THE ritual of clearing out her turf-fired Stanley range turned to delight for Kerry woman, Sheila Edgeworth, when she discovered a 1,400-year-old brooch – dating from the early Christian period – among the ashes.

IT was with great sadness that I heard of the destruction by fire of St Mel’s Cathedral, Longford, on Christmas day. The loss is great indeed, but all the more so for those of us with a love of and respect for our past.