When Bono cuts his birthday cake next month, he can be quite happy with how life has treated him. One question, however, will continue to dog him: is he a pox?

The poxishness of Bono has plagued the U2 singer in recent years. In one of the great ironies, the writer of world-famous lyrics has been tormented by an anonymous crank with a permanent marker who has taken to writing four words on walls all over Dublin: “Bono is a pox.” Even the man who wrote of streets with no name has been branded with the typically Dublin put-down.

His pox status was debated again last week when he visited Dáil Éireann to hear Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives. He