Tributes have been paid to a brave little girl who has died suddenly just days after meeting her idol, pop star Ed Sheeran.

Many tears of joy and a surprise proposal were among the reactions as the crew of a naval ship returned home just in time for Christmas.

Aidan Carr considered walking away. Eleven seasons under his belt and the birth of his first child before Christmas had retirement playing on his mind.

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Tyrone’s Joe McMahon brought the curtain down on his inter-county career yesterday, admitting defeat in his battle to overcome injury.

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It’s very much a family affair for Saoirse Noonan at the Uefa Women’s U17 European Championships as her brother also plays a key role in Iceland.

Parents of children who have died of meningitis have called for a new vaccine for the B strain of the disease to be introduced here without delay.

Some people take just a few hours putting up their Christmas decorations.

A paramedic has described how his young son died from meningitis in front of his eyes within hours of being gripped with the killer disease.

Bringing your new twin babies home from hospital to meet their 13-month-old sister is normally a cause for celebration, but for Gerard Martin, whose partner died during childbirth, it was heartbreaking.

On arriving in Dublin Airport for the All Star trip to New York, I spotted Joe McMahon standing near the check-in desk.

SEAN LACEY of the Edge Racing cycling team did what many deemed improbable when he claimed a sensational overall win at the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan in Killorglin yesterday.

“HER smile lit up a room. She was love personified. She radiated love in all directions. She made us better people.”

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen and his wife Mary Molloy were among several hundred people who sympathised with Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin and his family last night as they began the heartbreaking process of saying goodbye to their beloved Léana.

THE removal of Léana Martin, the youngest daughter of Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin, will take place in Cork today.

LÉANA MARTIN, the youngest daughter of Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin, has died at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

GOLDEN girl Derval O’Rourke got a warm reception from thousands of people who braved wet and near-Arctic conditions to watch Cork’s St Patrick’s Day parade yesterday.