JOHN Bruton is retired from active politics.

HOW does a person “prove” themselves to be suicidal? By killing herself or himself?

HERE’S a scenario that I imagine that Joe Schmidt was not asked to address during his interview yesterday for the job as new Irish rugby coach.

IT’S easy enough to understand why Cricket Ireland is so upset with international player John Mooney’s comments about the death of Margaret Thatcher, despite his subsequent apology.

BUST property developer Seán Dunne has been all over the news this week, his behaviour in trying to avoid the financial consequences of his failures giving rise to much harsh and disbelieving comment.

FOOTBALL Association of Ireland boss John Delaney’s behaviour came back to haunt him last Wednesday morning.

THE significance and importance of Ryanair ordering the purchase of 175 aircraft from Boeing seems to have flown over the heads of many people in Ireland.

BACK in December I opened my weekly column in this newspaper with the following sentences: “Well done to independent TDs Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, Luke “Ming” Flanagan and Joan Collins for trying to perform a public service in the Dáil this week.

LUCIA O’FARRELL is distraught. Her son, Shane, has been killed and the man who took the life of the 23-year-old last week was given the choice of eight months in jail or leaving the country within 21 days.

THE phrase “can’t pay, won’t pay” is one that we are hearing more often in public discourse and which we can expect to hear far more often over the next year as property and water taxes and the broadcasting charge are added to the rank of annual payments expected of citizens.