FOUR PLAY ALERT

This was the scene at a dinner in Dublin Castle to mark the 10th anniversery of the Good Friday Agreement, which brought a relative calm to the troubles on the emerald isle. No problem with that - an event worth celebrating and the hope remains that the peace and tranquility will prove to be permanent.

But hang on a minute, for there are some `inconsistencies` at work here, along with a large helping of irony. Let`s look at the line-up:-

- One-hit wonder `Sir` Bob Geldof, professional ranter, haranguer, eminence grise behind the discredited Kent TV;

- Outgoing Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, having announced his decision to leave in the wake of alleged corruption accusations ;

- Paul Hewson, aka `Bono` - another who, like Geldof, believes that his tuneless warbling allows him to impose his opinions and demands on the rest of humanity; and

- Tony Blair, disgraced Prime Minister with so much to answer for (just ask Mrs. Kelly), UN delegate to the middle east peace project (such sweet irony), directorship enthusiast and speech giver (latest example a reputed £250,000 for a turn in Spain.)

Apparently Tone and Bert are both `serious candidates` for the new President of Europe job - the ironies just keep coming. But perhaps the biggest irony of all is that the gala dinner was organised by the charity `Turn the Tide of Suicide.` It`s enough to drive you to it.