He decided to take early retirement five years ago following 38 years as Ireland’s most prolific newsman. But Charlie Bird has not taken up any new hobby, or — perish the thought — golf.

The Taoiseach’s department wanted to wash its hands of compensation claims for victims of the Stardust fire disaster over fears it would be chaotic and controversial, State papers have revealed.

AFTER an agonising wait of 26 years, the families of five unidentified victims of the 1981 Stardust disaster have at long last laid them to rest, bringing closure of a kind to one of the most harrowing tragedies ever to occur in Ireland.

TELEVISION is not an electronic pet like an ageing cocker spaniel, good for a bit of companionship and easy to train.