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TRINITY’S DEFINITION DILEMMA

Date: July 11, 2024 -

HAVING FACED down the college authorities in May over ties between Trinners and Israeli institutions, the TCD Students’ Union and the Trinity Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions group can’t have been overly impressed with last month’s decision to award former Belgian prime minister and hardcore Nato advocate… Read more »

JOHN MCGUIRK’S COURT CASES

Date: July 11, 2024 -

GOLDHAWK WONDERS if right-wing firebrand and Gript editor John McGuirk has had a chance to peruse the correction published in the latest issue of The Village magazine, given that he is ensconced in far-off Ukraine. The Village’s correction deals with a couple of minor inaccuracies in its cover story published in February this year, in… Read more »

PHIL HOGAN’S DOCTORATE

Date: July 11, 2024 -

CONGRATULATIONS TO former EU commissioner and current unofficial advisor to Simon Harris, Phil Hogan, who landed an honorary doctorate in science from University College Dublin. Goldhawk was eager to read the citation for the controversial lobbyist, who was forced to step down from his EU… Read more »

RORY GODSON’S TWEET

Date: July 11, 2024 -

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS heavy-hitter Rory Godson doesn’t spend much time tweeting but he clearly likes to get some things off his chest. Last month, he was walking down the leafy street where he lives in London’s SW1 when he spotted a chap pissing on his neighbour’s doorstep. Rory made his disdain clear to the “guy, who… Read more »

JUSTIN BARRETT RIDES ON

Date: July 11, 2024 -

SOME OBSERVERS feared that a poor showing for new-right movements in Ireland in the local government and European Parliament elections might push a section of these movements towards more extreme politics. There is ample evidence that this fear of anger and disillusionment fuelling radicalisation was… Read more »

RAY MORAN’S TURNTABLE

Date: July 11, 2024 -

A DECISION is due shortly from the planners in Dublin City Council on an application for the retention of an unusual “vehicular turntable” in the driveway of an impressive three-storey Georgian pile on Upper Leeson Street, D4, near Burlington Road. It turns out that the house was recently acquired by moneybags medic Ray Moran of… Read more »

DOUBLE STANDARDS AT THE ‘IRISH TIMES’

Date: July 11, 2024 -

JUSTIFIABLY, AND admirably, newspapers, and TV and radio programmes reported and commented on the recent suspended sentence for soldier Cathal Crotty, who viciously assaulted Natasha O’Brien. Outrage was followed by reporting on Army and Garda tolerance of violent offenders and on the unending war on… Read more »

VOL 42 NO 14

Date: July 11, 2024 -

MACRON’S FRENCH EMPIRE CRUMBLES

Date: July 11, 2024 -

With French president Emmanuel Macron grappling with a complicated loss of power at home, his illusions about restoring the glory days of the French empire have also taken a battering with the announcement by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger that they are forming an Alliance of Sahel States, which will support each other against external… Read more »

FROM SHANNON TO UKRAINE

Date: July 11, 2024 -

AN OMNI Air aircraft, N351AX, on contract to the US military, landed at Shannon last weekend from Rzeszow airport in the southeast of Poland. Rzeszow is the main supply airport for munitions and Nato soldiers going into Ukraine. The plane also made a stop at Tallinn in Estonia, which neutrality activists in Shannon say shows… Read more »

SEAN SWEENEY’S TRACK RECORD

Date: July 11, 2024 -

THE APPOINTMENT of New Zealander Sean Sweeney, CEO of Auckland’s City Rail Link project, as the head of the big MetroLink rail project in Dublin raised a few eyebrows, especially given the chunky €550,000 per annum pay package. He is coming a long way for sure but it is unclear whether Sweeney’s track record suggests… Read more »

RICH LIST LIQUIDATION

Date: July 11, 2024 -

GOLDHAWK WAS a little surprised to see a company that was previously controlled by the richest man in Ireland, Pallonji Mistry, was wound up by the High Court last month. Pallonji Mistry and his family found itself right at the top of those Irish rich lists for many years, with assets worth around €15bn, courtesy… Read more »

MICHEÁL MARTIN’S TALL THALES

Date: July 11, 2024 -

THE NUMBER and intensity of protests, including pickets and blockades of weapons manufacturer Thales UK plants, have ratcheted up significantly in recent months. The ire of pro-Palestinian and anti-war protesters has been provoked by a contract Thales UK has to supply parts for Watchkeeper drones to Israeli company Elbit Systems. The Watchkeepers were developed by… Read more »

LABOUR’S LAMENTABLE LAMMY

Date: July 11, 2024 -

New British foreign secretary David Lammy is a keen supporter of Nato. Appointed shadow foreign secretary by Keir Starmer in November 2021, he was quickly reassuring his new pals in Washington that the Corbyn era was over and there would be no change in UK foreign policy under Labour to that of the Tories. In… Read more »

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: July 11, 2024 -

It was as though Super Joe had recovered from his bout of kryptonite poisoning. Keith Duggan on Joe Biden successfully reading from a teleprompter, Irish Times A well-written book is like a meticulously crafted virtual-reality headset woven from words. Stefanie Preissner, Sunday Independent Life Magazine The key for the talented duo is to be the… Read more »

EMER HIGGINS’S U-TURN

Date: July 11, 2024 -

When running in the 2019 Dublin Mid-West by-election, Fine Gael’s Emer Higgins promised: “If elected, I will demand better public transport for our area.” She explained in a video the reason is the need to get people out of their cars “and on to a reliable service to get to and from work”. Higgins returned… Read more »

KEVIN MCPARTLAN’S HOT AIR

Date: July 11, 2024 -

“We stand at a critical juncture where the urgency of our climate crisis demands bold and decisive action”. These were the stirring sentiments in a recent Irish Times business-page article. The tree-hugger author was Kevin McPartlan, CEO of the, ahem, fossil fuel lobby group, Fuels for Ireland. McPartlan was given a free editorial run to… Read more »

SF’S TRIPLE CROWN

Date: July 11, 2024 -

Whatever about the fall from grace of Sinn Féin in the south, the party goes from strength to strength in the north. The British general election was nothing to do with the north. The Labour Party doesn’t fight elections in the north and the Conservative Party’s candidates in the few constituencies in which they stand… Read more »

STARMER: UNIONIST OR CIVIL RIGHTS CHAMPION

Date: July 11, 2024 -

BRITAIN’S NEW prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer (don’t forget the Sir), has made his first visit to the north since taking over in Westminster last week and he was greeted, if not effusively, at least with a degree of warmth and hope. Whether this hope will be born out is yet to be seen, but… Read more »

MICHAEL COLLINS TO REPLACE GREENS

Date: July 11, 2024 -

AS THE Greens go down in the polls and their ability to play a coalition role looks increasingly doubtful, there is quiet satisfaction in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil circles that a new alternative coalition option appears to be now available. The rural-based Independent Ireland (II) party – led by TDs Michael Collins, Richard O’Donoghue… Read more »

TIME NOT ON MARY LOU’S SIDE

Date: July 11, 2024 -

Despite government insistence that it intends to run its full term and that there will be no general election this year, there is still feverish speculation that the date will in fact be brought forward and that early November looks likely. This speculation was spurred on by the budget being brought forward a week, an… Read more »

NEW SPECTRE HAUNTS MACRON

Date: July 11, 2024 -

There was a widespread sigh of relief in European Union circles at the astonishing news that the expected far-right dominance in the French parliament had been thwarted. But there was less relief at the fact that this setback for Marine Le Pen’s ambitions was brought about primarily by the New Popular Front (NFP), the united… Read more »

ULSTER-SCOTS’ PR

Date: July 11, 2024 -

TIME WAS when one of the few unionists to see positive benefits in the peace process was ludicrous Lord Laird, who milked the Irish and British taxpayer for millions in the noughties for the Ulster-Scots Agency, which he chaired and which championed the DIY language Ulster Scots. Laird resigned in 2004 following probes by the… Read more »

RTÉ TOLD: DO MORE WITH LESS

Date: July 11, 2024 -

RTÉ’s decision to outsource Fair City and The Late Late Show to outside production companies has been greeted with anger by Montrose trade unions who fear, correctly, that it will lead to job losses and lower wages. Both Siptu and the NUJ have announced that… Read more »

NEIL JORDAN’S EDITING

Date: July 11, 2024 -

AMNESIAC, THE memoir of Neil Jordan, has hit the shelves, accompanied by a predictable glut of author interviews diligently name-checking the likes of Stanley Kubrick, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. So far, however, few reviews have bothered to look behind the roll call of luvvies and Hollywood gossip. The film director’s buke is… Read more »

PETER HYNES’S HEADACHE

Date: July 11, 2024 -

STILL NO sign of an advert for the position of CEO of Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI), which is in the process of procuring a recruitment agency. Incumbent Rosemary Steen is exiting after the summer but this is only one of the headaches for the Peter Hynes-chaired board, with the cancelling of jewellery and… Read more »

SARAH’S SHOTS

Date: July 11, 2024 -

SARAH LYNAM, who recently called a premature halt to her own career as a trainer, turned her sights on fellow trainer Paddy Twomey in a radio interview. The recently turned pundit – who, like her sister, Amy, is not too shy about making her controversial opinions known – decided to have a pop at Twomey’s… Read more »

REBECCA MAY’S WINNER

Date: July 11, 2024 -

LIMERICK-BASED corporate events queen Rebecca May finally tasted success as a racehorse owner (and presumably a tasty dividend from the bookies) when the 150/1 shot, Eaglewood, carried her purple and green colours to victory in the Tipperary Fillies INH Bumper. The former Buckingham Palace and Clarence House florist was without a win in over 11… Read more »

CIRCUIT BREAKER

Date: July 11, 2024 -

RACHAEL BLACKMORE’S riding of the Louise Lyons-trained Lady Rita in a Kilbeggan three-mile hurdle last year was presumably on the minds of the directors of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) when they moved to introduce yet another new sub-rule earlier this month. Having ridden Lady Rita to finish a circuit too early (see The… Read more »

AUBREY’S AWARD

Date: July 11, 2024 -

CONGRATULATIONS TO millionaire and philanthropist Aubrey McCarthy, who has just been awarded an honorary lifetime membership of the RDS. This pat on the back from the Ballsbridge worthies was also extended to another businessman and philanthropist, albeit someone with rather deeper pockets, JP McManus. Besides their relative bank balances, another difference is that McCarthy is… Read more »

JOHN MAGNIER’S MIXED FORM

Date: July 11, 2024 -

IT HAS been a successful but mixed couple of weeks for John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and the rest of the loaded Coolmore ‘lads’. Having landed the Epsom Derby in no little style, City of Troy scrambled to victory in the Coral Eclipse Stakes last weekend, on what was the 40th anniversary of the… Read more »

CHAOTIC C&C’S PROFITS SET TO GET VERY FIZZY

Date: July 11, 2024 -

THE C&C saga continues to deliver twists and turns. Less than one year after David Forde stepped down with immediate effect as chief bottlewasher at C&C (on foot of the disclosure of a €25m software adjustment charge in one division), his replacement as CEO, Paddy McMahon, has also cleared off. What is it about C&C… Read more »

TONY SMURFIT’S US DREAM COULD BE A NIGHTMARE

Date: July 11, 2024 -

IF THE agreed €7bn takeover of DS Smith group by International Paper (IP) goes through, this could be Tony Smurfit’s worst nightmare, just as he has completed the near $13bn reverse takeover by Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) of the American WestRock packaging company. There are huge challenges in store for Smurfit, given the state of… Read more »

TWIN OAKS JUDGMENT

Date: July 11, 2024 -

A JUDGMENT has just been registered by Fingal County Council for a paltry €4,500 against a company called Castleknock Hospitality but it seems unlikely that this small rates bill will be settled as the company has ceased trading. Owned by Stephen Donnelly with an address in the Ashleight retail centre, the firm traded as The… Read more »

LUKE COMER’S BLEMISHED RECORD

Date: July 11, 2024 -

MONACO-BASED billionaire property developer Luke Comer is set to begin his lengthy three-year suspension as a racehorse trainer next Monday, although until the last minute it is possible that an application may be made for a judicial review of the ban imposed by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) on foot of traces of steroids being… Read more »

BECKETT END GAME

Date: July 11, 2024 -

NEXT WEEK the High Court will hear a winding-up petition for a company called Beckett Acquisition Ltd (BAL). This is a company controlled by South Korean investors that owns the Beckett Building on East Wall Road, which had housed social media behemoth Facebook Ireland/Meta. Mark Zuckerberg’s operation, however, has cut short its lease and exited… Read more »