FORMER Munster and Ireland rugby player Eddie Halvey has been given a seven-month suspended sentence and disqualified from driving for seven years after pleading guilty to careless driving and drink driving following a road crash which claimed the life of a 16-year-old boy in 2006.

IN 2005, Clive Woodward made a statement prior to picking his Lions squad for New Zealand that you had to be playing international rugby to be considered for Lions selection. This ruled out a lot of players, including Trevor Brennan who was playing some of his best rugby with one of the best teams in Europe, Toulouse. It was a big mistake.

MORE than 20,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to reverse his decision to drop a charge of dangerous driving causing the death of a Co Limerick schoolboy brought against former rugby international, Eddie Halvey.

VICTIMS of crime baffled by decisions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) are being invited to tell him how he can be more open about the way his office operates.

WAYNE O’DONOGHUE has paid his debt to society and should be allowed the privacy to get on with the rest of his life without publicly having to relive his tragic mistakes.

The DPP has reportedly dropped a charge of dangerous driving causing death against former Irish rugby player Eddie Halvey.

MOURNERS wept openly yesterday when a poignant letter from a mother to her only son, killed in a road accident last Saturday, was read out at his funeral Mass.

ROAD death statistics will take on a chilling and heart breaking reality today in a Co Limerick cemetery.

THE death toll on Irish roads climbed to 98 yesterday after a two-car accident left a woman dead and two people in hospital.

YOU’D never think so today but there was a time when Shannon and Garryowen were close allies! Legend has it that towards the end of the 19th century and for much of the 20th, Shannon were the junior partners and annually passed on the cream of their crop so that Garryowen could dominate the coveted Munster Senior Cup for years.

Shannon 17 Cork Constitution 20

Cork Constitution dumped Shannon out of the AIB Cup as a late penalty try saw them claim a 20-17 first round victory at Thomond Park.

Dungannon 0 Shannon 27

LESS than 120 metres separate their clubhouses, but today Thomond Park tenants Shannon and UL Bohemian face off in a mouthwatering AIB All Ireland League Division One Limerick derby.

Shannon 21 Galwegians 9

A hat-trick of second half tries from Munster winger Mossy Lawlor helped Shannon to a 41-10 ODM Munster Senior Cup second round win over Midleton this afternoon.

Shannon 25 Belfast Harlequins 20

Buccaneers 3 Shannon 56

Shannon 52 Dungannon 8

Shannon 42 UCD 13

FT Shannon 10 Garryowen 23, Thomond Park

SHANNON have a long injury list ahead of the AIB League division one top-of-the-table clash with Garryowen at Thomond Park tomorrow.

Shannon 22 Cork Constitution 16

Cork Con 16 Shannon 22

RIVAL coaches Brian Walsh of Cork Constitution and Geoff Moylan of Shannon are waiting until this morning to finalise their sides for today’s AIB League Division One final at Lansdowne Road.

ANDREW THOMPSON, one of the three “old men” in the Shannon team, remains one of the most formidable forces in the club game in this country.

JOINT AIB League favourites Cork Constitution and Shannon waited anxiously last night for the outcome of Munster’s Celtic League clash with Cardiff.

Cork Constitution will be slight favourites to beat Buccaneers in the All-Ireland League semi-final at Temple Hill on Saturday.

Munster have been dealt a major blow ahead of tomorrow’s Heineken Cup semi-final showdown with English champions Wasps.

Mossie Lawlor and Eddie Halvey were the big losers as Alan Gaffney reduced his Munster squad from 24 to 22.

BRIAN O'MEARA has been excluded from the Leinster team for the Celtic League clash with the Celtic Warriors at Donnybrook this evening (7.30pm).

THERE was a hint of Friday the 13th as Munster stormed back with another top-notch second half display to keep their Celtic League hopes alive at Musgrave Park last night.

Munster 24 Leinster 13

MUNSTER'S Celtic League title is on the line at Musgrave Park this evening (7.30pm). Alan Gaffney's troops have to win to keep their chances of ultimate victory alive as the league moves into the second stage.

In the second of our series of interviews celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Irish Examiner/TV3 National Junior Sports Stars, Hugh Farrelly looks back and forward with Munster and Ireland back-row Anthony Foley, an award winner in 1991. This year’s award winners will be announced on March 18.

MUNSTER coach Alan Gaffney will be without star centre Mike Mullins for six weeks.

Munster will be hot favourites to scalp Leinster, given the strength of their selection, in the Celtic League at Musgrave Park on Friday.

Shannon 41 Old Crescent 8

Alan Gaffney has named a 25-man squad, adding Anthony Horgan, Eddie Halvey and Colm McMahon, to last week's 22 as Munster prepare to entertain Treviso in the Heineken Cup at Thomond Park on Saturday.

Ireland's John Kelly replaces Mossie Lawlor on the wing in the only change to Alan Gaffney's side for their first foray into the Heineken Cup at Bourgoin on Saturday.

TWICKENHAM will host the Heineken Cup final next year for the first time since 2000 when Northampton beat Munster 9-8. A then-record 68,441 watched the match and the organisers would be very happy with a repeat on Sunday, May 23.

Munster, Ulster and Leinster have announced their squads for the 2003/2004 Heineken European Cup season.