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Said and done

Astronomical figures and Dáil drinks: The week in quotes

“Either take off the cross or put on pants.”
7.00pm, 12 Aug 2012
5.9k

IN A WEEK DOMINATED by sport, Ireland has been celebrating its best Olympics medal haul for five decades.

Irish boxers brought home four medals between them, while Cian O’Connor’s unexpected success in the individual showjumping also yielded a bronze medal for Ireland.

Meanwhile, Sean Quinn reacted to his former insurance firm’s liability costs by writing to the Department of Finance about his stunned reaction.

Further afield, former UN and Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan urged the international community to pull together and secure a ceasefire, and the punk bank Pussy Riot was put on trial in Moscow after criticising Putin in a performance at a Russian church.

All that and more, in the week in quotes:

Astronomical figures and Dáil drinks: The week in quotes
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  • Week in quotes

    “The figures purportedly required by the administrators from the ICF [Insurance Compensation Fund] are truly shocking. The Court and Dept of Finance should seek further information on how they arrived at this astronomical figure." - Sean Quinn reacts to the estimated €1.6bn cost of Quinn Insurance's administration. (Niall Carson/PA Wire)

  • Week in quotes

    Either take off the cross or put on pants." - Russia's deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin criticised Madonna for her support of three Pussy Riot band members during their trial. (Misha Japaridze/AP/PA)

  • Week in quotes

    "There is nothing else I could do. I could have maybe thrown the kitchen sink at her, I could have maybe driven a bus into her." - Great Britain's Natasha Jones on Katie Taylor's 26-15 win over her at the Wicklow woman's Olympic debut. (Julien Behal/PA Wire)

  • Week in quotes

    "Michelin star chef Richard Corrigan surprises unsuspecting members of the public with a “flash mob” style world-class meal when they least expect it." - One of the more intriguing show synopses for RTÉ's autumn TV schedule. (Chris Radburn/PA Wire)

  • Week in quotes

    “If [the Ceann Comhairle] wants to have a few drinks in the bar with members that’s fine, but if the rules are that we’re not supposed to approach him, he can’t have it every way." - TD John Halligan on Ceann Comhairle Sean Barrett's spat with Luke Ming Flanagan. (Julien Behan/PA)

  • Week in quotes

    “Our current level of technology is simply nowhere near sufficient to protect Earth from such an asteroid by this specific means of asteroid defence.” - Researchers at the University of Leicester, England, don't rate our chances of surviving a major asteroid collision by using the Hollywood-favoured method of nuclear explosion. (Image: Artist's impression of an asteroid striking Earth; from NASA)

  • Week in quotes

    "[T]his task cannot be left to the Russians alone. I expect Iran to play a role. Those governments – the US and the Friends of Syria – that have influence with the opposition should also play a role. If they continue with this destructive competition everyone will lose." - Kofi Annan, former envoy to Syria, speaks about the international community's role in resolving the ongoing Syrian conflict. (Khalil Hamra/AP/PA)

  • Week in quotes

    “We are both moving earth and taking the first steps to bury the legacies of our past.” - US Ambassador David Shear during a groundbreaking ceremony marking a new joint Agent Orange clean-up by US and Vietnamese authorities. (Maika Elan/AP/Press Association Images)

  • Week in quotes

    "Heads up! No, really. My head's up. Mast deploy successful. I'm looking around, taking Navcam images." - NASA's Mars rover Curiosity tweets an update and a photo from the surface of Mars.

  • Week in quotes

    “I’ve dreamed of this moment so many times before. I just can’t believe it. I want to thank everyone for all their prayers over the last week." - Katie Taylor celebrates winning her Olympic gold medal on Thursday. (Julien Behal/PA Wire)
  • “The figures purportedly required by the administrators from the ICF [Insurance Compensation Fund] are truly shocking. The Court and Dept of Finance should seek further information on how they arrived at this astronomical figure.
  • Either take off the cross or put on pants.
  • “If [the Ceann Comhairle] wants to have a few drinks in the bar with members that’s fine, but if the rules are that we’re not supposed to approach him, he can’t have it every way.
  • “Our current level of technology is simply nowhere near sufficient to protect Earth from such an asteroid by this specific means of asteroid defence.” - Researchers at the University of Leicester, England, don't rate our chances of surviving a major asteroid collision by using the Hollywood-favoured method of nuclear explosion. (Image: Artist's impression of an asteroid striking Earth; from NASA)
  • “We are both moving earth and taking the first steps to bury the legacies of our past.” - US Ambassador David Shear during a groundbreaking ceremony marking a new joint Agent Orange clean-up by US and Vietnamese authorities. (Maika Elan/AP/Press Association Images)
  • “I’ve dreamed of this moment so many times before. I just can’t believe it. I want to thank everyone for all their prayers over the last week.

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