Following their party leader’s humiliating defeat in the Seanad referendum, for the 2,000 or so Fine Gael party faithful who gathered in the modest surrounds of the South Court Hotel in Limerick, it was very much a “back to basics” weekend where Fine Gael was determined to return to its core values.

A man convicted of the IRA Shankill bombing is being questioned today in connection with the shooting of a teenager in Belfast on Tuesday night.

The Omagh families have succeeded in turning the tables on the terrorists by humanising their plight while dehumanising the Real IRA. The perpetrators were unable to paint their opponents in court as large oppressive forces hostile to humanity, or even civil liberties for that matter

IT was a long time coming - about 800 years, give or take a few skirmishes - but Ireland’s ‘ould enemy’ is about to become our NBF, or New Best Friend.

No drinks were on the house in true blue Sandy Row today.