What Gerry Adams really said to David Trimble in the bathroom during the peace talks – The Irish Times

What did he do? Gerry Adams say to David Trimble when they were at neighboring urinals in Stormont at a critical stage of the Good Friday Agreement Are you talking back in 1998? Their joint repose has become the stuff of legend, but a slight difference has emerged in various accounts about what was said while the couple relieved themselves.

In an interview with The Irish Times last year, Adams rejected as apocryphal the suggestion that he followed the then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party into the men’s toilets deliberately to have a quiet word. “I famously said to David Trimble, ‘How are you, David?’ and he said, ‘Grow up,’ while we stood shoulder to shoulder.”

But in the case of Owen McCafferty The agreementwhich is presented at The Gate theater in Dublin and which obtained a five star rave of The Irish Times, the exchange has Adams’ character saying: “So this is where the big guys go,” when he bumps into Trimble, to which the late UUP leader replies: “Grow up.”

So what did they really say while holding the fate of Northern Ireland in their hands? When asked about it in an onstage Q&A after the performance, Adams corrected the record and said his icebreaker was, “We have to stop meeting like this,” to which Trimble responded, “Grow up.” .

Of course, we’ll have to take Adams’ word for it, since Trimble died two years ago. And unlike his bathing buddy, he never leaked.

Saoirse Ronan – aim too high, think too big

Saoirse Ronan She’s been a chameleonic actress since she emerged as a child star in the 2007 film Atonement. Whether she’s playing a teenage assassin or a homesick Irish emigrant, she fits perfectly into each role. However, her plans for a new home in west Cork have been deemed too disruptive by local planners, who say the plans put forward by the actress harmonize with the local landscape.

Ronan, who recently married Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden, told planners earlier this year that she planned to make Foilnamuck, near Ballydehob, west Cork, her permanent home. He bought a house in the city for 650,000 euros in 2020 and applied for planning permission earlier this year to demolish it and replace it with a larger 332 square meter house.

Ronan’s planning consultant argued that the existing “uninsulated” house was in poor condition, with cracks, leaks and “woodworm”, adding that it did not meet fire safety standards. But Cork County Council has refused permission to build a contemporary, eco-friendly replacement home.

Council planners said the existing house integrates well into the rural and coastal landscape, while the replacement house was to be built at a higher level on the site, which would have “seriously detracted from the visual amenity of the area” due to its “location, scale, design and mass.” Back to the drawing board.

( Saoirse Ronan: ‘Going out and ruining myself… I’m careful about when and where I do that’Opens in a new window )

More turmoil at Dún Laoghaire law firm

Turmoil continues at south Dublin law firm Thomas Montgomery & Sons, which was forced to cease practicing last year after a €1.7 million hole was discovered in its client’s account. Last week the Treasury handed down two sentences against the Dún Laoghaire firm, one for 86,707 euros and another for 606,552 euros. Neither of them has been satisfied to date.

The firm’s managing partner, David Montgomery, drowned in Dún Laoghaire harbor in October 2022. At that time he was under investigation by the Law Society. The firm was founded by David Montgomery’s father, William, whose name appears on the two judgments issued by Revenue.

Last month the High Court heard allegations that a pension fund operated on behalf of Foxrock businessman Connie Kelleher by David Montgomery is owed another sizeable sum from the late lawyer’s estate. Montgomery allegedly operated a scheme that lent money from Connie Kelleher’s pension plan to borrowers, who paid interest on the loans, helping to top up the pension, but there is now a €618,834 hole in the client’s account.

Billionaire’s Napoleonic construction plans take blow

Louis Ronan Sr., from Tipperary, a multimillionaire who made his fortune from BSE testing kits, splashed out €3 million last year on The Battery in Sandycove, south Dublin, a historic military structure built in the 19th century as part of Ireland’s defenses against a Napoleonic invasion. But gaining planning permission on the site of the protected structure, on a rock outcrop overlooking the Forty Foot, could prove more difficult than conquering Russia.

Ronan senior submitted plans to add a contemporary-style extension to the granite coastal defenses over the summer, but his plans, opposed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, have now been scrapped by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Provincial Council.

The council ruled the proposals were not appropriate for a protected structure, which is also designated as a historic monument. It decided that Ronan’s proposed house would have a negative impact on the area’s military heritage and would be contrary to several provisions of the county’s development plan.

‘Keep the noise up’

It is common for people to oppose a neighboring development because of all the noise it will cause. You don’t see people objecting as much to apartments because it could affect the volume at which they can play their music. But on Grafton Street, buskers are rebelling. A group of them, including Andrew Glover and Andrew Kavanagh of pop band Keywest, who started out plying their trade on Grafton Street, are opposing plans for four new luxury apartments on the upper floors of 4-5 Grafton Street , bought last year. for €16 million by Brian McKiernan, former chief executive of Davy stockbrokers, and David Goddard, who heads Davy’s property division.

Glover points out in his objection that buskers and residents frequently clash in Temple Bar over noise. He fears the same thing will happen on Grafton Street, which he says is “the most famous in the world for its street musicians.” He says the “charm and culture” of buskers attract thousands of tourists to Ireland each year, but they will be left with nowhere to perform if streets like Grafton Street become residential.

Kavanagh echoes his points, saying that Gavin James, Dermot Kennedy and U2 have given the street a global street music reputation. Anyone want a version of Where the Streets Have No Buskers?

Sabina Higgins takes on confusing role

Last week our attention was drawn to a press release announcing that Sabina Higgins, the wife of President Michael D. Higgins, had become a patron of an organization called Wool in School. Apparently, the first lady will encourage children to take up knitting and appreciate wool as “a natural and renewable resource.”

If Higgins, an actress and activist, is wondering what to encourage children to crochet, she can look to her husband, who is peculiarly a knitter, for inspiration. After all, it has already spawned a collection of Michael D dolls, as well as a popular range of Michael “Tea” cosies.

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