The debased media culture that Rupert Murdoch did so much to create - one obsessed with trivia and matters of negligible public interest - has been imported here in spades. By Vincent Browne.

Fifteen years ago, executives of companies controlled by Tony O’Reilly, the then controlling shareholder in Independent News and Media (INM), had a meeting with officials working for the then taoiseach, John Bruton.

At that meeting, the INM people made it clear that, unless Bruton’s Rainbow government acceded to O’Reilly’s demands on the MMDS television transmission system, it would lose the Independent Newspaper Group "as friends’’.

In July, Denis O'Brien's Communicorp added Today FM, FM 104 and Donegal based, Highland radio, to its existing stable which includes Newstalk, 98FM and Spin 103. The deal will give O'Brien dominance of national commercial radio and an even greater dominance in Dublin, where he would gain an 83.75 per cent share of the commercial market, and 46.4 per cent of the total market. That's three per cent ahead of RTE.
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Denis O'Brien is on the way to becoming the richest Irish person in the world. At present, according to The Sunday Times Rich List, he is worth €2.3 billion and that is set to double in three to four years became of the huge success in the Caribbean, Central America and now the pacific of his mobile phone company, Digicel.

By any standards he has been extraordinarily successful in business. He started in a small company in Cork, Sutton's, as an employee in 1960 and today he is one of the most powerful business people in Ireland, by far the most commanding presence in the Irish media, along with business interests around the world.

Tony O'Reilly wields enormous media, corporate and political clout. He has escaped accountability so far. Now Denis O'Brien has challengend him within IN&M and questions arise about his political access. By Vincent Browne and Martin FitzPatrick.

Tony O'Reilly has had a charmed reign as the most powerful person in Ireland. Never challenged politically, rarely journalistically, bathed in corporate obsequiousness, control of the most powerful newspapers in the country, all arraigned against actual and imagined enemies.ged him within IN&M and questions arise about his political access.

O'Reilly alone took €110m in payments from Independent Newspapers since 2000, while jobs are being cut and outsourced to make way for even more largesse. By Martin Fitzpatrick

For all the publicity people like Mary Robinson and Bertie Ahern may garner, the majority of movers and shakers in Ireland are relatively unknown.

Magill submitted a list of questions on May 25 last to Mr Kevin McGoran, chief executive of Fitzwilton plc in connection with the £30,000 transfer by way of a cheque made payable to cash to Mr Ray Burke on June 7, 1989. Matheson Ormsby Prentice, solicitors to Fitzwilton plc replied on May 26 last. The reply in full states:

We refer to your fax yesterday addressed to Fitzwilton. We are instructed to reply on his behalf and on behalf of Fitzwilton. By way of preliminary comment on your letter, we would make the following points:

(a) Fitzwilton has consistently supported the democratic process in Ireland through contributions to the main political parties. In 1989 the group made a £30,000 donation to the Fianna Fáil party in relation to its election expenses. This contribution was acknowledged by Fianna Fáil. No political favours were sought or offered in return for this contribution.

(b)Fitzwilton plc did not make a £30,000 payment to Ray Burke. (Two representatives of Fitzwilton subsidiaries), made a contribution to Fianna Fail on behalf of Fitzwilton and its subsidiaries.