Munster coach Johann van Graan vows the province will ‘look after’ their shattered Irish players when they return from their World Cup heartbreak.

We take a trip down memory lane and check out what happened on this day in years gone by by looking back at some Irish Examiner front pages and highlighting other events which went down in history across the world.

Maps based on painstaking analysis of medieval papal taxes have helped create a clearer picture of population and wealth in Ireland 700 years ago.

A Garda informer can use sensitive material obtained in proceedings pending before the High Court in his legal battle to prevent his extradition from the UK to France.

Jose Mourinho has joined in the criticism of the calamitous Carabao Cup quarter-final draw.

Two men in England have admitted religious hate offences after pork sausage meat was smeared over a lock on the front door of a mosque.

Plans to increase the movement of academics, students and innovation between Ireland and other countries are being boosted this week.

English clubs' wariness over the potential of Celtic makes a move south unlikely, according to boss Brendan Rodgers.

Many of the problems placed at the door of the EU by the Leave campaign had much more to do with the global economy and global competition than the EU.

Newly established food producers will be salivating at the prospect of setting up shop in Cork’s prestigious English Market thanks to a new initiative aimed at attracting new blood to the 228-year old market.

First Wales, then England. Now Italy.

Ireland v England

Ireland’s long-awaited friendly against England in Dublin is now set to be played in May 2015.

The English Rugby Football Union (RFU) is confident European competition can be salvaged for next season, with chief executive Ian Ritchie warning the alternative would be vastly inferior.

The FAI yesterday vowed to continue working with the authorities to counteract what they describe as the biggest threat to the game — match-fixing.

I first learned about the glories of killing aged about 5.

A London High Court judge has warned parents who fear that children might be taken into care by English or Welsh local authorities against travelling to Ireland in an attempt to seek “sanctuary”.

HIS colour is canary yellow. Not red, not blue, not green. That’s the first thing that hits you when you log on to beppegrillo.it.

The Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), the governing body for domestic rugby in France, has clarified that unless there is a “catastrophic failure in negotiations” it will not consider abandoning the Heineken Cup for a breakaway tournament.

FIFA chairman Sepp Blatter believes England are still sore about failing to secure the 2018 World Cup.

ENGLISH Premier League soccer champions Manchester United have filed a preliminary application with the Singapore Exchange for a planned listing, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said yesterday.

ENGLISH police flooded the streets last night to ensure weekend drinking does not reignite the rioting that swept across London and other cities this week, shocking Britons and sullying the country’s image a year before it hosts the Olympics.

FOR all the management teams, the Six Nations has now become a three-phase operation, with the key objective to be still in contention for honours when the final round of games are staged.

Controversial American preacher Pastor Terry Jones said he was disappointed to be barred from the United Kingdom, calling his exclusion from the country “unfair”.

Take That were planning to ditch their band name and rechristen themselves The English for their comeback, they revealed today.

LIVERPOOL can look forward to a virtually debt-free future after New England Sports Ventures (NESV) yesterday completed the £300 million (€343.6m) takeover of the club to bring a frenetic week to a conclusion.

Former Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have dropped their £1bn (€1.14bn) Texas lawsuit against Royal Bank of Scotland and the club’s directors but could still launch action in England.

PREMIER RUGBY has flexed its muscles to deny Ireland access to Leicester winger Johne Murphy for tomorrow’s A game against England Saxons in Bath (2 pm).

YOUR front page story with its very evocative photograph (January 3) showing the extreme measures undertaken by prospective Tralee parents for a school place for their children for September 2010 is one of the most amazing stories I have read in a long teaching career.

Al Baxter’s scrummaging may be in question, but Australia’s much-maligned tight-head prop proved he has the hide of an ox by laughing off criticism of his front-row failings.

Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson accused the English Football Association of double standards after Frank Lampard saw his red card for violent conduct overturned.

THE Football Association cast aside their caution yesterday and announced England will join the race to host the 2018 World Cup.

English Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney has urged member clubs to continue to cut spending on agents' fees.

ENGLISH and French clubs will play in next season’s European Cup and Challenge Cup, tournament organisers ERC confirmed yesterday following a meeting at Twickenham between all stakeholders.

ENGLISH clubs chief Mark McCafferty has questioned the need for any Rugby Football Union involvement in future top-flight European competitions.

Judd Trump is one win away from becoming the youngest person to play at the Crucible in 14 years after beating Jamie Cope 10-7 to reach the final qualifying round of the 888.com World Championship at Prestatyn today.

Serge Blanco and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), the offical representatives from the French Top-14 Championship, have made the explovie decision to boycott next season's Heineken Cup.

Officials from the Stevens bung inquiry will tomorrow hand over the names of eight agents who refused to help their investigations to the English FA – but the identity of those Premier League clubs who breached transfer rules will not be revealed.

Northampton and Saracens have had their international ticket allocations slashed as part of the English Rugby Football Union’s clampdown on black-market sales.

Madonna's latest children's book has flopped in America in the wake of her controversial adoption of Malawian orphan David.

Former Springbok captain Naas Botha has angrily lashed out at Jake White, saying that the South African rugby public has had enough of the South Africa coach’s excuses.

THE Football Association have accused their Croatian counterparts of failing to execute agreed security measures prior to this month’s Euro 2008 qualifier in Zagreb.

THE last throw of the dice for Ireland to prove they’re up there with the big boys.

A Brunei government agency says it has successfully forced the sultan’s disgraced brother to disclose details of his bank accounts in a bid to end a multi-billion-dollar fraud scandal.

ARSENAL’S strained relations with Chelsea have reached a new low after Arsene Wenger threatened action against Jose Mourinho in reacting with visible anger to being branded a voyeur.

IRELAND cannot much longer afford the routine denigration of the Green and the Orange. Do we really want to humiliate Orangemen (or Sinn Féin for that matter) by insisting that their leaders condemn themselves and their supporters in front of the world?

The majority of the Spanish press have chosen to turn a blind eye to the racist abuse dished out to England players during the friendly in Madrid on Wednesday night.

Life and pensions company Irish Life has become the first financial services institution in Ireland or the Britain to be awarded the Honesty Mark for easy-to-understand brochures explaining its core products.

UEFA have charged both the English and Turkish Football Associations for the improper conduct of their players after the now infamous tunnel bust-up during half-time of the Euro 2004 qualifier in Istanbul.

Turkey today confirmed that the European Championship qualifier against England on October 11 will be held at the Fenerbahce stadium in Istanbul.