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

Hailstones, thundershowers and ferocious winds assailed the capital city earlier this week. A bolt of lighting even struck a flowerpot on the Merrion Square side of Leinster House, setting it ablaze.

The book is in no way autobiographical, but every now
and then you get the sense that Elmore Leonard, who is now pushing 80,
may be reflecting on the nature of his own vocation. By Charles McGrath

Frostbite, hypothermia and savage beatings. Polar exploration or tales of conquest in the Americas? Actually, it's Ireland

An "insane" protest is how the cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council labelled a march by 1,200 of her constituents last weekend. These loonies were protesting at a proposal by the council to fill in a huge part of the sea along the sea front at Dun Laoghaire and fund a public park on the site by building a ten story high carbuncle which would be out of place almost any where in the world except Las Vegas.

As those opposing the decision on the route of the M3 motorway gear up for a last, desperate fight over the Tara-Skryne valley, William Hederman revisits some of the major struggles to save Ireland's heritage during the past half century.

Republicans on the ground in Northern Ireland have accepted that the decision has been taken to disband the IRA, with no great resistance from the ranks of either Sinn Féin or the IRA. By Anton McCabe

For the first time in almost 20 years of visits to Manhattan, I found myself developing, if not a full blown passion, then definitely a crush on the city and a renewed faith in the ingenuity and courage of New Yorkers and other Americans who are refusing to let George Bush and his gang of thugs have it all their own way.

Posturing aside, the rainbow parties' policies are surprisingly similar. Hilary Curley investigates the policy proposals of Fine Gael, Labour and the Green Party