TOIRÉASA FERRIS was gracious in defeat after the surprise decision of her campaign team not to contest her elimination when she was just less than 700 votes behind Kathy Sinnott.

BRIAN COWEN’S bruised and battered Government will stagger on in office after the Green Party admitted it dare not pull out of coalition and risk a general election.

FIANNA Fáil is at real risk of losing its European Parliament seat in Dublin in what would be a devastating personal blow to Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

THE controversial pro-euthanasia expert who was recently forced to abandon a lecture in Cork has claimed the contentious practice of assisted-death is already taking place in Irish hospitals.

THE Bishop of Cork and Ross has condemned euthanasia ahead of a controversial lecture at Cork University Hospital today where a professor will claim it should be legalised.

CHEF Lorcan Cribbin’s concerns about unbalanced Government funding of the UCC agriculture biotechnology conference (August 25) are hard to swallow as he expressed no concerns when the Government supported an unbalanced anti-GM food conference on June 16-18, 2006 at Kilkenny Castle, which the Government donated for free.

IRISH MEPs miss one out of every five days of the European Parliament and have only attended an average of 33 days of parliamentary sessions so far this year.

Counting of European election votes was due to resume in centres across Ireland today as pressure mounted on Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

Fianna Fail director of elections John O’Donoghue came under fire from colleagues tonight as major European election defeats were added to their local poll meltdown.

Fine Gael's Simon Coveney is topping the polls in the South Constituency at 25%, closely followed by Brian Crowley for Fianna Fáil on 24%.

FIANNA FÁIL can spend unlimited sums of money on next year’s local elections, viewed as critical to Bertie Ahern’s leadership, because Martin Cullen is refusing to cap campaign expenditure.