Budding journalists of the future were honoured yesterday at the inaugural awards ceremony for an educational project devised by the National Newspapers of Ireland.

Shares in Greencore have plummeted by around 22% this morning.

Tributes have poured in for Paddy O’Keeffe, chairman of the Agriculture Trust and former Irish Farmers Journal editor, who died peacefully at his home in Ballyhooley, Co Cork.

Legislation to facilitate the taxation of offshore betting will be in place by the end of February but horse racing will not be in a position to fund itself directly as a result.

The overall winner of the Agricultural Journalism Awards 2012 is Caitriona Murphy of Farming Independent, who was presented with The Bull bronze trophy at an awards ceremony in AIB Bankcentre, Ballsbridge.

Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte has slapped down a bid by his Cabinet colleague Alan Shatter to introduce tougher privacy laws for the media.

EVERY day, 415,000 people get free news from one of the most controversial services within the media community.

Irish Examiner sports writer Ewan MacKenna has been named as Sports Reporter of the Year at the annual National Newspapers of Ireland awards ceremony in Dublin yesterday.

Three Irish Examiner journalists are in the running for prestigious prizes at the National Newspapers of Ireland annual awards.

Reading newspapers at the back of the classroom won’t be frowned on in some schools any more as thousands of students will soon take part in a major initiative to encourage them to read a daily title while also improving their literacy skills.

The ability of newspapers to act as an appealing and intellectually engaging medium for advertising was highlighted at an awards ceremony in Dublin last night.

GRANT awards of €10 million for collaborative research projects in 13 institutions across Ireland, have been announced by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.

BORD BIA has launched its Food and Drink Industry Awards 2011. The awards, in association with Rabobank, will recognise excellence in export development, branding, innovation, sustainability, entrepreneurship and success on the domestic market.

The new president of the Irish Farmers Association faces a challenging year, according to the editor of the Farmers Journal.

A NEW €17 million state-of-the-art livestock mart and conference centre, developed by Cork Co-op Marts in Corrin Business Park, Fermoy, was officially opened yesterday.

IT WAS October, 1964 when Charles Haughey, one of a new breed of mohair-suited and suave politicians, moved to the Department of Agriculture, with a reputation of having been a reforming Minister for Justice.

FERGUS Finlay (Irish Examiner, July 22) regaled us with a quizzical, witty, eloquent, precise dissection of some of the performances of the Tánaiste, her obsession with the ‘merits’ of competition, and some of the negative consequences of unleashing it on all and sundry, without regulation, restriction, or control.

WHAT do you get when you mix an infectious rural spirit with a heritage of producing quality food and animals, nourish it with good whiskey and add an invigorating range of country lifestyles?