Dramatic was probably the best way to describe a week in which we heard senior churchmen seriously question their colleagues, witnessed the collapse of key talks on the future of the economy, watched video footage of flooded homes around the country and heard the sad news that ballad singer Liam Clancy had died.

The fallout from the report on clerical child abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese continues to exercise the minds of many. Widespread calls have been made for the resignation of bishops who are accused in the report of failing to act appropriately when presented with allegations. These calls are now coming from more senior colleagues but so far no one has stood down.

The Government and trade unions talked throughout the week about how the public service pay bill could be reduced by €1.3bn. When the talks collapsed on Friday there was a sense of relief from those who believed that the solution being discussed would have been seriously damaging to the economy.

Similar talks were taking place at Aer Lingus until the airline’s management eventually called a halt and is now ready to do what it believes is necessary to remain in business.

The passing of Liam Clancy marks the end of an era for many of us. He was the last of the ballad group, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, that took the world by storm in the 1960s.

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