News has reached us about a forthcoming presidential feature, as Aoife Kelleher’s documentary on ex-president Mary Robinson, “Mrs Robinson” premieres in movie theatres this weekend. Alan Gilsenan, the director known for his work in documentaries about Noel Browne, Liam Clancy, Paul Durcan, Ivor Browne, and Sean Scully, has been frequenting the Áras an Uachtaráin presidential residence over the recent months. He’s been collecting footage for a film on Michael D Higgins, tentatively entitled MDH, produced by O’Sullivan Productions. The documentary, which recently bagged €15,000 in documentary development funds from Screen Ireland, is set to release as President Higgins’ fourth and final term concludes in just above a year. The film will present a picture of the President’s life, as well as his last days in office, Gilsenan confirmed this weekend.
Recent months have also seen numerous affluent Irish business heads based in America funding the Democrats’ attempt to maintain the presidency. Patrick Collison of Stripe, for instance, has contributed nearly $40,000 over the last year to the Democratic treasure, including $6,600 recently provided to their Presidential nominee, Kamala Harris. On the opposite side, Eoghan McCabe from Intercom has given over $50,000 to Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s campaign as per the disclosed filings. McCabe, who was recently seen in a photo with Trump subsequent to a fundraising dinner meeting in San Francisco, reportedly supports Trump’s “war, immigration and crypto” policies over those of the Democrats.
Unfortunately, Garrett Kelleher, a property developer with a background in concrete rather than coding, seems to have made a misguided bet. The businessman based in Chicago donated $3,300 to Robert F Kennedy Jr’s campaign last year, but his contribution appears to be futile. Kennedy Jr’s bizarre story about disposing of a deceased bear in Central Park ten years ago has more or less extinguished his improbable aim for the Oval Office.
Exploring Ireland’s exceptional dining options for exceptional occasions would be a fantastic idea. In Hollywood’s golden years, famous figures such as Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly were continually captured on film. The grim cases of two murders in the 1970s, both linked to the Garda ‘heavy gang’, have been relentlessly inspected in Mick Clifford’s ‘Who Killed Una Lynskey?’.
Landlord Shane Byrne, an ex-rugby player known for his distinctive mullet hairstyle, recently triumphed in a difficult case at the Residential Tenancies Board. Despite missing his daughter Kerry’s victory at the Rose of Tralee, Byrne successfully defended his landlord rights. Living in his hometown of Arklow, Co Wicklow, he encountered resistance from tenants in his Dún Laoghaire property after instructing them to vacate via a November 2022 notice. After they failed to leave by August 2023, Byrne appealed to the board. The inhabitants challenged the notice based on technical errors, but the board upheld Byrne’s case, mandating their eviction within 42 days while maintaining their monthly €2,700 rent.
U2’s bass player, Adam Clayton, is seeking approval to build a home for his head gardener on his property. Residing in the southern part of Dublin might become more affordable for gardening enthusiasts, thanks to Clayton’s proposal for a new dwelling on his Danesmoate House estate. The planned accommodation at the Georgian manor bordering the Little Dargle in Rathfarnham features an L-shaped, single-storey design with a private courtyard and zinc roof. The new structure will seamlessly blend historical and modern elements, mirroring Clayton’s walled garden’s character.
It appears gardening is swiftly becoming as popular as rock’n’roll. However, the proposed expansion plans for Jack’s Hole have met resistance from local residents.
There’s unrest at Jack’s Hole beach resort located in Brittas, Co Wicklow owing to ambitious expansion plans. This coastal mobile home park made the news two years back when one of its units was sold close to its steep asking price of €495,000. However, the proposed addition of eight more mobile homes, a pitch for five-a-side football, two pickleball courts, and a padel court have not been deemed welcome by all neighbouring occupants. One neighbour, who voiced her objection by lodging a complaint with Wicklows County Council, has noted that legal consequences are under way between the homeowners of the mobile park and the local residents due to a supposed right of way through the resort leading to the beach. Fortunately, there is an abundance of attorneys who spend their weekends at the resort to handle the case.
Another similar right of way dispute is brewing at Killiney Golf Club. PJ Drudy, an economics lecturer at Trinity College Dublin who also chairs the Roscahill Residents’ Association, has conveyed his discontent to Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council about two fences erected by the golf club. The fences are of 10m and 12m respectively, obstructing two acknowledged rights of way adjacent to the golf course. Drudy demands an official statement from the council ensuring that these fences are covered within the planning permission. He alleges that locals rely on this pathway to get to Killiney shopping centre and that hurdles faced by Killiney dwellers in reaching their closest SuperValu are highly frowned upon.