CAST your mind back to Ireland in 1999. Five hundred thousand people 'invested' in Eircom shares, the government spent a small fortune posting millennium candles (that would not fit through letterboxes) to every home in the country and Uncle Gaybo bid farewell to the Late Late Show.

A less remembered ... more

Different perspectives on the Crimbo. Santa lives. Of course he does. The boys and girls know this. Santa lives and he demonstrates that magic is real.

Mammy posted him the letter at the beginning of the month. It was addressed to the North Pole, where Santa has an army of ... more

AT this time of year, exiles return home, their cheeks rosy with delight, burble, burble... Ireland is going through a dark time... great little country... blah, blah... confidence and pride... peace, community, waffle... sustainable... togetherness... resilience... schmaltz.

That was just a précis for those of you who might have ... more

It's Christmas Eve and the Kenny household is echoing with festive noises. The kettle is whistling for hot whiskies, the lid on the ham pot is rattling. Harry Potter's TV spell-casting is competing with a CD of carol-singing from the kitchen. It's by an African gentleman called ... more

There is little doubt, given the number of Brown Thomas bags Gerry Gannon loaded into his supersize Range Rover, that there is plenty of cheer in the Gannon family mansion this Christmas.

That massive vehicle, and the helicopter owned by Michael O'Flynn's company, the €600,000 Maybach that ... more

She's the recipient of as many superlatives from ordinary fans as awards from the literary élite. Just to prove how special she is, RTé One's Christmas Day schedule featured the documentary Maeve Binchy: At Home in the World. This came just two months after the Dublin author received ... more

Green favours rebel rap over 'Horse'

The chairman of the Green Party, Dan Boyle, will always be remembered for 'tweeting Willie O'Dea out of office', but he has joined O'Dea in giving the controversial Rubberbandits duo the thumbs up. Boyle, a serial tweeter, posted the following tweet last ... more

We must ask ourselves what was wrong in our message, in our entire way of configuring the Christian being, that allowed such a thing to occur

Pope Benedict adDresses the issue of sexual abuse in his christmas speech

I couldn't believe the decision when it came. Apparently, my life ... more

The Photograph of the Week, chosen by Picture Editor Maureen Gillespie

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54

Words in the bestselling Christmas song of all time, 'White Christmas', first performed by Bing Corsby in 1941, which has now sold 50 million copies

271

Number of years since 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' was written

740,000

Viewers who watched Jean Byrne give her 9.08 weather ... more