Blog

Timing Is Everything. Even at 40,000 Feet. I often tell a story in communications workshops about the difference between a good pickpocket and a great one. The answer is Timing! Yesterday afternoon, Ireland’s new government jet a Dassault Falcon 6X touched down in Dublin. Built by Dassault Aviation, the aircraft carries a reported price tag...

Eastern Sentry Has Begun. Ireland Should Be Paying Attention. When a military operation is called Eastern Sentry, the clue isn’t subtle it’s in the name. It’s a heavy topic for a few days before Christmas. This is about watching, warning, and readiness. NATO has tightened its posture along the eastern flank. Defensive. Deliberate. Deadly serious....

It was a pleasure to meet again one of the great forces in world affairs, Hillary Clinton, and to reflect once more on the deep and enduring commitment that Hillary and Bill Clinton have shown for more than 25 years to peace on this island. I first met Hillary many years ago at her first...

Spotify Wrapped. The Brutal Annual Performance Review We Can’t Argue With and what it says about us? Every December, Spotify Wrapped sneaks into our phones and exposes the truth. Turn down the noise. Turn up the ambition and absolutely crank the tracks that move you. Now tell the truth did your Spotify “Wrapped”expose you? We...

RTÉ’s Another Long Day of Cock-Ups and It’s Only 3rd December. And in other news, Well done Tommy Meskill on the 6.1 new job! Only in Ireland could our national broadcaster, RTE with a budget the size of a small nation, confidently announced 6.1 that Simon Harris is the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence only...

Rage-Bait: The Word or two words that Defines Us (Unfortunately) today. Outrage might trend, but integrity makes history. Today, 1st December and every year, a word emerges that doesn’t just describe language it describes the behaviour of an entire era. This year, that word or two words is “rage-bait.” It’s the perfect term for a...

This must be the most difficult time in Ukraine’s history. I’ve been asking myself a simple question: “When did Ireland last take to the streets to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?” Harder question: “When did we last seriously call for the expulsion of the Russian ambassador?” And the hardest question of all: “When did anyone...

Four Weeks Later… and Yes We’re Still Talking About That Podcast Remember that quiet Saturday morning when news of The Great Podcast Scandal became public. Well… here we are. Four weeks later. Still debating a podcast as if it were Article 50 of the Good Friday Agreement. This week, an Oireachtas committee dedicated over two...

Happy Monday from Manchester where apparently politics is the new stadium rock. Last night, Sunday evening was another sold out show for pal and associate Alastair Campbell with Rory Stewart. The Rest Is Politics Live has now spent three weeks zig-zagging around the UK like a touring boyband, like the good old Ronan Keating days...

Getting media training back in the headlines with the new term “Authenticity.” After surviving Storm Claudia (umbrellas lost, bins and fences airborne, poor dogs traumatised), it feels like the perfect time to talk about another unpredictable force of nature: Authenticity in global and Irish politics. Last week we were media training a group of politicians...