The fuller than full house made the whole thing worse. More than three hundred guests were gathered in a massive dining room in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, at lunchtime last Friday, for the inaugural Women of Concern awards.

Concern in Sierra Leone have buried thousands of bodies in the last few weeks from the ebola virus. Even if you hate the song — buy it, urges Dominic McSorley

Public donations to charity Concern dropped by 18% here last year to €30.7m as the organisation’s losses increased 55-fold.

IRISH aid agencies are stepping up their presence on the borders of Iraq, anticipating a major humanitarian crisis there when war is launched and bombing begins.