The Front Pages
For once, the front pages of the broadsheets aren’t all singing in unison, with a range of stories making the headlines.
The Irish Independent leads with the story that Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny is putting pressure on An Taoiseach Brian Cowen to hold three by-elections which could see Fianna Fail further loosen their grip on power. Kenny says he’ll force a vote on the issue of the Waterford by-election in the Dail next month.
He told the Indo: “You have three pending by-elections and the government has no intention of holding any of them. If Mr Cowen has courage to defend Martin Cullen’s seat, it was a Fianna Fail seat, let them do it.†Steady on Enda – such fighting talk will give people the impression you’ve got a personality.
The main picture on the Indo has Cowen in one of the dressing rooms at the new Aviva Stadium. The government’s top man is seen getting in touch with his inner young fella as he jumps up with his fists in the air as if he’s just scored a late winner at a crucial World Cup qualifier.
The Irish Times has an aerial shot of the majestic Aviva stadium which is ready for business three years after demolition of the old Lansdowne Road stadium began. The main story on The Times states that former Taoiseach Bertie ‘currently available for private functions and other speaking engagements if you’ve got the cash’ Ahern accepts that he played a role in our current economic crisis. Really? You mean the man in charge of the country’s economy when the country’s economy started to go tits up was in some way involved? No shit, Sherlock.
Anyway, he says that he now believes that property-based tax incentives should have been abolished earlier than they were.
The Examiner goes local with a story about a fatal car crash on the northside of Cork city that left two teenagers dead. It says that Gardaà are continuing an investigation into whether there was a collision between the two cars involved before they ploughed into a gable wall and went down an embankment.
Also on the Examiner’s front page is the story that head shop owners are demanding compensation for loss of earnings relating to loss of stock after certain products were banned by the authorities. The head shops have grouped together to form the Alternative Traders Association and their spokesperson is Helen Stone. Ms Stone representing head shops… how apt.
The Mail carries the story ‘TAXMAN TO SNOOP ON YOUR PHONE RECORDS’. Not like The Mail to get all shouty and outraged and to write a scaremongering headline, is it? Oh wait, they always do that, don’t they. Our mistake.
According to The Mail, Revenue Commissioners will soon have the power to spy on the phone and web records of ‘millions of innocent citizens’ (including all the decent and upstanding Irish Daily Mail readers – there is no other type). Just in case this happens and any of the girlfriends and wives of those of us in the JOE office are reading this, ALL OF THE CALLS FROM OUR PHONES TO SEX LINES AND ALL OF THE WEB SEARCHES FOR PORN SITES WERE FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY. Just thought we should make that clear.
Tales of the Tabs
The Irish Sun lead with ‘Linda & Twink’s Gerry Spat’, claiming that Linda Martin snubbed her Menopause The Musical co-star at Gerry Ryan’s funeral. The story means that they can continue to get mileage out of Gerry Ryan’s passing, and have a dig at Twink at the same time – clever, eh. On The Late Late on Friday, a stressed-out Twink launched an attack on the papers singling out one female tab journo in particular. We’re not pointing fingers, but The Sun’s ‘showbiz exclusive’ is written by ‘Jennifer O’Brien: showbiz reporter’.
The Sun also have a story about Jonathan Rhys Meyes getting pissed up at an airport again. The 32-year-old ‘Tudors hunk’ (their words, not ours) was banned from flying after ‘guzzling cocktails’ before an early-morning flight from New York.
The Star, meanwhile, have the story that Gardaà believe they know the identity of the killers of teen victim Daniel McAnaspie, whose skeletal remains were discovered dumped in a field near Duleek, Co Meath. It says that the authorities are closing in on a trio of suspects.
Finally for the tabs, The Irish Daily Mirror goes big with their exclusive that Gerry Ryan had not been taking drugs prior to his untimely death. They say that initial tests rubbish rumours that had been spreading about the RTÉ broadcaster since his passing. They also carry the news that Nadine Coyle wants to marry her American boyfriend Jason Bell.
The Sports Pages
Three subjects dominate the sports pages: The FA Cup Final, The Magners Semi-final and FAI’s ban on Barcelona playing a friendly against Limerick at Thomond Park on July 3.
The Irish Times’ Gerry Thornley reports that that despite believing that form isn’t everything , Leinster will still have the edge when they face Munster at the RDS on Saturday night. The Times also report that Frank Lampard is ‘plotting a ruthless conclusion to Portsmouth Fairytale’.
Writing in the Irish Daily Mail, David Wallace’s brother Paul questions the dropping of Jerry Flannery and David from Munster’s starting line-up, calling it ‘an act of utter madness’. The Mail also reports on Barca’s anger at being banned from meeting Limerick, with the furious Spanish superstars pointing out that they’ve never been banned from playing in a country before. FAI bosses are refusing to elaborate on why the ban on Messi and Co has been issued. The Star also lead with the Barca story.
The Indo also focuses on the FAI, saying they’re having to do a U-turn with regard to the forthcoming glamour visit by Man U and have come up with a cut price offer for people holding ten-year season tickets who had been told they’d have to pay extra to see the game, despite having already shelled out between €12,000 and €32,000 for their premium seats. We’re wondering if the FAI will throw in a few prawn sandwiches too, just for good measure.
Finally The Sun and The Mirror both focus on the FA Cup with The Mirror highlighting the fact that it will be the last game playing for Portsmouth for eleven of the team, and The Sun report that Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka has ripped into his former boss Avram Grant with whom he had an unhappy relationship under the headline ‘You Av No Respect’.
