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DATA DELUGE

Date: March 20, 2025 -

Won’t anyone think of the data centres? Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s heartfelt plea to end the “demonisation of data centres” came shortly after his supplicating visit to the White House to present the traditional bowl of shamrock to US president Donal Trump. Martin’s comments are indicative of frantic efforts at Government level to avoid incurring the… Read more »

DYSFUNCTIONAL STORMONT

Date: March 20, 2025 -

The Stormont executive repeatedly demonstrates that it is dysfunctional – and it’s not just the failure to agree on policies, leading to stagnation and stand-offs, or that nothing is achieved. The executive fails to function as an administrative bureaucracy and it seems to be accountable to no one. For example, early this month, NI comptroller… Read more »

FF PRESIDENTIAL PROBLEMS

Date: March 20, 2025 -

IN THE absence of a strong leftist-republican candidate, November’s presidential campaign is a contest which Fianna Fáil would surely be favourites to win – if only they had a stand-out candidate. The trouble is there are big question marks over the only personalities that could or would win it for the party and the candidates… Read more »

THERE AIN’T NOTHING LIKE A DAME

Date: March 20, 2025 -

DAME LOUISE RICHARDSON will have been pleased, although hardly surprised, that the Government is moving on her recommendation that it drop the triple lock. Richardson chaired Micheál Martin’s “inclusive” Consultative Forum on International Security Policy in 2023, which was stuffed with anti-neutrality and militarist personalities. Despite stating that the forum was not designed to make… Read more »

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Date: March 20, 2025 -

MENTOR McGRATH Dear Editor, I would like to clarify some issues in relation to Barry Heneghan TD. Barry supports the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) and will be doing so when it comes before the Dáil. He will not bottle it when all the technical and legal flaws are resolved. He totally supports the Palestinian people… Read more »

PAUL TWEED’S MIDDLE EAST ROW

Date: March 20, 2025 -

EVEN LAWYER to the stars Paul Tweed can claim to have suffered collateral damage in the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East. Tweed has been accused (and cleared) of mounting a Slapp (strategic litigation against public participation) action against military academic and security consultant Dr Andreas Krieg. But the solicitor has taken an action in… Read more »

OLD BAILEY

Date: March 20, 2025 -

GOLDHAWK WAS surprised that the Sunday Independent did not put on its front page Senan Molony’s scoop last weekend about a breakthrough in his quest to posthumously convict Ian Bailey for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. The opening line in Senan’s exclusive declared that a media witness in the original murder investigation had… Read more »

TONE-DEAF ‘IRISH TIMES’

Date: March 20, 2025 -

THE IRISH TIMES last week published a letter from History Ireland editor Tommy Graham, who was questioning Trinity College Dublin for the controlled process by which it ensured that poet Eavan Boland’s name was chosen for the college’s library to replace that of slave-owner and slavery-advocate Bishop George Berkeley. The public were invited to nominate… Read more »

PRESENCE PAY DAY

Date: March 20, 2025 -

PR QUEENS Joanne Byrne and Sinéad Ryan are winding up their successful Presence Communications PR and celebrity company after more than 20 years but the good news is that the gals are already up and running in their new business, with a third partner now on the share register. Impressively, according to the most-up-to-date filings… Read more »

CATHERINE FULVIO’S HIDDEN RECIPE

Date: March 20, 2025 -

SO-CALLED celebrity chef Catherine Fulvio’s latest dish was an undercooked offering served up on RTÉ to celebrate Paddy’s weekend – Catherine Fulvio’s St Patrick’s Way. While the reaction to the show that she executive-produced with Another Avenue was lukewarm (“flavour-free stodge”, according to the Irish Times), it is possible that the Yanks will lap it… Read more »

ART ATTACK

Date: March 20, 2025 -

COVERAGE OF the arts took a bit of a hit this week, with the Business Post editor announcing the dumping of the Arts & Living supplement and its replacement by something called Life & Luxury. Apparently, the new offering is “a fresh and sophisticated take on how we live, entertain, travel and interest ourselves”, according… Read more »

CHELTENHAM CHALLENGES

Date: March 20, 2025 -

THERE WERE plenty of interesting match-ups at Cheltenham last week, notably reigning champion Galopin Des Champs failing in his attempt to win three Gold Cups when finishing behind the supplemented JP McManus Leopardstown eye-catcher Inothewayurthinkin on the final day. Once again, Willie Mullins dominated proceedings and was crowned champion trainer for the 12th time, while… Read more »

ERIC’S APPEAL

Date: March 20, 2025 -

FOLLOWING THE lacklustre run of Mount Ferns in Clonmel last month, the race-day stewards clamped down and fined trainer Eric McNamara €6,000, suspended his jockey son, Conor, for a hefty 40 days and banned the horse for 90 days for breach of rule 212A(i) – “deliberately or recklessly causing or permitting a horse to run… Read more »

GLANBIA’S SHARE-PRICE CORRECTION LOOKS OVERDONE

Date: March 20, 2025 -

THE OUTLOOK was positive when CEO Siobhán Talbot headed into the sunset early last year, having scooped a phenomenal remuneration package of €8m for 2023 and Hugh Maguire stepped into her shoes. He apparently seamlessly moved up after running the high-growth Glanbia Performance Nutrition (GPN) division for 15 years. Today negativity is the order of… Read more »

UNIPHAR’S PRESCRIPTION IS HARD TO READ

Date: March 20, 2025 -

UNIPHAR CHAIRMAN Maurice Pratt and CEO Ger Rabbette have overseen a major transformation of the company over the last 15 years and today it boasts sales of €2.77bn as well as a dominant 54% share of the wholesale pharmaceutical market and 60% of the hospital supply market in Ireland. Profitability, however, is a cause for… Read more »

LIGHTS, CAMERA, NO ACTION

Date: March 20, 2025 -

TROUBLING NEWS from across the water for the many promoters of new Irish film studios – or ‘media campuses’ as they are now styled. Pinewood Film Studios was given planning approval in 2023 for 1.4 million sq ft of new production space but has now announced that 78% of the space will be used to… Read more »

SWAN FRUIT CONTINUES TO ROT

Date: March 20, 2025 -

FANS OF The Phoenix will not have been surprised by the Sindo’s article last weekend headlined, “Fraud Squad probes fruit and veg firm that’s been liquidated for a decade”. This refers to Goldhawk’s old friend, John Swan, now a disqualified director. According to the Sindo, Carlow firm Swan Fruit Ltd (SFL) “is now under investigation… Read more »

TRUMP V MARTIN

Date: March 6, 2025 -

WHILE MANY columnists and ‘opinion formers’ have been generously dispensing advice to An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, on how to evade a Zelenskyy-type thrashing when he meets Donald Trump at the White House, that incorrigible defender of Irish neutrality, Anthony Coughlan, has corresponded with the US president on germane matters. Coughlan has recently written twice to… Read more »

PROFILE: MAUREEN KENNELLY

Date: March 6, 2025 -

IT IS possible that Maureen Kennelly could be the last director of the €140m-a-year Arts Council in its current form as the vultures circle in light of the near €7m information and communications technology (ICT) project debacle. There is a real chance that the arts funding agency will be completely overhauled and that the Government… Read more »

YOUNG BLOOD: CIARÁN AHERN

Date: March 6, 2025 -

LABOUR’S TALLY of 11 Dáil seats in the recent election surprised commentators – and probably the party itself – but can it hold on to them? And can new TDs such as Ciarán Ahern in Dublin South West (DSW) rebuild a strong base where in 2011 the party held two seats or is it just… Read more »

SHARON SMURFIT’S DRIVE

Date: March 6, 2025 -

GOLF-MAD Sharon Smurfit must have been delighted with the big promotion for her latest adventure at the weekend – the purchase of a golfing free sheet called Talk Golf Ireland – which took up half of page five of the Sindo. Maybe daddy will consider investing? While a chunk of the article focused on Sharon’s… Read more »

MALIN SHARE OFFER 130% ABOVE ‘SERIOUSLY UNDERVALUED’ 2023 PRICE

Date: March 6, 2025 -

MALIN FLOATED off in 2015 on the back of bucket loads of Kelly Martin hype at €10 a share before hitting a high of €15 some 18 months later, but then it was all downhill, with the share price also depressed by controversy. The company, however, did have some interesting stakes and under Darragh Lyons… Read more »

DECLAN GANLEY’S RENEWED AMBITION

Date: March 6, 2025 -

DESPITE RECENT setbacks for Hermann Kelly and his Irish Freedom Party (IFP), the success of the party’s weekly X Space has brought a significant amount of attention to the IFP. Two shows last month saw Declan Ganley and Eddie Hobbs as high-profile guests, with regular contributors Kelly, Eoin Lenihan and Keira Connolly. Ganley’s contribution echoed… Read more »

‘SINDO’ EXODUS

Date: March 6, 2025 -

THE EXIT of senior hacks from Mediahuis, or more particularly the Sunday Independent, has left the Sindo bereft of experienced editors at the level of news and political coverage. The newspaper has lost editor Alan English, deputy editor Jody Corcoran, group political editor Hugh O’Connell and, most recently, political editor Philip Ryan, with the latter… Read more »

DOUG TAYLOR’S FORM BOOK

Date: March 6, 2025 -

GOLDHAWK’S OLD pal Doug Taylor must have been watching the action at Fairyhouse closely last month when Great Attitude landed a monumental Fairyhouse gamble for Athlone trainer Tom Cleary in the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF Auction Maiden Hurdle. Backed at all rates from 200/1 on course and from 800/1 with Betfair, the German-bred Guiliani… Read more »

LANIGAN’S BALL ON THE RIGHT

Date: March 6, 2025 -

THE CONTRAST between the surge in support for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in last month’s German election and the calamitous fortunes of Ireland’s new right-wing parties in recent weeks could not be starker. In the last six months Ireland First (IF) has lacked any coherent direction from the top (see The Phoenix 21/2/25)… Read more »

MAKHLOUF’S ISRAEL WAR BONDS

Date: March 6, 2025 -

FLYING UNDER the radar, thanks to a most responsible media, is the arresting issue of the Central Bank of Ireland’s (CBI) enabling the sale of Israeli war bond to EU investors. Ironically, the UK was initially chosen by Israel to be the “home member state within the EU” to facilitate the sale of the war… Read more »

VOL 43 NO 05

Date: March 6, 2025 -

OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR!

Date: March 6, 2025 -

GOLDHAWK CANNOT recall any political campaign more hysterical, ill-informed and downright dishonest than that which in recent years has sought to drag Ireland into a hugely expensive and highly dangerous scenario. This would also bury our reputable tradition of non-aligned neutrality. Normally grounded Irish journalists and academics have aped the war hysteria engulfing London, Bonn… Read more »

A DOG’S LIFE

Date: March 6, 2025 -

THE TIMING of last week’s High Court win for the six animal charities that have opposed the ban on the dangerous XL bully breed of dog could hardly have been worse, given a tragic death just 24 hours earlier across the Irish Sea. Having obtained an initial temporary stay on the seizure and euthanasia of… Read more »

LARA MARLOWE’S MESSAGE

Date: March 6, 2025 -

LARA MARLOWE is the doyen of Irish foreign correspondents so her utterances on world matters of the moment must be taken seriously, yes? In a column in last Saturday’s Irish Times, she gave credence to the claim that the KGB recruited Donald Trump in 1987. She added: “No evidence was offered for the allegation but… Read more »

IRELAND’S MEGA CLIMATE DEBT

Date: March 6, 2025 -

This week’s bombshell report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) shows Ireland to be the worst-performing EU country per capita in terms of emissions reductions. The state now faces up to €26bn in EU fines for failing to meet our mandated targets. This is potentially double the entire massive Apple tax windfall and amounts… Read more »

JAMES BROWNE’S KILLARNEY HOUSE

Date: March 6, 2025 -

THE NEWLY appointed housing and heritage minister, James Browne, has bigger fish to fry but there are begrudging noises coming from Killarney with the appointment of Shane Treacy – son of Marcus Treacy, Killarney accountant and a member of the town’s leading hotel families – to the top management job at Muckross House, where last… Read more »

MI5/6 AND THE DUB-MON BOMBS

Date: March 6, 2025 -

DESPITE GOVERNMENT pledges to assist the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, two UK-based inquiries into the UVF’s Glenanne gang – Operation Denton and that of the Police Ombudsman NI – are still waiting for the Irish Government to hand over files that the gardaí hold on them. The Glenanne gang carried out the 1974 Dublin-Monaghan (D-M) bomb… Read more »

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: March 6, 2025 -

I’m lucky enough to have a job in a workplace that prizes flexibility and understands that its employees are humans, with full lives and obligations beyond the workload. Tanya Sweeney, on the challenges for working women, makes an exception for her wonderful employers, Mediahuis, Irish Independent A party. I can’t say that… I was approached…. Read more »

CLIMATE: NEW ERA

Date: March 6, 2025 -

WITH COLOSSAL EU fines of €26bn coming down the tracks, it is at least comforting to look across the Atlantic at Elon Musk’s maniacal assault on government and to give thanks that profit-hungry tech billionaires aren’t dictating national policy over here. Or are they? The capture of Ireland’s state agencies and advisory bodies by Big… Read more »