The “relief rally” by markets on the outcome of the first round of the French presidential elections makes it likely that the Government will get its planned sale of AIB shares away by early summer, a leading analyst has said.

The benefits for Irish consumers may be limited even as the price of crude oil fell yesterday, analysts said.

Global investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald is the latest financial body to weigh in on the Irish economic recovery with strong 2015 growth projections.

The closing weekend of the National Basketball Championships will begin this evening with the men’s Champions Trophy semi-finals at Neptune Stadium.

Killester will be hoping to stay in touch with C&S UCC Demons when they host Dublin rivals DCU Saints in the Men’s Premier League at Clontarf tomorrow.

UL Eagles coach Mark Keenan says revenge won’t be a motivating factor in tomorrow’s clash against former club Killester.

Bord Gáis Neptune produced their best performance of the season defeating DCU Saints 95-87 in a thrilling Men’s Premier National Cup quarter-final at the Neptune Stadium.

UCC Demons and Killester continued winning ways in the Men’s Premier League with wins over Templeogue and Moycullen respectively.

Changing times on Ireland’s basketball scene. The final four Champions Trophy spots for the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague have been settled and there will be no Killester or UCD Marian in the shake up.

DCU Saints 72 UCC Demons 81

Bord Gáis Neptune coach Mark Scannell admits his team ‘‘are where we want to be’’ ahead of the visit of UCD Marian to Cork tomorrow evening.

It may be early in the season, but that didn’t stop Neptune coach Mark Scannell breathing a sigh of relief in the wake of a first Superleague win of the season.

Lucan Sarsfields, Cuala, Crumlin and Kilmacud Crokes all advanced to the last four of the Dublin SHC over the weekend.

National Cup champions UL Eagles may have ambushed UCC Demons in that memorable final two weeks ago but Eagles won’t have anything up their sleeve that Demons coach Paul Kelleher isn’t expecting when the sides meet again in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague at the Mardyke tonight.

UCC Demons could make for an interesting run-in when they host Northern Conference leaders and Nivea for Men SuperLeague favourites, DCU Saints, at the Mardyke Arena on Sunday afternoon (3.15pm).

With both National Cups on display at UL it was back to league action at the weekend as DCU Saints consolidated their top spot in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague Northern Division with a 82-63 win over Belfast Star.

THERE was no refuge for beaten cup semi-finalists Bord Gáis Neptune and 11890 Killester on their return to the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

Basketball's Northern Conference leaders DCU Saints travel to Cork on Sunday to play Bord Gais Neptune in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague.

GER NOONAN keeps rolling back the years and he did it again on Saturday night when he played the starring role as Bord Gáis Neptune confirmed the cup result was no fluke when they collected the valuable Nivea for Men SuperLeague points with a 99-96 win away to Belfast Star.

REVENGE will be on the minds of two clubs this weekend in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

NEW signing Robert Taylor would appear to have solved the outstanding problem for UL Eagles’ coach Mark Keenan, who watched him contribute 21 points as they beat Bord Gáis Neptune 76-71 to return to the top of the Nivea for Men SuperLeague Southern Conference.

IF THERE are questions being asked about Bord Gáis Neptune and UL Eagles a lot of them will be answered at Neptune Stadium on Sunday afternoon when they cross paths in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

BORD Gáis Neptune coach Mark Scannell set his side a target of 80 points against defending champions 11890 Killester in yesterday’s Nivea for Men SuperLeague clash at Neptune Stadium and, while they did not achieve that, a close 73-72 victory was more than satisfactory.

UL EAGLES will be bidding to extend their winning run when they face DCU Saints at the UL Arena tomorrow night and then head to Galway on Sunday to play Moycullen.

REIGNING champions, 11890 Killester, got their defence of the Nivea for Men SuperLeague title back on track on Saturday night with an emphatic 100-86 win over UCC Demons.

UL EAGLES, smarting from their loss to UCC Demons last Sunday, will be seeking to get back on the winning trail at the UL Arena tomorrow night when they host 11890 Killester in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

TOMORROW night’s Dublin derby at Clontarf has all the ingredients for a thrilling encounter as joint leaders, 11890 Killester, take on Northside rivals, DCU Saints, for control of the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

DCU Saints maintained their unbeaten record in the Nivea for Men’s SuperLeague when demolishing Bord Gais Neptune 87-60.

DCU SAINTS put their unbeaten record on the line when they entertain southern conference leaders Bord Gais Neptune at the DCU Sports complex tomorrow.

KILLESTER ended Bord Gais Neptune’s unbeaten run in the Nivea for Men SuperLeague when they defeated the Cork side 68-64 at the Neptune Stadium yesterday.

Reigning Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague champions 11890 Killester got their defence off to a winning start at home to Belfast Star, while Bord Gais Neptune sent out an early marker with a comprehensive win at home to UL Eagles.

Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague team DCU Saints have announced that David Donnelly has been appointed as the club’s new head coach.

Two young Dublin men have been given sentences of seven and four and a half years for possessing a handgun in suspicious circumstances in a stolen car.

A man has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for sexually assaulting and raping his young stepdaughter in Leitrim and Mayo over a four-year period.

A man will be sentenced later this month for sexually assaulting and anally raping his young stepdaughter in Leitrim and Mayo over a four year period.

ONE of the Duke of Devonshire’s estate managers, who has fed many rich and famous people, could make herself a small fortune after winning a major cookery competition.

DCU SAINTS brought DART Killester’s unbeaten run to a dramatic end with a shock 91-88 overtime win in their Nivea for Men SuperLeague derby on Saturday night, before rounding off an exciting weekend with a win over the basement team, Ulster Elks, yesterday afternoon.

A miserable Bank Holiday for Abrakebabra Tigers continued on Monday as they slumped to an 81-67 defeat away to Limerick Lions.

UCC Demons coach, Douglas Leichner, was a happy man after his side came from behind in a spectacular finish to beat DCU Saints 86-82 and keep their NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague record straight.

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES head scout, Tony Barone Jr will be among the featured speakers at the 2006 Championship Basketball Coaching Clinic in Kilkenny on August 12 and 13 as part of the Irish Basketball Academy.

Roma St Vincent’s have stayed true to their recent good form to win their 7th league game in a row and take the 2006 NIVEA for Men SuperLeague title for the first time since 1994.

CUP holders UCC Demons can make history this weekend if they complete the double for the first time in their 40 year history by retaining their NIVEA for MEN SuperLeague title at the Mardyke Arena.

NEPTUNE needed to beat the Tigers to keep alive any hope of making the NIVEA for Men SuperLeague quarter-finals in March and they eventually did by the narrowest of margins.

Dublin boss Humphrey Kelleher takes his charges to Pearse Stadium where they face a daunting Division 1A National League opener against champions Galway.

REGULAR defender Mark Foley is named at full-forward on the Limerick team to meet Cork in Sunday’s Allianz NHL tie at Páirc Uí Rinn.

Abrakebara Tigers 90 - Roma St Vincent's 81

THERE was a time when county championship success meant rounds. Not of the pitch, but of pints and of pubs, with chests out, heads held high, and the all-important cup in tow.

Dublin 4-21 Offaly 2-6

Offaly 2-06 Dublin 4-21

NEW arrival DJ Harrison could be the man to decide the destination of the ESB Cup next weekend when he lines out with Mardyke UCC Demons.