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Betty Purcell

HUMAN RIGHTS: NEW CRITERIA

Date: February 8, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

THE refusal of Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) member Betty Purcell to go quietly after her failure to be reappointed recently produced some standard responses from the justice department and the commission. Purcell claims she has been shafted because of her disagreements with chief commissioner Emily Logan over various issues, including Logan’s reluctance… Read more »

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Benjamin Netanyahu

MOSSAD’S LITTLE HELPERS

Date: February 8, 2018 - Hush Hush

THE Israeli embassy’s exit from Dublin will not diminish that country’s intelligence apparatus from accessing Irish passport details and other useful data. On January 14 last a Mossad hit squad tried to assassinate a senior Hamas official in Sidon, Lebanon, just as Simon Coveney was completing his four-day tour of the Middle East – including… Read more »

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Alison Canavan

The Hot Air Brigade

Date: February 8, 2018 - The Hot Air Brigade

The earth is like a gigantic battery that contains a natural, subtle electric charge – a special kind of energy present in the ground. When we connect with this energy, it carries information and helps align us with the greater network of intelligence of our planet. Alison Canavan on the importance of “grounding,” one of… Read more »

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Martin Luther King

AFRICA AND THE REAL DR KING

Date: February 8, 2018 - Foreign Frolics

MILLIONS of Americans commemorated Martin Luther King’s Day recently. His famous speech, I Have a Dream, was repeated numerous times in media outlets as a reminder of the evil of racism – which is being resurrected in a most pronounced way in US society. But that is only one version of Dr King allowed to… Read more »

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Peter Robinson

THE NATIONAL MINORITY

Date: February 8, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

LAST MONTH the Northern Ireland Statistical Research Agency (NISRA) shone a light on the north’s changing demographic patterns revealing the remarkable developments that have taken place in the last generation. NISRA’s Labour Force Survey Religion Report 2016 looks at changes since 1990-92 in the working age population 16-64, its qualifications, employment and unemployment. The statistical… Read more »

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Heather Humphries

FINE GAEL’S CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS

Date: February 8, 2018 - Last Refuge

THE portrayal of ethical and personal agonising by Fine Gael ministers and TDs over the abortion referendum and the planned 12 weeks abortion on request legislation is fascinating. Especially when you match those politicians racked with such conscientious dilemmas with the constituencies they represent – or hope to represent – after the next election. The… Read more »

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Louise O'Reilly

SF’s right to choose

Date: February 8, 2018 - Last Refuge

LOUISE O’REILLY’S compliment to Leo Varadkar’s statement on the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment was apt but surprisingly amicable coming from a Sinn Féin TD. However, the Fingal deputy is simultaneously engaged in revising SF policy to match Varadkar’s support for unrestricted abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. At SF’s November ard fheis… Read more »

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Lorraine Clifford Lee

OPINION POLLS – THE REAL STORY?

Date: February 8, 2018 - Last Refuge

NATIONAL opinion polls show Leo Varadkar and Fine Gael streaking ahead of Micheál Martin’s Fianna Fail but there is something strangely unreal about the figures when compared to reality on the ground. FF analysis of the 39 constituencies, in some cases backed by the party’s own polling – however skewed it may be in FF’s… Read more »

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Nigel Farage

IREXIT PARTY BORN

Date: February 8, 2018 - Last Refuge

IT LOOKS as if an anti-EU party with candidates running in the EU elections next year will definitely emerge from last weekend’s Irexit meeting with Nigel Farage. This will certainly be the case if Farage’s spin doctor, Hermann Kelly, has his way. Leaflets handed out at the Dublin RDS meeting were Hermann’s creation and they… Read more »

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Michael McDowell

McDowell v Ross

Date: February 8, 2018 - Last Refuge

LEGAL EAGLES can be as bitchy as politicians when they fall out and former justice minister Alan Shatter – a mere solicitor – was regularly accused of being motivated by jealousy when taking on the barristers’ closed shop some years back. Now, Michael McDowell SC – ex attorney general, ex justice minister and current senator… Read more »

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Katie Hannon

MEDIA CIVIL WAR

Date: February 8, 2018 - Fit to Print?

THOSE High Court libel actions taken out by two gardaí against various media over reports on Maurice McCabe are mirrored by the sharp divide in the press over the whistleblower. This division is between most security correspondents and journalists that cover wider issues. A good example is the difference between Newstalk/Irish Independent crime reporter Paul… Read more »

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Independent House

The Sindo’s diverse readership

Date: February 8, 2018 - Fit to Print?

WHAT a surprisingly cosmopolitan readership the Sunday Independent has. In a recent letter to the Sindo retired Defence Forces commander and peace activist Edward Horgan said Israelis should be respectful of Palestinian human rights as the experience of the Holocaust was “the most serious and most unjustified crime against humanity so far”. His letter provoked… Read more »

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Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Date: February 8, 2018 - Bog Cuttings

COURTROOM Selfies ‘for the mammy’ A NAVAN man, in court for allegedly using a vehicle without NCT, was reprimanded by a judge for taking selfies in court. Garry O’Brien (36), Millbrook, Johnstown, had his phone confiscated by the garda in charge of security at Trim District Court, who accused O’Brien of “taking pictures of himself… Read more »

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Niamh Patten

NIAMH PATTEN’S VALENTINE’S OFFER

Date: February 8, 2018 - High Society

READERS OF The Irish Times were presented with an offer last week to buy the “perfect Valentine’s gift for her”. The offer featured a luxury jewellery set from New Romantic Jewellery, which turns out to be the company established by one Niamh Patten – whose… Read more »

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Markus Jooste’s expensive colts

Date: February 8, 2018 - High Society

THE DISGRACED South African moneybags Markus Jooste continues to liquidate his vast string of thoroughbreds, with four select mares that he owned in partnership with the Coolmore gang going under the hammer at Tattersalls in Newmarket last week. On the face of it, the 1.77 million guineas the quartet yielded seemed a pretty good result…. Read more »

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Prince Charles and Paul Smithwick

PAUL SMITHWICK’S NEW INVESTOR

Date: February 8, 2018 - High Society

THE ARRIVAL to the O’Sullivan Craft Brewery (1702) shareholder register of Irish Stock Exchange chairman Padraic O’Connor is a vote of confidence for Prince Charles’s favourite brewer the company’s founder Paul Smithwick OBE. The fledgling Kilkenny beer business – where young Dan Smithwick is also a director – has certainly been building up an impressive… Read more »

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Tony O'Reilly Jr.

O’Reilly digs deep

Date: February 8, 2018 - Fowl Emissions

YOU HAVE to feel sorry for those intrepid oil and gas explorers under constant siege from scientists and campaigners. Oil prices are low – partly thanks to the divestment movement. The Paris climate agreement means most of the world’s known reserves must be left in the ground, making them “stranded assets”. Here in Ireland, last… Read more »

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Paddy Power’s gas terminal

Date: February 8, 2018 - Fowl Emissions

EU countries can burn gas for just nine more years before exhausting their share of the earth’s carbon budget to keep global warming below 2 degrees. So says a recent report from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. Somebody should tell Paddy Power, the Tralee man trying to build a humongous Liquefied Natural Gas… Read more »

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Sive -Tommy Tiernan

SIVE – GAIETY THEATRE

Date: February 8, 2018 - ReviewsTheatre

AMONG theatre companies, even the most sure-footed occasionally misstep. Druid is no exception. The Galway troupe rehabilitated the work of John B Keane over the last few decades, bringing it from amateur halls onto main stages. This helped pave the way for more modern writers. It’s hard not to watch the oppressive female relationship at… Read more »

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Blindboy Boatclub

THE BLINDBOY PODCAST – BLINDBOY BOATCLUB

Date: February 8, 2018 - PodcastsReviews

LISTENING TO The Blindboy Podcast is akin to stepping on a bus with no knowledge of where you’ll be disgorged. Blindboy turns out to be a driver who can navigate the terrain with relatively little difficulty. An impressive 16 weeks at the top of the podcast charts confirms the popularity of Blindboy’s offering, with 160,000… Read more »

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Earlie King & The Kid In Yellow

THE EARLIE KING & THE KID IN YELLOW – DANNY DENTON (GRANTA)

Date: February 8, 2018 - BooksReviews

LITERARY dystopias have become commonplace in recent times. But what distinguishes this ambitious debut novel is Denton’s anarchic language – a propulsive blend of past, present and imagined future. For his nightmare vision of society, the Cork writer has turned to climate change fiction (“cli-fi”). Although the book is genre crossing (tragic love story, crime… Read more »

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Blake Lively

BLAKE NOT SO LIVELY

Date: February 8, 2018 - Behind the Scenes

IN LATE January, the film trade paper, The Hollywood Reporter, burst the bubble for Irish film technicians wishing a speedy recovery to star Blake Lively after a pre-Christmas injury halted Dublin filming on a big budget spy movie, The Rhythm Section. According to the report, workers on the film – presumably including senior Irish crew… Read more »

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Yeats masterpiece

Date: February 8, 2018 - Behind the Scenes

GOLDHAWK was pleased to see the painting John Butler Yeats, Self Portrait, New York (see The Phoenix 25/8/17) has remained here despite the decision of WB Yeats’s grandchildren – Caitríona, Siobhán and Padraig – to offload a large archive of material (the so-called Yeats Family Collection at auction in Sotheby’s last September. While the family… Read more »

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Garech de Brun

GARECH DE BRUN’S SOUR NOTE

Date: February 8, 2018 - Behind the Scenes

THERE HAS been some non musical activity at the struggling Claddagh Records – the traditional Irish music company chaired by founder Garech de Brún – with longtime secretary Jane Bolton resigning but only after she forced the Companies Office to register her exit. Claddagh Records was set up in the 1960s by de Brún and… Read more »

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James Bowen

HARD GOING AT GOWRAN

Date: February 8, 2018 - Sport of Kings

UK-BASED teenage prodigy James Bowen didn’t cover himself in glory on his first trip to Ireland as a fully fledged jockey at Gowran Park recently. Bowen was drafted in to ride one of the six Gordon Elliott-trained runners in the Thyestes Chase last month but his mount, Out Sam, which finished sixth, returned with whip… Read more »

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Brian Kavanagh

KAVANAGH’S PR EXERCISE

Date: February 8, 2018 - Sport of Kings

THE CHIEF executive of Horse Racing Ireland, Brian Kavanagh, took the opportunity to build some bridges recently when he made mollifying comments on the government’s backing of the sport of kings. Kavanagh must have been cringing at HRI’s awards ceremony last December when outgoing chairman Joe Keeling took a swipe at the government over both… Read more »

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Sheikh Joann Al Thani

AL SHAQAB’S NEXT MOVE?

Date: February 8, 2018 - Sport of Kings

FRANKIE DETTORI has had his wings clipped slightly by his retained stable, Al Shaqab Racing. The Qatari outfit’s major reduction in their UK-based string has seen Dettori’s previous six-figure retainer halved. Dettori probably won’t be too fazed by the news given he can rely on the powerful John Gosden stable for rides and the 47-year-old’s… Read more »

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Leslie Buckley

INM post-Buckley offers real value

Date: February 8, 2018 - Moneybags

THE REMARKABLE amount of controversy surrounding the Independent News & Media group (INM) – where chairman Leslie Buckley steps down next month – has had a not unsurprising knock-on on the share price, resulting in the market now valuing the whole media group at around €150m. With €90m net cash in the company, the shares… Read more »

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Anne Heraty

Anne Heraty’s cash pile

Date: February 8, 2018 - Moneybags

CPL is a hugely successful business model that dominates Ireland’s recruitment agency sector. It is run by Paul Carroll and his wife, Anne Heraty, who have developed their company from a tiny base to a near €500m turnover business today. But a company that could have achieved worldwide scale has remained essentially parochial because the… Read more »

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Tyrone McKillen (right) and friends

Tyrone McKillen’s LA estate

Date: February 8, 2018 - Brief Cases

A TOP-END Los Angeles housing development with links to Irishman Tyrone McKillen has been catapulted into the US spotlight thanks to an investigation into a potential $1bn Ponzi scheme. McKillen’s Plus Development company was to manage the redevelopment of the historic Owlwood Estate – which hit the market last year for a whopping $180m –… Read more »

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Niall Hade’s unholy row

Date: February 8, 2018 - Brief Cases

GOLDHAWK’s old pals the Hade family popped up again recently with Brian Hade having just been slapped with a judgment by the dreaded taxman. Meanwhile, his brother Niall Hade and sister-in-law Joyce Hade had a recent setback in the Four Goldmines in their long-running battle with the bank. The Hades are the offspring of entrepreneurial… Read more »

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Sharon Clancy’s Bloodstone blues

Date: February 8, 2018 - Brief Cases

SPARE a thought for Sharon Clancy, wife of low profile Cavan property developer Martin Clancy, who has just had a hefty €2m judgment registered against her by KBC Bank. The Clancys are well known figures in Blacklion, Co Cavan, which has the dubious honour of having the highest percentage (over 44%) of vacant dwellings in… Read more »

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Finian Brannigan’s tax cert

Date: February 8, 2018 - Brief Cases

SPARE a thought for Drogheda solicitor Finian Brannigan who has just been declared bankrupt in the High Court. Readers with good memories will remember Brannigan for his stint as a Louth county councillor in the 2000s – but the legal eagle has had his share of tax woes in recent years. The lawyer, who practises… Read more »

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Ray Egan

Ray Egan’s troubled trades

Date: February 8, 2018 - Brief Cases

A DUBLIN company called Digital Motor (DM) Ltd has had a provisional liquidator appointed to it on foot of a High Court petition by an Isle of Man entity. Since 2015, DM – where the only listed director is David Kelly – has traded as Car Buyers Guide, the trade magazine and website associated with… Read more »

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Sean Doyle

Taxing matters

Date: February 8, 2018 - Brief Cases

A FEW familiar faces popped up the wrong side of the taxman recently. Sean Doyle Entertainments Ltd, the company behind Gorey boozers Paddy Blues Bar and Oscar’s, was slapped with a €40,000 judgment by the Revenue last month. The principal here is Sean Doyle, a former shareholder in the Thomas Read group and well-known Wexford… Read more »

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Mary Harney

Mary Harney’s healthy outlook

Date: February 8, 2018 - Brief Cases

MORE good news for former Tánaiste Mary Harney whose career in the private sector is really taking off. Fans of Goldhawk will recall that former health minister Harney has found a new calling in the world of healthcare, pharmaceuticals and technology and that she’s involved in a plethora of companies in those sectors (see The… Read more »

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