Currently drawing huge crowds to The Olympia with his third Mrs. Brown play, Brendan O’Carroll nonetheless has a bone to pick with those pushing for the retention of the section 481 tax break for film-makers.
As fiscal Armageddon looms, the Irish Government is faced with tough choices. In considering its options, it would do well to remember the lessons to be learned from past experience – in particular the fact that the Poll Tax marked the beginning of the end for Margaret Thatcher
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.
In the second part of a major interview concerning his brief as Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht - and his vision for the future of the Arts in Ireland - MICHAEL D. HIGGINS talks about the enormous potential for job creation in the related areas of film, music and heritage, the changes he would like to see in the tax-free status afforded to artists and answers his critics in relation to Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act. Interview: JOE JACKSON
He may have an image as a political bruiser, but even if he is prepared to engage Bertie in a head-butting contest, Michael Noonan would rather win over the electorate by the more gentle art of persuasion. Joe Jackson meets the Fine Gael leader to discuss public issues and personal traumas, and discovers why he's partial to drink and Bill Clinton but opposed to Sinn Fein, the Bertie bowl and tax breaks for sports stars.
U2 manager Paul McGuinness is among the most powerful players in the music industry. To coincide with the DVD release of U2’s classic ZOO TV Live From Sydney, he talks candidly about his relationship with the band and their controversial decision to move part of their business empire to the Netherlands in order to lower their tax burden.
Need help, advice or a second opinion? Put your music industry question to the oracle@hotpress.ie.
This fortnight, Tax Dodger from Kerry wants to know what type of expenses musicians can legally deduct from their income to reduce their tax liability.
For the first time since its introduction by Charlie Haughey, a restriction has been imposed in the new Budget, introduced in the Dail yesterday by the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowan, on what has become known as the artist's tax emption.
With a growing media profile, a Basement Jaxx remix and a subject matter tuned into the cultural zeitgeist, you’d be hard pushed to see how Lady Sovereign’s ‘Hoodie’ could be anything but a rip-roaring success. Yet something’s not quite right. It certainly rattles along at an invigorating pace and is blessed with some choice one liners but maybe it’s the fact that the melody isn’t strong enough to compete with everything else that’s going on.
In comparison to Sov’s big production, C-Mone’s track sounds like it was recorded on a lap-top in her bedroom but is the more effective of the two. With a lyric that takes in the famine in Sudan, gun culture and old age pensioners struggling to pay council tax, C-Mone could have it in her to give M.I.A. a run for the Brit-hop crown.
With a growing media profile, a Basement Jaxx remix and a subject matter tuned into the cultural zeitgeist, you’d be hard pushed to see how Lady Sovereign’s ‘Hoodie’ could be anything but a rip-roaring success. Yet something’s not quite right. It certainly rattles along at an invigorating pace and is blessed with some choice one liners but maybe it’s the fact that the melody isn’t strong enough to compete with everything else that’s going on.
In comparison to Sov’s big production, C-Mone’s track sounds like it was recorded on a lap-top in her bedroom but is the more effective of the two. With a lyric that takes in the famine in Sudan, gun culture and old age pensioners struggling to pay council tax, C-Mone could have it in her to give M.I.A. a run for the Brit-hop crown.
OK, it's about midnight as I start this, and God knows when I'll finish it. I want to write about money, and its importance in my life, which is why I've left it to the last possible minute
IF ANYONE deserves to be a fabulously wealthy rock star, it's Cathal Coughlan. For the past 15 years, he's churned out classic after classic, with nary a hint of a high-maintenance blonde, a spell in tax exile or a week in the Priory.
This ought to be a series of thrilling monkeyshines to be accompanied by popcorn and Revels. But 21 can’t make ‘action’ at the tables look any more exciting than completing a tax return.
The Walker, though occasionally hindered by its micro-budget and tax-busting Isle Of Man location shoot, is a worthy addition to a quadrilogy that includes Taxi Driver, American Gigolo and Light Sleeper.
Whatever JJ72 Version 2.0 might be, they’re no support band. A couple of years ago the trio would have had a shot at headlining here, but a new pragmatism has seeped into the music. They’ve condensed the sonic architectural shapes of I To Sky (an album not so much released as sent straight to tax write-off limbo) into byte sized synopses of what they do best.
Need help, advice or a second opinion? Put your music industry question to the oracle@hotpress.ie. This fortnight, JP in Glasgow asks are there any benefirs in setting up an Irish company to manage artists rather than a UK company. JP points out that he has a lot of contacts here and used to work in Ireland, so it might be an advantage.
How intolerant can we become? It’s a challenging question. We have already become one of the least tolerant and aggressive societies on earth. Few can compete. But 2003 witnessed an upsurge in control culture. This is especially the case in ‘official’ circles. There are six causes.
Just in time for Halloween, the government and the media are conspiring to demonise public servants. All the while, the real monsters are being allowed go free.
MICHAEL D. Higgins obviously got under the hypersensitive skin of Sunday Independent journalists who have accelerated their systematic, and at points, paranoiac attack on the Minister since he proposed some relatively revolutionary ideas about the arts, in a recent issue of Hot Press.
This year’s Cannes Film Festival is set to be the most successful yet for the Irish film-making community, according to film board chief executive Mark Woods.
Ireland’s energy policy seems remarkably generous to the exploration companies. Especially if, according to riggers, they have been playing a waiting game before they bring Ireland’s oil and gas to shore.
With the countdown to the general election now officially under way, the most important aspect to remember amid all the hype is that the right to vote is both a privilege and a responsibility.
There is no doubting that politics is a dirty game. Everywhere. People here may sniff their superiority over the sleazebags in England and America, and how we don’t dump on a cabinet minister for bonking five secretaries and getting caught. But in truth it’s just as dirty on this island as anywhere else.
George are enjoying considerable success in their native Australia and are shortly to bring their angelic pop rock to Ireland. For co-vocalist/guitarist Tyrone Noonan however, it won’t be his first visit to the land of his ancestors
A new organisation of musicians has written to Barack Obama protesting against the use of music to torture detainees. Also: a closer look at the individuals behind the recent An Bord Snip report, which recommends systematic fleecing of the poor in order to keep fat-cats in the style to which they’re accustomed.
WHAT motivates a writer to consign words to page? By what method do they arrive at their chosen subject matter? Is the writer more or less a voyeur than those who read their scribblings?
Our economy is caught in the eye of the storm and the global financial system teeters on the brink. How long will the recession last and how will Ireland fare?
Having been returned triumphantly to office in 2002, Bertie Ahern might have expected things to rock gently along this year. But instead, he’s been through a mincer and it’s not over yet.
Journalist STEVEN POOLE has, inspired by Orwell, written a riveting book documenting the insidious abuses of the English language perpetrated by politicians and powermongers.
SIOBHAN LONG meets RON HYNES, writer of Sonny and hears him talk about Paul Simon, Donegal and the lack of support for artists in his native Newfoundland.
RAYTHEON, the armament-technology firm which manufactured Patriot and Sidewinder missiles, is establishing a plant in Derry and the local politicians couldn t be happier. EAMONN McCANN reports.
Every now and then a record emerges that announces the arrival of a major new talent. So it is with Anjani and her remarkable collaboration with Leonard Cohen, Blue Alert.
Civil rights activists, and a small handful of political supporters in Dail Eireann, are campaigning for marriage rights for gay couples in Ireland – at precisely the moment that Rome has upped the ante in its condemnation of homosexuality. once again, old style battle lines are being drawn between church and state. Imogen Murphy reports
The release of her second album Blue Planet should prove beyond all reasonable
doubt that DONNA LEWIS is no One Hit Wonder.
Interview: BARRY GLENDENNING.
Enlisting 12 new countries as member states in the EU – the enlargement issue – is not all we’re voting for in the upcoming Nice Treaty. What’s also at stake is democratic control by individual EU members over their own essential services
Their placards are invariably visible at bin-charge protests – and, indeed, virtually any other street protest you care to mention. but do the SWP – and other left-wing parties frequently demonised by mainstream politicians really have something meaningful to offer?
Apathy as much as manipulation has allowed the globalisation myth to flourish. Michael D. Higgins explains the urgent need for economic alternatives and stresses the importance of political activism
Striking nurses need to convince the public that their demands for extra pay and shorter hours will lead to a better health service. So far, they haven’t done so.
That a bonefide Irish film industry actually exists is no small achievement, but with a new Minister For The Arts now in place, this is hardly the time for complacency. To ascertain how best the industry can be maintained and developed, Hot Press film critic, cathy dillon, canvassed the views of a number of key players.
Galway company Hemp Ireland is pioneering the cultivation of alternative crop resources in Ireland. Director Terry Barman explains why there's more to hemp than tabloid headlines
An old friend of mine used to regularly take out a word and fondle it like a friendly animal. A very Irish amusement, I think. One particular favourite was the word “worrying”, as in dogs “worrying sheep”.
Irish guitarist bernie torme no relation to Mel has played with Ian Gillan, Atomic Rooster and Ozzy Osbourne, and lived to tell the tale. Interview: colm o hare.
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
"The idea that they exist to serve the customer is not part of this lot’s world-view: each and every citizen is a nuisance. The city, they seem to think, would be so much neater and more orderly if they could just get the people out of it"
He’s been at the helm with U2 since 1979. In the intervening time he’s been involved in every aspect of the career of the biggest rock band in the world. In a rare in-depth interview, Paul McGuinness talks about the highs and lows of managing the fab four and reflects on the State of the Nation and the implosion of the Irish economy.
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...
With Walmart; The High Cost Of Low Price, veteran filmmaker Robert Greenwald has issued a savage critique of the biggest private corporation in the world, one which has strip-mined the blue collar landscape of America and beyond.
...Or at least it does where Halloween is concerned, as the old pagan feast is transformed into an orgy of amateur pyrotechnics, civil disobedience and open-air boozing.
The decision of the High Court to jail five men for opposing attempts by the oil multi-national Shell to run a high pressure gas pipeline across their lands in the Rossport area of Mayo has brought an issue of major national importance to a head. Rory Hearne tells a story that may yet take on the status of legend in the west of Ireland.
The twin spectres of recession and emigration may loom large, but that's no reason for the media to make things worse by indulging in gross exaggeration
There's been too much bullshit about the state of the economy. But pissing on the shoes of our friends or moving closer to the anglosphere isn't the best way out of recession.
From the backstreets of Waterford to a place on the podium next to the Beatles, Gilbert O'Sullivan lived an extraordinary life. Now 60, he looks back on his rollercoaster career.
Regarded by most sane citizens as an irrelevant safe haven for pompous political windbags, Seanad Eireann is really . . . an irrelevant safe haven for pompous political windbags. Why then, is the decidedly sane TCD academic, ivana bacik, so anxious to get elected to Dail Eireann s Upper House? liam fay finds out.
The furies have been unleashed over the small matter of a wash and blow-dry for Mary Harney. In the spirit of Christmas, it might be wiser to think: let he who is without sin cast the first stone...
Expelled by the Labour Party and reviled by some of his former colleagues, JOE HIGGINS is seen by his own supporters as the only genuinely socialist politician in Dail Iireann. No friend or fan of Labour, golden circles or U2, he tells JOE JACKSON that revolutionary change is not just possible but essential. Pix: Colm Henry.
For two weeks now, the people of Rossport in North Mayo have been besieged by hundreds of Gardai, including riot police and even members of the Emergency Response Unit. Despite the pressure, hundreds of locals are protesting every morning.
UK white hopes mansun have toned down their visual image but their music remains as defiantly maverick and angular as ever. Interview: deirdre cartmill.
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.
Jesse Hughes of Eagles Of Death Metal takes time out from showering with nubile fans to explain why the Republican party is too left-wing for him, sings the praises of George W Bush and tells us what it’s like to have a former Sex Pistol as a post-rehab sponsor.
With elections to the Dáil and the Seanad on the way, 2007 is likely to throw up a fresh generation of political contenders. Craig Fitzsimons casts an eye over some of the young guns likely to make a splash.
In the same week that an Amnesty International report highlighted the alarming incidence of RACISM in Ireland, NIALL STOKES offers one eye-witness example of just how unwelcoming this country can be. Additional reporting: PHIL UDELL
When former IRA prisoner Marion Price decided to go public about the intimidation she claims to have suffered,
she did so on Radio Free Iireann. STUART CLARK reports on the New York station that s providing a focal point for dissident Republican opinion.
He’s worked with Van, Dylan, Christy, Sinéad, The Cranberries and many other household names – but now he’s gone centre-stage himself as the composer of The General soundtrack. JOE JACKSON meets RICHIE BUCKLEY. Pix: Mick Quinn
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.
Basking in the warm glow of that first day's successful recording may tempt you to imagine that it's all over but for the fame and fortune. Wrong, and double wrong. JACKIE HAYDEN considers music marketing and PR.
Far from the misanthropic character of lore, Tommy Tiernan is in fact a remarkably upbeat performer with a spring in his step and a whole host of new material to debut on his upcoming Loose tour. “Life is good, God is great and tay is hot!” he tells Tanya Sweeney.
The Police's reformation is the reunion they said would never happen, and according to guitarist Andy Summers the band is still the same mix of egos and visionaries.
Mary Robinson's frustration with the obstacles placed in the path of the struggle for human rights reflects a deeper and wider world problem - the spread of a new inTolerance which places profit before people and is even prepared to go to war to defend its supremacy. here, Michael D. Higgins TD makes an impassioned plea for change
With the opposition parties in Ireland now all more or less occupying the centre ground, it's up to the country's youth to become the true voice of dissent.
Hot Press was granted unique access to U2, interviewing all four members as they rehearsed for their recent Brit Awards appearance. They talk about No Line On The Horizon, how they're viewed in Ireland, the current state of the music business and more...
In the best possible sense, of course! For fifteen years, Gerry Ryan has been a mainstay of Irish radio. Though his few forays intoTV thus far have been ill-fated, his latest small-screen venture, Ryan Confidential looks set to reverse the trend. Here, Ryan discusses the ups and downs of his career to date
Recent legislation creating a new offence of drinking to excess is just the latest of a campaign against the free consumption of alcohol in this country. Is it too late to stop the moral majority?
One of the government’s most vocal and effective critics, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte could well be the next Tánaiste. He talks about iPods, happiness, gay marriage, breaking the law - and Enda Kenny’s hairdo.
Endless traffic, skyrocketing house prices, vandalism, litter, corrupt planners, listed buildings being pulled down to make way for |ber-pubs and highrises. Doesn t Dublin deserve better than this? KIM PORCELLI talks to Irish Times Environment Correspondent FRANK McDONALD about his new book, The Construction Of Dublin, and some of the more controversial proposals to save the city before it s too late
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.
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.
Michael O'Higgins interviews Bertie Ahern, one of Fianna Fail's young tigers and a man many are tipping as a future leader of the party and possible Taoiseach
The boys are back in town for Galway s Big Beat and SHAUN RYDER is back in the saddle. I m actually now becoming some sort of poet-film-directing-intelligent-motherfucking-artist-luvvy-darling sort of guy and it s wonderful, he tells PETER MURPHY. Pics: Michael Quinn
So says the man the tabloids have dubbed Fat Puss, Alan Bradley. But he's due in court on charges of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, with figures between €950,000 and €2 million being bandied about in the media. In an exclusive interview, he asks how can he get a fair trial?
Great weather for ducks, they say. This island has been deluged. Inundated. East to west, south to north. And it is, if anything, worse to the east. The Rhine is already many metres above normal as far inland as Köln. By the time it subsides, billions of marks worth of damage will have been done.
The second instalment of our
wide-ranging interview with
Sam Smyth sees the reporter extraordinaire come clean about life amid spindoctors, pol. cors., lobby fodder and other strange creatures indigenous to Leinster House. He also talks about his real reasons for leaving the Sunday Independent, his falling-out with Vincent Browne and his mano a mano battle with Noel Pearson. All this plus his favourite Donie Cassidy story.
Tape recorder: liam fay.
Snaps: colm Henry.
The Rolling Stones, The Who, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, Sinéad o' Connor... The Chieftains are on first-name terms with all of them and as they pocket another Grammy for Celtic Harp Paddy Moloney tells Siobhán Long how the band retain their freshness after over twenty years together.
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?
What do you get when you lock indie gods Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine and Dublin's up-and-coming Blink in a room with unlimited booze and a tape machine? Well, you're about to find out as Blink ask their tourmates Carter how many pairs of underpants to bring along, whether or not you can leave stage to prevent wetting them and who washes them if you can't. Pix: Leo Regan
What do you get when you lock indie gods Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine and Dublin's up-and-coming Blink in a room with unlimited booze and a tape machine? Well, you're about to find out as Blink ask their tourmates Carter how many pairs of underpants to bring along, whether or not you can leave stage to prevent wetting them and who washes them if you can't. Pix: Leo Regan
Love, sex, filth, money, sex, abortion, politics, sex, family, marriage, sex – and the whole damn thing. The BRENDAN O’CARROLL interview by JOE JACKSON. Pix: Michael Quinn.
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.
The Cranberries have overcome the growing pains that all young bands encounter to become one of Ireland's brightest prospects. Here, Dolores O'Riordan and Fergal Lawlor tell Stuart Clark about the new friends they’ve made, their first trip to America and a chance encounter with Michael Stipe.
What would the old bishop of Down have made of the avowed feminist who made her name singing about blow-jobs in public places? The answer is open to debate, but as Colin Carberry discovers, maybe the bishop and Alanis Morissette have more in common than you might think.
Former cop, private eye and the only man on the Presidential ballot paper, derek nally is the dark horse candidate who could yet shake up the race for the Park. Here he holds forth on low standards in high places, how Sean Doherty almost destroyed the gardai , the foul treatment of Albert Reynolds, the case for the decriminalisation of prostitution and why he wasn t surprised by J. Edgar Hoover s penchant for frocks. Interview: liam fay.
Pix: Cathal dawson.
With paranoia running rampant among US immigration officials in the wake of September 11, even a seemingly straightforward holiday in the land of the free can turn into a Kafka-esque nightmare.
John Noonan, who played a pivotal role in the IRA’s military campaign against the British occupation of Northern Ireland, gives a revealing interview to Jason O'Toole.
When the decision to dump Rattlebag and Mystery Train from the RTE Radio 1 schedule was taken, accusations of dumbing down were rife. So is there scope for arts and music programmes with a bit of depth in Montrose? John Kelly insists that there should be.
As Secretary Of State in Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam [pic left by Mick Quinn] played a crucial role in formulation and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. It helped that she is no conventional politician but rather a warm, down-to-earth and decent individual with a genuine commitment to positive action. in both the UK and Ireland, she became by far the most popular British figure in the history of Northern politics - which may explain why, in the end, she was shafted.
Despite the IRA’s declaration of a ceasefire, there is considerable evidence to suggest that the Provos, like their Loyalist counterparts, are still engaging in “punishment attacks” and in the issuing of expulsion orders. Report: Liam Fay. Pics: Alan O’Connor
Dail Eireann has never been short of socialist mavericks but rarely has a member of government spoken out so emphatically in favour of divorce, abortion and the shackling of the Catholic church as Democratic Left’s EAMON GILMORE. JOE JACKSON meets the agnostic Junior Minister who smoked and inhaled and reckons he'd probably make a better whoremaster than a priest. Pix: Colm Henry.
He’s one of the last great orators in Irish politics. But there’s more to Joe Higgins TD than firebrand socialism. In this candid interview, the man once described as a ‘nitwit’ by an enraged Bertie Ahern talks about his childhood, the role of the church in his life and explains why the Celtic Tiger has let Ireland down
He’s one of the last great orators in Irish politics. But there’s more to Joe Higgins TD than firebrand socialism. In this candid interview, the man once described as a ‘nitwit’ by an enraged Bertie Ahern talks about his childhood, the role of the church in his life and explains why the Celtic Tiger has let Ireland down
LIAM FAY talks to writer
TIMOTHY O GRADY and
photographer STEVE PYKE about
their new book, I Could Read The Sky, which chronicles the lives of quiet
desperation lived by the forgotten
members of London s
Irish community.
The Irish star opens up on sex, drugs, racism, crime, acting, actors and actresses, as well as slamming the Irish film industry and RTE.
Text: JOE JACKSON. Portraits: CATHAL DAWSON
The reclassification of cannabis in Britain was a good day for the UK’s estimated five million users. But not a great day. A drug that is much less damaging than alcohol or tobacco remains illegal in most parts of the world, including Ireland, a situation which criminalises the user and benefits only the criminal gangs. It’s high time for a change, argues Olaf Tyaransen.
Mary Harney grew up on a farm in Co. Dublin, experiencing what she herself calls "a normal childhood". Having completed a convent education she studied at Trinity College, and became the first woman auditor of the prestigious Hist. Soc., where she mingled and met with many of the then present and future politicos of the era.
Dropped by Warners, but buoyed up by mega-sales of a soundtrack hit, Nick Lowe is back with a great new album, The Impossible Bird, and lots to say about Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello and a benevolent devil with the feet of a chicken. Interview: Joe Jackson.
With the general election approaching, the leader of the Labour Party offers his views on Bob Dylan, Bono, Ali Hewson, Sile De Valera, RTE, Sellafield, The Abbey Theatre, marital breakdown, the decline in power of the Catholic Church, the rise of Sinn Fein, the irrelevance of the PDs, his ambitions for Labour, and the perception of him as a smoked salmon socialist. All this, and the enduring appeal of a certain song
In the week in which he finished up his radio show, Ireland’s most (in)famous broadcaster/journalist has the last word On Roy Keane, Mick Mccarthy, John Giles, Kevin Myers, Vincent Browne and a whole lot more.
ANOTHER YEAR is upon us. You probably noticed. New Years don’t creep in quietly, they descend with a thud that leaves your head ringing for days (It’s called a hangover – Ed).
Deciding he d achieved as much as he could within the confines of the music scene in Ireland. Barry Moore changed his name, packed his bags and took off for the USA. There, as Luka Bloom, he was fjted for his live performances, awarded a major international record deal and his debut album, Riverside, given the four-star treatment by Rolling Stone. On a visit home, he tells Bill Graham about his emigrant s success story and explains how a man who was regarded as a folky in Dublin came to cut a rap track in New York.
The outlaw loved by the in-law, Willie Nelson can draw 4,000 people outside Dublin virtually by word of mouth. But it ain't all middle of the road: as befits a veteran of the honky-tonks who had done battle with the IRS and the law, the country music legend can still get in touch with the dark side of Hank
It’s been quite a year for PETE DOHERTY, the former Libertines frontman, and now leader of Babyshambles. 2005 featured a series of drug busts, failed rehab attempts, the tabloid witch hunt of his girlfriend Kate Moss, several non-appearances and live shows that fluctuated between agonising and ecstatic... oh, and the small matter of a debut album. As hotpress went to press, the news broke that Doherty had been busted yet again, barely two days out of an Arizona clinic. hotpress talks to Doherty’s label boss, Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis, tour photographer Danny Clifford, and former Babyshambles drummer Gemma Clarke, for the insiders' view on what’s becoming an increasingly sad and fearful saga.
One of the most distinctive and colourful characters in Dail Eireann, Junior Minister WILLIE O’DEA is also passionate about his commitment to reforming adult education. Here he talks to Joe Jackson about his brief, about Michael Noonan, Frank McCourt and “Stab City”, and about his recent outspoken comments on taxi drivers, political donations and other controversies. And, yes, he admits he did inhale and was “legless” the night he got elected
In the first of a new Hot Press series, in which we ll be asking well-known Irish people to step onto a national podium, author and
publisher dermot bolger delivers his state of the nation address.
Dylan is a farmer with a difference – he's a cannabis cultivator. He is squeezed by both criminals and the Gardai. But he aims to put Ireland on the map for quality, organically grown weed.
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the dissection of the rock ‘n’ roll year that is the Hot Press Summit. Gathering round the table are the good and great of Irish music, but who let Podge & Rodge in?
Over 50% of the electorate in the forthcoming General Election will be under 30 years of age. With this in mind, the main political parties are popping policies like smarties in their attemps to court the youth vote. LIAM FAY stands on their doorsteps.
Criminologist paul o mahony is one of the country s most progressive and radical thinkers on Irish criminal
justice. olaf tyaransen hears his provocative and important analysis. Pix: cathal dawson
Colm O’Hare reports on the latest developments in the Irish film world which – thanks to initiatives spearheaded by Michael D. Higgins, Minister of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht – is experiencing an unprecedented boom period.
It’s a different world than it used to be! In this special extended birthday column, The Hog takes a necessarily selective – and typically colourful – look at the 30 most important influences on the process of change that has brought this country all the way from there to… well, where else but here?
Well when you've conquered the world, what else can the biggest band on the planet do except go into space? BONO and LARRY discuss matters cosmic and personal with Olaf Tyaransen
As suede prepare for their headline slot at Dublin Castle next month, their stock has never been higher, thanks mainly to the success of their fantastic third album Coming Up. craig fitzsimons talks to singer brett anderson about it and invites him to take stock of the last few wildly successful months.
CATHAL COUGHLAN has long been among the most articulate and angry of Irish songwriters. Here, he talks to JONATHAN O BRIEN about his new album, money problems and adapting to middle-age
He may not be your average indie kids dream ticket, but Brian Kennedy has lived in very interesting times. An initially promising career was scuppered by record company machinations, but, under the stewardship of Van Morrison, he matured into a remarkably successful solo artist, as well as a respected novelist. Then there were the small matters of performing at George Best's funeral, the recent Eurovision controversy - and his current run at the helm of RTE's flagship summer Saturday night entertainment show.
2007 was another vintage year for Iggy. Here, he finds the time to discuss reforming the Stooges, his relationship with Bowie, the Stones and his trailer park upbringing.
Having made his name in the folk arena with Emmet Spiceland, Planxty and The Bothy Band, DONAL LUNNY went electric with the ground-breaking Moving Hearts. In the second part of a wide-ranging interview reflecting on all of the major characters and plots in Irish music since the folk revival blossomed in the '60s, he talks about the demise of the Hearts, the impact of Riverdance, Shane MacGowan, Sharon Shannon, Altan, Coolfin – and what he'd like to do with Sheryl Crow. Tape: NIALL STOKES
The global economic system is out of control and leading humanity on a road to environmental self-destruction. So says visionary economist RICHARD DOUTHWAITE, who argues that Ireland, for all its problems, is well placed to give birth to a new kind of culture that would ultimately safeguard the future of the planet and its inhabitants. Interview: ADRIENNE MURPHY
For over three decades, the political agitator and columnist Eoghan Harris has been the focus of abundant controversy, consistently raising hackles with views that are seldom less than heretical.
An icy welcome is swiftly thawed by laughter and vodka as the legendary Townes Van Zandt briefly retreats from the endless tyranny of road and stage to discuss his life and times in a darkened Dublin hotel room with Patrick Brennan.
THE GREAT RADIO DEBATE – 1993’s FINAL INSTALMENT
In strictly commercial terms, 98FM are by far the most successful Irish independent station. But over the past 12 months they have come in for severe criticism for a music policy which has frequently been described as anti-Irish. As a result, says their Australian Controller of Programmes Jeff O’Brien, there have been changes at the station – and there may be more to follow. Interview: Jackie Hayden.
The old fashioned virtues of talent and charisma, combined with the latest innovations in media technology, look set to make JACK L Ireland's first superstar of the new millennium. JOHN WALSHE has the inside story on a man who is about to get to The Point.
The old fashioned virtues of talent and charisma, combined with the latest innovations in media technology, look set to make JACK L Ireland s first superstar of the new millennium. JOHN WALSHE has the inside story on a man who is about to get to The Point.
MORE PEOPLE SMOKE IT IN THE UK THAN GO TO CHURCH, THE AMERICAN LAW JUDGES ADMIT THAT IT'S THE SAFEST THERAPEUTICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCE KNOWN TO MAN BUT STILL THE WAR AGAINST CANNABIS RAGES ON. OLAF TYARANSEN EXAMINES THE VESTED INTERESTS WHICH STAND IN THE WAY OF ITS LEGALISATION.
Christmas is the time of the year when thousands of Irish emigrants return home to link up again with families and friends. All over the country, for a brief interlude, towns and villages will come alive with stories, songs, drink and craic. And then all will be quiet again. Gerry McGovern examines the impact of emigration on Irish society – and the sense of alienation which many emigrants feel about their treatment by the authorities here.
Go on, admit it. You thought you knew it all about the most festive occasion. Wrong, suckers! OLAF TYARANSEN is the man with the definitive lowdown on the Christmas alphabet as he offers his essential guide to surviving the Santa season. Well, with a name like that he’s obviously more in tune with the North Pole, right?
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice, amongst others, has inspired a new do-it-yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here, Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice – amongst others has inspired a new do it yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate. Words: Tanya Sweeney. Additional reporting: Jackie Hayden
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice – amongst others has inspired a new do it yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate. Words: Tanya Sweeney. Additional reporting: Jackie Hayden
In a revealing interview, the Minister with responsibility for drugs, Pat Carey, explains why politicians have to re-think their policy on recreational pharmaceuticals.
With State Of Play and Shameless, Paul Abbott has taken more risks than any other writer of TV drama – with spectacularly successful results. Now, Channel 4 have asked the BAFTA award winner to write a pantomime, that’s destined to be one of the highlights of the festive season.
He’s jammed with Bob Dylan, partied with Keith Moon, sued The Byrds, traded spiky tops with Rod Stewart, had close encounters with Presleys Reg and Elvis and played "name that key" with John Lee Hooker, but arguably the best moment in his life was when he was named small breeder of the year. RON WOOD, the man who would be the queen mum of rock 'n' roll, tells a mean tale.
Words: STUART CLARK. Pictures ROGER WOOLMAN
To mark World AIDS Day, JOHN M. FARRELL reports on the continuing socio-political discrimination against those living their lives under the shadow of the deadly virus, and talks to a number of people – mostly teenagers – who fall into the high risk category. This is their story . . .
An Irish football legend shoots from the hip: the highs and lows of the World Cup, the pain in the ass of being 'Saint Niall', the reason players get fed-up with the FAI, why Kevin Kilbane would make a good husband, and where to now for Mick McCarthy, Roy Keane and Ireland after that disastrous start to the European Championship.
Well, it’s served Mary O'Rourke well, at least. Now 71 years of age, she first entered the Dail in 1982 and has been a TD for well over 20 years – during which time she has held a number of key Ministerial positions. Here she talks with remarkable honesty and humour about her political career, the Lenihan dynasty, Charlie Haughey, losing her husband, treachery in Fianna Fáil – and, of course, orgasms.
ENTERTAINMENT OFFICERS FROM UCC, UCD, UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER, UCG, DCU AND THE UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK GIVE AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF LIFE ON THEIR PARTICULAR CAMPUSES.
EDDIE IRVINE is Ireland s leading sporting playboy. The Grand Prix driver is a multi-millionaire whose taste for the extravagant runs to owning a private jet, a yacht and around ten cars. Here, the ladies man of Formula One talks to NIALL STANAGE about sex, drink, drugs, rock n roll oh, and driving.
A mere six months after taking on the role of Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern has been appointed by Kofi Annan as one of four envoys to assist in the reform of the United Nations and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals. Jackie Hayden spoke to him last week in his Dundalk office about this key appointment, as well as a range of key issues including the war in Iraq, political bribery, Shannon refuelling stops, Gerry Adams and the IRA, our immigration policy, the Health service, his real hopes for the Peace Process and the influence of Dave Fanning on his musical tastes. Photography by Emily Quinn.
Tales of high profile solicitor Gerald Kean's astonishing ability to make truckloads of money - and spend it - have become the stuff of tabloid wet dreams.
Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone talks about toffs in politics, Tony versus Gordon and sheds light on his own intervention in the Troubles, at the height of the bloodshed.
. . . by regular Hot Press contributor
HELENA MULKERNS, is one of nineteen short stories by young Irish writers collected together in Shenanigans, a compendium of darkly humorous end-of-the-century fiction.
The year began with contrasting and contradictory alignments. On the one hand, the United States were about to invest a new president, a young, rock’n’roll-loving sax-playing boyo from the south called Bill Clinton, offering the possibility of America as the last great hope again.
Hot Press’ senior art aficionado, john m. farrell, reviews the main attraction currently on s how at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and argues that the title of the exhibition may in fact be a misnomer.
When Siniad O Connor tore up a picture of the pope on the Saturday Night Live television show in the US recently, she unleashed a storm which has been swirling around her ever since, causing her at one point to announce her premature retirement from the music industry. One month on, bruised and weary she may be but Siniad is neither downhearted nor repentant. Having declared war on the Roman Catholic Church she is determined to keep taking the battle to the real enemy. Interview: Niall Stokes.
It’s been ten years since his last novel, but Neil Jordan has now reprised his role as one of Ireland’s finest contemporary prose writers with the dark gothic drama, Shade. In a wide-ranging interview with Olaf Tyaransen the Oscar-winning writer/director discusses the challenges of literary craftsmanship, swimming with sharks in Hollywood, working with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, his disinterest in celebrity and why Ireland continues to be his preferred place of residence.
He’s been many things: a roadie with De Danann, a carpenter with Druid, a founder of the world-famous Macnas theatre group and, not least, a six-foot four-inch Connemara man in a skirt and self-styled “cranky fuck”. But now Paraic Breathnach spends a lot of his time crying tears of rage. Olaf Tyaransen finds him down but definitely not out. Portrait Aengus McMahon
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.
Well, not this man perhaps. He s EGIL OLSEN, the new manager of Wimbledon, which means he ll most likely to as much of a spectator as the rest of us, as the new Premiership football season gets into its stride. Our Foul Play columnist, JONATHAN O BRIEN, presents his annual eve of the campaign form guide.
If, as The Bard had it, all the world’s a stage, then Green Paul Gogarty is a better actor than most. He’s been a New Romantic, a busker, a journalist and an editor before being elected to the Dáil. But even that is only half of it. In a remarkably open interview, he talks about the price of being in government with Fianna Fáil, his multiple identities on web fora, rumours that he was gay, the issue of depression – and the true story of his adoption.
It’s a rare thing indeed to hear an Irish lesbian speak openly and frankly about her life, lusts and loves. Gay writer, EMMA DONOGHUE, however, is one of the first of a new and more confident generation. At twenty-four, she has already produced a prodigious body of work ranging from drama to cultural history to her just-published first novel, Stir Fry. In the process, she has emerged as a proud and powerful voice for hundreds of young lesbians in this country. Interview: LIAM FAY. Pix: COLM HENRY
In a remarkable interview, the legendary David Kelly looks back on a long and adventurous career including parts in box office smashes, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Waking Ned.
Andy Darlington travels to Manchester to meet the Stone Roses, an outfit who’ve progressed past the point of being just a band to become something altogether bigger...
Did you hear the one about the Clare man who loves Dublin and is less than enamoured with rural Ireland?
Or the staunch Labour Party man who doesn’t worship Dick Spring?
Or the politician whose fed up to the teeth with political correctness?
Then you haven’t heard about PAT UPTON, Labour TD for Dublin South Central.
LIAM FAY did, and now it’s your turn.
Pix: COLM HENRY
You thought Noel V Ginnity was a bland cabaret funnyman, peddling lite entertainment to American tourists and OAPs at the Burlington Hotel. But you were wrong! Wince as the 59-year-old Meathman unleashes an unstoppable torrent of vitroilic bile at virtually every other stand-up comedian in Ireland and a whole lot more besides. Interview: liam fay. Pix: mick quinn.
This is THE CHIEFTAINS as you've never encountered them before - more like mad, trad and dangerous to know than the grand-daddies of Irish traditional music. Smoking dope with Philip Lynott! Busting muscles through wild sex! Yes, it's the bits that aren't in the official biography. But, soft, not a word to Paddy, OK? Part One of an exclusive two-part interview. By JOE JACKSON.
During the late eighties, Aslan were among the most celebrated of Irish rock acts, immensely popular at home and signed to EMI, a major multinational label, on which they released their debut album, Feel No Shame. And then it all came unstuck, amid squalid tabloid accusations of drug addiction, egotism and recrimination. Now they re back, older, wiser and more resolute but with their musical batteries recharged, a new contract with BMG under their belts and that old emotional band intact. Report: Liam Fay (with additional reporting by George Byrne).
Best known for his Irish Times column An Irishman s Diary, KEVIN MYERS has been denounced as arrogant, bigoted, pompous and prejudiced. And those are just the people who like his witty writing! On the occasion of the publication of a collection of his writings, the journalist they either love or loathe talks to JOE JACKSON about class, prostitution, drugs, relationships, the North, Mary Ellen Synon and more. Photography: CATHAL DAWSON
He has already courted controversy with comments about lapdancing and criticisms of Michael McDowell and Michael Martin. now, in this candid interview with Olaf Tyaransen, the new Lord Mayor of Dublin lets fly at the Taoiseach's brother, Noel Ahern; recalls wild days in the hotel trade and Amsterdam; talks about the depths of his despair following his father's death; and reveals how he was more likely to become a tap-dancer than a member of Boyzone. photos: Mick Quinn
As the General Election looms, many polls suggest Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny is the next Taoiseach in waiting. So what is he really like? And where does he stand on the issues that matter to Hot Press readers?
As the first ever Green Party member in The Mansion House, Dublin’s current Lord Mayor, JOHN GORMLEY, is certainly unique. However, dismissed as a novelty by some and derided by others, the substance of his views as a politician have often been completely overlooked. Here, the capital’s number one citizen is unchained. Interview: JOE JACKSON. Pix: COLM HENRY.
During the late eighties, ASLAN were among the most celebrated of Irish rock acts, immensely popular at home and signed to EMI, a major multinational label, on which they released their debut album Feel No Shame. And then it all came unstuck, amid squalid tabloid accusations of drug addiction, egotism and recrimination. Now they’re back, older, wiser and more resolute – but with their musical batteries recharged, a new contract with BMG under their belts and that old emotional band intact. Report: LIAM FAY (with additional reporting by GEORGE BYRNE). Pix: MICK QUINN
In the first part of a two-part interview, Michael D. Higgins, Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, talks about his philosophy of art, about his own poetry and, more controversially, about RTE, the IRTC, the future of commercial radio - and the sustained and slanderous campaign against him in the Sunday Independent.
In the second and final part of an extensive interview, director Jim Sheridan discusses his troubles with Gabriel Byrne and Noel Pearson, explains why he could marry Daniel Day-Lewis but would fail to measure up against Richard Harris, and suggests the best way forward for the embattled Irish film industry. Plus: the ouija board prophecies which seem to have shaped his life. By Joe Jackson.
brian hayes is a 28-year-old Fine Gael TD who represents the constituency of Dublin South West. At the last general election, he virtually tripled Fine Gael s vote in the Tallaght area. He opposes the legalisation of cannabis, claims that feminists need to have a fundamental re-think on their current position, feels guilty about not attending Mass regularly, and reckons that You need order in society . . . you need people who know what they re about . Is this the face of young, politically aware Ireland? Interview: liam fay.
Pics: colm henry.
When Pat Kenny steps before the cameras every Saturday, he attracts an audience-rating which is increasingly likely to threaten the long-standing supremacy of The Late Late Show in Irish broadcasting. But despite his popularity, the host of Kenny Live remains something of an enigma. In the first part of a wide-ranging interview he talks about everything from his first kiss to, well, the meaning of life. Interview: Niall Stokes
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.
The legend of the booker prize-winning author is of a life of fear and loathing and bad craziness that not even Hunter S. Thompson would dare to invent. But the truth is even stranger than the fiction. From a pampered mexican childhood through lost family fortunes, doomed movie ventures, alleged swindling, a couple of convictions and a serious drug habit, Peter Finlay has re-emerged atop a mountain in Leitrim, a little god of the literary world. Interview Olaf Tyaransen Photo: Nick Hitchcox
Music industry heads and gig-goers have been hit with the shock news that concerts and festivals are to be hit with a 13.5% VAT rise from the start of next year.
Need help, advice or a second opinion? Put your music industry question to the oracle@hotpress.ie.
This fortnight, Wes from Tralee asks “which is better for an artist, to get a record deal first or to get a publishing deal first,” or does it make any difference either way?
U2 manager Paul McGuinness has broken the band's silence about the decision to move their financial operations to the Netherlands. The decision inspired considerable criticism in Ireland, notably from the Labour spokesman on Finance, Joan Burton TD.
In an interview that will appear in the new edition of Hot Press, McGuinness defends the band's position in a strongly worded statement of the underlying logic.
Okay, enough is enough. The bastards have gone too far this time. Thus far and no further shall they encroach upon my personal liberties. It is time to take a stand. And if that doesn’t work, Sam Snort will take up arms and blast the whole bloody lot of them off the face of the earth. Then they’ll really find out just how bad smoking can be for your health.
Musicians have reacted with anger to the revelation that albums recorded by international artists in Irish studios qualify as 'Irish' for radio airplay.
Theo Dorgan, the celebrated Irish poet, is the latest addition to the Music Show line-up. He has joined the panel entitled "The Arts Under Attack", which takes place on Sunday at 12pm.
“An awful idea.” That’s U2 manager Paul McGuinness’ verdict on the free Spiral Frog download service, which launches in the US in December and on this side of the Atlantic in early 2007.
Let s begin 1997 on a positive note. This is, after all, the first issue of the year in which we will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Hot Press and so, despite the fact that we have every right to feel knackered and bollixed and fucked, having had just four days to produce the issue you are now reading, we are in a good humour. Aren t we, team? (No, we aren t. Now fuck off The Staff).
Now, there's a sentence you don't see every day. But when Hot Press hooks up with Ronnie Wood, there's always more where that came from. Read on to learn why the Stones won't be playing the "Party In The Palace", why Ronnie can be found in Arizona before tours and about the new DVD that captures Andrea and Slash's special relationship
Ireland has long been acknowledged as one of the richest and most exciting sources of musical talent in the world. Against that background, Hot Press has consistently argued that the Music Industry here is potentially a major source of wealth and jobs. As well as creative fulfilment and spiritual sustenance. To realise this potential fully, however, will involve imaginative policy-making by the government, as well as a commitment to creating the kind of climate in which indigenous Irish music, and musicians, can flourish.
Lobby group Theatre Ireland recently invited the arts spokespeople of the main political parties to outline their policies ahead of the general election. The event took place at Andrew’s Lane Theatre before an audience of key figures from the arts sector.
This pair of digitally re-mastered collections are both welcome and timely. Damn fine performers of Texas folk/blues and jazz piano respectively, Hopkins and Morton are time travellers who betray not an ounce of jetlag, despite their millennial's end travels.
Villagers are a such a fully-formed, unaffected and epic proposition and they don’t so much hint at genius as come with all the verified documentation from the Department of Genius.
All the lobby correspondents at Westminster seem agreed that Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson is for the chop. The urbane member for Coventry, they say, is soon to be shifted to a less high-profile position.
I’m sorry to hear of an old acquaintance, John Eddie McNicholl, taking a hit from the Bush regime, and even sorrier to note the reaction of an influential element of Irish-America.
It's been a difficult birth and the infant institution remains weak. But at least the Assembly is alive at last, and fitfully kicking. With a bit of luck we can look forward to real politics.
In today's music industry, it s vital that artists know as much as possible about the key business decisions they will be called upon to make. JACKIE HAYDEN talks to some of the organisations which are there to help.
The deceptively parsimonious presentation – something of an authorial trademark - with natural light, dreary wallpaper and claustrophobic setting belies the complex, Hitchcockian narrative that revisits many of Leconte’s primary preoccupations. Voyeurism, dogging and love’s saving power all feature in descending order of importance. Though more prurient viewers should be advised that there’s no actual sexually explicit action, the film certainly smoulders along nicely.
That was the ultimate theme in a general election that saw the voters reject the arrogance of Michael McDowell, overlook the controversy of Bertie Ahern’s past and ensure that nothing’s really going to change. It was certainly a very Irish affair
The first part of the year undoubtedly belonged to the Americans. Week after week the albums drifted through signalling a shift back to a more orientated form of music – no bad thing from my point of view as I’ve had it up to here with Fairlights and bloody drum machines.
There is a huge wealth of music talent in Ireland today. In this economic meltdown, the government should help the industry live up to its potential through the introduction of initiatives that would make Ireland a better environment for musicians.
At a time of economic upheaval, people are turning their backs on traditional ways of doing business and embracing different economic models – even the ancient art of barter is making a comeback.
The Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne is worried that the "Blue Flu" business has "brought the law into public disrepute". Oh, I don't know. I heard Brendan from Rialto on The Last Word saying that the public should treat the striking gardai the way gardai sometimes treat strikers. If they demonstrate, kick the fuck out of them, and don't worry if they complain, they'll be denounced in the O'Reilly press as troublemakers who weren't hit half hard enough.
A new initiative from Musicbase could help to win more airspace for Irish music here. It's just one of a range of ideas floated by industry leaders. Report: NIALL CRUMLISH.
The Irish music industry has spawned a number of official bodies and companies, who provide invaluable services especially relevant to artists going the independent route. But what do these operators actually do? Here, we present a handy run-down on the key bodies and expert companies out there waiting to serve you.
IF EVERYBODY s doing it, why can t we? It s not a bad question actually, though of course you can answer it in a dozen different ways especially where starting your own business, or becoming your own boss.
The party’s over, and the less well-off are expected to pick up the tab for the excesses of avaricious millionaires. But there are constructive things that can be done to turn the tide...
I DID a shocking thing recently. I went out shopping with my boyfriend in a supermarket, decided what to cook for that night’s dinner, bought it, split the bill, and went home to cook it. We had a couple of friends over, enjoyed a pleasant meal with good company; they went home, and we went to bed.
Arsene Wenger’s whingeing over Alex Ferguson’s outspoken comments on Arsenal is merely the latest manifestation of a career-long behavioural pattern, which in France has earned him the nickname, The Cry Baby.
TRAPPED IN a slow motion nightmare, I listen transfixed to the daily reports from a courtroom in Preston in Lancashire. Each day, a few more minutes are added to our knowledge of the last hours of Jamie Bolger's life, the five-year-old who was abducted and killed by boys who are still children themselves.
It was a well deserved triumph for bloody-minded independence when Glen Hansard lifted the Oscar for 'Best Original Song', with his Swell Season partner Marketa Irglova at his side.
President Mary McAleese recently travelled to Saudi Arabia and spoke at a conference at which apartheid against women was practised as a matter of routine. In doing so, she unwittingly promoted the mercenary strain that seems to dominate every Irish stance on international affairs right now.
Like Dinsdale Piranha in the old Monty Python sketch, Cathal Coughlan uses sarcasm. Sometimes with a sledgehammer, elsewhere with a stiletto - but he never stoops to the tender, poisoned compliments of polished English irony. Cathal Coughlan is no member of the loyal opposition.
The global economic meltdown of the past fortnight is a ruinous consequence of Ronald Reagan's '80s crusade against regulation. The question now is: where will it end?
Hordes of penny-pinching citizens of the Republic have fled to the North in search of, at best, a 4% saving on their Christmas shopping. Are their brains functioning properly?
The lesson of the last major clampdown on prostitution – as depicted in Paul Reynold’s Sex In The City – is that Michael McDowell would do well to get off the statute books laws which result in pointless and expensive exercises in policing.
I am going to share a really intimate piece of information about my bodily functions. I am cursed with narrow Eustachian tubes. Eustachian tubes, for the uninitiated, are tiny pressure-release tubes that go from somewhere in your nasal cavity to the inside of your ear.
Far from leading to violence, studies show that the availability of hard core porn leads to a reduction in sex crimes. And besides, perfectly normal people enjoy it.
The way they’re building apartments nowadays, the walls really do have ears. And that means that your wilder sexual cavortings can be heard by all and sundry – as our intrepid reporter discovers when her brother and his girlfriend move in.
While lots of Northerners have moved on to fresh pastures over the past few years, new Hit The North columnist COLIN CARBERRY believes that it s a good time to stick around
The shameful prospect of an ‘all black’ school in Dublin is a reminder of the control which the Catholic Church exerts over the Irish education system.
The pirate music industry is now making millions of pounds each year. But that s at the expense of those legitimately entitled to earnings from their work. Report: JACKIE HAYDEN.
The Minister for Health is proposing to impose a charge on every drug prescribed under the Medical Card scheme. Already the IMO and the IPU have put forward better and fairer schemes that would not target the vulnerable…
Why Boy George has lost Sam’s respect. Meanwhile, Bono has taken some flack for moving his swag to the Netherlands – but it’s better than letting the Irish government fritter it away.
As Ireland’s economy hits the skids at breakneck speed, the Government – and the Opposition – seem utterly bereft of ideas on how to turn the tide. But we need to get on with it quickly...
’85 was a remarkably stagnant year. Twelve months after the end of ’84, little seems to have changed or advanced musically and I only hope and pray we won’t be running on the same spot when ’86 ends.
Following the demise of the Music Board last year, hopes are high that the incoming Culture Ireland committe will herald a new era in state support for traditional music. Plus the usual round-up of trad and folk news from around the country.
While the rest of you were off stuffing your faces with turkey, here at HotPress we were busily polishing our crystal balls in readiness for our annual gaze into the future. S
ANY notion that the days were over when Irish politicians were hand-in-glove with the Catholic Church should have been dispelled a few weeks back when the education minister, Niamh Breathnach, led an eleven-strong parliamentary delegation to Rome for the beatification of Edmund Ignatius Rice, the founder of the Christian Brothers. Perhaps we hadn t realised just how deeply the hand is, again, snuggled into the glove.
Bigotry is alive and kicking in 21st-century Ireland – in the form of anti-traveller discrimination. Plus: why croquet is more genuinely Irish than Gaelic football.
The kids at St Eithne’s have a dazzling take on today’s world – a blessed relief when saintly politicians take bribes for no reason and self-styled worthies line up to celebrate the slaughter at the Somme.
Too many gardai with guns; the international role of the soldiers of bigotry; and a potentially significant advance in abortion law in Northern Ireland.
REMEMBER the Beef Tribunal? Forget it. There were other issues, too, which might have brought Reynolds to grief before now, and didn’t. But he could well come a cropper even yet, over Parkingate.
DURING THE 70s, Jim Moir comprised 20% of an ensemble known as the Fashionable Five who, for a laugh, once followed a complete stranger through their home town of Darlington, in single file, for half a mile.
Why aren’t more artists protesting against the US government’s refusal to grant visas to Cuban musicians? Plus: The inside story on Mark E. Smith’s infamous appearance on Newsnight and why the controversy over Derry airport has exposed the hypocrisy of Michael O’Leary.
Trent Duval, 28, is a stand-up comedian who has been playing the Irish comedy circuit for almost three years. He is currently working on a sitcom set in the Maldives, a play, two period dramas and a novel. In August, he takes his one-man show, Pre-Millennium Tension, to the Edinburgh Festival. He shares a house in Northside Dublin with his friends, Jack, an accountant, and Midgy (not his real name), a leisure centre manager.
In a special hotpress feature Colm O’Hare investigates how the music business is attempting to deal with the single biggest threat facing the industry today – piracy.
They may be Europe s premier exponents of dishevelled cool and string-laden romance, but, as tindersticks mainman stuart staples explains, there s always been that Nottingham Forest element to their music. We re 35% more popular in Greece than Sting, he tells a gobsmacked stuart clark.
From U2 to The Frames and Sinead O’Connor to Damien Rice, music has helped put this country on the map. So why is the government so slow to back the music industry?
12 steps to help you take on the Portuguese city of Porto, with all the best hotels, restaurants, and hot spots. Plus, top travel news from around the world
This coming Saturday, Belgium play Sweden in the opening game of EURO 2000. But don t panic things will rapidly improve after that. In a Foul Play special, JONATHAN O BRIEN tells you all need to know about this year s crop of contenders
The Irish were out in force at MIDEM, the annual music industry bash held in Cannes, in the south of France last week. With Irish music’s international stock running high and the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht Michael D. Higgins on hand to lend his support, it proved to be a very interesting year. Report: Niall Stokes.
