A lock of hair from the legendary French general Napoleon Bonaparte can be bought for €200, writes Sarah Slater

An Irish nun said to be related to George Clooney has been given one of the highest awards bestowed by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth for her pastoral work with prisoners in the town of Chelmsford in Essex.

Sr Philomena O'Sullivan, a Columban sister originally from North Cork, has been named June Cork Person of the Month in recognition of her fifty years work as a nursing missionary in Korea.

Forget Shakespeare and “all the world’s a stage”. In Schull, the whole town is a flickering cinema screen.

As he gets ready for the Fastnet Film Festival, director Stephen Frears tells Esther McCarthy about his work on such movies such as Philomena and The Snapper, as well as his new-found love for West Cork

A statue of Phil Lynott has been returned to its usual spot in Dublin.

The mother of a teenager murdered and buried by the IRA was left mentally tortured as she tried to convince herself he had run away to marry, an inquest has heard.

Country and Irish singer Nathan Carter was left more than a little red-faced during his appearance on The Late Late Show last night.

Philomena Lee, whose devotion to finding her adopted son inspired a recent film, has called for a more open adoption system here to allow people access their “genetic entitlement”.

CATHY Belton is having a ball playing Patricia Hennessy in new TV3 soap Red Rock.

Children’s Minister James Reilly yesterday published the terms of reference for an inquiry called on for many years to no avail.

Philomena Whitehouse was suffering from severe chest pains when she was forced to spend the night on a wheelchair in Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital.

Our outdated adoption laws must be changed to give people the right to their identity and treat everyone with the respect that they deserve writes Adoption Rights Alliance, Dr Aisling Parkes and Dr Simone McCaughren

Irish children adopted by rich American families in the 50s and 60s have spoken of their harrowing Stateside childhoods in a new BBC documentary.

It isn’t every day that you see battle-hardened health professionals overcome with emotion, yet there were tears aplenty yesterday at University College Cork when Philomena Lee told the story of her 50-year search for her son.

Irish law should be changed to allow adopted children direct and unrestricted access to their birth parents, according to Philomena Lee, the Irish woman whose life-long battle to find her son has galvanised a worldwide movement for adoption rights.

A woman whose story of forced adoption inspired an Oscar-nominated film has spoken of how nuns at a mother-and-baby home lied to her son about her.

A Government TD has said women whose children were put up for forced adoption are owed an apology by the State.

On what would have been his 65th birthday, Ed Power looks at Phil Lynott’s legacy

Given this country’s abysmal record on human rights, it is not surprising that Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald is facing a baptism of fire while a bevy of civil servants are subjected to a barrage of penetrating questions from members of the UN committee on human rights in Geneva.

Children adopted from a Sacred Heart Sisters’ mother-and-baby home in Cork have called for an independent public inquiry to find out many babies died at the centre and where on the site they are buried.

Director Stephen Frears will talk film in Schull next week, says Conor Power.

Hollywood stars were shining brightly at this year’s Irish Film and Television Awards, with A-listers such as Colin Farrell and Michael Fassbender presenting and receiving awards.

The Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs) are almost upon us, and this year sees a stellar line-up gracing the red carpet.

Tune into BBC1 at 10.35pm tonight as Graham Norton is joined by Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe, screen siren Cameron Diaz, and comic actor and director Richard Ayoade. Plus music from the queen of pop, Kylie Minogue.

I have just watched the film, Philomena — about Philomena Lee’s search for her son — in a Maltese cinema.

The story of Irishwoman Philomena Lee’s separation from her child is the subject of a major film based on the book by journalist Martin Sixsmith, says Arlene Harris

Space drama Gravity is the film to beat at tonight's Baftas.

Steve McQueen’s '12 Years A Slave' continued its triumphant march towards next month’s Oscars at the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards tonight.

A campaign aimed at shaming the Irish State into opening an estimated 60,000 adoption files is gathering pace on the back of Oscar-nominated film Philomena.

The government has been urged to change the laws which prevent adopted people from accessing their birth records.

Crime caper American Hustle and space spectacular Gravity topped the Oscar nominations list with 10 each, leading a crowded field of contenders for Hollywood’s most coveted honours — with 12 Years a Slave star Michael Fassbender, U2 and Philomena among the Irish hopefuls.

U2 are nominated for best song at the Oscars, while Philomena - the story of an Irish mother searching for a son she gave up for adoption - has been nominated for Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role, Screenplay, and Original Score.

The force of Gravity may be about to exert itself on Hollywood’s awards season when Academy Award nominations are announced today.

The real-life inspiration behind the film Philomena told a star-studded audience in Hollywood that mothers in Ireland forced to give up their children for adoption have “yet to receive the justice they deserve”.

Judi Dench is up for the Best Actress award at the Golden Globes tonight, for her role playing an Irish woman in the film 'Philomena'.

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave continued its award season success by picking up 10 nominations at the Baftas.

Irish actor Michael Fassbender has been nominated for a BAFTA for his role in the movie '12 Years a Slave'.

The inspiration behind the Oscar-tipped film Philomena has defended it against a critic who labelled it anti-Catholic and “90 minutes of organised hate”.

For many years one of the greatest ways to relax was a visit to the cinema.

IF we did not deprive them of life, we deprived them of their identity. That is the hard truth about our relationship with “illegitimate” children which Stephen Frears’s film Philomena makes us face.

Philomena ✩✩✩✩✩