Put on the kettle and kick your feet up this Sunday evening while you cast your eye over some of our favourite long reads from the last seven days.
We've turned the budget into a circus
It's safe to say that Vincent Wall isn't a big fan of the budget, and in this piece, he argues that with all the media coverage and hype that surrounds it, we've ended up turning it into a bit of a circus.
"It's like the way Christmas has gone", argues Vincent, "the whole circus starts about two months earlier than it should, and by the time the last 'exclusive' screams at us from the Sunday and daily pages, some of the old magic and suspense of the set piece has been lost".
Why Ireland are perfectly set up to expose the weaknesses of this France side
Ahead of Ireland's crunch final Pool fixture against France in the Rugby World Cup, Cian Murtagh assesses the strengths and weaknesses of both sides and points out that we might be strongest where this French side are at their weakest.
He also explains why Off The Ball's Colm Parkinson will be €50 worse off by the end of Sunday's sporting extravaganza.
How can you explain the success of the Great British Bake Off?
For the last month and a half, Wednesday evenings have been whipped up into a frenzy by whisks, measuring scales, and cake stands. Between knowing wordplay, booze-soaked cakes, structurally-unsound patisserie, and a variety of facial expressions so diverse and extreme that the show should really be used as a guide for people on the spectrum, the world’s nicest reality TV show raises the stakes on kitchen-sink drama.
Just how did the Great British Bake Off become a cultural phenomenon?
Celebrating Sputnik, the beeping beach ball that launched the space race
Almost 60 years ago today, mankind managed to get the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, with a tiny Russian space craft blazing the beeping trail across the sky that opened the door for some of the greatest scientific achievements ever carried out. Sputnik 1, the little ball that got the space race rolling.
Should we rally behind four rugby players having a go at being disabled on TV?
Newstalk's Steve Daunt took a look at TV3 documentary on disability access that follows four non-disabled Rugby players - Jamie Heaslip, Shane Byrne, David Wallace, and Felix Jones - as they take part in a wheelchair relay to raise awareness of disability access in Ireland.
For Steve, "the whole concept looks limited, and makes me wonder could it really raise any lasting awareness?"
A look back at some of Ireland's great sporting moments
Shane Long's now famous goal on Thursday night sent an entire nation into a mood of collective euphoria. Already, it is one of those unique moments where fans will remember where they were when it happened, and hopefully will lead to even better times as Martin O'Neill's team look to qualify for the European Championships in 2016.
Throughout Ireland's sporting history, there have been some fantastic occasions worth remembering, and that brought the entire nation to a halt, so we take a look back at a series of other goosebump inducing moments that might just have you pumped up for Sunday's sport.
