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Micheál Martin

FIANNA FÁIL FAILING

Date: June 4, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

WHY IS the media closing its eyes and ears to the ongoing implosion of Fianna Fáil as its poll figures decline in inverse ratio to Fine Gael’s ascent and while the latter continues to play with, bully even, Micheál Martin’s team in government talks? Is it because most ‘opinion formers’ are so anxious to see… Read more »

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Barry English

BARRY ENGLISH VS ‘IRISH TIMES’

Date: June 4, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

HIGH COURT defamation proceedings have been initiated by Barry English (one of Bertie Ahern’s ‘dig-out’ buddies) against the Irish Times. Curiously, the case involves a story that was not covered. Moneybags English has had a few adventures in the Four Goldmines down the years and, in 2016, was on the end of a damning ruling… Read more »

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Michael McNamara

PROFILE: MICHAEL MCNAMARA

Date: June 4, 2020 - Pillars of Society

AN IMPRESSIVE political resurrection has been effected by the newly elected Independent TD for Clare, Michael McNamara. The former Labour TD has also landed the first high-profile position of this so-far-paralysed 33rd Dáil, becoming chair of the Oireachtas special committee on Covid-19 response. Is this the limit of his ambition or is he manoeuvring for… Read more »

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Christopher O'Sullivan

YOUNG BLOOD: CHRISTOPHER O’SULLIVAN

Date: June 4, 2020 - The Young Bloods

ONCE ONE of the most consistent constituencies in the country, with a solid Fine Gael majority for most of the last 40 years, Cork South West saw new Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O’Sullivan take the sole FF seat. But the real shock was that FG dropped from an almost constant two seats out of three… Read more »

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Regina Doherty

BLUESHIRT BOSSY BOOTS

Date: June 4, 2020 - Last Refuge

A QUEUE has formed to replace long-serving Fine Gael general secretary Tom Curran, who is expected to bow out at the end of August, and political dominatrix Regina Doherty is one of the first in line. Curran, who was 65 last September, stayed on at Leo Varadkar’s behest to oversee a general election that was… Read more »

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Aoibhín Garrihy

AOIBHÍN GARRIHY’S POETRY

Date: June 4, 2020 - High Society

THE GARRIHY girls attract their fair share of media attention, with presenter and mimic Doireann promoted by RTÉ, while former “PR guru” and Instagram fan Ailbhe landed the coveted title of 2018’s VIP Style Awards Most Stylish newcomer. (She now fronts the family ferry business.) The most high profile of the sisters is, however, former… Read more »

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Mel Gibson

MEL GIBSON’S MOVIE BLUES

Date: June 4, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

IT IS nearly a year since the Mel Gibson film The Professor and the Madman got a (very) limited release in the US following a sealed settlement in April 2019 of the several legal disputes between Gibson and director Farhad Safinia on the one hand and the film’s co-producer and financier, Voltage Pictures, on the… Read more »

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Michael Smurfit

MICK SMURFIT’S DISPOSALS

Date: June 4, 2020 - High Society

LAST WEEK, Monaco-based moneybags Michael Smurfit chose to bestow some words of wisdom on the Irish Times. According to clever-clogs Mick, he had seen the downturn coming, which was one of the reasons for offloading the K Club for around €65m. He also has nowhere for his hundreds of paintings. The Kildare estate was offered… Read more »

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Rick Delaney

RICK DELANEY’S ROUGH RIDE

Date: June 4, 2020 - Brief Cases

THIS WEEK sees a creditors’ meeting for a company called Aqua Blue Sport Ltd, which turns out to be the professional cycling team established by Cork millionaire Rick Delaney (now based in sunny Monaco) with the aim of eventually competing in the Tour de France. The wheels, however, came off pretty quickly. Aqua Blue hit… Read more »

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3811 FP

Vol. 38 No. 11

Date: June 4, 2020 -

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SIMON COVENEY’S SILENCE

Date: June 4, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

LAST MONTH, Nicolás Maduro’s security forces rounded up around 50 of those suspected of having participated in a botched attempt to capture the controversial Venezuelan president. Included in the group of around 60 suspected mercenaries behind the May 2 raid was US citizen Airan Berry, who subsequently claimed the group had been tasked with raiding… Read more »

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TRANSGENDER BODY’S MISSING AUDIT

Date: June 4, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

WITH THE government preparing to simplify the process for 16 and 17 year olds to change gender, there is nothing simple about funding at the lobby organisation, Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI). The group has made quite an impact in recent years, with directors have played high-profile roles in media spats featuring the likes of… Read more »

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Geraldine Bryne Nason

COVENEY’S SLEVEEN DIPLOMACY

Date: June 4, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

ONE OF the most disingenuous speeches in the annals of diplomacy was delivered by our ambassador to the United Nations, Geraldine Byrne Nason, last week in which she said, “We have put the Palestinian question at the heart of foreign policy.” She also referenced our status as an “independent and neutrality country” in a pitch… Read more »

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Ali Hewson

OLD ‘FRIENDS’ ARE BEST

Date: June 4, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

FIFTY-ONE YEARS is a long time to wait for possible reversal of a miscarriage of justice. But whether or not 75-year-old Lt Donal de Róiste – summarily ‘retired’ from the Defence Forces by President Éamon de Valera in 1969 and denied the chance to defend himself then or since – is exonerated this summer, there… Read more »

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Daisy Edgar-Jones - Normal People

MILEY’S €500 MILLION

Date: June 4, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

JIM MILEY’S four-year stint as the Blueshirts’ general secretary (prior to outgoing gen sec Tom Curran) appears to count for little with the current interim government, which has told him to take a hike after his call for a €500m handout for the main universities. Miley has been lobbying hard for the cash-pressed third-level colleges,… Read more »

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PASCHAL DONOHOE’S VACANCY

Date: June 4, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

WHILE THERE has been an agreed truce regarding the filling of seats on assorted state-linked boards while the ‘caretaker’ government remains in situ, some boards have had to be dealt with to enable them to function. One such entity is the Investor Compensation Company Ltd (ICCL), an independent body that operates under the remit of… Read more »

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Dominic Cummings

COVERT COVID FORCES

Date: June 4, 2020 - Hush Hush

The deployment of a British army internet warfare unit – 77th Brigade – in Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings’s response to alleged Covid-19 “disinformation” shows that, when it comes to black propaganda, the Russians are amateurs compared to British intelligence. Tellingly, 77th Brigade, whose campaign motto is “influence and outreach”, says it will not only… Read more »

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HushHush-def

MIAMI BREACH

Date: June 4, 2020 - Hush Hush

GOLDHAWK SPOTTED a post on the Facebook page of a Waterford tanning business from The Sunbed Association, highlighting the opening of tanning salons from Monday June 8 “with all required controls and protocols in place”. Previous posts on a page in the name of Miami Tanning Waterford were less informative. In March, gardaí closed down… Read more »

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Michael Smurfit

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: June 4, 2020 - The Hot Air Brigade

You need a big house to have a collection of a few hundred paintings, which is what I had. Michael Smurfit on the necessity of his K Club manor, Irish Times This week try ‘walking meditation’. Notice your feet as they touch the ground, immerse yourself fully in the walking experience. Be fully present. Alison… Read more »

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Robin Swann

PARTITIONING COVID-19

Date: June 4, 2020 - Northwind

It’s obvious from the nastiness of some of Varadkar’s attacks on Mary Lou McDonald in the Dáil how wounded he remains from the thrashing Sinn Féin dealt him in February. However, he carries his vendetta against SF into other more questionable areas, such as how to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic on the island. At… Read more »

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Mandy Johnston

‘INAPPROPRIATE’ PR

Date: June 4, 2020 - Fowl Emissions

The old saying about never wasting a good crisis rings true when considering the all-out PR and political assault being waged on behalf of the offshore gas and oil drilling industry. Rattled by moves to outlaw all offshore exploration, its lobby group, the Irish Offshore Operators’ Association (IOOA), has been hyperactive in recent weeks, fronted… Read more »

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Climate Disinformation Coillte Climate Action EU Livestock NDC Claude Etchelamendy Ed Brophy Richard Boyd-Barrett Kish Dale Crammond Frank Mitloehner Shell Greenwashing Meta Data Centres Ireland

MEASURING THE GAS-GUZZLERS

Date: June 4, 2020 - Fowl Emissions

Prior to 2008, big cars came with even bigger annual road tax bills. Then, thanks to an ill-conceived change in the rules in which CO2 emissions were ostensibly taken into account, both vehicle registration tax (VRT) and road tax plummeted for many cars, especially the new generation of ‘clean diesels’, including prestige marques such as… Read more »

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Helen McEntee

HELEN OF NAVAN

Date: June 4, 2020 - Last Refuge

LEO VARADKAR has a serious gender issue on his hands when it comes to selecting ministers for any new cabinet in the near future. His references to gender and geography in the selection of his ministerial team – during that recent call he made to councillors – was not some PC digression and there are… Read more »

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Marian Harkin

MARIAN HARKIN VS MICHAEL LOWRY

Date: June 4, 2020 - Last Refuge

FORMER MEP Marian Harkin strolled back into the Dáil in February – after an absence of 15 years spent in Euroland – but found that her powers of networking, negotiating and fixing had waned in the intervening decade and a half. In the months leading up to the general election, the Independent candidate spent much… Read more »

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Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

BOG CUTTINGS

Date: June 4, 2020 - Bog Cuttings

FlowerS For His Bud Egiidijus Vasiliauskas, of 1 Drummin Court, Nenagh, appeared before Nenagh District Court in relation to a charge dating from October 14, 2019. Mr Vasiliauskas was arrested by gardaí on the date in question following the theft of two bouquets of flowers, worth €30, from an Applegreen Service Station in Birdhill –… Read more »

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Pat Leahy

‘IRISH TIMES’ PATRIOTIC DUTY

Date: June 4, 2020 - Fit to Print?

IF A programme for government is agreed shortly, then the Irish Times will deserve plaudits (especially political editor Pat Leahy) from the three parties involved (especially Fianna Fáil) for its responsible and, em, constructive reportage. As the Greens edged toward negotiations at the end of April, Leahy wrote that a government deal would likely be… Read more »

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Diageo Dana An Garda Síochána IT Trust No Stone Unturned Irish Times Black Friday Vicky Conway

TOM MCGUIRE’S SUCCESSOR

Date: June 4, 2020 - Fit to Print?

CLAIRE BYRNE and Miriam O’Callaghan must wait until another top radio job – a replacement for the retiring head of RTÉ Radio 1, Tom McGuire – is filled before a decision is made about who will succeed Seán O’Rourke. In the meantime, Sarah McInerney is getting a good press from two influential sources, Irish Times… Read more »

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Mary Lou McDonald

‘SINDO’ RENAISSANCE?

Date: June 4, 2020 - Fit to Print?

THAT ANY newspaper editor should proclaim as ground breaking an interview with the leader of the biggest vote-getting party in the country, Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald, says more about the newspaper – the Sunday Independent – than the political party. Newly appointed Sindo editor Alan English told readers that we live in changed times,… Read more »

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Sean McCarthy

JIGS AND REELS AND LEGAL FEES

Date: June 4, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

A THIRD set of High Court proceedings has just been initiated in connection with a row between some high-profile Irish traditional music and dance stars – uilleann piper Seán McCarthy, dancer Jacintha Sharpe and accordionist Eimhin Liddy. They have all been involved with the production of a Riverdance-style show called Celtic Legends, but these days… Read more »

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Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

SPINNING AT LISSADELL

Date: June 4, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

WITH THE music festival season shot to bits, the only light at the end of the tunnel is the announcement by the owners of Lissadell House in Co Sligo that they intend to stage a lorry load of gigs on the estate next year. Given the history here, it may prove easier said than done…. Read more »

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Pat and Una McDonagh

PAT MCDONAGH’S PILE

Date: June 4, 2020 - High Society

LAST WEEK was one to forget for Supermac’s founder, Pat McDonagh, after his “winning the Lotto” comments about certain workers on the Covid-19 emergency payment. For a multi-millionaire who had been happy to splash out a cool €1.2m above the asking price for a prime Co Galway property, this looks a bit rich. With some… Read more »

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Mohammed Al Zubair

TIME TO EXAMINE AMINEX’S ACTIVITIES

Date: June 4, 2020 - Moneybags

IT IS difficult to know what exactly is going on inside Aminex and exactly where it is getting its leadership from. What is clear is that there have been some board and executive appointments that have hugely increased the links to the major shareholder – Mohammed Al Zubair. The unfortunate independent shareholders have seen the… Read more »

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Michael O'Leary

RYANAIR HAMMERED BY COVID AND FUEL HEDGES

Date: June 4, 2020 - Moneybags

THE INTERNATIONAL passenger airline business is in tatters courtesy of Covid-19. Warren Buffett dumped all Berkshire Hathaway’s airline holdings on the basis that even those companies that manage to survive will face serious problems. In Ryanair, Mick O’Leary is adopting a bolshy and confident demeanour, but a bumpy ride cannot be avoided. And there will… Read more »

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Liam Dowdall

LIAM DOWDALL’S POLISH HEADACHE

Date: June 4, 2020 - Brief Cases

IN THE High Court last month, a ruling was made refusing an application to remove high-profile number cruncher Liam Dowdall from his role as liquidator of a company characterised by internecine feuding among the shareholders. This is unlikely to be the end of the affair. Dowdall is a well-known player in the insolvency game and… Read more »

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Marc Ó Broin

MARC Ó BROIN’S PRACTISING CERT

Date: June 4, 2020 - Brief Cases

SURPRISING TO see established number cruncher and financial adviser Marc Ó Broin fall foul of Chartered Accountants Ireland’s quality assurance committee. It published a notice recently stating that he “no longer holds a practising certificate and insolvency practising certificate on the basis that the firm [MÓB Accountants] has not evidenced professional indemnity insurance”. Busy Marc… Read more »

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WAVF Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

DISCIPLINING THE ACCOUNTANTS

Date: June 4, 2020 - Brief Cases

MARC Ó BROIN was not the only number cruncher who caught the attention of the Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) in recent weeks. Earlier this year, Trevor Keenan of TOK Accountants, North Road, Monaghan, was found to have breached the CAI’s code of ethics by failing to submit VAT returns on behalf of a client and… Read more »

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