The latest addition to our stellar team of rugby writers reflects on the ups and downs of a magnificent playing career — and reveals the reasons why he's chosen to move to Paris to kick-start his coaching career.

Mice raised without bacteria in the gut showed distinctly autistic patterns of behaviour, choosing to interact with objects more than other mice, scientists at University College Cork (UCC) have found.

It's a story familiar to GAA people all over the country. A stormy annual general meeting, members walking out, transfer applications handed in afterwards.

THERE are three reasons why a managed exit by Ireland from the eurozone is the most urgent economic priority. But first consider this reality.

WATCH them riding on, the three musketeers, Alan Shatter, James Reilly and Phil Hogan!

The latest addition to our stellar team of rugby writers reflects on the ups and downs of a magnificent playing career — and reveals the reasons why he's chosen to move to Paris to kick-start his coaching career.

The sleek white Lauren L yacht has become Cork's latest tourist attraction, and you have to admit, it definitely adds a touch of glamour to the place.

Paddy Power are today refunding all win and each way singles to customers who backed Ireland's Ryan Dolan for last night's Eurovision.

A man was killed and two others were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds today following a "serious incident" understood to involve a serving British soldier.

Leaflets criticising the TD who chairs the Dáil committee hearing opinion on legislating for the X case, and likening abortion to the Holocaust, are being sent to homes in Cork.

David Miliband has said a British departure from the EU would be bad for Ireland.

Waters directly underneath the 1,500m-deep Kinsale Gas Field, in the Celtic Sea, could contain nearly 2.4 billion barrels of oil, according to latest estimates.

While Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton has insisted that the Irish tax regime is transparent, tax campaigners accused Ireland of being a 'doormat' state while academics claimed that up to 150,000 jobs could be jeopardised by Apple's tax practices.

Siobhan Talbot is set to succeed John Moloney as group managing director of Glanbia, at the end of this year — becoming the first woman to head up a major Irish food company.

Tim Cook's tenure at the helm of Apple has been a crash course in crisis management.

Permanent TSB is prepared to write-off certain amounts of unsustainable debt relating to its mortgage customers, the bank's head said yesterday.

It will be several months before AIB comes up with a package to offer tracker mortgage holders, AIB chief executive David Duffy said yesterday.

EU efforts to tackle tax evasion by individuals and corporations have gained pace with Taoiseach Enda Kenny acknowledging that new digital industry may need a different kind of tax structure — something that applies to companies like Google and Facebook.

It is believed the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan told the IMF that he will look to Contingent Convertible Capital (CoCo) Notes if the banks need additional capital buffers following the stress tests.

Permanent TSB is planning to approve nine times more loans during 2013 than it did last year.

Anything the dogs can do it seems cats are always determined to do better.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said he personally supports proposed legislation allowing abortion in limited circumstances, which he said is "consistent with the pro-life position".

British police arrested two more people yesterday in a hunt for accomplices of two British men of Nigerian descent accused of hacking a soldier to death on a London street in revenge for wars in Muslim countries.

This is how the ideal female celebrity would look, according to a survey carried out in Britain.

It is believed the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan told the IMF that he will look to Contingent Convertible Capital (CoCo) Notes if the banks need additional capital buffers following the stress tests.

RABODIRECT PRO12 FINAL: Leinster v UlsterThe perception prior to Brian O'Driscoll's recent decision to add an extra year onto his stellar career was that a place on a victorious Lions tour was the only box left to tick after 14 long years, but it was never that simple.

Champions Donegal will begin their defence of the Ulster SFC against Tyrone at Ballybofey on Sunday (4pm) with the same 15 players who started last September's All-Ireland final win over Mayo.

Byzantium, partly filmed in Ireland, is Neil Jordan's second film in the genre he has loved since Bram Stoker's home first spooked him as a child, says Marc O'Sullivan

A new exhibition in Cork showcases artists from Berlin, says Tina Darb O'Sullivan