Journal · The Rake Back · long reads

The journal.

The weekly Rake Back recap plus the evergreen long-form — reality TV explainers, industry mapping, format studies. New pieces Fridays.

Long read · Party-continuity · 17 min · Folder five

The Gilroy file

Thirteen years, four party labels, seven receipts. Direct Democracy Ireland in 2012, a resignation in February 2014 that the Oireachtas register did not action for at least eighteen months, repeat candidacies under shifting flags, a bounded legal middle that ends in a 2022 Workplace Relations Commission face-mask discrimination ruling at Decathlon, a Liberty Republic relaunch at the CityNorth Hotel in Gormanstown in April 2024, and a 2025 Court of Appeal joinder ruling against Google. The whole continuity ladder walked through the official record. Sister capture pile at kino.ie.

Published 13 May 2026
Long read · Broadcaster + election · 15 min · Folder four

The Boylan file

FM104 in 1996, 98FM around 1998, Classic Hits since 2011. A podcast promo clip publicly fact-checked by The Journal on 8 February 2024 for presenting a 2023 pro-refugee rally as a current anti-immigration protest. A formal Independent Ireland MEP candidacy on 22 April 2024 — and same-day removal from the Classic Hits microphone under election-period rules. 30,637 first preferences in Dublin. Public general-election rule-out four days after the count, "back to radio." On the live 24 April 2026 check: back on the same show schedule that switched him off. Six receipts. One twenty-six-month round trip. Sister capture pile at kino.ie.

Published 13 May 2026
Long read · Influencer crossover · 14 min · Folder three

The Miriam file

Florida to east Cork in 2020. 1.7 million followers by December 2021. RedFM's Red Hits from 13 March 2023 — and a named hostile-comment backlash inside a fortnight, on two outlets. Second off Dancing with the Stars on 28 January 2024. Named on TikTok's own 2025 Irish shortlist. Still on the Cork breakfast show route at the live 25 April 2026 station check. Six receipts, three years, one Cork-anchored lane. Sister capture pile at kino.ie.

Published 13 May 2026
Long read · Hospitality · 16 min · Folder two

The Stenson file

Eleven years from a 2014 grievance blog on his own domain to a 5-Michelin-Star-restaurant-on-Planet-Mars homepage that hasn't been updated since December 2023. From the Phibsborough White Moose Café and Charleville Lodge to Sabhna on Achill. The publicity-as-business model walked through ten receipts — including the 2016 Irish Times quote where he says, out loud and on the record, what the Facebook posts were actually for. Sister capture pile at kino.ie.

Published 12 May 2026
Long read · Tech & events · 22 min · Folder one

The Paddy file

Eight days from "war crimes are war crimes" to no longer CEO. Six months in the wilderness. A return where he opened with "é bom estar de volta". A High Court settlement where he bought his accusers out. Twenty-four receipts, the bits we got wrong corrected on the second pass, a working example of how to come back from the kind of weekend that used to be career-ending. Sister capture pile at kino.ie.

Published 6 May 2026 · Revised 8 May 2026
The Rake Back · 10 min

The Rake Back vol. 1 — the pilot

You've got to start somewhere. The launch edition: what we mean by "felted," what we mean by "kino," and a sweep of the Irish pop-culture moments that earned this column in the first place. Tubridy, Kielty, the Love Island pipeline, the ASAI's quiet roast archive, and a folder for the kino that balances it out.

Published 23 April 2026
Reality TV · 12 min

Every Irish reality TV show, ranked by cultural impact

A field guide to what Ireland actually watches — from Operation Transformation's January ritual to Love Island's quiet but reliable Irish pipeline. What each show does well, where it rate-plateaus, and why the format keeps winning.

Published 2026 · Evergreen update
Influencers · 9 min

The Irish influencer economy in 2026

A pragmatic map of who's earning what, from which brands, and why "micro" beats "mega" on this island. Rate cards, category benchmarks, agency gatekeepers.

Published 2026
Reality TV · 8 min

Love Island's Irish pipeline, explained

Why so many Irish contestants per season, what the casting shortlist actually looks for, and how an Irish Love Islander's post-show career differs from a British one's.

Published 2026
Reality TV · 10 min

Dragons' Den Ireland: what happened to the pitches?

A cold look at which publicly-filmed investments survived, which the Dragons bailed on, and what the long tail of a broadcast pitch looks like. Publicly-sourced only.

Published 2026
Cultural history · 11 min

The Late Late Show's most-watched moments

From Gay Byrne's condom run to the Toy Show crescendo — the broadcast moments that ran the Irish national conversation on a Friday night. A cultural-history read.

Published 2026
Format study · 7 min

Why Gogglebox Ireland works when it shouldn't

A small island watching itself watch TV. Why the format outlived most of its international siblings and what it says about Irish TV ad spend.

Published 2026
Industry · 8 min

The Irish influencer-agency market, mapped

Who represents whom, where the rate cards sit, why "influencer" is quietly being replaced with "creator" on every agency website, and the consolidation story since 2022.

Published 2026
Meme watch · 6 min

The Irish meme calendar, 2026 edition

The seasonal rhythm of a small-nation meme economy — from January subversion posts to the December Penneys pyjama shoot. Annually updated.

Published 2026