Ross Maguire, a senior counsel and founder of New Beginning, has recently purchased a mansion in Carbury, Co Kildare, displaying his faith in the property market. Established in 2010, New Beginning initially aimed to assist those with mortgage arrears, but in recent times, it has shifted its focus towards providing social housing. The residence purchased by Maguire, known as Ballindoolin House, is an eight-bedroom Georgian mansion, encompassing 238 acres. Although the property had an asking price of €3.5 million, the official sale record only indicates just over €2 million, not including the vast expanse of land attached to the mansion.
Despite living in Dublin 6, Maguire has no immediate plans to inhabit the newly-attained property. His intentions lie in developing the estate into a region for native forestry and eco-tourism over the forthcoming years, offering a fresh start to the property.
Joining Maguire at the Bar of Ireland is the ex-Minister for education and social protection, Mary Hanafin. Hanafin, also a former Fianna Fáil TD and senator, was recently named as a barrister. Despite an unsuccessful bid to represent the Dún Laoghaire constituency in the latest general elections and opting not to participate in previous local elections, Hanafin’s brother, John, a former Fianna Fáil senator as well, currently serves as a junior counsel and could guide her through her new role in the courts.
It’s possible that her actions motivate other departing politicians in light of the imminent general election. Mixed signals from Mullooly about NGOs can be seen. Being part of Ireland’s Bar has proven to be a profitable supplemental job for politicians, as revealed by former Clare TD Michael McNamara’s declaration to the European Parliament. As part of their official appointment duties, all MEPs need to provide a report of their incomes. McNamara’s declared income for the previous year was slightly over €10,000 each month from Oireachtas due to his role as a TD, in addition to €2,500 from farming and €3,180 from functioning as a barrister per month. This results in a total annual income of approximately €190,000, making him one of the rare new MEPs who will experience a salary reduction upon the uptake of his new position.
Another newcomer to MEP, ex-jockey Nina Carberry, reported a monthly income of €761 from her company, Nina Carberry Racing Ltd. Ciaran Mullooly, the previous RTÉ midlands reporter, has different sources of income. From freelance journalism, he earns roughly €5,000 per annum. He also receives a yearly sum of €55,000 for his work as a tourism promoter with the Longford County Council, under the EU Just Transition Fund scheme. He earns another €38,000 per annum as a social inclusion officer for the government-funded Roscommon Integrated Development Company, which is a charitable organisation. This charity however, Mullooly said, isn’t one that he and his Independent Ireland associates plan to cut funding for. Instead, they aim to assess and integrate NGOs that primarily work within the homelessness and mental health sectors, with the goal to prevent duplication of efforts.
Danny Healy-Rae, who is known to have turned down an invitation to join the Independent Ireland earlier this year, has several other business interests, such as a pub and a plant leasing firm. An environmental watchdog, An Taisce, has criticised a quarry Healy-Rae runs in rural Kerry. He and his brother, Michael, have repeatedly clashed with this organisation.
Sunville Construction, a firm owned by Healy-Rae, recently obtained retention planning authorisation from Kerry County Council to continue its quarry operations on a five-acre site in Crohane. However, An Taisce’s Ian Lumley lodged an appeal against this decision with An Bord Pleanála, advocating that an “appropriate assessment screening” should have been undertaken due to the quarry’s proximity, just 160m, to a Special Area of Conservation in Killarney National Park and the Caragh river’s catchment area. In Lumley’s appeal, he expressed that such operations in the area may be detrimental to the proper long-term management of this visually valuable area.
A potential environmental risk has been flagged on the Aran Islands, particularly for summer visitors. Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) highlighted concerns about the water hygiene at Inis Mór last week, pointing out that a primary sewer line in Kilronan public lavatories, to which several connections across the village are made, is discharging untreated waste into a local field. FIE claims that this setup does not have the necessary license from the EPA, adds that Galway county council’s reports depict the discharge as an environmental and public health threat due to the resulting “effluence cesspool”. The organisation threatens to take legal action against Uisce Éireann, the entity responsible for the site, if the discharge persists beyond August.
Andy Quirke, better recognised for his political opinions these days rather than his comedic character, Damo and Ivor, has a unique hobby as a pigeon breeder. The son of gaming tycoon Richard Quirke, Andy is vocal about his disapproval of political groups and mainstream media over his social media platforms. Among his grievances are calls for Ireland’s national public service media, RTÉ, to close and claims of corruption in the government, branding both climate change and vaccines as “frauds”. Andy recently displayed his latest pigeon loft on Facebook, boasting 30 new breeding compartments. His most achieved bird, dubbed Mr Gold, has a profitable career to the tune of €58,000, which includes taking the second place at the AGR Golden Algarve’s prestigious 500km race, a competition that offers €1 million in total winnings.
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