By Ryle Dwyer

THE re-partition plan presented to Ted Heath in July 1972 attracted more attention than any of the other documents released this week.

THIS year will probably be best remembered for things like the introduction of the euro, and the first re-election of a coalition in the history of the State.

By Ryle Dwyer

THE Football Association of Ireland and their Scottish counterparts have been commending themselves on their unsuccessful bid for the European Championships in 2008.

YESTERDAY marked the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the state, but nobody was sure of the extent of our independence initially. Doubts about our sovereignty were dispelled

FOR the past two years Ireland has been a member of the Security Council of the United Nations. It has been a momentous couple of years and in time people may question the role we played in what could well be the build-up to many years of strife.

IN THE foreword to Joe Cahill: A Life in the IRA (O’Brien Press, 25), Brendan Anderson explains that Cahill, a former chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, spoke to him “frankly about those things that he is free to speak about”.

"IT IS ALWAYS difficult to speak on a motion of no confidence when the motion relates to oneself and it is especially difficult for a man as modest as myself," Charlie McCreevy told the Dáil this week during the confidence debate on his stewardship as Minister for Finance. This was even before the publication of the Book of Estimates, which foreshadows the forthcoming budget.

IN A public opinion poll published this week, 56% of the people surveyed in the Galway diocese felt that Bishop Eamonn Casey should not be required to explain his past actions.