As the election looms, the pressure will be on the mainstream parties to dangle carrots at the voters, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.

CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork is to make more of its space, having secured €35,000 in funding from Science Foundation Ireland.

Katie Price has revealed that she wanted to call her baby daughter "Duchess Kate", but her husband objected.

Drumroll please….

Lily Allen thinks "maybe" her songs weren't good enough on her third album.

Lily Allen has "banned" the internet and social media in her house.

Lily Allen says it would be hypocritical to stop her daughters taking drugs when they're older.

Lily Allen has split from her manager.

Some of the collection of letters written by Jackie Kennedy to an elderly Irish priest — recently withdrawn from auction — should be handed back to the Kennedy family, her niece said.

Lily Allen is undergoing therapy to reassure her she is not a "bad person".

Lily Allen got bored staying at home with her children.

Lily Allen was surprised she wanted to make music again so quickly after retiring.

Cliff Robertson, PT 109, 1963.

Lily Allen has defended her 'Hard Out There' music video.

Lily Allen has hit back at music industry double standards in her comeback song, 'Hard Out Here'.

Check out today’s horse racing tips from courses around Ireland and the UK.

Lily Allen has hired a £7,000 (€5,366) yurt to stay in at the Glastonbury festival.

Lily Allen dreamt she joined One Direction last night.

Lily Allen was left embarrassed after her breast milk leaked in public.

Lily Allen has given birth to a baby girl.

The year was 1916.

This job can be perpetually terrifying. I’ve had opening nights where I haven’t wanted to step out.

Singer Lily Allen announced today she is changing her professional name to Lily Rose Cooper.

Lily Allen is pregnant, according to reports.

Lily Allen's husband has snubbed her on their first wedding anniversary.

Irish motorsport lost a great competitor and friend this week with the passing of Rory Galligan (39), who died after a battle with motor neuron disease.

Lily Allen has named her baby Ethel Mary.

A UK fashion chain formed following last year’s collapse of Ethel Austin fell into administration today, casting uncertainty over the future of more than 1,000 jobs.

RICHARD “Dick” Winters, the Easy Company commander whose World War II exploits were made famous by the book and television mini-series Band of Brothers, died last week in central Pennsylvania.

Richard “Dick” Winters, the Second World War US officer made famous by the Band of Brothers TV series, has died aged 92 following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

The final moments of long-running comedy hit 'Friends' were named top of the blubs today - as TV's biggest tearjerker.

A charity has been set up in honour of an Irish United Nations worker killed in the Haitian earthquake.

Two Balbriggan cousins who launched a violent attack on their uncle and his partner in front of the couple’s young children have been sentenced to three years in jail, with 18 months suspended.

JACKIE KENNEDY had a steamy four-year affair with Bobby Kennedy after JFK’s assassination, according to a new book.

THE parents of the Limerick woman shot and badly wounded at her home in Lanzarote were at her hospital bedside last night after flying out to the Canary Islands.

THE parents of the Limerick woman shot and badly wounded at her home in Lanzarote were at her hospital bedside last night after flying out to the Canary Islands.

A helicopter has joined the search for an Irish backpacker missing in a remote stretch of the Chilean-Argentinian border, it emerged tonight.

THE question over whether or not the Colombia Three should be extradited continues to exercise minds. It could set a dangerous precedent.

John Drew Barrymore, the troubled heir to an acting dynasty and the father of movie star Drew Barrymore has died, aged 72.

DYLAN BENWELL, the Cork-born youngster at the centre of an international tug-of-love, returned to the United States yesterday, more than three months after his grandparents were accused of kidnapping him.

DYLAN Benwell, the Cork-born youngster at the centre of an international tug of love, returned to the home of his mother in the US yesterday, over three months after his grandparents were accused of kidnapping him.

Football fans in Cardiff were enjoying a carnival atmosphere today – as what is seen as the largest security operation surrounding an FA Cup Final was underway.

Corrie killer Richard Hillman’s canal death plunge has been voted the top soap moment of all time.

Kennedy nephew Michael Skakel was jailed for 20 years to life today for murdering the girl next door in 1975 when they were 15-year-old neighbours.