IVOR CALLELY may have had a valid point when he questioned the way the Seanad deplored his claims for more than €81,000 in expenses, largely for travelling from his holiday home in west Cork to Dublin on Oireachtas business. He contended he was entitled to claim the travelling expenses from his holiday home.

ALTHOUGH we should learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others, we persist in following the failed tactics of the US in relation to drugs. Our drug problems, which began in Dublin, have gradually spread throughout the country.

DURING the Rose of Tralee selection last Tuesday night, Dáithí O Sé mentioned “dry counties” to the Texas Rose. It was the first time I had heard the term being used for a long time, but I do remember the first time I heard of a “dry county”.

DURING the week RTÉ televised a fascinating documentary on of the discovery in Dublin of the priceless Caravaggio painting, The Betrayal of Christ. Its whereabouts had been a mystery for more than 200 years before it was found hanging in the dining room of the Jesuits’ house on Leeson Street, where it had been for some 60 years.

OVER the years the media and politicians exhibited an unhealthy deference towards the Catholic clergy and hierarchy in this country.

IVOR Callely is being investigated by committee of Fianna Fáil for “conduct unbecoming a member” of the party.

WITH all the talk about a possible visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland and the 3 Irish Open being played at Killarney this weekend, it is worth remembering that the queen’s great, great grandmother, Queen Victoria, was largely responsible for putting Killarney on the tourist map with her visit to the area in 1861.

WHAT word best describes Michael McDowell during his political career – arrogant, intolerant, self-serving, brilliant, courageous, or exciting? They all applied to him at different times. Whether one liked him or loathed him, he left his mark on Irish politics.

LAST Saturday I watched the senior football play-off game between Tipperary and Dublin. It was not a particularly great game, but it was much more interesting and exciting than any of the World Cup soccer matches. The Cork and Waterford Munster hurling final on Sunday also left the soccer in the shade.

THE French have a saying that the more things change the more they stay the same. This weekend thousands of young people will flock to the Oxegen music festival at Punchestown, but unlike some such gatherings elsewhere, it does not seem to have any real focus of protest.