In the meantime, here’s an amusing piece from today’s Irish Times, inspired, no doubt, by the brilliant scene from Yes, Prime Minister.  It’s part of Anne Marie Hourihane’s welcome letter to the new US Ambassador to Ireland:

The Media. The Irish media is based in Dublin and never leaves it. The Irish media prefers the darker side of the street in all matters, except, until very recently, in the reporting of economic news. Aren’t we gas?

Roughly speaking, the newspapers agree on everything, and are kind of hard to tell apart. You can break them down like this:

• The Irish Times contains what people think they should be thinking.
• The Irish Independent contains what people would be thinking, if they thought about it.
• The Irish Examiner contains what people in the south of the country are thinking – but those people are rather confused.
• The Irish Daily Mail contains what people are ashamed to be thinking.
• And the Evening Herald has never had a thought in its life; although it does sometimes argue that the whole population should be interned without trial.