MONDAY 12TH JUNE 1995

LOCKED OUT AGAIN!

The Sunday Press editor barred from Burgh Quay

by Donogh Diamond

A DOUBLE LOCK-OUT was in force against Irish Press journalists over the weekend when staff arriving at a prearranged time at Burgh Quay to collect their belongings were once more left on the street.

And, in yet another sign of the bizarre world now inhabited by Press bosses, Eamon de Valera and Vincent Jennings, the former has once more lashed out in all directions in a bid to deflect criticism from their own abject failure. Last week the Father of the the Irish Press NUJ Chapel, Ronan Quinlan, made an arrangement with Irish Press Newspapers Managing Editor, Niall Connolly, that journalists would be allowed to clear out their lockers - once there was an editor present to take responsibility. The Sunday Press Editor, Michael Keane, agreed to come in at 2.30pm on Satur day to facilitate those needing to remove their personal possessions, but both he, and the 30 or 40 hard-pressed staff present were refused entry to the building. A furious Ronan Quinlan pointed out that a large num ber of NUJ members, who were attempting to subsist without any income, had made

the expensive trip into town, only to be "further abused" by management.
"I'm reluctant to believe that this was a mistake. It is so typical of their attitude to the staff. They want to rub our noses in it. Nothing could surprise me from this crowd", he said. Michael Keane, who tried on Saturday to contact any Irish Press executive who could authorise entry into the building, claimed that the fiasco was the result of a "breakdown in communica tion" and not of any "manage ment decision to lock people out . "It was a comedy of errors", he said, adding that the secu rity man had misunderstood instructions from manage ment, and that he would attempt to make a new arrangement, probably for Tuesday. Dr de Valera's latest attack on the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Richard Bruton, stunned even experi enced business commentators, with Matt Cooper, Business Editor of the Irish Indepen dent, confessing to being bewildered as to what it was meant to achieve. Claiming that the Board of Irish Press Newspapers "has nothing to apologise for, and certainly not its honesty," Dr de Valera suggested in a week end statement that the Minis ter was "attempting to achieve by abuse and pressure outside any statutory framework what he cannot achieve legitimately in the courts?" He went on to lash the report of the Competition Authority, and the way it car ried out its work, which, he claimed, "would not with stand judicial scrutiny." Said Ronan Quinlan in response: "Dr de Valera has so far blamed the Government, the Minister, Bertie Ahern, Mary O'Rourke, Fianna Fail, interference from politicians, the Supreme Court, the Com petition Authority, the unions and the workers. "If he wants somebody to blame, he need only take a good look in the nearest mirror.

TREBLE WHAMMY FOR BOYS IN GREEN

by Liam Mackey

IT WAS ten minutes that shook the world of Irish football. The cheers acclaiming Ray Houghton's long- awaited breakthrough goal against Austria at Lansdowne Road yesterday had barely subsided when up popped Toni Polster with a free-kick that caught the Irish wall cold. Three minutes later, the temperature reached freezing point as Andreas Ogris availed of a dreadful refereeing blunder to ghost through a protesting Irish defence and flash the ball past Kelly. Six minutes later. Polster was at it again, his powerful header giving this game a final scoreline that all too accu rately echoed the very result Jack Charl ton had warned beforehand would not be repeated yesterday - Spain's 3-1 win at Lansdowne Road in October 1993. If, as on that day, yesterday's scoreline hugely flattered the visitors, nevertheless the overall tone of Ireland's performance scarcely deserved the win that Houghton's goal appeared to have made possible before the roof caved in. The absence of Keane and Townsend was bad enough and the choice of ('.oyne ahead of Aldridge disturbing unless excused by injury worries, but worst of all was the invisible but palpa ble presence in the starting line-up of those old green stalwarts, Jekyll and Hyde. Yesterday's game was like the whole campaign so far in microcosm, with every neat passage of play counterparted by a sloppy surrender of possession. Throw in the old bad habit of squan dered chances and below par perfor mances by the likes of Quinn, Staunton and Sheridan, and all the ingredients for another helping of humble pie were in place. With its usual undertaker's timing, the Lansdowne Road PA crackled into life just after Austria's third goal had hit the Irish net. "All stewards to end of match positions," ran the familiar doomy refrain. At that moment, it sounded more like an end of qualification instruction - except that considered reflection still sees the Irish with a good chance to undo the damage of the past week and secure their passage to Eng land in the autumn. The return of Keane and Townsend will be crucial to that mission, especial ly, if as seems likely after yesterday's trauma, the Irish will have to go to Lis bon in November looking for the proverbial result. But that hardly bears thinking about in the immediate aftermath of another GUBU day for Irish soccer.

THE COMPANY OF SERBS...

by John Moran

DESPITE the tumultuous world events of the past five years - the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the ending of the Cold War; the dra matic end to Apartheid in South Africa; the initiation of peace processes in the Middle East and the North of Ireland - the grim steeples of Burgh Quay and Par nell House retain the integrity of their ancient quarrel, as the late Mr Winston Churchill might have said. "It's the Minister's fault," comes the chant from the Parnell House pair, refer ring to the minor local business diffculty involving the collapse of Irish Press newspapers and the loss of 600 jobs. "lt's the Supreme Court's fault,' they chime. "The NUJ's, too," they cry. And what was the Minister's crime? you might reasonably ask. Well, he told Irish Press management he would not allow Tony O'Reilly's Independent Newspapers to keep them in jobs, hoping obviously to clear the way for REAL investors to revive the Press titles. And what did the Supreme Court do to incur their scorn? It merely informed them they would receive no money for their oppression (BY Ingersoll, that is - not OF long-suffering staff). And the NUJ? Well, it had the temerity to defend a member summarily dismissed for exercising freedom of speech. Other miscreants savaged by Parnell House include, the Competition Authority, Bertie Ahern, Mary O'Rourke and the Sunday Business Post. Press management's method of conflict resolution might be referred to as the "Ser bian Strategy," and its motto as "do unto others before they do unto you". This stratagem has an unfortunate tendency, however, to spin wildly out of control. For example, you can start a normal day's work with a simple summary sacking, then hefore you know it, the hloody do-gooders get involved, and the unions, the Govern ment, the Courts etc are at your throat. On the other hand, Parnell House enthu siasts say the Serbian Strategy can be great fun altogether as we hurtle recklessly towards the end of the millennium. It certainly beats the hell out of the tedious business of running newspapers, they add.

CRISIS COOKING

by Dave Kenny

HAVE you ever had one of those days when nothing seems to be going right? You know, when your wife/husband/other does a runner with your car, and your credit card, because you've just blown the last of your redundancy money on a three legged nag, and he/she/it can no longer bear the thought of spending the rest of their life with a loser like you? Of course you have. We all have days like that. But the first thing you must remember is not to fret too much. Get lots of sleep and keep eating. The first law of survival is after all - KEEP EATING. Actually, that's not true. That's the second law of survival. The first law of survival is KEEP BREATHING. But I digress. To KEEP EATING one must first find the kitchen. In prehis toric times this was known as FORAGING. In our case we will call it SEARCH AND DESTROY. This is the first step in EATING. Step two involves standing in the kitchen. Stand in the kitchen and find the food. It is vitally important that one fol lows step two, as THE FOOD is the primary component in the eatmg process. The food we are interested in can be found in fridges and presses. And deep freezers. Not in mousetraps, bins or bowls on the floor marked CAT. Or DOG. Have you found the food? Good, then let's get cooking!

Published by The Irish Press NUJ, Liberty Hall. Origination by Malcolm Kindness, telephone 496 2551.

is a registered trademark of Adnet Limited.
© 1995 Adnet Limited. All Rights Reserved.
This Directory is operated by admin@adnet.ie.