The exodus from broadcast journalism continues. Hot on the heels of the retiring David Davin-Power, Vincent Browne and Ursula Halligan will be Cathal Mac Coille, presenter of RTE’s Morning Ireland programme.
“Yes, I reach retirement age in September,” he tells me. “But with leave due,
I’m finishing up at the end of the month.”
Mac Coille’s first stint on Morning Ireland began in 1986 and lasted four years, before he detoured into the Sunday Tribune and TG4. He returned to the programme in 2001, succeeding David Hanly as its signature voice.
The most memorable experience for us, if not him, was the 2010 interview with a hungover — sorry, nasally congested — Brian Cowen.
One wonders if Mac Coille will be replaced, though. After all, Morning Ireland has five other presenters: Audrey Carville, Rachael English, Brian Jennings, Fran McNulty and Dr Gavin Jennings. State fraud campaign ticks none of the boxes
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An article last April in the Sunday Independent about Leo Varadkar’s social welfare fraud campaign prompted a debate among his officials about how to respond.
Journalist Gene Kerrigan pointed to a malfunction on the Department of Social Protection website. “If you haven’t made a previous report [on an alleged culprit], the site won’t accept your tip-off unless you insert a random date,” Kerrigan said.
Sarah O’Callaghan, a Varadkar official, emailed colleagues that the web form was fine. “So we’ll be pointing this out to him?” replied Nick Miller, the senior press officer. O’Callaghan wasn’t sure this would be worthwhile: “‘Department clarifies fraud form actually works’ is not really going to be much of a win for us.” Miller disagreed, saying “the error stands uncorrected”.
As of now, it does.
Steward’s Lodge beats Airbnb for cheap digs
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It’s surely the best-value B&B in Dublin, so no wonder Enda Kenny used it 17 times between March and June, when he stepped down as taoiseach.
The Steward’s Lodge in Phoenix Park, was restored 11 years ago for use as a taoiseach’s residence at a cost of €600,000. Kenny, who had a city-centre apartment in Dublin, used it sparingly; just 17 times in 2016, for example. But when he stayed at Steward’s Lodge, which has four bedrooms and a study, Kenny paid the Office of Public Works €50.
This included a “light uncooked breakfast”, but sure, you could always get the full Irish later at Leinster House.
The €50 charge, also paid by Kenny’s predecessor Brian Cowen, was presumably to avoid a tax liability, as otherwise use of the property might be a “taxable benefit”.
Bestselling author that you have never heard of
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Ireland’s bestselling author has sold 388,000 copies of her debut novel since March, and chances are you have never heard of her.
The Missing Ones, by Patricia Gibney, a mother of three from Mullingar, is a bestseller in America, Canada and Australia.
Because it is a digital publication, you’ll find the crime thriller only on Kindles not in book stores. And with the book costing €1-€2, she won’t be retiring on the proceeds just yet.
This is no flash in the pan, however. Gibney’s second book, The Stolen Girls, went on sale last Thursday and has already shifted 49,000 units, including pre-orders. She has a four-book deal with Bookouture, a London digital publisher, for the crime series featuring detective Lottie Parker. The next instalment goes on sale in October.
Having worked for 30 years with Westmeath county council, Gibney gave up her job after the death of her husband, Aidan, in 2009. She now writes full time, and is quietly enjoying her phenomenal success.
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“I’m getting loads of emails from Australia, America and around the world,” she says.
Irish publishers are finally bestirring themselves, we hear, and a traditional book deal is in the offing.
Oxfam’s talks with Goal go into extra time
Talks between Oxfam Ireland and Goal about a merger are not going well, we hear. Earlier this year the organisations said they would discuss creating a new entity, Oxfam Goal. This followed an American investigation of Goal over irregularities in the supply of aid to Syria from Turkey, and the departure of its senior management.
Goal and Oxfam say the talks are continuing but insiders predict an unsuccessful outcome, with the key difference being over a new structure in America, where Goal raises funds.
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Goal and Concern previously talked about a merger, which didn’t come off, and nor did an outreach to Mercy Corps, an American aid agency. Surely this was its last throw of the dice?
Hand points fingers
Sounds like Eoin Hand, the former Republic of Ireland manager, will be dishing it out in his memoir. According to the website of his publisher Collins Press, Hand will respond “for the first time” to the “campaign of fierce abuse” mounted against him as Ireland manager by Eamon Dunphy in the mid-1980s. His book, First Hand, will reveal “significant unknown facts about Dunphy”.
Another person whose name begins with D is also expected to get a Hand-off. John Delaney can expect to be tackled, given that the Football Association of Ireland sacked Hand as its career guidance officer in 2012. The book vows to expose “the inner workings of the FAI”. It’s all about to kick off.
Tweet nothings
Introduction to Social Media was the name of a course offered in Leinster House last year. Surprisingly, given the role of Twitter and Facebook, there was only one taker: Fianna Fail backbencher Declan Breathnach. He had six sessions, which cost the taxpayer nothing, as the course was delivered “in house” by Oireachtas staff .
● Fine Gael is looking to “augment its professional staff with the recruitment of a political director”. One of the key roles will be “with the assistance of a forward thinking media team, to communicate Fine Gael’s core values and policy positions”. No wonder the ideal candidate has to be “dynamic and flexible”.