The Paralympics begins with tonight’s opening ceremony, so here are some of Ireland’s top medal hopes...

The camera was unable to separate Test Me and Razldazl Oisin in the featured final of the Two Wheel Training A2 525 on Saturday night at Curraheen Park.

Abbey Theatre, Dublin

Bailegangaire will be staged alongside Tom Murphy’s new prequel to his classic play, writes Pádraic Kileen

Following a public outcry over a lack of urgency in tackling lead pollution of the water supply to 750 homes in two estates in Limerick, Irish Water has said it is bringing forward the €6m remedial work originally scheduled for completion in 2016.

It was a perfect day in Lee Valley Golf Club yesterday, sun kissing the spring-blooming flowers, the vista from the first tee-box picture-postcard perfection.

Some of the top blind golfers in Ireland hope to inspire a new generation to take up their clubs and tee-off as an international competition comes to Cork for the first time.

The cheery smiles, the animated conversations and the sheer buzz of being young and brimful of energy said it all about the joys of participating in sport.

It’s official — even our leaders can only dream of the adulation now being afforded to Ireland’s Paralympic athletes.

Home are the heroes, a bit later than expected.

Irish President Michael D Higgins has led tributes to Team Ireland on their outstanding performance at the London Paralympic Games.

For a few moments, the hubbub that soundtracked Brands Hatch from early morning and through to teatime seemed to melt away into the sun-kissed Kent countryside, as James Brown and Damien Shaw cocked an ear towards the track’s tannoy.

Team Ireland are celebrating another gold medal at the London Games.

Paralympics Ireland will hold a celebration today to recognise the outstanding achievements of Darragh McDonald, Jason Smyth, Catherine Walsh, Francine Meehan and Helen Kearney in winning medals over the weekend.

This was the weekend that kept on giving for Team Ireland as our Paralympians lifted the country’s medal haul to a magnificent seven.

Three years ago Catherine Walsh made history when she became Ireland’s first paracycling medal winner at a major event with silver at the World Track Championship alongside sighted pilot Fran Meehan.

President Michael D Higgins has said that Ireland’s medal-winning Paralympians are a symbol of the team’s determination.

After winning three gold medals in London yesterday, Team Ireland have secured another medal today.

New Zealand’s Phillipa Gray and Laura Thompson set a stunning world record at the Paralympic Games to advance to the women’s blind and visually impaired tandem pursuit final at the London 2012 velodrome.

When Bethany Firth touched the wall after one minute and 8.93 seconds of the 100m backstroke S14 final shortly before 8pm last night she thought she had done enough to win a bronze.

The 2012 Irish Paralympic team departed for a two-week pre-Games training camp this morning with chief executive Liam Harbison claiming they were ready to better the successes achieved four years ago in Beijing.

Matthew Brammeier’s appeal to be included for selection in the three-man Ireland Olympic road race team has been unsuccessful.

Caroline Ryan, a Garda from County Kildare, today won the first Track Cycling World Championship medal in Ireland’s history.

Irish 200 metres record-holder Paul Hession plans to be in the shake-up with Usain Bolt and reach the business end of their events at the London Olympics this summer.

Ireland’s women’s tandem pursuit pair of Catherine Walsh and Fran Meehan won gold at the Paracycling Track World Championship in Carson, LA yesterday.

A Lithuanian is alleged to have broken into a house in his home country in 2001 and to have stabbed a woman in the hand, the High Court heard today.

SPORTS Minister Martin Cullen, has reaffirmed his commitment to the completion of the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown.

Ireland’s Gabriel Shelly won an individual bronze medal in the Boccia competition this morning.

The Irish cyclists posted two national records in Beijing’s Laoshan Veldrome on the opening day at the 13th Paralympic Games.

Ireland’s flag bearer, six-time Paralympian Patrice Dockery, proudly led the 45-strong Irish team along with team staff into Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium today at opening ceremony of the 13th Paralympic Games.

Irish paralympic sprinter Jason Smyth, from Eglinton in Derry, broke his own 100m (T13 category* for visually impaired athletes) world record in his first competitive start of the season yesterday recording a time of 10.85 seconds.

RED-FACED Labour Party press officers are being sent back to school by Pat Rabbitte to cut down on their spelling gaffes.

THE Irish team for next month’s IPC Open European Athletics Championships in Espoo, Finland, has been announced by the Paralympic Council of Ireland.

Irish Paralympic athlete Catherine Walsh, from Swords in Dublin, is one of the athletes that will carry the torch around the stadium prior to the lighting of the Olympic flame at tomorrow night's opening ceremony in Athens.

FEARLESS in business and hungry for a challenge, Denis O’Brien has regularly flirted with disaster.

PLAYWRIGHT Arthur Miller’s participation is one of the highlights of the 2003 Dublin Theatre Festival, running from September 29 to October 11.

HOUSEHOLDERS caught fiddling new refuse collection charges, to be introduced in Co Cork next year, could face fines of up to €1,200.

The Irish Paralympic track and field athletes leave Dublin today for the 2002 IPC World Athletics Championships in Lille, France.

Thirteen people died in a weekend of tragedy on Ireland’s roads.