THERE was a time when people in Fianna Fáil regarded Brian Cowen as a brilliant public performer. From an early stage in his political career — having been made minister at a young age — he was used as a “warm-up” act for the party at árd-fheiseanna, rousing the delegates to a crescendo before the emergence of the leader for his annual address.

THERE’S so much talk of the economy contracting, of jobs being lost, of incomes falling and of taxes rising that I’ve decided to recall a positive story this morning. A story of a business being started 20 years ago that nobody said could succeed but which has created jobs for its employees, wealth for various owners and a product that has provided a useful service to the public.

RUGBY fans should well remember what Neil Back did to Munster in 2002. It was the closing minutes of the Heineken Cup final between the Irish team and his side, Leicester. The English side is winning by 15 points to 9, but Munster have a scrum in front of the Leicester posts, in a perfect position to launch a final assault on the Leicester line, to score a try that would have left Munster with a conversion to win the cup.

WHO really needs to buy a new car? Needs to buy one, as opposed to wanting to do so. This difference is one of the central dilemmas facing the beleaguered Irish new car sales sector at present as it seeks desperately to persuade people to buy.

ONE THOUSAND construction jobs for north Tipperary for three years, followed by 2,000 more jobs in the finished development sounds like a good deal that no government could object to, especially when no government financial assistance is being sought.

THERE’S a section in Donal Óg Cusack’s excellent autobiography where he details how the Cloyne senior hurling squad and its management held “truth meetings”.

THE Government is finding out that owning just 25% of a major commercial entity confers very little benefit but an awful lot of hassle.

HOW much money would you pay to the boss of an effective and efficient health service?

The Greens ascended onto Planet Bertie — a location that Gormley had said they would never inhabit — and breathed deeply of the noxious air. The Greens were brought in as lobby fodder... and to provide cover for the dirty work of introducing enforced recycling, carbon taxes and water metering

More men than women have lost their jobs during the downturn, particularly in the construction sector – and please let no one pretend that working on the sites in all weathers is somehow easier than cleaning the Dáil, especially when men are more likely to lose their lives at work and have lower life expectancy