Liam Collins

Barrister and banker Peter Sutherland. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Former political figure and one-time advisor to the pope Peter Sutherland leaves €2m in will

Leading international business and political figure and one-time adviser to Pope Francis, Peter Sutherland, has left more than €2m in his will.

On the books: As the extent of John Delaney’s lifestyle became widely known, he went on gardening leave, receiving €30,000 a month, according to Tighe and Rowan’s book. Picture: Sportsfile

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Saturday Read: Helicopters, prawn sarnies and feng shui - the remarkable world of John Delaney's FAI

Birthday Boy: Guests at John Delaney's lavish James Bond themed 50th birthday party in Mount Juliet, Co Kilkenny included Martin O'Neill, the Irish football manager, Labour Party leader Alan Kelly, comedian Brendan O'Carroll and his wife Jennifer Gibney, Johnny Giles and Minister for Rural Development Michael Ring.

ENTREPRENEUR: Mick Quinn was attracted to the opportunities presented by Nigeria’s huge oil and gas fields. Photo: Frédéric Soltan/Corbis via Getty Images

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Liam Collins Opinion Chasing rainbows: 'Quinner' and the Nigerian pot of gold

When we met for lunch in Dobbins restaurant, Mick Quinn ordered a bottle of good French wine and a pint glass of ice. He poured two glasses and then began dropping ice cubes in his glass of fine red Bordeaux.

MONEYMAN: Frank Dunphy at his home in Hyde Park, London

Obituary: Frank Dunphy

Frank Dunphy, who grew up in Portrane, near Donabate in north Dublin, managed Damien Hirst after a chance meeting at the London drinking den Groucho Club and, according to the artist, it was "love at first sight".

‘ONLY MASTERPIECES’: Playwright and novelist Eugene McCabe who died last week aged 90

Obituary: Eugene McCabe

The playwright and novelist Eugene McCabe, who died last Thursday aged 90, once characterised himself as "a farmer who happens to write or a writer who happens to farm".

"Even if he can withstand the pressure from home he could now be so badly damaged by the controversy that even the network of close allies he has built up on the EU Commission can't save him."

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Liam Collins Opinion 'Big Phil' returns to Brussels with an ultimatum: In the name of God, go

As he bolted back to Brussels with his lips firmly sealed and his golf bag zipped tight, even Phil Hogan must have realised he was perilously close to exhausting the last of his nine lives.

HIGH SOCIETY: Desmond Guinness at the 50th Anniversary of the Irish Georgian Society at Leixlip Castle

Obituary: Desmond Guinness

Described as "a great dandy of his generation", Desmond Guinness, noted for his piercing blue eyes, lived the gilded life of a fun-loving aristocrat. He was closely related to many of the blue-bloods of Ireland and England, as well as a wide circle who were either Guinness by birth or through marriage.

Indefatigable: Brendan Halligan persuaded Labour to consider coalition. Photo: PA

Obituary: Brendan Halligan

Brendan Halligan, who has died in Dublin at the age of 84, was a former general secretary of the Labour Party, senator, TD, Member of the European Parliament and semi-state director.

ON WITH THE SHOW: Artist and businessman Paddy Campbell in Bewley’s cafe on Grafton Street, Dublin. Photo: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

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Life, art and the return of Bewley's: café owner prepares to reopen doors on August 27

Speaking for the first time about his high-profile dispute with developer Johnny Ronan over the €1.5m-a-year rent for the iconic Bewley's cafe on Grafton Street, the cafe's owner Paddy Campbell said it wasn't "personal" but "very much about business".

Influence: John Hume with Gerry Adams at the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation in Dublin Castle in 1994. Photo: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Obituary: John Hume

John Hume was a towering figure in the history of Ireland in the latter half of the 20th century when 'the Troubles' was a major international conflict and at times, he alone seemed to be the voice of reason in a sea of violence and bloodshed.

AT EASE: John Hume with former Sunday Independent editor Aengus Fanning
in Derry in 2001. Fanning’s interview with Hume then made no reference to the tumultuous events of 1993-94. Photo: David Conachy

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Liam Collins Opinion Big Read: John Hume and the Sunday Independent - when the newspaper took on the Peacemaker

Liam Collins remembers a newsroom where provocative columnists took a hardline position on the most popular politician in Ireland

Action men: Richard Bruton has revealed himself to be Fine Gael’s latest answer to Daniel Craig, following in the footsteps of Eoghan Murphy. Photo: Frank McGrath

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Richard's Dollymount dip makes a splash as he swims back into the national psyche

The sight of Richard Bruton in his swimming togs as an "internet sensation" gives a whole new meaning to the concept of 'new politics' and 'pressing the flesh'.

DEVELOPER: Johnny Ronan. Photo: Steve Humphreys

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Ronan Group accuses council officials of 'bias and malice'

One of Ireland's biggest property development companies has made "serious allegations" against senior officials in Dublin City Council of what it calls "deep and ingrained personal bias and malice" against property developer Johnny Ronan.

DEVOTED: Gay Byrne and wife Kathleen. Photo: David Conachy

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Gay Byrne leaves €1.1m in will made 12 days before he died

Ireland's best loved and one of its most successful broadcasters, Gay Byrne, has left just over €1.1m in his will.

Court proceedings: The basement property called the The Baggot at 127 Lower Baggot Street which is now the subject of protracted legal proceedings with the landlord over the use of the venue which, according to the affidavit submitted to court, states that gardai conducting a raid found “a man tied to a large crucifix who was having his naked bum whipped”

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'Horrified' OAP denies she is madam of S&M club where a man was whipped while tied to a crucifix

Seventy-year-old Hilda Conway is "horrified" to be portrayed as 'Madam Hilda' who presides over a seedy club which operated as a brothel and hosts sadomasochism nights where a man was whipped while tied to a crucifix.

FINE GAEL STALWARTS: The late John Bailey and daughter Maria. Picture: Gerry Mooney

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GAA chief and father of 'swing-gate' TD Maria Bailey leaves €1.9m

The late John Bailey, a prominent member of Fine Gael, president of Dublin GAA for more than a decade and father of former TD Maria Bailey, has left almost €2m in his will.

NO REGRETS: With Jack we always went as far as we could. Photo: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

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Liam Collins Opinion Big Jack took us with him - and it's never been the same since

When I told my twentysomething daughter Jack Charlton had just died, she looked at me quizzically and asked: ''Who's he?''

CAMPAIGN: Paddy Cole. Photo: Brian McEvoy

Musicians win latest round in fight for royalties

Musicians and performers should receive up to 50pc of the royalties from recordings released by US music giants Universal, Warner and Sony, the Advocate General of the European Court has ruled.

CAFE SOCIETY: The Unicorn restaurant on Merrion Court. Photo: Collins

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Liam Collins Opinion The end of the Unicorn restaurant: the original society restaurant closes down and with it so does some of the soul of our city

Gradually, the little corners that make any city interesting are beginning to disappear from Dublin, with the quest for greater profits by developers and corporations replacing the old soul of the city.

Register launched to help families track down wills

A businessman and a firm of solicitors have teamed up to launch the first service for people who want to ''register'' their will before they die, so that next of kin will be easily able to locate it after death.

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Liam Collins Opinion TDs who refuse to serve country are indulging in act of petulance

At a time when thousands of people are losing their jobs, the wholesale closure of businesses looms large and living standards could crash, the behaviour of 'refuseniks' to take senior government positions as junior ministers appears petulant at the very least.

BOOT THE BOXES: Liam Collins is dwarfed by cardboard Photo: Hannah Collins

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Liam Collins Opinion Snowed under by an avalanche of packaging

Excuse the pun, but I'm feeling boxed in, smothered under a mountain of cardboard boxes with no end in sight as a relentless procession of deliverymen and women arrive at the house with a variety of boxes, big, medium and small.

Man of the people: A worker cleans the statue of Luke Kelly on South King Street in Dublin. Photo: Mark Condren

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Liam Collins Opinion Instead of censuring the vandals, Luke would have tried to understand their plight

Luke Kelly might have broken into a wry smile after both statues commemorating him in Dublin were splashed with white paint. The original bust of the red-headed troubadour adjacent to where he was born in Sheriff Street has been defaced for the sixth time.

A man cleans the statue of Luke Kelly on the corner of Guild Street and Sheriff Street after it was vandalised again
Pic: Mark Condren

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Liam Collins Opinion Luke Kelly would rather be paint-splashed and with 'his people', than moved to some antiseptic middle-class location

Luke Kelly might have broken out a wry smile after both statues commemorating him in Dublin were splashed with white paint on Tuesday night.

Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar. Photo: Frank McGrath

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Liam Collins Opinion FG and FF bridge historic divide, but will it save them?

To an outsider they may look the same, but to the card-carrying members of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael they are fundamentally different in a way that only they fully understand.

MUCH-LOVED: Marian Finucane was a huge radio presence. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins

Revealed: Marian Finucane left €1.3m estate

Broadcaster Marian Finucane left more than €1.3m in her will, according to documents lodged in the Probate Office in Dublin.

Connections: Dermot Desmond in 2001. Pic Tom Burke

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Billionaire Desmond was never one to shy away from a planning row

When Dermot Desmond threatens to deploy his "resources" to a cause, there is a fair guarantee that those on the opposing end of his angst are heading for sleepless nights.

United front in face of terror: Members of An Garda Síochána arrive at the Hub in Castlerea for a memorial service for Det Garda Colm Horkan. Picture: Frank McGrath

Liam Collins Opinion The gardai losing 'one of their own' may be a rare event, but in many ways that makes it all the more traumatic

You have only to look at the ashen faces among the serried ranks of solemn gardaí at the funeral of a fallen comrade to see the tragic effect it has on the force.

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House buyers facing losses as banks review loan agreements

A Dublin-based financial firm has been accused of "an unlawful breach" of a loan agreement for a multi-million euro Dublin 4 residence

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Myrtle Allen, matriarch of Ballymaloe, leaves €1m in will

The matriarch of Ballymaloe House, Myrtle Allen, left more than €1m in her will.