IT takes courage to be a courtroom witness or juror, especially if the trial involves terrorism or violent crime.

WHEN US President Barack Obama assured us in his College Green speech on Monday that Ireland’s best times lie ahead he may not have had sight of the mammoth OECD report published yesterday which shows that we are already ranked among the top 10 countries in a “better life index”.

IN his An Bord Snip report Colm McCarthy suggested that we have too many local authorities.

THE visit of Queen Elizabeth II last week, followed by the arrival of President Barack Obama yesterday, shows that this country enjoys a presence that far exceeds what might be expected of a tiny country of just four million people.

THE report of the inquiry into the murder of Rosemary Nelson in 1999 raises more questions than it answers.

SPORT is a mirror of so much of what we do in the serious part of our lives that its role in shaping attitudes and character cannot be underestimated.

THE rise in the number of people behind in their mortgage payments is worrying. According to the latest Central Bank figures, nearly 50,000 homeowners are 90 days in arrears, amounting to debts of €9.6 billion.