Murder accused Patrick Quirke denied to gardaí that he was trying to "take Mary Lowry to the cleaners" by demanding €20,000 from her or that he took advantage when she was vulnerable following her husband's death, the Central Criminal Court has heard.

The trainer of champion greyhound Clares Rocket, who was dramatically found alive and well after been kidnapped and held for a ransom, broke down in tears of joy having been reunited with the dog, and declared: “It’s like winning the Derby again.”

"I think everybody thought, like we did, that we'd never see the dog again, a bit like Shergar."

A 14-year-old boy saw his father being "cut open" with a meat-cleaver as they sat in their van waiting for his mother to come out of a shop, an inquest heard.

A Limerick father-of-six has today been sentenced to two years in prison for threatening to kill his two next-door neighbours following a row over their children’s behaviour.