As they celebrate four decades of Cork Folk Festival, organisers William ‘Hammy’ Hammond and Jim Walsh select some standout memories, writes

A winning margin of 20.4 seconds by Monaghan’s Sam Moffett and co-driver James O’Reilly (Ford Fiesta R5) in the Crafted Fitted Furniture Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally, masks a tremendous battle with fellow countyman Barry McKenna and his Wexford co-driver Andy Hayes (Ford Fiesta R5) that wasn’t resolved until the penultimate stage.

THE two Irelands met a few hundred yards from each other near the South Main Street, Cork last night, where a 1,000-year-old Viking weaver’s sword was recently discovered by archaeologists at the historic site of the former Beamish and Crawford brewery.

How would you spend €88m? Here are a few options.

Antrim’s Desi Henry (Skoda Fabia R5) and his Millstreet co-driver Liam Moynihan netted their second win in this season’s Valvoline National Forest Rally Championship as they cruised to victory in the Mallow based Crafted Furniture & Joinery Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally, the fourth round of the series.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) has been deprived of around €1m in funding after eastern European gangs raided the charity’s secondhand clothing containers, writes Sean O’Riordan.

IT IS six weeks until schools reopen, but parents are already bracing themselves for the expense, writes Gráinne McGuinness

Cork-based biotechnology company Metabolomic Diagnostics has secured a further $2m (€1.6m) in funding to complete the development of its life-saving screening test for pregnant mothers which it hopes to launch next year.

SEÁN O’Hegarty had charge of 30 Volunteers who marched from different directions to Kealkill, where the plan had been to take control of the local Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) barracks.

The first same-sex civil marriages should take place by November after the Cabinet approved legislation enabling the reform.

Selecting the right candidates for the general election is a big problem, writes Gary Murphy

If we vote yes on Friday, we will be replacing one form of criminalisation with a new form of criminalisation, writes Independent senator Jim Walsh 

A group which says people can change their sexuality through counselling and “conversion therapy” is set to hold a public meeting on the same-sex marriage referendum today, after claiming the national debate is mired in political “bias”.

The banks and courts are showing scant mercy when it comes to families struggling to stay in their homes. Norma Costelloe talks to families who think this year could be the year that the bailiffs finally come knocking.

Join the Oireachtas and see the world… new figures show that the spend by TDs and senators on overseas travel last year increased from €218,799 to €230,313.

A controversial senator, who quit Fianna Fáil over his opposition to adoption by same-sex couples, has claimed some gay people believe marriage equality funding would be better spent on HIV tests for the community.

Fianna Fáil has said that Eamon Ó Cuív’s assertion that the party could be facing demise will be dealt with internally.

Senator Jim Walsh has left the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party over his opposition to same-sex couples using assisted reproduction and his “deeply held and conscientious opinions”.

Accusations the authorities are turning a blind eye to cross-border smuggling in an act of “appeasement” have been dismissed by Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan.

Professionals such as nurses, gardaí and teachers are going to St Vincent de Paul in larger numbers than ever before seeking help to pay bills and feed their families. 

Motorsport: Organisers of the Irish Forest Rally Championship received a major boost at their awards ceremony in Clonmel on Saturday night with the announcement that Valvoline will underpin the series for the next three seasons.

The Cork Folk Festival provided a feast of great music and good fun, writes Eoin Edwards

The 35th Cork Folk Festival will be the best ever, according to organisers, and will feature many of Ireland’s and Europe’s finest musicians.

Health insurance reforms designed to get more people to sign up for private health cover and to do so at an earlier age may fall short of expectations.

It’s meant to be a landmark religious occasion, but First Holy Communion could double as a milestone in a child’s economic education if canny parents intervene.

Plans by the Central Bank to reinstate bonuses and pay rises for high-earning officials are an insult to people struggling to survive post-recession Ireland, anti-poverty groups have said.

Broadcaster defends €85k payout over ‘homophobia’ claims

A row over how much licence fee money RTÉ paid in “financial compensation” to people associated with a Catholic thinktank erupted in the Seanad.

Willie Donoghue claimed gold for Ireland following a nail-biting finish to his light-flyweight final at the AIBA World Junior Championships in the Ukraine.

Kerry 1-21 Kildare 4-10

POWER is at its most potent when it is implied. Revealed it loses its mystique. What inspires awe at a distance, provokes resentment not understanding in the actual encounter. So it proved in Seanad Éireann. Largely ignored for decades, some senators forgot that the cameras and microphones fixed to the furnishings in the Duke of Leinster’s former ballroom allow others to look in as well as them shout out.

Health Minister James Reilly has criticised language used by pro-life senators who are opposing the passing of the Government’s abortion bill.

The Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has moved to assure the public that certain abortion methods described in the Seanad this week will not be used here.

IF the people abolish the Seanad, in a referendum in October, then that outcome will most likely be traceable to this week’s act of self-sabotage by members of the Upper House.

A female senator was forced into revealing details of how she had carried a dead baby in a desperate effort to stop members using “absolutely disgraceful” language to describe abortion procedures.

A Fianna Fáil senator has been accused of reaching a new low after he said allowing abortions in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities would be “depriving future Special Olympics athletes of being born”.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has described comments by Fianna Fáil senator Jim Walsh during the Seanad abortion debate yesterday as "inappropriate" and "over the top".

All TDs have been warned about accepting “sponsored” travel and accommodation after concerns were raised about several Oireachtas members who visited the US recently as guests of a pro-life group.

Cash-strapped families will put off paying bills to cover the cost of their children’s First Holy Communion a charity has warned, after the Government confirmed that a grant for “religious ceremonies” is to be axed.

Age Action is concerned that older people will go without food and heat in order to pay the property tax.

Consumers must be sure they are not being misled when buying food in the wake of the horsemeat scandal, a gathering of British and Irish parliamentarians has insisted.

An estimated 1.6m adults are left with a paltry €50 or less to spend at the end of the month, after all essential bills are paid.

As the committee hearing on abortion begins, it seems like some of the politicians present want to leave well enough alone, writes Michael Clifford

Legendary singer songwriter Paul Brady is set to make a triumphant return to one of the country’s longest running folk festivals for the first time in almost three decades.

We, the undersigned, wish to draw your attention to the continued detention of Marian Price, which we feel constitutes an alarming breach of human and civil rights.

Hundreds of fans are set to throng a well-known Cork pub from Friday for a weekend of leprechaun tales, ballads and sean nós singing.

DAIRYGOLD will not rush to invest farmers’ money in new processing facilities until it has exhausted all “brown-field” options, according to chief executive Jim Woulfe.

A TRINITY College medical devices spin-out company has secured €800,000 in funding.