Albert Reynolds . . . in effect pleaded leniency for me. As a result, the bank were satisfied that I had no financial means to discharge the amount due and owing to them and that no useful purpose could be served by having me made a bankrupt . . . The bank agreed to compromise the matter for a lump-sum payment of £20,000.
- The Fianna Fail TD John Ellis, of the settlement by the NIB of his £250,000 debt
I have no specific recollection of making representations on behalf of Mr Ellis to National Irish Bank.
- Albert Reynolds
I am a drug addict, not a paedophile.
- Tara Palmer-Tomkinson of "rumours" she had slept with Prince William
The message of a year of proceedings in the Pinochet case and of today's historic ruling is clear: those who commit, order or tolerate torture can no longer be sure of a peaceful retirement.
- Mary Robinson, of the Pinochet ruling
Absolutely not. I see myself as different in a whole lot of ways. I also see myself as very human, and over the years I have tried to be human and compassionate as a priest to people who were different and in all types of tight corners. Today, perhaps, I find myself needing a bit of understanding and compassion.
- The dissident priest, Bishop Pat Buckley, acknowledging his homosexuality
This place just seems to be a graveyard for us.
- Ireland soccer defender Kenny Cunningham, of the Skopje fixture
There is no alternative to it. There is no Plan B. It is that or nothing.
- The new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Mandelson, of the Belfast Agreement
If Roland the Rat was appointed Northern Ireland Secretary I would say everyone should work with him, but I would still point out he was a rat.
- The Conservative Party leader, William Hague, of Mr Mandelson's new job
I am sad, obviously, to be leaving the job. I have got a lot of good friends now and it is a beautiful place to work. There's never an easy time to go. Now is clearly not an easy time. But everybody has to go at some time.
- The departing NI Secretary, Mo Mowlam
The comings and goings of British ministers is irrelevant . . . The fact remains that they are upholding Britain's undemocratic and illegal rule in Ireland.
- Bernadette Sands McKevitt, 32 County Sovereignty Movement
In their eagerness to strike deals with the Provisionals, both sometimes seemed to overlook the existence of the unionists.
- John Major, in his autobiography, of the Dublin and Washington administrations
I am instructed to say on behalf of Mr Sheedy that every day he feels guilt and remorse still for what he did, and to apologise to the Ryan family.
- Patrick MacEntee SC, during architect Philip Sheedy's appeal against his sentence
How can a Government which failed to confront its friends in business over recent years now take such a line with a group of the most dedicated people in society?
- The Archdeacon of Dublin, the Ven Gordon Linney, of the State's nurses
You can very well understand that this is not something that one expects to happen every day . . . It was a spontaneous reaction. - A Pakistani military spokesman on coup leader Gen Pervez Musharraf's plans