Ireland must win that 3-0 to keep alive hopes of automatic World Cup qualification and Little’s arrival will boost their chances considerably, but it is now clear that limited-overs cricket will continue to be a priority.

Josh Little missed Ireland’s last three Test matches to take part in the tournament but is putting his country first as they take on Bangladesh in three ODIs to be hosted by Essex next week.

President Higgins and his wife Sabina will be guests at a reception at Buckingham Palace on the eve of the coronation ceremony in London

He was greeted by a line of staff at the hotel and a display of Irish music and dance.

The fire claimed the lives of 48 people when it broke out in the Stardust premises in the early hours of February 14, 1981

A security survey was in full swing, with about a dozen gardaí visible at the site.

Met Éireann says some thunderstorm activity can be expected this afternoon with 'lightning and heavy downpours locally'

Vincent Guerend said 36 Irish citizens were among the 500 people flown from Khartoum to Djibouti on three French flights in recent days

Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie fell five short of a maiden century as his side racked up an impressive score of 319 for four on the first day of their second Test in Sri Lanka

Climber Arjun Vajpai, who found Hanna dead in his tent, has spoken briefly of his last hours with the 56-year-old

Oran Gethins was a member of the Sean McDermott’s boxing club in Sligo. A very talented boxer, he had won an Irish title when he was just 16 years old

Lynne Hanna said Noel had made himself soup after having just climbed one of the tallest mountains in the world and then fell asleep, never to wake again

Tucker became Ireland’s second Test centurion as his side battled hard on day three

Mr Biden has reportedly turned down turned down the invitation from Buckingham Palace

Simon Harris was reacting to MI5 hiking the terror threat level in Northern Ireland from “substantial” to “severe”, meaning an attack is highly likely

Farrell has significantly enhanced his coaching reputation over the past 18 months, clinching the Guinness Six Nations title on Saturday having led his side to the top of the world rankings on the back of last summer’s stunning series win over the All Blacks.

St Patrick’s Day traditionally marks the start of the Irish tourism season, so no better time to showcase the very best of Ireland, as Tom Breathnach compiles his list of 32 activities, across 32 counties

Former Test star Tommy Bowe believes Andy Farrell’s Grand Slam champions are on a “whole different level” to previous Ireland teams and could already claim to be the country’s greatest ever.

Here, we pick out five standout performers in the Guinness Six Nations triumph.

Here, we look at the world’s top-ranked nation’s other results in the championship.

Ireland have clinched just three Grand Slams in the history of the championship.

The Tánaiste said the new EU-UK deal ensures that Northern Ireland “benefits by having unique access to both the EU single market and the UK’s internal market”.

The world’s top-ranked nation were far from convincing on Saturday afternoon in Rome but registered a third consecutive bonus-point win thanks to a tense 34-20 victory.

“If it’s not sorted in the next few weeks, we will have to wait until the next British government, which looks like it will be a Labour government,” Mr Ahern said

Barry Keoghan has said the Bafta award success for Irish talent will encourage artists in the country to “send the scripts in and go for what they want to do”.

Although details of what was on offer were scant, soundings from the parties indicated a deal could be on the horizon

Mr Varadkar said the outgoing SNP leader had shown “huge commitment to her country”.

Full-back Keenan played a starring role on Saturday as the world’s top-ranked team subdued the Cardiff crowd by brushing aside the stunned hosts during a blistering start.

The criticism comes as the British government is expected to announce a decision on whether to hold an inquiry into the dissident republican blast which hit the Co Tyrone town on August 15 1998.

Fly-half Sexton was devastated to be overlooked for the 2021 tour of South Africa and will come up against Lions boss Gatland for the first time since in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener in Cardiff.

Ireland great Mike Gibson has described Johnny Sexton as 'a phenomenon' ahead of this season’s Guinness Six Nations Championship

The Irish go into the championship top of the world rankings on the back of an outstanding year which brought nine wins from 11 Tests, including a historic series success in New Zealand.

Borthwick was last month unveiled as Eddie Jones’ successor as England head coach, just a fortnight after Gatland replaced Wayne Pivac for a second stint as Wales boss.

Ireland lost a last-ball thriller in Harare as Zimbabwe’s Clive Madande hit a match-winning boundary to claim a nail-biting first ODI by three wickets

Ryan Burl (30 not out) and Luke Jongwe (four not out) secured Zimbabwe a 2-1 success with six balls to spare as Ireland failed to defend their total of 141 for nine

Progress between the EU and the UK on post-Brexit data sharing has been hailed as a “significant building block” to resolve the ongoing row, according to the Tánaiste.

Ireland’s deputy premier has said he is “disappointed” by the failed attempt to restore power sharing at Stormont.

Leo Varadkar also said it is unfortunate that, without the institutions “up and running”, nobody can legitimately say they speak for the people of Northern Ireland.

Would you ever stay in a hotel on Christmas Day?

Under the laws, advertising will not be allowed near schools or on public transport, limiting exposure to commercial messages normalising e-cigarettes

Newly-crowned men’s world player of the year Josh Van Der Flier says inspirational chats with previous winners Bryan Habana and Dan Carter have given him greater desire to prolong his fine form

Crowley was handed his maiden Test start at the 11th hour for Saturday’s nervy 13-10 win over Australia

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has addressed students in an auditorium at a Dublin university, advising them to “take care of your freedom”.

Here, we pick out some of the main talking points ahead of Saturday’s match.