Christmas is on our doorsteps. This is a time when the exile thinks especially of making their way home: long journeys; old memories; the best of days.

Last week, sipping a morning coffee in a local café, I unfolded the daily newspaper with unease. I read headlines of gardaí in 24-hour surveillance guarding the national treasure that is our rotating Taoiseach.

I went to see the new film about Napoleon. And just like that great General’s invasion of Russia in 1812, that was my big mistake. Had I not been there with a friend, I would have retreated myself about half way through.

Finally Friday comes around.

It’s a given wisdom – though our unionist fellow-Irishmen and women would not easily agree – that there is much the present residents of our divided and disunited Emerald Isle – North and South – hold in common.

I often ponder on the ruins of old cottages.

Noeleen Tyrrell believes we all have the power within ourselves to achieve.

19-year-old Latisha McCrudden is a member of the Irish Traveller community and lives in Belmullet. A first-year law student at University of Galway, she was anything but shocked at the discrimination described in 'Patrick: a Young Traveller Lost', the deeply moving television documentary broadcast by RTÉ recently.

{element} We inhabit a world of replicas where authenticity fades in the face of imitation. From emotions to truths, we've traded them for inferior substitutes.

Castlerea native Anne-Marie Hanly is the Senior Marketing Manager at one of the most recognisable sports brands in Ireland - Intersport Elverys.