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March 25 - April 07, 2022
Affairs of the Nation
UKRAINE: ‘EDITORIAL FARM’
THE RUSSIAN onslaught against Ukraine has revealed a surprising and disappointing dearth in the Irish media – with a few honourable exceptions – of anti-war journalists. Despite the cynical and... Read more »
TONI & GUY’S HAIRCUT
BACK IN the 1990s, Alan Boyce was revered by so-called fashionistas as the guy who modernised hairdressing in dreary old Dublin. No doubt, he has made a few bob in... Read more »
TRINITY’S UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE
IT WILL be a tense couple of weeks for the deputy editor of Trinity College student paper, the University Times, who faces a challenge for the remunerated role of editor... Read more »
Sponsored Content
Dovida’s Live-in Care Service
A compelling alternative to nursing home care, delivered by the most experienced care provider in Ireland Michael Wright, Director of Growth, Dovida Ireland Growth in nursing... Read more »
CIVIL WAR CIVILITY
ALREADY THERE has been a clear schism between the government and President Michael D Higgins over how to deal with centenary commemorations of that sensitive subject, the Civil War. A... Read more »
BARRY ANDREWS GETS TOUGH
WHAT A rabble-rousing politician MEP Barry Andrews has turned out to be, reverting to the more direct, radical tone of his grandfather Todd Andrews rather than his more patrician sounding... Read more »
DUP DISARRAY
IT IS 40 days to the north’s assembly election on May 5 and the Sinn Féin posters are already up in North Belfast while the DUP only selected its candidates... Read more »
HEIGH-HO…
AN IMPENDING winding-up hearing in the High Court may have somewhat spoiled the Paddy’s Day celebrations for Cathal Divilly (CEO) and his partner, Jim Flynn, principals in Great Place To... Read more »
THE FOG OF WAR
MANY ON the left are still trying to clarify their line on Ukraine but the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) and Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) have reached the clearest... Read more »
BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND
THE ECONOMIC and supply chain shockwaves from the war in Ukraine have re-energised the ‘realists’ to use the crisis as cover to push existing agendas with renewed zeal. At Irish... Read more »
Pillars of Society
PROFILE: MARIAN KEYES
IT’S ALMOST impossible to avoid the media frenzy that continues to accompany the release of Marian Keyes’s Again, Rachel, with wall-to-wall fawning coverage here... Read more »
The Young Bloods
YOUNG BLOOD: DUNCAN SMYTH
IN HISTORY it is often the person closest to the victim who inflicts the fatal wound, so it is perhaps not so surprising that... Read more »
ESB’s Ardnacrusha Power Station Reopens for Free Public Tours This Summer
ESB is once again running guided tours at Ardnacrusha Power Station in Co Clare this summer, offering the public a rare opportunity to explore one of Ireland’s most significant... Read more »
Fit to Print?
‘IRISH TIMES’ VALUES
THERE WAS a time when a broadside from President Michael D Higgins, direct or indirect, against government policy would stimulate controversy and sometimes even stern admonition, depending on the gravity... Read more »
WHAT MATTERS AT RTE?
RTÉ NEWS unveiled its ‘Truth Matters’ campaign in September 2020 with its own section on the RTÉ News website, including articles, videos and podcasts. Central to the campaign is its... Read more »
RTÉ’S UKRAINIAN EXPERTS
DR PATRICK BURY is regularly interviewed by RTÉ on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is introduced as a lecturer at Bath university and a Nato analyst. But there is... Read more »
Last Refuge
VARADKAR: FOLLOW ME UP TO MALLOW
PREPARATIONS FOR the replacement of the Fine Gael Agriculture Affairs Group (FGAAG) (see The Phoenix, 25/2/22) have not been running smoothly. This is despite the best efforts of Leo Varadkar,... Read more »
LABOUR AND SOC DEMS TO UNITE?
UNITY OF the left – or the Labour/Social Democrats part of the left – is highly prized by the former of these two parties but strongly resisted by the latter.... Read more »
BEST-LAID PLANS OF FF AND FG
A FRETFUL Irish Times article last weekend reported (and appeared to agree) that government backbenchers believe the next election will be lost if it is about housing or health. It... Read more »
Northwind
‘FENIAN’ JUDGES RULE, OK!
ON MARCH 14 the north’s Court of Appeal found the Irish Protocol and Withdrawal Act lawful and dismissed the challenge by leading unionists Jim Allister QC, and former UUP leader... Read more »
Hush Hush
SINN FEIN SPOOKED BY RUSSIA?
CENTRAL TO the war in Ukraine are the separatist ‘People’s Republics’ of Donetsk and Luhansk, which were established by Russian backed armed groups in 2014. When Charlie Flanagan invited the... Read more »
Bog Cuttings
BOG CUTTINGS
GARDA A ‘RAT BASTARD’ A GARDA was verbally abused as “a rat bastard” and other insulting terms when he went to deal with a disturbance in Knocknaheeny. At Cork District... Read more »
Fowl Emissions
‘SHOCK DOCTRINE’
THIS YEAR’S Census form includes a box in which you can send a message to people 100 years in the future. The question of how habitable Ireland or the world... Read more »
MARK FOLEY’S ENERGY TIPS
“PLEASE TAKE energy conservation seriously,” tweeted EirGrid CEO Mark Foley this week as he described the energy reductions he achieves by dropping his speed to 100km/hr when driving his electric... Read more »
The Hot Air Brigade
THE HOT AIR BRIGADE
“My personal plea to the Russian government is to immediately cease military operations in Ukraine.” UCD president Andrew Deeks’s email bulletin to staff, but is Putin listening? (submitted by reader)... Read more »
High Society
DINNY’S HOTEL BILL
BILLIONAIRE Denis O’Brien’s campaign to help several Caribbean countries to seek slavery reparations from former colonial powers was highlighted in the Sunday Times earlier... Read more »
ANNAMARIE FEGAN’S SMOOTH SAILING
CONGRATULATIONS ARE in order for Crosshaven sailor Annamarie Fegan, who has been voted in as the first female vice-admiral in three centuries of the... Read more »
JOHN O’CONOR’S RED MENACE
IT IS perhaps not surprising in the current climate that organisations should be scrambling to display their anti-Putin credentials but the decision by the Dublin International Piano Competition (DIPC) to... Read more »
CEA: There is No Such Thing as Director-lite
THE Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) enforces any breach of company law by companies or the directors of a company. Michael Dillon, CEA’s Director of Legal, explains that... Read more »
Behind the Scenes
DÉSIRÉE’S TOP-UPS
SCREEN IRELAND (SI) funding offers in the last quarter of 2021 are curiously low rent compared with previous awards. Presumably, the state agency, headed up by Désirée Finnegan, had ‘front-loaded’ more... Read more »
CLOSING DATE FOR NCAD CHAIR
THIS WEEK sees the closing date for a vacancy on the board of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD), with the successful candidate possibly in line to be... Read more »
Sport of Kings
DOUG TAYLOR’S PURCHASE
DOUGLAS TAYLOR, who has been making waves in the racing and bloodstock world for some time, has another big project in the pipeline. The MCR Group boss – well known... Read more »
SERPENTINE SNIPPED
JOHN MAGNIER’S Coolmore Stud has become the first breeder in modern history to geld an Epsom Derby winner, with the news that 2020 winner Serpentine has been ‘cut’ and sold... Read more »
ELLIOTT’S ROUGH RIDE
IT WAS a more than satisfactory week for the Irish at Cheltenham, though the anticipated level of domination over the Brits did not materialise. Willie Mullins, however, did single-handedly train... Read more »
JIMMY GOUGH’S WINNING RIDE
FANS OF The Phoenix will be familiar with the adventures of the bolshy Jimmy Gough, who has proved a thorn in the side of the powers that be in the... Read more »
Radio
DRIVE IT WITH THE 2 JOHNNIES – 2FM
LAST WEEK found culchie comedy duo the 2 Johnnies returning to the 2FM airwaves after the brouhaha surrounding sexist material posted on their social media channels. The furore had included... Read more »
Movies
FOSCADH – DIRECTED BY SEÁN BREATHNACH
THIS IS Seán Breathnach’s first film and is among the very best debut feature films to have been made in Ireland. Produced by Paddy Hayes of Tua Films, a veteran... Read more »
Moneybags
CONROY GOLD’S TURKISH DELIGHT
QUANTITATIVE EASING devalues cash and this, combined with negative interest rates and the crisis caused by the invasion of Ukraine, is the perfect scenario... Read more »
BOI SHARES UNDERRATED BUT TROUBLE BREWING
FRANCESCA MCDONAGH has been running Bank of Ireland (BoI) since October 2017, a position that is the ideal platform for her to position herself... Read more »
Croke Park’s Newest Hospitality Experience
THIS EXCLUSIVE section blends the hospitality experience of Croke Park with a social, shared space, giving you the best of both worlds to enhance your match-day experience. Located in... Read more »
Brief Cases
JOHN O’CONNELL’S LICENCE APPLICATION
GOLDHAWK WAS interested to see the name of John O’Connell, the prime mover in the big West Cork Distillers operation, pop up in coverage of a row between independent whiskey... Read more »
CHANELLE MCCOY’S GOOD GOING
CHANELLE MCCOY, a former Dragon’s Den dragon raised a fair few bob for her new cannabidiol (CBD) extract company, Chanelle McCoy Health (CMH), where her hubby, legendary jump jockey Tony... Read more »
THE ITALIAN JOB
A HEFTY €1.1m judgment has just been registered against an interesting Irish company called WLE World Licensing Enterprise Ltd with a registered address in Sandyford, D18, by Italian giant Cisalfa... Read more »
SCHOOL OF FOOD’S HARD LESSON
AT A creditors’ meeting last month, James Nolan was appointed liquidator of the company that had been behind a training school for chefs, backed with public funds and formed part... Read more »
Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern at National Design & Craft Gallery
The highly anticipated Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern exhibition has arrived at Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) National Design and Craft Gallery in Kilkenny. Running from February... Read more »
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