The Best of Miriam Lord

Miriam Lord was there when Brian Cowen told a gasping Dáil there was going to be no bailout. At Westminster when Bertie did us proud - and in the Dáil at the end of the Ahern era. There when the Magdelen women accepted Enda Kenny's Dáil apology - and when Gerry Adams's apology for the republican killing of Det Garda Jerry McCabe was met with icy silence. She was on the campaign trail with Enda when he danced with a goldendoodle, and in the Aviva Stadium with Labour as it launched its manifesto while Ireland's rugby team trained below. She was in court to hear the curious case of Bono's trousers, and in Knock for a 3pm appointment with Our Lady. And there when Charles J. Hauaghey, a Northsider like herself, was buried. For the last eight years, as boom turned to bust, Miriam Lord's daily columns in the Irish Times have provided a unique insight not only into the never-ending drama of Irish politics but also into Irish life. She looks on with horror, amusement, disbelief and sympathy at the doings of the nation's leaders, in reports that are fresh, incisive, often poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny.Never cynical but always sharp, her writings paint a vivid picture of modern Ireland. (less)