AMY HUBERMAN’S GLITTERING WEEK
Affairs, 18 October 2021
AMY HUBERMAN’S latest jewellery collaboration with Newbridge Silverware has just been released, with the Kildare-headquartered jewellery manufacturer and retailer undoubtedly hoping her star wattage will help boost sales after it reported a loss of €1.5m for 2019. La Huberman is in great demand these days, with Dancing With The Stars’ boss Larry Bass revealing he’d… Read more »
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ST TAKES ON ROONEY
Affairs, 15 October 2021
HOW CURIOUS to see the Sunday Times get so worked up about Sally Rooney’s support for the BDS Movement. Just weeks after panning the Irish author’s latest novel as “mechanical” and too similar to its predecessors, the ST has now condemned her decision to shun what the paper says is an opportunity to “move the… Read more »
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BILLY KEANE’S BRIGHT SIDE
Affairs, 15 October 2021
AS A publican with a newspaper column, Billy Keane has had a national platform to put forward his industry’s case all through the pandemic. Whether his beleaguered colleagues in the hospitality industry agree with him that “the pubs are winners” of Budget 2022 remains to be seen, particularly as they have spent much of the… Read more »
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DONAL SKEHAN MOTORS ON
Affairs, Fowl Emissions, 14 October 2021
UBIQUITOUS TELLY chef Donal Skehan is the latest celeb promising to save the planet by er, promoting a Land Rover. Fans of Goldhawk will already be familiar with well known faces like Brian O’Driscoll, Diarmuid Gavin and Kathryn Thomas making the same contribution to virtual sustainability in recent weeks but Skehan has emerged as a… Read more »
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MCDOWELL’S RTE PLOT
Affairs, 14 October 2021
A SPECTRE is haunting Michael McDowell and the paranoia is palpable with the senator twice now using his Irish Times column to outline suspicions of a public service plot. In August and again this week, the former minister has suggested that there is an unspoken strategy through which State and semi-State advertising revenue is deliberately… Read more »
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IRELAND AM’S BIGGER ISSUES
Affairs, 14 October 2021
IRELAND AM may be hoping that nobody pens another complaint to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, hot on the heels of the broadcasting regulator rejecting a complaint about Alan Hughes laughing at a “sugary rim” reference during a cocktail-making segment. At a time when language that stigmatises weight and larger sizes is carefully monitored, could… Read more »
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AIRBNB STRATEGY
Affairs, 13 October 2021
THE EMBATTLED Airbnb continues its march on the road to redemption after its business model skirted on the brink of collapse in 2020. The controversial Dublin based tech giant managed to win back the confidence of investors in a successful flotation late last year, but the battle to repair its public image remains ongoing. The… Read more »
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SALLY ROONEY’S BDS
Affairs, 13 October 2021
IF EVER an unstoppable force met an immovable object, the relentless speculation and debate around Sally Rooney finally collided with the Israeli occupation. News emerged on Monday that the author has ended a business relationship with Modan House, the company which had published Hebrew editions of the first two of her three novels. Even by… Read more »
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RSVP’S ADVERTISING HIGHLIGHTS
Affairs, 12 October 2021
GREAT NEWS for all those receiving glowing endorsements in RSVP’s Hair Awards 2021, where the magazine sets out to “recognise the salons, stylists, colourists and creative geniuses who are constantly making waves and pushing the boundaries in Ireland’s hairdressing industry.” The six-page spread is marked as an “advertorial,” and indeed there is a high coincidence… Read more »
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DONNELLY SPARES MARTIN’S BLUSHES
Affairs, 8 October 2021
THE APPEARANCE of Paul Reid and Robert Watt at the Oireachtas proved to be a predictably unsatisfactory encounter, with attention now turning to later in the month, when those who resigned from the now shuttered Sláintecare Implementation Advisory Council (SIAC) are expected to appear before TDs and Senators. One who will certainly be relieved with… Read more »
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LORRAINE KEANE’S WHEELY BIG PROBLEM
Affairs, 8 October 2021
LORRAINE KEANE is a dab hand at garnering media headlines, but Spinal Injuries Ireland could have done without the backlash she received for spending a day in a wheelchair to raise awareness of the challenges facing chair users. The other celebs, politicians and businesspeople who took part in the charity stunt emerged unscathed in a… Read more »
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PR BLITZ
Affairs, 6 October 2021
THE RELATIONSHIP between spin doctors and the press is a delicate tension, often adversarial or sometimes perceived as a tad too collaborative. Rarely are the so-called handlers deeply scrutinised in print, and, increasingly, journalists are departing the trade for the greener pastures of “comms”. In what is also becoming a frequent example of movement in… Read more »
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LAW LIBRARY LOBBYING
Affairs, 6 October 2021
THE SPECTRE of “competitiveness” has once again entered the headlines with fears about rising costs, wages and inflation. The timing could hardly be more inconvenient for Ciara Murphy, Chief Executive at the Bar Council of Ireland, who has been heavily lobbying the Government in a bid to turn back the clock. The legal profession put… Read more »
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RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SAVAGE
Affairs, 4 October 2021
GOLDHAWK LOVES a happy ending and finds it heartwarming that Anton Savage will be walking through the doors of Marconi House again, five years after departing from Today FM when his objectives for his show and those held by management “diverged greatly.” Months after Dinny handed the baton over to Bauer Media Audio, Savage has… Read more »
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DOIREANN GARRIHY’S SWEET ENDING
Affairs, 29 September 2021
CHOCOLATE-LOVERS in Montrose are surely salivating in anticipation of the free Toblerones winging towards 2fm, as two airports compete to replace presenter Doireann Garrihy’s lost duty free haul. After the national broadcaster’s golden girl tweeted about leaving her chocolate stash behind in a bathroom at Dublin Airport, Shannon Airport seized on the opportunity to usurp… Read more »
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LARRY BASS’S BUSYNESS
Affairs, 27 September 2021
TV PRODUCER Larry Bass’s stint on RTÉ’s board was short-lived, but the good news is that he has plenty to keep him occupied on the business front. Last month, the CEO of ShinAwil and his wife Catherine became directors of the company behind a new film and television studio, Font Hill Studios, along with Niall… Read more »
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MEDIA CLIMBS THE GOOGLE TRAIN
Affairs, 24 September 2021
“IN IRELAND, Google supports news publishers in a number of ways”, at least according to several similar articles on Friday. The Irish Times, Clare Echo, Connaught Telegraph, Donegal Daily and others, including a blog on the tech giant’s own website, each inform readers that this support comes in the shape of “innovation funding and training,… Read more »
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NICKY BYRNE’S SWAGGER
Affairs, 24 September 2021
NICKY BYRNE has confessed to being “broken-hearted” over leaving 2fm in 2019, but seems confident that the station will roll out the welcome mat when he returns from touring with Westlife to resume his radio career. The middle-aged crooner told RSVP Magazine that he “may have to” look to Radio 1 for a future gig… Read more »
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THE GAS MEN
Affairs, Fowl Emissions, 23 September 2021
THE SQUEEZE on gas prices could hardly come at a more inconvenient moment as governments across Europe face into a difficult political winter. Energy minister Éamon Ryan has promised budget interventions to mitigate what he says is a “significant but hopefully short-term problem,” and the issue underlines the increasing uncertainty of reliance on fossil fuels…. Read more »
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LASERS ON THE LAGAN
Affairs, Hush Hush, 23 September 2021
SOME GOOD news for Belfast industry with the announcement that the British Ministry of Defence plans to develop next-generation technology at the Thales Air Defence facility. New contracts to manufacture so-called Direct Energy Weapons (DEWs) has been reported prosaically as a standard jobs boost story, but what exactly does this entail? Economic headlines have not… Read more »
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DEVILS ADVOCATE
Affairs, 23 September 2021
THE GOD Squad were no doubt thrilled with the blessing received by the President during his recent visit to the Vatican. Michael D Higgins has long been something of an anti-Christ for Irish moral guardians, who took credit for the loss of the liberal’s Dáil seat in 1982 and still find great exception each December… Read more »
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EMILY HOURICAN’S GLORIOUS PR
Affairs, 22 September 2021
IT’S THAT time of year again when the Sindo devotes itself to pulling out the stops to promote its journalist Emily Hourican’s latest book. The paper granted Hourican a double-page spread over the weekend to whet their interest in her fictionalised version of the lives of the Guinness sisters in the 1930s. It also received… Read more »
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SEAN TINKLER’S TAXING ISSUES
Affairs, 21 September 2021
THE REVENUE’S recently-published list of tax defaulters indicated that a penalty of over €1/4m was imposed by the courts on Wicklow man, Sean Tinkler, in relation to a non-declaration of income tax and VAT. It is not the first time Tinkler has found himelf in a spot of bother, as in April 2013, he was… Read more »
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JUST RETURNS
Affairs, 17 September 2021
SOCIAL DEMOCRAT TD Jennifer Whitmore has established herself as a committed voice on environmental issues in a campaign that now extends to recycling Green Party legislation. The Wicklow TD this week tabled a Just Transition Bill based heavily on one first championed by Éamon Ryan while in opposition. In short, the idea goes that workers… Read more »
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FIANNA FÁIL’S WOMEN
Affairs, 17 September 2021
DAILY MAIL columnist Niamh Walsh has been condemned by right thinking society for her remarks about the fashion choices of a number of Fianna Fáil politicians. The polite consensus is that such criticism will deter good people, and women in particular, from entering politics, but there has been no room in the hubbub for comment… Read more »
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BRESSIE’S SHUBBY GOOD NEWS
Affairs, 17 September 2021
ALTHOUGH THEY took a five-year hiatus from 2010-2015, there is good news for fans of The Blizzards. Its members Niall “Bressie” Breslin, Declan Murphy, Justin Ryan and Louize Carroll set up a new company earlier this month called Shubby Good Ltd, which suggests a commitment to the future. While he lamented to RTÉ that the… Read more »
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MARTIN MAULS THE MEDIA
Affairs, 16 September 2021
FRESH FROM what must have been a productive party think-in, it is most interesting to see where Micheál Martin points the finger for Fianna Fáil’s problems. An Taoiseach launched an extraordinary attack on the Dublin media from the floor of Dáil Éireann on Wednesday evening, singling out broadcasters in particular for “partitionist” tendencies. Arguing that… Read more »
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CO-LIVING TROUBLES
Affairs, 16 September 2021
UNCERTAIN TIMES for superstar developer Reza Merchant with the New York property media reporting this week that his start up, The Collective, is on the edge of bankruptcy. As one of the evangelists for so-called co-living, Merchant’s attention has extended beyond New York and London, and naturally on to Dublin, where The Collective plans to… Read more »
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NO PROGRESS ON COMMISSION REPORT LEAK
Affairs, 16 September 2021
LEAKS CONTINUE to haunt the Government as its handling of the Mother and Baby Homes debacle comes back under the spotlight. The first day of a new Dáil term saw an unlikely alliance of Mary Lou McDonald and her erstwhile colleague, Peadar Tóibín, who questioned An Taoiseach about the progress of an internal investigation launched… Read more »
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SCRATCH FILMS’ PUSH
Affairs, 15 September 2021
WITH RTÉ and the Rotunda hospital under fire over the filming of the documentary series, The Rotunda, the production company behind the series wasn’t rushing to respond to media queries. Scratch Films barely got a mention as the broadcaster and the maternity hospital wrangled criticism from the public, media and politicians, induced by film crews… Read more »
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LAURA WHITMORE’S MEDDLING
Affairs, 13 September 2021
WHILE HAPPY to be paid to promote careers in the British Army, the perpetually offended Laura Whitmore has never ventured into the fray when it comes to Irish politics – until now. Leaving aside the laughable sight of a FF politician taking umbrage over a trivial comment when the party has some serious issues on… Read more »
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IS DREW HARRIS STILL UP FOR THE JOB?
Affairs, 10 September 2021
HAS REFORMER Drew Harris been consumed by the very culture he was hired to transform? The Garda Commissioner has expressed forceful opposition to a long fought for organisational shake up as the Government’s Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill undergoes pre-legislative scrutiny. The Irish Times reports that Harris takes issue with several proposals in the… Read more »
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JAMES LOWE’S SWEET DREAMS
Affairs, 9 September 2021
LEINSTER RUGBY star James Lowe ended last season on a pretty poor run of form, but if the Irish Times’s ‘Me & My Money’ column is anything to go by, he’s found his touch again. For proof, look at his skillful use of an otherwise harmless Q&A about his spending habits, to give his team-mate… Read more »
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STEFANIE PREISSNER’S LOLLY LOVE
Affairs, 9 September 2021
DOSH-LOVING Stefanie Preissner was at pains to point out to Sindo readers last weekend that she wouldn’t have been able to afford a house deposit without the help of an inheritance from a deceased relative. Despite the income generated by her column, book publishing deals, TV series, theatre shows and supplying public-relations advice to Fianna… Read more »
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SEAN LUCEY’S EXIT
Affairs, 8 September 2021
INTERESTING TO see board member Sean Lucey depart Actavo just as business might begin to improve. Filings in the Companies Office reveal that Lucey resigned from parent Actavo and several of its holdings, including events, construction and engineering divisions, at the end of August. Lucey joined Actavo as Chief Financial Officer in October 2018 back… Read more »
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DONAL SKEHAN’S CHEESE
Affairs, 8 September 2021
WITH SLIM pickings on the RTÉ Player, viewers must sustain themselves on unmissable vehicles like Donal and Nico’s Cheesy Road Trip sandwiched between Winning Streak, Home & Away and Fair City. An online “original” sees the ubiquitous chef Skehan joined by “rising food star”, Nico Reynolds, as they travel West Cork “in search of the… Read more »
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