EVERY SATURDAY MORNING we take a look at all the best comments left on the site by you lot over the past week.

This week there was a lot of talk about the Anglo tapes, Nelson Mandela, the abortion legislation, the anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland, and ways to break up with your better half.

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

The top 5 articles which received the most comments this week

1. Billboard company discontinues Youth Defence campaign after Rape Crisis Centre incident – 290 comments

2. The 11 most annoying drivers on Irish roads – 285 comments

3. Asylum seekers protest over accommodation’s ‘expired food and rat infestation’ – 254 comments

4. Gardaí have had the Anglo tapes for over four years, says Kenny – 250 comments

5. Buying sex should be a crime, selling it should not – Oireachtas committee – 237 comments

Some of the best comments left on the site this week

Were you the lucky person who had the €93 million Euromillions ticket sold in Dublin earlier this week? No, us neither. Boo. On this article about the ticket, commenters shared their stories about what they would do if they won – including this from Leslie Alan Rock:

My best friends da..god rest him was asked if he won the lotto what about the begging letters? ” Ah id still send them” was his response

With the republication of Justice Minister Alan Shatter’s book ‘Laura’ this week, we did readers a favour and read the much maligned sex scene in it so you didn’t have to. (You’re welcome). Lisa Talbot on Facebook was not impressed:

Ahh here .. he didn’t even last half a paragraph!!

Getting up in the morning can be tough, so this week we had the rules for how to successfully get up every day. Claire Cotter shared her own horror story:

I don’t wake up fully for around an hour after I get up so I’m in a zombie like daze getting dressed.
Went into school once and gave out to a student for being late for first class and forgetting her book. I told her that organisation in the morning was extremely important. I could tell she was trying to suppress laughter. I asked her what was wrong. She replied
‘It’s just that… you’re wearing two different shoes.’

Serves me right really.

Thursday’s column on miscarriages seemed to strike a chord with a lot of readers. Here, Josie shared her own experience…:

Very well written article, well done. Having been there twice it is a heartbreaking time for both parents, sometimes there is no medical explanation and that is the hardest thing to accept, the self blame is huge for something you did or didnt do. For us there was a happy ending, 3 wonderful children now. I have trees planted in our garden for my 2 angels and they will never be forgotten.

… while OU812 wrote about what it was like from a man’s point of view:

Having gone through seven miscarriages in five years, each one deadened me a little more. After years of doubting my religious beliefs, after number three, I lost them totally. I’d like to apologise openly to the lady who said to me “God works in mysterious ways”. I was very abusive to you.

I don’t believe in a God now. If there is one, it’s one seriously “effed up” individual.

I watched my beautiful wife go through each and every one, unable to do anything except lie beside her & hold her, when she wanted to be held that is. It put huge huge strain on us, contributed to depression & almost destroyed us individually.

They were all early so we don’t know what they were, but we think they were boys. I have names for them all in my head. Only one I remember the exact date, because it was the same date as my birthday, but I remember the time of year of each.

The doctors explained to us, that it’s “genetically encoded to happen if the viability of the life is compromised” & although that’s a very sterile & scientific statement, it brings me far more comfort than religious comments.

The dad is barely thought about in these cases, but it hurts as if it was happening to us. no matter how many times it happens, each one is a little worse.

It happens to so many people, so many times & there really is no other reason other than a self destruct mechanism, but that doesn’t dull the pain.

To those who it’s happened to recently or will happen to in the future, be strong, love your partner, find strength in each other. You will get through this.

Finally, a special shout out for what was our favourite comment thread of the week. On a thread about songs every Irish person knows all the words to (the Baywatch theme tune, Maniac 2000, Give It a Lash Jack, etc), Kieran Ross posted these five lines. You can guess what happened next:

In west Philadelphia born and raised
On the playground was where I spent most of my days
Chillin’ out maxin’ relaxin’ all cool
And all shootin some b-ball outside of the school
When a couple of guys who were up to no good…….

The 5 most popular comments on the site this week

1. The top two most popular comments this week both came from the article about the 33-year-old woman who lost her case after she sued Dublin night club Copper Face Jacks for injuries sustained on the dance floor. First up, with a mammoth 2,327 thumbs up was this from The Green Monkey:

Delighted, we need to end this claim culture………….

2. And in second place, with some excellent punning, was Padraig Stapleton with 2,034 thumbs up:

It just goes to show, never, ever, drink and jive.

3. The Anglo tapes generated a huge amount of talk this week. In third place was Kerry Blake with this comment about the ongoing investigation into some bankers:

6 years on and no one in front of the courts. Even after a change in government. Mystifying…

4. David O’Connor had the fourth most popular comment this week with 1,168 thumbs up for this post on the article about the man who has been on hunger strike for more than one week to oppose the property tax:

You health is your Wealth…its only money….its just paper…eat up your dinner…its just not worth it anymore.

5. Last but not least, Kimberley Brennan got 1,095 thumbs up on the article about British chancellor George Osborne making front page news in the UK for spending the equivalent of more than €10 on a burger:

Good lord…. This counts as news? Let the man have his burger!!!

Spot any standout comments? Tell us about them: mail christine@thejournal.ie with any suggestions for next week’s Comments of the Week.