Yearly Archives: 2016

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From top: Saturday’s Irish Independent; Sunday World

You’ll recall the shooting at the Regency Hotel in Drumcondra, Dublin on Friday afternoon during the weigh-in for the WBO European Lightweight title fight between Jamie Kavanagh and Antonio Jao Bento.

David Byrne, 33, from Crumlin, south Dublin was killed in the shooting while another two men were seriously injured.

Following the shooting, photographs of the gunmen appeared in Independent News and Media titles over the weekend.

Special Correspondent at Irish Independent, Paul Williams, and Michael O’Toole, crime correspondent with the Irish Daily Star, spoke on Today with Seán O’Rourke this morning.

Mr Williams told the show that it was fortuitous that no undercover gardaí were present at the hotel because, if they had been present, a bloody shoot-out was likely to have occurred.

He also explained that gardaí had called to the offices of INM with a warrant to try and stop their photographs from being published.

From the interview…

Paul Williams: “To be very quick, to come along and look at your phone records Michael [O’Toole] and my phone records, GSOC and Garda headquarters, a certain small clique in Garda headquarters to find out if we’re talking to some Garda and I’m nearly sure that some smart alec in Garda headquarters will try and find out did some Garda tip any of our media colleagues off in relation to that weigh-in on Friday. That’s the bizarre situation, the bizarre world we’re living in at the moment.”

Sean O’Rourke: “Michael O’Toole, do you accept as well, or do you get the same sense that there is embarrassment at senior Garda levels at the fact that they didn’t, and maybe that people are alive today, who would not be had they been there, but that they feel in hindsight they should have been there?”

Michael O’Toole: “…There is definite embarrassment within the guards but I think it’s more amongst gardaí on the ground. They really are embarrassed. You know, we knew about it. Journalists knew about it. Gardaí should have been there. That’s what gardaí on the ground are saying.”

Regency shooting: Photograph the one loose thread they couldn’t have hoped for (Cormac O’Keeffe, Irish Examiner)

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The weekend’s polls.

What do they all mean?

Shane Heneghan writes:

You’d be hard pressed to know what to think about these two polls Both point towards two very dıfferent propositions becoming slightly more plausible.

Fırstly, the TINA theory- (‘there ıs no alternative’ to FG) would seem more plausible ın the Red C poll wıth Fıne Gael clımbıng to 31 and Labour breakıng ınto double fıgures – this has the government on 41% collectıvely – probably not enough for a majorıty though Fıanna Faıl once came close to ıt ın 2002 on 41.5% –  but ıt shows the momentum ıs there.

The second ıdea ıs that the government has peaked and can only go down from here on ın. The Mıllward Brown poll shows Labour ın meltdown at 6% and Fıne Gael stallıng at 27%. Based on these numbers the Dail could be deadlocked and another electıon ımınent unless the ‘ara-sure-ıts-grand’ coaiıtıon ıdea ıs put on the table.

As for the smaller partıes the SocDems show a bıt of pace on 4% ın the Red C poll as do the Greens on 3% The questıon has to be asked when the numbers are this small where these partıes wıll actually pıck up seats. Eamon Ryan wıll probably return to the Dail after a formıdable and somewhat unexpected showıng ın the 2014 European Parliament electıon. But you’d be hard pressed to fınd another Green candidate that has a realıstıc chance of getting more than 10% of 1st preferences.

Let me tell you my main complaint about these latest polls. I’m getting deja vu – ıf you cast your mınd back to the Brıtish electıon last year you mıght remember a sımılar sıtuaıon – good news for the ıncumbents ın some polls good news for the ınsurgents ın others. When the ballot boxes were opened most were shocked. Very few seriously predicted a Tory majorıty.

Even the exıt poll which sampled a massıve 22,000 voters on pollıng day ıtself and seemed to show the fabled last mınute dash to the Conservatives but faıled to predict the eventual outcome of an overall Tory majorıty.

It’s better to bring up the ıdea dodgy pollıng now rather than later. The tıred polıtıcal quıp of a poll beıng nothing more than a snap shot ın tıme ıs more than the default lıne of the polıtıcıan strugging to make headway.

Shane Heneghan is Brussels-based election expert/Irish political anorak/poll number-cruncher and part of Broadsheet’s ‘crack’ General Election 2016 team.

Graphs via RTÉ

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He’s back.

With a record.

Are Ya Having That writes:

‘LeatherJacketGuy’ beats a Guinness World Record along with 728 other people to Officially be part of the ‘Largest Beer Tasting’ On Earth. – All of this happened at the ‘Alltech Craft Brews and Food Fair’ which took place in the Convention Centre.

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The former offices of The Irish Catholic (left) and Paddy Wagon hostel and tour operator on Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin 1

Ciarán Darcy, in this morning’s Irish Times, reports:

“A Dublin hostel’s application to replace a “mundane and ugly” Irish Catholic sign on the facade of the building with the word “Paddywagon” has been rejected by An Bord Pleanála.”

“The Paddywagon hostel operator and tour provider had applied to Dublin City Council last March for permission to change the lettering on a sign for the newspaper, but this was refused. The newspaper left the building in 2007.”

“…a conservation officer said the sign may date back to the 1930s when Perspex acrylic was first used for box signage of its type, and the sign was “integral to the artistic, social and cultural significance of the building”.”

FIGHT!

Bord Pleanála orders retention of ‘ugly’ Irish Catholic sign (Irish Times)

Pic: Google Maps

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What you may need to know:

1. It’s another 10 episodes of Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad spin off.

2. Where are we now? Well, after getting royally screwed by his big brother Chuck (Michael McKean), Slippin’ Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) has decided that being good is too much work.

3. We’ve got a bad feeling about the long-term prospects of Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn).

4. The first season suffered a bit from too many distracting stand-alone episodes and not enough of an overall story arc.

5. Less “Tony the Toilet Buddy,” more Smilin’ Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) please.

6. Broadsheet prognosis: S’all good, man.

Release Date: February 16 (Netflix).

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The Luas works outside Trinity College Dublin in late December

Finn Murphy writes:

“Just a heads-up to the cyclists of Dublin this morning. I was coming around by Trinity where they are laying the new Luas tracks and have temporarily filled them back in, well filled in all of it except for a few tiny bits of track that they seem to have forgotten about and I think you can guess what happened next.”

“Sitting in work now with a huge bruise on my face and scraped-up hands and legs. Great way to start the week!”

Sam Boal/Rollingnews