Columns - Irish Examiner

Fergus Finlay

One party that knows how to ruck and rarely turns over possession

HAVE you been following the Rugby World Cup? It’s a peculiar competition. For the first couple of weeks, a whole series of matches that make you wonder about the cynicism of the organisers, totally one-sided affairs involving rugby nations giving tutorials to countries where rugby is still in its infancy.

Tue, 04 Nov, 2003

€68m bill for looking after one of our minorities — our richest 400

IS Denis O’Brien an eejit? He couldn’t be, could he? This is a man who has made hundreds of millions of pounds from spotting a major gap in the marketplace and from developing a company to plug that gap.

Tue, 28 Oct, 2003

Film industry tax relief is a cheap and effective boost to our economy

AS you know, these are difficult times, especially for job creation. Imagine what the government’s reaction would be if they were approached by a group of private sector entrepreneurs with a proposition like this: “We’ll start an industry which will employ approximately 4,000 highly-skilled and well-paid people."

Tue, 21 Oct, 2003

Bertie will save us at the Árd Fheis but he’ll sell us out in the Dáil

“THE land of Ireland is for the people of Ireland — all the people of Ireland.” That’s what our beloved Taoiseach said, in his less than stirring speech to the Árd Fheis on Saturday night.

Tue, 14 Oct, 2003

How our top officials helped the Church make a fool of us all

THE following scenario is unimaginable, isn’t it? A religious brother, now in his 70s, is arrested and charged with a series of horrible crimes.

Tue, 07 Oct, 2003

Principle-free FF is in a different league to Dev and Joe Higgins

POLITICIANS are not all the same. Not everyone is responsible for the cynicism and disillusion with which people view politics.

Tue, 30 Sep, 2003

We badly need the leadership and honesty of FitzGerald or O’Malley

RUDY GIULIANI was in Cork the other night, talking about leadership.

Tue, 23 Sep, 2003

Money is what really lies at the root of the Laffoy debacle

“THE commission will be entirely independent in performing its functions, a point specifically provided for in the Bill. Neither the Government nor anyone else will be in a position to influence its procedures or the outcomes of its inquiries.”

Tue, 16 Sep, 2003

We may have voted for them but we sure as hell don’t deserve them

LIONS led by donkeys. It was a phrase first used to describe soldiers in the First World War and the generals who led them. It could apply to us and the asinine Government that leads us.

Tue, 09 Sep, 2003

Watch them or they will renege on their promise of disability rights

AFTER all the promises, all the afterglow of the Special Olympics, all the public awareness, all the consultations, dialogue and meetings... the Government is at it again.

Tue, 02 Sep, 2003