A sideways glance at the political year gone by.

Many ministerial advisers have seen their salaries increase to reward them for their first year in the job.

THE Boss blew into town and left a trail of devastation in his wake,

Enda Kenny’s press chief became embroiled in a major controversy last night after saying the Taoiseach had viewed the pictures of Michaela McAreavey’s corpse — only to later retract the claim.

THE level of self-awareness was rather startling for a politician as he asked: “Who wrote this shit?”

At least 13 of the Taoiseach’s staff, including the Government press secretary and his deputy, have been given pay rises amounting to over €31,000.

THE coalition parties were accused of looking after their own “party hacks” by appointing supporters to highly paid Government positions.

FINE GAEL is reshuffling its communications team in an apparent attempt to appease Enda Kenny’s critics and boost his struggling leadership of the party.

More than 160 troops bound for eastern Chad will depart Ireland tonight for one of their most dangerous and challenging missions to date.

THE 24-year deployment of Irish troops in Lebanon comes to a close today as defence force members serving with the remaining UN peacekeeping soldiers in the war-torn country stand down.

THE piano in Con O’Neill’s childhood home resonated with history even when its keys were quiet.