LIVELY octogenarian Dr Veronica Dunne — known to everyone as Ronnie — hasn’t stopped working in her chosen field since childhood, writes Jo Kerrigan. 

A Cork firefighter’s dream to break the Guinness World Record for running the length of Ireland came to an abrupt end yesterday when a knee injury forced the long-distance runner to abandon his mission.

In a bid to break his second world record, Cork fireman Alex O’Shea is gearing up to run the length of Ireland in less than four days.

The Brown sisters have been photographed every year since 1975. The collection of images provide a rare pictorial insight into the passage of time and its impact on us all. Words by Susan Minot. Pictures by Nicholas Nixon. 

A guitar that John Lennon played on the recording of The Beatles song Paperback Writer is expected to fetch up to $1m at auction.

Philip Seymour Hoffman didn't want his children to be "trust fund kids".

"Our history is a living history, that has throbbed, withstood and survived many centuries of sacrifice… The peoples of Guatemala will mobilise and will be aware of their strength in building up a worthy future."

Among the items spotted this week are beautiful silk, a panelpiece and an art exhibition.

Cate Blanchett and Justin Theroux have visited Philip Seymour Hoffman's family.

Police are to review TV cook Nigella Lawson’s admission that she took cocaine.

Charles Saatchi accused his former wife Nigella Lawson of being "so off your heads on drugs" that she allowed their personal assistants to spend whatever they liked.

Call The Police justified short-priced favouritism in the featured Grade 3 Beamish Stout Phil Sweeney Memorial Chase at Thurles yesterday, but not before giving punters a fright.

The John Lennon Letters

RONI KEIDAR’S house is close to the Gaza Strip — so close that when the border heats up, she hears the attacks from both sides: The thud of Israeli missiles hammering targets inside the Hamas-controlled area and the whoosh of Palestinian rockets being launched into Israel.

Tom Cruise's ex-wife Mimi Rogers wishes "the best" for him and Katie Holmes.

The childhood homes of former Beatles John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney have become listed buildings, it was revealed today.

No stone, if you’ll pardon the pun, has been left unturned in the search for stories about The Beatles, so no surprise then that we have another … the story of the early years of the Fab Four and of the curious relationship between Lennon and his mother and aunt.

Kristin Scott Thomas and James McAvoy's actress wife Anne-marie Duff will star as John Lennon's aunt and mother in a story of the late Beatle's early life.

Tiny hands are frozen to perfection in Puccini’s tear-jerker of artists starving in bleak attics in l830s Paris … and poor Mimi once again coughs her way to heaven in the arms of her broken-hearted lover.

Brad Pitt says his family exchange home-made gifts rather than big or expensive ones.

“Domestic goddess” Nigella Lawson has spoken about the huge pressure women are under at Christmas.

Nigella Lawson has told how she once made her children give away their Christmas presents to charity.

Yoko Ono said today that she “felt sorry” for Paul McCartney over his recent divorce.

Superstar Mariah Carey is being sued by her former manager Jerry Blair, who claims the singer owes him money.

Speaking of opera, this is the screen version of a Pulitzer and Tony winning musical, based on the always-wonderful Puccini opera La Boheme.

U2 have been nominated for a Grammy award in the best album category for their hit record How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

Mariah Carey is baffled by claims she reinvented herself for her new album, insisting she just experimented with new clothes and hairstyles.

A new exhibition featuring replicas of John Lennon’s childhood belongings was unveiled today at his Liverpool home.

Mariah Carey's comeback plans have been put back a month after Island Def Jam bosses decided they needed more time to promote her new album.

Mariah Carey has become the latest singer to adopt a new name - she's chosen to call herself Mimi.

The Spice Girls may reunite for a forthcoming greatest hits album, former member Mel B said today.

Dumb and Dumberer is a return of Dumb and Dumberer with none of its original cast but does include Mimi Rogers, in this charmless follow-up to the Jim Carrey-Jeff Daniels original.

A 60-YEAR-OLD church administrator admitted yesterday she was the mystery White House intern who had an affair with John F Kennedy four decades ago.

THE home where John Lennon grew up and wrote some of the early Beatles hits was yesterday officially opened to the public by his widow Yoko Ono.

Madonna asked two strangers to pay for a cup of coffee after finding she didn't have enough money.

It never fails that every time a pop star gains any kind of popularity their instincts lead them to acting.

WHEN it was time for singing sensation Britney Spears to make her debut movie she was adamant ... the Louisiana lady didn't want "just a simple teen movie" ... she wanted "to touch Hearts, and say to other girls out there that they're not alone in what they're going through."

Yoko Ono has bought her late husband John Lennon's childhood home to save it for the nation.