BALLINCOLLIG head coach Kieran O’Sullivan is a Liverpool supporter so could be forgiven for coming over all Jurgen Klopp when the possibility of a perfect season for his Men’s Division One champions crops up.

Michael Cheika picked a fight with the World Cup organisers yesterday over their banning of Reece Hodge, adamant that Australia had been singled out for special treatment.

An unholy trinity of ghastly misadventures in sport happened at three historic venues: Aintree; the old twin-towered Wembley; and St Andrews. That the misadventures are still talked of five decades later says everything about their enduring appeal, writes Peter Jackson.

Pope Francis then planted an Irish oak tree on the grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin, becoming the second Pope to plant a tree on the presidential grounds.

Francis’ visit to Ireland in August is said to include a visit by him to the Capuchin homeless shelter in Bow St, Dublin.

Ballincollig 69 Keane’s SuperValu Killorglin 64: Ballincollig coach Kieran O’Sullivan was quivering with emotion, but his description of this Men’s President’s Cup final was as apt as it was terse.

Munster management will wait until after Saturday’s Champions Cup showdown at Leicester before deciding whether to press for an extension of Jaco Taute’s contract.

OTELIER Francis Brennan is a natural storyteller.

The publication of two new books has intensified the Vatican leaks scandal and highlight the struggles of Pope Francis as he tries to reform the sprawling bureaucracy, writes Nicole Winfield

The Vatican has distanced Pope Francis from Kim Davis, the focal point in the gay marriage debate in the US, saying she was one of dozens of people the Pope greeted in Washington and that their encounter “should not be considered a form of support of her position”.

Pope Francis declared that there is a “right of the environment” and that mankind has no authority to abuse it, telling more than 100 world leaders and diplomats at the United Nations that urgent action is needed to halt the destruction of God’s creation.

Jumping into the issues of the day, Pope Francis opened his visit to the United States with a strongcall for action on climate change, calling it a problem that “can no longer be left to a future generation”.

Pope Francis has opened his visit to the United States with a call for action to combat climate change.

Simpler and faster, changes are most substantial to Catholic marriage annulment laws since 1700s

The Vatican’s former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, who had been charged by church prosecutors with sexually abusing children in the Caribbean country, died of apparent natural causes as he awaited trial, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis has challenged Latin America’s youth to take up his environmental protection campaign, saying the defence of God’s creation is not just a recommendation but a requirement.

The Pope has urged Bosnia’s Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Catholics to put the “barbarity” of war behind them and work together for a peaceful future as he made a one-day visit to Sarajevo.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a US bishop who pleaded guilty to failing to report a suspected priestly child abuser in the first known case of a pope sanctioning bishops for covering up for paedophiles.

Homeless people are lining up outside the public restrooms off St Peter’s Square to take advantage of Pope Francis’ new charitable initiative: a free shave and shower for the least fortunate.

Pope Francis has left the Philippines after drawing what the Catholic bastion says was a record crowd of six million faithful in a Manila park where he celebrated Mass.

Pope Francis has called on Filipinos to reject the corruption that has plagued the nation for decades and urged them to instead work to end its “scandalous” poverty.

Pope Francis yesterday named 20 new cardinals from around the world to the elite group at the top of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, including 15 who can enter a conclave to choose his successor after his death or resignation.

RTÉ has a blind spot where religious faith is concerned. 

His head bowed and hands clasped in front of him, Pope Francis stood today for two minutes of silent prayer facing east inside one of Istanbul’s most important mosques, as he shifted gears toward more religious affairs on the second leg of his three-day visit to mainly Muslim Turkey.

Pope Francis appeared to bow to pressure from Catholic conservatives when he backed the importance of the traditional family to children.

EARLIER this week the all-powerful, life-giving or life-denying European Central Bank published the results of its stress tests on 130 of Europe’s banks. Only 25 failed and just one — and what a welcome “just” that is — is Irish.

Pope Francis has beatified Pope Paul VI and declared that God is not afraid of new things as he concluded a remarkable meeting of bishops debating family issues.

From his stylish living room overlooking St Peter’s Square, Cardinal Walter Kasper doesn’t come off as a figure at the centre of one of the greatest storms swirling in Catholicism in decades.

The Vatican has put its former ambassador to the Dominican Republic under house arrest after opening a criminal child sex trial against him.

Pope Francis urged the world today to shed its apathy in the face of what he sees as a third world war, intoning “war is madness” at the foot of a Fascist-era monument to soldiers killed in the First World War.

Pope Francis has wrapped up his first trip to Asia by challenging Koreans, both North and the South, to reject the “mindset of suspicion and confrontation” that clouds their relations.

Pope Francis has arrived in South Korea on the first papal visit to the Asian nation in 25 years, stepping off a plane on to a red carpet and greeting the president, Catholics and grieving relatives of the ferry disaster.

Bantry’s chamber music festival has all combinations: string and brass soloists, pianists, and even a quintet,says Declan Townsend.

Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine and Syria and for an end to the terrorist attacks in Nigeria as he celebrated Easter Sunday in Rome.

Calling himself “a great admirer”, US president Barack Obama held nearly an hour of private talks about fighting global inequality with Pope Francis and invited the pontiff to visit the White House.

Pope Francis has scored plenty of magazine covers but now he has got a magazine all to himself.

Pope Francis has broken with papal protocol once again, inviting a friend for a spin in his popemobile.

Pope Francis announced today that he would travel to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan on May 24-26, his first visit to the Holy Land.

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has emerged from his self-imposed silence inside the Vatican walls to publish a letter to a prominent Italian atheist defending his record on sexually abusive priests and discussing topics from evolution to theology to the figure of Jesus Christ.

Pope Francis today effectively demoted a highly conservative Italian cardinal who led the Vatican’s department on clergy.

FRANCIS has been Pope for just over six months and he has already ushered in what can only be described as a kind of ecclesiastical perestroika. It’s a message that may well find resonance in a country like Ireland where many people describe themselves as Catholics but no longer attend Mass regularly.

Pope Francis has cheered fellow Argentine Lionel Messi and other soccer stars as he led a rally of sorts at the Vatican for Argentina and Italy’s national teams ahead of their eagerly awaited friendly match.