In the not so very long ago confounded European Union mandarins launched a community-wide competition so an articulate European might offer a workable definition of peripherality. The layered implications, the one-man’s-meat-is-another-man’s-tofu complexity of that designation and its geographic realities were bewildering, so a prize of €100,000 was offered.

Fraudster and farmer boyfriend believed to be bodies found decomposing in Limerick; Former Republic of Ireland midfielder Steven Reid calls it quits; and Cork kids become superheroes and fight bullying. Just some of the latest and most read stories on irishexaminer.com.

The recent election result over the border and across the water came as quite a jolt to the pollsters and to a large section of the political class.

As Labour prepares to hold its annual conference, deputy leader Alan Kelly says what makes the party different is that its vision is grounded in realism and in achievement

The key problem with people such as Jim from Sligo (Letters, April 21) calling for a return to the core values of the Labour Party is that these values have been diluted and fragmented to such a degree over the past century as to become almost meaningless.