Cowen’s Christmas wish... to be anywhere but here

“JINGLE bells, dole queue swells, pork industry blown away. Oh what fun it is to live in Brian Cowen’s Ireland today.”

The weather was as bleak as the economic outlook as carol singers shivered with song while the Ceann Comhairle did the honours and lit up the Leinster House Christmas tree.

John O’Donoghue told us this would be a traditional Christmas, which was a nice way of acknowledging our sudden national return to Dickensian misery