Affairs of the Nation Archives

AFFAIRS OF THE NATION

NEIL JORDAN’S “SILLY” FILM

September 20, 2018

THERE HAVE been mixed reactions to new films from Irish heavyweight directors Lenny Abrahamson and Neil Jordan, both of whom have been visiting... Read more »

SHANE ROSS’S APPOINTMENTS

September 20, 2018

SHANE ROSS recently made some appointments to the board of Fáilte Ireland, with some interesting names popping up. Among the new board members... Read more »

DUP/TORY ARM LOCK

September 20, 2018

On Monday, September 5, British northern secretary Karen Bradley had arranged to meet the Stormont parties to discuss ways to resurrect the executive... Read more »

FUN AT THE PHIL

September 20, 2018

TRINITY College’s student union received 20 complaints from students in relation to a debate to be held on campus this week by the... Read more »

NEW COMMISSIONER: BACKLASH GROWS

September 6, 2018

THE LIST of former senior security and intelligence experts that have criticised the appointment of the former PSNI deputy chief constable, Drew Harris,... Read more »

MICHAEL MCDOWELL VS JIM O’CALLAGHAN

September 6, 2018

YET ANOTHER glossy brochure in Dublin Bay South (DBS) from former justice minister, Senator Michael McDowell, this time on the Metro, “a scandalous... Read more »

PATIENT FOCUS FLOPS

September 6, 2018

INTERESTING to see that a liquidator has been appointed to the patient advocacy body Patient Focus (PF), which had been a high-profile lobby... Read more »

TRINA VARGO’S FALLING FUND

September 6, 2018

TRINA VARGO, the bolshy founder and face of the US Ireland Alliance (USIA), has just submitted the annual report of her George Mitchell... Read more »

ABOLITIONIST HAUGHEY

September 6, 2018

A TWO-page spread in Trinity Today recently focused on London-based barrister and alumni Caroline Haughey, whose ground-breaking prosecution of a slavery case led... Read more »

SF v FF

September 6, 2018

SINN FÉIN’S latest attempt to embarrass Fianna Fáil with a no-confidence motion in housing minister Eoghan ‘Posh Boy’ Murphy might not be brushed... Read more »

CLOCK TICKING FOR HOWLIN

September 6, 2018

AS THE dust settles in the Labour Party tussle between leader Brendan Howlin and his challenger, Alan ‘AK47’ Kelly, the misleading conclusion is... Read more »

MARY LOU’S RELUCTANT CANDIDATES

September 6, 2018

SINN FÉIN’S prolonged delay in the selection of its presidential candidate is down to the anticipation, until recently, of a fundamental debate about... Read more »

DREW HARRIS LEGAL CHALLENGE

August 23, 2018

CIARÁN MacAirt, the Belfast-based litigant seeking a judicial review to block the appointment of PSNI deputy chief constable Drew Harris as garda commissioner,... Read more »

GEMMA O’DOHERTY VS ‘IRISH TIMES’

August 23, 2018

GEMMA O’DOHERTY is easily the most entertaining of the declared presidential aspirants, although Irish Times hack Kitty Holland may not agree. Gemma is... Read more »

DAVID KITT’S FIANNA FÁIL FAMILY

August 23, 2018

Spare a thought for musician David Kitt, son of former government chief whip Tom Kitt, who recently had a good moan about coverage... Read more »

ME AND KOFI ANNAN

August 23, 2018

IT was only right and fitting that former Irish president Mary Robinson penned an Irish Times tribute to long-time UN secretary-general Kofi Annan,... Read more »

LABOUR’S NEXT LEADER?

August 23, 2018

THE HEAVE currently underway against Labour leader Brendan Howlin and which has nothing at all, at all to do with Alan ‘AK47’ Kelly... Read more »

ISRAELI DIPLOMACY

August 23, 2018

A CHANGING of the guard has taken place at the Israeli Embassy-sponsored propaganda arm in Ireland and the new group, Ireland Israel Alliance... Read more »

ECONOMICS WORKSHOP’S GENDER PROBLEM

August 23, 2018

GOLDHAWK was most impressed with a press release from Dublin Chamber of Commerce outlining the speaker line-up for the 41st Dublin Economics Workshop... Read more »

OLAF AT WAR

August 23, 2018

MUSIC journalist Olaf Tyaransen’s legal eagles are busy bees these days. Fans of Goldhawk will recall that Hot Press announced in February that... Read more »

JOHN MCGUIRK ON THE RADIO

August 23, 2018

It didn’t take long for the media to find an excuse to get Declan Ganley’s squire John McGuirk up and running again. Fresh... Read more »

GREEN PARTY’S ELECTRIC POWER COUPLE

August 23, 2018

GREEN PARTY councillor for Rathgar-Rathmines Patrick Costello and his partner, Hazel Chu, lead an exemplary green lifestyle as indicated by their use of... Read more »

DREW HARRIS: OMERTA

August 9, 2018

A MOTION from Donegal County Council urged the government last week to cancel the appointment of Drew Harris as garda commissioner because of... Read more »

RACHEL ALLEN’S SURPRISE DISH

August 9, 2018

WHILE CELEBRITY chef Rachel Allen is off to Italy next month to film with the BBC Good Food Channel, back in Cork ‘Rachel’s’... Read more »

KIERAN MULVEY’S JOURNEY

August 9, 2018

FORMER Workers’ Party member and trade union leader Kieran Mulvey may be a little embarrassed at the tardiness of INM in accepting his... Read more »

PAUL BLANCHFIELD’S CLOSED VAULTS

August 9, 2018

THE APPOINTMENT of an examiner to Frontier Entertainment Ltd must come as a shock to the company’s founder – broadcaster-turned-investor Paul Blanchfield –... Read more »

KEITH SPENCER’S COURT DATE

August 9, 2018

HIGH-FLYING barrister Keith Spencer BL will have to wait until October to see what Judge Seamus Noonan has in store for him after... Read more »

MACGILL SCHOOL’S ANTI-NEUTRALITY LINE-UP

August 9, 2018

THE UPROAR over the male-dominated panel of speakers at Joe Mulholland’s MacGill Summer School was not replicated when the gender-neutral but anti-neutrality list... Read more »

GRANNY GRANT ROW

August 9, 2018

THE REACTION to Shane Ross’s granny grant budgetary demand was a classic re-run of the usual Fine Gael inspired media onslaught depicting the... Read more »

IAN BAILEY ‘STING’

August 9, 2018

PERHAPS the most serious allegation made by Ian Bailey, soon to be tried in France in his absence, on the charge of murdering... Read more »

DECLAN DOOLEY’S NEW MOVE

August 9, 2018

INTERESTING to see Declan Dooley popping up as a player in the Enda O’Coineen vehicle set up to buy the Sunday Business Post... Read more »

BONO: IRELAND’S SECRET WEAPON

July 26, 2018

THE embarrassing gimmick of a Bono concert in New York to support Ireland’s bid for a United Nations Security Council seat must have... Read more »

DAVID HALL’S PRESIDENTIAL AMBITIONS

July 26, 2018

INTERESTING to see the name of David Hall thrown into the presidential election ring. The high profile mortgage activist appears to have already... Read more »

SEAN GALLAGHER’S COMEBACK

July 26, 2018

HAVING gone through the seven stages of grief at the presidency being snatched from him via RTÉ’S Tweetgate in 2011 – anger at... Read more »

JOHN ARKINS’S ADVERSARIES

July 26, 2018
A NEWS report of a contretemps involving John Arkins of the Irish Film Workers Association (IFWA) at Ardmore Studios last week no doubt reflects... Read more »

NIALL MELLON’S TAX BILL

July 26, 2018

SPARE A thought for philanthropist and one time Celtic Tiger poster boy Niall Mellon, who has just managed to fall foul of the... Read more »