Batt O'Keeffe is the subject of a complaint made to the Taoiseach's Department over his role in the siege at the Slí Eile centre in Charleville. By Felim McMahon and Vincent Browne

Weblogs are multiplying like a virus and the 'traditional' media don't like it one little bit. Conor Brady looks at the rise and rise of the 'blog'

Discussed this week are The Fourth Hand by John Irving, Paulo Coehlo's new book The Zahir and The Hill Road by Patrick O'Keefe

During the last local elections, it was the most welcome subject of conversation. When the doorbell would go and you'd go out to find them hopeful among the porch greenery, the subject of Ennis bypass would be seized upon with great relief by all concerned. Except of course when it was Síle de Valera and all anyone wanted to talk to her about was her hip replacement and how well she was looking.

This weekend the French electorate go to the polls to vote in that country's referendum on the EU Constitution. And the last three published opinion polls indicate that there will be a majority against of between 52 per cent and 55 per cent. A few days later, the Netherlands follow suit; and, again, unless the opinion polls have got it dramatically wrong, the result there will be an even more substantive no.

Regarded as the best political strategist the Labour party has ever had and the brains behind Dick Spring's leadership, Fergus Finlay is finally bowing out. Fergal Keane wonders how he will he cope without the buzz of the political game.

I met former US President Bill Clinton on Tuesday 24 May to talk about the peace process and the efforts to rebuild it following the elections. He was in Dublin to attend a fundraiser in aid of suicide awareness. His visit focused welcome attention on this issue.

The bunch of tantrum-throwing, ill-behaved, incorrigible, squabbling, bad-mouthed, dysfunctional brats we elected to government are an international embarrassment and a national disgrace. It is obvious that our ability to call them to account is wholly inadequate.

There has been a hardening in the rhetoric of the DUP since the Northern Ireland elections, but then again there is nothing too new there. By Anton McCabe

The latest accounts from the Sunday Tribune show greater losses than ever before and no indication that things will get better anytime soon. Colin Murphy reports