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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Tipperary All-Ireland homecoming: Rain pours as ‘delighted' fans await hurling heroes
Yvonne Meehan, her children Hanna and Aoife, and husband Donal, made the journey from Borrisoleigh. 'Loving it. We were at the match yesterday so it's fabulous,' said Yvonne. 'It's so great to be able to see all the crowds here. We are delighted to be sitting and not getting wet either,' Yvonne said. The match was 'fabulous'. 'It was such a buzz. They all got together and they were a real team.' Darragh McCarthy and Oisin O'Donoghue are Hanna's favourite players. 'Darragh is really good for the points and Oisin is great for the goals.' Fran Curry of Tipp FM is whipping up the crowds: 'It's a sea of blue and gold out there. There are two fellas called the Two Johnnies out there. Give a special welcome to Una Healy from her home town.' Playing the guitar, singer songwriter Una's set went down a treat with the crowds, kicking off with an old favourite, This is the Life by Amy McDonald. Una's last tune was Guns N' Roses ballad, Sweet Child O' Mine. Oasis tribute band Acquiesce were earlier on the main stage in Semple Stadium for the big homecoming, and the crowds were getting soaked with rain. Typical Irish weather – the umbrellas are out but the rain can't dampen this party. It's understood that the main speeches, from Tipperary captain Ronan Maher and manager Liam Cahill, currently scheduled at 8.01pm and 8.15pm respectively, may be later than advertised, and go ahead instead at around 8.30pm. Excitement was building in Semple Stadium throughout the day for the homecoming of Tipperary's triumphant senior hurling team which put Cork to the sword in Sunday's All-Ireland Hurling Final. The estimate is that around 30,000 fans from across the Premier County are flooding into the FBD Semple Stadium, with around 15,000 already on the pitch before the main stage at 6.30pm. Queues formed at the front gates from 4pm with Tipperary band Seskin Lane coming on stage to perform first at 4.40pm. Seskin Lane bass guitarist and band member Shelly Martin is the granddaughter of Paddy Kenny, who won four hurling All Ireland finals with Tipperary. Paddy lived in Thurles, in Croke Street. Fans and families continued to gather around the main stage, as Tipperary trad band Cailíní Nua took to the stage at 5.20pm – one of the quartet is 2024 Tipperary Rose Tara Brady. The atmosphere is electric and the craic is ninety. Sport at its finest. We want to see your matchday and homecoming photos! Send them to us using the form below. Whether you're gathered in a packed pub, cheering along at home, or soaking up the atmosphere at Croke Park, we want to see your photos capturing the excitement, the county colours, and the celebrations of this All Ireland showdown *Your photo or video Where was your photo taken? (optional) *Your story *Your first name *Your last name *Your email Your telephone number (optional) By submitting any contribution to Mediahuis, you confirm that Mediahuis (and any of its group publications or syndicated partners) are free to use the uploaded photos, videos, and texts worldwide, without limitation and for the full duration of their copyright protection (including copying, distributing, (re)publishing, (re)broadcasting, exhibiting, exploiting, and otherwise using them through all possible channels, digital or physical). Mediahuis is entirely free to edit, (re)publish, (re)broadcast, and exploit the photos, videos, and texts as it sees fit. You also confirm that no compensation (in any form) is required by you in relation to your contribution. By submitting any contribution to Mediahuis you hereby warrant and confirm that: - your contribution is your own original work and does not infringe the copyright of any other person - your contribution does not contain any statements that are defamatory of any third party nor is it obscene, in breach of privacy, in contempt of court or in breach of any other statutory obligation - all relevant consents and permissions have been obtained from third parties where appropriate You also confirm that you will indemnify Mediahuis, without time limitation, against all possible claims and demands from third parties relating to your contribution including all fees, expenses, costs, and interest, out-of-court settlements and legal judgments, so that all adverse financial consequences will ultimately be borne entirely by you. You give your consent for the personal data provided to be processed for this editorial initiative by Contribly, on behalf of Mediahuis Ireland Limited, in accordance with our Privacy policy.
Irish Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Leslie Buckley and Denis O'Brien try to rewrite history over INM data breach saga
The decision of the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) not to bring any enforcement action on foot of its six-year long investigation into data breaches and other issues at Independent News and Media (INM) has drawn a predictable response from Denis O'Brien and Leslie Buckley . O'Brien was the largest shareholder in INM – now Mediahuis Ireland – and Buckley was the chairman at the time of the data breaches which were revealed after the company's chief executive Robert Pitt and chief financial officer Ryan Preston made protected disclosures to the CEA's predecessor – the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE). They raised several issues that concerned them about Buckley's stewardship of the media organisation. O'Brien and Buckley have seized on the decision not to prosecute – disclosed in the authority's annual report last week and a year after High Court inspectors appointed to investigate the issues raised by Pitt and Preston found no breach of company law – to wholeheartedly rubbish the CEA and its chief executive Ian Drennan. Buckley said there were 'serious questions' over the way the investigation was conducted by the ODCE including seeking the appointment of High Court inspectors in 2018. He said that the ODCE adopted 'a highly questionable approach, to say the least', in not meeting him before seeking the appointment. READ MORE 'The taxpayer could have been saved in excess of €5.6 million and €40 million overall in legal costs,' according to Buckley. [ Enforcement authority's costly INM probe leaves unanswered questions Opens in new window ] O'Brien took a similar line saying: 'Mr Drennan's conduct showed little respect for due process, proper procedures or basic objectivity. As a result, he inflicted and facilitated very significant reputational damage for several individuals over six years.' History tends to be written by the victors and Buckley and O'Brien are both entitled to put their spin on the decision not to prosecute. They would be foolish not to take the opportunity when it presented itself. But some facts are worth remembering, not least that Buckley welcomed the appointment of the High Court inspectors in 2018. 'I welcome the opportunity to vindicate my good name through the inspection process,' said Buckley in a statement at the time. 'I intend to robustly defend myself against each and every allegation. I continue to reserve my position.' It was open to Buckley – who had stepped down as chairman of INM at that stage – to challenge the appointment on the basis of what he now describes as the 'highly questionable' decision not to talk to him first. But he didn't. INM did challenge the appointment robustly saying that it was unnecessary and damaging. They lost. The Judge in the case – Peter Kelly – concluded that Drennan and the ODCE had met six of the 10 criteria necessary for the appointment of an inspector. It was a slam dunk and INM decided not to appeal the decision. [ Leslie Buckley questions way that corporate enforcer investigated INM saga Opens in new window ] O'Brien was not a party to the proceedings, but he, too, could presumably have objected to what he now describes as Drennan's lack of 'due process, proper procedures or basic objectivity'. Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight, Buckley may regret his decision not to oppose the appointment but last week's more-in-sorrow-than-anger tone and why-didn't-you-just-come-and-talk-to-me-first spiel doesn't really fly six years later. What does hold up is the report of the two inspectors appointed to the company by the High Court, Seán Gillane SC and Richard Fleck CBE, which upheld Pitt and Preston's version of events and was highly critical of Buckley. They found that he was in breach of his responsibilities as a director, but crucially they concluded his actions were not done to prefer the interests of O'Brien over the other shareholders in the company including businessman Dermot Desmond. They found that Buckley failed to tell the board that Island Capital – O'Brien's personal investment company – had been engaged to advise on the sale of INM's Australian interest and was in line for a €4 million payout. Not disclosing this was 'was inconsistent with his responsibility as a director to disclose material facts', according to the inspectors. The payment was not made in the end. They also found that Buckley should not have involved himself to the extent that he did in the proposed purchase of the radio station Newstalk from O'Brien by INM. That transaction did not go through either. With regard to the extensive external trawls of INM's emails organised by Buckley in 2016 that were the central to the inspectors' investigation, their report concluded; 'It is clear that Mr Buckley's disclosure of confidential information to Mr O'Brien after August 2016 was not in compliance with the company's policies and, in particular, the terms of the memorandum [not to disclose confidential INM information] that he signed,' they said. The report found that O'Brien did not misuse the information provided to him by Buckley. They also concluded Buckley did not break company law. This finding ensured that no criminal proceedings against Buckley were likely to ensue and last week's low-key announcement to that effect by the CEA was inevitable as was the twist put on it by Buckley. It might have been a better idea to keep the head down and take the win.
Irish Times
05-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Denis O'Brien says it is time to question ‘conduct' of corporate enforcement chief
Businessman Denis O'Brien has criticised the State's business law watchdog over the years-long Independent News & Media (INM) investigation, saying the time had come to question the 'role and conduct' of Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) chief executive Ian Drennan . Mr O'Brien was INM's main shareholder when it was rocked by turmoil over an unlawful breach of company data relating to 19 named individuals, among them journalists and former company officials, some of whom had come into conflict with him. The disruption in INM, Ireland's largest newspaper business, led to its sale in 2019 to Belgian group Mediahuis. That deal crystallised a loss exceeding €450 million for Mr O'Brien on his INM investment. Mr Drennan ran the CEA's predecessor, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, when it asked the High Court in 2018 to send inspectors into the company. READ MORE In a statement, Mr O'Brien said: 'Mr Drennan's failure to engage in due process and interview all relevant parties before heading to the High Court in 2018 in undue and irrational haste calls into question his continued suitability for the position. 'Mr Drennan's conduct showed little respect for due process, proper procedures or basic objectivity. As a result, he inflicted and facilitated very significant reputational damage for several individuals over six years.' [ Leslie Buckley questions way that corporate enforcer investigated INM saga Opens in new window ] Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke , who has political responsibility for the CEA, had no comment on Mr O'Brien's remarks, citing CEA independence of the Government in its work. Asked whether Mr Burke had confidence in Mr Drennan, his department said: 'Yes. The Minister has confidence in Ian Drennan as the sole appointed member of the CEA.' Mr O'Brien was responding to the CEA decision not to take enforcement action over the data breach. The decision was set out on Thursday in its 2024 annual report. How the wealthy are buying up land to avoid inheritance tax Listen | 22:03 That followed on from a report 12 months ago by court inspectors who found after a six-year investigation that INM affairs were not conducted in breach of the Companies Acts. Still, inspectors Seán Gillane SC and UK solicitor Richard Fleck reported 'technical' breaches of the Data Protection Acts. They also found inside information was disclosed to Mr O'Brien by Leslie Buckley, the long-time ally who represented his interests as INM chairman. Mr O'Brien said: 'Mr Drennan took a deliberate decision not to engage with or interview several parties, including myself, who could have provided him with answers to his questions and saved the State and other parties in excess of €40 million. 'His failure to make any reference to this element of the debacle in the annual report speaks for itself.' There was no response from Mr Drennan's office to Mr O'Brien's statement by the close of business on Friday evening. Mr Buckley, the former INM chairman, had criticised Mr Drennan in similar terms on Thursday. Responding on Friday to Mr Buckley, the CEA said: 'As detailed in the annual report, the application to the High Court in this case followed a lengthy investigation and, despite being robustly resisted by the company, satisfied the High Court that the evidential threshold necessary to warrant the appointment of court-appointed inspectors had been fully met and the court's jurisdiction engaged.'
Irish Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Leslie Buckley questions way that corporate enforcer investigated INM saga
Former Independent News & Media (INM) chairman Leslie Buckley has hit out at the State's corporate watchdog after it quietly closed the file on long inquiries into the governance scandal in the company. The Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA), led by chief executive Ian Drennan, on Thursday ended 12 months of silence on a High Court report into INM, now Mediahuis Ireland , by saying it had resolved not to take enforcement action over the affair. At issue was an unlawful breach of company data relating to 19 named individuals, among them journalists and former company officials. Some had come into conflict with the main INM shareholder at the time, Denis O'Brien. Mr Buckley was a close business associate of Mr O'Brien and represented his interests as chairman of INM. Mr Buckley said there were 'serious questions' over the investigation because the CEA's predecessor – the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) – heard only one side of the story before seeking the High Court inspection. READ MORE 'It is regrettable that the director did not offer me the opportunity of a meeting or an interview prior to initiating the High Court inspection process,' Mr Buckley said in response to questions from The Irish Times about the CEA decision. [ Leslie Buckley files court action against Allianz Opens in new window ] 'This is a highly questionable approach, to say the least, from an organisation that holds itself out as a custodian of good corporate practice.' INM was the publisher of the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent, among other titles. The affair was highly damaging to its reputation, culminating in IMM's takeover by Mediahuis of Belgium in 2019. INM blamed Mr Buckley for the affair and started court action against him but he always denied any wrongdoing. His statement said the then ODCE never met him before seeking the inspection, but met with former INM chief executive Robert Pitt and former chief financial officer Ryan Preston. The CEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mr Buckley's remarks. 'I was not afforded an opportunity to meet with the ODCE in relation to that or any other matters, so the ODCE did not hear both sides of the story,' Mr Buckley said. 'Had the director done so, that may have given him pause for thought. The ODCE may well have received advice not to proceed with a High Court-appointed inspection process and in doing so, saved the taxpayer in excess of €5.6 million and €40 million overall in legal costs.' Senior counsel Seán Gillane and UK solicitor Richard Fleck were appointed in 2018 by then High Court president, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, to investigate INM after confidential disclosures from Mr Pitt and Mr Preston. The court was told INM backup computer tapes went to third parties for 'data interrogation' relating to 19 people. Among them were journalists Sam Smyth, Brendan O'Connor and Maeve Sheehan, and former INM chief executive Vincent Crowley. The 19 also included two Moriarty Tribunal barristers during its investigation into the award to Mr O'Brien of the State's second mobile phone licence 30 years ago. The inspectors made their final report last July, saying 'technical breaches of the Data Protection Acts by INM were established' and that inside information was disclosed to Mr O'Brien by Mr Buckley. However, they found such matters did not amount to the affairs of INM being conducted in breach of the Companies Acts. They said it would not be appropriate to 'speculate' on how the interrogation of data came to include the 19 names. Mr Drennan's office published the report on July 31st, 2024. But in the months since then it repeatedly declined to say what action, if any, would be taken on foot of the conclusions. The CEA finally set out its stance on Thursday in its 2024 annual report: 'Having considered the matter with great care and deliberation, the CEA ultimately determined that enforcement action will not be taken arising from the report.' There was no comment from Mediahuis Ireland. Mr O'Brien's spokesman also declined to comment.
Belfast Telegraph
12-06-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Belfast Telegraph publisher reaches 100,000 digital subscribers: ‘Mediahuis firmly believes in the future of journalism'
The Belfast Telegraph website began placing its journalism behind a paywall in May 2020 as part of a new digital strategy. Over the past five years, the digital offering has grown with the development of audio and video departments as well as a renewed focus on local news. Along with subscribers, Mediahuis – which also published the Irish Independent - reaches over one million readers across the island of Ireland every week through a mix of print products, podcasts and free digital news. From politics to business, crime to sport, our journalists are among the most-respected in the business The 100,000 subscribers figure was announced by Mediahuis Ireland CEO Peter Vandermeersch at a meeting of staff. 'I am extremely happy and proud of this achievement,' he said. 'It shows that our journalism, be it in the Belfast Telegraph or the Irish Independent, is being valued by readers all over the island of Ireland. 'In a world where fake news is omnipresent, it is crucial to be a trusted source. Mediahuis firmly believes in further building the future of journalism in Ireland.' The paywall was launched just before the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the Belfast Telegraph's journalists to work remotely for two years. Editor-in-chief, Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Life, Eoin Brannigan said: 'In the five years since we started asking people to pay for online news, we have lived through a pandemic, historic elections, disorder on the streets, but also experienced unbridled joy such as 2024's precedented Olympic glory - and even an Oscar for a film called Belfast. 'From politics to business, crime to sport, our journalists are among the most-respected in the business, working to ensure our readers get the story behind the story. 'It is down to their hard work online, in print, behind the cameras and microphones, that people come back for reliable and relatable content. Our subscribers are now giving us their trust and their financial support, which is a huge vote of confidence and encourages us to do even more.' In recent times, the Belfast Telegraph has launched a number of new journalistic projects, including the award-winning podcast, The BelTel, and more recently a dedicated BelTel Football podcast. The Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Life website has also recently been crowned News Website of the Year for the third successive year at the 2025 UK Regional Press Awards. There has also been significant investment in hiring specialist journalists, most recently adding a dedicated court journalist to enhance our coverage of the Northern Irish justice system. The Belfast Telegraph offers two digital subscription tiers: Premium, which gives full access to online articles and app content, and Premium+, which includes digital replicas of the print editions, complete with offline reading, archives, and puzzles. Sheena Peirse, chief customer officer, said: 'With 100,000 paying digital subscribers and a weekly readership that spans more than a million across print and digital, Mediahuis Ireland's news brands are not only trusted, they are essential. Our titles lead the way in reach and relevance, reflecting the enduring value of independent Irish journalism.' Alongside the Belfast Telegraph, Mediahuis also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent, Sunday World, The Herald and several regional titles, including The Kerryman, Wexford People, Wicklow People, Drogheda Independent and Sligo Champion.
