Top Stories

When every bar is a ‘speakeasy,’ what actually is a speakeasy?

Long after Prohibition, a few high-end cocktail bars show it’s still possible to retain their speakeasy forebears’ air of mystery and adventure, writes Marl Ellwood, The Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal.
19th Apr, 2026 - 3 min read

How the ‘Moneyball’ Oakland A’s reinvented baseball and beyond

The team showed the sport—and plenty of other businesses—a new way to build a successful team, writes Jared Diamond The Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal.
18th Apr, 2026 - 5 min read

“Viktor Orban was the John the Baptist for the Maga movement. He was the guy who came first”

John Kampfner has had an extraordinary journalism career. His new book is an attempt to find hope in a hopeless world. He talks about how the old order is gone and what is needed if liberal democracies are to bring people with them.

Dion Fanning
18th Apr, 2026 - 6 min read

I’ve spent 30 nights in hotels already this year. Here’s my wish list

Our columnist sounds off on ways hotels can up their game on everything from room lighting to oversize towels, writes Dawn Gilbertson, The Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal.
18th Apr, 2026 - 4 min read

The making of a dynasty: Willie Mullins and the generations that changed the face of National Hunt Racing

Nearing 70, the trainer has nothing left to prove, but he keeps kicking on. He didn’t just rise to the top of racing – he transformed its scale, its economics and its expectations forever.

Johnny Ward
18th Apr, 2026 - 9 min read

East Coast Bakehouse to be sold to Danish manufacturer

Bisca is a market leader in the Danish bakery sector. It will take over a factory in Drogheda with the capacity to produce 10,000 tonnes of biscuits per year.
Alice Chambers
17th Apr, 2026 - 2 min read

High Court President finds “significant and serious errors” in Central Bank regulatory probe 

In a nearly 200-page redacted judgment, High Court President David Barniville found it "unfathomable" a fund director was deprived of fair procedures including an oral hearing in the face of career-destroying allegations disputing his “credibility, truthfulness and honesty”.
Francesca Comyn
17th Apr, 2026 - 4 min read

From father to son: How Laydex was built, sold, and plans to grow

Laydex, a family-owned building solutions company, has just been acquired by a Swedish multinational. Its MD, Peter Woods, talks about the company’s origins, surviving numerous challenges, and how it plans to grow by acquisition and organically.

Tom Lyons
17th Apr, 2026 - 8 min read

“The far-right nationalist populists know what they want. They want states built on bloodlines, on ethno-nationalism, on social conservatism, on grievance and on cheap bribes to important voters. What we don’t know is what we want for liberal democracy.”

Dion Fanning
18th Apr, 2026

Ireland has encountered a period which seems pivotal in terms of the direction of the country. Meanwhile Hungary is rejecting Orban. John Kampfner talks to Dion Fanning about how to counter populism and why liberal democracy is doomed unless it gets radical.

Top Voices

The definitive McIlroy book hasn’t been written yet – I know just the man for the job

No interviewer has got more out of the two-time Masters champion over the years than Paul Kimmage. If McIlroy ever agrees to let someone write the full story of his life and career, there's no better collaborator. But could they agree on the rules of engagement?
Alan English
18th Apr, 2026 - 5 min read

Dan O’Brien: When an out-of-touch Government meets a public at boiling point

Something seems to have changed in the past ten days. If it brings more scrutiny to how successive governments have continued to unthinkingly throw taxpayers’ money at problems, it will be for the best.
Dan O'Brien
17th Apr, 2026 - 4 min read

Room service – part 3: A thousand welcomes meets market forces

Ireland’s international reputation for hospitality will be closely watched as more institutional capital enters the hotel market – perhaps no more so than when the Ryder Cup arrives in Adare next year.

Michael Cogley
17th Apr, 2026 - 4 min read

The illusion of a new market entrant: PTSB’s new owner is already very familiar with Ireland

Over 15 years on from its €4bn bailout, PTSB is set to leave State control. Its new owner Bawag, Austria's fourth-largest bank, will already be well versed with the Irish market.
T. Hubert and M. Cogley
16th Apr, 2026 - 8 min read

John Looby: The challenge of managing a pension pot  

Can long-term investing look beyond the 60/40 allocation between stocks and bonds and the four per cent rule governing drawdowns on retirement?
John Looby
15th Apr, 2026 - 4 min read

The State has, in effect, been held to ransom – and in choosing to pay, it has set a dangerous precedent

This is a case of the State using the country’s balance sheet to insulate domestic businesses from international shocks — using international money. This model, as we know, is unsustainable.

Ian Kehoe
14th Apr, 2026 - 3 min read

How to navigate a transformed executive recruitment market

Senior executives tend to sell their experience to employers and blame ageism when it doesn’t work out. It’s time to turn this approach on its head, according to Loren Greiff, who switched from recruiting to advising candidates.
Paul McArdle
13th Apr, 2026 - 4 min read

The stubborn bet that built a €375m company: Rewinding the week that was

When Fergal Broder refused to shut down LotusWorks in its darkest days, it looked like defiance. Decades later, that decision has culminated in a major deal – one that highlights the growing global demand for Irish engineering firms.

Ian Kehoe
12th Apr, 2026 - 5 min read

© 2026 Currency Media Limited

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