Affairs of the Nation

Michael McDowell

Affairs of the Nation

MICHAEL MCDOWELL VS JIM O’CALLAGHAN

YET ANOTHER glossy brochure in Dublin Bay South (DBS) from former justice minister, Senator Michael McDowell, this time on the Metro, “a scandalous example of everything that is worst about... Read more »
Drew Harris

Affairs of the Nation

NEW COMMISSIONER: BACKLASH GROWS

THE LIST of former senior security and intelligence experts that have criticised the appointment of the former PSNI deputy chief constable, Drew Harris, as garda commissioner has reached embarrassing levels.... Read more »
John McGuinness

Affairs of the Nation

SF v FF

SINN FÉIN’S latest attempt to embarrass Fianna Fáil with a no-confidence motion in housing minister Eoghan ‘Posh Boy’ Murphy might not be brushed off as easily as Micheál Martin imagines.... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Brigid Doherty

Affairs of the Nation

PATIENT FOCUS FLOPS

INTERESTING to see that a liquidator has been appointed to the patient advocacy body Patient Focus (PF), which had been a high-profile lobby group for almost 20 years. However, in... Read more »
Caroline Haughey

Affairs of the Nation

ABOLITIONIST HAUGHEY

A TWO-page spread in Trinity Today recently focused on London-based barrister and alumni Caroline Haughey, whose ground-breaking prosecution of a slavery case led to the enactment of the Modern slavery... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

CLOCK TICKING FOR HOWLIN

AS THE dust settles in the Labour Party tussle between leader Brendan Howlin and his challenger, Alan ‘AK47’ Kelly, the misleading conclusion is that the leadership question has been postponed... Read more »
Trina Vargo

Affairs of the Nation

TRINA VARGO’S FALLING FUND

TRINA VARGO, the bolshy founder and face of the US Ireland Alliance (USIA), has just submitted the annual report of her George Mitchell Scholarship Fund, where the verdict is ‘must... Read more »
Liadh Ní Riada

Affairs of the Nation

MARY LOU’S RELUCTANT CANDIDATES

SINN FÉIN’S prolonged delay in the selection of its presidential candidate is down to the anticipation, until recently, of a fundamental debate about 32 counties policy and priorities on either... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Ralph Christians

Pillars of Society

PROFILE – RALPH ‘MAGMA’ CHRISTIANS

FILM AND TV producer Ralph Werner Gustav Christians has been keeping a pretty low profile at his base in Bremen since his Galway production... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Paul McAuliffe

The Young Bloods

YOUNG BLOOD – FF’S PAUL MCAULIFFE

While opinion polls make dismal reading for Fianna Fáil, especially in Dublin, the party is nevertheless intensifying its efforts to win a seat in... Read more »

Fit to Print?

‘I, Dolours’ film poster

Fit to Print?

IRA FILM NOIR

I, Dolours, a documentary film based on Ed Moloney’s interview with IRA dissident, the late Dolours Price, gets mixed reviews. Screen Daily’s Fionnuala Halligan writes that the film is “flawed…... Read more »
Diageo Dana An Garda Síochána IT Trust No Stone Unturned Irish Times Black Friday Vicky Conway

Fit to Print?

ABANDONING BIRNEY AND MCCAFFREY

THERE is consternation in NUJ circles at the main media’s limp response to the arrests of two award-winning journalists in Belfast. Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey were released last Friday... Read more »
Hermann Kelly

Fit to Print?

NIGEL FARAGE’S SPIN DOCTOR

OF THE main personalities fronting the new Irexit party being launched this weekend, former Irish ambassador Ray Bassett and UCD professor Ray Kinsella carry the most serious credentials. But long-time... Read more »

Last Refuge

Shane Ross

Last Refuge

GRANNY GRANT GYRATIONS

SHANE ROSS’S granny grant budgetary demand to finance minister Paschal Donohoe provoked the obligatory denunciation from Fine Gael-inspired media commentary. But this issue is not over by a long shot.... Read more »
Katherine Zappone

Last Refuge

ZAPPER VARADKAR’S FAVOURITE

CHILDREN’S MINISTER Katherine Zappone is a model Independent minister and never gives Leo Varadkar or Fine Gael any trouble over policy issues or much else – not like the impertinent... Read more »
Frank O'Rourke

Last Refuge

O’ROURKE SELLS BRIDGE TO VOTERS

Kildare North is one of the few Fianna Fáil success stories, with James Lawless and Frank O’Rourke taking two seats out of four at the last general election. But O’Rourke... Read more »
Brendan Howlin

Last Refuge

LABOUR LEADERS LOST

THERE is something tragi-comic about the bitter in-fighting over the Labour Party leadership when it is distinctly possible that none of the putative leaders waiting to claim Brendan Howlin’s crown... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

DO IT YOURSELF AN OMAGH man granted leave to appeal against a jail sentence found himself back in custody after he rang the police to report that he had breached... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Josepha Madigan

Fowl Emissions

BLUESHIRTS GO ALL GREEN

They say it’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt. Fine Gael’s silence on environmental and climate issues has long... Read more »
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Fowl Emissions

DENIS NAUGHTEN’S QUICK DASH

‘Climate action’ minister Denis Naughten recently fessed up in an Irish Times interview that the government’s abject failure to make even a dent in emissions was “very disappointing”. Equally disappointing... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Theresa May

Bird's Eye View

PASSPORTS TO NOWHERE

FINE WORDS butter no parsnips, but fine words are all there have been from the government about the rights of Irish citizens in the north – and even words are... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

PVC hat

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

One example is an iridescent PVC headpiece by Ennis milliner James Margaret O’Connor and blacksmith James O’Toole. The design reflects mental health issues where cracks and broken pieces are combined... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Rachel Allen

High Society

RACHEL ALLEN’S NEW MENU

FANS OF Goldhawk will not be surprised to hear that there is trouble brewing at Rachel’s, the Cork-based restaurant fronted by the one and... Read more »

High Society

Consuelo O’Connor

High Society

PAT DOHERTY’S COLLECTION

PROPERTY DEVELOPER Pat Doherty is probably best known for having been one of Nama’s biggest clients, but the Donegal native is also something of... Read more »

High Society

Brian O'Halloran

High Society

BRIAN O’HALLORAN’S HOUSE

THE SPRAWLING Springmount pile on nine acres in Rathmichael, Co Dublin, has just come on the market with a price tag of a cool €3.85m. This turns out to be... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Frances Ruane

Behind the Scenes

JOSEPHA MADIGAN’S NEXT APPOINTMENT

THIS WEEK is the closing date for potential candidates to apply for a seat on the board of the Abbey Theatre. However, actors and theatre types need not apply. The... Read more »
Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

Behind the Scenes

IMMA’S NEW FACES

IT IS not just the Abbey that has been busy with its board; IMMA has appointed two new directors. However, of more interest will be the next announcement of a... Read more »
Famine revenge epic

Behind the Scenes

GREEN SCREEN

IRISH FILMS are hard to avoid at the moment, with seven titles out or being released over the next few weeks. Fingers will be crossed at Annie Doona’s Screen Ireland... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Michael O’Leary

Sport of Kings

MICK O’LEARY OFFLOADS TO YANKS

MICK O’LEARY certainly isn’t getting soft about his horses as he gets older; two old Gigginstown stalwarts who won’t be retiring to a life of horse luxury in Gigginstown House... Read more »
Barry Connell

Sport of Kings

BARRY CONNELL’S NEW STRATEGY

BARRY CONNELL has shuffled his pack again and has dispensed with the services of his former retained jockey, Denis O’Regan. The pair enjoyed some good success in the two seasons... Read more »
Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

Sport of Kings

DEREK MCGRATH’S BIG PICTURE

THE FACT that the Curragh Racecourse has stayed open for business while being developed may not have been a bad idea in hindsight. It has given the powers that be... Read more »
Peter Fahey

Sport of Kings

PETER FAHEY’S GOOD GAMBLE

A TIP of the hat to Monasterevin trainer Peter Fahey, who recently executed a significant gamble with military precision. Fahey’s newcomer, Gypsy Island, made a successful debut in a Ballinrobe... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Margaret Sweeney

Moneybags

RENTS AND SHARE PRICE UP AT I-RES REIT

WITH 2,600 apartments in this fund, Irish Residential Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (I-Res Reit) is by far the biggest residential landowner in the... Read more »

Moneybags

Joe Purcell

Moneybags

JOE PURCELL PUSHES MINCON SHARES SKY HIGH

THE MINCON group – set up in Shannon in 1977 by Paddy Purcell – floated on the Irish Stock Exchange in 2013 and specialises... Read more »

Brief Cases

Craig Ziering

Brief Cases

DR Z’S HAIR LOSS

THERE IS some interesting corporate activity taking place at a company called Ziering Holdings Ireland Ltd, where the company secretary has just resigned, pointing to failures to comply with company... Read more »
Myles Kirby

Brief Cases

MYLES KIRBY VS ANTHONY FITZPATRICK

THERE HAS been another setback for Limerick-based liquidator Anthony J Fitzpatrick, who has just had three judgments registered against him for a total of almost €50,000 by another liquidator, Myles... Read more »
Robbie and Martina Fox

Brief Cases

ROBBIE FOX’S ART WORKS

THERE IS rarely a dull moment with Robbie Fox, whose latest legal scrap at the start of this summer saw the landlord of his D4 restaurant fail to get an... Read more »
Michael Stanley

Brief Cases

MICK STANLEY’S LATEST PUNT

HAVING ONLY just established his online property company Realli, 29-year-old Hugo Mahony has shown a flair for tapping rich backers. He had already attracted funding from Richard Barrett and now... Read more »
Hot Water Brigade default

Brief Cases

TOM HIGGINS’S ART CLASS

WOULD-BE space cadet and former Irish Psychics Live phoneline operator Tom Higgins reinvented himself in recent years as an art specialist of sorts, although it appears the move has yet... Read more »