Contact

Should we be covering something? Email us your ideas, rumours or comments.

As Bertie Ahern Fades from Memory, the Sums Get Bigger

Today its up to a once-off £30,000 which the Tribunal put to Ahern he received from developer Owen O Callaghan after a March 1994 meeting about the tax status of Quarryvale and Blanchardstown shopping centres. When he looks around at the empty press gallery and reads headlines of economic woe, he must think it was [...]

Bertie’s best friend: Time

Is there a curse of Mahon? Added to the list of deceased on the witness lists comes today’s announcement that Albert Reynolds has “cognitive impairment” and cannot give evidence to the Tribunal. Albert has had a strange twilight to political career, having inadvertedly given his name to the standard libel defence in English [...]

Not much of a gambling man

“Ahern said he was not really a gambling man, but he enjoyed attending festive race meetings when he had the opportunity.”
So reported the Irish Times at the end of December last year when Bertie Ahern was at the Leopardstown races. Despite that, he appears to have been quite successful at the old gee-gees.

This other lot would also drive you to drink

The Drumcondra mafia, that is.  Can anyone keep track of the last two days’ Mahon revelations, let alone reconcile them with earlier testimony?  In particular, we have learned that it looks like Celia Larkin was never intended to be out of pocket, at least not anytime soon, on the loan that she got to buy [...]

Bertie and Ehud under a bush …

Does any of this sound familiar? –
Not all of the money was a gift, New York businessman Morris Talansky told the court.  Some of the cash “donations” handed over to Olmert were loans, which he expected to be repaid. “Famous last words,” Talansky jokingly told the court when he explained that the money was never [...]

Ahern & Collins contradicted - again

Yea, you would guess it’s all over since Bertie Ahern resigned as Taoiseach. Well, it isn’t. And there was more explosive evidence. Didn’t hear about it? Quelle surprise. The media, read RTE, seem to be taking their eye off the ball.
Remember that whole B/T account thing?

Reaction to the Morris Tribunal Report

Bock has been following this for a while and gives his take on the Morris Tribunal report over on the blog, he is not impressed with the Gardai, neither is Justice Morris and neither is Jim Higgins.
Considering he was being moved on, it is clear that Lenihan was covering for any successor in dumping this [...]

A Maddening Sadness

Early last week, when things were quieter and the world was still spinning, allegations and remarks were abound as they have been for some time. The evidence of Gráinne Carruth was being lamented as a bad day for Bertie in the newspapers as they executed their never-ending campaign of vicious and snide comment on the [...]

Bertie: The view from overseas, via Dublin

No doubt many people are sick of Bertie coverage at this point, especially following the Sunday papers. But it’s worth taking a look at Bruce Arnold’s assessment in Monday’s Wall Street Journal Europe, because it’s something that the vaguely curious international business-leaning audience that hasn’t paid attention to the affair will read about it. [...]

On the balance of things

There is a quickly growing consensus that the Mahon Tribunal will be little more than a footnote - albeit a very unsightly one - in Bertie Ahern’s legacy.
However while there is little doubt that Ahern has done the State enough service to be remembered fondly, his most loyal supporters worryingly seem to believe that this [...]

Bloggers: Our Part In Bertie’s Downfall?

And now what are we we going to do?
It was the net wat done it
By the way that is an ugly ass interface in the new Wordpress. Ugh.

Bertie Ahern resigns as Taoiseach - Statement Main Points

The main points from Bertie Aherns speech delivered seconds ago outside government buildings. He will be stepping down on May 6th. (Forgive the jump from 1st to 3rd person and back, it was typed on the go).

Bertie Ahern to resign Tuesday 6th of May

Breaking: Bertie Ahern to resign Tuesday 6th of May.
10:30am: Bertie Ahern has announced a last-minute, unexpected press conference to be held before his statement to the Dáil.
Reports on the substance are mixed although many outlets are suggesting that a resignation date, or even an immediate resignation from the leadership of Fianna Fáil, is expected.
RTÉ One [...]

U-Turns Aplenty as Ahern only Going to Give Sparse Detail to the Dail

Perhaps out of worry that the High Court will not find in his favour after tomorrow’s case or perhaps out of that deep-seated predisposition to change his mind more often than the weather, Ahern is widely reported as considering only giving sparse detail to the Dail tomorrow. I am not sure we would have known [...]

Bertie Does a U-Turn and will Give Dail Statement

So he was for turning after all. I didn’t take long for Ahern to turn ‘I will not be making a statement’ into ‘I will in fact, ah, be making a statement’. The Indo reports this morning that he will make use of Dail time on Wednesday to make a speech which will attempt to [...]

The Late Late Debate and public sentiment

According to many pundits and politicos, the panel debate held on The Late Late Show just before the last general election marked a turn in public opinion back towards Bertie Ahern and Fianna Fáil - carrying them to victory in May’s poll.
If this theory can be taken as fact and the logic of it carried [...]

Get Irish Election updates via email. Enter your email address:

Latest Links of Interest

Links Feed Links Archives »