Jim McDaid has given the Donegal Democrat a detailed statement in support of his claim that the Morris tribunal was wrong to conclude that Richie Barron’s death was the result of a hit-and-run. Nothing in the 4,000-word statement is in the slightest bit convincing.

The cornerstone of McDaid’s argument is that no forensic evidence places a vehicle at the scene of Barron’s death. Quite. But the reason for that lack of evidence was the gardai’s failure to preserve the crime scene, allowing heavy rain and locals to wash away any glass, paint, oil or debris that may have remained.

McDaid is sympathetic to the notion that Barron was assaulted with a weapon, but nothing in his screed supports it. Indeed, evidence he uses to discredit the hit-and-run theory can equally be used to discount assault. For instance, he says a family living near the scene of Barron’s death did not hear the “huge impact” of a car. True, but nor did they hear the more distinct, and possibly louder, sounds of a brutal assault.

McDaid makes much of the “differing” medical evidence and the “confusion” of all the forensic language used at the tribunal. A bewildering complaint from a GP.

Mansergh rewrites the history of Pearse's sexuality

Senator Martin Mansergh delights in defending the indefensible, from Charles Haughey to the republican movement. So when RTE needed somebody to say a good word about Padraig Pearse for a radio programme on Tuesday, who better than the Fianna Fail historian.

Despite the overwhelming evidence that Pearse was a homosexual, Mansergh reckons there is no proof about the nature of the Easter Rising leader’s sexuality. “It’s speculative,” he says. “There is no suggestion that he was actively a paedophile.” Rather contradictorily, Mansergh adds: “He might have idealised boys, but so what?”

Wikipedia adds that, although skangers can be found all over Dublin, “if one ignores Tallaght, it could be true to say the number is greater on the northside”.

Trust Orangemen to turn Benidorm's mood sour

The south of Spain is known for its oranges, but not its Orangemen. So denizens of Benidorm were bemused on July 12 to find an illegal Orange parade on their doorsteps.

It was organised, for the fourth successive year, by Bryan and Catherine Sheeran from Belfast, owners of the Ibrox bar in Benidorm and proud founders of Glasgow Rangers’ first supporters’ club by the Spanish sea. The Sheerans say 2,000 people took part in the Orange march, with many coming from Belfast, and “everyone enjoyed themselves”.

Er, no they didn’t. The local authorities were none too happy with the Huns in the sun. They say there were just 400 Orange marchers, who comprised “a very noisy gang and many of them appeared to be drunk”. Police stopped the march after 10 minutes when it started to block the road, and took the names of the organisers. They were each fined €6,000 last week.

An Alicante government delegate said: “They defied the ban and even went ahead after the London bombings, which shows how insensitive they are.” Insensitive Orangemen? Never.

Fra McCann, a Sinn Fein councillor in Belfast, says the police “respect difference as long as you are not a nationalist”. His colleague Billy Page accused the peelers of encouraging people to accept gifts from strangers and using the bands as bribes.

At least they’re not a rip-off. Sinn Fein is still selling “saoirse” wristbands at €2.50 with “all proceeds going towards highlighting the issues of Irish political prisoners of war”, which means Sean Kelly and the killers of Garda Jerry McCabe, currently the only Provos behind bars.

Bertie Ahern’s constituency keeps its eye on No 1. Last week Nial Ring, one of the taoiseach’s minions in Dublin Central, sent out a circular entitled Local Jobs for Local People to the residents of Ballybough, North Strand and Clonliffe. Ring had organised a “jobs fair” to ensure locals find employment in the new Jurys Doyle hotel by Croke Park.

Among the Fianna Fail area representatives listed was Fulton Brady, brother of the former lord mayor Royston. Which got Sue to thinking, isn’t Royston a hotel manager with time on his hands? Maybe Ahern’s crowd could fix him up with a gig in Jurys just to show that his spat with the party is all water under the (Binns) bridge.

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