ELLA O'DWYER, from Gortnaskehy, Roscrea, County Tipperary, is the 2008 Le Chéile honouree for Munster. Ella served over 13 years of a life sentence, nine of which were spent in English jails and the remainder in Maghaberry Prison. Sentenced in 1986 after being arrested in Glasgow the previous year with Martina Anderson, Gerry 'Blute' McDonnell, Peter Sherry and Pat Magee ('The Brighton Bomber'), she was released in 1998 under the Good Friday Agreement. Having spent regular periods of solitary confinement in Durham Prison, Ella and her republican comrade, Martina Anderson, forced the British Home Office to acknowledge the inhumane conditions in prisoners where held in one of England's most notorious prisons - H-Wing, Durham. PHILIP LACKEN looks back at her life so far. Free article

WATERFORD community safety, policing and public support services were top of the agenda in a fact-finding visit to the city on the Suir by Sinn Féin Justice spokesperson Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD last week when he met community groups, residents' associations and the Garda district chief superintendent. Free article

JEFFREY DONALDSON wants to hold a commemorative service in Stormont to "celebrate the lives of role models": the role models in this case being the SAS, the assassination squad of the British Army that operates outside the law. Free article

FIDEL CASTRO'S stepping down as president of Cuba naturally received a mixed reception by world leaders. His contribution to socialism and internationalism was warmly acknowledged by progressive countries and greeted with sabre-rattling by Cuba's enemies. Free article

AN UNUSUALLY large number of articles and comments on Cuba and its political developments in the last recent days have been published in the Irish and international media. Such big interest in a relatively small country has a particular reason. Fidel Castro, the legendary revolutionary leader, stepped down from his position of Cuban president after almost 50 years in power and just a week before the newly-elected Cuban National Assembly was due to elect the new Council of State and its president. Free article

Tháinig baill d'eagraíochtaí ghluaiseacht na Ghaeilge as gach cearn den tír, tháinig siad le chéile i nGaillimh an deireadh seachtaine seo caite le haghaidh Tóstal na Gaeilge. Free article

BOOK REVIEW The Political Punter: How to make money betting on politics By Mike Smithson Published by Harriman House, England Price Stg £12.99 Free article

Léirmheas leabhar Mo Scéal Féin, Diego Le Diego Fernandez López Free article

WHEN St Vincent's won the all-Ireland club football final in 1976, Dublin won the All-Ireland. There was similar happy coincidence in 1995 when Kilmacud Crokes accomplished the same feat. No doubt the entire country will be hoping that the fates decree a similar outcome this year. Free article

THOSE journalists in the Establishment media who relentlessly pursue an anti-Sinn Féin agenda are often naïve to the point of crass ignorance about revolutionary politics. This applies to those who claim 'war correspondent' expenses for drinking with 'IRA sources' in darkest West Belfast as much as it does to the more obvious opponents of republicanism. But the shameful comments of some of these hacks on the death of Brendan Hughes is matched only by their profound lack of respect for all freedom fighters, 'The Dark' included. Free article