The Armagh Palace Guard, Ian Paisley and the neglected homeless

A review of Theatre, (by EAVAN BOLAND), film (By DEIRDRE FRIEL) and the best of Film and Theatre throughout the country in the next six weeks.

He sustained a belief in the dream world that could be created out of ordinary life as it surrounded him, writes Bruce Arnold in an evaluation of the work of the late Sean Keating.

IN THE COURSE of 1977, Youghal Carpets (Holdings) has seen its stock market rating shot to ribbons. From a high of 80 1/2p early in the year, the share price fell to a low of 41p during the autumn - thus cutting market capitalisation by a massive £6.3 million. The one-time market favourite was discredited. By Sean Mitchell

UDT - From the way Willie Sandys (as in Braids) writes his chairman's report for U D T (Ireland), you would never think that this was a subsidiary of the second biggest U K finance house that was only saved from disaster by the 'lifeboat' the Bank of England launched in 1974.

IT IS EASY to understand why Fitzwilton should have attracted more attention than any of its imitators in Ireland. In the shell company pheenomenon in this country, Fitzwilton was by far the biggest. Its empire became so far-flung that the company is known well beyond these shores and, of course, it had the benefit of the golden aura of Tony O'Reilly to crown it all. But not that far behind Fitzwilton is another company, whose origin, structure and history is so similar as to make it almost an identiical twin. By James Prufrock

A new survey on male sexuality shows that men want sex more than once a day, still want to marry virgins, are prone to cheat, prefer sexually active women and react with disbelief on hearing of their wife's infedility.

As republican and loyalist violence diminishes in Northern Ireland, there is yet no hope of a political solution, writes Kevin Myers.

Janet Martin reports how women suffer strangulation attempts and attacks with razors, knives, broken bottles and clenched fists and how children in Irish homes suffer battering and sexual assaults.

The following are extracts from an interview with Garret FitzGerald on some of the key issues in Irish politics.