Last month's tough budget provoked extraordinary public outrage, with thousands taking to the streets in protest. In the new issue of Hot Press, Brian Cowen defends the government's decisions to raise taxes and cut funding for healthcare and education.
In a world exclusive interview, Morrissey sets the record straight on sex, religion, politics, David Bowie and his Irish heritage, and casts a Trinny & Susannah-esque eye over Brian Cowen
Guggi first emerged into the public eye as a member of the Virgin Prunes – the band that shared their early growth and development with U2. Having departed the Prunes fold, he turned his attention to art and has since become one of the country's most bankable painters.
The Church's tide may have ebbed, but its judgmentalism, fundamentalism and puritanical finger-pointing have been assimilated by the secular bodies of media and government.
Find out what Brian Cowen thinks is in store for Ireland in light of the global financial crisis and the government's unpopular decisions on medical cards and education cuts.
In the new Hot Press (published Thursday, May 17th), Minister for Finance Brian Cowen talks about his about his dalliance with dope and the Rainbow coalition’s ”con job”.
It was far from edifying, watching Bertie Ahern attempt to slug it out with the Mahon Tribunal. Now that it's all over, maybe we can get down to some real politics...
It is the problem that dare not speak its name. Yes, the incoming Taoiseach will have to act fast on the Zip Question, if we want to avoid economic meltdown - and worse. Much worse...
There are those who argue that the best that Northern Ireland can hope for is dreariness. They’ll have been disappointed this year, so. It’s been grim instead, and right from the off.
Condoms are more expensive in Ireland than almost anywhere else in Europe – and the VAT rate imposed by the Government is to blame. Now a campaign to get rid of the tax is gaining momentum.
Albert Reynolds has, it seems, wilfully wrecked a coalition government whose achievements were numerous and real, possibly endangering the peace process while he’s at it. BILL GRAHAM wonders why, and ponders the repercussions of the foolhardy actions of Harry Whelehan’s No. 1 fan.
Having spent decades trying to cast off the legacy of colonialism are we now in danger of being sucked into the anglosphere at the cost of our European identity?
More people than ever may be smoking it but Ireland s marijuana laws remain among the most draconian in Europe. In the second part of our series on drugs in Ireland, STUART CLARK presents the dope on dope.
The Progressive Democrats may have chosen to launch their campaign in Prosperous, but Ireland's thriving Celtic Tiger image belies the harsh reality of health, housing and crime problems as well as the ever widening gap between rich and poor. The Whole Hog casts a baleful eye over the general election landscape
Trip-hop legend Tricky on how he's falling in love with Europe, why he's dying to work with Kylie and why if you live in a rough part of the UK, it's best to carry a knife.
When Tommy Tiernan held court in the Hot Press Chat Room at Electric Picnic recently, he had no idea the kind of shit storm that would unfold. During what was in effect a spontaneous, unscripted live performance – not unlike an appearance on The Late Late Show that also sparked controversy – he told a story about a couple of Jews who reproached him after a performance in New York. The result? He has been accused of anti-semitism and widely vilified. But those who know Tiernan are quite clear that the accusations are completely wrong. So – in order to allow people to judge for themselves – here is the full text of the Chat Room interview.
He was the shock winner of the Progressive Democrats leadership race. In his first major interview Ciaran Cannon sets out his vision for the beleaguered party, explains why Michael McDowell was really a sweetheart, decries the rise of the nanny state, calls for the legalisation of prostitution and lifts the lid on his misspent youth as a mod.
If the McCarthy report is implemented in full, state funding for the arts would be slashed. The effect on the arts, and on artists, is likely to be devastating.
As the turbo-charged economy he helped create teeters, Charlie McCreevy talks about medical cards for the aged, the Eircom shares debacle, explains why he wouldn't swap places with current Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.
The media is in turmoil, with huge losses being posted by some of the country’s biggest broadcasting and publishing groups. It is a dramatic backdrop to the Hot Press Interview with DAVID McREDMOND, chief executive at TV3. In no mood to mince his words, the independent TV boss repeatedly goes for the jugular, insisting that RTÉ’s dual funding must end, and telling the State regulator to get off TV3’s back.
He's been described as the 'intellectual powerhouse of Fianna Fail'. As the party goes into electoral meltdown special advisor to the Taoiseach turned Junior Minister Martin Mansergh talks about George Lee, the Government's unpopularity and the prejudices faced by a member of the Anglo-Irish community who dared go into politics.
His brother, John Bruton, was the leader of Fine Gael and served as Taoiseach. Now, Richard Bruton is a key member of the opposition front bench. Would he have anything different to offer if he was Minister for Finance?
In his first major interview, Aengus Fanning, editor of the Sunday Independent, discusses how he manages the most successful paper in Ireland and the death of Veronica Guerin.
In the second part of the Hot Press interview, An Taoiseach Brain Cowen talks about his political influences, the fall out from the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty and more...
As Albert Reynolds basks in the post-ceasefire glow and Dick Spring’s Labour party strives to assert its
independence in government, BILL GRAHAM believes that the real losers in the new political landscape are the Progressive Democrats.
Current affairs anchor – and Ireland's leading ‘yummy mummy’ according to the tabloids – MIRIAM O'CALLAGHAN talks about the challenges of raising eight children, her past marital woes and taking a pay cut at RTÉ.
So says the new Minister for Drugs, Pat Carey. Which makes an interesting change from the usual sensational stuff we’re fed by politicians, the Gardaí and the media. But is he right?
As U2 gear up for the release of No Line On The Horizon, they meet HP to talk about the creation of their latest masterwork, meeting world leaders, the way they’re perceived in Ireland, the current state of the music business and their future plans.
MICHAEL NOONAN may be the most follicularly-challenged member of the Fine Gael front bench but he is also seen by some as the party's leader in waiting, the only person capable of bringing about the kind of revitalisation which has so conspicuously eluded John Bruton. Now aged fifty, Noonan was for years known as the man who as Minister for Justice in the mid-eighties exposed the Sean Doherty bugging scandal and ordered the release of Nicky Kelly. More recently, however, he has achieved real fame as a Scrap Saturday caricature. Interview: LIAM FAY.
He is one of our highest profile broadcasters and journalists. Now in his new book, Last Word host MATT COOPER looks at the rot and corruption that festered beneath the surface of the Celtic Tiger. He talks about the sense of anger he feels over the mismanagement of the economy, the damage wrought by the Bertie Ahern years and the apparent unwillingness of RTE to give him any publicity
Senate leader Donie Cassidy, a reluctant interviewee, opens up about his rivalry with Fianna Fail colleague Mary O'Rourke and reminisces about his days in the show-band business.
And so, unbelievably another year has bitten the dust. Here, continuing a tradition as Christmassy as the eating of turkey and the consumption of way too much alcohol, The Hog reflects on a turbulent year, when we all grew older and much, much wiser.
No problem! Eamon Gilmore has just taken over at the helm of the Labour Party. Here, in a wide-ranging interview, he talks about Bertie Ahern, the future of Labour, Gay marriage, God, abortion, bias in the media – and a whole lot more besides.
In the final months of his battle with cancer, TONY GREGORY sat down with Hot Press to discuss his life and career. Knowing it would be his final interview he was in a reflective frame of mind.
Chicago, Illinois is a world capital of music and The Mighty Stef lived there and got to like it. Although he never got to visit Steve Albini’s studio, he was wowed by seeing Barack Obama live.
The 2007 general election is set to be a close-run thing. Which makes it all the more important for people to get to the polls. Because if you don’t vote, you don’t count…
The US army graverobs Hendrix… the death of the man who exposed the Turin Shroud… the international court hamstrung at birth… the lonely death of Annie Kelly
