Affairs of the Nation

Micheál Martin

Affairs of the Nation

FIANNA FÁIL FAILING

WHY IS the media closing its eyes and ears to the ongoing implosion of Fianna Fáil as its poll figures decline in inverse ratio to Fine Gael’s ascent and while... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

SIMON COVENEY’S SILENCE

LAST MONTH, Nicolás Maduro’s security forces rounded up around 50 of those suspected of having participated in a botched attempt to capture the controversial Venezuelan president. Included in the group... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

TRANSGENDER BODY’S MISSING AUDIT

WITH THE government preparing to simplify the process for 16 and 17 year olds to change gender, there is nothing simple about funding at the lobby organisation, Transgender Equality Network... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Kevin Cahill

Affairs of the Nation

DR KEVIN CAHILL’S ACCUSER

A POTENTIALLY devastating scandal threatens one of the most distinguished Irish-American medics in generations, New York-based Dr Kevin Cahill. Cahill studied with Mother Teresa in Kolkata and later treated Pope... Read more »
Barry English

Affairs of the Nation

BARRY ENGLISH VS ‘IRISH TIMES’

HIGH COURT defamation proceedings have been initiated by Barry English (one of Bertie Ahern’s ‘dig-out’ buddies) against the Irish Times. Curiously, the case involves a story that was not covered.... Read more »
Geraldine Bryne Nason

Affairs of the Nation

COVENEY’S SLEVEEN DIPLOMACY

ONE OF the most disingenuous speeches in the annals of diplomacy was delivered by our ambassador to the United Nations, Geraldine Byrne Nason, last week in which she said, “We... Read more »
Mel Gibson

Affairs of the Nation

MEL GIBSON’S MOVIE BLUES

IT IS nearly a year since the Mel Gibson film The Professor and the Madman got a (very) limited release in the US following a sealed settlement in April 2019... Read more »
Ali Hewson

Affairs of the Nation

OLD ‘FRIENDS’ ARE BEST

FIFTY-ONE YEARS is a long time to wait for possible reversal of a miscarriage of justice. But whether or not 75-year-old Lt Donal de Róiste – summarily ‘retired’ from the... Read more »
Daisy Edgar-Jones - Normal People

Affairs of the Nation

MILEY’S €500 MILLION

JIM MILEY’S four-year stint as the Blueshirts’ general secretary (prior to outgoing gen sec Tom Curran) appears to count for little with the current interim government, which has told him... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

PASCHAL DONOHOE’S VACANCY

WHILE THERE has been an agreed truce regarding the filling of seats on assorted state-linked boards while the ‘caretaker’ government remains in situ, some boards have had to be dealt... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Michael McNamara

Pillars of Society

PROFILE: MICHAEL MCNAMARA

AN IMPRESSIVE political resurrection has been effected by the newly elected Independent TD for Clare, Michael McNamara. The former Labour TD has also landed... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Christopher O'Sullivan

The Young Bloods

YOUNG BLOOD: CHRISTOPHER O’SULLIVAN

ONCE ONE of the most consistent constituencies in the country, with a solid Fine Gael majority for most of the last 40 years, Cork... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Pat Leahy

Fit to Print?

‘IRISH TIMES’ PATRIOTIC DUTY

IF A programme for government is agreed shortly, then the Irish Times will deserve plaudits (especially political editor Pat Leahy) from the three parties involved (especially Fianna Fáil) for its... Read more »
Diageo Dana An Garda Síochána IT Trust No Stone Unturned Irish Times Black Friday Vicky Conway

Fit to Print?

TOM MCGUIRE’S SUCCESSOR

CLAIRE BYRNE and Miriam O’Callaghan must wait until another top radio job – a replacement for the retiring head of RTÉ Radio 1, Tom McGuire – is filled before a... Read more »
Mary Lou McDonald

Fit to Print?

‘SINDO’ RENAISSANCE?

THAT ANY newspaper editor should proclaim as ground breaking an interview with the leader of the biggest vote-getting party in the country, Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald, says more about... Read more »

Last Refuge

Regina Doherty

Last Refuge

BLUESHIRT BOSSY BOOTS

A QUEUE has formed to replace long-serving Fine Gael general secretary Tom Curran, who is expected to bow out at the end of August, and political dominatrix Regina Doherty is... Read more »
Helen McEntee

Last Refuge

HELEN OF NAVAN

LEO VARADKAR has a serious gender issue on his hands when it comes to selecting ministers for any new cabinet in the near future. His references to gender and geography... Read more »
Marian Harkin

Last Refuge

MARIAN HARKIN VS MICHAEL LOWRY

FORMER MEP Marian Harkin strolled back into the Dáil in February – after an absence of 15 years spent in Euroland – but found that her powers of networking, negotiating... Read more »

Hush Hush

Dominic Cummings

Hush Hush

COVERT COVID FORCES

The deployment of a British army internet warfare unit – 77th Brigade – in Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings’s response to alleged Covid-19 “disinformation” shows that, when it comes to... Read more »
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Hush Hush

MIAMI BREACH

GOLDHAWK SPOTTED a post on the Facebook page of a Waterford tanning business from The Sunbed Association, highlighting the opening of tanning salons from Monday June 8 “with all required... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

FlowerS For His Bud Egiidijus Vasiliauskas, of 1 Drummin Court, Nenagh, appeared before Nenagh District Court in relation to a charge dating from October 14, 2019. Mr Vasiliauskas was arrested... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Mandy Johnston

Fowl Emissions

‘INAPPROPRIATE’ PR

The old saying about never wasting a good crisis rings true when considering the all-out PR and political assault being waged on behalf of the offshore gas and oil drilling... Read more »
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Fowl Emissions

MEASURING THE GAS-GUZZLERS

Prior to 2008, big cars came with even bigger annual road tax bills. Then, thanks to an ill-conceived change in the rules in which CO2 emissions were ostensibly taken into... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Michael Smurfit

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

You need a big house to have a collection of a few hundred paintings, which is what I had. Michael Smurfit on the necessity of his K Club manor, Irish... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Michael Smurfit

High Society

MICK SMURFIT’S DISPOSALS

LAST WEEK, Monaco-based moneybags Michael Smurfit chose to bestow some words of wisdom on the Irish Times. According to clever-clogs Mick, he had seen... Read more »

High Society

Pat and Una McDonagh

High Society

PAT MCDONAGH’S PILE

LAST WEEK was one to forget for Supermac’s founder, Pat McDonagh, after his “winning the Lotto” comments about certain workers on the Covid-19 emergency... Read more »

High Society

Aoibhín Garrihy

High Society

AOIBHÍN GARRIHY’S POETRY

THE GARRIHY girls attract their fair share of media attention, with presenter and mimic Doireann promoted by RTÉ, while former “PR guru” and Instagram fan Ailbhe landed the coveted title... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Sean McCarthy

Behind the Scenes

JIGS AND REELS AND LEGAL FEES

A THIRD set of High Court proceedings has just been initiated in connection with a row between some high-profile Irish traditional music and dance stars – uilleann piper Seán McCarthy,... Read more »
Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

Behind the Scenes

SPINNING AT LISSADELL

WITH THE music festival season shot to bits, the only light at the end of the tunnel is the announcement by the owners of Lissadell House in Co Sligo that... Read more »
Desiree Finnegan

Behind the Scenes

SKELETON CREW AT SCREEN IRELAND

THE BOARD of Screen Ireland (SI) is looking pretty depleted these days, with the terms of three board members having ended in March – Larry Bass, Mark Fenton and Rachel... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Mohammed Al Zubair

Moneybags

TIME TO EXAMINE AMINEX’S ACTIVITIES

IT IS difficult to know what exactly is going on inside Aminex and exactly where it is getting its leadership from. What is clear... Read more »

Moneybags

Michael O'Leary

Moneybags

RYANAIR HAMMERED BY COVID AND FUEL HEDGES

THE INTERNATIONAL passenger airline business is in tatters courtesy of Covid-19. Warren Buffett dumped all Berkshire Hathaway’s airline holdings on the basis that even... Read more »

Briefcases

Rick Delaney

Briefcases

RICK DELANEY’S ROUGH RIDE

THIS WEEK sees a creditors’ meeting for a company called Aqua Blue Sport Ltd, which turns out to be the professional cycling team established by Cork millionaire Rick Delaney (now... Read more »
Liam Dowdall

Briefcases

LIAM DOWDALL’S POLISH HEADACHE

IN THE High Court last month, a ruling was made refusing an application to remove high-profile number cruncher Liam Dowdall from his role as liquidator of a company characterised by... Read more »
Marc Ó Broin

Briefcases

MARC Ó BROIN’S PRACTISING CERT

SURPRISING TO see established number cruncher and financial adviser Marc Ó Broin fall foul of Chartered Accountants Ireland’s quality assurance committee. It published a notice recently stating that he “no... Read more »
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Briefcases

DISCIPLINING THE ACCOUNTANTS

MARC Ó BROIN was not the only number cruncher who caught the attention of the Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) in recent weeks. Earlier this year, Trevor Keenan of TOK Accountants,... Read more »