In failing to impose a custodial sentence on Adam Keane for the rape of Mary Shannon of Ennis, Mr Justice Paul Carney felt constrained by a previous decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal in another case (the NY case) which he overturned a sentence for rape of three years in favour of a suspended sentence. 

Below, Village presents an introduction to the Keane trial, transcripts from the trial and a summary of a related trial (the GD case) which, along with the NY case, considerably influenced the Keane case.  

A Fine Gael candidate for the Dun Laoghaire constituency, Eugene Regan, has acknowledged that in the 2004 local elections he spent personally €45,000 on his campaign. He got 2,000 votes to the cost per vote was €22.50. Were he to get a quota in the five  seat Dun Laoghaire constituency and were the cost per vote to be the same, he would have to spend in excess of €200,000 and as he is a successful barrister, that might not be a problem for him.

Michael McDowell's robust criticism of judges is healthy and as an art-form should be welcomed. There is nothing inappropriate with a politician, even a Minister for Justice, criticising judges, even when, as in this instance, he is wrong. He is entitled to have a “go” at judges and there is nothing in what is known as the “separation of powers” which should in any way inhibit him. Michael McDowell is as entitled to criticise judges as the rest of us and the forthright manner in which he has done this is refreshing.

Did St Patrick do Ireland such a favour by brining Christianity here? Vincent Browne asks if Ireland would have been better off without it?

In a centuries deep sea of clichés despairing that 'prostitution will always be with us', one country's success stands out as a solitary beacon lighting the way. In just five years Sweden has dramatically reduced the number of its women in prostitution.

The Vatican has censored two books on Christology by a liberation theologian on the grounds that they “may cause harm to the faithful.” Among the “flaws” identified by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the works by Jesuit Fr. Jon Sobrino, a former theological adviser to Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, is an insufficient emphasis on the divinity of Christ.

The decision of the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) to instruct all commercial broadcasters, including Today FM and TV3, to cease broadcasting the Trócaire advertisement on gender equality is incomprehensible. 

Sean Quinn, the owner and founder of the Quinn Group, made a total profit through his company and through other family interests of €632m in 2006. He told a business conference in Cavan on Wednesday, 7 March, that Quinn Direct, the group's insurance business, made a €332m pre-tax profit last year, up 39per cent on the 2005 figure and that the Quinn Group as a whole, which involves plastics, glass and building materials, made a €432m pre-tax profit last year.

The German Presidency is seeking a consensus for Berlin Declaration, which will mark the Union's 50th anniversary on 25 March 2007. But views differ on what it should include. The so-called Berlin Declaration will mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, signed in 1957.

David Quinn of the Iona Institute was interviewed by Zenith, the international Catholic website, which reflects the Vatican view on all public issues. The Iona Institute is arguing that marriage and religious practice are vital contributors to a healthy, well-functioning civil society.