Kildare booked their place in Round 3B of the All-Ireland football qualifiers thanks to a 1-18 to 0-11 victory over Down in Newry.

An Oireachtas committee has heard allegations that a teenager with special needs was assaulted by officers at a Garda station.

Kildare 0-15 Kerry 2-15, Newbridge

Kildare 1-10 Meath 0-09

All-Ireland champions Dublin and reigning O'Byrne Cup champions Kildare claimed first round wins in the Bord na Móna O'Byrne Cup today, while Longford, Wexford, Offaly, Meath and Wicklow were also victorious this afternoon.

Morgan O'Flaherty's inclusion at centre back is the only change Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney has made for Sunday's Leinster SFC semi-final against Dublin at Croke Park (throw-in 4pm).

A new proposal to build the National Children's Hospital at the Phoenix Park Racecourse could save the State €210m in building costs.

The number of job opportunities in Ireland decreased slightly during the past month, according to the Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor.

An 18% increase in professional job vacancies in Ireland has been recorded in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period last year, according to figures published today.

Louth 0-17 Kildare 2-15

Allianz Football League Division 2: Monaghan 0-17 Kildare 0-12

Holders Kildare won through to face DCU in the O'Byrne Cup final after getting the better of an understrength Dublin side in Newbridge this afternoon.

The number of vacant posts for professionals fell by 4% last month compared to June, according to new data published by recruitment firm Morgan McKinley.

New job opportunities for professionals in Ireland were up 26% in February compared to the same month last year, according to a new survey.

Kildare 3-9 Louth 2-9

Fines totalling €14,000 and bans of 28 weeks have been handed out by the Leinster Council to Laois and Kildare, following the dismissal of seven players during last Sunday's fractious O'Byrne Cup quarter-final at Portlaoise.

Laytown and Bettystown's Robbie Cannon captured his first amateur major when he beat Cork's Gary O'Flaherty 4 and 3 in the final of the South of Ireland Amateur Open at Lahinch today.

Laytown and Bettystown's Robbie Cannon is facing Cork's Gary O'Flaherty in this afternoon's final of the South of Ireland Amateur Open at Lahinch.

Kildare 2-18 Laois 0-09

Kildare 4-13 Carlow 0-6

Limerick's Pat Murray fired a three under par 69 to share the first round lead in the East of Ireland Amateur Championship at Baltray.

Scrabo's Andrew McCormick put a poor start behind him to grab the early lead in the East of Ireland Championship at Co Louth.

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 chartered accountant and son of the former Supreme Court judge Hugh O'Flaherty was given "substantial damges" after settlement was reached in the High Court today in a libel action he took against The Sunday Tribune newspaper.

SOME €20 million in dividend payments were made last year to the O’Flaherty family, owners of one of the largest car dealerships in the country.

An English man was jailed for five years at the Central Criminal Court today for killing a Vietnamese man in Temple Bar in August 2002.

A murder jury found two men accused of murdering a Chinese man not guilty of murder, but one man was found guilty of manslaughter, at the Central Criminal Court today.

A man accused of murder said he was "very sorry" to the family of the deceased for "the fight that unfortunately led to their father's death", the trial of two men accused of murdering a Chinese man heard today at the Central Criminal Court.

One of two men accused of murdering a Chinese man told the court he "never made any racist remark" and "fundamentally disagreed" with accounts given by his co-accused about how the fatal incident started, a jury at the Central Criminal Court heard today.

A man who survived an assault which killed his friend said the two accused called them "f***ing Chinese" and beat him so his eyes "were covered in blood", the trial of two Dublin men accused of murder and of causing harm heard today at the Central Criminal Court.

A debut feature from an Irish director starring John Hurt and Oscar-winning Vanessa Redgrave has wrapped up filming, it was confirmed today.

A TOP golf course in Co Limerick yesterday branched out and bought two gigantic 50-year-old trees for €30,000.

THE news that Charlie McCreevy has decided - or perhaps had allowed himself to be persuaded - to go to Brussels opens up a new range of possibilities not only for a Cabinet transformation but also for changes in Government policy.

A Vietnam war survivor who was kicked and punched in the head by two doormen during an assault in Dublin never regained consciousness and died from head injuries, a murder trial jury at the Central Criminal court heard today.

Uncompromising on the field, Kerry’s Liam O’Flaherty and Eamonn Breen took a vow of silence off it. They built a career on being strong and silent. But they’ve mellowed, as Colm O’Connor found out.

Mullingar’s John Morris opened with a five under par 67 to take a one shot lead in the East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Co Louth yesterday.

RETIRED judges, including controversial former Supreme Court judge Hugh O’Flaherty, received pensions worth £2.7m last year.