THE manouvere that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar pulled on Fianna Fáil this week was straight out of the latter’s own playbook on how to treat your political enemies, writes Alison O’Connor.

Pope Francis came and he went. In terms of the past sins visited on the Irish population by the Catholic Church, not a lot of difference was made.

Who is in charge of the Catholic Church? asks Alison O’Connor. 

The minister for health, Simon Harris, published a strategy document — a 10-year plan to reform the health service — last week. 

It was early May during the abortion referendum campaign and a Together for Yes information meeting was taking place in UCC.

It was only in the years afterwards that the burden of the project really became apparent. 

How would any right-thinking person make this comparison, a week after five people were shot dead at the offices of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, writes Alison O'Connor

The wimmin’ are gone entirely mad. Losing the run of themselves. Nothing will ever satisfy them now. 

I recently made a return visit to the US. The purpose was a vacation, as the Yanks would call it. I couldn’t quite believe it had been around 14 years since my last trip there. I was genuinely curious, given all that has happened, how different it might feel.

Exactly what it said on the tin — that’s what Leo Varadkar has done in the year since he was elected as our Taoiseach, give or take a few diversions. He has delivered for parliamentary party colleagues who elected him on the basis that he would increase Fine Gael’s popularity, broaden the party’s appeal, and bring a good dollop of that elusive X factor.