Author Archives: Bodger

Until you say so.

This morning, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar meets dogs Mist and Max of the K9 search unit at the headquarters of the Civil Defence (Dublin Branch) on Wolfe Tone Quay, Dublin 7.

Oh.

Pic via Daniel McConnell 

Meanwhile…

This morning.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister with responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe visits the headquarters of the Civil Defence (Dublin Branch), where journalists received a briefing on the contribution by Civil Defence volunteers to the Covid-19 response.

Meanwhile…

‘Sup?

Mist plays with its owner Paul Byrne at the event.

Mmmf.

Four pics (above): Rollingnews

UPDATE:

Via Rollingnews

Luke Kelly statue on Sheriff Street, Dublin 1 last night

Last night.

The statue of the late Dubliners’ singer Luke Kelly on Sheriff Street in Dublin 1 was targeted again.

Cú Chulainn writez:

Savage beasts, or true Dubliners reclaiming Luke’s (questionable) statue as their own?

Anyone?

Dublin City Council to review how best to protect Luke Kelly statue (RTÉ)

Previously: Thank You For The Shades

Dirty Old Frown

Ah, Luke

Pics via Anthony Flynn

UPDATE:

There you go.

More as he gets it.

Related: It’s going to cost taxpayer €50k-a-day to have Dail sit in Convention Centre (Herald.ie)

UDPATE:

 

Yesterday.

Halliday Square, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7.

An afternoon of bingo, music and entertainment in aid of Temple Street Hospital organised by local residents.

Meanwhile…

In fairness.

Pics via Stoneybatter Stay At Home

The Picnic.

Paper-made stop-motion animation.

Stephen Strawberry writes:

I’m an amateur animator from County Clare, here’s a short animation I made during the lockdown, just hoping to give people a bit of a laugh during these strange times. Everything in it is made of paper, 100% paper all the way….

Melinda and Bill Gates

Saturday.

Philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates addressed the ‘unknown timeline of the pandemic’ during the One World At Home Together concert.

Melinda Gates stressed that staying at home will save lives, but her husband insisted a vaccine is ‘needed’ to fight the virus.

He said:

“There’s a lot of vaccine candidates that we’re backing, and I’m optimistic, by late next year, one of those will come out,. And we need to make sure that gets out to everyone in the world.”

Everyone.

‘Late next year’.

Well, he seems to know what he’s doing.

FIGHT!

Bill Gates Is Now A Target Of COVID-19 Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories (Forbes)

Last week: Windows To A New Normal

This morning.

In south Mayo.

Claire Duignan tweetz:

I’m not sleeping so well since this whole Covid-19 thing started. But one advantage is I’m getting to see how beautiful the early mornings are here in south Mayo. Clear and cool here at 6.30am this morning…

Meanwhile…

Last night.

Eddie Lee writes:

Lough Gill under the Milky Way – I was pleasantly surprised that the light pollution was just enough to illuminate the foreground, despite this being just on the outskirts of Sligo town at Doorly Park.

One of my favourite spots and oh so beautiful last night under the stars.

Mediaforce Ireland boss Malcolm Denmark purchase of the The Midland Tribune was the subject of a competition probe last year

Yesterday.

In The Sunday Times.

John Burns wrote about British businessman Malcolm Denmark, whose company Iconic owns 22 local newspapers in Ireland, and about an investigation carried out by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

It follows reports that more than 100 of Iconic’s 149 staff members are currently laid off due to Covid-19.

Mr Burns reported:

…Born in July 1955, Denmark made his — considerable — fortune through Mediaforce Group, which was the first to put advertising leaflets in the middle of newspapers.

Set up in 2003, Mediaforce Ireland is a middleman between local newspapers and advertising agencies.

…When Denmark bought The Midland Tribune last year, the CCPC decided to take a look.

During its investigation, it identified potential competition concerns, including that Mediaforce Ireland could potentially discriminate in favour of itself “by channelling national advertising allocated to local/regional newspapers and digital newspaper titles to its own group titles, to the detriment of competitors”.

…In a submission to the CCPC, Mediaforce Ireland says it channels national ads to regional newspapers “on a strictly fair and non-discriminatory basis”. It proposes that an independent monitoring trustee be appointed to monitor compliance.

The CCPC has agreed and Brendan McCabe, a former deputy managing director of Independent News & Media, has been chosen for the role.

How Malcolm Denmark has invaded Ireland’s locals (John Burns, The Media Player, The Sunday Times)

Meanwhile…

Readers may recall how Mediaforce Ireland advised newspapers not to mark Project Ireland 2040 content as advertorial on behalf of Leo Varadkar’s now defunct Strategic Communications Unit.

Mr Varadkar set up the unit after he was elected leader of Fine Gael and became Taoiseach in 2017.

The SCU employed 15 people and was led by John Concannon, former head of Creative Ireland, until it was wound down in 2018.

Last month Mr Concannon was hired to manage the Government’s public information campaign on Covid-19.

Previously: “Part Of Our Deal Is That We Don’t Have Any Moniker Such As ‘Advertorial’”

And He Would Have Gotten Away With It Too…

Pic: Racing Post

The Oliver Saint John Gogarty pub in Dublin

This morning.

The Irish Times reports:

The possibility that pubs may not reopen until a vaccine for Covid-19 has been found has been described as a “nightmare scenario” by the body that represents Dublin publicans.

The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) said many pubs would be put out of business permanently if such a lengthy closure occurred.

It was commenting after Heineken Ireland put its staff on a four-day week for two months due to the fall-off in demand for its beer products.

…Minister for Health Simon Harris said at the weekend he could not see how people could return to “packed pubs” as long as the virus was still in the community and in the absence of a vaccine.

Hic.

Most pubs will ‘close for good’ if lockdown lasts to 2021, vintners say (The Irish Times)

Rollingnews

UPDATE:

On Today with Seán O’Rourke this morning…

Noel Anderson, managing director of Lemon & Duke and vice-chairman of Licensed Vintners’ Association told Mr O’Rourke:

“All our staff, and we’re delighted for them, are currently being looked after to a point. They’re getting the €350 payment a week. But businesses haven’t been really looked after yet, in my opinion.

“And in certain areas, we’ve been left high and dry. So we feel like we’ve done our bit and we will get to where we need to be but we’re gonna need grants.

“Nobody needs a loan. Rates is currently being deferred. You’re only making the problem worse for when you open, so we’re going to need grants not loans. And then when we do open, we’re going to need massive tax assistance.”

Mr Anderson added:

“I would like to see the Government work with us a little bit better. I was pretty disappointed to read in a Sunday newspaper what was said…like, let’s sit down and have a chat about what social distancing looks like, what financial assistance looks like. Let’s not be reading it over our Cornflakes.”

Listen back in full here