Sometimes, acting on conscience is another form of discrimination

I SET OUT to write about Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, and about conscience and marriage, writes Fergus Finlay

Tue, 24 Mar, 2015 - 00:00

Fergus Finlay is a former political activist and adviser to three governments, the former head of the children's charity Barnardos, a writer and a broadcaster.

Before I do, I have to say something about genius. I know I’m trespassing on the territory of this newspaper’s sports columnists, but surely, having survived the emotional roller-coaster that was last Saturday’s Six Nations win, I might be forgiven for a paragraph or two.

It was Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who wrote The Last Days of Pompeii, who coined the phrase “talent does what it can, genius does what it must”. By that standard, Jamie Heaslip is a genius. A couple of weeks ago, he limped off the field with damaged vertebrae; on Saturday, he pulled off one of the greatest tackles in the recent history of the game.