A glance at the week that was
Not so quiet
Those who complain about quiet Irish soccer supporters should look towards China, where the official media has printed a guide to chanting in advance of the Olympics. Cheer squads will lead synchronised chants involving clapping, a thumbs-up gesture, more clapping and a final flourish involving out-stretched arms.
"Actual training will be involved so as to spread education of how to create the cheers," said the media. Guidance has also been given to the female medal bearers who are undergoing training in how to smile while showing only six teeth, and how deeply they should bow.
Not-so-grim reaper
Ryanair's Michael O'Leary this week complained about the damage high fuel costs may wreak on the airline's profits, but he's assured of one lucrative revenue source: funeral-goers.
"The best yields are VFRs (visiting friends and relatives) going to funerals," he reportedly said.
"They book late because they don't tend to have much notice, and they tend to be price insensitive because they have to travel."
"If you want to justify your existence and say you were right, I'll fight you tooth and nail, inside and outside, and say you were wrong Bertie Ahern to Mahon tribunal counsel Des O'neil, during another difficult day for the former taoiseach
We now know
•Soldiers injured in Afghanistan or Iraq are twice as likely to survive as those who fought in the Falklands or Vietnam wars
•It was the warmest May in a century for several parts of the country, including Dublin, Donegal and Offaly
•Red wine might slow ageing, according to a study of one of its ingredients
The numbers
9.72The new 100m world record, in seconds, set by Jamaican Usain Bolt
14 number of years since Dublin Zoo last celebrated the birth of a white rhino calf. Its new arrival is yet to be named
17.6kmThe distance flown unaided over Galway Bay by Swiss "wingsuit flyer" Ueli Gegenschatz, who travelled at an average speed of 250km per hour