FEW would disagree with the sentiments expressed by Cardinal Seán Brady that the creation of a representative police service with independent oversight facilities and the prospect of direct accountability to a locally-elected administration are essential to the future peace and stability of this island as a whole. That's why the transfer of policing and justice powers is essential if we are to jettison the legacy of political, partisan policing that has underpinned the Six-County state since its inception and brought the entire question of justice and policing into disrepute. Free article

HOW about a competition to come up with a floral or other visual response to the poppy, that symbol of "financial, social and emotional support to millions who have served and are currently serving in the armed forces and their dependants". That's how the Royal British Legion, purveyors of the poppy, describes the emblem that Kevin Myers et al brandish every November. Free article

THE sensitive subject of players betting against themselves was the subject of some discussion recently in relation to certain Eircom League soccer players apparently wetting their beaks. Given that the matter is still, presumably, under investigation, we will say no more. Free article

THE Ard Fheis of 1983 marked a significant stage in the political development of Sinn Féin. The historic gathering came in the wake of the campaign in support of the H-Block and Armagh prisoners, the epic Hunger Strikes, the intervention of prisoner candidates, North and South, in 1981 and Sinn Féin's electoral rise in the Six Counties in 1982 and 1983. Free article

Bhí mé ag cóisir breithlá cara liom an tseachtain seo, Comhairleoir de chuid Shinn Féin, agus mall san oíche thug duine den chomhluadar uillinn sna easnacha dom. ''Bhfeiceann tú an bhean thall ansin; tá sí ag caitheamh poppy!" Free article