Star performer John Power produced four points during the closing five minutes, and boosted by another from Ger Aylward, 14-man Kilkenny cobbled together a battling victory over Westmeath yesterday.

Kenny Egan set the scene for next Friday night’s showdown with Joe Ward in the finals of the Elite National Senior Boxing Championships with a short route victory over Westport’s Eamon Walsh (St Anne’s) in Saturday night’s light heavyweight semi-final at the National Stadium.

JOE WARD (Moate) got his defence of his light heavyweight title off to a flying start at the Elite National finals at the National Stadium last night and immediately threw down the gauntlet to Kenny Egan, who he beat to claim it last year.

KENNY EGAN kept his Olympic dream alive with an emphatic victory over fellow Dubliner Michael Frayne (St. Mary’s) in the Elite Boxing Championship quarter-finals at the National Stadium on Saturday night.

A ROUSING second-half recovery wasn’t enough to rescue Waterford champions Ballinameela in yesterday’s Munster Club JHC semi-final in Cappamore as their hosts had already done the damage before the break.

IT was something of a phoney war in that both sides were keeping a little in reserve for the championship, but Ballyhale Shamrocks picked up their first title of the year when winning the senior hurling league final against James Stephens on Saturday.

Labour's Derek Nolan is leading the poll after the first count in the Galway West constituency.

“WHO are these people?”

A protest is due to take place later over the Vatican's decision to reject the resignation of two Irish bishops in the wake of the Murphy report on clerical child abuse.

SUPPORT groups who marched in protest at cutbacks in the disability sector have expressed disbelief at Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s assertion in the Dáil that respite services would not be cut – when some already have.

A planned protest against cuts to care for the disabled will go ahead in Galway this afternoon.

PARENTS of disabled children are ‘absolutely terrified’ that respite support, a service that makes their lives bearable, is at risk because of Health Service Executive cutbacks.

Waterford 1-10 Clare 0-9, Dungarvan

QUOTE sluts, in the days of Bill Clinton’s presidency, were the people outside of the administration who could be activated to come out in support of an emerging policy or make a statement helpful to the president.

ARCHBISHOP Diarmuid Martin has insisted victims of paedophile priests must not be “fast-tracked” through a healing process and criticised Catholics who say their church should move on from grief about the child abuse scandals.

Pressure is mounting on the only serving bishop named in the Murphy report yet to resign.

Pope Benedict today accepted the resignation of a under-fire Bishop of Limerick Dr Donal Murray over his “inexcusable” mishandling of a child sex abuse case.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin tonight said he hoped justice had been served after a paedophile priest named in a damning State inquiry was jailed for sexually assaulting an altar boy.

THE Pope has said he was deeply disturbed and distressed by the findings of a sickening child sex abuse inquiry and plans to write a letter to the Catholics of Ireland.

Pope Benedict XVI today has expressed his "profound regret at the actions of some members of the clergy".

The country's most senior Catholic clerics are due to meet the Pope today to discuss fall-out from the child abuse inquiry in the Dublin Archdiocese.

The country's most senior Catholic clerics are due to meet the Pope tomorrow to discuss the fall-out from the child abuse inquiry in the Dublin Archdiocese.

ALL anybody has wanted to hear from the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the past week has been sincerity and humility.

Children's Minister Barry Andrews has said the Government will consider establishing further inquiries into clerical sex abuse in other dioceses, if it becomes clear that there are shortcomings in child protection.

An Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin says he sees no need for further inquiries into child abuse in the Irish Catholic church, and resources should be spent elsewhere.

WITH their hurlers safely through to the Harty Cup final, St. Flannan’s bid to get their footballers through to the Corn Uí Mhuirí decider when they take on Tralee CBS in the semi-final at Glin tomorrow (2.30pm).

Tralee CBS 0-16 Castletroy CS 2-5

THE following nine priests were also investigated by the inquiry. Six of the priests against whom allegations of sexual abuse were made are dead.

The Bishop of Ferns has issued an unreserved apology to the victims of clerical sex abuse in the diocese.

PROFITS at the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin rose by almost 75% last year, making it the most profitable private treatment facility in the country.

Seanie Buckley, Padraig Browne and Michael Crowley will make their first championship starts for Liam Kearns' Limerick in Sunday's Munster SFC semi-final meeting with All-Ireland champions Kerry at the Gaelic Grounds.

Several thousand people gathered at the papal cross in Dublin's Phoenix Park this evening for a Sunset Service of Remembrance for Pope John Paul II.

WATERFORD hurling manager Justin McCarthy has made three changes from the team that failed to Galway last Sunday for tomorrow’s NHL tie with Clare in Dungarvan.

Galway 3-12 Kilkenny 1-18

WITH the All-Ireland colleges title safely tucked away in St Kieran’s, Brother Damien is hoping he can steer Kilkenny to victory in tomorrow’s MHC final against Galway.

Dublin U-21 football boss Tommy Lyons has kept faith in a winning formula by make no changes to his lineup ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final in Thurles against Waterford.

Waterford 1-13 Cork 2-8

LEADING members of the political and legal professions came together in Dublin yesterday for the funeral mass of one the country’s best-known barristers, Eamon Leahy.

Five years after initiating a High Court action against the Diocese of Ferns, and 30 years after suffering sexual abuse at the hands of a priest, Colm O’Gorman yesterday received justice.

Church authorities in the diocese of Ferns have agreed to pay €300,000 in damages to a man who was sexually abused by a paedophile priest in Co Wexford 20 years ago.

Thurles Sarsfields 0-14 Mullinahone 0-14