When is the right time to exit the stage? It’s a question all sportspeople, no matter how successful, must eventually face. Three years ago, Philipp Lahm captained Germany to a fourth World Cup triumph. Less than a week later, the then 30-year-old retired from international football.

Jonathan deBurca Butler joined a group of more than 50 people in Dublin to walk on fire to support the work of charity Debra Ireland

Gerald Barry’s operatic take on Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice tale is about to get its Irish premiere, writes Cathy Desmond

Two classmates who backed U2 rock star The Edge at a once-in-a-lifetime gig in the Sistine Chapel say the experience has inspired them to make music part of their lives.

David Bowie was working on a new album before he died, his ex-girlfriend has claimed.

Check out our guide to what to watch on TV today.

Three people are entitled to a 20% share of a racehorse which was sold for £315,000 (€430,000) more than two years ago, the High Court has ruled.

The presenter has recalled the dramatic accident last year that saw her eight-year-old daughter, Matilda, suffer serious burns when her witch costume brushed against a candle at a house in London.

This Voice UK contestant had a very unique audience recently - a Sumatran tiger.

Check out our guide to the best of tonight's TV.

WOW - That girl can SING!

Claudia Winkleman has urged 'Strictly Come Dancing' viewers to "bear with her" as she returns to the show.

Presenter Claudia Winkleman was again absent from Strictly Come Dancing tonight after her daughter’s fire accident, as co-host Tess Daly wished the youngster a “speedy recovery”.

Claudia Winkleman’s eight-year-old daughter is in hospital after she was burned while celebrating Halloween.

Presenter Claudia Winkleman was missing from Strictly Come Dancing tonight after one of her children became ill.

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood said he watches ITV talent show X Factor to look for people to cast in musicals but was already “bored” with the current series.

Simon Cowell has said he is ready for “a ratings battle” after it emerged The X Factor is going up against Strictly Come Dancing in the TV schedules.

Claudia Winkleman is "terrified" about co-hosting 'Strictly Come Dancing' alongside Tess Daly later this year.

Graham Norton is too "lazy" to replace Bruce Forsyth on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

Claudia Winkleman is set to be the new host of 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

Claudia Schiffer once turned down a £1m dinner date.

Pitbull's collaboration with Jennifer Lopez is the official song for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.

Two Canadian girls whose decision to throw a message in a bottle into the Atlantic ocean are set to arrive in this country later today.

The young boy who found an eight-year-old message in a bottle from the other side of the world after it washed up in his sleepy hometown said he was treated like a celebrity during a whirlwind trip to the note’s starting place.

Former Ireland captain Trent Johnston is to retire from international cricket in December.

Schoolboy Oisin Millea is bringing his family on holidays to Canada, and he’s taking his message in a bottle with him.

AUTHOR and ex-Fair City star Claudia Carroll could barely see during her Leaving Cert because the area around her eyes was so covered with psoriasis.

Writer Roden has more aptly been described as an historian and a poet of food, says Joe McNamee

An award-winning part-time opera singer, who was left severely disabled after a hospital and a GP failed to properly diagnose the cause of her headaches and who settled her action with an interim payment of €2.39m, has now asked the High Court to determine the cost of her future care.

THIS week in Paris models are pounding the catwalks in next season’s clothes.

A bright light went out yesterday in Irish sport and news journalism with the death after a brief illness of one of its best known practitioners — John A Murphy.

Atheists in a church? Giving thanks, singing and celebrating? What’s going on? Katy Harrington finds out at a new Sunday Assembly for Atheists

Sir Bruce Forsyth is "touch and go" to co-host 'Strictly Come Dancing' tonight after being struck down by illness.

Oisin Millea, the boy who found a message in a bottle yesterday contacted the women who launched it into the sea eight years ago — and he may meet them in person next year after Tourism Ireland offered to fly them to Ireland for The Gathering.

Charline and Claudia from Montreal — your message has finally arrived.

Put away the tracksuit bottoms. ‘School Run Chic’ demands super-model levels of style — heaping more pressure on us mere mortals, writes Vickie Maye.

Claudia Winkleman is leaving 'Strictly: It Takes Two' to spend more time with her children.

Wexford Festival Opera will mark a significant milestone with a typically elegant programme of events, says Nicki ffrench Davis.