Olive Loughnane and Robert Heffernan can today lift spirits towards the end of what has been a poor games for Irish athletes.

Robert Heffernan will look for inspiration from his one-time coach when he lines up Saturday’s men’s 50km walk.

Robert Heffernan embarks on the first leg of an Olympic double today when he lines up for the men’s 20k walk before embarking on a new Olympic experience in the 50k walk next Saturday.

Robert Heffernan was impressed when the main group of Irish athletes arrived at the Irish holding camp in Lensbury, Teddington, yesterday to put the finishing touches to their Olympic build-up.

Rob Heffernan’s eyes open wide — cartoon wide — when it is put to him that he might have missed out on the chance of representing Nemo Rangers over the years because of his all-consuming devotion to race-walking.

Ireland’s Olympic team manager yesterday rejected any association or coaching arrangement between Irish Olympic race walker, Robert Heffernan, and former Olympic silver medallist, Francisco ‘Paco’ Fernandez, who is serving a ban for his involvement in a drugs scandal in Spain.

Robert Heffernan last night blasted reports that Olympic silver medallist and former world race walking champion, Paco Fernandez, was looking after the Irish race walkers at a training camp in Guadix ahead of the Olympic Games.

Derval O’Rourke had a grin of satisfaction after reclaiming her 60m hurdles title at the Woodies DIY Irish indoor championships at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast yesterday in 8.21 secs — modest by her standards.

THERE were mixed views on the streets of Cork as new bylaws reducing the speed limit to 30km/h in parts of Cork city centre were implemented yesterday.

THE claim by a man accused of murder that the deceased had been burgling his mother’s house has been contradicted by the account of a witness, who said that the accused and the deceased had been out drinking together.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN got his preparations for London 2012 back on track at the IAAF Racewalking Challenge Final in La Coruna on Saturday, breaking his own national record for the 10k walk when finishing sixth behind the world and Olympic champion, Valeriy Borchin, in 39:19.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN made a dramatic return to competition at the Woodies DIY National Senior Championships at Morton Stadium yesterday and retained his men’s 10,000m walk title in an impressive 40:1.64.

THE introduction of a two year-cycle for the European Championships was originally met with scepticism, particularly as it means an extra event in Olympic year but Joanne Cuddihy is one athlete who welcomes the decision.

IRISH team manager Patsy McGonagle believes David Gillick is ready to win his first European outdoor medal in this evening’s 400m final at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.

AFTER his spectacular display in yesterday’s 20k, Robert Heffernan is all set to toe the line again in Friday morning’s 50k walk at the European Championships in Barcelona.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN is ready to deliver the performance of his lifetime in tomorrow morning’s (7.05 am Irish time) 20k walk, which gets the European Championships under way in Barcelona.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN will have his sights on a medal when he puts the finishing touches to his European Championship preparations at the Irish team’s holding camp in Murcia today, although the Cork man has been keeping very much to himself since embarking on this mission.

ROBERT Heffernan put weeks of frustration behind him when he retained his 10,000m walk title at the Woodies DIY National track and field championships at Morton Stadium yesterday where he beat his Olympic team mate, Jamie Costin, who claimed his 3,000m record in Cork a week earlier and, to cap it all, picked up the Athlete of the Meet Award and the €1,000 that went with it.

IRELAND’S regulators who oversaw the banking collapse have been described as timid and helped bring the financial sector to its knees.

THE chairman of Irish Life & Permanent, Gillian Bowler, has announced a number of board resignation and other key changes within the board structure.

Irish Life & Permanent chairman Gillian Bowler has today the establishment of a new Committee to deal with Risk & Compliance issues.

THE Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board has announced that Chris Gibson is to become chairman of the board from July 1.

NO eggs were thrown at the annual general meeting of Irish Life & Permanent in Dublin yesterday, but sadly the bank’s shareholders didn’t get to bring home the bacon either.

EUGENE McERLEAN, a solicitor by profession, joined AIB in 1991 and became group internal auditor in 1997.

Irish Life & Permanent chief executive Denis Casey has today resigned from the Group.

The ISEQ index of Irish shares was up this morning, rising 149.94 points to 4627.14.

The chairman of Irish Life & Permanent, Gillian Bowler, has announced the appointment of Liam O’Reilly as a non-executive director.

The Examiner’s football correspondent Liam Mackey likes a good argument

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) has announced the appointment of Dr Liam O’Reilly as the first Chairman of the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board (CARB).

THE Financial Regulator has named Patrick Neary as its new chief executive.

A CRACKDOWN on unlicensed moneylenders, new rules governing senior bankers and a major consumer information campaign are on the way after the Financial Regulator announced its latest plans to shake up the financial services industry yesterday.

A new unified consumer protection code is to be introduced next year by the Financial Regulator, it emerged today.

THE latest AIB overcharging scandal is not “systematic”, according to a reliable source.

FINANCIAL regulator Liam O’Reilly expressed his fear yesterday that the country could be heading for a huge debt repayment crisis.

IMPROPER dealing from companies based in the IDFSC in Dublin will not go unpunished, the head of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) warned yesterday.

FINANCIAL services regulator IFSRA is planning a shake-up of how it judges the competency of individuals who apply to become company directors.

THE financial services regulator (IFSRA) considered withdrawing National Irish Bank’s banking licence in the light of its tax evasion overcharging scandals.

THERE was cross-party unanimity that the banks seem to have got off scot free connection with the recent banking scandals that rocked the Irish financial services sector.

Recent banking scandals has forced regulator IFSRA to vet future senior executives hired in the financial services industry, it emerged tonight.

The 19 bankers blacklisted in last year’s report into National Irish Bank may never work in the industry again, a financial watchdog warned today.

IRISH Nationwide Building Society (INBS) became the latest financial institution to break the law and escape with just a rap on the knuckles from the financial regulator yesterday.

AIB could only have been fined a maximum of two days’ profits for its customer charging failures, even if current legislation to penalise banks for overcharging had been in place at the time.

AIB COVERED up its customer charges failures even though it had seven opportunities to come clean, financial watchdog IFSRA said yesterday.

THOSE guilty of the cover-up in the AIB foreign exchange banking scandal may never be named despite two lengthy investigations by financial regulator IFSRA.