Karl McDonald

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

Exciting times for sports fan President Michael D Higgins last weekend when he met prolific former Juventus, AC Milan, Barcelona and Manchester United (among many others) striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Rome, posing for a photograph with the sizeable Swede. Higgins is, of course, a proper football man, having previously served as president of Galway United.

3 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

Former Dragon Niall O’Farrell, the entrepreneur behind the now-shuttered Blacktie tuxedo rental chain, is facing the loss of a substantial portion of his treasure after a judgment was registered against him by the Revenue Commissioners to the tune of €450,365. O’Farrell, with an address on Anglesea Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, became a familiar face to the wider public as a potential angel investor in the first four seasons of Dragons’ Den on RTÉ.

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

The war of words rages over the future of the Joyce-linked The Dead house on Usher’s Quay, but another remarkable Dublin dwelling is under the hammer unnoticed. Number 63 Baggot Street, in the heart of the city’s Georgian core, was the childhood home of the painter Francis Bacon. Over four storeys, a basement and a “turnkey” mews at the back, it’s 395sq m and comes with a weight-loss-oriented personal training business as a tenant.

Dec 26, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

Thousands of declassified documents are being released this week from the archives of Dublin, Belfast and London, bringing new insight into Irish events, politics and personalities of times past. Dublin’s archival material focuses mostly on documents which have turned 30 years old this year, centring the focus on 1994. Here are five things we learned from the State Papers1.

Dec 10, 2024 | derbyshiretimes.co.uk | Karl McDonald

by Karl McDonaldThe penny is "safe", according to 10 Downing Street, after public backlash brought a one-day consultation on its abolition to an end. The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, had announced that the Treasury would look into whether 1p and 2p coins were still needed in an era of digital payment. In fact, well over half of copper coins are used only once before finding their way into the coin jar - or even in the bin.