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June 1 - June 14, 2018
Affairs of the Nation
THE POWER OF (SOME) WOMEN
THE hugely successful repeal campaign has been lauded in politically correct and slightly patronising terms as a spontaneous outpouring of local communities, ordinary women, young idealists and so on. There... Read more »
PREGNANT WITH POSSIBILITY
WHILE THE focus in the aftermath of the referendum has naturally been on the planned introduction of abortion services, less attention has been paid to Simon Harris’s parallel proposal to... Read more »
LEGAL FEUD
THE legal feud between High Court president Judge Peter Kelly and the barrack room lawyer from hell, Jerry Beades, continues with the latter seeking leave to appeal a ruling to... Read more »
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ED GUINEY’S SOLAS SEQUEL
THE REPORT of the Charities Regulator into Lelia Doolan’s Solas Galway Picture Palace brings down the curtain, for now, on the costly saga. Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe play starring... Read more »
OLGA’S BAD NEWS
BAD NEWS for Ruski lawyer Olga Shajaku, who has been making some serious moolah here from her translation service. She has just had a major setback courtesy of Judge Max... Read more »
IRISH HYPOCRISY ON GAZA
THE rhetorical statements from An Taoiseach and the Foreign Minister – Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney respectively – on the murderous Israeli behaviour in Gaza were more than a little... Read more »
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor, I protest the vile anti-Semitic slur of the cover picture of your latest edition, evidently designed to stir up Jew-hatred. Thousands of Palestinians intent on murder tried to... Read more »
Pillars of Society
LEO VARADKAR: WHAT NEXT?
IS Leo Varadkar poised to emulate his Fine Gael leadership triumph by leading the party back into government and retaining his status as Taoiseach?... Read more »
The Young Bloods
PETER TANHAM
DOUBLE-JOBBING Together for Yes technocrat Peter Tanham (33) is basking in the afterglow of last weekend’s decisive referendum victory. By taking on two high-profile... Read more »
Dublin Unites to Promote Foreign Investment and Economic Growth
Dublin has long been a hub for global business. But now, a new campaign, “Invested in Dublin: Local Ambition, Global Success”, is showing the world exactly why Dublin is... Read more »
Fit to Print?
STEPHEN RAE’S UNTIMELY INM EXIT
INM group editor-in-chief Stephen Rae is aghast at the unfavourable impression created, not by the manner of his exit from the newspaper group, but the timing. Given that Rae was... Read more »
WHEN IN ROME …
IRISH TIMES management recently told its staff that efforts to throw Paddy Agnew, its Rome correspondent of over 30 years, overboard were carried out “equitably” but “were rejected”. Details of... Read more »
DAILY MAIL FORGETS TO CAMPAIGN
GIVEN THAT the Irish Daily Mail proclaims itself “Ireland’s campaigning newspaper”, readers may have been surprised at the lack of coverage of the abortion referendum in the run-up to polling... Read more »
Last Refuge
MARTIN’S ABORTIVE REFERENDUM
WAS the Fianna Fáil abortion referendum campaign really as disastrous for the party as most pundits have characterised it? Or was it another example of that most populist of parties... Read more »
RAINING ON MARY LOU’S PARADE
SINN FÉIN’S Mary Lou McDonald had a very good referendum campaign but she has a real problem with her two dissenting anti-abortion TDs, Peadar Tóibín and Carol Nolan. If SF... Read more »
SOFTLY SOFTLY WITH LEO
HAS the media and opposition shrunk from nailing Leo Varadkar over the cervical cancer scandal for fear of destroying unity in the repeal the 8th referendum? Or is Sinn Féin... Read more »
RÓISÍN SHORTALL
IN the last edition of The Phoenix we referred to Róisín Shortall possibly having disagreements with her brother, pro-life activist Brendan Shortall, over the repeal the 8th referendum. We have... Read more »
HEALY-RAE DYNASTY IN TROUBLE
DANNY HEALY-RAE may have hammed up his professional Kerryman act too much and his seat is in danger from Fianna Fáil. Danny’s Dáil outburst against his constituency rival, Junior Transport,... Read more »
Hush Hush
YFG TREND SETTERS
IF Fianna Fáil TDs and members come across as Good Ol’ Boys following their referendum antics then what does the next generation of Blueshirts look like? Goldhawk fans will recall... Read more »
DUP’S DIVINE RIGHT
ONE has to admire British Prime Minister Theresa May’s chutzpah in elevating former DUP MP, the Rev William McCrea, to the House of Lords to bolster Brexit in that chamber.... Read more »
Fowl Play
SHANE LOGAN’S POOR TACTICS
FOR BIG rugby clubs facing into a World Cup season, this is an important time but Ulster Rugby, where chief executive Shane Logan remains in situ after a rough period,... Read more »
HEASLIP AND VAN DER FLIER
INTERESTING to see a firm called Abbey International Finance (AIF) pumping over €2m into the operation behind the flavoured water brand Coco Fuzion100. This represents a teaming up of the... Read more »
Bog Cuttings
BOG CUTTINGS
Judge won’t fence him in A KILLNICK man who repeatedly called to a hardware shop to steal fence posts and fence making equipment will avoid jail if he can pay... Read more »
Fowl Emissions
PHIL THE FARMER
HAS PHIL “The Fixer” Hogan discarded the green jersey of the Irish farming sector for the tie-dyed T-shirt of environmentalism? As Enda Kenny’s environment minister (2011-14) Big Phil treated the... Read more »
DENIS NAUGHTEN’S PLASTIC PROBLEM
PUBLIC ANGER over excessive plastic is matched only by Denis Naughten’s determination to hobble any measures that industry interests find distasteful. The Green Party’s Waste Reduction Bill has been before... Read more »
Bird's Eye View
SDLP’S ABORTION DILEMMA
THE SDLP is in a fix after last week’s overwhelming result in the abortion referendum. The party has been split on abortion in recent years so in an effort to... Read more »
The Hot Air Brigade
THE HOT AIR BRIGADE
Not one euro of mine is going towards killing babies. Give the bill to Yessers. I am a conscientious objector. Tweet by Declan Ganley, gracious in defeat I am now... Read more »
High Society
MARTIN NAUGHTON’S CHEQUEBOOK
TRINITY COLLEGE Dublin is once again the beneficiary of a handout from philanthropist Martin Naughton, who has been pumping money into assorted causes for... Read more »
CATHAL RYAN’S NEW DEED OF COVENANT
WITH EXTRAVAGANT new plans being drawn up for Westport House by Cathal Hughes et al, Goldhawk wondered whatever happened to the €2m grant. Previously... Read more »
JOHN HOURICAN’S CONTROVERSIAL OLIGARCH
THE LATEST revelations in the US about Robert Mueller’s investigation into links between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin focus on Russia’s fourth wealthiest man, Viktor Vekselberg. He has links with... Read more »
Irish National Opera Placing Irish culture On The World Stage
Irish National Opera continues to expand its impact by showcasing outstanding performances across Ireland and internationally. Since its inception in 2018, INO has presented 184 live performances in 35... Read more »
Behind the Scenes
A SMALL WORLD AT IMMA
THE THIRD year of purchases by the Hennessy Art Fund for IMMA Collection has added four more pieces by mid-level artists to the artworks at Kilmainham. One lucky contender whose... Read more »
ANNIE DOONA’S ANNUAL REPORT
THE LATEST annual report of the Irish Film Board (IFB) appeared without fanfare on its website last month. Since Annie Doona was confirmed in her role as chair, there has... Read more »
CLADDAGH RECORDS’ NEW TUNE
FOLLOWING THE passing of Garech de Brún in March, it will be interesting to see what happens to Claddagh Records. Set up by de Brún in the 1960s, Claddagh Records... Read more »
Sport of Kings
SHEIKH FAHAD FLEXES HIS MUSCLES
GER LYONS has never been shy about airing his opinions but a failure to bite his tongue may have cost him dearly after Qatar Racing – one of his main... Read more »
HARTERY IN AND HARMAN OUT
THE IRISH and British racing industries are closely linked and as the latter says goodbye to a chairman, we welome a new one this side of the Irish Sea. Steve... Read more »
ELLIOTT’S SLOW START
GORDON ELLIOTT will surely be glad to see the back of May. The trainer has experienced something that must feel rather alien to him since he started training – a... Read more »
WILL WILLIE NEED A NEW VET?
THE FUTURE of Tim Brennan as a racehorse vet now lies in the hands of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). This follows news that he must face a disciplinary panel... Read more »
Movies
CITIZEN LANE – DIRECTED BY THADDEUS O’SULLIVAN
WATCHING VETERAN director Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s Citizen Lane, some Irish cinema buffs may be assailed by nostalgia for the rougher, readier and financially straitened early years of Irish filmmaking. Based in... Read more »
Podcasts
WEST CORK – SAM BUNGEY AND JENNIFER FORDE
SCHULL AND its environs seem an unlikely setting for the latest true crime sensation, but they were an unlikely setting for a murder that grabbed international headlines. West Cork –... Read more »
Books
CONNECT – JULIAN GOUGH (PICADOR)
TIPPERARY AUTHOR Julian Gough (now Berlin-based) has already produced three comic novels and a series of children’s stories. He also wrote the ‘ending’ to the hugely popular video game, Minecraft.... Read more »
Moneybags
PADDY POWER CHASES THE YANKEE DOLLAR
LAST MONTH’S US Supreme Court decision looks set to open up the market across the Atlantic to online gambling. This could prove a necessary... Read more »
CAN INVESTORS BE TEMPTED TO BOOK INTO HOSTELWORLD?
WHEN RAY NOLAN and Tom Kennedy sold off their online youth hostel booking business to US group Hellman & Friedman in 2009, it was... Read more »
Gold’s $3,000 Breakthrough: A Financial Call to Arms
GOLD’S EXPLOSIVE surge past $3,000 per ounce last week is more than just a price milestone – it’s a wake-up call. We are entering the centre of an economic... Read more »
Brief Cases
TROUBLE BREWING FOR DARAGH HEAGNEY
IT LOOKS like Daragh Heagney’s comeback has hit a snag. After burning his fingers badly in the crash, Goldhawk reported last year that Heagney was looking forward to a fresh... Read more »
WINDING UP THE SCIENTOLOGISTS
INTERESTING to see that Church of Scientology Mission of Dublin (CSMD) has moved to wind itself up. This is the company behind the controversial religion’s first Irish mission on Abbey... Read more »
PADDY STACK’S HARD LOCH
SPARE a thought for Royal County builder Paddy Stack who had an expensive day out in the Court of Appeal recently. The trouble began for Kildalkey, Co Meath-based Paddy and... Read more »
IAN HYLAND’S ZOMBIE COMPANY
IT’S MORE of the same at Ian Hyland’s troubled Moranna Ltd, the company that once published Business & Finance magazine. Moranna – where former INM board member and long-time Denis... Read more »
MARY HELEN HENSLEY’S JUDGMENT
SPARE a thought for Westmeath-based chiropractor and “metaphysical healer” Mary Helen Hensley, who has just been slapped with a tax judgment for close to €90,000. Hensley, originally from the US,... Read more »
JOHN DOOLEY’S NAMA HANGOVER
SPARE a thought for John Dooley who has just had a judgment for close to €2.4m registered against him, courtesy of Nama. John is the son of Donall Dooley, the... Read more »
FERDINAND VON PRONDZYNSKI’S INQUIRY
GOLDHAWK’s favourite German-Irish academic Ferdinand von Prondzynski has found himself at the centre of a conflict of interest investigation in Scotland. The former president of DCU – who left Ireland... Read more »
TAXING MATTERS WITH REVENUE
A COMPANY controlled by Dublin accountant Michael Sandys has fallen foul of the Revenue. The number cruncher owns and operates a Taxassist Accountants franchise in Walkinstown, D12 through his company... Read more »
EVERYTHING’S GRAND
SOME good news for grannies… the Catholic Grandparents Association of Ireland has just been removed from the list of companies to be struck off the companies register. The charity –... Read more »
Dublin Through the Eyes of its Artists at The Oriel Gallery
“Dublin Through the Eyes of its Artists” Exhibition Opens at The Oriel Gallery Dublin, Ireland – Thursday 10th April 2025 The Oriel Gallery is proud to announce the opening... Read more »
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