Portlaoise and Tullamore will play host to this year's Leinster Football Championship quarter-finals in a pair of double-headers.

The good and the great, the ones who made stellar contributions to Irish basketball at home and overseas, were inducted into Basketball Ireland's Hall of Fame at the weekend

Cork Con's clash with Clontarf is live on RTÉ 2

Sales of Tullamore Dew whiskey grew by 9% last year, with its owner claiming the gap is narrowing between it and Irish whiskey market leader Jameson.

Jim Kelly is the groundsman and chief steward at O’Connor Park, Tullamore. He took time out from mowing the pitch on Thursday evening to chat about preparations for Offaly’s Leinster SHC opener against Galway. Interview by Stephen Barry.

Dublin defender Cian O’Sullivan says it will be “interesting” to see how the fixtures dilemma regarding their anticipated Super 8 games pans out.

New Ireland women’s head coach Adam Griggs believes a daunting test in France tonight will be the making of his team.

Almost half of the children on hospital trolleys yesterday were waiting more than nine hours for a bed, it has emerged.

The IRFU Women’s Interprovincial Championship goes down to the wire this afternoon when Munster host champions Leinster in a top of the table clash at Thomond Park (2.30pm).

The rollout of a €33m national intergrated laboratory information system in 43 public hospitals has been delayed by at least a year.

Pat Flanagan has revealed that it was his wife who informed him that he had been axed as Offaly senior football team manager on Tuesday evening.

The Ireland Women’s management team has confirmed a 48-strong training panel to prepare for the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Dublin and Belfast in August. 

Special Correspondent Michael Clifford says that all Portlaoise Hospital needed to get preferential treatment was to have been to be located in the Taoiseach’s constituency.

6.30am

It’s a horrible experience to be burgled and lose some of your prized possessions.

Offaly was the big winner in the Best Dressed Lady competition yesterday, with Lisa McGowan from Tullamore taking away the big prize.

Ireland bounced back from their European Amateur Team Championship quarter-final defeat to Italy with an impressive 3½-1½ win against Spain over France’s challenging Chantilly course.

Galway 2-19 Offaly 2-9: It was a day when Galway did all that was required of them and not a lot more to advance to a Leinster final meeting with Kilkenny in a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland decider.

Today’s Ulster Bank League Division 1 clash between Clontarf and UCD is expected to be the first of two games between the teams in the next couple of weeks.

There were almost twice the number of patients on trolleys last month than in March 2008, according to figures provided by the country’s largest nursing union.

Jackie Tyrrell makes his first since last year’s Leinster final as one of five changes to the Kilkenny side for tomorrow’s Allianz HL Division 1A clash with Galway at Nowlan Park tomorrow (2pm).

Open Championship hero Paul Dunne will attract much of the attention at Royal Portrush in two weeks as Ireland bid to defend their Home Internationals title on home soil.

Offaly SHC

The IDA has hardly been seen in Longford over the last five years. So the decision to appoint a regional manager to the Midlands as part of a Government jobs strategy for the area has to be a positive step, said Longford Chamber of Commerce.

It would be more than fair to say the inclement weather hasn’t helped the country’s premier pitches.

Offaly 1-14, Waterfrord 2-18: The previous four league meetings between these two counties were evenly shared, the latter three decided by a goal or less.

Two sister hospitals in neighbouring counties have emerged as having the country’s best and worst death rates for heart attack patients in their care.

University College Dublin won a thrilling Ulster Bank League Division 1A clash with leaders Lansdowne at Belfield on Saturday to maintain their challenge to finish in the top four.

Euro Stallions has got off to a flying start, supplying horse semen to the domestic and foreign markets, writes Trish Dromey.