THE Department of Justice was given responsibility for the Garda Síochána to leave the gardaí free to do the policing while the civil servants assumed the administrative responsibility for matters such as accounting for the force.

MALCOLM Macarthur is back in the news with the report that the Parole Board has recommended that he be moved to an open prison pending his release, as the board feels that he is no danger to society.

NEWS that someone called the BBC threatening that the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) would murder Neil Lennon if he took the field for Northern Ireland provoked shock, disappointment and disgust.

DURING the week a member of the Wolfe Tones folk group gave a radio interview, complaining bitterly about Fintan O’Toole for essentially being anti-national.

By Ryle Dwyer Since last October, Michael Lowry has been the main focus of the Moriarty Tribunal and, when it reconvenes in October, he will again be the focus of attention.

By Ryle Dwyer IN June the Earl of Desmond Hotel on the outskirts of Tralee had a problem. At 3 o'clock one morning some Travellers pulled into private parking lot in front of the hotel with their caravans. They indicated that they planned to stay there, unless the hotel gave them 2,000.

DURING the week, the first annual report of the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner was published, and it showed that 6,631 applications for refugee status were rejected last year.

HERE was a time when few soccer internationals in Dublin were televised, because it would interfere with the gate at the game.