Subscribe Now
October 18 - October 31, 2024
Affairs of the Nation
SINN FÉIN’S WOES
Mary Lou McDonald is fire-fighting on several fronts: north and south, in the media, the Dáil and the Stormont assembly. But the real battle is in the south. In the... Read more »
ZUZANA’S ZATISFACTION
CONGRATULATIONS TO Co Waterford developer Shane Houlihan and his American wife, Zuzana Ratajova (previously a senior finance executive at the giant Turner Entertainment group and vice-president at CNN). They have... Read more »
A SPOOK NAMED SUE
AS GOLDHAWK commented recently, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recently deposed chief of staff (C/S), the spooky Sue Gray, had become a target for a variety of top Whitehall mandarins... Read more »
Sponsored Content
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 »
DREARY EU RHETORIC
EOIN DREA wrote in Politico.ie last May that, despite the Ukraine war, “there’s one [EU] member country that won’t be helping to defend Europe any time soon. That country is... Read more »
IN PRAISE OF SIR MICK
MICK SMURFIT must have been delighted with David Whelan’s gushing Succession documentary on him for RTÉ last week. Goldhawk was disappointed that it missed out on Sir Mick KBE’s most... Read more »
EAMON MARRAY’S SILK ROAD
CONGRATULATIONS TO commercial barrister Eamon Marray, who got the thumbs-up earlier this month to ‘take silk’, joining the ranks of the handsomely remunerated senior counsel who populate the Law Library.... Read more »
HUMAN + UNKIND
VISITORS TO the website for the vegan, cruelty-free cosmetics brand Human + Kind might not notice a single sentence at the end of the home page that refers to the... Read more »
THATCHER’S IRON PRINCIPLES
IN THE last edition of The Phoenix, Goldhawk reported how three former Irish diplomats had rallied to defend the reputation of the late Robert Armstrong, Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet secretary. And... Read more »
IRISH ‘ACTIVE CLUBS’
Last October The Phoenix (see edition 20/10/23) detailed the activities of Comhaltas na nGaedheal (CnG), which is a local manifestation of the global network of right-wing combat sports groups or... Read more »
JIM BROWNE’S HEALTH CHECK
CHILDREN’S HEALTH Ireland (CHI) – the outfit that runs the paediatric hospitals at Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght – is also closely connected to the development of the controversial €2bn... Read more »
Pillars of Society
PROFILE: PHIL HOGAN
HE’S BACK. The most driven politician in Ireland – former EU commissioner Phil Hogan – has returned from Brussels to a crucial, albeit backstage... Read more »
The Young Bloods
YOUNG BLOOD: SHANE MOYNIHAN
WITH FIANNA Fáil still hovering on a disappointing 15% poll rating in Dublin, the party is desperate to find extra seats and is placing... 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 »
Fit to Print?
BRIT SPIES TARGET RUSSIAN SPIES
THE SUNDAY TIMES has over-reached itself with that story about a Putin “agent in the Oireachtas”. Stories about the use of a honeytrap – “a striking looking female agent (used)... Read more »
ISRAEL’S ALLIES
ISRAELI DIPLOMATS and PR spinners are aghast at the Irish response to the carnage in Gaza but they may have been pleasantly surprised at the benign treatment their state and... Read more »
Last Refuge
KATE O’CONNELL’S INDEPENDENT GAMBLE
FINE GAEL handlers are being stingy with the truth when they claim that Kate O’Connell was not asked to run for the party at the upcoming general election in Dublin... Read more »
MARY LOU NOT NOW IN FIRING LINE
MARY LOU McDONALD’S leadership is under enormous pressure, according to the media, which is more ferocious even than Government parties in its pursuit of Sinn Féin over TDs Brian Stanley... Read more »
TERRY GEORGE’S PICKET PLOT
THERE WAS consternation among Palestinian solidarity groups in Galway when famed film screenwriter and director Terry George ignored a picket placed on the G hotel, which hosted the World Conference... Read more »
INFALLIBLE ATTORNEY GENERALS
GOLDHAWK IS not one bit surprised at former foreign minister Simon Coveney’s complaint about a “lack of balanced debate” regarding the Middle East conflict and that it was “driven by... Read more »
Hush Hush
‘FUTURE TERRORISTS’ ALERT
EU authorities have recently reached agreement on when a person should be regarded as a “potential terrorist” or as a “violent extremist threat”. Member states are being encouraged to enter... Read more »
Bog Cuttings
BOG CUTTINGS
DUG A HOLE A man who waved a shovel at gardaí in Cork city centre has been sentenced to three months in jail by Judge Philip O’Leary. Cork District Court... Read more »
Fowl Emissions
GREENS’ AN TAISCE PLANNING BILL
“A shameful attack on [An Taisce’s] good work has been massively defeated.” So said Green TD Steven Matthews last week on X, celebrating the defeat of a vindictive bill that... Read more »
MATT COOPER’S HOT AIR
One of the features of our post-truth, Trumpian world is the increasing confidence of some commentators to disregard science, logic and other boring stuff peddled by what one of George... Read more »
The Hot Air Brigade
THE HOT AIR BRIGADE
A budget that is not too hot and not too cold [is an] extremely rare economic achievement. Paschal Donohoe speaking at a Business Post/Davy event We know in the short... Read more »
High Society
VINCENT CROWLEY’S COMFY PILE
ONE OF the more impressive properties to come on the market in recent weeks is a 3,700 sq ft redbrick Crampton-built pile on leafy... Read more »
MARTINA BYRNE’S PR SKILLS
THE BOARD of the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI) is back to its full complement following the appointment by arts minister Catherine Martin of... Read more »
SHEIKH MOHAMMED V JOHN MAGNIER
THERE WAS some unexpected evidence at the recent Goffs Book 1 Orby yearling sale of increasing dominance for Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum’s Godolphin operation in its regular head-to-head with John... 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 »
Behind the Scenes
CRAWFORD GALLERY’S NEW LOOK
ARTS MINISTER Catherine Martin is seeking to appoint a director to the board of the Crawford Art Gallery (CAG) in Cork but the successful applicant will be arriving immediately after... Read more »
BAD BEHAVIOUR
THOSE HOPING for some real nitty-gritty in Susan Liddy and Fergal Rhatigan’s Screen Ireland-funded report for Women In Film & Television Ireland (WFT) – Behind the Scenes: Exploring Harmful Behaviours... Read more »
Sport of Kings
CHAMPIONS WEEKEND WOES
WHEN REVIEWING the recent Irish Champions weekend, bookmaker Brian Keenan stated: “I was bored at Leopardstown and I love racing.” Keenan’s sentiments were echoed by his rails colleague, Brian Graham,... Read more »
JOORABCHIAN FLASHES THE CASH
HIGH-PROFILE football agent Kia Joorabchian hit the headlines at Tattersalls when purchasing the second-highest ever priced yearling at the sale for a whopping 4,400,000 gns. The Frankel filly was acquired... Read more »
Moneybags
GLANBIA SHARES UNFAIRLY RATED BY MARKET
SIOBHÁN TALBOT clearly made an impact at Glanbia over the decade of her reign up to last year and her successor, Hugh McGuire, has... Read more »
CLONTARF ENERGY’S LITHIUM LONG SHOT
IT IS still not clear why John Teeling stood down as executive chairman of Clontarf Energy three years ago. It may be that he... Read more »
Dublin Unites to Promote Foreign Investment and Economic Growth
Dublin has long been a hub for global business. But now, a new campaign, “Invested in Dublin: Local Ambition, Global Success”, is showing the world exactly why Dublin is... Read more »
Brief Cases
MULCAHY’S FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES
FANS OF Goldhawk will be familiar with Cork businessman extraordinaire Michael Mulcahy, who has quite the talent for organising awards ceremonies and hanging out with celebs and politicians (see The... Read more »
THAMMY NGUYEN’S WORKOUT
GOLDHAWK SPOTTED last week that a company with the innocuous name of CFBD Ltd has gone into liquidation on foot of its liabilities. This turns out to have been the... Read more »
KEVIN DUNDON’S NEW RECIPE
SO-CALLED ‘celebrity chef’ Kevin Dundon was rather modest during one of his (very) frequent media appearances recently, telling the Irish Examiner that his hotel was “treading water”. In reality, unlike... Read more »
DAWSON STREET DETOUR
A COMPANY that had planned to completely redevelop the high-profile Dawson Hotel on Dublin’s Dawson Street is now going into liquidation. In 2022, the firm – backed by big guns... Read more »
Irish National Opera Placing Irish culture On The World Stage
Irish National Opera continues to expand its impact by showcasing outstanding performances across Ireland and internationally. Since its inception in 2018, INO has presented 184 live performances in 35... Read more »
Popular Stories
EMMA MAYE’S MANSION
GOLDHAWK NOTES that Weavers Hall, a “New England style” mansion off Westminster ...
COOLMORE SHUFFLE
THE SQUIRE of Coolmore, John Magnier, and his team recently undertook a ...
KARL WHELAN’S GOOGLE GRUB
IT IS full steam ahead at the brash Boland’s Mill development in ...
GRÁINNE’S SWEET LIFE
LAST WEEK, in the run-up to the busy Easter period for chocolate-maker ...
O’DONOVAN’S ORDERS
THE LEGACY of the RTÉ Tubs scandal is now clearer, with arts ...
OFFLOADING PEMBROKESTOWN HOUSE
WITH A price tag of just on €3m, following a “remarkable renovation” ...
LANDMARK’S LOLLY
WHILE ARTS and culture minister Patrick O’Donovan has been playing Scrooge with ...
D6 DENIZENS
IT WAS reported by the Sindo that “the well-heeled denizens of Palmerston ...
PATRICK MULLINS’S MOUNTS
AMATEUR RIDER Patrick Mullins left his dismal Cheltenham form behind when winning ...
REBECCA’S FAIRYTALE
HAITI COULEURS, trained by Rebecca Curtis, showed his rivals a clean pair ...