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Martin wades into abortion debateAs the Dáil committee hearings continue on the abortion bill, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has waded into the debate saying it is important that Christian believers "be, and seen to be, on the side of life, especially when life is most vulnerable".
Payment cuts see families pay rent shortfallLimits on rent supplement payments set by the Government are forcing thousands of families to make undeclared top-up payments to landlords to secure places to live.
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Anger as North Korea launches another missileNorth Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast, a day after launching three more of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said.
How Star Trek predicted the futureWHEN Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry first dreamed up the concept of a television show based in the unexplored universe of Outer Space in 1964, the world was a very different place.
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Warnings over future of eurozoneThe eurozone is heading towards a break up unless there are moves towards much closer political and fiscal union, according to chief economist with State Street Global Advisers, Chris Probyn.
Bruton defends corporate tax rateIreland will be able to maintain its current corporation tax code in the face of international pressure to prevent multinational corporations avoid paying their fare share of tax, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said yesterday.
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Mayo’s statement of intentGalway 0-11 Mayo 4-16 Five minutes to go in Salthill yesterday and James Horan was still cajoling his men to sew it into Galway.
Wilkinson inspires Toulon to gloryASM Clermont Auvergne 15 Toulon 16 Not for the first time this season, a matchday performance and the result have made a mockery of the statistics.
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What Lenny did nextLENNY Abrahamson has directed three feature films: Adam & Paul, Garage and What Richard Did.
Clothes maketh you madTrying on clothes, said Ewart, produced "sensations which bring deep peace and perfect contentment" to the female mind.
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British Open hopefuls strengthen links before Lytham test
By Charlie Mulqueen, Talking Golf
Irish golf fans are keeping a close eye on our links courses this week to see if any of the game’s finest pay a visit ahead of next week’s British Open.
Legends such as Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Mark O’Meara, Payne Stewart and many others came here on a regular basis to finalise their preparations.The trend isn’t as popular now, although the likelihood is that many Americans will reacquaint themselves with links golf on these shores before making their way to Royal Lytham & St Annes.
One can easily imagine the massive interest another visit from Woods would arouse, all the more so because of his three tournament wins on the PGA Tour this year. He is also by some distance the most fascinating personality in the game while remaining as enigmatic as ever.
Just when you thought he was about to regain his status as the game’s finest player and was back to fourth in the world rankings, he missed the cut in the Greenbrier in West Virginia at the weekend. He blamed poor distance control because the tournament was played at altitude but insisted this will not be a problem when he next tees it up at Lytham on Thursday week.
“Yeah, because it’s not going to be this warm and we’re not going to be at altitude, we’ll be on the beach,” he reasoned.
However, the setback underlines the potential folly of investing in Woods for a fourth British Open title at the favourite’s odds of 6/1, a full six points shorter than Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood with Pádraig Harrington’s much improved form of recent weeks reflected in his odds being reduced to 16/1.
Many will be impressed by the 28/1 on offer for Mickelson, although he, like Woods, missed the cut at the Greenbrier and as a result immediately sought and received an invitation for this week’s Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.
‘Lefty’ has gone seven consecutive rounds over par but like Woods believes everything will be right once he reacquaints himself with links terrain. Don’t forgot he was the biggest threat to Darren Clarke midway through the final round 12 months ago at Royal St Georges before faltering.
Mickelson admitted: “I am looking forward to links golf. I enjoy playing the ball on the ground, trying to keep it below head high on some tee shots and so forth. That was fun last year when we had some terrible weather. And it will hopefully play to one of my strengths, which is the short game, and I’ll try to get that sharp heading into the British.”
Harrington’s happy memories of winning the Irish PGA Championship on the weeks immediately before his British Open victories in 2007 and ’08 have prompted him to tee it up at Castle Stuart.
McIlroy and Graeme McDowell are resting up this week but Harrington will be accompanied into the Scottish Highlands by compatriots Shane Lowry, Peter Lawrie, Damien McGrane, Gareth Maybin and Paul McGinley. England’s Luke Donald defends his title.