A man was “smacked at the back of his head” by a man with a baseball bat after he hit a parked van “a thump”, a murder trial jury has heard.

Don’t get caught in a verbal crossfire with Dara Ó Briain unless you have the cajones for it. He will outgun you every time, as the front row discovered at the comedian’s Crowd Tickler show at the Marquee in Cork last night.

The world famous physicist Stephen Hawking has revealed that he would consider assisted suicide if he were in great pain or had nothing left to contribute to the world and had become a burden to loved ones.

Dara Ó Briain took time out from tickling the funny bones of Cork audiences to tickle his own fancy in a visit to UCC campus today.

Comedian Dara Ó Briain will not present the next series of The Apprentice spin-off show You’re Fired.

Dealing with 2m Twitter followers is a mixed blessing for Dara Ó Briain, writes Richard Fitzpatrick

Down with that sort of thing!

Among the seven world premieres of Irish films to be screened at IndieCork is Donncha Ó Briain’s documentary, Peripheral Vision.

It was all SO Graham Norton yesterday — the other three recipients of honorary degrees at University College Cork barely got in a look-in as the Bandon man finally got the scroll-in-a-roll his mother had long yearned for.

The great-grandson of one of the men at the forefront of the Easter Rising has led tributes to the revolutionaries who fought for Ireland’s independence.

Stealth action game Dishonoured, which features a masked bodyguard-turned-assassin, has been named best video game of the year.

Comedian Dara Ó Briain is to lead a team of celebrities up 110km of the Zambezi River, braving crocodiles, hippos, and huge rapids in aid of British charity Comic Relief.

A host of Ireland’s finest performers are up for Britain’s coveted National Television Awards, it has emerged.

A man who says he was sexually abused as a child has been jailed for three years after admitting to the sexual abuse of two female relatives nearly 30 years apart.

Named by Channel 4 as the 16th best comedian, Ó Briain is at his wittiest in new DVD, Craic Dealer, says Richard Fitzpatrick

Comedian Dara Ó Briain tweeted an offbeat commentary of the Olympic men’s volleyball to his one million followers today.

YOU WERE reminded of that infamous, early ’80s Oscar ceremony where Chariots of Fire screenwriter Colin Welland warned Hollywood “the British are coming”.

The trial of Adam Clayton’s former personal assistant is “not a glamorous trial” and not a case of getting a glimpse into the lives of the rich and famous, the jury has been told.

HIS DIARY is stuffed with tour dates, the punters are laughing long and loud, TV producers are devising new formats for him to front on a seemingly daily basis.

He’s already become one of Ireland’s most successful ever comic export to Britain, where he fronts a string of prime time TV shows.

Dara Ó Briain’s Irish wit is loved in England where he is a big hit as a TV host, but stand-up is his first love, writes Carl Dixon

Spending restrictions were placed on an outdoor education centre after it was punished for allowing “bad practices” to feed a serious deficit problem.

THE MAJORITY of the 13-strong Irish contingent at the second stage of the European Tour School in Spain remain in contention for places in next week’s final Tour School.

GRAEME McDOWELL has pointed out another potential problem for Rory McIlroy when he returns to action at the British Open next week.

THE chief executive of County Cork VEC has broken his silence on its loss of substantial sums in a school computers deal and confirmed the state’s spending watchdog was probing the issue.

A young father-of-two who caused the death of his best friend through dangerous driving on a Dublin motorway has been sentenced to five years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

A drug addicted robber who gardaí described as "looking like a ghost" at the time of his arrest for four armed bank raids has sentenced to six years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

A drug dealer who attempted to run over a man he wrongly believed was involved in a nightclub altercation with his girlfriend has been jailed for seven years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Ulster secured an impressive victory against Connacht in the Youths Interprovincial Matches at Donegal Golf Club today.

A former building society manager who was cleared of fraudulently laundering €1.1m for builders has had his application for the costs of his trial rejected by Judge Martin Nolan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Clandeboye's Jonathan Caldwell made it a birthday to remember, finishing joint top at the Golfsure Irish Amateur Close at Cork yesterday.

Walker Cup hopeful Jonathan Caldwell staked a strong claim for selection in yesterday's Irish Amatuer Close Championship at Cork, where he shot a five under par 67 to lead the field after day one.

IRISH actor Cillian Murphy and comedian Dara Ó Briain will be using their street cred for political purposes after throwing their weight behind a campaign to get young people into the voting booths.

A revitalised Rory McIlroy is licking his lips at the prospect of a head-to-head battle with Mark Campbell for the Mullingar Scratch Cup.

A FORMER senior civil servant, appointed to a pivotal education post, has refuted allegations about her inexperience and lack of qualifications for the job.

A garda inspector who was on duty at the "Reclaim the Streets" demonstration on May 6, 2002, told a jury he ordered gardaí to put their batons away when he saw them being used on the crowd.

CALLS to the country’s only 24-hour rape crisis helpline increased by almost half in the past two years, leaving services for victims of sexual violence struggling to keep up with demand.

IN LAST Saturday’s Pick of the Day’s TV column in the Weekend Examiner we were told that one of Ireland’s stand-up comedians was “just waiting for the big break which would make him a household name in the rest of the UK”.

SOME rape victims have to wait up to 11 hours to be examined because of a shortage of doctors trained to gather forensic evidence.