Michael McDowell refused to release the Justice Department file in line with the 30-year rule ... If McDowell had been in opposition, he would probably have said we were behaving a like banana republic!

AFTER Ireland’s defeat to Italy in the quarter-final of the 1990 World Cup, Charlie Haughey went down on the field to salute the Irish crowd, but he was roundly booed.

LAST Sunday, as the media had wall-to-wall coverage of Joe O’Reilly’s conviction for the murder of his wife, the 25th anniversary of one of the most notorious murders in Irish history went unnoticed.

THE only Irishman ever to win the British Open Golf Championship was Fred Daly from Portrush in 1947. That was 60 years ago, so it certainly is time for another Irish winner.

We should insist the EU demands Vanunu’s return to Italy.

The Americans tried to ban alcohol in the 1920s, but it gave rise to the golden era of the gangsters.

LISTENING to some of the attacks on Mr Justice Alan Mahon over his handling of Tom Gilmartin reminds me of the story of Friedrich Riesfeldt, 46, of Paderborn, Germany, a highly conscientious zookeeper who cared passionately about his animals.

Con Brosnan, a Free State officer, managed to get safe passage guarantees for republican players like John Joe Sheehy and Joe Barrett to play games, and they used football to overcome some of the bitterness.

Of course, the events of either of those earlier decades have little to do with the present, but it worth remembering that the only other head of government to enter 10 years of continuous service is Bertie Ahern. By contrast, his 10 years as Taoiseach have been spectacularly staid.

Today, most of the Green deputies probably wish to form a coalition with Fianna Fáil now — but they will need the support of a two-thirds majority of the party membership in conference.