Comedian and ‘Dancing With the Stars’ finalist Deirdre O’Kane says maintaining good eye health is vital. Even more so as she has no intention of retiring — ever, writes Margaret Jennings

The night belonged to Mná na hÉireann at the IFTA Gala Television Awards last night.

Missing out on Ed Sheeran in Páirc Uí Chaoimh? Not to worry, Ciara McDonnell has plenty of options for the May bank holiday weekend.

David Puttnam, Jim Sheridan, and Lenny Abrahamson will be among the guests at this year’s 10th Fastnet Film Festival which will feature more than 400 screenings.

The luck of the Irish ran out last night for Erin McGregor, who fell at the final hurdle in the race to make the final of this year’s Dancing with the Stars.

London-based, the TV presenter is back in Dublin to host the second season of Dancing with the Stars Ireland and to gear up for the city’s mini marathon in June.

The show featured comedian Oliver Callan, Joe Duffy, Deirdre O’Kane and country music singer, Cliona Hagan - not to mention stacks of Brennan’s bread.

He’s been hanging on by a thread for the last few weeks but the Marty Party has finally come to an end.

The Irish Film and Drama awards celebrated its 15th year last night and boy, did it pull out all the stops.

It must be the week that’s in it, but the judges were showing a lot of love to the surviving celebs tonight.

And then there were eight. Maia Dunphy was the latest contestant on Dancing with the Stars to exit stage left, with the Marty Party still going strong.

Not quite a pot of gold, but Marty Morrissey was clearly over the rainbow when he managed to improve his steps on Dancing with the Stars’ movie-themed night.

The Marty Party is still going, but for Norah Casey it was taxi time after the first elimination from this year’s Dancing with The Stars TV bash.

He may have come second last in the judges’ scores; he may have been up against a world champion and a rugby grand slam winner — but this year’s Dancing With the Stars is already shaping up to be a Marty party.

GAA guru Marty Morrissey will show off his twinkle toes when he follows in the steps of sports presenter Des Cahill onto the dance floor.

So far, here’s who's been wearing what …

A host of famous faces will descend on the capital this weekend ahead of the eagerly anticipated Irish Film and Television Awards.

The kind of round object that Kerry GAA star Aidan O’Mahony usually grasps rarely glistens more than his five All-Ireland medals but Sunday night was different as he waltzed away with the inaugural glitterball trophy to win the final of the first series of RTÉ’s Dancing With The Stars.

1. French Fancy

Leo Varadkar’s venture into the world of broadcasting as a DJ has sparked a war of words.

What a ridiculous idea. People watching telly watching people watching telly. How could that ever catch on? 

Tasty views

The seaside village of Ardmore in Co Waterford will be the place to be this week as the annual summer Pattern Festival gets under way.

BOOK THIS

Renowned worldwide for their razor-sharp wit and cutting sense of humour, Corkonians are getting their very own comedy festival.

1. Ruck On

WITH most of life’s big decisions, something’s got to give. 

FILM TIPS: The revamped version of The Jungle Book is the big draw at cinemas this weekend, and both trailer and early reviews suggest it’s well worth seeing.

A host of famous faces will descend on the capital this weekend ahead of the eagerly anticipated Irish Film and Television Awards.

The Kelly family feature on ‘Doctor in the House’ on TV3 on Wednesday at 9pm.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Fiona Looney’s new play was inspired by the Garth Brooks concert saga, writes Colette Sheridan

The second instalment of the 2015 Irish Film and Television Awards is fast approaching, and a list of final nominees including Chris O’Dowd, Deirdre O’Kane and Brendan O’Carroll, has just been announced.

With Ireland’s biggest comedy festival kicking off in the capital next week, some of the biggest names on the circuit today are gearing up to get down to business.

Hollywood star Mel Gibson who is now a Freeman of Trim, will send a personal video message to the Co Meath town to mark the 20th anniversary of the Oscar-winning film Braveheart.

Clip was done for a survey which says that there's a good chance your mam has been following you.

Nine FIFA officals have been accused of coruption which could have spanned decades, the Taoiseach believes that the sale of Aer Lingus to IAG is in the best interest of the nation, Anthony Tohill says Joe Brolly’s ego is bigger now than when he was player, and relive the emotions of Saturday’s referendum results with this moving video. Just some of the latest and most read stories on irishexaminer.com.

In the weeks leading up to the same-sex marriage referendum a host of celebrities added their voices to the campaign for a yes vote.

The stars were out in force last night for this year’s Irish Film and Television Awards.