Affairs of the Nation

Frances Fitzgerald

Affairs of the Nation

DUBLIN: CAPITAL OF CYBERCRIME

RECENT REVELATIONS of computer hacking and surveillance at Independent News and Media (INM) are not the only strong hints that the dark arts have been practised in Irish media circles.... Read more »
Matt Carthy

Affairs of the Nation

SINN FÉIN FACTIONS

WITH Mary Lou McDonald still to be formally endorsed by an ard fheis and Gerry Adams barely out the door, the factionalising inside Sinn Féin has already begun. MEP Matt... Read more »
Mary Harney

Affairs of the Nation

MARY HARNEY’S PRESCRIPTION

FORMER health minister Mary Harney will need to update her sprawling personal website following her appointment as chancellor of University of Limerick. But where does she find the time for... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Justice Mary Laffoy

Affairs of the Nation

‘EXPERTS’ TO GUIDE REFERENDUM VOTERS

IT CAME as a surprise to most people that the Citizens’ Assembly brought forward to this month its deliberations on The Manner in Which Referenda are Held. It had been... Read more »
Kevin Keane

Affairs of the Nation

Kevin Keane’s ‘COURTESY’ Meeting

MORE on the boycott by UCD and Trinity students of direct provision centre operator Aramark. Fans of Goldhawk will recall that students on both campuses are trying to force their... Read more »
Justin McAleese

Affairs of the Nation

McALEESE DYNASTY ON THE CARDS?

THE two wings – polar opposites – of Fianna Fáil have both kept a beady eye on gay campaigner Justin McAleese, son of ex-President Mary McAleese and her hubby, ex-Senator... Read more »
Michael O'Leary

Affairs of the Nation

Mick O’Leary’s negotiators

MICHAEL O’LEARY’S brave new world in which ‘combinations’ are now recognised has led to Ryanair seeking to recruit industrial relations managers. Its recent advert posted on the US recruitment agency... Read more »
Dirk van der Flier

Affairs of the Nation

DIRK VAN DER FLIER’S PRAYERS

WHILE LEINSTER rugby star Josh van der Flier has been drafted in to Joe Schmidt’s Irish squad for the upcoming Six Nations tournament, his dad – the exotically named Dirk... Read more »
stocks-and-shares

Affairs of the Nation

Paschal Taggart’s shares

STOCK MARKET observers will be aware of the rather dramatic fall in the share price of the airline booking software engine, Datalex, over the last six months, where the price... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Mary Lou McDonald

Pillars of Society

Profile: Mary Lou McDonald

CORONATIONS, as the British establishment knows well, require a carefully staged build-up to a climactic occasion and a strong message about a new era.... Read more »

The Young Bloods

John Connors

The Young Bloods

Young Blood: John Connors

THERE’S nothing typical about Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) awards nominee John Connors (28). By force of his charm and talent, the outspoken... Read more »

Fit to Print?

John Ryan

Fit to Print?

Ryan Airbrushed

MEANDERING back to the rare and rarefied auld times is a favourite device of Sindo columnist Zozimus aka Liam Collins, who recently devoted much space to the sad demise of... Read more »
Pete Smyth

Fit to Print?

Who will buy the Business Post?

CONOR KILLEEN, owner of The Sunday Business Post, will have been disappointed that the Irish Times interest in the newspaper did not result in any offer, but some interesting bidders... Read more »
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Fit to Print?

The Sheriff

Independent News & Media (INM) titles fulminated last week about the treatment of Joanne Hayes and how she so richly deserved apologies from the gardaí and the state. But apologies... Read more »

Last Refuge

Mattie McGrath

Last Refuge

MATTIE McGRATH’S LEGION OF THE REARGUARD

FRESH from his mischief making at the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment, Mattie McGrath is now creating discord in Fianna Fáil following Micheál Martin’s mould-breaking (party breaking?) statement on... Read more »
Leo Varadkar

Last Refuge

LEO THE PROVO

SURPRISINGLY little comment followed the sharply contrasting responses in the Dáil from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin to blundering Sinn Féin MP Barry McElduff. Following McElduff’s... Read more »
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Last Refuge

Israeli Embassy

THE withdrawal of the Israeli Embassy from Dublin indicates just how ineffective the government’s softly-softly diplomacy on recognition of the Palestinian state has been. Meanwhile, the belligerence of Israel and... Read more »
Paschal Donohoe

Last Refuge

SAVING PASCHAL DONOHOE

THE recent nomination of Mary Fitzpatrick as sole Fianna Fáil candidate in Dublin Central at the next general election marked the final rout of the BEGOBs (Bertie Ahern’s Good Ol’... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

The Man from Monte Carlow A GLOBETROTTING thriller with Carlow at its heart is the latest work by Carlow author Ray Keane. The Man from Monte Carlow was launched by... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

George Lee

Fowl Emissions

CLIMATE: IT’S GOOD NEWS WEEK!

WHEN IT comes to addressing climate change, the twin buzzwords are mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation means doing what the science demands to slow down or halt climate change, while adaptation... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Karen Bradley

Bird's Eye View

NORTHERN TALKS CHARADE

THE NORTH has a new secretary of state, Karen Bradley (47), an accountant first elected in 2010. Bradley is precisely the type of mouse-like creature British prime minister Theresa May... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Dolores O'Ríordan

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

Rest In Peace, Dolores O’Riordan. She and the Cranberries were so overtly pro-peace and her voice unapologetically Irish. Just a month and a half after she first sang Zombie, the... Read more »

High Society

Peter Gaynor and Clodagh McKenna

High Society

Peter Gaynor changes Residence

ALTHOUGH IT is hard to be surprised at any acquisition by Paddy McKillen jnr’s rapidly expanding Press Up group of restaurants and clubs, the addition of Residence on St Stephen’s... Read more »
horses

High Society

Horsey Hubbies

INTERESTING TO see that the directors of a company called Hollymount Bloodstock Ltd have decided to wind up their operation, which has a few bob in the coffers. While the... Read more »
sue-raethorne

High Society

DAVID RAETHORNE’S WHISKEY DRINKERS

THE AMBITIOUS project being undertaken in Sligo by low-profile serial investor David Raethorne got a big boost the week before Christmas when just over €5.5m was raised for the proposed... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Lynn Scarff

Behind the Scenes

LYNN SCARFF’S INSIDE TRACK

CONGRATULATIONS to Lynn Scarff who has landed the €120,000 per annum job of director of the National Museum of Ireland. Currently in situ as director of Trinity College’s Science Gallery,... Read more »
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Behind the Scenes

Arts Chiefs

THE APPOINTMENT of Lynn Scarff as director of the National Museum of Ireland continues the trend in recent years of women holding the bulk of the top arts positions in... Read more »
Aine Moriarty

Behind the Scenes

IFTA’S CASTING GROUCH

THE LIST of nominations for this year’s Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) awards (part 1 – film and TV drama) resulted in a bout of recrimination following the revelation... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Donnacha O'Brien

Sport of Kings

DONNACHA O’BRIEN’S HEAVY GOING

IT WOULD appear jockey Donnacha O’Brien is beginning to lose his battle with the scales if a steward’s inquiry at Dundalk recently is anything to go by. O’Brien weighed in... Read more »
Willie Mullins

Sport of Kings

MULLINS RUNNING OUT OF TRACK

WILLIE MULLINS finds himself in a tricky situation at the moment regarding the defence of his Irish trainer’s title. With the upcoming Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown providing huge prize... Read more »
John Ryan

Sport of Kings

FOGGY STYLE

IT APPEARED fairly straightforward that when Devine Star got lost in the fog at Clonmel a few weeks back, resulting in her rivals setting off for the race before she... Read more »
Hughie Morrison

Sport of Kings

HUGHIE MORRISON’S SOFT HANDLING

HORSERACING’S ongoing efforts to portray the sport’s clean image and to maintain a zero tolerance policy on the use of steroids has hit a few speed bumps in the past... Read more »

Reviews

Denise Van Outen

Reviews

SPRING SEASON SCHEDULE – TV3

DAMP SQUIB would be a polite description for the launch earlier this month of TV3’s spring schedule. Coming so soon after the Ballymount broadcaster went overboard with the razzmatazz for... Read more »
BLOOD TIDE - CLAIRE McGOWAN (HEADLINE)

Books

BLOOD TIDE – CLAIRE McGOWAN (HEADLINE)

THIS IS the fifth book in Claire McGowan’s “Ulster noir” series which sees Northern Irish forensic psychologist Paula Maguire investigating the disappearance of a young English couple who have recently... Read more »
Woody Harrelson and Frances McDormand

Movies

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI – DIRECTED BY MARTIN McDONAGH

MARTIN McDONAGH’S Three Billboards… arrives in Ireland garlanded with four Golden Globes (best drama, screenplay, actress, supporting actor) and, at time of writing, a US box office take of $30m... Read more »

Moneybags

Aidan Brogan

Moneybags

Datalex investors experience serious turbulence

WHEN THE airline booking engine Datalex was last featured in Moneybags (see The Phoenix 21/4/17) – with the shares standing at €3.75 – this was noted as “a frothy rating... Read more »
Brendan McAtamney

Moneybags

UDG’s bewildering accounts

IT IS difficult to understand the most recent results from UDG Healthcare plc (originally known as United Drug) where chief executive Brendan McAtamney has been in situ since 2016. Restatement... Read more »
Marie Baker

Moneybags

Thomas Ryan’s ‘acrimonious’ scrap

MORE details are emerging from Quesada Developments Ltd where an examiner was appointed last autumn after a toxic bust-up between the directors. After much wrangling between the sides, a scheme... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

Rupert Murdoch

The Hot Water Brigade

Rupert Murdoch’s radio signal

FANS OF Goldhawk will not have been surprised to read last week that Rebekah Brooks had confirmed the interest of her boss, Rupert Murdoch, in Denis O’Brien’s radio stations. And... Read more »
Darryl Kavanagh

The Hot Water Brigade

Darryl Kavanagh’s tumbledown Shack

MORE on the sudden closure of the Seafood Shack restaurant in Cardiff, Wales last month where Waterford businessman Darryl Kavanagh has popped up. Former developer and publican Kavanagh is the... Read more »
Peter Conlon

The Hot Water Brigade

More Pembroke problems for Peter Conlon

IT’S BEEN a tough start to 2018 for Geneva-based charity tech guru Peter Conlon after the High Court ordered the liquidation of one of his Irish companies on foot of... Read more »
Emmett O'Neill

The Hot Water Brigade

Emmet O’Neill’s boardroom moves

MORE manoeuvres at Niall Harbison’s media company, LD Lovin Dublin Ltd, where Denis O’Brien’s nephew Emmet O’Neill has just joined the board. Meanwhile, Lovin has filed its accounts for 2016... Read more »
Dr Patrick Treacy

The Hot Water Brigade

Taxman’s tough medicine

GOLDHAWK spotted some familiar names that have popped up in Stubbs Gazette since the start of the year. Dr Naveed Khawaja, a consultant obstetrician at Portiuncula Hospital in Galway was... Read more »
Bernard McNamara

The Hot Water Brigade

McNamara’s Donabate development

CONGRATULATIONS to Bernard McNamara who was given the green light late last year to build his first residential development since the crash. McNamara got permission for a residential development in... Read more »