Columnists
Martina Devlin: Separated parents must put children's rights first
It was all I could do not to tap her on the shoulder and remonstrate with her. The woman queuing ahead of me was describing to a companion how she brought her ex-husband to heel.
Martina Devlin: Public sector strikes will catch us all in crossfire
The National Library, a genteel warehouse for leather-bound books and musty, mysterious smells, is not an obvious setting for an underground resistance movement.
Martina Devlin: Time to reshuffle Mary's skills out of harm's way
IT didn't take long for those 'hit the road Jack' attitudes to come slithering to the surface. A decade ago we were told the boom had decapitated the dragon heads of emigration.
Martina Devlin: FF must stop putting itself above national interest
If the Soldiers of Destiny are ever to regain the trust of the electorate, they will need to melt down this template and be recast from a new mould
Martina Devlin: No more jigs and reels - let's see some political integrity
Dear Mattie McGrath, First let me commend you for refusing to be yoked together with the herd. Unlike your fellow backbenchers, you are not lending automatic support to a government decision which many deputies know in their hearts to be wrong.
Martina Devlin: This was no fling for Iris -- it was a bedroom battle
NOT since Diana have we been so mesmerised by another woman's love life. Iris Robinson's financial feints are the more serious component in the politician's disgrace, but they aren't half as tantalising as her affair with a tea boy-toy boy.
Martina Devlin: Soaring health premium just makes me feel sick
I SERIOUSLY debated cancelling my private health insurance recently. When the renewal notice arrived in the post I did a double-take at the size of the bill, cross-checked the increase -- which was almost 20pc -- and gulped.
Martina Devlin: America is still sweet on boastful Bertie's humbug
Joseph Stiglitz is a Nobel prize-winning economist. Donald Trump is among the world's most colourful entrepreneurs. Madeleine Albright is a mould-breaking US Secretary of State. Now, what do these highly motivated success stories have in common with Bertie Ahern?
Martina Devlin: Brian's tawdry conjuring trick only worthy of a slow hand-clap
I HAD a Wizard of Oz moment yesterday when the screen covering the wizard was tipped over -- and instead of a master at the controls, I saw a man trying to turn round the economy using nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
Martina Devlin: Shoppers going north are not traitors, just sensible
This time it's Brian Lenihan's turn to do his patriotic duty. When he tried to discourage us from cross-border shopping last year, on the grounds that we'd be paying "her majesty's taxes" rather than contributing to the Republic's economy, his reproach fell on deaf ears.
Martina Devlin: Sisters, get back in touch with your feminist side
THE day I saw a 19-year-old medical student go to lectures in a skimpy Playboy bunny T-shirt was the moment I realised something has been lost in translation between the generations.
Martina Devlin: The best form of defence is still, it seems, to attack
Willie O'Dea is currently in his John O'Donoghue phase, otherwise known as the denial stage.
Martina Devlin: Smart employers should learn how to keep mum
When women's physical attractions start to fade they focus on being wise and useful, Benjamin Franklin noted: "They supply the diminution of beauty by an augmentation of utility."
Martina Devlin: We're shirking our duty if we don't ban the burqa
Forcing women to hide their hair, and sometimes their bodies and faces, is a form of fanaticism amounting to repression
Martina Devlin: Air traffic controllers are living in an ivory tower
'SO it begins," as Theoden, king of Rohan, says in 'The Lord of the Rings'. And indeed it does. Here we are, just three weeks into 2010, with industrial unrest already tilting out of control and more on the horizon.
Martina Devlin: The Robinson affair: the day Iris invited me over for a chat
Peter Robinson has a conviction for unlawful assembly, and now it seems his wife Iris has engaged in some unlawful assembly of her own. He was let off with a fine after 'The Invasion of Clontibret' in 1986, when he staged a mock-military parade with 500 loyalists in the Monaghan town to protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement. If only Iris Robinson could hope to escape so lightly.
Martina Devlin: Cowen is not the maverick we need for difficult times
All hail Tommy Tiernan, comedian with a philosopher's instincts. He has given us a timely reminder that our country and our economy are not interchangeable, and that money does not define the Irish.
Martina Devlin: Yes, it was a tough year but we're still standing
Something positive is appropriate on Christmas Eve, so here it is: 2009 was the year we finally matured as a nation.
Martina Devlin: Dubai built its castles on sand, we did it in the air
Let's talk today about a small state which thirsted to put itself on the global map, became a monument to hubris, materialism and epic silliness, and had its day of reckoning. No, not Ireland, for a change -- although the shoe fits.
Martina Devlin: Public face of our banks reflects turmoil within
THE bank teller who served me was chewing gum, and the greyish blob of flavoured rubber was visible against one of her molars whenever she spoke.
Baby Ann case shows 'new' Ireland is really only skin deep
NOT quite as modern as we like to congratulate ourselves, are we? As the Baby Ann case highlights.
Time to take the scissors to those not-so-flexible friends
THE following items are listed on my December credit card bill: Nine Newbridge silver tree decorations €90; six bottles of champagne €180; six boxes of luxury chocolates €72; three perfume gift sets €147; two children's duvets with fairies waving rhinestone wands €80 and one glittery tabletop arrangement €30.
