Headache for Government whatever the attendanceDespite the optimistic assessment of turnout, there were signs more people were feeling the fear and anger this time, writes …Sat Nov 07 2009 - 00:00
Ministers in top spending departments are finding it tortureDÁIL SKETCH: Brian Lenihan has instituted a reign of terror as Biffo becomes a pussycatWed Nov 04 2009 - 00:00
Spiritual search turns into a stampede as impatient lose faith in double visionariesThousands flock to Knock as new Ireland trades in financial visionaries for spiritual gurusMon Nov 02 2009 - 00:00
Hardcore economic anoraks delight in test drive of Nama SPVsDÁIL SKETCH: How many property investors can you fit in an SPV? Lots. Pile in, lads!Thu Oct 29 2009 - 00:00
Inda's indecent proposal turns Seanad into the best show in townSEANAD SKETCH: A BUNCH of well paid part-timers with a huge welcome for themselves went out of their way yesterday to convince…Thu Oct 22 2009 - 01:00
Enda breathlessly urges Biffo to embrace the Dutch modelDÁIL SKETCH: NO MORE jokes, thank you very much, about tulips from Amsterdam.Wed Oct 21 2009 - 01:00
Deputies blame the messenger as dahlings descendDÁIL SKETCH: While Brendan Gleeson was defending the value of the arts, our TDs were the theatrical onesThu Oct 15 2009 - 01:00
Greens enjoy their day in the spotlightDelegates were the centre of attention as they cogitated behind closed doors in the RDSMon Oct 12 2009 - 01:00
Story of Bertie's life as seen through rose-tinted glasses pulls in the crowdsTHE ROOM was heaving, the pints were flowing, the style would put your eye out and bouquets of balloons flared up from the tables…Fri Oct 09 2009 - 01:00
Raging Bull now in search of a China shopDÁIL SKETCH: LONG BEFORE his problems with "de expinses", there were fears in Leinster House that the Ceann Comhairle's world…Thu Oct 08 2009 - 01:00
Straight talking Gilmore dispenses with the BullDÁIL SKETCH: HALLELUJAH! FINALLY, an Irish political leader has found a backbone, climbed off the fence and said it like it …Wed Oct 07 2009 - 01:00
Calamity Coughlan digs a few more holesDAIL SKETCH: HOW DOES she do it? The farmers are flummoxedThu Sept 24 2009 - 01:00
Mary pleads case of odious pair and their awful childDAIL SKETCH: THE GOVERNMENT and the banks – what an odious coupleWed Sept 23 2009 - 01:00
Fianna Fáil, frowning farmers and lakeside frolics unfold with funTHE START of Fianna Fáil’s pre-Dáil think-in and sing-song went off quite well yesterdayTue Sept 15 2009 - 01:00
Stagg labours with subordinate bondsSTANDING OUTSIDE in the sunshine at the pond, Emmet Stagg exhaled deeply on his cigaretteFri Sept 11 2009 - 01:00
Labour keeps well away as FF look like the Toxic TroopsFIANNA FÁIL ears must have been burning yesterday. And what was being said about them was not good.Thu Sept 10 2009 - 01:00
No pussy-footing around fat cat question at FG tink-inAPPEARANCES can be deceptive. Take Alan Dukes: by a long stretch, the lankiest leader Fine Gael has ever hadTue Sept 08 2009 - 01:00
Delighted Senators finally have the run of the HouseSEANAD SKETCH: THE DÁIL is in recess and the Senators had the place to themselvesWed Jul 15 2009 - 01:00
'Belingered' Biffo relieved shutters are coming downDÁIL SKETCH: A SHRED of comfort for the Taoiseach – no more Leaders’ Questions for two whole months.Thu Jul 09 2009 - 01:00
Bean Ní Chocláinn beats Ban Ki-moon to job of earthing sparksDÁIL SKETCH: THE MAN for the Job was just across the way in a committee room when Eamon Gilmore got to his feet to explain the…Wed Jul 08 2009 - 01:00
No flight of fancy as Miliband sets bad example for our MinistersDAIL SKETCH: WHAT DID David Miliband think he was at? In fairness to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, he kept his composure…Thu Jul 02 2009 - 01:00
Not a word let slip about Bord Snip, but pain delayed is only pain anticipatedDÁIL SKETCH: AND STILL we await word from Grandmaster SnipWed Jul 01 2009 - 01:00
Chrysalis Cowen awakens to float like a butterfly, sting like a beeDÁIL SKETCH: PLEASE. NOT another chrysalis Cowen and butterfly Biffo moment. We’ve had far too many of them.Thu Jun 25 2009 - 01:00
Beaks v Biffo - what a case it could be . . .DAIL SKETCH: STANDING ROOM only in the courtroom.Wed Jun 24 2009 - 01:00
Cowen's technique lets him down on high-flying travelDÁIL SKETCH: BERTIE HAD a way with those tricky questions about ministerial transportThu Jun 18 2009 - 01:00
Poor George - huge mandate but no sign of a blooming officeDÁIL SKETCH: ENDA SHOULD have given Wandering George a straw boater and waved him away from Leinster House for the morning.Wed Jun 17 2009 - 01:00
Have you heard the one about the TD flattened by a lorry on Kildare Street?A MEMBER of Dáil Éireann is flattened by a lorry on Kildare StreetSat Jun 06 2009 - 01:00
Miriam Lord's WeekNow that the voting is over and we await the results, here are our election awardsSat Jun 06 2009 - 01:00
Soft-shelled Brian in 'fight for every vote'ON THE CANVASS with BRIAN COWEN: The Taoiseach seems to spend most of his time electioneering in a controlled environmentSat May 30 2009 - 01:00
Even Fine Gael party pup Leo cannot inject boldness into yet another stimulus packageDAIL SKETCH: IT SOUNDED promising. Indakinny was announcing “a bold planThu May 28 2009 - 01:00
Shay's running for the Dáil, Aoife the locals, and Eanna like a man possessedON THE CANVASS with SHAY BRENNAN: Canvassing is a family affair for the Brennans, down to the use of the late Séamus’s blueprint…Wed May 27 2009 - 01:00
Gormley leaves others to talk horse manureDÁIL SKETCH: A LOT DUNG, more to poo. That phrase has a familiar ring to itThu May 21 2009 - 01:00
Opposition's anniversary bash for BiffoDAIL SKETCH: TAOISEACH Brian Cowen is a year in the job today.Thu May 07 2009 - 01:00
Narrow escape for DonohoeDUBLIN CENTRAL: FINE GAEL’s candidate in the Dublin Central byelection narrowly avoided serious injury yesterday afternoon when…Wed May 06 2009 - 01:00
Fine Gael hearts are raised . . . by their own lovely LeePolitical parties have long lusted after the economic lustre of George Lee. FG landed the catch of the dayWed May 06 2009 - 01:00
A year in the life of BrianPREDICTIONS ARE the bane of a political correspondent’s lifeSat May 02 2009 - 01:00
What we really need right now is to win the EurovisionDÁIL SKETCH: THIS IS all to do with the Eurovision Song Contest.Thu Apr 30 2009 - 01:00
Gormley waltzes in and put on the writs, after much foot-draggingDÁIL SKETCH: IF YOU’RE Blue and you don’t know when the vote’s due, Why don’t you go where the Dáil sits, Puttin’ on the Writs…Wed Apr 29 2009 - 01:00
Too many spanners and a shortage of sharp tacks in the tool boxDAIL SKETCH: EVERY GOVERNMENT needs its ministers – a vital assortment of tools required to ensure the smooth running of any…Thu Apr 23 2009 - 01:00
Discounted developments replace old-fashioned national assetsDAIL SKETCH: YOUNG PEOPLE are our greatest national asset.Thu Apr 09 2009 - 01:00
Coughlan's half-car handmaidensDÁIL SKETCH: HOW MANY Ministers does it take to run the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment? No, this is not a joke…Thu Apr 02 2009 - 01:00
Cowen should take heart from how Bertie saved St Luke'sDÁIL SKETCH: WITH THIS Government, it always comes back to the builders.Wed Apr 01 2009 - 01:00
Gilmore pushes all the right buttonsCONFERENCE SKETCH: IN THE run-up to Labour’s weekend gathering, an advance party from headquarters arrived to check out the …Mon Mar 30 2009 - 01:00
No losing sight of the big picture as Portraitgate rumbles onDAIL SKETCH: IT IS not just the recession that has sent the construction industry into a tailspin, we mused during Leaders’ …Thu Mar 26 2009 - 00:00
Gormley goes green as McCaughey news leaksDÁIL SKETCH: JOO DILIGENCE fell off the wagon yesterday afternoon.Wed Mar 25 2009 - 00:00
Tánaiste gets in a bit of practice on budget menusDÁIL SKETCH: SORREEE! WE’RE all out of Happy MealsThu Mar 12 2009 - 00:00
Queasy Greens looking a little off-colourDÁIL SKETCH: DÁIL STATEMENTS on the Challenges Facing the Health Service could not have come at a more crucial time.Wed Mar 11 2009 - 00:00
Cowen stubbornly stands against the oncoming financial delugeDÁIL SKETCH: IT WAS difficult to know whether the Taoiseach was more traumatised by the door falling off Kamikaze Cullen’s helicopter…Wed Mar 04 2009 - 00:00
A country music uplift is stretching things a bit far, DonieSEANAD SKETCH: YES, DONIE. How right you are.Thu Feb 26 2009 - 00:00
A nod is as good as a wink to cornered banker or blind regulatorSKETCH: NUDGE, NUDGE.Wed Feb 25 2009 - 00:00
