{"id":278971,"date":"2026-01-11T07:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T07:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/278971\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T07:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T07:52:09","slug":"at-least-were-not-greenland-an-atlantic-island-with-limited-defences-strategic-value-and-russian-ships-around-it-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/278971\/","title":{"rendered":"At least we\u2019re not Greenland, an Atlantic island with limited defences, strategic value and Russian ships around it \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a difficult St Patrick\u2019s Day ahead for more than one world leader in the US. For Nicolas Maduro<\/a>, the president of Venezuela seized by US special forces in an audacious Caracas raid dubbed \u201ccomplex when it comes to international law\u201d<\/a> by T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris, it is his next court date in New York on drug and money-laundering charges.<\/p>\n

For Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a> and his travelling band of brand-ambassador Ministers, it\u2019s more of a social call. But for a Taoiseach who has been attempting to cautiously navigate<\/a> between the Scylla of abandoning all faith in the international rules-based order and the Charybdis of criticising Donald Trump, it could be complicated.<\/p>\n

In 2025 Martin finally made it to the White House<\/a> after an astonishing series of inconveniences, from illness to pandemic to having to cede power to Fine Gaelers periodically. The big story in Trumpworld at the time was tariffs, which the Taoiseach batted away by suggesting we actually invest a lot in the US, would you believe?<\/p>\n

He was praised by some pundits at home for stoically retaining a neutral facial expression while Trump said various things about the EU, pharmaceuticals, Conor McGregor and Rosie O\u2019Donnell. <\/p>\n

It will be good practice for questions about Maduro. By then, too, Trump may have taken further action in Cuba (\u201cliterally ready to fall<\/a>\u201d), Iran (\u201cwe are locked and loaded<\/a>\u201d) or Greenland (\u201cwe have to have it<\/a>\u201d). <\/p>\n

Danish Greenland in particular is tricky for a nation such as Ireland that is, in Martin\u2019s words, \u201cmilitarily nonaligned\u201d but \u201cnot politically nonaligned\u201d<\/a>. Trump\u2019s public case for buying or taking it by force is focused heavily on security.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,\u201d said the US president. \u201cWe need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Atlantic island with limited defensive capability, strategic importance and Russian ships floating around its waters? Let\u2019s hope he doesn\u2019t develop a taste for them.<\/p>\n

\"SilverSilver Apple, a former Coveney family holiday home in Crosshaven, Co Cork, overlooking the sea. Photograph: Savills Coveney coastal hideaway nets \u20ac3 million<\/p>\n

Forget Ranelagh\u2019s Dartmouth Square<\/a>: the big property deal of late 2025 was in Crosshaven, Co Cork, as a Coveney family holiday home sold for an eye-watering \u20ac3.05 million. The seafront dwelling was listed for a mere \u20ac1.65 million, so seller and estate agent Savills will be pleased. <\/p>\n

Patrick Coveney<\/a>, a Dublin-based scion of the merchant-princely clan who was chief executive of Greencore until 2022, bought it with his family to be closer to Cork cousins, as the Irish Examiner noted<\/a> in a glowing walk-through of the property.<\/p>\n

Other Coveneys of note include Patrick\u2019s brothers Simon<\/a>, the former t\u00e1naiste and Rory<\/a>, former RT\u00c9 director of strategy; as well as their late father Hugh<\/a>, a former minister for defence, lord mayor of Cork and businessman; and His Excellency the Most Reverend Patrick, apostolic nuncio emeritus to Greece and titular archbishop of Satrianum; along with sundry celebrated sailors and professionals. <\/p>\n

\"SilverSilver Apple. Photograph: Savills <\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you\u2019re prepping food at the kitchen counter or chilling in the sunken lounge or having dinner in the dining section of the cavernous, open-plan living space, the entire harbour unfolds before you: every fluttering sail, every little boat chugging by, every seagull wheeling overhead,\u201d the Examiner said of Silver Apple, as the house on Weaver\u2019s Point is known.<\/p>\n

It is also well-positioned to defend the entrance to Cork Harbour, should a flotilla of Dublin longships ever attempt an invasion. No word on the buyer yet, but Overheard trusts it hasn\u2019t fallen into the hands of a Dub. <\/p>\n

\"BackgammonBackgammon impresario JP McManus. Photograph: Stephen Collins\/Collins Photos McManus\u2019s backgammon buddy pops up again <\/p>\n

A hidden Irish connection popped up over Christmas where you\u2019d least expect it: in a New York Times profile<\/a> of an illustrious US supreme court attorney who has argued 45 cases before the most consequential court on earth, including Bush v Gore. Readers with good memories will recall that this involved \u201changing chads\u201d and the outcome of the fateful 2000 presidential election. <\/p>\n

Thomas Goldstein is also, it turns out, a high-stakes gambler. Amid the accounts of his high-rolling lifestyle, kamikaze poker strategy and federal tax evasion charges is the fact that in 2016 he \u201cplayed a California businessman named Alec Gores in Beverly Hills and won $26.435 million \u2013 the biggest score of his life\u201d. <\/p>\n

Alec Gores is the very same American billionaire with whom JP McManus once \u201cengaged in a serious backgammon match\u201d, according to court papers. The Limerick businessman spent three days playing the tech-buyout mogul, ultimately winning $17.4 million.<\/p>\n

This emerged because McManus was trying to convince the US Treasury to give back $5.2 million of the pot held back in case of \u201cany potential US federal tax liability\u201d, arguing that the earnings were exempt due to Ireland double-taxation treaty with the US. A judge ultimately ruled against him, with the tax authorities arguing that he was not a resident of Ireland for tax purposes<\/a> \u2013 and indeed, the Revenue confirmed<\/a> that he had not been registered for income or capital gains tax in the State since 1995.<\/p>\n

Still, $12 million for pushing a few counters around a board isn\u2019t a bad return. How did he do it? \u201cA little bit\u201d of skill, he told<\/a> the Irish Independent in 2016, but most of all: \u201cBe lucky, be lucky, be lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ScottishScottish fans engage in revelry during Euro 2024 in Munich. Photograph: Martin Divisek\/EPA A day off for the boys in green?<\/p>\n

With Ireland\u2019s qualification for this year\u2019s World Cup still an open question, the Scots have stepped forward to stake their counterclaim to being the best fans in the world. <\/p>\n

John Swinney, the First Minister, announced a public holiday this week for the day after Scotland\u2019s first fixture back in the big leagues. The game against Haiti is scheduled for 2am, so even sober sports fans will appreciate the reprieve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole nation will come to a standstill in June \u2013 even more so in July once we\u2019ve seen off Brazil and progressed to the knockout stages,\u201d he pronounced with Macbeth-like hubris. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a moment 28 years in the waiting \u2013 and I want as many people as possible to share the occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has been 28 years since the Scots last lined up at the World Cup finals, where they faced mostly misery. For Ireland, it has only been 24 years, and we made the knockouts in spite of suboptimal training conditions in Saipan<\/a> \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t mean we don\u2019t deserve a day off if we qualify.<\/p>\n

One win in Prague, another in Dublin and then it\u2019s off to Guadalajara for the Boys in Green for a 3am clash with South Korea. It would be unpatriotic to expect alarms to be set for 7am after that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is a difficult St Patrick\u2019s Day ahead for more than one world leader in the US. For…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[174],"tags":[79,356,179,18,17768,19,17,17320,140890,6634,23550,37851,35350],"class_list":{"0":"post-278971","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-greenland","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-jp-mcmanus","16":"tag-patrick-coveney","17":"tag-republic-of-ireland-mnt","18":"tag-scotland","19":"tag-simon-coveney","20":"tag-world-cup"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115875384160430360","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}