Affairs of the Nation

Jim O'Callaghan

Affairs of the Nation

O’CALLAGHAN LURKS

PERSONALITIES IN the news and in crisis are EU Commissioner Phil Hogan and ex-attorney general Séamus Woulfe, but the real political crisis is the progressive deterioration of Fianna Fáil and... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

HUMANISTS AT WAR

ALTHOUGH THE Humanist Association of Ireland (HAI) boasts an “informal, friendly and inclusive environment”, major changes are afoot in the relationship between the organisation and its celebrants that are to... Read more »
Patricia Quinn

Affairs of the Nation

PATRICIA QUINN’S APPRAISAL

A CHARITY database fronted by Patricia Quinn is about to undergo an appraisal process that could end up with its funding being cut. Based on her previous experience, Quinn might... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Séamus Woulfe

Affairs of the Nation

LOBBYING AG SÉAMUS WOULFE

THE BELEAGUERED former attorney general, Séamus Woulfe, has been a long-time supporter of former climate action minister, Richard Bruton (as well as a long-standing Fine Gael member), who was crucial... Read more »
Theo Dorgan

Affairs of the Nation

THEO DORGAN’S ‘GREAT BOOK’

NO DOUBT University College Cork president Patrick O’Shea was delighted with the programme broadcast last week on RTÉ about the university’s acquisition of The Great Book of Ireland (TGBI), the... Read more »
Phil Hogan

Affairs of the Nation

BIG PHIL AND VLAD

THE BARELY noticed but distinct difference between statements about EU commissioner Phil Hogan’s fate from Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar last weekend reflects the long-standing bond between Vlad... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

COVID FILM PLOT THICKENS

HEARING ABOUT concerns in filmmaking circles regarding a small Covid-19 outbreak on a production, Goldhawk sent a series of queries to so-called ‘stakeholders’ in the sector in an attempt to... Read more »
Roisin Garvey

Affairs of the Nation

STICKS AND STONES

IT HASN’T been the most auspicious start to a parliamentary career for new Green Party senator Róisín Garvey. “Fuck her,” the former Clare county councillor wrote about deputy leader Catherine... Read more »
Colum McCann

Affairs of the Nation

EXODUS CHAPTER 11

IF Colm McCann’s book, Apeirogon, wins the Booker Prize or even makes it on to the short list next month, the murmurings of debate that can already be heard will... Read more »
Noel Kelly

Affairs of the Nation

NOEL KELLY’S GANG

WITH POOR Sean O’Rourke’s planned return to the airwaves scuppered by ‘Golfgate’, a prime Saturday lunchtime slot has just opened up on RTÉ radio. One man keeping an eye on... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Michelle O'Neill

Pillars of Society

PROFILE: MICHELLE O’NEILL

On January 23, 2017, Gerry Adams announced Michelle O’Neill’s appointment as Sinn Féin leader in the north to succeed Martin McGuinness who had stepped... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Aisling Dolan

The Young Bloods

YOUNG BLOODS: AISLING DOLAN

BUOYED BY consistent strong opinion poll standings, Fine Gael is intensifying its efforts to win extra seats in the next general election, especially in... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Colette Sexton

Fit to Print?

‘POST’ MITCHELL MED WARS

HEALTH MINISTER Stephen Donnelly’s bad press can hardly be laid at the door of his new policy advisor, former Business Post health and deputy editor Susan Mitchell. But Mitchell will... Read more »
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Fit to Print?

SHINNERS V JOE DUFFY

TO INADVERTENTLY provoke a defamation action from one Sinn Féin TD could be regarded as misfortune, but to do so against another SF TD on the same programme looks like... Read more »
Fintan O'Toole

Fit to Print?

FINTAN GET’S IT WRONG!

MOST IRISH TIMES readers and certainly those who work in the IT editor’s office would dismiss the notion of Papal infallibility, but they do expect Fintan O’Toole to always get... Read more »

Last Refuge

Norma Foley

Last Refuge

SCHOOL MARM FOLEY IN HOT SEAT

FROM LOWLY councillor to the cabinet in one fell swoop, education minister Norma Foley has the political weight of the Kingdom and the country on her shoulders. If the schools... Read more »
Billie Sparks

Last Refuge

ALAN KELLY’S GHQ STAFF

NEW LABOUR party leader Alan ‘AK47’ Kelly heads up a party of six TDs. The party has enjoyed a consistent poll rating of around 5% throughout 2020 but has been... Read more »
Micheál Martin

Last Refuge

TAOISEACH’S NEW PERSPECTIVE

AN INDIGNANT Micheál Martin gave the then taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, quite a ticking off in June last year when quizzing him on the soaring cost of the Irish Bank Resolution... Read more »

Hush Hush

Brian Nelson

Hush Hush

ANOTHER BRIAN NELSON VICTIM

The abduction and torture of a registered blind, Belfast Catholic in the 1970s lends a new twist to the story of Britain’s top agent in the UDA, Brian Nelson –... Read more »
Pippa Hackett

Hush Hush

HACKETT UNDER FIRE

While two high-profile ministerial casualties at Agriculture have grabbed the headlines, the Greens junior minister for land use and biodiversity, Pippa Hackett, is also now in the firing line. Hackett... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

Sin Bin Seamus Treanor (34) of 13 Burnside, Lower Main Street, Letterkenny, appeared at Letterkenny District Court charged with three counts of criminal damage. Judge Paul Kelly heard that, in... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Flann O'Brien

Fowl Emissions

FLANN O’BRIEN LOGIC

Joy was unconfined in dairy circles with the recent exciting news that good old-fashioned cows’ milk was “better for the environment” than those das-tardly soy-based alternatives. No less an authority... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Boris Johnson

Bird's Eye View

A SHARED CONFUSION

IT WAS probably just as well that Boris Johnson made off as soon as he could from his meeting at Hillsborough Castle on August 13, leaving Micheál Martin to do... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Phil Hogan

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

All of us must display solidarity as we try to stamp out this common plague. Phil Hogan, Twitter, submitted by reader “What would happen RTÉ if half the newsroom was... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Lisa McGowan

High Society

LISA MCGOWAN’S NEW VENTURE

THIS WEEK, the case featuring influencer Lisa McGowan of Lisa’s Lust List and Facebook Ireland was back in court, with McGowan seeking the identities... Read more »

High Society

Consuelo O’Connor

High Society

JACKIE HAIGH’S HOUSES

INTERIOR DESIGNER and art collector Jackie Haigh and her hubby, Adrian, have just put their Anglesea Road pile on the market, with an asking... Read more »

High Society

Mark O'Keefe

High Society

MARK O’KEEFFE’S HOTLINE

THE IMPACT of the black economy on the hairdressing and make-up sector, post-Covid-19, is making itself felt as some stylists opt to quit the day job and offer a home... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Alan Duggan

Behind the Scenes

ALAN DUGGAN’S LOBBYING

IT WAS only a matter of months after James Hickey retired from the chief executive role at Screen Ireland that he landed some new directorships – including Galway Film Resource... Read more »
Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

Behind the Scenes

VALUING LOUIS LE BROCQUY

NEXT MONTH’S auction by Sotheby’s of 19 works owned by Mick Smurfit should shine some light on the current perceived worth of a painting by Louis le Brocquy, which has... Read more »

Sport of Kings

David Keoghan

Sport of Kings

DAVID KEOGHAN ROLLS THE DICE

WHEN THE Fozzy Stack-trained Aloha Star was demoted from second to third for causing interference to the favourite, The Lir Jet, in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh... Read more »
Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

Sport of Kings

GALLOPING ODDS AT TRAMORE

TRAINED BY Gordon Elliott, Enzani will be the subject of Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) interest when he runs next, after a peculiar outing at Tramore on August 14 that... Read more »

Reviews

Strange Flowers - Donal Ryan

Books

STRANGE FLOWERS – DONAL RYAN (DOUBLEDAY)

SINCE The Spinning Heart was longlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize, Donal Ryan has been winning consistent praise for his slight but assured “recession-lit” novels. Much of his fiction... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Colin Hunt

Moneybags

CHEAP AIB SHARES DON’T REFLECT RECOVERY POTENTIAL

AIB BOSS Colin Hunt must be wondering why he is coming under fire in the media, with the Irish Times, for example, accusing him... Read more »

Moneybags

Alan Walsh

Moneybags

CASHING OUT AT IPL PLASTICS

ARYZTA AND Origin were spin-offs from Philip Lynch’s IAWS, with the other remnants transformed by him into a conglomerate and brought together under the... Read more »

Brief Cases

Station House Hotel

Brief Cases

SWEENEY BOYS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

THE YOUNG Sweeneys of Clifden will hardly have enjoyed the notoriety lent to them by coverage of the 80 or so members of the Oireachtas golfing society in recent days,... Read more »
Larry Murrin

Brief Cases

LARRY MURRIN’S JAZZ BLUES

POOR OLD Larry Murrin – who owns the Sole Seafood and Grill restaurant on South William Street, D2 – has just got some bad news. Murrin has spent the last... Read more »
Dermot Smurfit

Brief Cases

DERMOT SMURFIT’S ROLLERCOASTER RIDE

AS ANY good gambler knows, what goes up must come down. Dermot Stopford Smurfit, the now not-so-young tyro who’s been up and coming with his Game Account Network (GAN) online... Read more »
WAVF Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

Brief Cases

CROSBIES’ LANDMARK MOVE

The oddly named Bontury Ltd is being dissolved by its owners. This turns out to have been known previously as Landmark Media Investments Ltd, which was the company established by... Read more »
WAVF Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

Brief Cases

CHECKING OUT OF THE WESTCOURT

THE OWNERS of the Westcourt Hotel on West Street in Drogheda, Co Louth, are treading familiar ground after calling in the liquidator. The trading entity behind the hotel is Powerscourt... Read more »
Ali Ryan

Brief Cases

ALI RYAN’S TWEETS

WITH TENSIONS rising between the hacks and the political minders (see p12), such as the health minister’s special adviser Colette Sexton – the former Business Post journalist and Edelman PR... Read more »