A motorist who lost his appeal against his 12th driving test failure claimed yesterday there was a vendetta against him within the Road Safety Authority.

With Brendan Gleeson securing a Golden Globe nod for the phenomenally successful The Guard, the Irish film scene looks healthier than most other indigenous sectors and the closing credits for this feel-good story show no sign of rolling just yet, writes John Daly

FOR YEARS the “inner hippy” in me has longed to go to a rock festival but I’ve always chickened out at the last minute for a variety of reasons — those huge crowds seemed scary and would I not look and feel completely ridiculous in the midst of all those be-bopping young people.