Affairs, 14 April 2021

THE STATUS of the Special Criminal Court as a process beyond question or even debate took another knock this week following the latest miscarriage of justice. The state is on the hook for what is expected to by a considerable compensation payout after a man was convicted and spent 14 months in prison for IRA… Read more »

Affairs, 13 April 2021

A VETERAN SOCIALIST and a rugby grandee debating the merits of monarchism may have been a little on the nose, even for the contrived culture war that frequently forms the basis of Claire Byrne’s vehicle on RTÉ One. Still, even that premise had more potential than the discussion which eventually unfolded on Monday night. The… Read more »

Affairs, 12 April 2021

GOLDHAWK is not entirely surprised to read reports of Stefanie Preissner coming to the aid of government politicians. An article by Ken Foxe in Monday’s Irish Independent names the podcaster and author among those who have been paid for services out of the special secretarial allowance available to cabinet ministers and ministers of state. Foxe… Read more »

Affairs, 9 April 2021

THE REVOLVING door between media and lobbying continues to turn with Alan Cantwell keeping one foot in policy matters. The former TV3 News anchor left broadcasting in 2016 to take a job as press advisor to Mary Mitchell O’Connor at the Department of Enterprise. That relationship ended after just six months, however, and after a… Read more »

Affairs, 9 April 2021

THE CHALLENGE of producing a weekly newspaper column is certainly an arduous one, and even more so when taking it upon oneself to rehash the latest trends and weary talking points for the Irish Times. This week Finn McRedmond asks readers to consider if unsavoury personal details emerging in two recent biographies of author Philip… Read more »

Affairs, 8 April 2021

IRISH MAIL on Sunday columnist and fashion writer, Aisling O’Loughlin, has raised the hackles of several prominent media personalities with her anti-vaccine discussions on Instagram, and she is also trending on Twitter for the same reason. Those challenging her anti-vaccine and anti-mask views – including broadcaster Maia Dunphy and journalists Kirstie McDermott, Jen Hogan and… Read more »

Affairs, 8 April 2021

THE WORST days of conflict in Northern Ireland at least benefited from the absence of social media. As disturbing scenes re-emerged on the Shankhill Road again last night, a number of parallel tensions played out predictably on Twitter. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and DUP leader Arlene Foster were lambasted in great numbers when they… Read more »

Affairs, 7 April 2021

DIVISIONS IN the rural economy continue to simmer but at least one side in a particular conflict is fortunate to have their concerns aired on the national broadcaster. Tuesday’s Prime Time on RTÉ One featured an item on the sale of livestock medicines, using hidden camera footage to show that antibiotics and other drugs are… Read more »

Affairs, 7 April 2021

THE THREAT of strike action by teachers is likely to see the goodwill generated towards the profession during the pandemic fast evaporating, if the public reaction to their vaccine prioritisation demand is anything to go by. The three teachers’ unions have agreed to table a joint motion to their respective congresses to commit the unions… Read more »

Affairs, 6 April 2021

A CAREER in Irish politics may be just about the only place more precarious than journalism at the moment, so it is interesting to see the latest addition to the Social Democrats’ back room. The Indo’s loss is Catherine Murphy and Roisin Shortall’s gain, as columnist Colette Browne departs after almost a decade to take… Read more »

Affairs, 6 April 2021

IRISH AFFAIRS have not been entirely neglected at the Financial Times while the paper waits to replace Arthur Beesley. After five years as European diplomatic correspondent and then Ireland correspondent with the FT, the Irish Times former economics editor has returned to Tara Street (see The Phoenix 25/3/21), while Laura Noonan temporarily fills his old… Read more »

Affairs, 1 April 2021

IRELAND BECAME an unlikely protagonist in the simmering tensions between China and the EU this week following the decision of Yvonne Murray to leave Beijing. Citing state surveillance and intimidation, the RTÉ correspondent departed “in a hurry” on Tuesday, relocating with her family to Taiwan where many journalists in similar situations have carried on their… Read more »

Affairs, 31 March 2021

THE SUBTEXT of a recent intervention from Peter Robinson has been the cause of some speculation as debate over the protocol, border poll and constitutional future intensifies. Writing in the Newsletter last week, the former DUP leader runs the standard list of grievances and concludes that “I can think of no period over my 50… Read more »

Affairs, 31 March 2021

AS FAR as reviews of Oireachtas Committees go, Tuesday’s apparently popcorn-worthy event at the Public Accounts Committee has certainly generated critical acclaim. Under the headline, “A 25-year odyssey to expose bogus self-employment,” Michael Clifford writes in the Examiner that “Martin McMahon doesn’t fit the typical profile of a witness to an Oireachtas committee. Those who… Read more »

Affairs, 31 March 2021

FEW OUTSIDE of partisan self-interest believed that the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) would pursue a case against Sinn Féin members reported for attendance at the funeral of Bobby Storey. The real issue was never a case of social distancing or health regulations, (see The Phoenix 16/7/20), and the PSNI this week attempted to reaffirm its… Read more »

Affairs, 30 March 2021

IT WOULD be unsurprising if the usual crew of jobbing TV presenters weren’t looking over their shoulders as musician, Una Healy, continues to make inroads into the world of Irish TV and radio hosting. Having returned to live in Ireland from the UK when her marriage ended to English rugby union player, Ben Foden, the… Read more »

Affairs, 26 March 2021

LOW STAKES contests, such as Seanad by-elections, have a habit of creating outsized political dynamite. Some years after great promises of reform, the upper house remains a seeding ground for potential TDs and a refuge for those banished from the Dáil. Because of this, vacant seats and Taoiseach’s nominations are routinely carved up in pure… Read more »

Affairs, 26 March 2021

GOLDHAWK EXPECTS serious consequences as a result of the latest Prime Time Investigates. The story, by RTÉ reporter Conor Ryan, that the Departments of Health and Education have a policy of secretly and possibly illegally building dossiers on autistic children who are involved in legal action against the state has caused revulsion at large and… Read more »

Affairs, 26 March 2021

QUITE A few liberals around Leinster House will be feeling exposed this week following remarks from the high priests of human rights. The International Protection Act is back in the spotlight after sharp criticism during a joint event hosted by Sinéad Gibney, Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), and Enda… Read more »

Affairs, 26 March 2021

POP DUO “Jedward” shaving their trademark quiffs off on The Late Late Show for charity seems in keeping with the brothers shedding their ditsy image in recent months. Now 29, John and Edward Grimes have been eschewing their high-octane, madcap antics lately in favour of poking their heads above the parapet on current affairs and… Read more »

Affairs, 24 March 2021

AFTER MANY years of legal brawling before the nation’s judges, Ben Gilroy appears to be warming to the Irish court system. Having made his name as an “anti-eviction activist”, Gilroy, who has currently hitched his wagon to the Irish Freedom Party and the anti-lock-down cause, was, in a 2018 High Court order, banned from dispensing… Read more »

Affairs, 24 March 2021

THE GOVERNMENT’S GLACIAL implementation of an obviously futile regime it calls “mandatory hotel quarantine” has satisfied no one, though cabinet figures, in line with much of official strategy to date, are happy to brazen it out and hope for the best. With public patience already nosediving, should opposition criticism later be vindicated on this front,… Read more »

Affairs, 23 March 2021

THE ROAD to reforming Ireland’s outdated licensing laws took another step forward this week as representatives from the pub and restaurant trade wake up to the benefits of modernisation. After almost two decades of stalled reform, the previous Government became receptive to the demand for reform in 2019 under trendy Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who passed… Read more »

Affairs, 22 March 2021

JIM O’CALLAGHAN’S bid for party leadership takes an interesting detour this week with an invitation to Cambridge University. The Dublin Bay South TD announced last week that he is to speak at an event hosted by Sidney Sussex College on the political, economic and legal consequences of Irish reunification. Ahead of the event on Tuesday,… Read more »