Rich, thin royals wandering the earth, sheep trying to find their way in life, the Irish homeless in London and Gaelic stew were all part of Dermot Bolger's TV week

Questions now arise over the Castlereagh 'break-in' in March 2002 and the IRA 'property portfolio' and links between the police and loyalist paramilitaries. By Colm Heatley

Had it been almost anyone else other than Denis Donaldson revealed as an undercover British agent at the heart of Gerry Adams's inner sanctum, I doubt that the sense of shock and disappointment amongst republicans would have been quite so numbing.

Darina Allen was sitting around her kitchen table with a young family member and her friends. They were all in a panic – still so many presents to organise, no time, no money… With some time and wine, they came up with these ideas:

This column starts with a warning. It's entirely subjective. Objectivity has been kicked out the window. Sitting in Frankfurt airport last Sunday, trying to imagine what the German headline writers are saying about the World Cup draw (put the words Heidi Klum, uber-sexiness, Iran and banned in a short sentence) I got to listen to Bernard Dunne talking to Jimmy Magee. They were sitting in a little Franziskaner bar with pine from roof to ceiling and nothing on offer but mediocre tea and cold brioche.

He at first refused to state where he had been in April 2001 and then remained evasive, refusing to explain where he had been while on leave at that time. By Colin Murphy, John Byrne and Vincent Browne

The Sunday Independent and Irish Independent have run a series of stories undermining the CPI and it members.

This week, just hours after the Comptroller and Auditor General's (C&AG) report on the PPARS scandal had been published, the consultancy firm, Deloitte and Touche, issued their first statement on the affair. This fiasco has already cost the public €131 million and the report ran to 115 pages.

Although the charges have been withdrawn from the three accused of operating a spy ring in Stormont, there was no explanation as to why. Disagreement between the parties remains and conspiracy theories abound. Colm Heatley reports

Billy Leahy visits the cosy Gallery for One and the cached attic gallery to get away from the Christmas mania and stroll through the worlds of four young photographers exploring the relationships between subject, artist and camera