THE Independent Alliance TDs, who have ditched — thanks to a barrage of ridicule — their absurd plan to visit North Korea in a bid for world peace, now have time in which to turn their attention, and that of the Cabinet, to extremely serious problems much nearer home: The capability of emergency air transfer services, mostly for critically sick children, and Air Corps understaffing.

Today marks the last time we can remember the 1918 World War I armistice within a century of its realisation. 

Christmas is a festival of consumption rather than a celebration of the universal values of faith, hope, and charity. Christmas represents the kind of rampant, out-of-control commercialism that makes Ebenezer Scrooge’s 1843 bah-humbug dismissal seem appropriate if a tad curmudgeonly.

It is hardly surprising that those who believe they were the victims of a sexual offence make up the majority of people who ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to explain why, after their allegations have been investigated, that nobody is prosecuted. 

The meek are promised that they shall inherit the earth. That distracting, deferred consolation, though of ever more questionable value, may transpire. 

This week the Paradise Papers showed what lengths investors will go to minimise tax bills. 

It was as predictable as it was unavoidable: Even though a date for a referendum on the Eighth Amendment has not yet been announced opposing camps — that phrase hardly does justice to how polarised they are — are in full campaign mode. 

Tweets, the literary structure of choice for many, have just gone from 140 to 280 characters, reflecting its power and influence.

Whenever a young person dies in horrific, unexpected, and extreme circumstances, his or her parents, family, and close friends want answers: How did it happen? Why did it happen? Who is responsible?

A new memorial to the victims of the Enniskillen bombing is to be unveiled on Sunday at a ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the IRA attack in which 11 people were slaughtered.