Two young men were killed in car crash by a motorist who drove “like a bat out of hell” on the wrong side of the road after having six bottles and five cans of beer at home followed by seven pints, two vodkas, three shots and a line of cocaine in a pub.

A man who raped and killed a Cork beautician has had another four years added to his 12-year sentence today – for robbing an elderly couple while he was out on bail.

Three men accused of the manslaughter of a 65-year-old farmer over a land dispute had the unlawful killing charge against them dropped by the state today as they pleaded guilty to assault instead.

A company managing director with financial difficulties hired three Polish nationals to burgle his home and burn out his Range Rover with a view to making a major insurance claim.

The family of a 26-year-old woman killed in a car crash where tiredness of the other driver was an aggravating factor appealed today to motorists to think about their driving when they have been out the night before.

A homeless man has been sentenced to six years in jail after pleading gulity to the manslaughter of his partner who he pushed into the River Lee in Cork.

A man who was caught with more than 15,000 images of child pornography was given a four-year suspended jail sentence today.

An agent and distributor for major drug dealers in Cork was jailed for ten years today.

A jury at the inquest into the death of two young men killed in a car crash in Co Cork two years ago has returned a verdict of death by misadventure in each case.

Two Dubliners who were caught going to a stash of heroin worth €43,000 in a wooded area in Glanmire, Co Cork, were jailed for 12 years today.

A Welsh man who got a three West Cork children to strip and get into sexual poses in order to generate child pornography was jailed for six years today.

Two English men were remanded in continuing custody for sentencing on May 8 after they pleaded guilty to a charge of having drugs for sale or supply – arising out of the €500m cocaine seizure off the West Cork last November.

A man who sexually abused at least 15 children in west Cork at a time when some were as young as two years of age was described today as being at a high risk of re-offending.

A Cork woman whose 21st birthday is next week was found not guilty today of dangerous driving causing the death of two young men in North Cork in August of last year but she said afterwards that she would live with what had happened for the rest of her life.

A major drug dealer who has been active in a multi-million euro drugs enterprise in Cork city for over twenty years was jailed today for twelve years with the last five years of that sentence suspended today.

A middle-aged man was given a three-year jail sentence today for defiling a teenager by having sexual intercourse with her and keeping pornographic images of her on his mobile phone.

A Venezuelan woman who acted as a drugs mule to traffic over €200,000 worth of cocaine from Buenos Aires to Cork Airport earlier this year was jailed for three years this evening.

A one-year jail sentence was imposed this evening on the middle-aged man who videotaped having sex with a 15-year-old girl.

A 15-year jail sentence was imposed on a man for sexually assaulting eight girls over a ten-year period as the judge said the man had enticed the girls into his house and then committed "very nasty" sexual assaults.

A South African national who was stopped by customs officers at Cork Airport and found to have 20 kilos of cannabis grass in his luggage with a street value of €200,000 was today handed a six-year jail sentence was imposed on him.

A mini-cocaine factory was raided by drugs squad gardaí in Cork city and today the man who was making a living out of wholesale drug-dealing was jailed for ten years with the last two years suspended.

The trial of two men for conspiring to acquire rocket launchers, Kalashnikovs and other guns took a dramatic turn today when they pleaded guilty and were sentenced seven and three years respectively.

Two men were put on trial in Cork today for engaging in a conspiracy to acquire rocket launchers and Kalashnikovs to further a "war" in Limerick.

A young man made an heroic attempt to prevent his brother’s suicide, but it resulted in his own death - and today the family thanked a judge for not imposing a jail sentence for manslaughter.

A Belgian national admitted today that he unlawfully imported over €100,000 worth of cocaine into Cork Airport last May.

A hospital porter turned an apartment into a cocaine factory with a multi-million euro earning potential after meeting an Irishman in Thailand who told him how to go about it – and this evening he was jailed for twelve years.

A heroin dealer in Cork city was jailed for six years today, as the drugs squad said the problem had surfaced in the area over a year ago.

Four men appeared at Cork Circuit Criminal Court today in connection with the biggest drugs haul in the history of the State.

A German woman accused of having €280,000 worth of cocaine at Cork Airport confessed to the crime today.

Over 200 witnesses will be called in the trial of two men facing charges in connection with a guns haul in Cork that include two rocket launchers, five AK47s and two Uzi submachine guns, it emerged today.

A heroin dealer who was under heavy garda surveillance was caught dealing the dangerous drug in Cork city five times in a four-month period and today he was jailed for eleven years.

The family of a man who was killed by another young motorist’s dangerous driving appealed tonight for victims to be remembered and for drivers to take responsibility when they get behind the wheel.

English journalist Ian Bailey was made a suspect in the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier through garda corruption it was claimed by his legal team today as he launched a High Court appeal of his failed libel action against newspaper coverage of the French woman’s murder in West Cork ten years ago.

A teenager who petrol-bombed the home of an outspoken councillor whilst his wife and daughter were present was today sentenced to seven years in jail, with the last two years suspended.

A Dutch man’s name was put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years and he was given a two-year suspended jail sentence this evening for having thousands of images of naked and semi-naked children on his home computers in West Cork.

A Clare man who was caught with over €1m worth of cannabis resin in Cork pleaded guilty this afternoon to having drugs for sale or supply.

A Polish national was jailed for four years today for a terrifying crime where he kidnapped a Cork woman and forced her to drive at knifepoint.

A widower whose wife was killed in a car crash said roday that the accident had taken away the woman he loved for 35 years but he and his two children did not want to see the man responsible going to jail as there had been enough suffering already.

A Polish national accused of having €1.4m worth of cocaine in Cork city centre had a change of mind today and pleaded guilty to having the drugs for sale or supply.

A twenty-year jail sentence was imposed today on a convicted IRA member for the kidnapping of Gary and Katie O’Donovan at their home in Rochestown, Cork.

A family kidnap trial took a sensational turn today when the man who had denied all charges against him had a change of heart and pleaded guilty to all counts.

Katie O’Donovan was knocked to the floor by two raiders as she opened the door of her home in Rochestown and she looked around to see one of them going up the stairs with a revolver to where her four children lay sleeping, a jury was told this afternoon.

A prison sentence was suspended today in the case against a woman who killed her partner by knocking him to the ground and stamping on his head after a day of drinking with him on the street.

A young man who crashed a car causing the death of his own girlfriend wept in court today as he publicly apologised to her family.