Affairs of the Nation

Affairs of the Nation

VARADKAR AND THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL

THE unhealthy politicisation of the office of attorney general has been a hallmark of Fine Gael in government since 2011. And Leo Varadkar has barely been in power a wet... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

TROUBLE BREWING

HOW EMBARRASSING that the auditors of the company behind a state-backed craft brewery have found that it had contravened assorted Companies Act regulations when preparing the 2015 accounts. This is... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

PATRICK O’SULLIVAN V RICHARD CONROY

NEXT MONTH well known exploration entrepreneur Richard Conroy, executive chairman of Conroy Gold and Natural Resources, will go head to head with a little known investor, Patrick O’Sullivan, who has... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Affairs of the Nation

SCHOOL TRIP TO THE HIGH COURT

THE PHONEY war is over in Deansgrange south County Dublin, where the initial salvos over the proposed sale by the Christian Brothers of school playing fields at Clonkeen College have... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

NO ASYLUM FOR KENNY GROUP

IT WAS reported in the Sunday Times last weekend that an accommodation centre for asylum seekers in Limerick was closed as a result of fire safety issues. What was not... Read more »
Eoghan Harris

Affairs of the Nation

WEST BRIT HISTORY FEST

ASSEMBLING Roy Foster, Eoghan Harris, Kevin Myers, Ruth Dudley Edwards and various academic and media fellow travellers in the same room to discuss the War of Independence sounds like a... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Kenny Libel Win

HOWLS of indignation from Newstalk rang around the media following a front page “exclusive” in the Irish Sun whose headline claimed, “Kenny Facing Radio Axe”, in December 2015. The radio... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Pillars of Society

Vincent Browne

IT IS not exactly characteristic of Vincent Browne to walk out of a €400,000 pa contract which still has a year to run. So... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Pat Crean

The Young Bloods

Pat Crean

FRESH-FACED developer Pat Crean (37) has stepped out from the shadow of his former business partner, Greg Kavanagh, and is starting to generate his... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Fit to Print?

DAIL’S WAR CORRESPONDENTS

THE Fine Gael leadership contest was a polite straightforward affair compared to the machinations surrounding the election of a new chair of the Oireachtas press gallery at its recent annual... Read more »
Independent House

Fit to Print?

Indo Contempt

THE Irish Independent’s angst about TD Paul Murphy and supporters of the Jobstown Six being allegedly in contempt of court may be intensified next week depending on the outcome of... Read more »

Fit to Print?

‘MR SHOWBIZ’ DONE FOR FRAUD

LEO VARADKAR will have been impressed at the northern Department for Communities’ successful prosecution last month of journalist Paul Martin for defrauding £13,250 benefit, one of 20 such convictions in... Read more »

Last Refuge

Last Refuge

ALAN FARRELL BUCKS THE TREND

LEO VARADKAR’S promise of future promotion for the disappointed ones has not assuaged the ire of various unrewarded Fine Gael backbenchers. Immediate threats of rebellion over a government bill were... Read more »

Last Refuge

AK47 FACING SQUEEZE IN TIPP

LABOUR leader Brendan Howlin has earmarked Drogheda as the venue for the party’s next think-in to assist Senator Ged Nash’s bid to retain his Louth Dáil seat. But if the... Read more »

Last Refuge

Brian Hayes Home?

IS the architect of Fine Gael’s 2016 general election debacle, MEP Brian Hayes, about to return to domestic politics? Reports that the party’s 2016 director of elections intends to return... Read more »

Last Refuge

O’CALLAGHAN EMASCULATING MARTIN

MICHEÁL MARTIN’S Cardinal Richelieu, justice spokesperson Jim O’Callaghan, is coming under serious fire in Fianna Fáil as someone who is leading the party astray and Martin with him. Martin’s recent... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

‘Look at that big thick head on you’ AN EGG seller lost his temper and began shouting abuse at a garda on a street in Birr, a recent sitting of... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Fowl Emissions

TRUMP’S IRISH ALLIES

DESPITE the efforts of the Trump regime, the international consensus on stepping up action to tackle climate change remains largely intact. In some areas, the pace of change is surprisingly... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Bird's Eye View

TORIES TO PUSH EQUALITY AGENDA

HEIDI ALLEN, Conservative Cambridgeshire South, expressed the outrage of many MPs on both sides of Britain’s parliament when she told the House of Commons: “I can barely put into words... Read more »

Wigs on the Green

Maura King

Wigs on the Green

KING OF THE BAR COUNCIL

CONGRATS to rebel barrister Maura King whose vociferous critique of the Good ’Ol Boys that run the Bar Council saw her top the poll in recent elections to the council... Read more »

Wigs on the Green

Invincible Profit

THERE IS an interesting figure buried in the 2016 accounts, filed this week by the Irish National Stud (INS), revealing the huge income generated for the lucky owners of wonder... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

Who knows really, but yesterday, amid all the excitement of Canadian Prime Minister (and all-round dreamboat) Justin Trudeau’s State visit to Ireland, our very own Leo Varadkar became a certified... Read more »

High Society

High Society

High Society

CYNTHIA CHUA’S PROPERTY PLAY

GOLDHAWK was most impressed with the audacious scheme drawn up by the owners of the Deepwell mansion in Blackrock, south County Dublin, involving the... Read more »

High Society

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High Society

Strancally Wedding

IT IS probably not surprising that there was little coverage of one of the high society weddings of the year – that of Portia... Read more »

High Society

High Society

BIDDING FOR BALLYMACOLL

ALTHOUGH NOT confirmed, the name of Frank Dunne of Dunnes Stores fame is doing the rounds as the buyer of Ballymacoll Stud (which neighbours his impressive Hamwood Stud in Co... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

VISUAL’S NATIONAL AMBITIONS

EARLIER THIS month, the Indo’s Creative Ireland summer series paid a visit to Carlow’s expensive Visual Centre for Contemporary Art (VISUAL), where chief executive Ann Mulrooney revealed that a drive... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Judicial Archivists

AFTER A lengthy delay, arts minister Heather Humphreys has finally got around to appointing new members to the National Archives Advisory Council (NAAC). Not surprisingly perhaps, she has decided to... Read more »
Ed Guiney

Behind the Scenes

ED GUINEY’S LATEST BARGAIN BUY

PERHAPS IT is no surprise that Andrew Lowe and Ed Guiney’s Element Pictures is behind the latest cinematic clean-up operation. It turns out that the two boys are taking the... Read more »

Sport of Kings

John Magnier

Sport of Kings

JOHN MAGNIER’S TACTICS

MUCH HAS been written of the Curragh this year and the hullaballoo over the board’s decision to run the Irish Derby and day two of Irish Champion’s weekend on a... Read more »

Sport of Kings

COLIN KEANE’S CHANCES

LOOKING AHEAD from the flat season’s mid-point, it looks as if there could be a surprise in store at the end of the year, when the champions are crowned. At... Read more »
James Lambe

Sport of Kings

Lambe’s Loss

DUNGANNON trainer James Lambe is back in the courts. The handler found himself in a spot of financial bother back in 2015, having lost a Supreme Court appeal that challenged... Read more »
Luke Comer Ban

Sport of Kings

LUKE COMER’S TRAINER

IT WILL be interesting to follow the latest instalment in the Luke Comer training saga, the story that just keeps on giving. Comer has recently employed Jim Gorman as his... Read more »

Reviews

Reviews

ROOM – ABBEY THEATRE

NEARLY a decade on, Emma O’Donoghue’s breakthrough story keeps on giving. It was only a matter of time before Jack and Ma, and the claustrophobic living space that defines their... Read more »

Movies

HALAL DADDY – DIRECTOR CONOR McDERMOTTROE

FORGET JOHN Carpenter, George A Romero and other masters of horror, there are few more disturbing sights in cinema than the phrase “Bord Scannán na hÉireann presents” appearing in a... Read more »

Books

CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS – SALLY ROONEY (FABER & FABER)

DEBUT NOVELIST Sally Rooney creates a portrait of modern young women in this slow-moving tale centring around two university students, Frances and Bobbi, inseparable since their teens. Narrated entirely from... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Moneybags

Tougher times ahead for Dalata in UK

IN 2007, Pat McCann set up Dalata Hotels with the backing of Davy stockbrokers and Shane Reihill. Thanks principally to the timing, this proved... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Kennedy Wilson’s Irish bonanza

ONE OF the lesser known real estate investment trusts (Reits) that have invaded Ireland is the London Stock Exchange listed Kennedy Wilson Europe Real... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

The Hot Water Brigade

Dervla Kenny’s objections

A CERTAIN former Taoiseach’s family are at the centre of planning row that’s been on the boil in Mayo. After facing opposition from neighbours, Veitch McCombs and his wife Catherine... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

Philo Marley’s Costa Rican Bond

GREAT to see Goldhawk’s old pal, student accommodation developer Philip “Philo” Marley, back in the news again. It was reported last weekend that a judgment for €1m had been registered... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

More issues for Martin Allen

GOLDHAWK’s old pal Martin Allen popped up again recently after a run-in with the taxman. The Meath businessman, who still has 18 months of a 12 -year disqualification order to... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

The not-so sweet life of Roberto Pons

NOT for the first time well-regarded Italian chef Roberto Pons recently fell foul of the Revenue. The chef, who trained at the Lausanne Palace Hotel in Switzerland and once upon... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

Couple’s crèche landing

SPARE a thought for Castleknock crèche operators Mary Hale and her husband John Hale who were landed with a hefty judgment for €2m just last week. The couple – who... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

Paddy McKeown’s ‘mere assertion’

SPARE a thought for two Cork City landlords who had a tough time of it in the High Court recently courtesy of AIB. Earlier this summer, Judge Caroline Costello granted... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

Maureen Coyne’s good day in court

GOLDHAWK spotted an intriguing judgment recently involving a Mullingar woman who had a good day in the High Court at the expense of Danske Bank. Maureen Coyne took a case... Read more »
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The Hot Water Brigade

PetMania’s Money

PATRICIA Ingle was back in the news last week after securing E3m in the High Court to cover her medical bills. Ingle was left brain damaged in 2008 when she... Read more »