of the Gate Theatre, it’s no surprise that Michael Colgan would throw himself a self-congratulatory farewell party. The surprise is that the best-paid... Read more »

Books

THE HEART’S INVISIBLE FURIES – JOHN BOYNE (DOUBLEDAY)

THE BESTSELLING author of The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas returns to familiar themes of flawed and forbidden relationships in his latest novel. Boyne has often concentrated on emotional trauma,... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Moneybags

AIB flotation plan does not add up

WITH FINANCE minister Michael Noonan preparing to sell-off 25% of AIB and, as a taster, preparing to pay out a dividend of €250m, the... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Aer Lingus bargain helps IAG shares soar

THERE WAS considerable surprise in the Irish media when Willie Walsh announced IAG group’s results for 2016 and confirmed that Aer Lingus had managed... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

The Hot Water Brigade

Tribunal gets tough with accountants

TWO members of Chartered Accountants Ireland had a tough day earlier this month before the institute’s disciplinary tribunal. Frank McDonagh of McDonagh & Co Chartered Accountants in Shangort, Co Galway,... Read more »
Niall Harbison Now

The Hot Water Brigade

No love-in at Lovin Dublin

INTERESTING times at Lovin Dublin where would-be start-up guru Niall “Harbo” Harbison announced last weekend he was taking a step back from “operational matters” at the lifestyle website. Could this... Read more »
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The Hot Water Brigade

Former film financier Forde falls foul

SURPRISING to see Goldhawk’s old pal Ignatius Forde in trouble for the small amount of €2,054 owed to Carlow County Council. The judgment was registered against him and appeared in... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

Gough grounded by tax judgment

ONE of the heftier judgments spotted by Goldhawk in the last couple of weeks was against Co Cork builder William Gough. Gough – a former director of William Gough and... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

Áine Collins’s bookkeeping troubles

A PROPERTY company in Cork called Ocean View Lodge Ltd has fallen foul of its creditors who held a meeting to appoint a liquidator earlier this month. One familiar name... Read more »