There's a particular species of politician who discovers a problem only when it threatens to jeopardise their career. They wake up one morning, check the polls, and suddenly the blindfold falls away.

It is interesting how things change.

The 1986 film Stand By Me is a classic coming-of-age story based on a Stephen King novella, exploring the darker edges of growing up and the fragility of innocence, set in late-1950s rural America.

The sounds of old, the songs of lark and curlew, like the smell of baked bread or a smoker’s pipe, are strong in their ability to bring back fond memories. Over the years, the waft of pipe smoke has faded and, alas, so too has the song of the curlew.

Glenmore House was always far from the contentious Orange Day parades, so it’s hard to imagine that this peaceful corner of North Mayo was once home to a Unionist MP in Westminster.

If you are of a certain vintage, you may have had a realisation, probably somewhere between your first pair of reading glasses and the unsettling knowledge that the last crop of Gardaí look like schoolboys, when you stop giving a damn what anyone ...

An unspoken but obvious change in attitude in recent times is the new regard most people now have for the care of family graves.

Forty-five years ago this week Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States. His legacy and record remain much discussed and contentious today, and his impact on contemporary American politics was highlighted again very recently.

Saipan. For those over 35, just the name of that place evokes a lot of memories - and strong feelings. The events on that island that led to Roy Keane not playing at the 2002 World Cup have played out in many a head since.

Should you so choose, with a single search online, you can view a photograph of Abraham Lincoln looking like death chewing a wasp.