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PROFILE: CIARAN MULLOOLY

Date: May 30, 2024 -

FORMER RTÉ midlands correspondent Ciaran Mullooly could become the first member of the European Parliament to emerge from a party of the new Irish right, Independent Ireland (II). Mullooly’s self-projected image is that of a man who is conscious of his roots and his local, rural community and he has indeed shown much commitment to… Read more »

YOUNG BLOOD: LISA CHAMBERS

Date: May 30, 2024 -

Can 37-year-old Fianna Fáil senator Lisa Chambers finally justify party leader Micheál Martin’s faith in his preferred west of Ireland politician or will she once again just fall shy of the mark, leaving the great leader to ponder? Chambers is exactly the new image that Martin wants to project for Fianna Fáil. She is young,… Read more »

GOLDEN BOY’S TARNISHED IMAGE

Date: May 30, 2024 -

IT IS natural that the grown-up children of Tony O’Reilly would praise their father’s qualities in funeral eulogies, as would any bereaved family members and friends. But the selection of tributes paid to the businessman focused heavily on his contribution as a publisher and, to a lesser extent, his commitment to politics and peace in… Read more »

TOP OF THE NEW RIGHT

Date: May 30, 2024 -

POLLS INDICATE that, if a breakthrough for new right-wing candidates is to come about, Independent Ireland (II) candidates are the ones most likely to be successful in the European Parliament elections. With Ciaran Mullooly on 7% in the Midlands-North-West constituency and Niall Boylan on 5% in Dublin, they are significantly ahead of candidates for the… Read more »

MICHEÁL MARTIN’S PODCAST

Date: May 30, 2024 -

WITH THE elections to be held next week, money starts to become more of a factor, as advertising spend is ratcheted up, especially on online marketing campaigns – an area that is seen as increasingly important when it comes to targeting younger voters. It turns out that there has also been a few bob spent… Read more »

SHANE ROSS’S RECORD

Date: May 30, 2024 -

MANY YEARS after he had honed it to a fine art, Sindo columnist Shane Ross was back puffing up his former boss, Tony O’Reilly, in his weekly column last weekend, with a gushing tribute headlined: “A Titan and treasured family man”. His was of course only one of many such tributes from former employees to… Read more »

MARTIN KELLY’S €8M MANSION

Date: May 30, 2024 -

LOADED TYPES looking for a secluded but glamorous property within striking distance of Dublin will have noted the recent advertising for a cool €8m of Dunran Demesne (aka Dunran Castle), which sits on 100 acres outside Ashford in Co Wicklow. The sprawling estate is owned by Martin Kelly – the face of former men’s fashion… Read more »

STEENSON MELTDOWN

Date: May 30, 2024 -

PROMINENT ANTI-IMMIGRATION activist Malachy Steenson is standing as an Independent candidate in Dublin’s North Inner City local electoral area and the Dublin EU Parliament election. The cut and thrust of the campaign seems to have got to Steenson and on May 19 he had somewhat of a meltdown on his X account, publicly haranguing Sinn… Read more »

JOHN NAGLE CARPETED

Date: May 30, 2024 -

THE ONE-TIME bankrupt John ‘Payzone’ Nagle has just run into yet another spot of bother, this time courtesy of the dreaded taxman. Nagle was one of the poster boys of the boom times until his payments transmission and terminals company, Alphyra (later Payzone), got disconnected by the crash and the investors all ended up screwed…. Read more »

BRUCE ARNOLD’S OBITUARY

Date: May 30, 2024 -

THE TIMES of London published a lovingly crafted obituary of Bruce Arnold this week under the headline: “Writer who needled the Irish establishment”. But did it accidentally unmask the man who for long was suspected by malevolent forces in the service of Aawrish Teeshock, Squire Hockey, of being a British agent? The obit indulged in… Read more »

VOL 42 NO 11

Date: May 30, 2024 -

HITTING THE RIGHT NOTES AT 2FM

Date: May 30, 2024 -

RTÉ 2FM alumnus Doireann Garrihy has spent the past few months calmly putting in place the arrangements for her future business endeavours. It began in June 2023, when she and sister Ailbhe transferred their 100% ownership of Dublin Bay Ferry Services Limited back to mum and dad, Eugene and Clare Garrihy. Fans of 2FM will… Read more »

MARTIN’S BACK CHANNEL RHETORIC

Date: May 30, 2024 -

A FORTUITOUSLY timed declaration of recognition for Palestinian statehood – shortly before the EU and local elections – was explained last week by foreign minister Micheál Martin’s favourite newspaper, the Irish Times, as down to Martin’s “back-channel diplomacy”. As an example of rapid revisionism there can be no better example – unless one recalls the… Read more »

CLANCY STANDS NEUTRALITY ON HEAD

Date: May 30, 2024 -

THE TOP BRASS may not be able to put a ship to sea and may soon have to bring back press gangs to replace voluntary recruitment to the armed forces but they know how to manipulate the media and public opinion. For months Irish ministers, as well as military and foreign policy chiefs, have been… Read more »

SIMON PAYS

Date: May 30, 2024 -

THE LIQUIDATOR is now in place at the homelessness charity, North West Simon Community (NWSC), which ran out of moolah less than two years after a meeting with the housing department to plead its case. Donegal TD Thomas Pringle was in the chair here and had been vocal about the need for support for the… Read more »

OPERATION DENTON RE-VISITED

Date: May 30, 2024 -

OPERATION DENTON is examining the decades-long homicidal rampage of the UVF’s infamous Glenanne Gang. Its members operated in the mid-Ulster area during the three decades of the Troubles and were responsible for multiple atrocities, including the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings. There is a considerable body of evidence that points to the fact the gang… Read more »

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: May 30, 2024 -

Providence bestowed many gifts on Tony O’Reilly: stunning good looks, outstanding sporting talent, business acumen, charm, intelligence and wit (with a flair for mimicry that would put Oliver Callan in the shade). Mary Kenny, Sunday Independent Vicki Notaro: the debut author tipped as the new Jackie Collins. The Sunday Times has high praise for the… Read more »

A SINKING SHIP

Date: May 30, 2024 -

Downing Street’s press officers made a mess of what will be the last visit of Rishi Sunak to Belfast on his frenetic, gaffe-ridden tour of the UK the day after he announced a snap general election. His press people insisted on dividing the media into ‘national’ and ‘regional’, the latter including RTÉ and the Irish… Read more »

FF TRIO DEVOUR EACH OTHER

Date: May 30, 2024 -

FIANNA FÁIL’S car-crash EU campaign in the Midlands North-West constituency is beginning to attract large crowds to candidates’ press conferences and photo shoots in the hope that there will be ever more spectacular fireworks. But the fratricidal displays by Barry Cowen, Niall Blaney and Lisa Chambers are not simply a product of the usual competitive… Read more »

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Date: May 30, 2024 -

The decision by the Electoral Commission to make Laois and Offaly two three-seat constituencies at the next general election is a significant problem for Green Party senator and junior minister Pippa Hackett. She lives on a farm not far from the village of Geashill in Offaly, which is only a few miles from the county… Read more »

BERTIE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Date: May 30, 2024 -

VOTERS IN the Cabra-Glasnevin local election area will have been surprised (pleasantly, one hopes) to see Bertie Ahern canvassing for aspiring councillor John Stephens, who is running on a two-candidate ticket for Fianna Fáil. But despite the involvement of the most experienced living vote getter in Irish politics, there is little harmony and no dual… Read more »

COOLMORE CREW’S CASH

Date: May 30, 2024 -

ASSORTED IRISH racehorse owners featured prominently on the recent UK Sunday Times ‘Rich List’ and those with Coolmore connections were to the forefront. Some other familiar runner and riders featured too. Bahamas-based currency trader Joe Lewis ranked highest of those listed at 38th, with a guesstimated fortune of £5.3bn. The rather secretive Lewis – the… Read more »

KEEPING IT ZIPPED AT ‘VIP’

Date: May 30, 2024 -

THE USUAL suspects (sorry, “the country’s best dressed fashionistas”) were out in force at the Irish InterContinental Hotel in D4 last month for the VIP Style Awards, with the judges giving the thumbs-up to Katja Mia, Bonnie Ryan, Doireann Garrihy and Lisa Jordan. The latter’s Best Dressed on the Night win featured a slightly awkward… Read more »

ARTS COUNCIL ARRIVALS

Date: May 30, 2024 -

AT LONG last, the membership of the Arts Council, which has a budget this year of €134m, is back to its full complement for the first time in over a year. The new chairwoman is HR consultant (and, until recently, chair of the National Concert Hall) Maura McGrath. She is joined by NCAD emeritus professor… Read more »

ELAINE GERAGHTY’S CONCERNS

Date: May 30, 2024 -

GOLDHAWK WAS not surprised to see the latest lobbying campaign kicking off for Irish movie and TV producers. Hardly had the ink dried on the EU Commission’s thumbs-up for Michael McGrath’s generous package for offshore productions – one that increases the tax break cap per film or TV series to €125m – than assorted movers… Read more »

KIA’S CHANGING ROSTER

Date: May 30, 2024 -

OWNED IN partnership by Amo Racing and Giselle De Aguiar, Bucanero Fuerto galloped to success in the Naas Group 3 Goffs Lacken Stakes for dairy farmer and part-time trainer Adrian Murray and his more than capable assistant, Robson Aguiar. Remarkably, it was the Wootton Bassett colt’s third group race success in less than 10 months… Read more »

MICHAEL H BURKE’S BLOODSTOCK

Date: May 30, 2024 -

MICHAEL JAMES Burke, son of Chanelle Pharma founder Michael Hilary Burke and brother-in-law of Tony (Sir Anthony) McCoy, has been accused, in an English court case, of involvement in an international money-laundering scam, a claim that he strenuously denies. His Dubai-based real estate and travel concierge business has been implicated in the Southwark Crown Court… Read more »

TIME FOR KEN MURPHY TO TAKE TESCO OUT OF EASTERN EUROPE

Date: May 30, 2024 -

DUBLIN-BASED Cork native Ken Murphy has one of the biggest retailing jobs in Britain, heading up the £62bn Tesco behemoth. Founded by Jack Cohen over 100 years ago in 1919, the business now dominates the British grocery market. While the UK and Ireland markets have been delivering the goods, an exit from eastern Europe should… Read more »

CATHAL FRIEL’S EGT LOOKS TASTY FOR RISK TAKERS

Date: May 30, 2024 -

AT A time when there are fewer and fewer flotations on this side of the Atlantic, Cathal Friel, the CEO and founder of small Dublin finance house Raglan Capital, stands out as one of the few active participants in the market. He is certainly proactive – as well as Raglan Capital facilitating IPOs, Friel is… Read more »

ANDY NOONAN’S BARBECUE

Date: May 30, 2024 -

Big Grill food festival, run by barbecue boy Andy Noonan, kicks off in August in Herbert Park, Ballsbridge, with tickets costing €30 a head (or €65 if you want to access the, er, exclusive covered area with “posh toilets”). This is the 10th year of the beano and Noonan has recently expanded into east London,… Read more »

THE GREENWOODS’ FAILED RECIPE

Date: May 30, 2024 -

THE LIQUIDATOR of Cooks Academy Ltd (CAL) has just filed his penultimate report into the winding up of the eponymous cookery school established by Vanessa and Tim Greenwood. It is clear that there are no left overs for the unsecured creditors here. CAL was established at the height of the boom in 2006 when there… Read more »

GO HARVEY, GO!

Date: May 30, 2024 -

THERE MUST have been high fives in the commercial department at Mediahuis last week when free-spending Harvey Norman managed to take a lofty second place out of the 150 companies deemed by the Sindo to have made it on to its list of ‘Ireland’s Best Employers 2024’. The Aussie furniture, electrical and computer retailer has… Read more »

ANTON SAVAGE’S CLIENTS

Date: May 30, 2024 -

NEWSTALK WEEKEND presenter Anton Savage pitched into the 2FM crisis of its departing stars – Jennifer Zamparelli, Doireann Garrihy and the 2 Johnnies – with enthusiasm, and then some, last Saturday and Sunday. So voluble did Anton become he felt it necessary to tell listeners that they would be wrong to think that Newstalk and… Read more »

STARMER AND SUE GRAY’S ENEMIES

Date: May 16, 2024 -

THE LIKELY advent of Labour leader Keir Starmer and his chief of staff, Sue Gray, at the helm of the British government is already causing ripples in Whitehall and Northern Ireland Office (NIO) circles, both of which have experience of Gray’s modus operandi as a watchdog for the permanent government and the deep state in… Read more »

PROFILE: ALAN MOLONEY

Date: May 16, 2024 -

BACK IN 2016, film and TV producer Alan Moloney of Parallel Films; James Morris, founder of Windmill Lane and former Screen Ireland chairman; and US producer Gary Levinsohn of Saving Private Ryan fame put together a proposal for a huge film and TV studio complex on a 20-acre site on the Poolbeg peninsula in Dublin…. Read more »

YOUNG BLOOD: JOHN MCGAHON

Date: May 16, 2024 -

WITH A third of Fine Gael TDs announcing that they will not be seeking a return to the Dáil at the next general election, including Louth’s Fergus O’Dowd, there is a search for a candidate who can take his seat and Dundalk-based senator John McGahon thinks he’s the man for the job. John is the… Read more »