One of these candidates is much slicker than the other, is a much more practiced, kinda professional, debate-style speaker - and the other candidate won.

News that Sligo County Council has voted for a defacto support for the reopening of the Western Rail Corridor from Sligo to Collooney is an important step forward for the region.

It is probably not an Irish thing but we are good at it. I’m talking about our penchant for adopting and adhering to good ideas for a while and then slowly but steadily wavering and then completely ignoring the good idea.

“And they’re off” conveys a sense of excitement and expectation at the start of what everyone hopes to be, for better or for worse, a memorable even a life-changing and possibly historic event.

The bramble berries were our food,  The water was our wine,  And the linnet in the self-same bush,  Came after us to dine.

Every time we use Knock Airport, we bask in the wonder of what a single-minded priest achieved on the hill at Barnacogue. Monsignor James Horan was an incredible man. He had a vision far ahead of his time for the West of Ireland.

Belmullet native Maureen McAndrew has always had a passion for fashion. After studying Fashion Styling and Display in Galway Technical Institute (GTI), Maureen explored various roles in retail, working in Galway and Castlebar.

A miracle awaits pilgrims in the tranquil, incense-laden air of Turin's Cathedral of St John the Baptist. It's not the kind that leaps out at you with trumpets blaring and celestial lights piercing the firmament.

She was polite but purposeful. "I’m sorry to interrupt, but I overheard you say something about the Green Party in Ireland?"Her half-smile didn’t reach her eyes, and she leaned in almost anxiously, studying me.

The primary task for the next government is to design, build and administer the necessary structures whereby the equitable, just and even distribution of the wealth of the nation is guaranteed.