Why was Shannon Airport such a success in its early years? How did it move from a green field to a regional economic hub? There were many factors, but the core ones included an innovative approach to enterprise, a commitment to long-term regional development and the political will to overcome any obstacles thrown up along the way. Free article

Wexford Sinn Féin County Councillor JOHN DWYER has exposed serious anomalies regarding planning rights for a proposed extension of Wexford racecourse - a project driven by Sports Wexford Ltd - the owners of the course. Here he talks to An Phoblacht's ELLA O'DWYER about the legal, financial and planning concerns around the project. Free article

"No man has the right to fix the boundary of the march of a nation; no man has a right to say to his country, 'thus far shalt thou go and no further'". Yes, the words of Charles Stewart Parnell are the first words you read when you open the Scottish Government's recently published white paper on independence. Launching the document, Choosing Scotland's Future, First Minister Alex Salmond heralded 'a new chapter in Scottish politics'. Free article

On 10 April 2003, just three weeks before US forces illegally invaded Iraq, George W Bush made this promise to the people he was about to bomb: "Coalition forces (Azerbaijan, Modova, Tonga etc) will help maintain law and order, so that Iraqis can live in security. We will respect your great religious traditions, whose principles of equality and compassion are essential to Iraq's future. We will help you build a peaceful and representative government that protects the rights of all citizens. And then our military forces will leave. Iraq will go forward as a unified, independent and sovereign nation that has regained a respected place in the world." Free article

You know when a famous quote springs into your head? Well, that famous quote by Mairéad Farrell was playing on my mind as I spoke to Carál Ní Chuilín MLA in Stormont today. Free article

Where you were when Elvis died? is supposed, depending on your age, to have the same status as where you were when you heard about JFK? or 9/11? I actually do recall it clearly because I was in the back garden kicking lumps out of the poor tree that had also seen service as a cricket stump when Viv Richards humiliated the Brits at Trent Bridge. Free article

Former Blanket Man assassinated Free article

Tá mé ag suí anseo ag ithe mo mhéara, le salann, agus ag amharc ar Gnéas sa Chathair (níl sé le fáil faoin tuath) agus ag crith le teacht an Sathairn agus an Triathlon ag teacht, agus mé i ndiaidh an Samhradh a chaitheamh ag ithe burgair agus ag ól Cheap ashínó - tá an dath agam tar éis cúpla seachtain thar lear ach níl an bolg ró-shláintiúil. Free article

"We'll intervene whenever we decide it is in our national security interests to intervene and if you don't like it, lump it. Get used to it world, we're not going to put up with nonsense." Free article

Stoop Down Low Party

SDLP Councillor Danny ‘Meatloaf’ O’Connor has upset disability groups with his riposte when he was described as “fat” by DUP Councillor Bobby McKee MBE during a heated planning debate at last week’s meeting of Larne Council. The SDLP man lashed back, calling his antagonist “Stumpy” – former UVF man McKee lost both his legs when a bomb exploded in his car in... Free article