The EU’s top court is to rule later this month on whether An Bord Pleanála properly assessed the environmental impact on the habitat of the hen harrier of a proposed €80m wind farm in Tipperary.

The embers of Tuesday’s fire at St Kevin’s have barely died away, but questions are still being asked in relation to another famous Cork building that went up in flames a year ago.

Education Minister Richard Bruton looks set to be handed the challenge of restoring confidence in An Garda Síochána as justice minister.

Postmasters from around the country are calling on the Government to take action to expand the services offered by the Irish post office network.

The former head of Beamish and Crawford has called for the controversial Cork event centre project to be scrapped and retendered, writes Eoin English.

The former head of Beamish and Crawford has called for the controversial Cork event centre project to be scrapped and retendered.

The developers of Cork’s stalled events centre have asked for an extra €18m in state aid, with claims that costs were now “spiralling out of control”.

More than €7.5m was spent by the government on events commemorating the 1916 Rising.

Campaigners opposed to redevelopment of the Moore St battlefield site in Dublin have been accused of harassing workers and illegally entering the grounds.

Almost 15,000 signatures have been gathered in less than 24 hours in an attempt to stop the sale of 5,000 acres of land in the Dublin Mountains.

The remains of one of Ireland’s finest Georgian villas could face demolition after it was gutted in a suspected arson attack.

The key role of Minister Heather Humphreys in the Government plan to drive investment and regenerate rural Ireland took shape this week, with the transfer of all rural affairs functions from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to her Department of Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht.

The developers of the Cork events centre are set to brief city councillors amid mounting concerns over the lack of progress on the €50m scheme.

THE revolt in Dublin on Easter Monday 1916 did not immediately spread to the rest of the country as was intended.

The archaeological and forensic detective work used to locate and identify the remains of executed 1916 rebel Thomas Kent’s remains will be explained in Cork this week.

It may be Star Wars: Episode VIII but this is the third successive year the Force has arrived in Kerry with its dramatic scenery hosting the Jedi the longest.

Developers will breathe a sigh of relief when EU-designation status to protect the freshwater pearl mussel in Co Cork is lifted.

The election message from the countryside was heard loud and clear, and Rural Ireland was front and centre, when newly appointed Taoiseach Enda Kenny nominated the members of his government last week.

An exclusion, or heritage, order is expected to be placed on a World War One German U-boat which will prevent irresponsible divers from tampering with it and possibly risking injury or death.

No planning permission was required for the current construction of a new Star Wars film set on the cliff edge of a protected headland in Kerry, the county council had determined.

It’s not a galaxy far, far away, but by the time it’s finished, the scene at Ceann Sibéal in Co Kerry will be every bit the intergalactic equal of Skellig Michael, as our exclusive pictures show.

Payments under the 2015 Burren Farming for Conservation Programme have begun issuing to farmers.

It is being hailed as the jewel in the crown of Killarney, and its restoration will bring the Killarney National Park right into the heart of the town and create the biggest urban park in the world.

The Kerry Museum has purchased, at auction, a map drawn by Roger Casement, showing where he reputedly buried gold and silver coins, and other items, near Banna Strand, before he was arrested on Good Friday in 1916.

A spokesman for super trawler owners says they are open to discussions about how to reduce the possibility of catching dolphins in their nets after it was claimed a near record number of the mammals were killed when large ships were recently fishing off the north-west coast.

‘Star Wars’ is returning to the Kingdom with preparatory work for a fresh round of filming taking place on Sybil Head.

The Comptroller and Auditor General has found 173 items from the State’s art collection have been identified as missing — including 44 from the Houses of the Oireachtas.

The State is spending €250,000 in a bid to restore Ireland’s only native toad, the natterjack, to its former glory.

Caomhan Keane explains the link between the Aran Islands and Aer Arann and shows why the link is as much about the past and the people as it is about the future.

A boatman could be on collision course with the makers of Star Wars after he pledged to bring pre-booked passengers to Skellig Michael – even if it clashes with filming.

The shredding of “personal papers” belonging to former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan has led to calls for more robust laws on the retention of documents.

The Government has been accused of ignoring the concerns and wishes of Aran Islands residents by withdrawing the air service contract for the islands from Aer Arann.

Traversing the highways and byways of this bejewelled isle during what has been a rubbish summer weather-wise, it has become very clear that there is a huge road safety issue which is being completely ignored by the authorities: verge cutting.

It took a Hollywood blockbuster to do it, but Domhnall Gleeson has officially been lured to the dark side.

Plot owners at one of the country’s most contentious bogs are close to a deal to end their row with the Government.

Sceilig Mhícíl and Star Wars: worlds apart and both mighty forces... I read (on Irish Examiner July 24) with concern that a second Star Wars film crew may yet descend on the ‘world heritage site’ of St.Fionán, west of The Iveragh Peninsula in Co. Kerry.

Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it.