Facilities may only be one small step towards sporting success, but many in athletics are in celebration mode after various projects took a giant leap towards becoming reality.

Two divers are safe and well after going missing off the south Dublin coast.

Great players hit great shots under pressure and Joe Lyons was thrilled to rifle a beauty to Westport’s 18th to give Galway AIG Senior Cup victory over Carton House.

The European Commission president confirmed today there will be border checks between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland if there is a no-deal Brexit.

Local property tax rates will stay the same in some Dublin suburbs.

A solo sailor has been rescued from the coast of Dublin.

His boat capsized near Dalkey at about 4pm.

Almost a year after it was launched by the Government, a new agency designed to use empty landbanks across the State for housing needs remains in a legal limbo without powers.

Up to 200 students at a school in Balbriggan in Dublin will be taking classes elsewhere this morning.

Gardaí are continuing to appeal for witnesses after an assault in South Dublin.

Latest: The principal of a south side Dublin school says it would be "devastating" if its playing fields have been sold.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney has opened an early lead on his main rival Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar in the race to succeed Enda Kenny as Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach.

This week, the Irish Examiner Political Team — Juno McEnroe, Fiachra O Cionnaith, Elaine Loughlin, and Daniel McConnell — have endeavoured to pin down where support within the 73 members of the Fine Gael parliamentary party is likely to go once votes are cast.

Two of Ireland’s great soccer academies battle for glory today as UCC and UCD meet in the Irish Universities Collingwood Cup final at Maynooth University (2.30pm).

People who lost their lives at sea this year will be remembered at a special ceremony today.

Well, this isn't easy…

Fine Gael TDs are split on refunding water charges, with half of those contacted by the Irish Examiner in favour of giving the money back and a near identical number saying non-payers must instead be pursued.

Former Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has said he expects to be involved in any likely campaign to change Ireland’s abortion laws and also remain active in the party.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

1. Seisiun singing Sing Out Sunday takes over Dublin’s Helix Theatre this weekend for an event never before seen in Ireland, a ‘mass choir get-together’ led by The Voice UK’s vocal coach Mark De-Lisser.

Eamon Gilmore, the former Tánaiste and Labour leader, is set to release a frank and detailed political memoir just as his party prepares to begin its general election battle.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s refusal to grant planning permission to build 164 houses in South County Dublin is to be challenged in the High Court.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have travelled through rural Ireland, from Sligo to Cork. 

A sailor who suffered suspected spinal injuries on a yacht is receiving hospital treatment this afternoon after a rescue operation on Dublin Bay.

Monkstown Golf Club will be a hive of activity this week as it plays host to the national finals of the Private Home Care inter-club women’s championships from tomorrowthrough to Saturday.

Primary teachers have called for longer-term thinking on staffing for small schools after it emerged the Department of Education is supporting the opening of a Dublin primary school with just one pupil.

Three teenagers have been rescued after they became disorientated in heavy sea fog, while walking on Sandymount Beach in Dublin.

The Coalition is expected to announce a raft of junior ministerial appointments today including new positions in social protection and environment.

Not content with an All-Ireland double title success, East Cork Golf Club lady president Catherine Coughlan has thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the membership in the hunt for national recognition.

Shane Lowry secured his best finish in nearly a year but two crowd distractions over the closing holes in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews cost him victory.

The State was owed €713m in development contributions by the end of 2011, but local authorities had to provide for the likelihood that more than a third of that total would never be paid.

The trial of four councillors accused of accepting bribes to rezone more than 100 acres of land has heard that the rezoning went against the advice of the then county manager.

The trial of four Councillors accused of accepting bribes to rezone over 100 acres of land has heard that the rezoning went against the advice of the then county manager.

Gardaí at Dun Laoghaire are seeking the public's assistance in tracing the whereabouts of Thomas Coghlan.

HOW many councillors does it take to change a government?

For a relatively small population, we have excessive government that has been strangling our economy.

The director general of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) says there is no point in local authorities pressing for monies on developments that have not yet been built.

Pressure was piled on Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin to open up access to information for the public on bailed-out banks as well as semi-state bodies.

Local authorities battling antisocial behaviour in their estates sought 56 eviction warrants and 32 exclusion orders last year, figures show.

The taxpayer has footed a €31,000 bill for sending local government officials from one county council to a management course at a US university — with the body that collects the household charge paying course fees.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and Education Minister Ruairi Quinn have said Mr Gilmore’s wife was treated the same as other senior education figures when given a job at the Department of Education.

Fianna Fáil is demanding answers from the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore after the appointment of his wife to a job in the Department of Education.

The wife of Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore is to become a policy specialist for his Labour Party colleague Ruairí Quinn as part of redeployment arrangements for vocational education committee (VEC) chiefs.

I WAS pleased Fianna Fáil rose four points in the polls because I can’t stand the lies. I can’t stand the pretence that an alien tribe called Fianna Fáil came in and “ruined the country”, leaving the plucky Coalition to “clear up the mess”.

More fresh to strong winds off the Old Head of Kinsale for day two of the Brewin Dolphin Dragon Gold Cup saw changes to the leaderboard of the 60-strong fleet of competitors from 16 nations.

The Department of the Environment has written to all county and city managers giving updated details of the sums deducted from their funding as a result of the non-payment of the €100 household charge.

By Joe Finegan

Residents of a major apartment complex in south Dublin will be forced to leave their homes for up to three months after the building was found to be a fire hazard and in breach of safety regulations.