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The economic transformation of Irish rugby has been phenomenal

IT Sunday: Is Britain ready to embrace Ryan Tubridy? A Michelin contender in Kilkenny, and a reader asks advice on whether he should remain married

Fans of Ireland celebrate victory at full-time following the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Ireland and Romania at Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux on Saturday in Bordeaux, France. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Sun Sep 10 2023 - 08:30

Welcome to this week’s IT Sunday, a selection of the best Irish Times journalism for our subscribers.

With the Rugby World Cup well under way following Ireland’s win over Romania yesterday, David McWilliams looks at the economics of the game and how the financial transformation of Irish rugby has been “phenomenal”.

“In fact, from a management and organisational point of view, the turnaround in Irish rugby is the gold standard. So much about the way Irish rugby is organised appears to be driven by the common good of the game.

“In contrast, other countries’ set-ups are characterised by poor management, vanity projects and bankruptcy. Let’s look at the headline figures. Last year, In Ireland, the IRFU, which owns the provincial clubs, generated €116 million. In contrast, every single Premiership club in England started this season operating at a loss, with many, including London Irish, going bust.”

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You can read more of his column here.

There were plenty of positives for Ireland in their win over Romania in Bordeaux yesterday; however, the kicking game will need to be sharpened up, writes John O’Sullivan. It was far too loose in the opening 20 minutes of the match, he says. “The first instance was from Sexton’s kick-off delivered long into the Romania 22 with no chance for the kick-chase to provide any pressure. It was free ball and an opportunity for the Romanians to allay some of the nervous energy with a meaty clearance. It may have been pre-planned to go long but why? A contestable kick-off makes a statement, particularly against weaker opposition, along on the lines of, ‘we are coming after you at every opportunity’.”

It’s the crash that dare not speak its name: the obsolescence of offices across Dublin city. Vacancy in Irish office buildings is set to hit 17 per cent this year, but that headline figure tells only part of the story, wrote Una Mullally earlier this week. “If Irish workers were going to return to offices five days a week they would have done so by now, as such, it looks like a commercial property crash is looming for the city.” Mullally wrote her column from New York, which, like Ireland, is experiencing a housing crisis. “The potential for converting office blocks to housing became buzzy during the pandemic. It sounds obvious: a glut of empty office buildings, plus a housing shortage, equals a novel development opportunity. But what does that really look like?” Read what Mullally found out about New York’s efforts to convert offices into apartments here.

On Wednesday, former RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy was in England, and appeared on Chris Evans’s breakfast show. “Now that Tubridy is teasing a move across the Irish Sea,” wrote Finn McRedmond in her weekly column, “the realisation might dawn: RTÉ has lost an asset, but a good career likely awaits in Britain.”

“That he might succeed in London media is not erroneous suspicion but a likelihood.” Plenty of Irish people have made their mark on British airwaves, McRedmond writes. “Tubridy – wordy, eager, cerebral, folksy – ought to translate to British radio as these men do. The source of their appeal lies precisely in their esotericism. And now without the shackles of Montrose smugness, perhaps Tubridy can be more himself.”

For her restaurant review, Corinna Hardgrave visited the Keith Boyle at the Bridge House in Kilkenny. Hardgrave found the restaurant a serious contender for a Michelin star, with its delicious, precise cooking with lots of ambition in a formal dining room. Read her full review here.

“Will my son face a tax bill on bringing money home to buy a house?” was the question asked by one reader this week as their child has saved enough money from working in Switzerland to put a large deposit on a house. Dominic Coyle answers whether the man can simply transfer this money from his Swiss bank account into his Irish account without paying tax or if it’s more complicated than that.

And in our On the Money newsletter, Dominic examines the area of financial advisers and how to find the best one for you. Sign up here to receive the newsletter straight to your inbox every Friday.

Earlier this week, Trish Murphy advised a man who says he has “considered giving my mother the ultimatum of me or her boyfriend”. His mother is now going out with a man she dated before she married. “She told me this man was the love of her life and there was never a time she did not love him. She said her love for my father was almost like that for an older brother. She said my father always knew he was not her first choice of husband and accepted this ... I no longer feel grief, I just feel angry and I do not know how I can ever face her again.” Read Murphy’s reply here.

And in her advice column, Roe McDermott answers a reader whose dilemma is that he doesn’t know if he should remain married. “We have been married for 17 years, we have two kids over 10 who I absolutely adore and treasure my time with, even though the young teenager can be a bit tough going at times! However, I am not in love with my wife and even though she says I am her best friend, I don’t think of her as my friend. If she had not been mother to my kids, I feel I would have left a long time ago.” Read McDermott’s reply here.

As always, there is much more on irishtimes.com, including rundowns of all the latest movies in our film reviews, tips for the best restaurants in our food section and all the latest in sport. There are plenty more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.

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