AS YOU may have gathered by now the Dublin restaurant scene is as vibrant as it has ever been and the great news is that the standards are staying high. If you want to experience it you could start at the bottom of South Great Georges Street and walk towards Rathmines and you will pass several excellent restaurants at all price ranges on this route alone.

Ronan O'Gara's Crusaders powered past NZ rivals the Highlanders 38-14 Friday to storm into the Super Rugby semi-finals and continue their drive to a third consecutive title.

Cork are Cork. Or are they?

We have all been Billy Murphy for a good 10 days.

Irish Rail chief executive David Franks, who was described as “anti-driver” and “anti-union” by staff representatives earlier this week, has announced that he is to leave the company in the coming months.

As the Frank and Walters revisit their Grand Parade album, they tell Ed Power the fascinating tale of why their best record never had the impact it should have

Suddenly the Carrickshock supporters took to singing.

Intercity services, Dublin and Cork commuter services, and the Dart line may be the only rail routes to remain under radical options proposed to bring Irish Rail’s funding crisis to a halt.

Attempts to remove revenge porn from the internet has mistakenly been labelled as censorship of free speech, writes Joyce Fegan

The Roman Empire is a somewhat neglected part of history, but Peter H Wilson’s tome sets the record straight and reveals new secrets, writes Michael Duggan.    

As the Frank & Walters release a new album, Ed Power finds the band happy to live in the present rather than looking back to their early glory days

To qualify for selection on Donal Lenihan’s best ever World Cup XV, the players had to have at least one winner’s medal in the pocket

Judge the German Shepherd was with the West Deptford Police Department in New Jersey for seven years and was involved in over 150 arrests.

The armed forces seem to be reassuring themselves that the violence they inflict — and the violence the enemy inflicts in return — is definitely worth it, according to David Axe

It’s all aboard the tourism train as Ireland is set to get its very own Orient Express.

The legendary Cork band are marking 25 years in the business with a gig at the Opera House, writes Eoin Gubbins

A union at the heart of the Irish Rail strike which stopped services for 160,000 people last weekend has rejected a request from the boss of the company to call off action planned for next week and come back into talks.

THIS walk is best enjoyed in summer. These recent weeks, wildflowers are everywhere along the paths in Garretstown woods. Most are at their best this week. In late May, the bluebells were a little faded, but those growing in shade were a vivid, gentian blue.

With five minutes to play in Dublin, I was blaming last week’s loss to Australia for what seemed certain to be an historic Irish victory.

I HAVE two Annes — one that belongs to me, and one that belongs to the world”.

Irish Rail has been criticised for awarding a €30m track maintenance contract to a company found responsible for a fatal train crash in Britain.

Saplings from the chestnut tree that stood as a symbol of hope for Anne Frank as she hid from the Nazis for two years in Amsterdam are being distributed to 11 locations in the US as part of a project that aims to preserve her legacy and promote tolerance.

A group of American politicians has written to the Taoiseach urging him to halt any attempt to legalise abortion here and to ensure that Ireland remains “staunchly pro-life”.

The Menu is oft inclined to doff the cap to a pair of legendary Franks, Krawczyk and Murphy.

Flattering was Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s description, and flattering was just about right.

Cork 1-26 Offaly 2-16

At 19-points apiece and with six minutes remaining in an epic Test, the Irish and New Zealand packs got ready to pack down on the right-hand side of the pitch in a pulsating AMI Stadium.

Galway 5-23 Offaly 3-15

Uncapped Ulster tighthead Declan Fitzpatrick is set for a baptism of fire against the All Blacks with Mike Ross being confirmed as a major doubt for the first test at Eden Park on Saturday.

THE one area of consistent performance from the unpredictable French has been the solidity of their set piece.

LAST Sunday at Crosshaven more than 70 boats participated in the Autumn Series, Whitesail 1 and Whitesail 2 together with Classes 3 and 4 raced in the harbour.

Rugby’s heavyweights have come up with a new excuse for the number of collapsing scrums at this year’s World Cup – skin-tight jerseys.

Defenders Maurice O'Brien and Oisin Gough will start for Dublin in tomorrow's Leinster SHC quarter-final against Offaly at Croke Park (throw-in 2pm).

Offaly manager Joe Dooley has announced his team for Sunday's Leinster SHC quarter-final against Dublin at Croke Park (throw-in 2pm).

Wales 25 New Zealand 37

HALFWAY through his team’s bid to complete another Grand Slam tour Graham Henry is anticipating a much tougher examination next weekend than the All Blacks were subjected to at Murrayfield on Saturday.

FAVOURITES Carrickshock survived the sternest of tests from Erin’s Own (Castlecomer) in the first of the semi finals of the Kilkenny SHC at Nowlan Park yesterday before emerging victorious by a two-point margin.

GRAHAM HENRY expects his New Zealand side to face a much-changed South Africa one when the two countries meet in the Tri-Nations on Saturday.

New Zealand have drafted Jimmy Cowan and Ben Franks into their starting XV to face South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday.

SOUTH AFRICA lock Victor Matfield was yesterday despairing at the way Irish referees Alan Lewis and Alain Rolland have policed the breakdown, following his side’s second successive Tri Nations defeat to New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday.

Galway 3-17 Offaly 2-18, O'Moore Park, Portlaoise