On the 50th anniversary of Jack Lynch’s election as Taoiseach , Ryle Dwyer looks back on the occasion, when the Corkman had to be persuaded to let his name go forward

Ballymun residents had reason to dream big in 1966, when ‘everybody wanted to live there’, with a number of high rises being built. Fast-forward to the present day and they are readying for the last remaining block to be demolished. Tom Farrell and Seamus Kelly report on where it all went wrong

When controversy erupted in the mid-1960s over plans for its construction, a revered architectural expert opined that the ESB headquarters which now stands on Dublin’s Fitzwilliam St was only replacing “one damned house after another ... a rubbish uneven series”.

Fianna Fáil, Partition and Northern Ireland, 1926-1971

Some Sunday in early Jul 2014, the World Cup will be held aloft, but it won’t be the only seismic event in sport that day — Bill O’Herlihy will be vacating his anchorman’s chair for good.

Styled To Rock

You think you know Bill O’Herlihy. He’s like that inoffensive ornament on the living room mantel that blends in against a beige wall. The background noise you’ve got used to.

The fall of Mary Coughlan signalled not only the demise of a Government but also the end of a Fianna Fáil political dynasty.

The fall of Ireland’s former Tánaiste signalled not only the demise of a government but also the end of a Fianna Fáil political dynasty.

DEFENDING Willie O’Dea on Monday, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said: “I suppose Fine Gael are returning to type. They’ve always tried to get the dirt on people. I think it is despicable, to be honest.” Of course, he undoubtedly meant it is despicable to make false accusations.

The Lemass style of leadership was to encourage his ministers to be proactive. Unlike de Valera, he never managed to lead Fianna Fáil to an overall majority but, unlike some of his successors, he refused to bargain with any independents to support his nomination for Taoiseach

ON Monday the attention of the nation was focused on two funerals — that of Garda Robert McCallion, who was mown down in Donegal, and Roy Collins, the businessman shot in Limerick.

FORMER Taoiseach Jack Lynch was, as this newspaper editorialised upon his death, “a charismatic leader, political icon and statesman”.

Michael McDowell refused to release the Justice Department file in line with the 30-year rule ... If McDowell had been in opposition, he would probably have said we were behaving a like banana republic!

A Garda union today backed calls for an independent public inquiry into the murder of the first officer to die in Ireland during the Troubles.

LIVESTOCK farmers striving for a better return for their labours will find inspiration in a new book which goes back to their predecessors’ first opportunity to achieve market value.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors is supporting a call for a full inquiry into matters relating to the murder of Garda Richard Fallon on April 3, 1970.

A senior Garda union today backed calls for an independent public inquiry into the murder of the first officer to die in the Republic during the Troubles.

Martin Fallon has a right to feel aggrieved.

CALLS for a public inquiry into the first garda officer killed in the Troubles were yesterday backed by the widow of slain Garda Jerry McCabe.

Calls for a public inquiry into the first garda officer killed in the Troubles were today backed by the widow of murdered garda Jerry McCabe.

Former Independent TD Niall Blaney is to stand alongside his old political rivals Jim McDaid and Cecelia Keaveney on the Fianna Fáil ticket in Donegal at the next election, it emerged today.

SENIOR Fianna Fáil sources yesterday firmly dismissed suggestions that the party wants former junior minister Jim McDaid to stand as a candidate in Donegal North East.

CHARLES J HAUGHEY was the sixth of our retired leaders since the foundation of the State to die, and the real debate on his legacy is likely to begin today.

Charles Haughey’s towering political presence cast a shadow over events in the North.

Charles J Haughey’s political career stuttered at first with an embarrassing defeat in a by-election in the 1950s.

AT THIS stage, most readers probably feel there is little more to be said about the recent controversy between Michael McDowell and Frank Connolly. The issues have been fairly well aired on both sides.

WHEN you’re in a hole, the old saying goes, you should stop digging. Michael McDowell cited it recently, as he elegantly side-stepped public odium by allowing Nigerian student Kunle Elukanlo back into the country.

FIANNA FÁIL is again shamelessly engaging in political prostitution. This time, the party is inviting people to pay €4,500 to join an exclusive club of party contributors.

SOME weeks ago I wrote about a persistent rumour that the gardaí involved in the raid on Judge Brian Curtin's home had actually checked with the relevant authorities beforehand and were told to go ahead with a flawed search warrant.

TWO shocks in two days would have been too much for the system to bear. Less than 24 hours after Charlie McCreevy surprisingly acquiesced to take the European job, the Government made its other core appointment of the summer.

FIANNA FÁIL has succeeded in taking two of the three seats in the former Connacht-Ulster constituency several times in the past and they hope to do so again.

THERE is one candidate in the European Parliament election in North-West that everyone is watching — Dana Rosemary Scallon.

DURING the week, Joe Duffy’s radio programme highlighted Justin O’Brien’s biographical sketch of Charles Haughey in the new Encyclopedia of Ireland.

GROWING up in the 1950s one often heard rantings from the pulpit about slave labour camps in atheistic Russia.

THE late Captain James Kelly, who died during the week, seemed almost obsessed with clearing his name for having supposedly conspired to import arms illegally in 1970. He was cleared in court, along with Charlie Haughey and two others, but some people were never prepared to accept that verdict.

The Taoiseach has led tributes to former Fianna Fail minister Kevin Boland, who died yesterday.