Ireland 33 New Zealand 24: As winger Malo Tuitama raced in for his second try to cut the gap to six points with as many minutes remaining, up on the press bench we started preparing another hard luck story for Irish rugby against New Zealand.

Louis van Gaal claims David de Gea bears little resemblance to the goalkeeper who rescued so many points for Manchester United last season.

Ander Herrera is not fazed by the prospect of having to compete with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin for a place in the Manchester United starting XI this season.

One of the worst things about depression is the fear of its return. But Suzanne Harrington, who suffers with mild depression, says learning the tools of resilience is the key

“Never again must the power of money or celebrity blind us to repeated clear signals that some extremely vulnerable people were being abused,” UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt said as a series of damning reports were published into how Jimmy Savile raped and assaulted hundreds of people in hospitals.

The Defence Forces have unveiled a secret weapon ahead of a very special operation in Cork later this month.

Celtic succeeded in their pursuit of Dundee United pair Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven in the final stages of the transfer window.

Juan Mata wants Manchester United to bounce back from their defeat to Southampton by embarking upon another long unbeaten run.

Watching Roy Keane and the Irish players striding into Celtic Park past the statue of Jimmy Johnstone was to be reminded that, to paraphrase Martin O’Neill, some pre-match "distractions" are definitely more distracting than others, writes Liam Mackey.

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Rebecca Storm is back in Blood Brothers, the show which made her famous, says Jo Kerrigan.

Danny Welbeck is a doubt for Manchester United’s St Stephen’s Day trip to Hull.

Wayne Rooney returned to the Manchester United starting line-up for this afternoon’s encounter with West Ham at Old Trafford.

Cork City 0 Celtic XI 2

Irish credit unions have lent €1.1bn to their members in the last 12 months, delegates of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) heard over the weekend.

Roberto Mancini handed Mario Balotelli a prized Manchester City starting berth for this afternoon’s clash with Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.

Roman Abramovich could face a fan backlash tonight if he makes Rafael Benitez his ninth manager at Chelsea.

Manchester United’s Shinji Kagawa is facing a four-week spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Darren Fletcher is expected to make his first start in 10 months for Manchester United in their Capital One Cup clash with Newcastle at Old Trafford tomorrow.

Up to 700 people were last night evacuated from New Zealand’s Olympics hospitality house after a fire.

Seanie Johnston's transfer to Kildare club St Kevins has been turned down by the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee.

Donations are continuing to pour in to a charity in memory of an “inspirational” runner who collapsed and died during the London Marathon.

The treatment of new teachers who have started on pay of almost 30% less than their colleagues is a disgrace, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn was told.

Ousted 'X Factor' contestant Sami Brookes has suggested that her former mentor Louis Walsh should make way for new celebrity talent on the judging panel.

A WEST END legend is to set to take an Irish stage by storm to help Ireland’s favourite twins.

CHELSEA got a boost from their young guard yesterday as they edged the FA Youth Cup semi-final first leg clash with Manchester United 3-2 at Stamford Bridge.

ROD KAFER and Doug Howlett are the only members of the elite north-south double winners club — but now Pedrie Wannenburg, Scott Hamilton, George Smith and Campbell Johnstone are in with the chance of adding their names to that shortest of short honours boards.

Celtic 2 St Johnstone 0

BIARRITZ gained revenge over Aironi Rugby last night with a convincing Heineken Cup victory in their return Pool 4 match at Parc des Sports Aguilera.

BIARRITZ maintained their unbeaten start in Pool Four of the Heineken Cup with an emphatic bonus-point home victory over Ulster.

BATH boss Steve Meehan claimed his team needed to “grow up” after their Heineken Cup campaign began in frustrating fashion against Biarritz at the Recreation Ground.

DIMITRI YACHVILI has issued a stark warning to semi-final opponents Munster after claiming: we can win the Heineken Cup for the first time.

The night before Siobhan Kearney was found dead in her home she emailed her brother’s partner in Italy ending her letter by asking her to, “say a prayer for me”, a court has heard.

Cavan 2-11 Down 3-8

A BBC TV reporter was kidnapped today in the central Gaza Strip, a senior Palestinian security official said.

The excellent form of Mark Johnston’s winter squad was succinctly underlined with a 14-1 double at windswept Southwell.

THE crisis at Rangers deepened last night when they were sent crashing out of the CIS Insurance Cup by St Johnstone. A double from Steven Milne secured the win for the First Division side in front of a stunned Ibrox crowd.

Stevie Chalmers believes nobody would have appreciated Celtic’s championship success more than fellow Lisbon Lion Jimmy Johnstone.

Celtic 3 Dunfermline 0

THE story is told about the two Scottish footballers who are condemned to death.

THOUSANDS of fans joined former players, rock star Rod Stewart and politicians to say their final farewell to Celtic and Scotland legend Jimmy Johnstone.

Football legends, celebrities and politicians today stood shoulder to shoulder with ordinary fans at the funeral of former Celtic and Scotland star Jimmy Johnstone.

CELTIC legends and supporters will join together to bid farewell to Jimmy Johnstone today.