Affairs of the Nation

Maurice Manning

Affairs of the Nation

SECRET CENTENARY PLANS PRISED OPEN

THE OIREACHTAS commemoration of the first Dáil passed off without controversy, but the government’s failure to disclose, until this month, any details whatsoever about its own commemorative programme for the... Read more »
Josepha Madigan

Affairs of the Nation

THE ABBEY’S BAD TIMING

IN THIS issue (see p14), Goldhawk profiles the man at the centre of the Abbey Theatre’s latest offstage drama, director Graham McLaren, and investigates the complicated relationship between the national... Read more »
Leo Varadkar

Affairs of the Nation

VARADKAR’S YELLOW PERIL

WHAT A strange, strident initiative Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made on behalf of Ireland during his visit to North Africa’s Mali and Ethiopia recently. In the longest expedition outside Ireland –... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Denis O'Brien

Affairs of the Nation

DINNY’S DWINDLING ASSETS

DENIS O’BRIEN must have been chuffed with the guesstimate of his wealth that appeared in last weekend’s Sunday Independent Rich List. The title, where he still holds a near 30%... Read more »
Charlie Flanagan

Affairs of the Nation

ROSS VS JUDGES: INJURY TIME

IS SHANE Ross’s Judicial Appointments Bill in its final stages of enactment or will there be extra time in the Seanad and Dáil? Threats this week from Independent senator Gerard... Read more »
Graham Linehan

Affairs of the Nation

TABLOID TALKING POINTS ON ‘PRIME TIME’

TRANS RIGHTS and gender recognition are trendy, emotive and complex issues and it wasn’t going to be too long before Prime Time blundered into them. In a clever move to... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

GARY KAVANAGH’S PALS

THERE HAS been quite a surge in activity in recent weeks at right-wing “think tank” the Edmund Burke Institute (EBI), where Gary Kavanagh has been appointed to the board –... Read more »
Ian Paisley

Affairs of the Nation

PAISLEY’S JUNKET

CO-OPERATION IRELAND, which funded Ian Paisley’s first-class junket (£6,327 in travel and accommodation) to New York last year, is headed by a former senior RUC man who headed the PSNI’s... Read more »
Colm Murphy

Affairs of the Nation

LAW SOCIETY WARS

MAYO SOLICITOR Daniel Coleman has just emerged from a decade-long joust with the Law Society. He was successful in an appeal to the Supreme Court, which struck out two orders... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

PADDY PRENDERGAST’S PROJECT

NOT FOR the first time, Trinity College Dublin students are expressing their dissatisfaction with Provost Paddy Prendergast and his administration (see The Phoenix, 21/4/17, 9/3/18, 23/3/18 etc). This time the... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Graham McLaren

Pillars of Society

PROFILE: GRAHAM MCLAREN

EARLIER THIS month, a letter signed by no less than 312 theatre practitioners was sent to the Arts Council, Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Jackie Healy Rae Jnr

The Young Bloods

YOUNG BLOOD: JACKIE HEALY-RAE JNR

JACKIE HEALY-RAE Jnr (23), son of sitting TD Michael Healy-Rae, is slated to become the next member of his family to throw his hat... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Pat Leahy

Fit to Print?

SDLP MEDIA SPIN

A CASE STUDY in how a political agenda is manufactured and disseminated via the media – whether or not it is factual – came in the paper of record’s eager... Read more »
Shane Ross

Fit to Print?

SHANE ROSS’S MEDIA CRITICS

THE DISSING of Shane Ross by his Fine Gael cabinet ‘colleagues’, normally given a loud airing by FG’s media Greek chorus, recommenced last week following the transport minister’s supposed ‘gaffe’... Read more »
Richard Bruton

Fit to Print?

‘STAR’S’ NEW REGIME

NEWS THAT the Indo group is embarking on another round of cuts has caused yet more gnashing of teeth among the hapless hacks. One title that may emerge relatively unscathed... Read more »

Last Refuge

Mary Hanafin

Last Refuge

KINGSTOWN LADIES AT RISK

MARY HANAFIN’S unquenchable ambition has not been dulled by her 30 years in politics, some of it in cabinet. She intends running for Fianna Fáil in all three pending elections... Read more »
Janice Boylan Irish Military Mali Coolock Says No IFP Hermann Kelly Timmy Dooley Aontú Mal O’Hara Fintan O’Toole Josepha Madigan Eoghan Harris Ukraine War Micheál Martin Middle East Philip Ryan Seán Clancy Simon Coveney Hugo MacNeill Mountbatten Neasa Hourigan Green Party Martin NPT Ivana Bacik Independents Limerick Hospital Overcrowding Barry Cowen

Last Refuge

MICHEÁL MARTIN’S THREE AMIGOS

THE SPECTACLE of three senior Fianna Fáil frontbenchers scrambling for places on the European election ticket in the South constituency says a lot about any future FF-led coalition government. Until... Read more »
Heather Humphreys

Last Refuge

FINE GAEL VS TICKET TOUTS

THE GOVERNMENT’S effort to slay ticket touts – on street corners around Croker and the reselling of concert tickets online – is certainly a popular(ist) move, but it faces some... Read more »
Tiernan Brady

Last Refuge

TIERNAN BRADY’S RACE

THE DUBLIN Fianna Fáil Euro nomination contest is tightening, with gay campaigner Tiernan Brady narrowly in front. However, ex-minister and party grandee Barry Andrews is making ground, according to most... Read more »
Sheila Nunan

Last Refuge

LABOUR’S MOVEABLE VALUES

LABOUR LEADER Brendan Howlin’s wheeze in sponsoring outgoing INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan as a European election candidate in Ireland South could provoke a backlash from some members at the... Read more »

Hush Hush

Freddie Scappaticci

Hush Hush

STAKEKNIFE ‘A FICTION’

THE UK government’s multimillion pound Stakeknife investigation was thrown into disarray last week after its most controversial storyline was described as a “fiction”. The head of Operation Kenova, Jon Boutcher,... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

CANNABIS WAS ‘ORNAMENT’ A LISNAKEA man who had cannabis on his wall when his house was searched said it was an ornament. Mark Kiernan (43) of Trasna Way appeared at... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Dee Forbes

Fowl Emissions

RTÉ BALANCING ACT

IT’S NOT every day you get to find out what the taoiseach had for dinner, but Leo Varadkar recently fessed up to putting away “a very nice Hereford steak last... Read more »
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Fowl Emissions

RICHARD BRUTON’S OIL SLICK

IS SOMEONE trying to hobble new climate action and environment minister Richard Bruton? He has taken to his new portfolio with gusto, including a no-nonsense speech at his ‘stakeholder summit’... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Martina Anderson

Bird's Eye View

VARADKAR LEAVES NORTHERNERS BEHIND

THE OBSESSION with the backstop on the British border in Ireland continues to paralyse the Conservative party in England. Most MPs, both Conservative and Labour, seem to wilfully misunderstand its... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Brippa

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Brian Ormond and Pippa O’Connor, meanwhile, were in Dubai for 10 days just after Christmas. Looking fresh and tanned, Brippa were in the InterContinental Hotel in Ballsbridge last Monday. Barry... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Alsion Cowzer

High Society

ALISON’S BAD LUCK

SO FAREWELL then to Magpie magazine, where the directors, including Alison Cowzer, have got around to winding up the company behind the short-lived title.... Read more »

High Society

Laragh Stuart

High Society

LARAGH STUART’S NEW YEAR

A CREDITORS’ meeting this week at Stuart and McClean Ltd is bad news for anyone on a New Year healthy-eating kick. This turns out... Read more »

High Society

Domini Kemp

High Society

IN THE RING WITH DOMINI

LAST WEEKEND, celebrity chef Domini Kemp tweeted, “calling all women boxing fans”, announcing that she is writing an article and “would love to talk to anyone who has recently taken... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Ann Mulrooney

Behind the Scenes

ANN MULROONEY’S SUCCESSOR

THE HUNT is under way for a new chief executive/artistic director for the VISUAL contemporary arts centre in Carlow, which continues to struggle financially. The incumbent for the previous five... Read more »
Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

Behind the Scenes

ROBERT BALLAGH’S ART PROBLEM

THE OUTBREAK of tut-tutting over Robert Ballagh’s complaint about the lack of Irish players at the top of many cultural institutions here was utterly predictable. Ballagh, however, has first-hand experience... Read more »
James Hickey

Behind the Scenes

AFTER JAMES HICKEY AT SCREEN IRELAND

ON A rare joint appearance on radio with Screen Ireland (SI) chair Annie Doona, the agency’s outgoing chief executive, James Hickey, told RTÉ that his keenest interest in the film... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Andrew McNamara

Sport of Kings

McNAMARA DROPS THE BALL

FORMER JOCKEY Andrew McNamara, who combines training with his role on the RTÉ racing team, was recently a guest on Off The Ball’s weekly Newstalk horseracing show. He used the... Read more »
Luke Comer Ban

Sport of Kings

UPS AND DOWNS FOR COMER

IT’S BEEN a mixed start to the year for Luke Comer. The trainer enjoyed an early New Year winner when Mystique Heights won at Naas, but the joy of that... Read more »
Richard FitzGerald

Sport of Kings

RICHARD FITZGERALD’S PRIORITIES

THE SWITCH of live Irish racing from At The Races (ATR) to Racing TV has generated plenty of negative commentary since the beginning of the year. Despite assurances from Horse... Read more »
Eddie O'Leary

Sport of Kings

SOFTLY DOES IT AT LEOPARDSTOWN

WITH LITTLE rain forecast for February’s Dublin Racing Festival and with almost unprecedented firm ground conditions for jumps horses at this time of year, the Leopardstown track management may come... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Aidan Brogan

Moneybags

DATALEX’S TURBULENCE SHOULD NOT SHOCK

AIDAN BROGAN, the CEO of Datalex, is in real trouble, but fans of The Phoenix may not be too shocked. Moneybags has previously questioned... Read more »

Moneybags

Willie Walsh

Moneybags

IAG SHARES BETTER VALUE THAN RYANAIR

WILLIE WALSH’S International Airlines Group (IAG) is the most profitable airline group in the world, having returned an operating profit of over €3bn last... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

Ian Lucey

The Hot Water Brigade

IAN LUCEY’S SMALL MERCIES

THERE was finally some good news for tech investor Ian Lucey recently. His investment vehicle, Lucey Technology Ltd, has managed to satisfy a small €30,000 judgment registered against it by... Read more »
Seán Doyle

The Hot Water Brigade

SEÁN DOYLE IS NOT ENTERTAINED

MORE woe for Wexford businessman Seán Doyle, whose hospitality company has just filed a troubling set of accounts. The serial entrepreneur and former shareholder in the Thomas Read pub group... Read more »
Hot Water Brigade default

The Hot Water Brigade

NYHAN BROTHERS FOR THE CHOP?

CREDITORS of a South Dublin butcher business, which was voluntarily wound up in 2014, are starting to get antsy about the lengthy liquidation process. The good news for them is... Read more »
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The Hot Water Brigade

NAUGHTY NUMBERCRUNCHERS

A COUPLE of accountants have got 2019 off on the wrong foot after falling foul of the Chartered Accountants Ireland’s (CAI’s) Disciplinary Tribunal. Just before Christmas, James A Kiernan, who... Read more »
Des Coffey

The Hot Water Brigade

DES COFFEY’S TAXING TIMES

GOLDHAWK had a case of déjà vu recently when he saw that his old pal, restaurateur Desmond Coffey, had fallen foul of the taxman once again. The Revenue has filed... Read more »
David Ronan

The Hot Water Brigade

DAVID RONAN’S ‘AGREED FACTS’

IT’S SQUEAKY-BUM time for former CTO Greenclean Ltd operators David Ronan and Stephen Griffin, whose High Court showdown with liquidator Myles Kirby will kick off later this year. That case... Read more »
Eamon Waters

The Hot Water Brigade

EAMON WATERS’ RUBBISH PROBLEM

IRELAND’S largest waste management firm, Panda Waste, has been coining it recently, so it was very surprising to see a judgment registered against it by a factory operative who took... Read more »
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The Hot Water Brigade

MOSHAN BARI’S TAX BILL

SPARE a thought for Sandyford businessman Moshan Bari, who has just had a judgment for €36,000 registered against him by the dreaded taxman, who he has had run-ins with in... Read more »