Mick Clifford: Why Ireland has no beef with China over human rights 

The human rights of some, it appears, are far more important than those of others for one reason or another, mostly to do with the values and interests of those who claim to give a fig

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar welcomes Chinese premier Li Qiang to Farmleigh House. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

A well-known Con Houlihan mannerism may have been deployed at a high-powered meeting last Wednesday. 

The late, great sports journalist was a shy man. His supreme gift for communicating on the printed page was not replicated by his conversational style. Mr Houlihan was wont to engage in conversation by talking with one of his large hands over his mouth, nearly as if he wasn’t too sure whether he wanted to really say what he was saying. The affectation was endearing but sometimes ensured that his words were not the easiest to hear or interpret.