There was much about the bubble years of illusory excess that grated on the eye and ear... But at least no more were our people forced to take the boat, exported across the water like cattle.

HOW long does it take to get anything done around here? When does the means justify the means? Why is this country so wedded to process?

THERE was no room for basic civility. When Enda Kenny stepped from his vehicle in Athlone last Monday, he saw his fellow TD, Luke “Ming” Flanagan, and approached him. Flanagan was among a large group of people protesting at the scheduled downgrading of A&E facilities at Roscommon Hospital.

ELAINE Hyland left her home soon after 9am on December 12, 2006. She was accompanied by her two daughters, aged four and two. The older girl was being dropped to school.

THE ruin hugs the rugged shore straddling the bays of Ballinskelligs and Waterville. Once upon a long ago it was a hotel. Today it sits in an overgrown field, a three-storey concrete skeleton, like something lifted from a bomb-ravaged city. You can walk up and look inside the walls at the rubble, the moth eaten furniture, the sepia-toned dreams pummelled by time.

ANYBODY out there with a bit of get-up-and-go? In particular, we’re looking for somebody who’s good at selling. You will be required to spend time on the road, flogging your wares in foreign capitals.

THE Hangover II sounds like a stinker. Most of the reviews for the movie are suggesting they shouldn’t have bothered with the sequel. Having seen the original, I think they shouldn’t have bothered with that either — but it was a huge box office hit.

LET’S talk about sex. In Britain and France, they’ve been talking about little else. Across the Irish Sea, the travails of footballer Ryan Giggs have dominated media discourse such that the fall-out from his extra-marital affair has led to a potential constitutional crisis.

THE night before he came, the acrid smell of burning and conflict were in the air. A riot broke out, prompting the call for reinforcements from Dublin. Baton-wielding cops charged the crowd. Mindless violence kicked out in all directions as the booze took hold.

WHAT do you have to do to get arrested in this town? Last week, Judge Peter Kelly voiced a sentiment that resonates with a large chunk of the populace. He is not pleased with the progress of investigations into white-collar crime.