Weekend Hurling Preview

The Sunday Times has revealed that the former head of Anglo Irish Bank played golf with Brian Cowen as the bank headed towards oblivion.

The revelation of Golfgate comes in an exclusive interview with Sean FitzPatrick by the paper in which FitzPatrick tells that he played golf and had dinner with the then newly installed Taoiseach in July 2008 just months before the government introduced the bank guarantee scheme.

It has also emerged that Cowen spoke over the phone to FitzPatrick in March 2008, at which point he was still Minister for Finance. In that conversation Cowen was informed that there was an issue with the bank shares held by Seán Quinn.

In a statement to the Sunday Times, Cowen has admitted that the previously undisclosed encounters took place, describing hi round of golf with FitzPatrick as a “social occasion” at which “the affairs of Anglo Irish Bank were not discussed”.

In the interview with FitzPatrick, the former bank boss expresses serious regret at what happened at Anglo Irish but also says that he considers himself "an obvious scapegoat for the media and politicians" and describing himself as "one of the biggest victims of the current banking crisis.

Labour’s spokeperson on finance Joan Burton has said that she is “deeply concerned” at the revelations of contacts between Cowen and FitzPatrick and that she finds it "beyond belief" that the situation at the bank wasn't discussed when the two men met.

Green Party Chairman Dan Boyle, whose party are in government with Cowen's Fianna Fáil, has said that his party views the substance of the article "very seriously".

Fine Gael TD Alan Shatter said that the Taoiseach needs to explain why he concealed public knowledge of the contacts and whether Green Party ministers were informed.