Liam Mellows led an extraordinary life. He was born in 1895 and executed by the Free State Army in 1922. During his short 27 years he was an IRB member, na Fianna organiser and a republican volunteer. He was a veteran of 1916, the Tan War and the Civil War, and was imprisoned in Britain, the United States and Ireland Free article

THERE'S a misconception that all students must harbour some revolutionary idealism. This is easy to understand when you look back at history. The first revolutionaries against the rule of the Czar in Russia emerged from the country's universities. Irish universities such as University College Cork were very wary of debating societies in the 19th century because they believed that they would be a hotbed for Fenian activity. Similarly, many of the leaders of the Cuban revolution were radicalised during their college days. However, apathy seems to be the most prevalent political thought amongst today's students. Free article

The recession in the Six-County economy will end this year, as a series of economic forecasts predict growth rates of up to 1.2% for 2010, but a 22-month decline in business staffing levels is set to continue, and another 7,500 workers will be signing on the dole as job losses continue during the year. This is the stark reality in the North of a recession that will be 'technically' over this year. Free article

Beidh na seachtainí romhainn lán le plé agus comhairliú agus díospóireacht faoin phlean atá foilsithe le dhá mhí anois mar dhréacht-straitéis don Ghaeilge idir anois agus 2030, sna 26 chontae. Níl a leithéid de phlean don Ghaeilge sna Sé chontae, faraor, agus cé gur féidir le daoine fáilte a chur roimh an phlean ó dheas mar mhúnla den saghas pleanáil a chuirfeadh bunús faoin Ghaeilge ó thuaidh, is fada uainn fós a leithéid agus beidh roinnt chonstaicí le trasnú sula mbeidh muid ag an phointe sin. Free article

EVERY now and again, an article appears that is so self-evidently ridiculous, containing a poorly structured argument so laugh-out-loud terrible that I'm tempted simply to print it in full, but this option does strike me as a little lazy. I do strongly recommend people track this one down though. It's worth reading in its entirety. Free article

The GAA's new experimental playing rules were launched last week to a mixed response. The two which have given rise to most debate are the Aussie rule-style 'mark', which gives a player who makes a clean catch what in effect amounts to a free kick, and a tightening up of the hand pass rule. The latter in particular appears to have led to a lot of frees being awarded, as referees decided that players had not made the correct striking movement with their fist. A total of 74 frees were awarded in the Galway Sligo match, which is hardly an endorsement of the changes. Anything that leads to such an increase in frees and stoppage time is obviously not a good thing and surely frustrates the stated objective of those charged with coming up with changes to increase the flow of the game. Free article

In November 1989 the Berlin Wall fell and the process of German reunification began. Irish republicans were quick to point to the fact that while this was happening, the partition boundary in Ireland was being reinforced by the British Army and RUC, with the help of the government in Dublin. Free article