The aid worker who was freed after being held by Sudanese rebels for more than three months said she does not regret her criticism of the charity she was working for at the time.

DURING the Celtic Tiger, Ireland had a veneer of urban sophistication, but rural Ireland rumbled on as usual. Mainstays of rural life, such as sport and farming, didn’t change, nor did country music, Irish-style.

REVELLERS at next weekend’s Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Co Laois, will encounter a new range of steak sandwiches which are healthier than regular beef, chicken or salmon.

ALMOST 18 months after she and a colleague were kidnapped and held for 107 days in Sudan, former GOAL worker Sharon Commins has revealed that a number of the gang wanted to kill her.

A kidnapped Irish priest freed after more than a month in captivity in the Philippines today vowed to remain in the Asian islands and continue his work.

FREED aid worker Sharon Commins has urged Irish people to use their skills for the benefit of people around the world in greatest need.

SMILING alongside Ireland’s most powerful office holders, a grateful but nervous Sharon Commins was praised for her courage and endurance after her 107-day ordeal in Sudan.

President Mary McAleese tonight paid tribute to the courage and strength of aid worker Sharon Commins, who suffered almost four months in captivity in war-torn Sudan.

President Mary McAleese is due to host a special reception at Áras an Uachtaráin today for GOAL aid worker Sharon Commins.

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin has hailed the co-operation between Government departments that led to the release of kidnapped aid worker Sharon Commins over the weekend.

An Irish aid worker touched down on home soil after being held captive for almost four months in war-torn Sudan.

SHARON COMMINS arrived home to an emotional family reunion last night following her 107-day ordeal at the hands of Sudanese kidnappers.

AID worker Sharon Commins arrived home late last night after a terrible few months.

An Irish aid worker held captive for almost four months in war-torn Sudan revealed today that her abductors staged mock assassinations by shooting around her.

Aid worker Sharon Commins, held captive for almost four months in war-torn Sudan, revealed today that her abductors staged mock assassinations by shooting around her.

Aid worker Sharon Commins was returning home today, following more than three months of captivity in war-torn Sudan.

RELEASED GOAL aid worker Sharon Commins’s thoughts were for the need to continue humanitarian work and for the people of Sudan who helped secure her release, when she spoke just hours after the end of her 107-day captivity.

Sharon Commins will be back in the country by tomorrow afternoon.

The mother of freed aid worker Sharon Commins today said she could not wait to hold her daughter in her arms again.

Aid worker Sharon Commins and her Ugandan colleague kidnapped in war-torn Sudan more than three months ago have been freed, the Government revealed today.

The Irish Aid worker being held hostage in Sudan has been allowed to make a phone call to her mother in Ireland.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has said the Sudanese government is continuing to work to secure the release of Irish aid worker Sharon Commins and has ruled out an armed rescue attempt.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs will today continue talks with the Sudanese government in an attempt to secure the release of Sharon Commins.

THE Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that Minister Micheál Martin flew to Khartoum last night to meet Sudanese officials as part of ongoing efforts to free kidnapped Irish aid worker Sharon Commins.

THERE have been several “false dawns” in the campaign to get Irish aid worker Sharon Commins freed from captivity in Sudan, Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin has admitted.

THE charity Concern is worried people may be discouraged from becoming aid workers because of the increasingly precarious nature of the job in some countries.

AT the start of every day in the close-knit community of Clontarf, families come together to offer prayers for the safe release of kidnapped aid worker, Sharon Commins.

THE Sudanese government still expects the imminent release of aid workers Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki despite a ransom demand of US$2 million (about €1.43m) from the gang holding the women captive.

The kidnappers of Irish aid worker Sharon Commins are reportedly demanding a $2m (€1.43m) ransom for the release of the Dubliner and her Ugandan colleague, Hilda Kiwuki.

It is thought there has been some progress made in the efforts to free a kidnapped Irish aid worker in Sudan.

HOPES were high last night for the release of a young Irish aid worker and her Ugandan colleague after it was confirmed Irish Government officials were in direct negotiations with their kidnappers.

The family of kidnapped Irish aid worker Sharon Commins are due to hold talks with the Sudanese Ambassador to Ireland later today.

A SENIOR government minister in Sudan yesterday said he hoped kidnapped aid worker Sharon Commins and her Ugandan colleague will be released “in a few days’ time”.

An Irish aid worker and her colleague being held hostage by an armed gang in Darfur have made contact with their agency’s office, a senior Sudanese official said today.

The men who kidnapped Irish aid worker Sharon Commins in Darfur last week are reportedly demanding a ransom for her release.

THE parents of missing Irish aid worker Sharon Commins are to meet the Sudanese Ambassador to Ireland tomorrow after he said the net was tightening on the gang who kidnapped her.

Sudanese authorities hunting a kidnapped Irish aid worker and her colleague have narrowed down the search area, it was confirmed tonight.

Foreign diplomats who have worked on hostage situations have offered the Government advice and support in finding an Irish aid worker and her colleague abducted in Sudan.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today vowed no effort would be spared in finding an Irish aid worker and her colleague taken hostage in war-torn Sudan.

The whereabouts of kidnapped Irish aid worker Sharon Commins remain a mystery this morning as Irish diplomats continue efforts to secure her release.

A high-level team of diplomats and negotiators will today continue efforts to locate an Irish aid worker and her colleague who have been kidnapped in war-torn Sudan.

EFFORTS to free kidnapped aid worker Sharon Commins intensified last night amid growing uncertainty about those responsible for the abduction.

Hostage negotiators were today trying to make contact with armed kidnappers who abducted an Irish aid worker and her colleague in war-torn Sudan.

The head of the charity whose aid workers were kidnapped in Darfur tonight appealed for their safe return.