Affairs of the Nation

Kitty Holland

Affairs of the Nation

‘IRISH TIMES’ WOMEN: THERMIDOR!

INCENDIARY OUTRAGE has been the reaction of some Irish Times male hacks to the document supported by most of their female colleagues conveying the impression that the newspaper office is... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

BRIAN MCDONAGH’S ‘FRONT’ COMPANY

GRANJA LTD, a company linked to Brian McDonagh – the man at the centre of efforts to stop a proposal by Apple (since abandoned) to develop a €850m data centre... Read more »
Kirsten Maher, 2018 Rose

Affairs of the Nation

ROSE OF TRALEE FESTIVAL’S RED INK

WITH THE 60th Rose of Tralee hooley kicking off this weekend, the build-up has been marred somewhat by the decision of the Irish greyhound Board (IGB) to (reluctantly) pull the... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Finian McGrath

Affairs of the Nation

SHANE ROSS’S RHINOCEROS

DESPITE BREXIT, Leo Varadkar’s and Micheál Martin’s unofficial negotiators continue to court the Greens, Labour and the Social Democrats with sweet talk of a broad coalition after an election. Both... Read more »
Boris Johnson

Affairs of the Nation

IT’S THE ‘SUN’ WOT WON IT

RUPERT MURDOCH’S News Corp has probably done more for project Brexit than Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and David Cameron put together. Now it looks as though the Dirty Digger has... Read more »
Betty Purcell

Affairs of the Nation

EMILY AND BETTY AND ORLAGH

IT WILL be interesting to see if three members of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) – the current chief commissioner and two past members – are reappointed... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

FUNDING THE HARE KRISHNAS

THE FOOD Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has been busy in recent weeks, most notably forcing the shut down of spring water production at the troubled Celtic Pure plant in... Read more »
Gary Kavanagh

Affairs of the Nation

BURKIAN EXPANSION

THIS WEEK saw the official social media launch of gript.ie, a conservative online media platform that features some familiar faces. Not surprisingly, there is significant overlap with the pioneer in... Read more »
Colin Wallace

Affairs of the Nation

IRA KIDNAP DISPUTE

FORMER RTÉ executive David Blake Knox (DBK) has provoked a reaction from more than one quarter with his recently published book, The Killing of Thomas Niedermayer. The kidnap and IRA... Read more »
Jim Farrell

Affairs of the Nation

JIM FARRELL’S SECURITY SITUATION

GOLDHAWK WAS intrigued to see the name of his old friend and security expert, Jim Farrell, crop up in an ex-parte (one side only) High Court petition to wind up... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Helen Dixon

Pillars of Society

PROFILE: HELEN DIXON

THE DATA protection commissioner’s withering rebuke of the roll out of the public services card (PSC) is a major embarrassment for ministers, notably Regina... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Lara Marlowe

Fit to Print?

NÓRA QUOIRIN: THE FRENCH CONNECTION

IN AN effort to get ahead of the news, an Irish Times front-page splash on Nóra Quoirin last week said, “Suspicions grow that 15-year-old was kidnapped and murdered”. This came... Read more »
Eoghan Harris

Fit to Print?

BREXIT BACKSLIDE

Sindo columnist Eoghan Harris is driving a campaign to force the government to yield on the backstop. And the divisions in the main media are widening as a no-deal Brexit... Read more »

Last Refuge

Niall Collins

Last Refuge

ISRAELI IRISH OFFENSIVE

THE ONSLAUGHT against alleged anti-semitism in Britain is driven by efforts to undermine Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour leadership, while in Ireland the claim that criticism of Israel is automatically anti-semitic is... Read more »
Regina Doherty

Last Refuge

BITCHIN’ BLUESHIRT BARRY

WITH ONE Young Fine Gael (YFG) leader, Killian Foley-Walsh, in a spot of bother about his attendance at a right-wing youth conference in the US, another former YFG leader, Barry... Read more »
Brendan Howlin

Last Refuge

LABOUR AND BIG TOBACCO

WHAT IS it about the Labour Party and Big Tobacco? Several leading Labour players down the years have been involved in lobbying and PR work for tobacco companies, while the... Read more »

Hush Hush

Robert Nairac

Hush Hush

CAPTAIN NAIRAC’S ACTIVITIES

Last week, the head of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) Geoff Knupfer was busy pouring cold water on a widely reported story that Captain Robert... Read more »
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Hush Hush

BERNADETTE MCALISKEY’S U-TURN

SOUTHERN PARTITIONISTS and neo-Unionists in the hated Free State (especially those with nice lawns and big beef farmers with much grassland) will be immensely relieved at Bernadette McAliskey’s u-turn on... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

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Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

WUFF JUSTICE A MAN was sentenced to two months in prison after a court heard that he threw a dog into the Garavogue River because it was “annoying” him. Stephen... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Michael Creed

Fowl Emissions

BRUTON’S BOMBSHELL

With the political focus on urgent climate mitigation, a deep retrofit is probably the most effective single action an average Irish family could take to permanently reduce their carbon footprint.... Read more »
Climate Action EU Livestock NDC Claude Etchelamendy Ed Brophy Richard Boyd-Barrett Kish Dale Crammond Frank Mitloehner Shell Greenwashing Meta Data Centres Ireland

Fowl Emissions

“JUDGEMENTAL” QUINN

What is it about articulate females that gets ultra-Catholics into such a lather? Iona Institute director David Quinn has shown an extraordinary interest in young Swedish climate firebrand Greta Thunberg,... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Sinn Féin Russia Mary Lou McDonald

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Women are great at politics, this is the gas thing, we’re great at it. If you believe our future is best served in unity… and we can achieve much more... Read more »

High Society

Jessica Harrington

High Society

DEMPSEY’S GOLDEN GOOSE

THERE WAS good and bad news for Matt Dempsey and his board at the Irish National Stud (INS), where the clock is starting to run down on the golden goose... Read more »
Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

High Society

GERRY KELLY’S MOVIE MAGIC

THERE HAS been some interesting activity on the entertainment scene from a low-profile moneybags who has just invested a cool €1m in the Troy film studio in Limerick. It was... Read more »
Mary-Jane O'Regan

High Society

MICHAEL MULCAHY’S INSPIRING WOMEN

THE CROWDED calendar of women-in-business awards just got a little more crowded with the arrival of Michael ‘RSVP’ Mulcahy’s Graham Norton Gin Inspiring Awards 2019. And it looks like everyone... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Eugene Downes

Behind the Scenes

EUGENE DOWNES’S LOW-HANGING FRUIT

WITH THE 2019 Kilkenny Arts Festival (KAF) having just finished, it was the first outing for the new director, Olga Barry. Her predecessor, Eugene Downes, meanwhile, is getting to grips... Read more »
Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

Behind the Scenes

ADDING UP AT KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL

THE 2017 loss at the Kilkenny Arts Festival (KAF) led to a number of steps being taken to bring the festival back into the black, including a “significant reduction in... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Barry Connell

Sport of Kings

BARRY CONNELL’S NEW ROLE

BARRY CONNELL has decided to take matters into his own hands and take out a training licence. The former stockbroker has tried his hand at being an amateur jockey and... Read more »
Mick Bailey

Sport of Kings

WILLIE MULLINS’S RESERVES

AT GALWAY last year, Willie Mullins caused a bit of a stir when withdrawing Ballycasey from the Galway Plate to allow stablemate and reserve Patrick’s Park to run. Ruby Walsh... Read more »
Mick Bailey

Sport of Kings

CARELESS BRIAN HAYES

THERE WAS a nasty incident in a steeplechase at Killarney last month when the eventual third-place finisher, Rock Road, partnered by Brian Hayes, appeared to wander coming to the second... Read more »
Mick Bailey

Sport of Kings

THE SCALES OF INJUSTICE

YOUNG JOCKEY Liam Quinlan and Tipperary trainer John Ryan were the victims of a unfortunate and slightly bizarre episode at Sligo recently, when their Kilcarry View was disqualified after winning... Read more »

Moneybags

Michael O'Leary

Moneybags

WHY IS MICK O’LEARY STILL IN THE COCKPIT?

IT IS a reflection of his overwhelming influence in Ryanair that the end of the runway is not yet in sight for Mick O’Leary. His original modus operandi was based... Read more »
Brian Conlon

Moneybags

FIRST DERIVATIVES AFTER BRIAN CONLON

THE DEATH last month of Brian Conlon is a blow not just for his family and his company, First Derivatives (FD), but also for the town of Newry where he... Read more »

The Hot Water Brigade

Andrew Sheehy

The Hot Water Brigade

ANDREW SHEEHY’S ROMANIAN TRAVAILS

GOLDHAWK spotted an interesting High Court judgment recently relating to businessman Andrew Sheehy, who is being pursued for €4m by a vulture fund over an Eastern European land deal. Kerryman... Read more »
Gabriel Dooley

The Hot Water Brigade

GABRIEL DOOLEY’S TAX BILL

THERE IS more woe for Wicklow auctioneer Gabriel Dooley, who has just been whacked by the dreaded taxman for U91,000. The trouble started for Dooley in 2011, when Anglo appointed... Read more »
Brendan Morrissey (right) with Robert Plant

The Hot Water Brigade

BRENDAN MORRISSEY LAID BARE

THE operators of a small Midlands music festival have hit a bum note. Bare Festival Ltd, the entity behind the BARE in the Woods festival, has just had a paltry... Read more »
EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

The Hot Water Brigade

GOFF LALOR’S BANKRUPTCY

BANKRUPT Goff Lalor, who previously described himself as “founder and CEO of a number of successful companies”, has found success rather hard to come by in recent times. The latest... Read more »
EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

The Hot Water Brigade

BROTHERLY LOVE

SPARE a thought for Louth businessman Niall Wiseman, who looks to be having some trouble on the family front. His own brother, Florida-based Shane Wiseman, has just registered a judgment... Read more »
Frank Ennis

The Hot Water Brigade

FRANK ENNIS’S FEES

THE NAME of multi-talented architect and former director and shareholder in the Porterhouse pub group, Frank Ennis, featured large in a High Court action taken by the liquidator of one... Read more »