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Medb Ruane: The silence in the Dáil after Lowry's speech was the most eloquent moment of the day

Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a story in six words. "For sale: baby shoes, never used," he replied.

Medb Ruane: A hole where a leader should be -- and no obvious man to fill it

Politicians say they like feedback. So here's internet prankster 'Bobby Channel's' outburst at Enda Kenny in Leitrim on Tuesday night.

Medb Ruane: People knew in their minds and bones and pay dockets that Cowen was promoting party before people

Brian Cowen finally achieved the impossible. The man with lower ratings than a prize-winning limbo dancer gave the nation exactly what it wants. On Thursday, he delivered Ireland from the purgatory into which he'd helped plunge it, when he called a General Election for Friday, March 11.

Medb Ruane: Why did it take another scandal for home care to be regulated?

The symptoms of a society going wrong are painful. On Monday, the Prime Time programme about elder abuse exposed some vicious, unlicensed healthcare providers. It showed political neglect and HSE shilly-shallying. It confirmed, yet again, how regressive ideologies promoted by the defunct PDs and some FF'ers are badly damaging the social fabric.

Medb Ruane: It's official -- we are now whipping boys for the rest of Europe

WELCOME to Austerity Ireland Inc -- brought to you courtesy of the men and women who fuelled the boom.

Medb Ruane: The 50,000-strong march in a freezing Dublin showed just how deeply people want to hope

Tonight in Dingle, the singer/songwriter Richard Hawley is staging a major gig with Other Voices. He's pulled together a line-up including Jarvis Cocker, Laura Marling and Anna Calvi. They're all performing for free.

Medb Ruane: Wayne's a chump with feet of magic. But he's nothing without the love of Coleen

It begins in an east Liverpool council estate during the Blair years. Coleen's biography paints Croxteth as a Catherine Cookson kind of place, with "long-derelict buildings, windows blinded by boarding, masked by grim, corrugated sheets of steel; empty, vandalised shops are imprisoned behind barbed wire and the ominous buzz of police helicopters is often heard overhead".

Medb Ruane: If you thought 'The Truman Show' invaded a man's privacy, it has nothing on the internet

Jim Carrey's character was prophetic in The Truman Show 12 years ago. The world was warned when the cynic Christof spoke the chilling truth: "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented."

Medb Ruane: Carla, Sam, Michelle -- and the politics of style . . .

Every woman comes to realise that, no matter what her other achievements, she may be considered a failure if she is not beautiful. Her inner beauty may be glowing, her spirit unique, but, from childhood, pressure mounts to shine on the outside, and to outshine other girls nearby.

Medb Ruane: Listen up, Mr Cowen. People don't want a 'Stepford Wives' interpretation of the news ...

In the good old, bad old days when Bertie Ahern was Taoiseach, he told a bunch of dissenters they should die by suicide. He said "sorry" later, but the contempt stuck. Everyone was supposed to sing from the same hymn sheet -- and the song was all about Him.

Medb Ruane: It's so hard to get excited about the presidency -- although David might perk up the Park a little bit

President McAleese said graciously that David Harvey's burst of affection was okay -- the chairman of the St Patrick's Day Festival kissed both her cheeks when he greeted her officially at the parade. But it wasn't really okay, when you thought about it. The over-familiarity showed a real forgetting about what a President's status should mean.

Medb Ruane: Stop being bitter, Mr Lenihan. You had your chance and you blew it

If there's such a thing as being too clever by half, Brian Lenihan is a martyr to the cause. Brian Cowen's political corpse was still warm when the former Finance Minister gave a bitter interview to his local freesheet, damning the man with whom he'd served during Ireland's descent into penury.

Medb Ruane: A real day of hope, but will it last?

In the bad old days, Ash Wednesday was the morning Bertie Ahern arrived at Dáil Eireann made up as a good boy. Marks on his forehead showed just how penitential he was. Now he's political dust. His Soldiers of Destiny are a spent force, wasted by bad ideologies and worse bedfellows -- but with great pensions.

Medb Ruane: The banker who understands the real financial crisis...

The New York Times gave Ireland a thumbs-up this week. "It is in no country's interest to lock Ireland into long-term economic ruin," it said. "Ireland's people have paid a terrible price."

Medb Ruane: Children deserve better than empty election promises

You know what it's like to wake up happy, right? I'm hoping Enda Kenny woke up feeling delighted this morning because I heard his words 'let's hit the ground running' and I want to jog along, for today.

Medb Ruane: What about gender, Enda -- and the rest of you Dail dinosaurs?

The gene pool of Irish politics was rarely as limited as on Valentine's Day, when the five party leaders debated on RTÉ. All men, all from a Roman Catholic background, all eager to diagnose the country's woes.

Medb Ruane: With hearts on sleeves leaders embrace their mother tongue

Tir agus teanga. The poet Máire Mac an tSaoi called Irish the language of the heart. English was for the system, but Irish was about voicing the soul.

Medb Ruane: Somewhere over the rainbow! Ten rules for the angry voter

Important as a change of government is, people are finding it hard to be inspired by the prospect of cutting a further €9bn and whether to do so through raising taxes or slashing public expenditure. Here are 10 rules of thumb for wielding a vote.

Medb Ruane: Fianna Fáil sit at a crossroads -- and Micheál needs a right turn

As Taoiseach Brian Cowen says goodbye to the country, Fianna Fáil's version of David Brent may insist that he did put people before politics and took 'hard decisions' for 'the common good'. Then off to the Áras he'll go.

Medb Ruane: A very Irish solution to our morning-after pill dilemma

The sky didn't fall when Boots Chemists made the morning- after pill available over the counter this week. For the first time, women aged 18 and over will be able to access short-term emergency contraception without having to go through a GP.

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Dublin Sightseeing Reaches New Heights

Ireland’s most iconic venue, Croke Park Stadium, announced the opening of the much anticipated Etihad Skyline tour on the roof of the historic ground. Sponsored by Etihad Airways and opening to the public on Friday 1st June, the tour offers access to a unique Croke Park rooftop walkway and spectacular panoramic views of Dublin city.

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McAreavey suspect accuses police

Avinash Treebhoowoon, 30, confessed to police about his involvement in strangling Michaela McAreavey, but now insists he was forced to sign the statement.Treebhoowoon and co-accused Sandip Moneea, 42, deny murdering the 27-year-old teacher on her honeymoon at the Legends Hotel.

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