Leo Varadkar took his first bold step onto the pristine furrow — time stopped, breaths were held, and ploughing matriarch Anna May McHugh put her hands to her face in shock.

Sports Direct and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is embroiled in a High Court fight with Rangers over a merchandise deal said to result in the Scottish club getting about 7p of every £1 spent.

A magistrate in England has been reprimanded after posting a Facebook message about a court case he had overseen.

Many critics argue that such a move would be the start of a slippery slope leading to "designer" babies with selected features such as blue eyes, high intelligence or sporting prowess.

Scientists have developed a human-pig hybrid so they can grow human hearts, livers, and kidneys for transplants.

CFAI final - IT Carlow 2 Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa 1 (after extra-time): Jonny Bonner produced a man-of-the-match performance, grabbing both goals as IT Carlow regained the Colleges And Universities Premier League title after a gap of four years in a narrow win over Cork’s Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa in a pulsating final at Haddon Park Killester.

Laois 0-29 Offaly 0-20: A little over a week ago, Laois hurling was at a crossroads, with the significant progress made in the past three years on the brink of being washed away in one fell swoop.

Laois put a difficult fortnight behind them in the most definitive fashion possible, blitzing old rivals Offaly in the final 45 minutes to record their first championship victory over them in 43 years.

Britain remains at risk of more flooding as rain continues to plague the south of the country and tidal surges batter the coast.

A sponsor is being sought for an important collection of 107 pieces of Irish silver available to the National Museum of Ireland until the end of February.

St Francis College, Rochestown 5-18 Blackwater CS 1-13

One of the obstacles to human cloning has been cleared by scientists who used skin to generate embryonic stem cells.

Offaly 1-12 Carlow 1-10

Offaly 0-16 Wexford 0-14

Dublin 1-20 Offaly 2-16

Pair of very rare Limerick silver tablespoons with Old Irish

Jimmy Savile is to be buried with one of his iconic cigars.

TOM JONES was in hospital in Monaco last night but his website denied suggestions he was suffering from heart trouble.

BROTHERS Ger and Kieran Coakley of Clonakilty scored a remarkable double at the All-Ireland Ploughing Championships last week.

Canada’s long wait for a home Olympic gold medal is over after freestyle skier Alex Bilodeau claimed victory in the men’s moguls.

Scientists today reminded world leaders of the important role physics can play in understanding and fighting climate change.

A QUINTET of glowing monkeys threatens to engulf scientists in a new storm of controversy over the ethics of animal experiments and genetic engineering.

Westmeath 1-10 Offaly 1-7

Online video leader YouTube rolled out long-awaited technology to automatically remove copyrighted clips, hoping to placate film and television studios fed up with persistent piracy problems.

More than 50,000 scientists from 63 nations turned their attention to the world’s poles to measure the effects of climate change.

THE effect of the deadly bird flu outbreak in Britain, where 160,000 turkeys were culled in Suffolk, is that while this country has taken increased measures to avoid an eruption here, there is no need for panic among the general public.

BRITAIN’S fertility watchdog yesterday postponed a decision on whether to allow women to donate eggs for cloning research until it had gathered opinion from experts and members of the public.

FEARS of a widespread outbreak of bird flu across Britain were receding last night as an infected swan found in Scotland remained the only confirmed case of the deadly H5N1 strain.

Bird-keepers and vets across the UK will be braced to put contingency plans into place in an attempt to stem the spread of bird flu.

TONY BLAIR appears set to give the go-ahead to a new generation of nuclear power stations in Britain.

SCIENTISTS have demonstrated a technique they believe can sidestep ethical objections to therapeutic cloning.

Limerick Colleges 2-9 Coláiste na Sceilge 1-9

KILKENNY’S legendary Michael “Duxie” Walsh, who came out of retirement earlier this year, will once again battle it out for an All-Ireland final spot this weekend.

MOVES to prevent couples from being allowed to choose the sex of their baby for reasons other than medical concerns were welcomed by doctors, fertility experts and ethical watchdogs in Britain yesterday.

OVER 1,000 competitors from eight countries are gathering in Kilkenny for the 2003 World handball championships which begin this Friday.

Australia have made 24 changes to last year’s victorious international rules squad for this year’s three-match tour down under.

Six new cases of foot-and-mouth have been confirmed as the latest surge of the outbreak continues.