TUESDAY 27 JUNE 1995

U2 WORLD EXCLUSIVE
Back issues of The XPress on Sunday featuring Liam Mackey's exclusive interview with U2 are still available from: Room 103, Liberty Hall, Dublin 1.

CON HOULIHAN AT WEMBLEY - HOSTAGES RELEASED
LIQUIDATION HALTED
TRAGIC DEATH OF COLLEAGUE'S SON
THE BOYS ON GREEN ... STATE OF GRACE DEFERRED
Press' Purty Party

Published by The Irish Press NUJ, Liberty Hall. Origination by Malcolm Kindness, Telephone 4962551.

VINDICATED: Fresh from their victory in the High Court yesterday were the NUJ team of (left to right): Eoin Ronayne, Irish Secretary; Chris Dooley; Louise Ni Chriodain; Paulette O'Connor; Ronan Quinlan; Colm Rapple; and Mairead Carey.
PICTURE: AUSTIN FINN

LIQUIDATION HALTED

by Donogh Diamond

Historic victory for Press journalists as High Court appoints examiner

In a landmark judgement yesterday, an Examiner was appointed to the Irish Press after an application to the High Court by three journalists' leaders.
And tomorrow's planned creditors' meeting in the Point Depot has been ordered to adjourn without conducting any business.
Chartered Accountant, Mr Hugh Cooney, was appointed Examiner both to the trading company, Irish Press Newspapers Ltd, and the title-holding company, Irish Press Publications Ltd.
Finding an investor was the crucial issue in the examinership, said Mr Justice Frank Murphy in his judgement.
And to "focus the mind" on this matter, he made an order that the Examiner furnish a list of possible investors to the Chief Registrar of the High Court within 10 days of the initial examinership petition.
The Examiner must present his report to the court within 21 days from last Thursday, when the application was made.
While it was an "absolutely marginal decision" there was "just enough" of a prospect of the survival of the business to appoint the Examiner and see whether or not a plan could be devised to allow both companies to survive, without any injustice to any of the creditors involved, he said.
"I propose to appoint Mr. Cooney and to give him that chance," said Mr Justice Murphy. He appointed Mr Cooney to Irish Press Newspapers Ltd, "and to Irish Press Publications Ltd, as a related company," he said.
He stressed that Mr Cooney was not to confine himself to reviewing the affairs of the companies, because there was one issue on which all the parties were agreed, and that was the need for a substantial investor.
If no such investor was found, then the court should be informed at once "and the liquidation should then proceed without delay."

Mr Justice Murphy also gave Mr Cooney leave to return to the court to seek an order for the transfer of executive powers to the Examiner, if that proved necessary.
Some of those who had opposed the appointment argued that it would be an "exercise in futility", while the petitioners, and those in a more neutral position, had argued that there was a possibility of the company surviving, and that was worth exploring.
There was also 630 jobs at stake, Mr Justice Murphy pointed out.
The "downside" of acceding to the application was purely a matter of delay, but that would be of a limited period, he said. Delay could cause the remaining assets of the company to depreciate, which one opposing counsel had pointed out, said Mr Justice Murphy.
Earlier, Michael Collins SC, for the petitioners, had pointed out that in the affidavits presented on behalf of the company it had been said that an examinership would delay the titles getting back onto the streets. It appeared from this that Irish Press Publications Ltd. intended beginning trading.
At the same time, the company was saying that there was no prospect of survival. "They can't have it both ways," said Mr Collins.
Counsel for the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Richard Bruton, supported the journalists' application, and said the Minister would make his good offices available.
The Revenue Commissioners, which is a £2 million creditor, also supported the application.
It was opposed by Irish Press Newspapers Ltd. and Irish Press Publications Ltd., Irish Press Plc, and Ingersoll Irish Publications.
Counsel for Independent Newspapers, Peter Shanley SC, said that his client would support anything that might help give the company a future, but it had to be mindful of what the people who had been involved in its day-to-day management had said.

'CON HOULIHAN AT WEMBLEY - HOSTAGES RELEASED'

By Con Houlihan

How could I forget it...
I am referring, of course, to the meeting of England and The Republic Of Ireland at Wembley almost twenty years ago: it was my first mission abroad for the Evening Press, apart from a League game between Roscommon and Dublin in Dr Hyde Park on a wet Sunday in the previous November.
I was as nervous as a child about to make his debut at school and as excited as the same child on the way to his first circus.
It was a friendly game but, of course, only in name: whenever those two expeditions meet, it is not so much a local derby as another chapter in history.
On the red airbus from Heathrow I encountered Billy George, then number one soccer writer for The Cork Examiner; it was his first visit to London - I felt like an old hand.
And I showed him the sights as we voyaged along the The Great West Road, including Griffin Park, the little stadium where Brentford F.C. put out their stall.
Billy had and has a marvellous innocence; how it had survived about twenty years in De Paper I was at a loss to understand.
And he couldn't conceal his delight as I pointed out Kew and Putney and Hammersmith and the house wherein Willian Hogarth lived for most of his life.
It was midsummer; there hadn't been rain for several weeks; the grass in Hyde Park was almost brown; the leaves on most of the trees looked dry and tired.
We made out landfall at Paddington Station and took a cab to Fleet Street; Billy was due to report at his paper's office; I had a similar duty.
When the courtesy calls had been made, we adjourned to the Kings And Keys across the road; if you suspect that this was a public house, you are absolutely correct.
And then Billy had his first drink in my second favourite city. The first, incidentally, is Castle Island; Paris is a close third.
I stayed that night in a little hotel near Piccadilly; I was up and running about five; when I put on the radio, I heard horrendous news - the Colorado Beetle was at large in England; seemingly a number of the species had come on a ship from The West Indies. The potato has a fatal attraction for the invaders; the prospect of life without chips was too much for mind and soul to bear.
Nevertheless, the game at Wembley went ahead. And it had a remarkable ambience: in the previous week the annual carnival in Notting Hill hadn't passed without the occasional fracas; the revellers felt the police had been less than fair - and so as we proceeded up to Wembley we were in the midst of a colourful orgy of West Indians and Asians and African blacks, many of them sporting the green.
The game itself wasn't great; it wasn't so much a cat-and-mouse affair; it was more like mouse-and-mouse; both sides were palpably fearful of losing.
England went ahead about midway through the first half with a fortuitous goal: Stuart Pearson tried to get his foot to a cross but the ball went to the net off his thigh - the right, in case you'd like to know.
All was not lost: The Republic got a penalty just before the interval; Gerry Daly tucked it away with all the confidence of a hotel porter hailing a cab.
As play was approaching the triple blow, a draw seemed certain.
Then Ray Wilkins seemed to be clean through behind our back four and facing Mick Kearns in a one-on-one situation.
Then came a knight in shining armour: a young man named David O' Leary was our saviour; he got back - and in the immortal words of my friend Peter Byrne, "he saved the day with a clawing tackle."
In fact, he saved the night - but I wouldn't quibble with the man from The Irish Times, that last bastion of the semi-colon.
And so we all rejoiced on the way back down to the city, West Indians and Asians and African blacks and Irishmen and Kerrymen and all.
And next morning I got up before the sun and wrote my report.
I can still recall one sentence: "Charlie George was called ashore midway through the second half and left the scene with the mien of a stowaway who had just been discovered.
And as I walked down to Fleet Street on that lovely midsummer morning, I felt that I had come into my kingdom.
Jack Craddock of the magic fingers was soon behind his telex and sent my mortal words winging back to Burgh Quay.
As I came down from Dublin Airport, I spied an Evening Press poster in Drumcondra.
It promulgated two stories: "Con Houlihan At Wembley - Hostages Released". Them, as Confucius used to say, were the days.
(To be continued).

TRAGIC DEATH OF COLLEAGUE'S SON

Everyone at The XPress was shocked and saddened to hear of the death on Sunday of 12 year old Johnny Walsh, son of Sunday Independent and former Sunday Press sports journalist David Walsh.
Young Johnny, himself an avid sports fan, was killed when hit by a car while cycling near his home two miles outside Kinnegad, Co Westmeath, on the main Dublin to Athlone road.
We would like to extend our sincere condolences to David, his wife Mary, their daughters Kate and Emily, sons Simon, Daniel and Conor, and all their relations and friends, at this most painful time.
The funeral Mass takes place today (Tuesday) at 12 noon at St. Mary's Church, Kinnegad, followed by burial at Coralstown Cemetery.

THE BOYS ON GREEN

PUTTING FOR THE PRESS: Irish international Niall Quinn, flanked by John Givens (left) and Trevor O' Rourke of Mediasport, at Woodbrook on Monday for The Irish Press Journalists' Golf Classic. See tomorrow's XPress for a full report.

State of Grace deferred

By Harry McGee

About 20 creditors, including employees, of Irish Press Newspapers Ltd (IPN) met in a Dublin hotel last night to highlight a possible conflict of interest which may arise if Tom Grace is appointed as liquidator to the company.
Mr Grace is a partner in the firm Price Waterhouse/Craig Gardner, the auditor to Independent Newspapers Ltd, which controls 24.99% of the share capital of IPN.
The meeting was overtaken by events - namely, the appointment of an examiner which deferred the liquidaton of the company until the examiner has completed his interim report.
However, there was unanimous consent at the meeting, that, in the event of liquidation, a move should be made to oppose Mr Grace's appointment.
The meeting was addressed by Paul Mackay, a chartered accountant and insolvency expert. While it was acknowledged that Mr Grace was legally entitled to be appointed as liquidator, Mr Mackay pointed out that his firm "is the long term auditor and advisor to Independent Newspapers plc. According to the 1994 financial statements of Independent Newspapers plc, the auditors earned a fee of £440,000. . .
"The relationship between the two newspaper groups is too close. It is not proper, in my view, that the proposed liquidator for IPN be a partner in the firm that acts as auditor and advisor to Independent Newspapers plc. If the proposed appointment goes ahead it may well raise a spectre, in the public mind, of a 'golden circle'," he added.

Press' Purty Party

Tomorrow night is Press Night at Dun Laoghaire's Purty Loft, with all proceeds from the door going to the newspaper fund.
The Purty Loft is offering you the opportunity to show your support for the employees of the Irish Press, and have a great night into the bargain.
The Loft, which is situated behind the Top Hat, has kindly agreed to give the proceeds from the door to the newspaper fund.
There's a full bar, music to suit all tastes and maybe a few surprises in store.
A few well-known faces will be dropping in, and the bar is open until the wee hours. So be there!
"As we proceeded up to Wembley we were in the midst of a colourful orgy of West Indians and Asians and African blacks, many of them sporting the Green."

NOTE TO OUR READERS...

The XPress newspapers carry a nominal cover price of 1p, but we appreciate all donations to our newspaper fund. To help co-ordinate our fund raising activities, a bank account has been set up in aid of the NUI members who are currently locked out of the Irish Press offices. Please forward all donations to:

The Press Journalists Fund,
Bank of Ireland,
6 Lower 0'Connell Street.
Account number 60002008
Sorting code: 90-07-97
Contact 878 7430/878 7550

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