Cork will come alive with the sound of music next week as 5,000 singers arrive from all over the world for the annual International Choral Festival.

A grandmother who mounted a one-woman protest against Irish Water meter installers yesterday — and won — has dismissed suggestions that she’s a hero.

One of the country’s first anti-water charges groups has vowed to mount “sustained resistance” against meter installation on “their own patch”.

A 25-strong Garda unit has been set up in Cork City specifically to ensure water protests don’t become violent.

As a young boy he was silenced. Now he spends his days speaking out against racism and promoting tolerance, reconciliation, and rejection of bigotry.

Global Irish dance sensation Riverdance kicked off a scorching summer of music and festivals in Cork last night.

Live at the Marquee was launched today and those attending were treated to something very special.

Make the most of the week ahead with these five things to check out.

Former Mountjoy Prison governor John Lonergan described the reported comments of Eamonn Lillis after his release — “I’ve done my time” — as “arrogant” and “upsetting” for people.

John Lonergan states we have tended to “suffocate” children and we need to teach them to become self-sufficient ( 21 March).

THE former governor of Mountjoy Prison, John Lonergan, will address Foróige’s conference on volunteering today.

The former governor of Mountjoy Prison has appealed to men to volunteer as youth leaders and become positive role models for teenagers.

A key figure in the growing anti-water meter movement in Cork has distanced himself from another blockade group after ugly scenes during a fracas.

Retired prison officer John Cuffe looks at the ins and outs of the service, and asks what we want from it.

Tina Mcintyre is attacked on Coronation Street and The Good Wife returns in an unfortunately late slot on RTE.

Former Mountjoy governor John Lonergan has defended prisoners' access to Playstations in jail.

Residents who negotiated the removal of water meters from their estate have hailed a small victory in their battle with Irish Water but warned the war is far from over.

The distraught mother of Gary Douch, brutally killed in a preventable tragedy in Mountjoy Prison, has slammed the Department of Justice for failing to pay the barrister who conducted the inquiry into her son’s death for almost four years.

TO the damning prison reports straining the shelves at Prison Service HQ, comes another four-volume dossier. Totalling almost 800 pages, the reports of the Commission of Investigation into the death of Gary Douch make for grim reading.

Defiant campaigners have vowed to maintain their water meter blockade in a Cork housing estate despite angry clashes yesterday which led to two people being hospitalised.

Residents of a Cork housing estate have vowed to continue their blockade against the installation of water meters after a stand-off with Irish Water contractors yesterday.

A local authority meeting was interrupted twice last night when anti-water tax protestors refused to sit down in the upper gallery of Cork’s City Hall.

The 30-year-old rapist of two children joins 12 other sex offenders serving a life sentence in Irish prisons. While he will be able to start applying for parole after he serves seven years, the average term of life sentences is just over 17 years.

Barnardos and a number of family support groups in Limerick have joined forces to help parents cope with day-to-day chores in running the home in a first of its kind, joint-agency approach.

A major security operation is being planned to prevent protests disrupting the election of the new lord mayor of Cork on Friday night.

An outspoken city councillor has branded some of the members of Cork’s anti-property and water tax campaign as “blathering loudmouths” who need to “put up or shut up”.

Anti-property tax campaigners are planning to run dozens of candidates in next year’s local elections to wrest power back from the main political parties.

April 6-12

The closure of almost 100 Garda stations has gone ahead as an unrepentant Alan Shatter insisted policing would not be damaged by the move.

The anti-property tax campaigners who disrupted a local authority meeting in Cork have challenged TDs to face the public at an open meeting.

Campaigners who forced the abandonment of a council meeting have warned politicians to expect more protests as anger grows.

Over a dozen gardaí had to be called to Cork’s City Hall last night to end a tense standoff caused after anti-household tax campaigners forced the abandonment of a council meeting.

SATURDAY

Some children in residential care are being moved to unsuitable placements by the HSE so it can save money, social care managers have claimed.

A video which gives a unique insight into the lives of homeless people will be projected onto a landmark Cork building this week to mark a week of action on homelessness.

The former governor of Mountjoy Prison has said the release of Malcolm MacArthur is “a positive step” and said it may have happened sooner were it not for political pressure.

A programme which has been proven to improve behaviour in children with serious conduct difficulties and hyperactivity could save the State €4,800 for each child who uses it and would add just 1% to the annual spend of a primary school.

Series five of Mad Men, the series set in the world of New York advertising in the 1960s, begins on RTÉ Two on Friday.

RTÉ has 114 home-produced series and programmes lined up for its upcoming television season.

Writer Maeve Binchy’s death has prompted consideration of notables who might be described as our national treasures, says Barbara Scully

He’s a world class act but it wasn’t an easy ride to the top for Cork dancer John Lonergan, reports Fiona O’Donovan

The former governor of Mountjoy Prison has said that there needs to be a public debate about how to punish those who break the law.

Cork Life Centre offers a second chance of education to early school leavers, writes Noelle McCarthy