In an age when we rarely reach for a ballpoint, Kya deLongchamps scripts a little history of that old fashioned Christmas favourite — the fountain pen

A year after the ‘worst election we’ve ever had’, Labour leader Brendan Howlin insists that his party can return to power, writes Political Correspondent Fiachra Ó Cionnaith.

The saying “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics” was popularised by Mark Twain, who attributed it to the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.

JUST like the death of novelist Mark Twain, reports of the demise of books in print have been greatly exaggerated. While electronic books enjoy steady progress, book stores and publishers are reporting a rise in the sale of the real thing.

The great myth has always been that children adore clowns. No they don’t. They never have, writes Terry Prone

Mark Twain once beautifully defined an expert as “some guy from outta town”. That being so, the guys and gals whose heads are entirely off the planet must be the greatest experts of them all.

In the process, they learned balance and athleticism and a solid appreciation of danger, writes Terry Prone

The corporate and financial elite have ended their annual love fest in Davos, the Swiss ski resort.

The suggestion came from people driven nuts, by new words they don’t know and don’t like, by old words being misused, writes Terry Prone

Elizabeth O’Neill learned the hard way that competence and confidence are

It was acceptable to describe one now retired female politician as a sumo wrestler, writes Terry Prone

When Susannah Mushatt Jones and Emma Morano were born in 1899, there was not yet a world war or penicillin, and electricity was still a marvel.

Chances are that, like the vast majority of those who delve into the sports page for a daily dose of sustenance, your annual digression into the world of horse racing has come and gone in the past week.

The top 50 books for children to read have been released, and Roald Dahl remains at number one.

In relation to the article on the record and performance of GoSafe speed detection units by Gordon Deegan (Irish Examiner, February 24), the statistics quoted may be incorrect.

They stand shoulder to shoulder with the All Blacks this morning — win for win, try for try, point for point. Ireland’s golden autumn now promises more, much more than a successful defence of the Six Nations title in the New Year.

IF John Creedon was a weather condition, he would probably be described as a warm, westerly breeze coming in from the Atlantic. And it blows through all aspects of his world - work and play.

ALL-IRELAND SFC ROUND 2B:

So here I am, barely one week in Brazil, and already I’ve been mugged in broad daylight, had my credit card skimmed, been charged €42 for a burger and contracted a bad dose of the dreaded Dengue fever.

Mickey Rooney’s approach to life was simple: “Let’s put on a show!” He spent nine decades doing it, on the big screen, on television, on stage, and in his extravagant personal life.

Blarney was the unlikely spot for the first Roman-Irish bathhouse, says Hugh Carey

At college, Alan studied animation, but he wrote short fiction, too.

OK, SO the New Year’s resolution is gone, but that’s because the best time to make it is not on January 1, but on your birthday!

Saracens were a north London parks team playing in front of the proverbial two men and a dog when Guy Noves began building the Toulouse empire 20 years ago.

As acts of “mischievousness” go it was a very costly one. Last November Sally Bercow, wife of Commons Speaker John, logged on to social media site Twitter.

Italian golf has reached previously unknown heights since the arrival in the big time over the last few years of the Molinari brothers Francesco and Edoardo and the clear possibility that in the 20 year-old Matteo Manassero, last week’s highly impressive winner of the BMW PGA Championship, they possess the next Tiger Woods.

THE S/S 2013 Fashion Weeks were seeing double, with some of the biggest international names sending their models out twinned, two by two.

Mark Twain once wrote that it is the difference of opinion that makes horse races and none generate as much conjecture and argument as the 27 that are run over four days here at Cheltenham every March.

If this were fiction, it would be a rattling good yarn: An ailing publishing company set up with humble expectations in the aftermath of the First World War becomes a worldwide phenomenon, quickly capturing the global market for literature in a hurry.

A FEW years ago, on Dec 23, I got a morning call from RTÉ.

Duke Special doesn’t do compromise when it comes to music, he tells Ed Power

Reflections on Crisis:The Role of the Public Intellectual

Prices for younger or lesser conformation animals have eased, but as one mart manager said to me, “Money is the life blood and there’s still plenty of it about.”

Celebrated author, playwright and commentator Gore Vidal has died at the age of 86, his nephew said today.

Jiri Sliva credits his success to a series of chance meetings, says Tina O’Sullivan

DARRAN McCANN