Diary

As Ireland recovers from its treatment by EastEnders scriptwriters, its citizens are bracing themselves for another surreal example of Irish life with the possibility that queen of pop kitsch, Dana, may become president in the forthcoming election. The doe-eyed crooner has retained the services of her long time PR firm Lindsey Holmes Publicity to handle her media relations and promote her hardline Catholic views. A spokeswoman for the agency, which also represents U2 and the Cranberries, said that they were ’looking at taking on someone with political expertise’ before the election at the end of October. Meanwhile, Dana, who actually lives in bible belt America these days, is on a breakneck publicity tour of Ireland, pressing the flesh of local councillors.