The first big weekend, as mood music, fell flat. 

UCD 17 Terenure College 26

Until recently, it was easy enough to package these two teams in neatly-labelled boxes.

Art and acrobatics ensure the Capital of Culture programme has offerings for all tastes, writes Tina Darb O’Sullivan

A safety supervisor on a gun range where a Cork-born soldier died during a training exercise has refused to tell an inquest about events on the fateful day because of possible further legal proceedings.

A pair of early John Hayes goals provided the platform for Carbery Rangers to advance to the Cork County SFC quarter-finals by overcoming Ballincollig at Bandon last night.

RTÉ news reporter Kathleen MacMahon has just launched her debut novel.

Ninety years ago today, Michael Collins supposedly accepted the surrender of Dublin Castle, but Ryle Dwyer notes that this was really a sly piece of press manipulation

WHILE the Cork team that beat Limerick in the McGrath Cup on Sunday was bolstered with the addition of a few All-Ireland medal-winners, it was still a fairly inexperienced side.

GREATER composure in front of goal ensured Cork set up a first meeting of the season with Kerry as they accounted for their hosts in the McGrath Cup at the Gaelic Grounds yesterday.

STRIKING tributes were paid yesterday to solicitor and All-Ireland-winning Kerry footballer Garry MacMahon, who died last week after a brief illness.

A JURY in the inquest of a man who left a suicide note full of religious references recommended a change in the law that would have allowed his family to be informed of his mental state.

US prosecutors rested their death penalty case against British-linked al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui today with the testimony of a former FBI agent.

AN FBI agent testified yesterday that his superiors repeatedly ignored his warnings before 9/11 that Zacarias Moussaoui might be a terrorist intent on hijacking an airliner.

HAVING surmounted planning problems, the North Kerry Literary Trust will unveil a memorial to Listowel writer Bryan MacMahon, on February 12.

EDDIE HALES, based at Dundrum, Co Tipperary and one of the more colourful characters in the game, enjoyed a welcome turn when Public Reaction sprang a 16-1 surprise in the two mile October Race at Thurles yesterday.

Sligo 0-11 Cork 3-13

Cork 0-13 Tyrone 1-12

CORK selectors have retained just six of the players who figured in last season’s championship defeat by Fermanagh for their opening televised game under lights in the NFL League game at Pairc Ui Rinn against All-Ireland champions Kerry on Friday.

LISTOWEL Town Council, which recently got into an embarrassing controversy over proposals to honour literary giants Bryan MacMahon and John B Keane, is to adopt a more discreet approach to the issue.

BUSINESSMAN Denis O’Brien was evasive and ambivalent during negotiations that secured his consortium the licence to run the State’s second mobile telephone network, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

FORMER civil servant John McQuaid, a member of the team that selected the winner of the State’s second mobile phone licence competition nearly eight years ago, told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday there was “a fairly hard argument” on whether more time was needed to improve the draft evaluation report two days before the result was made public.

SENIOR civil servant Sean MacMahon agreed yesterday there was political or ministerial pressure to get the State’s second mobile phone licence competition concluded in October 1995.

A SENIOR civil servant told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday the clear understanding given to him and colleagues who vetted bidders seeking the State’s second mobile phone licence was that they alone would select the winner.

FORMER Communications Minister Michael Lowry announced that Esat Digifone had won the GSM2 licence competition two days after civil servants had been given a further week to finalise their evaluation report, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

A PRINCIPAL has threatened to close his school to draw the education minister’s attention to the building which he says is falling down around his ears.

THE dispute between the RDS management and the equestrian committee over the adoption of a new code of practice for the annual horse show has resurfaced, with another casualty.