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October 04 - October 17, 2024
Affairs of the Nation
IAN BAILEY: J’ACCUSE!
THE MOST startling aspect of the efforts of crime correspondent Senan Molony to posthumously convict Ian Bailey of the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in his book, Sophie: The... Read more »
BROWN-NOSING MICK SMURFIT
GOLDHAWK WAS not surprised to see business hack Tom Lyons of The Currency legging it over to sunny Monaco for a love-in with Mick Smurfit last month. The excuse was... Read more »
JOHN NAGLE BOUNCES BACK
CONGRATULATIONS TO former bankrupt John ‘Payzone’ Nagle, who hasn’t let the dreaded taxman cramp his style too much. Nagle was one of the poster boys of the boom times until... Read more »
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IRISH ‘DIPLOMACY’
A RECENT Irish Times article about the Spycatcher court case in Australia, which so embarrassed British cabinet secretary Robert Armstrong in 1986, was the pretext of a generous letter to... Read more »
MARTYN TURNER’S YELLOW STAR
WHAT WERE Irish Times cartoonist Martyn Turner and editor Ruadhán Mac Cormaic thinking with the recent publication of a cartoon depicting an armed Israeli soldier with what looks like a... Read more »
MEDIA BUDGETARY ECHO CHAMBERS
Hats off to the Government handlers who secured fawning coverage of the budget long before Jack Chambers uttered a word last Tuesday. The media fanfare has been like no other.... Read more »
FEAR AND LOATHING AT GLENCREE
FANS OF Goldhawk will be familiar with the carry-on in Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, where peace-building has been noticeably absent in recent times (see... Read more »
BARKING MAD!
WITH THE ban on importing, selling and rehoming XL bully type dogs kicking in this week, the level of protest from the various lobby groups reached a crescendo, with familiar... Read more »
DUBLIN-MONAGHAN BOMB FILES MISSING
FORMER BRITISH ARMY officer Colin Wallace worked as a psychological operations officer at the army’s HQ in Lisburn in the 1970s. He rubbed shoulders with MI5, MI6 and military intelligence... Read more »
DECLAN POWER’S LEGITIMATE TARGETS
DESPITE Ireland’s new right recent poor performance at local and European elections, these movements remain a potent force on the streets and online. Also, in contrast to the failures at... Read more »
Pillars of Society
PROFILE: MICHAEL MULCAHY
AS A man with fingers in an extraordinary number of pies, the debonair Michael Mulcahy seems to have developed a winning strategy when it... Read more »
The Young Bloods
YOUNG BLOOD: MIRANDA BAUER
UCD STUDENTS’ UNION (UCDSU) president Miranda Bauer is facing an uphill battle as she begins her one-year term. The union is having an identity... Read more »
Gold Outshines Bitcoin
David Higgins, Head of Trading, Merrion Gold Long touted by proponents as a digital alternative to gold, or even as digital gold itself, Bitcoin has failed to... Read more »
Last Refuge
KATE NEGOTIATES ELECTORAL RETURN
THE ASCENSION of Simon Harris to the Taoiseach’s job and leader of Fine Gael was supposed to mean that one of his most ardent supporters, former TD Kate O’Connell, would... Read more »
VARADKAR OUT TO EMBARRASS MARTIN
FORMER TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar’s call for all political parties to declare during the general election that a united Ireland is an “objective, not an aspiration”, and for them to back... Read more »
MARY LOU’S BACK YARD
IF MARY Lou McDonald’s presidential speech sounded a bit flat, it is because she had to search hard-to-find, dramatic attack points against the Government given the daily stream of ‘good... Read more »
ENRIGHT QUELLS KERRY REVOLT
GOLDHAWK WROTE last August how Fine Gael members in Kerry and in Dublin HQ were in disarray over how to replace former minister Brendan Griffin at the general election given... Read more »
Northwind
NORTH HARMONY?
The north’s first minister, Michelle O’Neill, gave the Sinn Féin ard fheis a glowing report on the Stormont executive. She said the four executive parties were “working together with a... Read more »
Hush Hush
MORE SPLITS ON THE RIGHT
THE IMPROVING performance of the Alternative for Germany and the Austrian Freedom Party in local elections illustrates the political potential for right-wing populist parties in Europe. But the right-wing organisations... Read more »
Bog Cuttings
BOG CUTTINGS
POST-MATCH INSULTS A Cork man, who insulted gardaí after drinking too much while watching a football match, appeared before Cork District Court charged with a public order offence. Sergeant Dave... Read more »
Fowl Emissions
FARM MEDIA PR FANTASIES
Behind the media and marketing façade of Irish agriculture being all about traditional family farming that is uniquely clean, green and sustainable, there lies a dense web of vested interests... Read more »
PARKED!
Months of bitter opposition by city centre business interests, backed by Ibec and junior FG minister Emer Higgins, to extremely modest proposals to reduce private car numbers driving through the... Read more »
The Hot Air Brigade
THE HOT AIR BRIGADE
I would have been better off earnings and pension-wise if I had gone into the civil service. I’m doing OK but I think I would have a much bigger pension... Read more »
High Society
DEREK ICETON’S DISMOUNT
MINTED RACEHORSE owner/breeder Steve Parkin has effectively ended his interest in Ireland, following his break up with former adviser Joe Foley. A local player... Read more »
HERITAGE TRUST SEATS
THE ESB announced a significant plan to develop a museum at 12 Fitzwilliam Street, adjacent to its expensive HQ, where it will partner with... Read more »
PAUL ANDERSON’S €20M HOUSES
FANCY DUBLIN 4 houses coming on the market with seven-figure price tags barely raise an eyebrow these days but this is not the case when there are eight-figures involved. Hence,... Read more »
Give the Christmas Gift of Relaxation at Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa
Why not give someone special the chance to unwind and reconnect with friends and family this Christmas with a gift voucher from the award-winning Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa?... Read more »
Behind the Scenes
HERITAGE COUNCIL’S CHEAP SEATS
HOUSING AND heritage minister Darragh O’Brien has sought expressions of interest in two vacancies on the Kilkenny-headquartered Heritage Council as a result of the early exit of the chatelaine of... Read more »
PAY DAY!
THOSE UNFAMILIAR with Ruth Treacy and Julianne Forde’s Tailored Films will be interested to know that “the company’s vision is to be renowned for creating edgy film and TV content,... Read more »
Sport of Kings
WATSON’S WOES
ARMAGH TRAINER Keith Watson and his son and assistant, Marshall, have questioned the reasoning behind the decision of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) to prevent their Springfield stable in Killylea... Read more »
POOR FORM FOR RICH RACES
ONLY 14 went to post last weekend for Europe’s most lucrative race for two-year-olds – the Goffs Million – which saw the Joseph O’Brien-trained Apples and Bananas narrowly defeat Antelope... Read more »
Moneybags
POST-GRENFELL KINGSPAN’S PERFORMANCE LOOKING OMINOUS
IN THE immediate aftermath of last month’s Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase two report, Kingspan’s PR spinners were quick out of the blocks to advise:... Read more »
MINCON’S MYSTERIOUS REVERSAL OF FORTUNES
IT WAS quite the setback last year for the now 86-year-old founder of Mincon, Paddy Purcell, who saw his company suffer a serious reversal,... Read more »
A Christmas Gift that Carries the Story of Ireland
At a time of year when meaningful gifts matter most, Irish Pens offers something truly distinctive – handcrafted writing instruments made from the wood of Ireland’s own landscape. Created... Read more »
Brief Cases
CORMAC LOHAN’S VAT BILLS
GOLDHAWK’S OLD friend, Athlone legal eagle Cormac Lohan, has suffered yet another setback, this time in the Court of Appeal courtesy of a ruling by Judge Senan Allen. Lohan, who... Read more »
FRANK CARROLL’S FURNITURE
THE APPOINTMENT last month of Joe Walsh of JW Accountants as interim examiner at swanky furniture manufacturer Alfrank Designs follows AIB’s taking over of the company’s debts from Ulster Bank... Read more »
BUDGET PLOT
THE LOBBYING by film and TV interest groups in the run-up to this week’s budget has been escalating since June, when Susan Kirby’s Screen Producers Ireland lobby group launched the... Read more »
WAREHOUSING AT THE ‘BIZ POST’
AS BEFITS the parish newsletter of the SME community in Ireland, the Business Post has been blasting out articles for much of this year warning about the looming deadline for... Read more »
STEPHEN DONNELLY’S SAVINGS
IT WILL be recalled (see The Phoenix 12/7/24) that Goldhawk was curious about a restaurant company called Castleknock Hospitality Ltd (CHL) that had quietly ceased trading and, although employees had... Read more »
STABLE: renowned for their fresh take on Irish gifts
STABLE OF IRELAND is home to the very best quality, locally made gifts and accessories to wear and for the home. Working specifically with Irish linen, woven wool tweeds,... Read more »
Popular Stories
MANOEUVRES AT MILLTOWN GOLF CLUB
THERE ARE changes afoot in the exclusive Milltown Golf Club in south ...
TONY SMURFIT’S FORM
EARLIER THIS month, Tony Smurfit was out front at the giant Smurfit ...
SHOW ME THE MONEY!
A RECENT investigation by the Guardian in the UK looked into the ...
LOBSTER SPLOT
THE VENERABLE Lobster Pot restaurant in Ballsbridge has been celebrating a full ...
WEXFORD OPERA’S BIG PRODUCTION
WITH THE curtain having come down on the 2025 Wexford Festival Opera ...
JENNI TIMONY NOT QUITE IN THE PINK
NO DOUBT a popular gift this season will be the Head To ...
DONNELLYS’ HOLLOW SEASON
LOADED OWNERS Joe and Marie Donnelly watched on last season as their ...
BYRNES’S ‘PORSCHE’ GAMBLE
CHARLES BYRNES is no stranger to making racing headlines and did so ...
GRÁINNE BARRY’S BLUES
IT HAS been a forgettable few days for the multi-talented Gráinne Barry ...
PÁLÁS SEQUEL
SO FAREWELL then Solas-Galway Picture Palace, the company that was incorporated in ...