The first meeting of the Cabinet is to take place later this morning, when Bertie Ahern meets with his senior ministers at the Government’s guest house, Farmleigh, in the Phoenix Park.

A national monument to missing people in Ireland was unveiled today by President Mary McAleese.

A staging post for the tens of thousands of Roman Catholic pilgrims who each year climb Ireland’s holy mountain - Co Mayo’s 2,510-feet Croagh Patrick - was opened for business at the foot of the peak today.

The golden eagle has landed in Ireland for the first time in nearly a century.

Those suffering from the stressful side-effects of the Celtic Tiger economy are being offered the chance to become 21st-century hermits under a project unveiled today.