Nonetheless, Mr Varadkar said the Government here has not ruled out the possibility of the October 31 deadline being pushed back and will do everything to help Britain.

Wondrous dreams aren’t always realised and Mallow’s James Sugrue and Ronan Mullarney from Galway scarcely harboured thoughts of playing in the British and US Opens and the US Masters when they entered this week’s British Amateur Championship at Portmarnock.

I read with interest the recent proposals from the Cork County Board to revamp their championship structures in an effort to cater for the differing demands and requirements of their club and county players.

A rallying year which began with uncertainty ends in style tomorrow with a capacity entry list for the Rentokil-Initial Killarney Historic Rally.

Shane Lowry believes Ireland can contend for Eisenhower Trophy glory providing they see playing at home as a bonus rather than a burden.

Cork racing ace Lucca Allen has teamed up with the British-based Fortec Motorsport outfit for this season’s British Formula 4 Championship powered by Ford EcoBoost — a category recognised as an important step on the ladder to F1.

William Whitelaw, former British deputy prime minister and the first Northern Ireland secretary, believed power-sharing in the region could lead to a united Ireland, newly declassified State papers reveal.

Theresa May will reportedly abandon her Conservative general election manifesto pledge to give MPs a free vote on whether to overturn the fox hunting ban in England and Wales.

The word itself is nearly 50 years old.

Contenders for the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship and the Prestone British Rally Championship go head to head for the only time this season on the John Mulholland Ulster Rally starting in Derry this afternoon.

Slapstick comedy and tumbling sets provided the belly laughs in The Play that Goes Wrong, writes Ed Power.

Polling is underway in the North as the British general election gets underway. It is the seventh time in three years voters in the North have cast a ballot.

British voters are going to the polls today after one of the strangest General Election campaigns of modern times in the country.

Here's what you need to know.

Speculation on the future leadership of Fine Gael has resurfaced after Enda Kenny said he would speak to his party “soon” on the matter.

The former Ukip leader said he would be able to use his profile in European politics to put "real pressure" on MEPs to back a "sensible deal" for the UK.

Leinster are prepared to err on the side of caution with Jonathan Sexton who is attempting to shake off a hamstring injury in time for Sunday’s Champions Cup fixture against Montpellier in France.

In the so-called good old days, Listowel was always regarded as the real start of the National Hunt season.

The best young drivers line up to contest the Circuit of Ireland that gets underway today in Antrim.

Ryan Reynolds turned up during the press junket for Eddie the Eagle to rip the piss out of Hugh Jackman for our amusement

Munster A must beat London Scottish today to remain in the hunt for the British and Irish Cup quarter-finals.

The mysterious leaking of Labour's controversial draft election poster depicting a Fianna Fáil-Sinn Féin coalition as a just-married gay couple shows the fine line between landing a sneaky pre-vote punch and having it hit the thrower square in the face, writes political reporter Fiachra Ó Cionnaith

Munster’s participation in the British and Irish Cup is as much about player development as a desire to add silverware to the club’s trophy cabinet, according to coach Mick O’Driscoll.

Kinsale RFC president Peter Elliot believes the club will benefit hugely from hosting Friday’s British and Irish Cup clash between Munster A and Yorkshire Carnegie (8pm).

USA: Andre Monterio has a fishing story about one that got away and eventually was caught.

Comedian Russell Brand and singer Charlotte Church have branded austerity “unethical, unfair and unnecessary” as they joined a quarter of a million demonstrators in a London protest against the British Conservative government cuts.

AFTER so many fiscal cuts, Taoiseach Enda Kenny must now make the trickiest calculation of all and weigh up the political consequences of going for a cut-and-run general election after the October Budget.

Controversial former MP George Galloway has signalled that he is starting a legal challenge against his defeat in last week’s British general election.

Will Number 10 Downing Street be home to the Con Man or the Squatter tomorrow night?

British police have launched an investigation into the comments of a Ukip candidate who appeared to make racial slurs and threaten to shoot an opponent.

The 385,000 voters born in Ireland will have some influence on the result of the British election, but its outcome could yet have a great deal of significance for the Republic. 

With only a week to go until a wide-open general election, Britain is about to become the European Union’s most politically unpredictable member, writes Anatole Kaletsky

A 38-year-old Wicklow man has appeared at Bray District court today charged with the murder of Anne Shortall, a teacher has threatened to go on a hunger strike over proposed Junior Cert reforms, Cork’s St Patrick’s Street could soon see a car ban and Ed Sheeran has announced who he’ll be lining out with at Croke Park. These are some of the latest and most read news on irishexaminer.com.

Back in the day when I believed that politics could improve the lot of the common man, I used to be enthralled by the British general election, writes Paddy Heaney.

The country’s manufacturing sector expanded rapidly again last month with the weakness of the euro continuing to benefit the competitiveness of exporters to the UK, in particular.

British and Irish Cup

Munster ‘A’ 23 Nottingham Rugby 16

Worcester Warriors 27 Munster A 23

Your spoiler-free guide to what's on the box tonight.

Full House as Fota tops BMW PGA

Jet-lagged Graeme McDowell is hoping a good night’s sleep will help him mount a charge in pursuit of overnight leader Mikko Ilonen as the second round of the Irish Open gets under way at Fota Island Resort today.

A jubilant Nigel Farage has insisted Ukip will be “serious players” at the British general election after the party landed major blows on the Tories and Labour in local polls there.