Eight-year-old Caitriona Duffy is singing carols with a school friend in the kitchen as her mother, Susan, prepares the evening meal. Her father, Colin, gently rocks baby Sinéad to sleep. Free article

Marcas Mac Ruairí considers the plight of asylum seekers in Dublin Free article

Proinsias O Maolchalain admires the historical consistency of the London Times Free article

Every nursery rhyme apparently has its roots in reality. Ring a ring a rosies, was a rhyme from the Great Plague in London, and a `pocket full of posies' was supposed to ward off the disease. Children being realists however, knew that scam wouldn't work and so they added the line `attishoo, attishoo, we all fall down'. A catching little line for a catching little disease. Free article

Selling Sinn Fein's message of peace, justice and equality in the USA might seem an easy task given that 44 million Americans claim Irish blood, but the realities are quite different. Free article

Fair play to him. Those were Gerry's words when asked for a comment about the escape of Liam Averill from Long Kesh and I would say he summed up the thoughts of all in those few words. Free article

As a once famous Irish philosopher said ``What's another year''? So are we learning from our mistakes? Was 1997 any different from other years we have lived and struggled through? Free article

MICHEAL MacDONNCHA, parliamentary aide to Caoimhghín O Caoláin TD, reflects on the reality of life in the Big House Free article

Bill Delaney praises republicans for their professional use of the Internet Free article

H-Block escaper Pól Brennan writes from his prison cell in California Free article