THE FURIOUS, though largely politically manufactured, response to Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s Davos debt comments have a lot more to do with cynically playing to a national inhibition about washing our dirty linen in public than any real belief that Kenny was wrong. Wandering off script, his words were perhaps insensitive, unnuanced and unqualified. But the fundamental truth of their thrust is indisputable. And, like the alcoholic, the first step to recovery is to break the habit of denial, that insistence that someone else, everyone else, is to blame.

IT’S HARD TO believe but Valentine’s Day is almost upon us again, the day when, tradition has it, the birds get together to choose their mate. Presuming you’ve chosen yours, why not make like a lovebird and treat them to a romantic break? We’ve rounded up 14 lovey-dovey options in honour of February 14th.

It’s Communion time and a special day calls for a special dress. These styles come with the royal stamp of approval. DEIRDRE MCQUILLAN meets the designer

What’s it like to play the Virgin Mary? Does good writing make acting easy? And how do you screech like Eliza Doolittle? This year’s Irish Theatre Awards Best Actress nominees tell all

CULTURE SHOCK: Postmodernism means picking over the corpse of culture, using irony as the main tool. But in a time of economic crisis, art about art can feel irrelevant and disengaged, writes FINTAN O'TOOLE 

At his Limerick workshop, Ger O'Neill teaches students of all ages how to make stringed instruments, he tells BRIAN O'CONNELL 

. . . . on cooking for the family

HARD-PRESSED retailers got a boost in December as the volume of retail sales rose by 3 per cent compared to the same period in 2010. Month-on-month sales were up more than 2 per cent compared to November.

SOCCER: ALEX FERGUSON and Kenny Dalglish has appealed for both fans and players to ensure today’s FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Manchester United is memorable only for the quality of football.

ROSITA BOLAND begins a three-part series on our main streets with a visit to not-thriving-but-surviving Dungarvan, in Co Waterford.

PUBLISHING: Reading a book by a debut or otherwise unknown author can be like taking part in a blind wine-tasting: you might love what you try – or be glad to be able to spit it out, writes ARMINTA WALLACE 

Make the most of root vegetables now because they’re at their best for just another few weeks, writes DOMINI KEMP 

A referendum on Scottish independence will take place in 2014, but what question should the people vote on? The answer could change the balance of power in Westminster and affect the UK's role in Europe, writes MARK HENNESSY , London Editor

Up to 1,500 women in Ireland have breast implants made by the French firm PIP. Three of them tell PETER McGUIRE of the
worry, frustration and embarrassment they have experienced since problems with the implants were exposed

. . . . on cooking for the family

ANOTHER LIFE: A SOUTHEAST wind has to squeeze through the mountains, first Connemara’s Twelve Bens and then the Sheefrys and Mweelrea on our side of the bay. At gale force, the wind can emerge in bullying, even frightening, gusts, but at other more steady, if still wintry, volumes it just plays games with the clouds.