We don't need Ikea sales figures to know that we Irish are a house-proud race. Yet judging by two recent court cases, the first involving the jailing of a Monaghan couple for abducting their neighbour's cat and leaving it to die, we are no slouches either in the garden.
The Carrickmacross case boils down to retired lollipop man Patrick Connolly and his wife Bernie, who minds their grandchildren, and their drastic solution to the problem of their neighbour's cat defecating in their garden and soiling their grandchildren's hands and shoes.
The court heard that the heartless grandparents trapped the offending moggie in their kitchen and bagged it before dumping it at the side of the lake.
Judge Raymond Finnegan read the duo the riot act, sentencing them to three months in prison for animal cruelty and sharply remarking that 'we will see how you like being trapped for a while'.
He said they were unfortunate 'that they are coming before an animal lover' who 'will not countenance behaviour like this to any innocent animal'.
It was an unusual admission from a judge because the law is dispensed impartially rather than bending to a judge's disposition.
It might also explain why as a not particularly keen animal lover - OK I'm a bit scared of our furry friends - I think that being denounced for animal cruelty is punishment enough.
Even an animal avoider like me knows that animal cruelty is eclipsed only by paedophilia in the hierarchy of crime and that there is a permanent place in hell for anyone who harms defenceless animals or children.
The Connollys will forever have a stain on their character, whereas once they go to prison they may be indulged or pitied by those who think their sentence is excessive.
Monaghan District Court heard that the heartless grandparents trapped the offending moggie in their kitchen and bagged it before dumping it at the side of the lake
The Carrickmacross case follows a similar feud in Ranelagh where a claim for damages against the owner of Coco the cat ended up in court recently.
Over an 18-month period, solicitor Michael Nugent videoed his neighbour's cat relieving herself and destroying the plants in his newly laid out front garden, and subsequently sued.
In turn, the cat's owner videoed a livid Mr Nugent persistently banging on her door and ringing her bell, and countersued.
The upshot was that the €6,000 damages awarded to the Nugents in the District Court was appealed in the Circuit Court, where the judge said that he didn't think that cats should be put on leads and pleaded with both parties to sort it out.
But as with the Carrickmacross case, the time for compromise was over.
The Connollys - and to a far lesser extent Mr Nugent, who in fairness didn't harm a cat but lost the run of himself altogether - let themselves down, but holier-than-thou animal lovers who behave as if everyone is morally obliged to welcome their pets wherever they wander are no saints either.
Our sensibilities have changed over the years, along with hygiene standards, and while trailing cat poo indoors was no biggie 50 years ago, neither was drowning kittens.
As animal welfare becomes a mark of a civilised society, so too does basic consideration for others and the unwanted impact our adorable pets have on their lives and gardens.
It's a two-way street and the sooner animal lovers realise it, the sooner neighbour disputes can move on from gardens fouled by disgusting cat poo and urine - and get back to resolving the usual differences over boundary walls and off-street parking.
THERE'S ONLY ONE LOSER IN THE WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN TRUMP AND THE POPE... AND WE ALL KNOW IT WASN'T LEO
The war of words between Pope Leo and Donald Trump carries on, with the Pope saying during his tour of Africa that the world is being 'ravaged by a handful of tyrants'.
It's probably only a matter of time before Trump delivers his next cutting riposte, wrapped up in another Messianic image of himself to reoffend Catholic voters.
It's unlikely the president would get so exercised about smoke signals from the Vatican if the incumbent were an Italian or an Eastern European speaking against warmongering.
Some 20 million Catholics helped put Trump back in the White House - another reason for silence.
But Pope Leo is American and, at 70, he's more than 10 years younger than the president he deplores. He's such a threat to Trump's fragile ego that the president is prepared to alienate supporters to put Leo in his place.
It's probably only a matter of time before Trump delivers his next cutting riposte to his compatriot pontiff, wrapped up in another Messianic image of himself to reoffend Catholic voters
The Ancient Order of Hibernians rapped Trump on the knuckles for his 'act of sacrilege' in depicting himself as Christ in flowing robes and for attacking Pope Leo, while Christian MAGA supporters joined the disapproving chorus.
But there's only room for one American power player on the world stage, so the Pope must suffer Trump's put-downs as well as devout Catholic JD Vance's insinuation that he's too woke.
The Pope says he has 'no fear of the Trump administration' and will 'continue to speak out loudly against the war'.
His standing up to the volatile president to fearlessly preach the gospel of peace makes him relevant in ways he might not have anticipated when he landed the top job.
Pope Francis's mission to create 'a poor Church for the poor' resonated in Latin America, but Pope Leo's moral courage and clarity about the chaos Trump has unleashed in the world makes sense to almost everybody.