A glance at the week that was
Taste the defeat
A few Leinster supporters may have breathed a sigh of relief when New Zealand snatched a win over Munster late in their match at Thomond Park on Tuesday night. Given how much they've gone on about one win 30 years ago, the Munster supporters would happily have bragged about it for years. They will have been disappointed at the late defeat, but delighted by the match, which was a great spectacle. And there will be kids across Munster practising the haka in preparation for any future match.
Smell the coffee
The UK press has had some fun this week with a leaked 11-page memo sent to staff by a cabinet minister, Liam Byrne. "Coffee/Lunch. I'm addicted to coffee. I like a cappuccino when I come in, an espresso at 3pm and soup at 12.30-1pm," he explained. "The room should be cleared before I arrive in the morning. I like the papers set out in the office before I get in. The white boards should be cleared. Never put anything to me unless you understand it and can explain it to me in 60 seconds." He added: "If I see things that are not of acceptable quality, I will blame you." Brian Cowen probably has similar demands, maybe requesting this week that all the newspapers be cleared from his office before he gets in.
"Oh great..."- Shuttle astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper as she loses a bag of tools during a space walk and realises there is no local BQ to find replacements. The tools are now being tracked as they orbit Earth.
We Now Know
Top of the Pops will return for Christmas specials, two years after its axing
One third of female prisoners at Mountjoy have been freed because of overcrowding.
Of the 12,000 names on a list of British National Party members leaked this week, three had Irish addresses
The Numbers
4,000The total prison population in the State, the highest in its history
£1mThe valuation of a mini Angel of the North sculpture brought to the BBC's Antiques Roadshow
€20mThe ransom demand of Somali pirates who have hijacked a Saudi Arabian supertanker