Bertie and the Planning Tribunal inquiries
Bertie Ahern has done this country some service. He was crucial to the national wage agreements that have underpinned the country's economic success since 1987. He has been crucial to the dramatic progress there has been in the Northern Ireland peace process since he became Taoiseach in 1997. He did the country and himself proud as president of the European Council when Ireland had the EU presidency. He has been a highly competent Taoiseach; he deserves a lot of the credit for the economic success Ireland has enjoyed, aside from his part in the wages negotiations: he has adroitly led a coalition partnership which others might have found fraught.
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Villagers: Letters to the Editor 2006-09-28
It is truly amazing that the Minister for Justice should propose to abolish the stamp duty provision. But then, what would one expect from the leader of a party whose sole aim is to enrich the well-heeled in our society? If the Minister feels the State does not need this money, could I respectively suggest that it be put to good use in the elimination of poverty, which is all too prevalent in our society?
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Exclusive: Bertie and Manchester businessmen
Bertie Ahern made several trips to Manchester in the early 1990s that were paid for by millionaire businessmen lobbying the government for the development of a casino at the former Phoenix Park racecourse. Ahern was Minister for Finance at the time. By Frank Connolly
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Too much of the man
The current RHA retrospective sums up Robert Ballagh's career brilliantly. Unfortunately, his illustrations just don't do it for Billy Leahy
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It gets worse
The disclosure that he saved £50,000 at a time when he had heavy financial commitments and had no bank account is the most significant revelation of Bertie Ahern's TV interview
By Vincent Browne
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Birds: Chough (Cág cosdearg), Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
 A scarce and localised member of the crow family, now more or less confined to our western and southern coasts, the Chough is a species for which Ireland is of particular importance in a European context. The Irish population currently stands at just over 800 breeding pairs, making it one of the most significant in Western Europe.
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The Human Touch by Michael Frayn
Have you ever thought that the world makes no sense? Fear not, because so does awardwinning playwright, novelist and all-round amiable genius Michael Frayn.
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Magic Kitten, A Circus Wish
Flame, an adorable black kitten, stumbles into Sadie's life and, despite her father's allergy to cats, the little girl decides to keep him hidden in her bedroom.
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Giving death a face
In travelling around the world on an Odysseyan mission to rescue the memory of his relatives who perished in the Holocaust, Daniel Mendelsohn manages not just to draw us into the experiences of one family, but of the Jewish people as a whole. By Ron Rosenbaum
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The Chorus: Media abuses position on privacy
Iread in the Irish Times that Pat Rabbitte has indicated that the Labour Party will vote against the government's forthcoming Privacy Bill. This announcement of a vital policy position was made during a radio talk show, and might have been better left unreported to save the blushes of the Labour leader. But needs must, and the signalling of support for the media's position from such a quarter is an important development in the current war. Mr Rabbitte was speaking on The Sunday Supplement on Today FM, where, if I can avert to such matters without breaching his privacy, he is rumoured to keep a toothbrush and a spare pair of socks. The Labour leader and the Minister for Justice appear to alternate as resident panellists on Sam Smyth's show, which for them both is something of a home away from home. This may explain the lazy, indifferent way in which the Labour leader addressed himself to the vital and complex matter of the media and privacy. Revealing that he was "not yet up too speed" on the legislation, Mr Rabbitte dived right in. The phrase "not up to speed" can safely be translated as meaning that he had not read the legislation. He did, however, offer two reasons for opposing it. One was plain wrong, the other laughable.
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Cinema: Speak for yourselves
Oliver Stone doesn't let the courageous and generous characters in World Trade Center tell their own tales; instead he jumps in at every opportunity to amp up the pathos, says Declan Burke
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Bush's western myth
One of the great American myths is the westward journey. The high-angle shot of the imagination is the long line of white canvas wagons bumping across the wind-tilted grass. The fiddles come out. The sun falls red on the horizon. A coyote howls in the distance. Night, John Boy. Night, Grandpa. Night, Mary Ellen.
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Fragments 2006-09-28
The chairman of the Morris tribunal is heading towards a fullscale clash with the main victims of the Garda corruption in Donegal that his inquiry was set up to investigate.
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EU key to Middle East peace
Gerry Adams recently visited Israel and the Palestinian territories. In the second of two articles reflecting on that visit, he looks at how international assistance could bridge the gap between the two warring sides
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Death and resurrection
 Not only delicious with a bit of bacon, fungi provide an invaluable service in the cycle of life, says Éanna Ní Lamhna
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The northside's messiah
Richard Nesbitt, the messiah of the Arnotts empire, is planning a billion-euro development for Dublin's Abbey St. But with half-a-dozen Arnotts executives recently having jumped ship and frustration growing among those who are left, the finger of blame is moving towards the company's impulsive impresario. By Justine McCarthy.
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Newspaper Watch: The Mayhem of 'Bertiegate'
The story about payments to Bertie Ahern – dubbed "Bertiegate" by the Independent – dominated the newspapers after 21 September, when the Irish Times first reported the leaked information. In the following five days, every lead article of every Irish broadsheet focused on Bertiegate. It was the subject of 45 news stories, 26 opinion pieces and 9 editorial comments.
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Radio: A Ray of Sunshine
What charity was founded by Paul Newman in 1994? What were the Nolan sisters in the mood for in their hit single? What is the name of Dublin's 28-acre neighbourhood that hosts 50 cultural sites? Where in Ireland is Smithwicks made?
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