Sole, part of a group owned by Padraic O\u2019Kane<\/a> and Bord Bia chairman Larry Murrin<\/a>, recently attracted the ire of farmers after a review by the late Irish Times food critic Corinna Hardgrave<\/a>. She was shocked to see a restaurant with a food philosophy \u201chonouring seafood sustainability and local Irish producers\u201d charging \u20ac35 for a chicken supreme<\/a> involving non-free-range Dutch meat. She also noted the presence of Polish chicken and farmed seafood originating in Spain, Turkey, Greece, Scotland and Bangladesh on the menu. <\/p>\n Members of the Irish Farmers\u2019 Association<\/a>, which has previous with Murrin over his Dawn Farms food group importing Brazilian beef, subsequently held a protest<\/a> outside the Drury Street restaurant, arguing its use of imported chicken was \u201cmaking a mockery of Bord Bia<\/a>\u201d. <\/p>\n Sole, in its defence, said it sourced as much of its chicken from Ireland as possible, but it had not been possible to find a consistent supply.<\/p>\n O\u2019Kane described winning the award, based on an online public vote, as \u201ca wonderful achievement\u201d and expressed gratitude to \u201cour guests from Ireland and around the world\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are proud of the Irish and international producers we work with, and the quality ingredients they bring to our menu,\u201d he said, noting Sole\u2019s \u201ccommitment to quality, provenance and transparency\u201d. <\/p>\n What\u2019s in a name? Plenty in the case of Regan\u2019s \u2018Luck Penny\u2019<\/p>\n Luck Penny, a horse owned by construction magnate Maurice Regan\u2019s Newtown Anner Stud, claimed a first victory at Belmont Park in New York last Sunday. The two-year-old filly went off at 8-1 and finished strongly under jockey Flavien Prat in the 6\u00bd-furlong Maiden Special Weight event.<\/p>\n What a \ud835\udddf\ud835\udde8\ud835\uddd6\ud835\uddde(y) \ud835\udde3\ud835\uddd8\ud835\udde1\ud835\udde1\ud835\uddec! \u2728\ud83e\ude99<\/p>\n Jockey Flavien Prat pilots the 2y\/o filly through rivals and finds space to get up for the win in R6 at Belmont Park! The daughter of MCKINZIE is trained by George Weaver. pic.twitter.com\/oAm8s1dRfq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 TwinSpires Racing \ud83c\udfc7 (@TwinSpires) October 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n In William Shakespeare\u2019s Romeo and Juliet, the female protagonist reflects on forbidden love and the meaningless nature of family rivalry as she ponders \u201cwhat\u2019s in a name?\u201d. In Luck Penny\u2019s case, there appears to be plenty. <\/p>\n The notion of a \u201cluck penny\u201d came up during last year\u2019s High Court<\/a> litigation over billionaire Coolmore owner John Magnier\u2019s<\/a> failed purchase of the Barne Estate in Co Tipperary. Magnier believed he had a \u20ac15 million deal but was gazumped by a \u20ac22.25 million bid<\/a> by Regan, who was not a party to the court case but loomed large throughout. <\/p>\n The court heard that Richard Thomson-Moore, then an heir to the 751-acre estate, was \u201cshocked\u201d<\/a> by an \u201cuntoward\u201d offer of \u201ctwo envelopes stuffed\u201d with \u20ac50,000 in total from the Magnier camp. <\/p>\n This was meant as a \u201cluck penny\u201d, the court heard, a sum normally given by a seller to a buyer to bring good fortune. In this case, the Magnier side said the money, later returned by the Thomson-Moores, was a token of \u201cappreciation\u201d for letting them on to the land before the purported deal was finalised. <\/p>\n Judge Max Barrett ultimately found no binding \u20ac15 million deal had ever existed and dismissed Magnier\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n Luck Penny, who the cynical might speculate was named by Regan\u2019s camp with intent, won a little more than the aforementioned \u201cluck penny\u201d, securing $63,000 (\u20ac56,084) for her first-place finish.<\/p>\n Haughey\u2019s guile and greed recalled at Browne\u2019s book launch<\/p>\n There was standing room only in Dublin\u2019s Royal Irish Academy (RIA) on Wednesday for the launch of Vincent Browne\u2019s new book \u2013 Charles Haughey: Glory, Greed and Guns.<\/p>\n The book had a significant gestation period, with the journalist first mooting it in 1980, just after Haughey took power. He didn\u2019t start work on it until 2017, after his departure from TV3 (now Virgin Media). <\/p>\n Browne recalled a fraught meeting at the Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin in 1979, during which Haughey held his head in his hands. <\/p>\n \u201cI said to him: \u2018There are people over there looking at the two of us and they are probably thinking we\u2019re having a homosexual tiff,\u2019\u201d he said. <\/p>\n The pair\u2019s love-hate relationship spanned decades and Browne\u2019s speech highlighted Haughey\u2019s greed and bad faith acts, but also his achievements in office. These included free travel for pensioners, which \u2013 Browne joked \u2013 \u201cmost of you here tonight have availed of\u201d.<\/p>\n [\u00a0Vincent Browne: Haughey loved Terry Keane. She made his life miserableOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Former t\u00e1naiste and Labour Party leader Dick Spring, who once compared Haughey to a \u201ccancer eating away at our body politic\u201d, launched the book and recalled a confrontation he had with the former Fianna F\u00e1il leader and taoiseach. <\/p>\n \u201cHow did you get away?\u201d Spring asked him. <\/p>\n \u201cGet away with what?\u201d Haughey responded, innocently. <\/p>\n \u201cI live in a modest house in Tralee. If I change my car in Kerry, they are talking about me for a week. You live in a Gandon mansion, you have a yacht and you own an island in my county. How do you get away with it?\u201d Spring explained. <\/p>\n \u201cFeck off,\u201d Haughey replied. <\/p>\n Garda aims to clamp down on souped-up e-bikes and scooters<\/p>\n The Garda<\/a> recently reported that officers in Co Wexford had seized a \u201csignificantly adapted\u201d e-bike being ridden by a 13-year-old, with a 16-year-old passenger on board. <\/p>\n The souped-up machine was \u201ccapable of speeds of up to 79.9km\/h\u201d, the force said in a social media post highlighting \u201cthe serious risks\u201d of modified e-bikes, which the Road Safety Authority<\/a> notes are expected to obey a 25km\/h limit.<\/p>\n![\"Irish](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/NS44UKVYTLNDPYTU5PE7VI363I.jpg\")
Irish Farmers’ Association members and local farmers protesting outside Sole Seafood & Grill on Drury Street earlier this month. Photograph: Garrett White\/Collins <\/p>\n![\"Maurice](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/LXIHACMU7FB5DNPS5UDHSU44OI.jpg\")
Maurice Regan (left) and John Magnier. Photographs: Sam Boal\/Collins <\/p>\n![\"Vincent](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DEAFSLSJNVBWTCPPRZDGMAT7EM.JPG\")
Vincent Browne’s new book about Charles Haughey had a significant gestation period. Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/64EXG2LZ2VHAHGDFCMQIN4JK6Y.jpg\")
A selection of e-scooters seized by An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na as part of Operation Meac\u00e1n, which has been targeting unlawful use of the machines. Photograph: Garda press office <\/p>\n