REPUTATION matters. It matters to individuals, to companies, perhaps above all to countries. It matters enormously to charities and to any organisation that depends on the trust of people who support them, work for them or depend on them.

We live, sometimes, in an ugly State. I’ve written that here before on a few occasions, and I find myself sometimes despairing about whether it’s something that can ever be fixed.

Maybe the lesson we need to learn from our next-door neighbour is that some things never change

They arrive in private jets to bleat about climate change or 'co-operation' — then they go home and nothing changes

People who have been discriminated against for years are being encouraged to march and demand discrimination against others

It'd be good to see fitting retribution for some of the world's most vile chancers. Inspired by his daughter — and by the works of Gilbert and Sullivan — FERGUS FINLAY has a little list... 

It's a dark mysterious place, the Tomnafinnoge wood. It’s near Shillelagh in County Wicklow, and it’s famous as one of the last remnants of the ancient oak forests that used to cover most of that part of the county.

I love a game that makes 9-year-olds giggle. Mikey is 9, and he introduced us to a card game on Christmas night called Kids Against Maturity.

I’ve flown through world wars, uprisings, and pandemics. Why do I have this sense of foreboding that things are getting worse, especially for children?