The bishops were quick out of the blocks last week to smite the proposed referendum on same-sex marriage.

THE whistleblower’s lot can be lonely. Remember Sheena McMahon? She was a young mother, who, in the mid-1990s, told of madness in sections of the gardaí in Donegal.

ONE word has been largely missing from the reams of coverage of the Anglo Tapes and that word is... morality.

Had Fred Forsey not cheated on his wife, we would probably not know of his corruption It seems little has changed despite all the tribunals, writes Michael Clifford

SOMETIMES, the circus gets out of hand. Last Sunday, a Government minister decried the slow rate of progress in criminal investigations into the banking collapse and the results from tribunal reports.

Pádraig Flynn could lose his €50,000 EU pension depending on the outcome of the Criminal Assets Bureau investigation, the European Commission has said.

Well done to Michael Clifford for championing a public apology to Tom Gilmartin.

Since the publication of the Mahon Tribunal report, there has been much breast beating about corruption. Politicians have lined up to decry how planning was debased by corrupt councillors.

How Pádraig Flynn must rue his arrogant dismissal on The Late Late Show of Tom Gilmartin’s corruption allegations as those of a man “not well” and “out of sorts”.

The Mahon Report is a “complete vindication” of Tom Gilmartin after years of attempts to vilify him, his son has said.

Former taoiseach Albert Reynold’s attempts to solicit funds from a developer were improper and his failure to inquire into a donation to one of his ministers was wrong, Fianna Fáil’s Micheál Martin has admitted.

The Mahon Tribunal was unable to identify a mystery man who “made the Mafia look like monks” by demanding a €5m bribe from developer Tom Gilmartin in the ministerial corridors of Leinster House.

Former Fianna Fáil minister Padraig Flynn has rejected the findings of the Mahon tribunal which branded him corrupt.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said that the achievements of former taoiseach Bertie Ahern while in office "cannot absolve him" from facing the implications of the Mahon tribunal report.

Bertie Ahern faces a humiliating political end – expulsion from the party he once led along with corrupt former representatives Padraig Flynn and three ex-councillors.

Fifteen years after the longest running inquiry into political corruption in Ireland was established, its final findings have been published.

One of the country’s leading property developers, Owen O’Callaghan was “aware of and actively engaged in” facilitating corrupt payments of almost £120,000 to politicians over a three-year period in the early 1990s, according to the Mahon Tribunal.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is to move next week to expel former taoiseach Bertie Ahern from the party following the damning Mahon Tribunal report.

Cork-based property developer Owen O’Callaghan is to seek a High Court judicial review of the Mahon Tribunal report findings, describing the procedures used by the judges as “biased, unfair and unjust”.

Fianna Fáil will expel Bertie Ahern next week after he was found to have lied to the Mahon Tribunal about massive sums of money flowing into his accounts.

The late Fianna Fáil TD Liam Lawlor had an “insatiable appetite for money”, and his methods of obtaining it from developers was “occasionally ingenious”, according to the Mahon Report.

Many people in the upper echelons of Fianna Fáil, including then taoiseach Albert Reynolds, were aware of a £50,000 donation to former minister Pádraig Flynn which was never put in Fianna Fáil’s coffers.

Former taoiseach Albert Reynolds was told of a developer’s £50,000 payment to one of his ministers but failed to inquire of it and instead re-appointed the individual to cabinet, the inquiry found.

Developer Tom Gilmartin was a chief tribunal witness who was granted immunity from prosecution and revealed demands of corrupt payments from senior Fianna Fáil figures to facilitate the building of his retail park in Dublin.

In any movie involving dodgy payments to politicians, you need a go-between, a “bag man”. Frank Dunlop came right out of central casting.

THE letter that would ultimately end Bertie Ahern’s career was sent on Oct 15, 2004.

Bertie Ahern lied when accounting for more than £215,000 of money lodged to bank accounts connected to him, the tribunal believes.

Former minister Pádraig Flynn and Cork developer Owen O’Callaghan could face a Garda investigation after the Mahon Tribunal found they had received or made corrupt payments.

Senior gardaí failed to properly investigate dramatic allegations of corruption and bribery involving politicians and senior officials, the Mahon Tribunal found.

The tribunal commended current minister and Labour TD Pat Rabbitte for giving back a £2,000 donation he received from lobbyist Frank Dunlop in 1992.

“It is clear ... corruption in Irish political life was both endemic and systematic. It affected every level of Government from some holders of top ministerial offices to some local councillors and its existence a was widely known and widely tolerated.”

Below is the full text of a statement from Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin tonight:

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has insisted he never accepted a bribe or corrupt payment after a long-awaited corruption inquiry found he did not tell the truth about a labyrinth of cash payments.

Fianna Fáil TD Seán Fleming is writing to the Mahon tribunal seeking an "urgent correction" to the fifth and final report of the Tribunal published today.

Three-time taoiseach Bertie Ahern was tonight on the verge of an ignominious political demise as once-loyal supporters warned they could no longer defend the indefensible.

A notorious appearance on 'The Late Late Show' was the beginning of the end for Padraig Flynn.

Developer Owen O’Callaghan did claim to have “taken care of” ex-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in return for a promised favour, the Mahon tribunal has found.

Enda Kenny has said the Mahon tribunal report confirms Bertie Ahern had made "a litany of unacceptable statements" about a labyrinth of cash payments.

Fifteen years after the country's longest running inquiry into political corruption in Ireland was established its final findings have been published.

The final report from the Mahon tribunal published today has found former European Commissioner Padraig Flynn to have "wrongfully and corruptly" sought money from developer Tom Gilmartin.

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern failed to tell the truth about money paid into his bank accounts in the early 1990s, according to the final report of the Mahon tribunal.

MICHAEL CLIFFORD’S article (May 30) on Balgaddy contains a number of references to my father, Tom Gilmartin, which are mistaken.

THE Mahon Tribunal into alleged planning corruption effectively ended after more than 10 years of investigation — and at a likely final cost of €300 million.