Miriam Lord

Statements on the anniversary of the Belfast Agreement give a much-needed truce to the daily Dáil set-piece between Mary Lou and Leo

Opposition TDs say they will not tolerate another statement in the tumbleweed hours

Watt never intended to come across as dismissive, cocky, combative and arrogant at the Oireachtas finance committee but unfortunately for him he did

Learnings from Holohan appointment saga will be taken away never to be seen again

US president’s address to joint Houses of the Oireachtas turns into a frequently hilarious, occasionally touching and ultimately heartwarming homecoming

Crowd turns out for unveiling of Nobel winner John Hume’s bust

Everyone in the Dáil agrees the Taoiseach was probably right – it is highly unlikely all the turkeys will vote for Christmas this time out

Sinn Féin leader finds there is no partition in economy class as she is seated in the same row as DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson on their way home from Washington

No skin off Leo’s nose if a few Coalition TDs jump ship rather than vote to end eviction ban

There were no Green Party TDs in sight during the debate on Sinn Féin’s motion to extend the eviction ban

Special 50th anniversary lunch in London; selfies in the Dáil; and Ministers get busy with the kettle bells

Female TDs give out about injustice while the men give shout-outs to their mammies

Holly Cairns hasn’t put a foot wrong, apart from her first single

New leader of the Social Democrats receives world-weary advice from Taoiseach on the burdens of leadership

If only the deal had been struck somewhere less posh, then the Sinn Féin leader wouldn’t be so tongue-tied

Drug talk and a pirate appearance soon overtaken by Soc Dems co-leaders’ exit announcement

What’s seldom is wonderful as Soc Dems’ big announcement takes the heat off Hilde-ganje

Leo Varadkar claims ‘we’ve had tribunals’ for less than Sinn Féin’s electoral spend ‘contradictions’

Miriam Lord’s week: The Minister of State is looking forward to minding the fort on March 17th while the rest of the Dáil are globetrotting

Taoiseach is adamant there will be no kite-flying or leaks in the days before the big announcement

Chinese-manufactured surveillance cameras come sharply into focus in the Leinster House of Flying Daggers

News that the former taoiseach rejoined Fianna Fáil after quitting it 11 years ago before he was pushed by Micheál Martin greatly enlivened the political week

The Return of Bartholomew offers a laugh to downbeat Dáil grinding its way through immigration issue

Eamon Ryan makes a seasonal selection for a portrait alongside Collins and De Valera in Taoiseach’s office

A complicated case about memos flying around government offices explaining how to lawfully do unfortunate divils out of their few bob becomes completely bewildering

‘Some people are laughing at me,’ Varadkar tells Dáil, responding to allegations State diddled people out of refunds for nursing home fees

Lisa Chambers in a dither, Sinn Féin with a softened cough, and a pair of Senators who wouldn’t take ‘ladies, please’ for an answer

Paschal undergoes an intensive course of donation regression therapy

Michael Stone’s statement on Tuesday morning took the heat out of the election expenses controversy

Barry Cowen started off by saying very nice things about Paschal. Then moved on to say even nicer things

Minister appeared to be fuming about having to make another Dáil statement. Was it with himself? Or the Opposition?

In his first Leaders’ Questions as newly installed Taoiseach, Varadkar sticks up for his beleaguered Minister over 2016 election poster expenses

Department store’s abrupt closing, leaving hundreds out of work with only basic redundancy, left a sour taste

Who dug themselves into a hole this year? And who ploughed ahead regardless? We’ve got the winners and losers

Fianna Fáil leader airs his greatest hits while Mary Lou McDonald points to his hall of Shame

From canteen chaos, Wallace’s wine and cheese party to Mountjoy matches, it was a busy week in politics

If your breath is bated for the changing of the guard this weekend, the bad news is that you can expect a wee shuffle instead of a reshuffle

Leaders’ Questions was the end of a significant chapter in Taoiseach’s long career and the beginning of what will be a historic handover in a few days’ time

Three clerics were on hand to bless the bales of straw - one nearly decanted the holy water over Heather Humphreys

Department attempts to clear up confusion as to whether the Minister for Education plans to abolish herself