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 penalty points, the death of a young boy in Scotland – and that nun who gave birth in Italy.

So here, in no particular order, are the standout comments from the week that was.

The 5 most popular comments this week

1. With 3,321 green thumbs, the top comment of the week was made by Demelza Cullen after the tragic and devastating death of young Scottish boy Mikaeel Kular was announced.

R.I.P little man. I hate this world sometimes.

2. It was on a further development in the same story – that the three-year-old’s mother was detained in relation to the death – that Keith Shanghai Irish received 1,867 thumbs up for offering his sympathies.

Absolutely heart breaking news to wake up to, sitting having breakfast with my wee girl of similar age. Just can’t understand it at all. RIP little man

3. We all love a good pun – well, 1,700 of you do anyway, giving Vivian Wynne Philips green thumbs for this frankly excellent remark about the nun who gave birth to a baby Francis recently.

She better not make a habit out of this…

4. The death of Mikaeel Kular resonated with most of our readers and it was again on an article about his death that Wayne Scales received 1,590 green thumbs for his thoughts.

I think the fact that so many people joined the search shows there are a lot more decent people than horrible ones, may the little fella RIP

5. A good love story will always get us and Alan Mulvey got his just rewards – in the form of 1,442 thumbs up – for sharing his tale on a piece about online dating.

I joined plenty of fish 3 years ago and went on a date. in 8 weeks im getting married to that girl and could not be happier in life

The top 5 articles which received the most comments this week

1. ‘I can now feel lucky every day’: Over 3,000 people granted Irish citizenship (430 comments)

2. Anti-Muslim ‘Irish voice’ page to be reported to Gardaí, Facebook (285 comments)

3. Spain’s new cardinal says homosexuality is a ‘defect’ (254 comments)

4. Putin says gay people at Olympics must ‘leave children alone’ (246 comments)

5. Traveller women refused entry to charity event win District Court case (211 comments)

Some of the best comments left on the site this week

Family Fun

(Image: @ChristineBohan)

The above image of a music shop in Dublin was taken by our Deputy Editor Christine Bohan yesterday and we just had to share the sweet sign. Store owner, Geraldine Byrne, gave us the inside track in the comments section:

That’s my music shop :) sign was written by the doting grandmother Maria Moorkens Byrne and grandfather Charles Byrne.  Baby Fiachra was born 11.08 Tuesday 21st and has a big brother Dara. Thanks for making us all smile today!

DailyEdge.ie told us nine ways that parents have really embarrassed their kids on Facebook but we really felt for the sister of Laura W, who told us:

My Dad was so p*ssed off at my sister last year for not looking after her room; he waited until she left it in sh*te again, took photos of it from various angles while she was out, posted them to Facebook and TAGGED her in them.
Angry Dad – 1
Angsty teenage sister – Nil

Laughs

This simple line from rotund jocularity made us laugh out loud after reading it on an article about a race being disturbed by an earthquake in New Zealand:

Greyhounds ain’t got time for quakes!

The lads and ladies of DailyEdge.ie got immense fun out of Sharon’s Unimpressed Face. So much so, they made Ireland’s very own meme.

Over on Facebook, Réidín Kelleher noted that

Aengus still in the lead !!!

(In case you've been living under a rock, she was referring to this)

Here for each other

On a piece about gay rights, Ryleigh Kane had some motivational words for LGBT couples with intentions of having children.

My partner and I have two beautiful girls.Both of them are fostered.Like many other gay couples we encountered a lot of obstacles when we decided to foster.It was worth every minute and I want to say to every couple who wish to foster to stick with the process.You will succeed.It is not easy but the rewards are more than you could ever imagine.

The comments section under videos which detailed the lung problems and heart diseases that have destroyed three smokers became a good forum of support for those trying to kick the habit.

Crazy wrote:

I quit smoking just over two weeks ago. Best thing I ever did. But I really dislike the way smokers are being made feel like lepers!!! The outcasts of society. Give them a break. It’s not easy to quit! And they are paying a huge amount of tax for their addiction. It’s not about educating a smoker. They know the risks. It’s an addiction! Stop slating them!!!!!

Gerry Ryan shared his current situation:

Three weeks off them today I hope to f@#k I stay off them!!The insomnia is killing me but I have been assured it will be worth it in the end!!…Heres Hoping!

And Yazz Coyle gave him some dressing room words:

It does go away , takes about 3 weeks to sleep right again !! If your using patches they can keep u awake 24/7 but it’s still so worth it !! I’m 2yrs off them last week and so glad !! I don’t think I’ll ever be a reformed smoker I loved smoking to much ;) but it’s seriously worth giving up !! I feel 100times healthier !!! Good luck

Animal Cruelty

Unfortunately, it is a symptom of the economic downturn that we are not looking after all our animals like we used to. Animal rescue services and shelters are busier than ever before and there have been a number of cruelty cases highlighted this week.

Unfortunately this is just the tip of the iceberg. AHAR (Animal Heaven Animal Rescue) had to save 17 more horses/ponies that were left to die on Tuesday 21st Jan. The conditions these animals were left in were horrendous to say the least.. To quote them
“As we drove in, four ponies stood knee deep in their own feces in a filthy paddock with nothing to eat. They were eating their own feces and had eaten the timber rail around them.
We then walked into the stables and it was just the same. We all were in silence, couldn’t speak or even believe this was happening. Then we opened a door in to an indoor arena…. Oh my god! Just wait till you see the state of them. This is one hell of a cruelty case as we looked from one to another. They all came for us, begging for food. Searching our hands…. hoping for food. Outside we found a tiny foal just made of bones as she lay in her own dirt, too weak to get up. She is only about three months old, totally starved and no mother.” Please go and to the following facbook page https://www.facebook.com/ahar.ie?fref=ts and see amazing work they do…And support whatever way you can..maybe by becoming a volunteer ..

Richard Ill noticed a pattern across the news stories, writing on one about a horrific case of dog cruelty:

Ireland is starting to gain a big reputation for animal cruelty! The government has to bring in severe laws protecting animal welfare. How dare somebody do this to an animal, disgraceful!

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