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January 31 - February 13, 2020
Affairs of the Nation
SF SPECTRE LOOMS
FIANNA FÁIL TDs believe that Micheál Martin will be forced to do the U-turn of the millennium and form a coalition government with Sinn Féin after the arithmetic reality in... Read more »
JOSEPHA’S VACANCIES
ONE OF the games played by politics watchers around election time is clocking how many board appointments the various outgoing ministers manage to make before a new government is finally... Read more »
TARGETING THE SCIENTOLOGISTS
THE RULING earlier this month by High Court judge Mark Heslin greenlighting the Scientologists’ multi-million euro drug treatment centre in the Meath village of Ballivor has put the issue back... Read more »
Sponsored Content
The Evolution of Company Secretaries: Navigating Governance in a Dynamic Landscape
Nadine Conlon, President, The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland In the past decade, the role of the company secretary has undergone a remarkable transformation, evolving from a technical... Read more »
MURPHY’S LAW RUNS IN RANELAGH
Even if Eoghan Murphy is relieved of his environment ministerial portfolio, he may not be free from planning issues. The local worthies in Ranelagh were less than impressed when, on... Read more »
FARMERS’ VENGEANCE ON CREED
A BIG scalp hiding in plain sight is that of Michael Creed but, if the agriculture minister loses his seat, which Fine Gael members fear will happen, it will be... Read more »
FOLLOW THE MONEY
Leo Varadkar’s two-and-a-half years as taoiseach saw him use the previously obscure ‘money message’ to block 55 pieces of legislation that had won majority Dáil support. Frustrated opposition parties last... Read more »
ARTHUR NUGENT’S LICENCE
GOLDHAWK has reported elsewhere (see p5) on the bruising judgment issued by Judge Peter Kelly in the High Court in relation to an appeal lodged by the Property Services Regulatory... Read more »
TACKLING TONY ENSOR
FORMER LAW Society president and international rugby star Tony Ensor exposed a soft shoulder to High Court president Peter Kelly earlier this month. The judge ruled in favour of an... Read more »
ROBERT NAIRAC OUTED
BRITISH ARMY undercover operative Captain Robert Nairac’s central involvement in the 1975 Miami Showband Massacre has now been finally confirmed at Belfast High Court, as Goldhawk predicted (see The Phoenix,... Read more »
ARAMARK DROPS OUT
Activists in Trinity College Dublin are basking in the afterglow of a victory in their fight against the on-campus presence of US food services giant Aramark, which owns posh food... Read more »
Pillars of Society
PROFILE: EAMON RYAN
IS EAMON RYAN poised to become tánaiste in a coalition government that again involves the Green Party? And again with Fianna Fáil? The Green... Read more »
The Young Bloods
YOUNG BLOOD: JAMES O’CONNOR
YOUNG FIANNA Fáil candidate James O’Connor was lucky to land on the general election ticket in the Cork East constituency, but the whippersnapper may... Read more »
Coillte : Positioning Wood as the Sustainable Building Material of the Future
Coillte‘s forestry strategic vision aims to balance and deliver the multiple benefits of its forests for climate, nature, wood, and people. This is a long-term vision that will see... Read more »
Fit to Print?
MARKING PAUL’S CARDS
A CLARIFICATION in the Irish Times noted recently that its article about foreign investment in Israel “involved a visit to Israel… organised and funded by the Europe Israel Press Association”... Read more »
‘FRIENDLY’ SPIES
AN INTRIGUING story appeared in the Irish Times before Christmas headlined, “Cabinet warned about threat from foreign spies”. The story referred to a defence policy review that warned of spies... Read more »
ADVERTISING SNAKE BITES
IN AN unusual departure for the Irish Times, the newspaper devoted two full-coloured broadsheet pages (pages two and three in front of the news section) to an advertisement for Sky... Read more »
Last Refuge
VARADKAR’S RUNNING MATES
IT’S HARD to recall any taoiseach that has failed to bring in a running mate in their own constituency at a general election and, certainly, Goldhawk’s voluminous files show that,... Read more »
HOWLIN’S KERRY BLUES
REPEATED REPORTS that Brendan Howlin and Labour expect to take 14 or 15 seats at the election can best be judged by the complete collapse of the party in what... Read more »
GREY BLUESHIRT STAFF BROWNED OFF
THE Fine Gael boo-boo on pensions has angered not only grey voters – that most prolific cohort – but also grey grafters among the Fine Gael staff in Leinster House.... Read more »
COVENEY’S CAPTAIN IN ELECTION ROW
WITH Fine Gael heading for electoral defeat, the locus of the party leadership is likely to move rapidly from Dublin to Cork with traditional, rural Blueshirts preparing to replace the... Read more »
Bog Cuttings
BOG CUTTINGS 3802
DOG ATE PENALTY NOTICE A solicitor proffered a familiar excuse for his client’s failure to pay a fixed-charge penalty notice during a hearing at Cahersiveen District Court. Defendant John Kennedy... Read more »
Fowl Emissions
CLIMATE ELECTION?
With the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, surely this was to be climate election? Surveys show a majority of voters want climate action to be a priority. Journalists... Read more »
GAS MAN PHIL HOGAN
As Blueshirt ministers do their best to sound concerned about the climate crisis, former colleague Phil Hogan is refreshingly devoid of such virtue-signalling. Speaking in Washington, the EU’s new trade... Read more »
Foreign Frolics
BAHRAIN AND THE DUP
THE TWO death sentences on civil rights activists in Bahrain would be a further embarrassment to the DUP if the Irish and British media showed a real interest in human... Read more »
NOEL CORCORAN’S HUMANITARIAN FUND
GOLDHAWK spotted an entity with the impressive name of The United Development Humanitarian Fund being added to the Companies Office strike-off list. This turns out to be an operation established... Read more »
The Hot Air Brigade
THE HOT AIR BRIGADE 3802
Hello my fellow citizen, this is my first time running in, The General Election but it’s now time to bring about change & if your sick & tired of the... Read more »
High Society
FIONA McHUGH’S OTHER INVESTOR
WITH THE denizens of leafy Dublin 6 still mourning the passing of their beloved Fallon & Byrne supermarket – sorry, food hall – and wondering where to now source quality... Read more »
DR EVA’S PRISON
FANS OF health guru Dr Eva Orsmond have presumably been glued to the TV on Sunday nights to watch Dr Eva’s Great Escape, in which the bolshy medic heads to... Read more »
ADRIAN BLANC’S FOXROCK PILE
IF THE last couple of years were bad ones for Foxrock-based suit Adrian Blanc (also known as Adrian Le Blanc), 2020 hasn’t got off to a better start, with the... Read more »
Transform Your Outdoor Space with A Room Outside…
Established in 2009 by Liam and Caroline Whelan, A Room Outside has gone from strength to strength to be the leading suppliers of hot tubs, swim spas, outdoor kitchens,... Read more »
Behind the Scenes
IN AND OUT AT THE ARTS COUNCIL
SOME ITEMS in the recent Arts Council minutes caught Goldhawk’s eye. For example, it was noted, “There is still uncertainty over the allowable use of €1.5m of the [2020] grant... Read more »
VARADKAR’S PLOT SPOILER
THE UPWARDS trajectory continues for Troy Studios in Limerick, where Siún Ní Raghallaigh, chief executive and shareholder, has proved adept at squeezing public cash out of various sources. Some comments... Read more »
BLAKE LIVELY’S RHYTHM SECTION
FANS OF The Phoenix who like their Nordic-Noir detective series may have watched the last episode of Wisting on BBC4 last week, but only those who watched through to the... Read more »
NEW TUNE FOR THE NCH
IT WILL be interesting to see if culture minister Josepha Madigan looks to make a few board appointments before the new government is in place. One of the national cultural... Read more »
Sport of Kings
PHOENIX RISES
DESPITE EXPLOSIVE allegations late last year of money laundering and using the proceeds of a crypto-currency Ponzi scheme to fund the investment of tens of millions of euro into bloodstock... Read more »
BRIAN HUGHES’S OPPORTUNITY
THE SAYING ‘one man’s loss is another man’s gain’ can often ring true in jump racing and the recent injury suffered by reigning champion jockey Richard Johnson is a case... Read more »
MICK O’LEARY’S RATING PROBLEM
WITH THE Cheltenham Festival looming, the thorny issue of Irish-trained horses being allotted higher handicap marks in Britain compared to Ireland has again raised its head. Questions were asked a... Read more »
JOHN MAGNIER’S FRENCH FANCY
COOLMORE STUD is known to be relentless in its pursuit of dominance in the breeding world and the latest acquisition by John Magnier and his squad of heavy hitters is... Read more »
Reviews
THE STYLE COUNSELLORS – (RTÉ 1)
THE LATEST home-produced makeover series is presented by Suzanne Jackson and Eileen Smith – described by RTÉ as “two social media sensations”. At the start of each programme, the 35-year-old... Read more »
Books
BLINDBOY BOATCLUB – BOULEVARD WREN AND OTHER STORIES (GILL BOOKS)
THE FIRST laugh generated by Boulevard Wren unintentionally arrives courtesy of the publishers, Gill Books, which assert that Blindboy Boatclub is “one of Ireland’s most anarchic satirists”. It’s a description... Read more »
Moneybags
IAN IRELAND IMPRESSES AT DONEGAL INVESTMENTS
IAN IRELAND, a Denis Brosnan acolyte at Kerry Group, has been running Donegal Creameries – now called the Donegal Investment Group (DIG) – for 15 years. In that time, he... Read more »
KOLLECT TAPS SCANDINAVIAN MARKET
WATERFORD entrepreneur John O’Connor pulled off a neat trick in raising €2.5m by offering shares in his Kollect waste operation at €1.33 on the tiny Nasdaq First North market in... Read more »
How To Protect Yourself From the Next Banking Crisis
Dave Russell, CEO, GoldCore Ltd This year 88.5% of respondents to Goldcore‘s annual survey told us that they ‘view owning gold as a way to protect against bank failure.’... Read more »
The Hot Water Brigade
IMAGE MEDIA’S IMAGE PROBLEM
A BAD HAIR day for Image Publications CEO Clodagh Edwards, whose Irish female-fronted glossy monthly Image magazine came under fire online earlier this month over the late payment of freelancers.... Read more »
DOMINO’S DOUGH KNOTS IN A TWIST
THE TAXMAN placed a tall order with Domino’s this month. It successfully quashed an appeal by the pizza chain’s Irish franchisee, Karshan (Midlands) Ltd, over the question of whether it... Read more »
HYNES DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
THE INEVITABLE has arrived for embattled jewellery merchant Frank Hynes (see The Phoenix, 13/12/19). His business, Hynes Jewellers (Wexford) Ltd, was wound up by the taxman earlier this month. Revenue... Read more »
ALAN SMYTH’S WEEDS
THE WEEDS have appeared for Kildare-based landscape gardening consultant Alan Smyth, who had a judgment for €185,000 registered against him by the taxman earlier this month. The former civil engineer,... Read more »
NUMBER 88 NOT SO LUCKY FOR WU
A BAD start to the Chinese New Year for Chinese businessman Guoqing Wu (known here as Colm Wu). The taxman came along to spoil celebrations when a judgement for €88,000... Read more »
FETHERSTON’S CLEAR OUT
MICHAEL FETHERSTON, the low-profile operator of the TLC nursing homes group, has featured heavily in the headlines recently. The moneybags will soon finalise the purchase of deluxe golf resort the... Read more »
MARCINIAK MAKES HER MARK
THE DUST is not going to settle for troubled upmarket grocer Fallon & Byrne any time soon. Even though a recent cash injection from the company’s remaining investors is welcome,... Read more »
WASTE NOT, WANT LOTS
THINGS ARE tense in the town of Tullamore, Co Offaly, where local businessmen Brian Colgan and Brendan Guinan have elevated an ongoing dispute to the High Court. Guinan, through his... Read more »
BRIAN CONROY’S RECEIVERS
BANK OF IRELAND has appointed receivers Abdullahi Jambo and Richard Keith Roe, of Eddisons Commercial Ltd in Leeds, in relation to a €1m mortgage charged on one of the properties... Read more »
‘Layers of Dublin Port’ Mapped for First Time in New Conservation Strategy
On April 30, Dublin Port Company (DPC) unveiled its inaugural Conservation Strategy, meticulously documenting the layered tapestry of natural, industrial, and cultural heritage within Dublin Port, spanning over three... Read more »
AINTREE ANTICS
WHILE ZILLIONAIRE Geneva tax resident JP McManus won his third Aintree Grand ...
SUSAN O’REILLY’S ‘APPARITION’
A “STUNNING beachfront house hovering over the water in Howth” has attracted ...
MARK GALLAGHER’S €10M MANSION
THE ADVERTISING by Sherry FitzGerald of a redbrick pile on leafy Ailesbury ...
JOHN MAGNIER’S SILAGE
JOHN MAGNIER, obviously not thwarted by the previous rejection of his acts ...
LYRA V BEYONCÉ
IT HAS been hard to avoid Irish singer Laura McNamara (aka Lyra) ...
LARA HICKEY’S CLOSE-UP
THE FILM and TV business has long been one where ‘who you ...
CATHERINE MARTIN’S LATEST VACANCY
THE RETICENCE of arts and culture minister Catherine Martin when it comes ...
TONY’S FAILED APPEAL
THE RECENT overturning by the IHRB appeals panel of the referral committee’s ...
O’BRIEN’S OBSTACLES
While trainer Aidan O’Brien supplied three of the five runners in Leopardstown’s ...
DES McGAHAN’S BOLTHOLE BLUES
GOLDHAWK SPIED yet another glowing report in the Business Post on the ...