THE phrase, attributed to the founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius Loyola, “give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man” points to the power of education and focussed early-life formation. 

YESTERDAY’S announcement that Britain will build a €20bn-plus power plant at Hinkley Point will more than likely provoke another of the interminable rounds of anti-nuclear protests. 

YESTERDAY was a momentous day for so many of the more than 60,000 students who received their Junior Certificate results.

THE bullying, ineffective EU Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, is not known for doing stand-up routines, but, judging from the reaction yesterday by MEPs to his ‘state of the union’ address at the European parliament, in Strasbourg, he could give Tommy Tiernan a run for his money.

‘FOOL me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” the saying goes.

FINANCE MINISTER Michael Noonan’s steady-as-she-goes warning that next month’s budget will not be the first cousin of a pre-election giveaway is reassuring and entirely appropriate. 

YESTERDAY’S tragedy in Kilkee, Co Clare, when a member of the Irish Coast Guard died after an accident that occurred during a search and rescue operation, is a reminder of the risks inherent in any journey on water, especially in difficult and dangerous weather conditions.