IT was GK Chesterton who said about the Irish that "the great Gaels of Ireland, Are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are merry, And all their songs are sad". I don’t know about the wars, but the mournfulness of the songs is the reason I’ve never been a huge fan of Irish traditional music, if the truth be told.

MARGARET McLOUGHLIN was born with three things. Down syndrome; a serious untreatable heart condition; and a huge, infectious, and empathetic personality. She wasn’t expected to live. But live she did, to the fullest extent that was possible.

I’VE decided how I will vote in the Labour leadership elections. All these years a rank-and-file member, and now I have a say in who should lead my party.

I SPENT a good deal of last weekend at the Special Olympic Games in Limerick. And a glorious weekend it was. A wonderful, intimate, family-focused opening ceremony on Thursday night was followed by three days of intense competition in the variety of sports in which Special Olympic athletes compete. A lot of the Games was centred on the University of Limerick campus, and the place couldn’t have been more welcoming.

I HAVE tossed and turned at night since I heard about Tuam. Like many of us, I’ve found it impossible to come to terms with the horrifying, shaming discovery of hundreds of babies in an unmarked grave, robbed of their lives and even, in the end, of their identities.

WHERE did it all go wrong? The government elected with the largest majority in the history of the State hasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of being re-elected.

AS someone who has admired Eamon Gilmore on a personal basis, and who regards him as a deeply honourable and committed politician, I believe he did the right thing yesterday afternoon.

I GOT some flak last week. Apparently in the column I wrote here I gave the impression that the local and European elections were largely irrelevant, certainly by comparison with some of the major political events that were beginning to unfold.

I SAID last week that it’s amazing how events can overshadow an election campaign. Last weekend, of course, it was the arrest of Sinn Féin party leader, Gerry Adams. But this past weekend’s events make you wonder whether we are living in a democracy at all.

TOMMY Gorman, RTÉ’s Northern Editor, usually says it best. On last Sunday night’s news, he said "it’s one more reminder of the unfinished business of the peace process". Or, to put it more crudely, they haven’t gone away, you know.