The directors of Hickey’s Pharmacies, one of the country’s largest pharmacy retail groups, have stated that excessive rents on several properties represent a threat to their business.

Catholic Institute ensured automatic Irish Hockey League qualification for the 2013/14 season as they resisted a strong UCC challenge to win 3-1 at the Mardyke on Saturday.

A campaign that promised so much has come off the rails somewhat for UCC’s women, but all is not lost as they face a crucial Easter Saturday Munster Division 1 clash with Catholic Institute (Mardyke, 1pm).

John Jermyn wrote himself into the history books in style as Ireland cruised through the opening round of the new FIH World League in Cardiff over the weekend.

Ireland’s narrow Olympic qualification miss was put into further perspective last night as they swatted aside London-bound South Africa 4-2 in the Celtic Cup at Lisnagarvey.

Teagasc researchers are developing computer models to predict the economic impact of using sexed semen in heifers and lactating cows on Irish dairy farms.

A recently completed study by researchers at Teagasc Moorepark suggests synchronisation can be a useful tool in the management of reproduction in lactating dairy cows.

Artificial insemination using female-specific semen may be used to enhance the Irish dairy herd.

Six points and a goal difference of plus 17 from two games represents a decent weekend’s work for Ireland’s senior men at the Electric Ireland FIH Road to London Olympic qualifier, but they will get a first real test of their mettle against Korea tomorrow night (6pm).

Ireland 6 Russia 1

ULSTER man Chris Cargo made his mark on European club hockey’s biggest stage with a stunning two-goal salvo to help Reading into the last eight of the Euro Hockey League in Bloemendaal, Holland on Saturday.

PEMBROKE WANDERERS are charged with the task of causing one of the biggest upsets in EuroHockey League history when they take on Spain’s Club de Campo at Bloemendaal, near Amsterdam, today (11am Irish time).

IRISH captain Ronan Gormley will come face-to-face with his hometown club Pembroke Wanderers in the last 16 of the EuroHockey League, after his side, Club de Campo were drawn against the Dubliners yesterday.

A counter-terrorism officer was jailed today after being convicted of defrauding the UK's Metropolitan Police out of thousands of pounds in a property scam during the July 7 bombings investigation.

A TROUBLESOME hip injury has forced Cork Church of Ireland and Ireland goalkeeper Mark Ruddle to prematurely retire from the game.

IRELAND’S senior men’s squad is more than 300 caps lighter in terms of experience following yesterday’s decision by Glenanne duo Stephen Butler and Graham Shaw to bring the curtain down on their international careers.

ANOTHER chapter in Irish hockey’s most enduring club rivalry will be written this weekend when Dublin powerhouses Pembroke Wanderers and Glenanne lock horns in round two of the men’s Irish Senior Cup at Serpentine Avenue (3pm).

THE odds mightn’t favour them, but Ireland’s senior men are determined to make the most of an opportunity to qualify for a major tournament for the first time over the coming eight days.

IRELAND have secured a spot in the 2009 EuroHockey Nations Trophy final – and with it a guaranteed promotion back up to the Championship in 2011 – by defeating hosts Wales 1-0 yesterday.

AS RUNAWAY favourites for the EuroHockey Nations Trophy, Irish men’s coach Paul Revington will be dealing with the rare notion in Irish hockey of high expectations.

PEMBROKE WANDERERS captain Alan Giles has earned a surprise call-up to the Irish senior men’s squad for next month’s EuroHockey Nations Trophy in Wrexham.

IRELAND’S hopes of becoming the first winners of the Champions Challenge II on home soil were left in tatters last night as Poland claimed a final victory on penalty strokes at Belfield last night.

MUNSTER stole an early march at the senior women’s hockey interprovincials, defeating Connacht 3-1 at Garryduff in Cork last night after Leinster and Ulster had blinked first earlier in the day.

JASON LYNCH faces the novel prospect of lining out against former colleagues on his old stomping ground for the second time in a week, as he prepares to don the colours of Ulster at the senior hockey interprovincials at Garryduff in Cork this weekend.

RAILWAY UNION will be hoping to translate their league form onto the national stage when they visit Cork to cross swords with UCC in an intriguing double-header at the Mardyke tomorrow (12pm).

IRELAND senior men’s interim coach Dave Passmore believes the young players in his squad will be in for a serious test as they take on Argentina in the first of an international double-header at Belfield tonight (7.30pm).

A CONFERENCE will be told in Dublin on Thursday that production costs were four cent per litre higher and profit three cent per litre lower on liquid milk farms compared with the average spring milk farm last year.

ADVANCES in computer technology could be the solution for dairy farmers who are losing up to €170 per cow per annum because of undetected heats, resulting in later calving.

IRELAND hockey coaches Gene Muller and Dave Passmore insist there are positives to be taken from the Setanta Sports Trophy despite seeing their sides finish bottom of the pile yesterday.

IRELAND earned the bronze medal and some consolation for their failure to qualify for the Beijing Olympics with a 2-1 win over Canada at the University of Victoria yesterday.

THEY may have ended the tournament being relegated once more to the second tier of European hockey, but Ireland ‘s men ended the EuroHockey Nations campaign in Belle Vue yesterday with an emphatic 10-0 win over the Czech Republic.

Ireland 1 England 1

HAVING BEEN forced to swallow the unexpectedly bitter pill of a defeat to France which undid all their good work at the European Championships, Ireland’s men will face England today in a bid to avoid relegation from the top level of European hockey.

IRISH HOCKEY has had many depressing days over the years, but not many as bad as yesterday at these European Championships when a French team which had been thrashed 8-3 and 6-0 by Holland and Spain — teams which Ireland had performed so gamely against here in Belle Vue — managed to derail the Irish effort.

IF IT might reasonably have been expected that the Irish men’s and women’s teams would deliver thin gruel in their European Championship openers against Spain and England respectively, it transpired that the men at least delivered some haute cuisine here in Belle Vue yesterday.

Ireland men’s coach Dave Passmore has named his 18-man squad for the EuroHockey Championships in Manchester this month, keeping faith with 15 players who featured at last year’s World Cup qualifiers.

THE will-he-won’t he saga of Glenanne’s Stephen Butler’s participation in today’s cup semi-final against Harlequins ended yesterday when the player’s appeal against a one-match ban was lodged with the IHA.

TODAY’S Irish Senior Cup semi-final between Cork Harlequins and Glenanne represents a chance of redemption for one player on the home side.

GLENANNE are in the process of formulating an appeal that they hope will allow star goalscorer Stephen Butler play in Saturday’s Irish Senior Cup semi-final against Cork Harlequins in Cork.

THE Irish men’s international hockey season has a tough opening weekend with three tests against Scotland at Instonians’ newly laid water-based pitch in Belfast.

Ireland 1 Japan 2

Ireland 2 Pakistan 2

DESPITE this incredible result against a powerhouse of world hockey, there was a sense of frustration in the Ireland camp yesterday.

Ireland kept alive their chances of playing in September’s World Cup in Germany after a superb 2-2 draw with Pakistan at the qualifying tournament in China.