Well now. Leo took the whole country by surprise. He even surprised me, as I was looking at his performance on the big stage and was impressed by his humanitarian approach to the tragedy that is unfolding in Gaza.

Two things spring to mind when I think of whins. There is the old saying: when gorse is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion. And the other thing is that whins were brought to Ireland by Oliver Cromwell as feed for his horses.

Mari Corduff is the Cake Queen! But like many other businesswomen, it’s not something she set out to be. Mari owns The Cake Queen coffee shop in Belmullet and produces novelty cakes for all occasions as well.

This week the Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying is set to publish its report, in which by majority vote it will recommend that both assisted suicide and euthanasia be made legal in Ireland.

So, the Government is to blame for the fact that the people of the country voted No-No in the referendum.

As I write, a sea of daffodils outside the window reminds me that, though yet early enough in the year, Winter has begun to pay its reluctant homage to another Spring.

Emphatically, unequivocally, and with a tremendous resounding belly laugh, the Irish people have given the governing politicians a swift kick to the nether regions.

It is at this time of year, when the grass begins to stir beneath last year’s fallen leaves, that Junior ‘A’ parish teams begin to look towards the year ahead.

Melissa Gilligan is a creative person – there is no getting away from that. A beautician by trade, she always found joy in seeing a vision and bringing it to life. And that’s exactly what she has done with the Old Kirk and Manse in Hollymount.

I enjoy my morning ritual, the hum of the kettle, the smell of freshly ground coffee and caramelised toast. I open the glass patio door and scatter a generous handful of breadcrumbs across the still-cold earth.