The week that was at a glance
€1/4mGrant given by Irish government to Orange Order
€116,000Compensation awarded Pakistani man who, for five years, worked 60 hours a week in a Dublin restaurant for take-home pay of €50 a week
€35mPrice fetched at auction by Francis Bacon painting, Triptych 1974-77
We now know...
An Iranian man has been sentenced to death for violating anti-alcohol laws on four occasions.
A quarter of the car drivers killed in car crashes in 2006 were not wearing seatbelts.
The actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of six prescription drugs, according to the New York City medical examiner.
Choc value
Just as everyone was looking at the presidential race across the Atlantic - with much of RTÉ decamped there - Fianna Fáil senator Mary White (left), founder of Lir chocolates, announced that she will be seeking the nomination for the Irish presidency. The election isn't until 2011, but she's gone early with the pitch of making it a hat-trick of Marys in the Áras.
"She is not the Minister for Sport and Tourism"
Fine Gael's health spokesman Dr James Reilly criticises Minister for Health Mary Harney's detour to the Superbowl during a US fact-finding trip
Coach curse
It was the week of the sports coach. Eddie O'Sullivan is bringing the Irish rugby team to Paris today on the back of a display against Italy which drew boos from some quarters. The Irish soccer team has now gone so long without a permanent manager that the players could probably just run things themselves. And the Cork county hurling and football players remain on strike, despite talks aimed at breaking the deadlock over the role of newly appointed football manager Teddy Holland.