A gay man has brought a High Court challenge against the Irish Blood Transfusion Service policy which prevents him from donating blood unless he abstains from having sex for a year.

Communications Minister Denis Naughten should remove himself from any media merger decisions unless he issues a public statement accepting he was wrong to discuss Independent News and Media’s (INM) bid for Celtic Media with a lobbyist.

It was as bad a day in the office as Denis Naughten has had in more than six years.

‘Everyone is sticking to their guns,’ says jury foreman

A woman denying charges of sexually assaulting her younger brother from when he was aged nine yesterday declared: “It is all untrue, total lies. It is disgusting.”

The man who claimed that his older sister sexually assaulted him was yesterday accused of making up the allegation as a bargaining chip to be used against her when she applied for access to his son.

A man charged with murdering a father-of-one in north Dublin told gardaí that he stabbed the deceased in the side three times with a knife, his trial has heard.

The HSE can recoup the cost of bariatric surgery within two years and then go on to save millions on medication costs, according to obesity experts.

The Special Criminal Court has accepted allegations that a former Sinn Féin Councillor claimed he was in the IRA and threatened the family of a man he had falsely imprisoned and waterboarded.

A 23-year-old man “considered to be a significant threat to women” has had his sentence for the sexual exploitation of a 12-year-old over the internet, cut on appeal.

A former Sinn Féin councillor waterboarded and threatened to kill a man who he believed was trying to defraud him, the Special Criminal Court heard yesterday.

A man has gone on trial charged with kidnapping a post office worker, his partner, and their baby before robbing over €600,000 from the man’s workplace.

man goes on trial charged with kidnapping post office worker and famiy

The 10 men and two women on the jury for the trial of a middle-aged sports coach accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in 2004 are expected to begin deliberations today.

An 11-year sentence was imposed yesterday on a garda informer who shot a woman in the neck through the window of a house as it emerged that CCTV at the accused man’s own home was the key evidence convicting him.

An eleven-year sentence has been imposed on a garda informer who shot a woman in the neck through the window of a house as it emerged that CCTV at the accused man’s own home was the key evidence convicting him, writes Liam Heylin of the Irish Examiner.

Tomás Heneghan became one of the first gay men in the country to donate blood after the Irish Blood Transfusion (IBTS) service lifted a lifetime ban for men who have sex with men.

A third man was today convicted of murdering a 64-year-old in his home by a unanimous jury verdict.

The health minister’s decision to end the permanent ban on blood donations by gay men has lead to a young man withdrawing his High Court challenge to the ban.

A man has been given a 12-year sentence for raping and sexually abusing his three step-children.

A disqualified driver who was “two and a half times over the limit” when he crashed an uninsured, unroadworthy, and overloaded car, has moved to appeal his 10-year prison sentence for dangerous driving causing death.

A man suffering from paranoid schizophrenia who killed his parents with an axe has been committed to the Central Mental Hospital in Dublin.

David Mahon has been sentenced to seven years in jail for the manslaughter of his partner’s son, Dean Fitzpatrick.

The family of a paranoid schizophrenic who killed both his parents has said they want to ensure that other families take action before mental illness turns to tragedy.

A paranoid schizophrenic who killed his parents with an axe has been found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.

A wanted man with a propensity for “extreme violence”, who was brought to the High Court by five officers in full riot gear, must wait to hear whether he will be extradited to the UK where he is wanted for a number of offences.

A man who strangled his brother to death with a bungee cord before hiding his body in a pit by the Cliffs of Moher has been found not guilty of his murder by reason of insanity.

There is speculation the Irish Blood Transfusion Service Board (IBTS) may recommend lifting the lifetime ban on gay men donating blood when they meet later today.

A Donegal man has been jailed for three years for the rape of a 14-year-old girl at a teenage disco when he was 15 years old.

A Pakistani man has been jailed for nine years at the Central Criminal Court for killing a man he suspected of having an affair with his wife.

An IT worker and father of three has received a non-custodial sentence for sexually assaulting his niece 24 years ago.

A Pakistani man has been jailed for nine years at the Central Criminal Court for killing a man he suspected of having an affair with his wife.

A Hungarian national has been found guilty of murdering a 20-year-old Kildare man with a baseball bat.

The Special Criminal Court trial of a man accused of IRA membership has heard evidence of telephone calls warning of explosive devices at University College Cork and the Rock of Cashel in May 2011.

A drama teacher who raped a student when she was around seven years old has been jailed for 10 years.

A drama teacher who raped a student when she was around seven years old has been jailed for 10 years.

A Kilkenny man who stabbed shop worker Mairead Moran to death at her workplace has been found not guilty of her murder by reason of insanity.

A jury has found a Donegal man guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl at a teenage disco when he was 15.

An underage person could not consent to a sexual act even if they appeared to be an enthusiastic participant, a judge has told the jury in the trial of a then 15-year-old accused of raping a 14 year old at a youth disco.

A garda has praised the maturity of a 14-year-old boy who kept his younger brother calm as they were robbed at knife point on the way to sports practice.