Affairs of the Nation Archives

AFFAIRS OF THE NATION

BILL HOLOHAN’S WASTED COSTS ORDER

April 23, 2020

THERE WAS a pretty damning ruling issued in the High Court earlier this month by Judge Denis McDonald, in relation to the case... Read more »

ROBERT ARMSTRONG’S RECORD

April 23, 2020

THE 1,700-word obituary of Lord Robert Armstrong, published in the Irish Times last weekend, omitted a few interesting details. As principal private secretary... Read more »

JOHN McGABHANN’S REPORT CARD

April 23, 2020

TEACHERS’ UNION boss John McGabhann probably cannot believe his luck as he prepares to retire as general secretary of the Teachers’ Union of... Read more »

IRISH TIMES AND “THAT CHURCH”

April 23, 2020

YOU’VE GOT to hand it to the Irish Times. When it comes to the dreaded Catholic Church, the paper knows the right tone... Read more »

JOHN KIDD’S LOBBYING

April 23, 2020

GIVEN THAT there is only one thing on people’s minds these days, it is predictable that some of the latest lobbying activity has... Read more »

EY RESCUES HSE

April 23, 2020

THE STRAIN on the HSE is beginning to show, with top dog Paul Reid having to turn to EY Ireland to draft in... Read more »

EDITORIAL STATEMENT

April 23, 2020

EDITORIAL STATEMENT – We wish to state that the editorial team at The Phoenix, had nothing to do with the recent recruitment advertisement for an... Read more »

HOLDING THE LINE ON €350

April 9, 2020

THE LACK of probing by some newspaper editors and parts of the state broadcaster of the party line from Government Buildings has at... Read more »

BRIAN McENERY’S CRITICS

April 9, 2020

THE SLOW reaction of Simon Harris and the government’s National Public Health Emergency Team to the spread of Covid-19 in nursing homes created... Read more »

COFFEY BITES HIS LIP

April 9, 2020

CONGRATULATIONS to Cork University economist Seamus Coffey on his diplomatic skills as he watched (what did he say?) the government pile huge debts... Read more »

SLOWLY DOES IT

April 9, 2020

THE HEALTH department and HSE’s leisurely approach towards critical care beds has certainly come back to haunt them. The inevitable ‘critical care major... Read more »

WHO WILL INHERIT HOSPITAL MESS?

April 9, 2020

WHILE SIMON Harris will be glad that the coronavirus crisis is distracting from the mess that is the National Children’s Hospital (NCH), he... Read more »

CORPSE COUNT

April 9, 2020

THE BIG avoidance in the Covid-19 crisis is discussion on how to cope with the potential surge in corpses. Not surprisingly, the army... Read more »

KELLY TO PURGE APPARATCHIKS

April 9, 2020

THE ELECTION of Alan Kelly has led to an expectation of a Stalinist-style clean-out of many of the Labour Party’s functionaries as the... Read more »

MICHAEL D’S ‘COCOONING’

April 9, 2020

ONE PERSON valiantly trying to keep up with Leo Varadkar after that St Patrick’s Day broadcast is one Michael D Higgins, cocooned or... Read more »

THE (NOEL) KELLY GANG

April 9, 2020

WITH COVID-19 keeping much of the nation glued to RTÉ, we have had more exposure than usual to the celebs managed by super-agent... Read more »

FRANCESCA MCDONAGH’S WITHDRAWAL

April 9, 2020

FRANCESCA MCDONAGH, chief executive of Bank of Ireland (BoI), took everyone, including the government, by surprise with last month’s announcement that no less... Read more »

GERARD KIELY’S PR

April 9, 2020

THE EU Commission’s local point man in Ireland, Gerard Kiely, has a tough job promoting a sense of EU unity when the Italians... Read more »

REGINA’S BAD PANDEMIC

March 26, 2020

OUTGOING MINISTER for Social Protection Regina Doherty looked like the first political victim of the Covid-19 virus last weekend, while colleagues Simon Coveney,... Read more »

SIMON HARRIS’S OTHER HEALTH SCARE

March 26, 2020

THE 24/7 CORONAVIRUS coverage means all eyes are focused on the unfolding calamity and, as a result, some other health scares are getting... Read more »

JOE DEVINE’S FILM SCRIPT

March 26, 2020

IRISH FILM industry reports are two a penny (or rather more expensive than that actually), but they seldom arrive in the manner of... Read more »

FRANK CALLANAN’S ADVICE

March 26, 2020

AS LEO Varadkar continues to take the political opportunity presented by the current crisis, he may be getting used to some of the... Read more »

KATHRYN THOMAS’S LOCKDOWN

March 26, 2020

GIVEN THAT viewers of RTÉ are increasingly accustomed to seeing various Montrose personalities popping up on each other’s shows, often shamelessly plugging their... Read more »

VATICAN PLAYS THE LONG GAME

March 26, 2020

SITE PREPARATION work at St Vincent’s Hospital in south County Dublin has largely been completed, but the main construction work for the new... Read more »

JOHN MCGUIRK’S TACTICS

March 26, 2020

GRIPT.IE EDITOR John McGuirk’s recent hit job on former Fine Gael TD Kate O’Connell was the latest in his long-running effort to beat... Read more »

LEO AND MICKEY’S CENTENARY CHALLENGE

March 26, 2020

THE ON-OFF ‘mots-doux’ engagement talks between the Blueshirts and Soldiers of Destiny have yet to address one of the thorniest aspects of their... Read more »

DONNCHA O’CALLAGHAN’S TACTICS

March 26, 2020

THERE WERE different tactics used this month when examining the digital marketing company controlled by former Irish rugby international and RTÉ presenter Donncha... Read more »

ST JOHN OF GOD’S PRAYERS

March 26, 2020

THE CAMPAIGN by St John of God (SJOG) to extract more money from the HSE has gained little traction given the rather regrettable... Read more »

MARTIN AGAINST THE WALL

March 12, 2020

MICHEÁL MARTIN may have thought he had performed the U-turn of the millennium – the Fianna Fáil leader opened the door to Sinn... Read more »

DESMOND TO SOLVE HOUSING CRISIS

March 12, 2020

BILLIONAIRE FINANCIER Dermot Desmond offered his solution to the housing crisis last weekend, in a 4,400-plus word address to the nation, facilitated by... Read more »

SHEIKH MOHAMMED’S KIDNAP CONUNDRUM

March 12, 2020

GIVEN THE influence of the Dubai ruling Al Maktoum family here, the silence to date of the authorities on the explosive court ruling... Read more »

HUGO MACNEILL AND THE ‘VAMPIRE SQUID’

March 12, 2020

FOLLOWING THE recent election of Fine Gael’s Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, her hubby, Hugo MacNeill, is seeking to land a seat in the Seanad... Read more »

HISTORY LESSON

March 12, 2020

CONGRATULATIONS TO the Ireland Institute for Historical & Cultural Studies (IIHCS), which now boasts an historically good balance sheet. The institute – located... Read more »

NIALL QUINN’S LOADED PAL

March 12, 2020

WHILE THE FAI focuses on trying to qualify for Euro 2020 in play-off games in empty stadiums in Bratislava and (hopefully) either Belfast... Read more »

COVID-19: FF ARD FHEIS 20/21

March 12, 2020

JUST ONE of Micheál Martin’s problems in securing a coalition deal is the requirement in Fianna Fáil party rules for a special ard... Read more »

‘LET’S GET BREXIT DONE’

March 12, 2020

GARDA COMMISSIONER Drew Harris drew fire from Sinn Féin over his IRA army council statement and he made another, em, forthright statement last... Read more »