There was no risk committee when I joined AIB. It was a pretty chaotic organisation. - Michael Somers, who was appointed to the board of AIB by the government in 2010, giving evidence to an Oireachtas committee
I don't know anybody in the sporting or hunting arena that goes out with an assault rifle. I don't know anybody who needs 30 rounds in a clip to go hunting. I mean, these are things that need to be talked about. - Pro-gun US senator Joe Manchin concedes the gun control debate needs to change in the wake of the Newtown school shootings.
A thought for Christmas . . . If Jesus and mother Mary were alive today, they would, as Jews without security, probably end up being lynched in Bethlehem by hostile Palestinians. Just a thought . . . - A message posted on the Facebook page of the Israeli embassy in Dublin. It was quickly taken down
He was the last wall of defence from those who wanted to steal Sam from the Kingdom. - Fr Kieran O'Brien at the funeral of GAA legend Páidí Ó Sé
He has been doing quite well for the past few weeks and has remained upbeat throughout. He has received an enormous amount of support and letters from people from all around the country. - Fr Gerry Comiskey, speaking after visiting Seán Quinn in Mountjoy Prison
We cannot base a society on these foundations without then paying a very high price . . . Why repeat the same mistake and chase after an unattainable Utopia? - Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano makes its position on gay marriage clear in a front-page editorial