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Denis-OBrien

DENIS O’BRIEN’S TOPAZ LOSS

Date: April 7, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

GOLDHAWK was always suspicious of the reports that Denis O’Brien had sold his Topaz petrol retailer to the Canadian giants Couche-Tard for E450m. Now figures filed in Canada by the new owners reveal the amount paid to DOB was E258m. By Goldhawk’s calculation, Dinny may have dropped E40m on this one deal. Perhaps the most… Read more »

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Brendan-Howlin

BRENDAN HOWLIN’S DIVINE RIGHT

Date: April 7, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

IF Alan Kelly is addicted to power, then Brendan Howlin is a megalomaniac who believes he can assume leadership of the Labour Party without the bother of a vote. Or is Howlin’s fear of a contest derived from a belief that he, as the five-year long champion of austerity, will be rejected by a membership… Read more »

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Ivan-Yates

IVAN YATES TO LEAVE NEWSTALK

Date: April 7, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

IVAN Yates has decided to leave Newstalk and this time he means it. The broadcaster is now in negotiation with station bosses about the manner and timing of his departure, unlike two years ago when he was persuaded to withdraw his resignation. Then, Denis O’Brien pulled out his cheque book to make Yates the second… Read more »

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Michael-D-Higgins

MICHAEL TWEE’S SHARPER TONE

Date: April 7, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

NO wonder the director of the Iona Institute, David Quinn, denounced President Michael D Higgins’ 1916 commemorative speeches in the Irish Independent last week. Quinn railed against Higgins’ left wing rhetoric but while he did not mention it, what probably irked him most was the President’s critique of “Ireland’s Catholic Hierarchy” and “restrictive religiosity” in… Read more »

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Leo Varadkar

MORE POWER TO LEO’S LEADERSHIP BID

Date: April 7, 2016 - Last Refuge

WHAT is Leo Varadkar playing at with his outspoken support for Averil Power in the TCD Senate election? The Irish Independent, edited by Mr Averil Power, aka Fionnan Sheahan, first reported Vlad’s message of support for Averil. Group political editor Kevin Doyle put it on the Indo’s website and also posted a video of Vlad’s… Read more »

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david-fleming

POWER SHIFT AT GEORGIAN SOCIETY

Date: April 7, 2016 - High Society

THERE HAVE been some significant changes at the Irish Georgian Society (IGS) where the committee of management has increased its control over the body, in particular in relation to the roles of president and vice president. Meanwhile, there are some new faces now in situ, although there is no sign of a new vice president…. Read more »

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giancarla-and-michael-alen

GLUCKSMAN GALLERY’S ‘HEDGE FUND WAG’

Date: April 7, 2016 - High Society

THE GLUCKSMAN Gallery in UCC has added some significant overseas firepower to its board in the form of two London-based players – arts consultant Lawrence O’Hana and Giancarla ‘Gianni’ Alen-Buckley, daughter of famous hotelier Charles Forte. Married to a super wealthy hedge fund operator, Michael Alen-Buckley of RAB Capital, she is the rather more interesting… Read more »

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Bob-Geldorf

A FANATIC HEART – RTÉ 1

Date: April 7, 2016 - ReviewsTV

THIS two-part documentary traced familiar aspects of WB Yeats’s life – including his obsessive interest in fairytales, the occult and Celtic mythology. There was the usual focus on the poet’s romantic relationships and sexual frustration. From the start, Bob could see no wrong in his hero or find sufficient words to praise “Willy” – but… Read more »

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Simon Maher

PHANTOM’S EXPENSIVE GHOST

Date: April 7, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

THE INVESTORS in TXFM (formerly Phantom105.2) have taken a bath, with Denis O’Brien failing to escape the worst of the hit despite having got in at a bargain price five years ago. Having struggled from its 2006 launch, Phantom was the subject of a restructuring that saw Communicorp land on the share register in 2010…. Read more »

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Vol. 34 No. 06

Vol. 34 No. 06

Date: March 25, 2016 -

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Con Murphy

Con Murphy’s Crash Landing

Date: March 24, 2016 - Brief Cases

SPARE A THOUGHT for travel agent Con Murphy (also known as John Murphy), who crash landed this month when he was convicted of stealing money from a children’s charity, The Children to Lapland Appeal, which he founded in 1987. The Dublin Circuit Court also heard that Murphy has been involved in a new charity, called… Read more »

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article default

Baking Problem

Date: March 24, 2016 - Brief Cases

FRENCH CHEF Olivier Quenet is best known as the owner of the popular French restaurant, La Maison, at Castle Street, D2, although in the past he has invested in various other businesses, including a bakery known as La Boulangerie des Gourmets, based in Finglas, D11. The bakery found itself in a spot of bother with… Read more »

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Acc V Paul McPhillips

Acc V Paul McPhillips

Date: March 24, 2016 - Brief Cases

FANS of Goldhawk will recall the adventures of Cavan businessman Paul McPhillips, a heavily-indebted property investor who has been engaged in a protracted battle with ACC Bank (see The Phoenix 9/10/15). The latest chapter has now been written. There had been good news late last year for McPhillips – who is being supported in his… Read more »

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article default

Motorway Insecurity

Date: March 24, 2016 - Brief Cases

TWO DIRECTORS of a security firm are facing the possibility of being disqualified from acting as directors, with the company’s liquidator alleging around €800,000 of company funds has been misappropriated. Pakistani nationals Kaleem Sheikh and Abrash Khan were the directors of a Dublin-based security firm, Motorway Security Ltd (MSL), which collapsed in 2013. Now the… Read more »

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GregKavanagh

Greg Kavanagh’s Business Associate

Date: March 24, 2016 - Brief Cases

PROPERTY whizzkid Greg Kavanagh got plenty of positive media coverage last week, with reports that his New Generation Homes vehicle is set to pull in €400m from the sale of up to half of its residential development sites. However, he is also in some legal difficulty (again) and appears to be spending as much time… Read more »

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article default

John Sherlock’s Tax Trouble

Date: March 24, 2016 - Brief Cases

A DUBLIN solicitor who made a tax settlement in 2014 for a hefty €405,000 has landed in yet more trouble with the Taxman. Last month, the Revenue registered a judgment for €385,000 against John Sherlock, who practises at Sherlock & Company in Clondalkin, Co Dublin. It will be recalled (see The Phoenix 5/12/14) that Sherlock… Read more »

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mark-kershaw

Mark Kershaw Crashes Out

Date: March 24, 2016 - Brief Cases

MOTOR RACING enthusiast and socialite Mark Kershaw was a prominent feature in the gossip pages during the Celtic Tiger boom years, thanks to his association with various fashion models, but the flash businessman has been slowing down in recent times. In fact, he finds his options greatly restricted. Last month the High Court restricted Kershaw… Read more »

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Brian O’Catháin

Petroceltic shareholders caught in the crossfire

Date: March 24, 2016 - Sport of Kings

THE PURCHASE of 69% of Petroceltic’s $230m borrowings two weeks ago, combined with the appointment of Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton as examiner to the group the week before, means it is game, set and match for Angelo Moskov, boss of the Bulgarian/Russian World View Capital Group – the largest shareholder in Petroceltic. The latter’s… Read more »

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Bernard Byrne

AIB’s profits boosted €1bn by accounting strategy

Date: March 24, 2016 - Moneybags

COMING OUT of the recent economic turmoil, AIB appears to be making a dramatically greater improvement than Bank of Ireland (BoI), declaring a huge recovery in pre-tax profits, with these almost doubling to a whopping €1.9bn for the year 2015, significantly ahead of its BoI rival, which only recorded a 30% increase in pre-tax profits… Read more »

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Paddy Power

IRISH BOOKIES UNDER THE WHIP

Date: March 24, 2016 - Sport of Kings

THE HEAT is being turned up on the betting sector in Ireland. Big time gambling has found itself under the spotlight in recent weeks, including the once Teflon-coated Paddy Power, which was fined over €350,000 by the UK Gambling Commission. That was for breaches of gambling controls that were deemed to facilitate a customer who… Read more »

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Joseph O’Brien

JOSEPH O’BRIEN’S NEW JOB

Date: March 24, 2016 - Sport of Kings

AS WAS widely reported in the racing press, after months of speculation, Twitter statements and course changes, heir to the O’Brien fiefdom, Joseph O’Brien, has called an end to his professional career in the saddle. The dual Irish Champion jockey is to apply for his trainer’s licence after he completes a competency course run by… Read more »

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Kieren Fallon

KIEREN FALLON’S RETURN

Date: March 24, 2016 - Sport of Kings

THE ERRANT Kieren Fallon, who has not been sighted on a British or Irish racetrack for over six months, has resurfaced in County Kildare, where he started his racing career with Kevin Prendergast in the early ’80s. The ex-Champion Jockey, who went missing after he failed to turn up for two booked rides at Tipperary… Read more »

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Padraig McManus

WAITING ON CURRAGH’S NEW BOSS

Date: March 24, 2016 - Sport of Kings

THE SEARCH for a new chief executive at the Curragh racecourse continues and there is still no sign of white smoke emanating from Joe Keeling’s Horse Racing Ireland (HRI)headquarters at Ballymany, three months after applications for the position closed. Goldhawk’s fans will recall (see The Phoenix 29/1/16) that 19 runners declared for the top position… Read more »

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Iain Glen

WATCHING THE DETECTIVES

Date: March 24, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

THE RETURN of author Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor detective series to Galway has largely gone under the radar, perhaps because of the series’ chequered production history in the city and because of the programme’s links to Ralph Christians’s Magma business. Magma collapsed under E5m debts, while U3m was also owed to the Irish Film Board… Read more »

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article default

KCLR Sue Nunn

Date: March 24, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

THE SUNDAY TIMES got a frosty reception when it lobbed in some queries about a dispute between radio station KCLR in Carlow/Kilkenny and its former presenter, Sue Nunn, who has lost her morning show after returning from time off to attend to her terminally ill husband. Given the amount of red ink at the station,… Read more »

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kathleen-holohan

A VISUAL CHALLENGE

Date: March 24, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

THERE HAVE been a number of comings and goings in Carlow’s arts sector in recent weeks, with changes at the Éigse Carlow Arts Festival and a new member appointed to the board of the VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art, where the debts continue to mount. On his way out of the county is Hugo Jellett… Read more »

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the-drowned-detective

THE DROWNED DETECTIVE – NEIL JORDAN (BLOOMSBURY)

Date: March 24, 2016 - BooksReviews

  THE OPENING chapter of Neil Jordan’s first novel since 2011 appears to be in keeping with the conventional fast-paced crime thriller. Jonathan, the narrator, is an English private investigator working in an unspecified Eastern European city. He has been hired by a government minister’s wife to find her husband’s mistress. To begin with, the… Read more »

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sing-street

SING STREET – DIRECTED BY JOHN CARNEY

Date: March 24, 2016 - MoviesReviews

JOHN CARNEY’S obsession with music and film and films about music continues in Sing Street. It is fair to say that this is his most accomplished film so far, building upon the charming Once and the rather less charming Begin Again. As sparse as Once was, Sing Street has all the bells and whistles of… Read more »

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plough-and-the-stars

THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS – ABBEY THEATRE

Date: March 24, 2016 - ReviewsTheatre

NO MATTER what, Sean O’Casey’s Plough was going to be the natural dramatic centrepiece of this year. One of our definitive documents about the Easter Rising, it captures the pain and confusion, the aspirations and misgivings, the division and struggle, in voices that remain fresh and familiar. So, it might be natural for the National… Read more »

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Norma Smurfit

NORMA SMURFIT’S ACTIVITIES

Date: March 24, 2016 - High Society

IT LOOKS like Norma Smurfit has managed to upset Dublin City Councillor Mannix Flynn with her proposal that a ‘pavilion’ for the diaspora be erected in the heart of Dublin’s Merrion Square. The high profile fund raiser wants to help pay the cost of building the €2m structure and gift it to the city, but… Read more »

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charles-noell

CHARLES NOELL’S INVESTMENT

Date: March 24, 2016 - High Society

THE SQUIRE of Ardbraccan House estate in Co Meath, US moneybags Charles E Noells III, has got the thumbs up from Meath County Council for a significant upgrading of the waste water treatment facilities on the sprawling 120 acre estate. Elsewhere, he has been throwing around plenty of his dollars. It will be recalled that… Read more »

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Peter Reynolds

SELLING BALLYMACOLL STUD

Date: March 24, 2016 - High Society

THERE COULD be some interesting runners at the starting gate if the famous Ballymacoll Stud finds itself on the market in the next year, as has been speculated. Having been put firmly on the map by the flamboyant Dorothy Paget in the 1950s, the Co Meath stud outside Dunboyne was picked up for IR£250,000 by… Read more »

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bog cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Date: March 24, 2016 - Bog Cuttings

CROSSBOW ATTACK AFTER MAN KNOCKED OUT OF WHEELCHAIR A MAN who fell out of his wheelchair during a scuffle later shot someone with a crossbow, a court has heard. Thomas Scarlett (36), of Ballynagard Crescent, pleaded guilty to common assault on December 23, 2014. A co-accused, 63-year-old Ivan James Hetherington, of Drumleck Drive, also admitted… Read more »

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FRACKING NORTH AND SOUTH

Date: March 24, 2016 - Fowl Emissions

THE “end of the fossil fuel era” was the favoured description for December’s historic agreement at the COP21 climate summit in Paris, as nearly 200 world leaders pledged to transition rapidly to renewable energy. Whatever this might mean for functioning oil and gas fields, the idea of fracking to find new reserves must now surely… Read more »

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sunday-business-post

Business Post vacancies

Date: March 24, 2016 - Fit to Print?

THE departure of Pat Leahy from the Sunday Business Post to The Irish Times (his deputy political editor title indicating that he will succeed the soon to retire IT political editor, Stephen Collins) has left two vacancies at the Post – political editor and deputy editor of the paper. Post political correspondent Michael Brennan will… Read more »

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Caroline Downey

MCD BLACKLIST CRITIC

Date: March 24, 2016 - Fit to Print?

A WELL written review of musicians like “bestubbled young guitar strummer, Hozier” – too well written – by music critic Ed Power for The Sunday Times recently has resulted in the freelance journalist being blacklisted by MCD Productions. Commenting about the current wave of Irish songsters, Power described them as, “a demographic that regards blandness… Read more »

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