THE Fianna Fáil conspiracy theorists have it all worked out.

WHEN the national broadcasting station — in the days when there was only one national broadcasting station — sent out an invitation for families to compete in a quiz programme, I entered our family in the contest.

Charlie McCreevy was a great man for quoting himself.

YESTERDAY, at lunchtime, headed for a tiny seafront restaurant, I encountered a group of people in their late 20s or early 30s, accompanied by a couple of toddlers and holding on to the business ends of buggies laden with sleeping babies.

Knowing your competition and knowing your customer are vital in business. And in politics.

The strange thing is that you can do it without any qualifications.

On the face of it, it’s the best news of the year, so far. Better, even, than the tax cuts every political party is promising us, right now. A cure for blindness. Not metaphorical blindness. Real blindness.

A CALLER to a radio programme yesterday announced that he would put Michael McDowell back in power for nothing other than his criticism of tribunals.

THE Irish, in the early years of the 21st century, devoted their weekends to killing each other, using guns, knives or cars.

BRIAN COWEN was coming down with flu the only time I met him. He had a thumping headache, a sore throat and was rocked with bouts of sneezing.