Six questions in, all of them a variation on the theme that was his absence from the Ireland squad for last weekend’s historic defeat of the All Blacks in Chicago, and Peter O’Mahony’s calm exterior cracks just a tad.

Kya deLongchamps discovers that the decade taste forgot was merely misunderstood, and more than deserves a second chance.

Leinster have opted against registering either Cian Healy or Sean O’Brien for Europe ahead of Saturday’s round six visit to Coventry, where they meet Wasps to decide who finishes top of Pool 2 in the Champions Cup.

Water, water everywhere and not a tear to shed: well not for Big Phil, he’s washed his hands of it; not for Irish Water’s public relations consultants, they’re swimming in it; not for Cool Michael, his party neglected it for years; not for Moustache Willie, he’s turning up the pressure when Irish Water turn his down; not for Alan Kelly, he’s up to his neck in it; not for the young, the aged and unemployed, they are getting free allowances; not for Joe Public, he deserves the shower he elects.

IF you’re feeling your age — fed up with your creaking bones — and need a dose of positivity, then look no further than Transplant Team Ireland, half of whom are over 50 and heading off to Poland next week to represent this country.

Galway Plate Day always brings a bit of showbiz to the West, with elder statesmen and football royalty mixing it with Joe Public in the parade ring.

ONE word stood out from the judgment that sent Ivor Callely to prison for five months yesterday. Entitlement.

It was a day that the sun gave after it had taken.

Joe Schmidt hadn’t a word of French when he pitched up in the Massif Central town of Clermont-Ferrand back in 2007, but the Kiwi coach was a quick learner and he’s still known for dropping the odd peu de Francais into his vocabulary on those weeks when the opposition is of a Gallic flavour.

The advantage rule has the potential to cause major headaches for club football referees, according to Alan Nash, secretary of the Gaelic Match Officials Association (GMOA).

The Professional Footballers Association is discussing treatment options with former England full-back Kenny Sansom, who is homeless and battling alcoholism.

Maths wasn’t exactly a strong suit in the old school days, but one glance around Croke Park last Sunday afternoon seemed to offer fairly definitive evidence that the numbers just didn’t add up for what proved to be two perfectly enjoyable Allianz League Division 1 semi-finals.

Those lazybones at the SETI Institute are calling on Joe Public to save them.

I would like to raise a question in relation to water metering.

Those in power in this country have no constructive purpose whatsoever.

HE spent almost 30 years making a name for himself in the game’s boardrooms — the last five sitting at the head of the FAI’s table — but the temptation to label him as a ‘football man’ doesn’t sit comfortably on Bernard O’Byrne’s shoulders.

JUST two days to go before Ireland kick their heels and turn into the final bend of their European Championship campaign and yet vast swathes of the sports pages are being dominated by events 12,000 miles away.

AS the rows of empty seats made all too clear, this wasn’t the kind of game to get Joe Public excited but Giovanni Trapattoni will arrive back in Milan today a happy man after an evening that ticked all the relevant boxes.

Morning rush-hour traffic slowed to a crawl in most New Zealand cities today as hauliers snarled highways and streets with thousands of vehicles to protest higher road taxes.

IN the wake of the recent announcement that not one of our 51 public hospitals is at the highest standard of cleanliness, let’s get one thing straight before there’s more tut-tutting and poo-pooing in the media with regard to Joe Public getting what he deserved after re-electing Bertie Ahern and Co last May.

LATE on Wednesday night right as the confidence debate on Bertie Ahern drew to a close we learned a lot about the leader of Fianna Fáil.

POLITICS has evolved so much in this country that if you want to get ahead in public life, all you need to do is embroil yourself in a spot of bother.

A DIRECT appeal went out yesterday to anyone who may be harbouring secrets over the deaths and disappearances of eight women.