THE greatest community and sporting organisation this country has seen celebrated a significant birthday yesterday. The GAA marked its 125th year with a series of events, each of which showed how deeply rooted that organisation is in our country. The celebrations were heart-felt, committed and entirely appropriate.

IT’S been many, many years since we had to celebrate our national day in the face of such daunting economic and social challenges.

IT is tragic that statistics tell us that four of every five young people sent to St Patrick’s Institution will re-offend.

IT IS entirely possible that every single cent of the €145 million paid out by local authorities since 2000 in compensation was absolutely justified. It might be possible that everyone involved told the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

ENABLE IRELAND tell us today about 3,000 children who suffer with multiple disabilities and who depend on early intervention, if they are to realise their potential, are waiting up to two years for essential therapies.

THE move by Tesco to proffer price parity in the sale of clothing to Irish customers is to be warmly welcomed. Irish shoppers were being ripped off in being asked to pay a price in euro that was considerably higher than the sterling equivalent that consumers were paying in Britain.

In the wake of the murderous tragedies in the North and the growing economic gloom throughout the whole island, the Irish performances at Cheltenham could hardly have come at a better time. They certainly provided a welcome lift to Irish spirits this week.

THE Health Service Executive spent yesterday trying to cut e1 billion from their budget. This will mean sick people will be denied services or at the very least have to wait even longer for attention.

YESTERDAY’S UN report on the world’s escalating water crisis didn’t tell us anything we didn’t know already but the scale of the threat revealed has become truly staggering. Incessant population growth, climate change, cavalier irrigation and waste are placing the world’s water supplies at threat.

EVEN the most resilient and optimistic among us must be approaching misery overload. If the economy and soaring unemployment figures don’t push you towards the edge then there’s always the predictions about the awful impact climate change will have on our world, especially our children’s world.