Saturday, in case you didn’t realise, was Groundhog Day in the US, the 133rd installment of a rodent climbing out of a burrow to predict the weather.

Five days of deal-making at this year’s biggest food fair in the world gave Irish producers a vital platform as they seek new markets beyond the UK, reports Padraig Hoare.

The grand hypocrisy of the so-called hard left in Ireland was exposed this week, suggests Daniel McConnell.

Tickets for the Rolling Stones’ gig in Croke Park have appeared on ticket reselling sites for multiple times their face value — despite the May gig not selling out.

It was a time when nothing else mattered. An entire season’s toil and effort distilled into a handful of knockout schools’ cup matches, all geared towards making the final on St Patrick’s Day.

Plans are underway for the reform of the Seanad, the Taoiseach has said.

The State is facing a further High Court action from a former member of the Defence Forces allegedly suffering chronic ill-health due to exposure to chemicals in the Air Corps.

Jeremy Corbyn claimed it was "Groundhog Day" over Brexit before warning Theresa May her biggest battle is with the "warring" Tory factions rather than the EU.

Savita Halappanavar died as a direct result of Ireland’s abortion laws and not simply because she contracted sepsis, the author of the independent report into her death has said.

Just 40 out of 3,500 Ulster Bank customers have been compensated after being caught up in the tracker mortgage scandal — while more people have lost their homes than previously thought, the bank’s leaders have admitted.

We are almost five months into 2017 and all the indications are the economy continues to strengthen.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic felt like Benjamin Button, but it was more a case of Groundhog Day as far as Sunderland were concerned. Manchester United retain a two-pronged assault on Champions League qualification, but all the Wearside club has to look forward to are trips to some of football’s less celebrated destinations in the Championship next season.

The new ‘root and branch’ review will review similar issues over and over again but its success will not be judged on the production of another report but the implementation of its recommendations, says Cormac O’Keeffe.

Our writers ask the big questions after the weekend’s action...

The pied piper of Neptune is back. He’s recruited and coached against NBA talent, scouted Steph Curry and watched more game film and planned more sessions than just about any coach involved in Irish sport. Now, after three decades in the all-consuming ‘rabbit hole’ that’s NCAA basketball, Pete Strickland is back where his coaching career began, in Ireland, masterminding the revived national senior team programme.

Larry Ryan dons his Santa hat to dole out Christmas presents to the sporting world.

Sigh. Isn’t it a bit soon for Groundhog Day? How many more times this season will we have to sum up a game as follows?

Hey, it’s actually got quite interesting the last few weeks, hasn’t it? In fact, it’s been rather decent, don’t you agree? You weren’t exactly expecting us or anyone else to be saying that about the 2016 football championship, were you?

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan was last night refusing to heed calls from Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to clarify her attempted undermining of Garda whistle-blower, Maurice McCabe.

At exactly the same time as Taoiseach Enda Kenny was yesterday planting a commemorative tree in the US for those who died during the 1916 Rising, his own Government was at risk of a violent uprooting of its own.

Watching the national leagues over the weekend, it not only felt a bit like summer – it felt what summer should be a bit more like.

Arsene Wenger described this match as an opportunity for his Arsenal side to “show they had learned” but in the end all he get was deja-vu after a defeat which leaves them likely to bow out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage for the sixth year in a row.

It was a week late, but Groundhog Day finally made its way to Cork yesterday.

The handlers of Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog are set to predict whether the US will have early spring-like weather or have to suffer through the end of winter.

A Wexford man who murdered his ex-girlfriend’s partner when he should have been in jail for assault has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

This season, fashion is about texture: mixing feathers, suede, leather, and the ubiquitous sequins. Paula Burns shows you how to master what can be a tricky look

The FA couldn’t wait to wield their sword of retrospective “justice” could they? Bet they keep it unsheathed every time Chelsea take to the field – just in case like.

As my mum is in the habit of saying, at least it didn’t rain at Stamford Bridge on Saturday! Aside from the pleasant weather and the fact that we didn’t lose more ground on Man City due to the Hammers’ marvelous win, there wasn’t much else to smile about.

USA: San Francisco has painted nine walls with a repellent material that makes pee spray back off them in a bid to tackle public urination.

If the pen is mightier than the sword, then satire is the scimitar of political pomposity, argues Rita de Brún.

It’s the start of summer again, and it feels distinctly like we’ve all been here before, at this very point, it’s more like déjà vu than just another year.

Your guide to tonight's TV.

USA: A watch collector spotted a rare Swiss timepiece in a Phoenix second-hand store, bought it on sale for $5.99 (€5.27) and then sold it for $35,000 (€30,700).

USA: A judge has dismissed charges against a woman who threw uncooked bacon and sausage inside a police station while saying she was there to “feed the piggies”.

At a Groundhog Day celebration in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin on Monday, Jimmy - the town's official groundhog - bit Mayor Johnathan Freund's ear in the middle of a TV interview.