Backed by Rupert Murdoch and two other billionaires, Intrade was the Dublin-based company that can legitimately claim to be the world's first prediction market, 25 years before Kalshi and Polymarket achieved multi-billion-dollar valuations with similar business models. Intrade's first problem was that it was two decades ahead of its time – but that was just the start of its misadventures.
The Intrade story arc reads like a Netflix drama. When its founders left Dublin and flew home to New Jersey, they appointed a hugely ambitious young finance manager called John Delaney as the new CEO.
Delaney had grown up a house alongside the family pub in Ballinakill, County Laois and he arrived in Dublin with big dreams and a lot of attitude. He became far better known in the US than the unrelated FAI's chief executive of the same name, appearing regularly on business channels like CNBC and featuring in heavyweight publications like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Delaney was a risk-taker in the business world and outside it. In 2011, he made his second attempt to climb Mount Everest but collapsed and died when just 50 metres short of the summit. Two years after his death, Intrade suspended its customer accounts when it was discovered that almost $3 million of company funds had been transferred without explanation to bank accounts controlled by Delaney before his death.
Over the next two days, the full story of Intrade's rise and fall is told by Alan English, who was part of the management team when Delaney was first appointed back in 2000, after leaving his job in London at The Sunday Times.
The disappearance of Tina Satchwell in 2017 became a story Ireland followed closely, because of the disquieting media appearances of her husband Richard Satchwell. Barry Cummins’s interview with Satchwell for Prime Time became a key part of the prosecution case when Satchwell’s trial began in 2025. Cummins’s new book tells that story. In this podcast, he tells Dion Fanning about his dealing with Richard Satchwell and all we still don’t know.
There have been 40 million hits on the page for the 1926 census since its launch two weeks ago. It has been one of those national projects that captures the public’s imagination because of bold and ambitious decisions that made it come to life. The director of the National Archives, Orlaith McBride, talks to Dion Fanning about what the census tells us about Ireland.
Artificial intelligence is everywhere right now – every company is talking about it, investing in it, experimenting with it.
But here’s the reality: most of them aren’t actually seeing meaningful returns.
PwC’s latest global AI Performance Study shows that nearly three-quarters of the value created by AI is being captured by just 20 per cent of companies. So the question isn’t who’s using AI – it’s who’s using it well.
In this episode of The Tech Agenda, David Lee, Chief Technology Officer at PwC Ireland, talks to Ian Kehoe about the report and discusses what other firms can do to close the gap. The Tech Agenda with Ian Kehoe podcast series is sponsored by PwC.
The role of the CFO is changing—fast. No longer confined to reporting and control, finance leaders are now navigating growth, technology, risk, transformation, and much more besides.
In this podcast, Ian Kehoe is joined by Vickie Wall, EY Ireland Financial Accounting Advisory Services Leader, and Katie Burns, EY Ireland Consulting Partner, to explore the findings of the latest EY Ireland CFO Survey.
Despite a backdrop of geopolitical tension, tariffs and rising costs, the survey reveals a striking level of confidence: 94 per cent of Irish CFOs expect growth in 2026, with average growth projections of around 9 per cent.
So what’s underpinning that optimism—and how are finance leaders thinking about growth in such an unpredictable environment?
Wall and Burns discuss how priorities have shifted over the past 18 months, the rapid acceleration of AI adoption within finance, and what’s driving organisations to invest heavily in upskilling their teams.
They also examine how the CFO role is expanding beyond the traditional finance function, how boards are responding to that evolution, and what “good” looks like for finance leaders in the years ahead. This podcast is sponsored by EY Ireland.
The Real Deal brings together over a thousand entrepreneurs, investors, advisers and dealmakers at Goffs in Co Kildare for a high-energy day where honest business stories take centre stage. Founded by Mark Flood of Renatus Capital Partners and Stuart Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Power, the event has a simple mantra: “players hearing from players.”
Ahead of this year’s event, Ian Kehoe talks to Fitzgerald, Flood and also June Butler, head of corporate and SME banking at Bank of Ireland, a longtime supporter and sponsor of the event.
In addition to talking about this year’s event, they also reflect on market trends, the resilience of Irish business, and navigating an uncertain world.
Rory McIlroy is one of the most compelling athletes of his generation.
Part of this stems from his natural ability with a golf club. But much also stems from the type of person he is, and from his career arc - wild success and heartbreaking failure. While most golfers are reticent about revealing anything about themselves, McIlroy has long been an open book.
So, as McIlroy was chasing the career grand slam, the Asmierncan sportswriter Alan Shipnuck decided to write that book. Days after the book, Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf's Most Human Superstar, was released, McIlroy won his second US Masters. As Shipnuck notes, the timing was perfect.
In this podcast, Shipnuck talks to Ian Kehoe about why he undertook the project, examined McIlroy’s roots and his business dealings, and explained why his honesty has made him one of sport’s most compelling - popular - characters.
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.
When people talk about AI transforming business, they tend to focus on marketing, finance, or operations—not tax.
But that may be about to change.
AI isn’t just accelerating tax processes; it has the potential to fundamentally reshape how the tax function operates.
The real question is: is tax ready for that shift?
To explore this, Deirdre Hogan, EY Ireland Indirect Tax Partner, and Alex Manek, EY Ireland Data Analytics Director, speak with Ian Kehoe.
A common theme emerges from their work with clients: uncertainty. Many tax professionals feel the pressure to “use AI,” but lack clarity on where to begin. Their advice is pragmatic—start small, focus on achievable wins, build confidence, and invest in skills.
Ultimately, they don’t see AI as a replacement for tax professionals, but as a tool—one that can free them from low-value tasks and enable more strategic, higher-impact work. This podcast is sponsored by EY Ireland.
In a former life, Mark Mellett was vice admiral of the Irish Navy and chief of staff of the Irish Defence Forces. Since retiring, he had taken on a number of other roles, including chairman of Sage Advocacy, a group that represented older and more vulnerable members of society, many of whom are impacted by the ongoing protests.
As protests over fuel price gather steam, he spoke to Ian Kehoe to discuss the nature of protest, democracy, and the need to distinguish between legitimate protest and actions that undermine democratic institutions.
Sophie Peirce-Evans died penniless in 1939 at the age of 42. A decade earlier, she had rivalled Amelia Earhart in the pursuit of aviation records. June O’Sullivan, the author of a new novel that tells the story of one episode in her extraordinary life, talks to Dion Fanning.
