More than one in 10 college courses did not have enough applicants to fill all their places in this week’s first round of CAO offers.

Students have been snapping up college places after almost 50,000 received an offer on a third-level course yesterday.

Guidance counsellors say disappointment with today’s results should not mean an end to further study or career aspirations.

The first exams for almost 117,000 Junior and Leaving Certificate students beginat hundreds of schools, colleges and other centres this morning.

Students are continuing to turn to science courses and are avoiding the uncertainties of teaching careers, latest college application figures suggest.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has admitted the cutback in guidance for second-level students is even worse than counsellors themselves have claimed.

Guidance counsellors have rejected Education Minister Ruairi Quinn’s suggestion that the impact of cuts to their service can be eased with greater monitoring of teenagers in class.

The taxpayer has footed a €31,000 bill for sending local government officials from one county council to a management course at a US university — with the body that collects the household charge paying course fees.

The Institute of Guidance Counsellors has called for medical schools to stop using an aptitude test to help select incoming students.

Trinity College Dublin is to consider written applications from students and the schools they have attended, in addition to Leaving Cert results, when choosing entrants to its degrees.

Schools and guidance counsellors have been busy advising students who collected their Leaving Certificate results on their various options.

A job perk for teachers could be coming to an end.

SHANNON is facing the prospect of a repeat of the 40s and 50s when it was common for three generations to live under the one roof due to a chronic lack of social housing.

It has emerged that Irish banks are providing up to 10 days paid leave for their workers, who are getting married.

DURING the Celtic Tiger, Ireland had a veneer of urban sophistication, but rural Ireland rumbled on as usual. Mainstays of rural life, such as sport and farming, didn’t change, nor did country music, Irish-style.

You can’t keep a good thing down. It is an aphorism that, as 2010 came to a close, seemed apt for Cameron Hanley, as he returned to winning ways, notably at the four-star shows in Salzburg, Austria and Dresden, Germany.

IRELAND’s show jumping team selector Paraic Geraghty has accepted the post of Turkish team manager, joining the growing number of his compatriots involved in the sport in the Middle East country.

PLANNING permission has been given for a €40 million private hospital on the outskirts of Ennis after councillors overwhelmingly voted through a rezoning to accommodate the proposal.

The Westmeath footballers' interim manager Pat Flanagan has been handed mixed news ahead of the start of their Championship campaign.

Rifts between public sector unions could see talks with Government lose momentum.

THE members of Clare County Council were yesterday accused of walking away from their responsibilities by refusing to participate in a regional housing strategy for the mid-west region.

Captain David O'Brien finally put his foot on the pedal today after months of preparation with his new ride Mo Chroi, and won the big 1m50 speed class at Maubeuge, France.

IF experience can buy one thing, it is the ability to deal with success and failure... and Irish show jumping team manager Robert Splaine has more than enough experience to handle the proverbial two sides of the same coin.

Ireland's Jessica Kurten has moved up to third place in the Rolex World Jumping Riders rankings in the new monthly table published by the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale) today.

Ireland today increased their lead in the FEI Nations' Cup rankings with a second place in Lisbon, Portugal. Today's Nations' Cup result added eight points to Ireland's overall tally, but under the 'best of seven competitions' rule, seven points from a previous competition had to be dropped, giving a net gain of one point.

Comdt. Gerry Flynn kept up his recent run of good form at the four-star show in Lisbon Portugal tonight with a win in the Grand Prix on the Irish-bred mare 'Mo Chroí'.

Shane Carey notched up his second victory of the weekend at the four-star show in Prague, Czech Republic when he won the Speed Class there today with the Irish-bred 'Cashla Bay'.

Germany proved unstoppable in this year's Aga Khan Trophy competition at the Dublin Horse Show today finishing on an enviable score of just nine faults, their second consecutive Aga Khan Trophy win.

THE announcement on Monday of the Irish nations cup quintet for the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show (August 8-12) allows the chance for a more educated guess as to the make-up of the squad for the European Championships, which take place the following week.

CAMERON HANLEY is the last Irishman to win the grand prix at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show and he is not ruling out a repeat in two weeks’ time.

THE five-man squad to represent Ireland in the nations cup at next month’s Dublin Horse Show was announced yesterday.

IRELAND were triumphant on the last day (Sunday) of the four-star show in Drammen, Norway, with victory in both the Norway Nations' Cup and the Drammen Grand Prix.

Ireland have won the Norway Nations' Cup and the Drammen Grand Prix on the last day of the four-star show in Drammen, Norway.

Irish riders took first and second places at today's speed class at the four-star show in Drammen, Norway.

Chef d'Equipe Tommy Brennan tonight (Saturday) announced the jumping order for the Irish team in Sunday afternoon's Nations' Cup competition in Hamina, Finland.

Captain Shane Carey won yesterday's speed class with Cashla Bay at the four-star show in Poznan, Poland yesterday afternoon, while team-mate Cian O'Connor slotted Markopoulo into second, almost three seconds behind Carey.

A jubilant Chef d'Equipe Tommy Brennan announced Ireland's triumph in the Austrian Nations' Cup in Linz this afternoon when the team of Conor Swail, Commandant Gerry Flynn, Ryan Crumley and Shane Breen proved unstoppable in both rounds, finishing on 12 faults, with Italy the nearest challengers on 24 faults.

SHOW jumper Peter Charles yesterday said he would “rule nothing in, or, nothing out” when asked of speculation he is about to change nationality.

IRISH show jumpers’ dominance at the nations cup show in Athens was reinforced yesterday with Conor Swail and Commandant Gerry Flynn securing a one-two in the grand prix.

THE Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) has not adapted quickly enough to meet the changing needs of the sport, but is working to address this, its chairperson, Patricia Furlong, said yesterday.

MILLSTREET becomes the epicentre of Irish show jumping next week, when it stages its annual summer show.

SHOW JUMPER Ryan Crumley proved the jump-off hero that ensured Ireland victory in the Danish Nations Cup yesterday.

AN air of expectation more so than optimism permeated the select group at the Equestrian Federation of Ireland’s (EFI) presentation of its jumping committee last Monday.

THE Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) will take the first step in the review of the selection process for senior nations cup teams by holding a meeting on October 10.