Seán Quinn is an able, personable fellow - and an exasperating interviewee. By Vincent Browne.
There is a charm about Seán Quinn, and a quiet sense of humour. He is very much in control of himself, but there is an anger there too, which seems to be distorting his judgment, giving rise to a strong sense of victimhood and an impulse to strike back.
Nothing gets the goat of the Irish quite like a sports-related injustice. In 2009 a Thierry Henry handball mobilised the nation into a marching, protesting, boycotting behemoth. The display of outraged solidarity truly was something to behold; the type of display sadly lacking when it came to the clearly more trivial matter of the Government of the day selling the country down the river in the 2008 bailout and thus condemning the country to decades of hardship. Fast forward to 2012, and it is clear that Ireland’s sporting skin is as thin as ever.
The 2012 London Olympics have been heralded as the best Olympics yet for women, although gender inequalities remain, from sexist media commentary and gender-based bullying to less sponsorship and media coverage for female athletes than male athletes. Here, a gender score-card of the winners and losers so far. By Heather McRobie.
On 21 June last I received via email a personal letter from Denis O’Brien, marked “Private and Confidential”. The letter was prompted by a column I had written in the Irish Times on 13 June about an anticipated vote of censure against Mick Wallace TD and by comments I had made on the programme I present for TV3. (The correspondence between us can be viewed here.)
Below is a correspondence between Vincent Browne and Denis O'Brien in June and July 2012.
The correspondence was initiated by Denis O'Brien in a letter dated 21 June addressing an Irish Times article and broadcasts in which Vincent Browne refers to Denis O'Brien's media interests and the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal.
It’s the silly season. During July and August, the standard of tripe churned out in TV-land becomes unbearable. You would imagine our friends in Channel 4, as an alternative to the Olympics, would be using this opportunity to develop a new audience. Is this their intent with “Thelma’s Gypsy Girls”? By Rosaleen McDonagh.
While there is lots of talk about how fortunate we are to live in a democratic society, there is almost no appreciation of how thin our democracy is, and certainly no will to do anything about it. By Vincent Browne.
There is an impressive determination on the part of our public representatives to avoid the big issues besetting our society and our system of government.
On Tonight with Vincent Browne, Pat Bracken, Anne Jeffers, Kathleen Lynch and David McCarthy will be assessing the state and status of psychiatry in Ireland, the resourcing of psychiatric service and policy-making in the area. {jathumbnailoff}
Sebastian Coe's response to an appeal from the Vietnam Women's Union that he and his colleagues in the IOC reconsider their decision to accept sponsorship from Dow Chemical exemplifies the London Olympics’ razor-wired, public relations and money-fuelled totalitarian state within a state. By John Pilger.
Statements by lavishly-paid functionaries of international organisations, urging the lowering of the pay of people who are paid a fraction of their salary, are astounding to behold. By Vincent Browne.
Enda Kenny concluded the political season with yet another verbal howler, trying to be smart in answer to a question from Ursula Halligan about Eamon Gilmore having words with James Reilly.