A garda who survived a gun attack while on holidays in the US two years ago claimed yesterday at Nenagh District Court that he had to strike out with his fist to protect himself from a woman who he says attacked him while he was on his way home from a night out.

A serial sex offender who anally raped a woman in the ladies toilet of a Nenagh fast food shop two years ago has been jailed for life by Mr Justice Paul Carney.

A MAN who died in a car crash after a Garda pursuit through Cork’s rush-hour traffic had a cocktail of alcohol and valium in his system, an inquest was told yesterday.