EVERY SATURDAY MORNING we take a look at all the best comments left on the site by our readers over the past seven days.

This week there was a lot of talk about John McNulty, those J1 students and winning loads of euros.

So here are the standout comments from the week that was.

The 5 most popular comments this week

1. Michael Kirby was not impressed with a number of J1 students who trashed an apartment in San Francisco. Neither were 4,701 of you. 

Wow name and shame! They shouldn’t get away with that. Disgrace!

2. The three-boobed woman turned out to be a hoax, just like Were Jammin hoped. A total of 2,434 of our readers laughed at his comment. 

Hopefully it is a hoax, otherwise I’d say she’s getting groped left, right and center…

3. The stabbing of Jonny Cooper created shock in Dublin last weekend. His attacker was caught on CCTV and 1,836 readers thumbed up C. Fishin1 for this. 

Hope someone can identify that rat bsatard

4. James Murphy should advise the UN, according to the 1,570 green thumbers. 

Myself and the spiders in my house have an agreement, I stay away from them, they stay away from me, tensions did rise last week when a spider entered the neutral zone, but negotiations went well and we’re still at peace.

5. Scam emails, always funny until…. Kane Abel‘s was pretty decent last week following the Euromillions win, or so 1,433 of you thought anyway. 

Dearest SirsI am being this Winnur but due to I am Nigerian King Duke I need you to send me $890 so I can in return bring €2,0000,000 in your bank account.Sincerely,

Dame Ubundgu McNamara

The top 5 articles which received the most comments this week

1. Poll: Should Northern Ireland hold a vote on joining the Republic? (409 comments)

2. ‘Sad and depressed’ but not ‘actively suicidal’ – the HSE’s verdict on Ms Y (300 comments)

3. About 500 British troops are to train on this Derry mountain and nationalists aren’t happy (227 comments)

4. PHOTOS: 11 people arrested during an ‘unofficial protest’ over water charges (210 comments)

5. New video shows beheading of Frenchman by Islamic State militants (210 comments)

The big issue this week

People – including some of the party’s own TDs – weren’t happy with Fine Gael this week after the Enda Kenny/John McNulty/Heather Humphries/Seanad/IMMA controversy.

Patrick Linehan had this to offer:

If Bertie was coated with Teflon, then Enda must be basted in Kerrygold.

Some of our favourite comments

Lily shared her childhood experiences with us during the week. Powerful stories such as these show what a warm and caring place the comments section can be.

I watched my dad beat my mother as a kid. Helpless to do anything.
At times I would stick my head under the pillow and cry.
My dad was a stereotypical alcoholic.
I was a very sensitive child.
First thoughts and attempts of suicide were at age 8. Where I stuck sharp knife to my stomach. I could barely scratch the skin. But still i wanted to die.
I was socially awkward.
Had to keep my home life a secret.
Never underestimate the effects of domestic violence on kids.
For people out there where there is domestic violence,  put your kids first. Get out of there no money in the world is worth living in that hell even if there are good days.

After some amazing responses, Lily wrote back:

I’m great now. I left home at 16. Made peace with my family in my early 20s. Dad died 5 years ago. Of course I miss him he was my dad, not the best dad but hey that life is over now, I’ve moved on. But It still made me who I am today, to come out the other end is hard.Trying to build a relationship with someone you love when the only knowledge you have of relationships is toxic, is hard. I couldn’t (verbally) fight with my boyfriend I was either submissive or broke it off with him. I didn’t know how to have an argument or fix one or even stand up for myself. But he stuck with me, 17 years later and we are still good together. He taught me how to argue and stand up to him verbally. I still have a submissive streak.It is amazing how a child’s perception of life present and future can be damaged and altered by domestic violence. Future relationships are affected by what the child witnesses.

They often blame themselves when they are kids. They carry a lot of baggage, stuff they should not have to deal with at any age but certainly not in childhood. Kids can’t just walk away and they don’t know how to ask for help without ripping their family apart, the only family they have and love, even if it is toxic. They too could be getting hit but even when they aren’t the psychological damage is long lasting.

You guys had a lot of jokes at the expense of Apple this week after it emerged that the new iPhones have been bending in people’s pockets. On an article about the microvwave phone charging hoax, Abilitive had this to say:

If you leave a bent IPhone 6 in the oven at 180° c for five minutes it will straighten itself out.

Laura O’Sullivan has a lot of love for her GP and she shared it with readers on a story about GPs’ plans to protest for the first time ever:

Jesus, I’m actually lucky with my GP €40 is what he charges and €20 if my baby is sick, always will see you if you don’t have the money and you can drop it in when you do – not all GPs actually care about the money they have a genuine love for what they do.

Spot any good comments? Send them through to us by email at sinead@thejournal.ie.