JERMAINE PENNANT and Jamie O’Hara may want to give Fabio Capello a call after it was made abundantly clear last night that neither player would ever find a particularly warm welcome in an Irish dressing room.

DID you happen to see the Heineken Cup final (albeit on Sky)? There was a defining moment in the second half.

HYPED-UP? Me? Listen: I couldn’t be more hyper if I were Gary Neville, swimming in a vat of extra-caffinated cola and coming across a mooning Carlos Tevez shouting “suck my socks, gringo”.

JOSÉ Armando Ufarte Ventoso was the man who broke Irish hearts in Paris 44 years ago but many still feel an own-goal by the FAI had sealed the side’s fate some weeks before.

POLL-TOPPER George Lee said he is determined not to get swallowed up in the back benches once he takes his place in Dáil Eireann tomorrow.

Journalist-turned-politician George Lee topped a resounding victory for Fine Gael tonight with leader Enda Kenny declaring “this government cannot ignore the will of the people”.

The result of the Dublin South by-election has confirmed that Fine Gael’s George Lee has been elected to the Dáil.

Fine Gael's George Lee has arrived at the RDS flanked by party leader Enda Kenny as well as his wife and two children to shouts and claps from his supporters.

Fianna Fáil's Shay Brennan is conceding defeat in the Dublin South by-election.

NEW laws will strengthen the powers of local authorities to refuse planning permission to rogue developers.

“THE next Taoiseach to arrive at platform 2 is heading for Big Trouble, calling at Election Disaster and Heave Junction on the way...”

Taoiseach Brian Cowen today denied his leadership of Fianna Fáil would be in jeopardy if scores of his candidates get rejected at the ballot boxes.

AT least Brian Cowen has turned on its head the old maxim that all political careers end in failure – his premiership began in failure and unravelled from there.

IN addition to the local and European elections on June 5, two Dáil vacancies will be filled.

Fianna Fáil has selected its two candidates for the forthcoming by-elections in Dublin.

Fianna Fáil is due to hold selection conventions today to choose candidates for the forthcoming by-elections in Dublin Central and Dublin South.

RTÉ said it can stand over the political integrity of its newsroom after its former economics editor George Lee revealed he will contest a by-election for Fine Gael.

FINE GAEL has promised to put political speculators out of their misery and announce its widely anticipated candidate for the Dublin south by-election today.

FINE GAEL has dismissed Libertas’ election prospects, saying the party does not have enough people on the ground to canvass effectively.

JUST a few hundred yards from the Holy Cross Church in Dublin lies the Dundrum Luas stop.

David Meek was the Manchester United correspondent for the Manchester Evening News from 1958 to 1995. He describes how the story of Munich came through to change a city forever.

THE handshake is warm, the smile is broad, he’s back among old friends - and, of course, he still manages to get the names mixed up.

Bill George spoke to Nicky Button his hopes of regaining a regular place in the Man United first team.