His story captured the hearts of the nation and beyond, and earlier this year he received a special surprise from the cast of US sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Father of two Kevin Hayes, 56, originally from the village of Newbridge, Co Galway died a month ago on May 24, after he had descended several hundred metres from Mt Everest. He had been climbing with trekking company, 360 Expeditions.

John Pender, 53, from Shankill, Dublin was stabbed to death in the early hours of Friday morning last in the Pogs Old Irish Rock pub in Fuengirola, Spain.

Three years ago the men of Jadotville, Congo had their 15 minutes of fame. Jamie Dornan sprinkled stardust on these

Concerns are being raised over traffic jams at the summit of Mount Everest as the death toll on the mountain continues to rise.

An Irish father of two has died while attempting a climb on the world’s highest mountain.

Battling cancer for 12 years, young Dublin girl Robyn Smyth faces a new fight against the disease as she flies out to the US today.

The powerbrokers of world rugby converge on Dublin today with their agenda dominated by the biggest single offer in the history of the sport — £500m (€585m) for a 30% stake in the Six Nations.

Erin McGregor, sister of UFC king Conor, has started a floss dance challenge in a desperate bid to raise money to help save the life of a teenager she has been secretly helping.

Guido Nasi, the Italian man who was left paralysed following an unprovoked attack in Dublin, is celebrating a brighter chapter in his life as a major publishing company has snapped up his memoir.

Access to a cath lab would not have saved a farmer whose death during a hospital transfer following a complication of a “silent heart attack” sparked outrage over cardiac services in the South-East, it has emerged.

Dinnertime in the Kelly household was always an epic affair, but never more so than when all 19 siblings gathered to celebrate their mother Nora’s 90th birthday.

If it’s Ireland-Wales in the Six Nations then chances are Rhys Ruddock will be nudged in front of the media at some point or other in the week leading up to it — the Leinster back row’s current absence through injury didn’t change that yesterday.

Maria Gilroy’s diet prevents her consuming foods most of us take for granted — meat, fish, poultry, cheese, milk, bread, flour, rice, pasta, yoghurt, chocolate.

GSOC has confirmed that it is conducting an examination into the suspected suicide of a man living under Garda protection who was due to give evidence in an upcoming trial linked to the Kinahan-Hutch feud.

Well, we know what we're doing for the new few weekends.

The tragic case of a young man who died while being transferred to hospital in Cork because of a lack of cardiac services in the south east has been raised in the Dáil, writes Elaine Loughlin.

The wife of a 40-year-old farmer who died in an ambulance while on route to hospital in Cork from his native Waterford has spoken of a “quiet, loyal gentle person” who was looking forward to the arrival of their first child later this year.

A ‘beautiful, energetic, vibrant woman was crushed by what she described as her ‘tortured shell of a body’ so her friend decided to help her in seeking an assisted suicide, writes Eoghan O’Sullivan

A carer who became the first person in Ireland prosecuted for assisting suicide has talked about her relationship with her deceased friend and the times she faced questioning from gardaí.

A medical expert has told the trial of an Offaly GP accused of killing her severely disabled daughter that she was "devoted" to her.

The partner of an Offaly GP accused of killing her 11-year-old daughter has told her trial that she would never have hurt her child.

A completed fresh report of an investigation into the disappearance 18 years ago of trainee school teacher Deirdre Jacob has not advanced a garda inquiry into the unsolved case.

One of four women who travelled from Cork City to visit a ‘holy woman’ in a Co Cork town and then later the same evening stole an estimated €400 in goods from a shop has been jailed.

Eilis Barrett has just released her debut novel, having decided at age 12 that writing would be her career, writes Rita deBrun

The Garda investigation into the disappearance of missing Dundalk teenager Ciara Breen, took another twist yesterday as members of the defence forces were drafted in to help with the ongoing search of the Balmers bog area of the county Louth town.

If Ciara Breen was still around Dundalk, she’d be a 35-year-old woman, possibly venturing to The Big House pub to see singer Dominic Kettle in action on Saturday.

The search for missing Dundalk girl Ciara Breen continued in atrocious windswept conditions yesterday as the Garda Technical Bureau, using specialist equipment, battled against the elements.

Forensic investigators are scouring bog land in Dundalk as part of an 18-year-old search for a missing teenage girl.

Ciara Breen vanished aged 17 from her home on Bachelors Walk, where she lived with her mother, on February 13, 1997.

A quick-thinking garda has been hailed a hero by the family of a toddler left on life support after being struck by a relative’s car.

All that Caolán Seoige-Webster wanted out of life was to join the army, have a small house and a little piece of land for two horses.

SATURDAY

Gail O’Rorke said she collapsed and “screamed and screamed” after she was told she would be charged with assisting in the suicide of her friend Bernadette Forde.

A Dublin woman accused of assisting her friend's suicide told gardaí: 'I'm glad she did what she felt she had to do. I'm glad she didn't tell me".

There were mounting hopes yesterday of a breakthrough in the investigation into the disappearance of Dundalk, Co Louth, teenager Ciara Breen in February 1997 after gardaí arrested a prime suspect for a second time.

The family of a toddler were yesterday continuing to pray for a miracle as she battled critical injuries in hospital.

A Dublin mother is facing a race against time to raise €300,000 in just four weeks to cover the costs of a groundbreaking vaccine trial in the US that she believes offers the best hope of saving her cancer-stricken daughter’s life.

Tonight's telly tips…

One little girl is speaking to all our inner bookworms today.