Families of homicide victims have demanded “accountability” following the publication of the O’Higgins report and, furthermore, heavily criticised the media’s concentration on the political fallout.

The O’Higgins report into complaints by whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe has said any disciplinary proceedings against gardaí implicated “would not be helpful”.

A mother who has been refused the Carers’ Allowance after being forced to give up her job to look after her seriously ill daughter has pleaded with those forming the next government to adopt a more compassionate view of such cases.

ANY poetry-lover who encountered Ted Hughes at the Listowel Writers Week in the 1980s is unlikely to forget this Yorkshire-man’s overwhelming presence. 

The white coffin of baby Mary Connors looked tiny in the hearse that was more suited to a casket three times its length and twice its width, but her little cousin did his best to fill the space around it with kisses, writes Caroline O’Doherty

The funeral will take place this morning for five members of the Connors family, who died in the Carrickmines fire almost a fortnight ago.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

A priest comforting the Connors family who lost five members in the Carrickmines halting site fire has hit out at anti-Traveller prejudice in society and government failures to address the community’s needs.

Last week, we learned a lot about the quality of public mourning when it is put to the test. We also had a reminder of the depressing prejudice that persists in this society, writes Michael Clifford

The five children and five adults who perished in the Carrickmines fire tragedy last weekend may not be buried for a number of days because of difficulties in identifying the remains.

Neighbours of an extended Traveller family virtually wiped out in an horrific fire on Saturday morning came together last night in a show of support and sympathy.

The owner of a dog who died an agonising death after its throat was slashed has vowed not to rest until her pet’s killers are brought to justice.

Hollywood director Ron Howard has led tributes to Oscar-winning Titanic composer James Horner, who has died at the age of 61.

Glasgow native Cathy Hutcheon had almost given up on being a grandmother after her daughter Nicola came off IVF treatment.

Convicted double murderer Mark Nash has been found guilty of the “cold case” murder of two women, whose mutilated bodies were found in their sheltered accommodation in Grangegorman in Dublin nearly 20 years ago.

Ted Hughes’s life was marked by tragedy, but a new play recollects happier days spent in Co Galway with Assia Wevill and their children, writes Richard Fizpatrick

IN 2009, The Antlers’ Peter Silberman wrote a concept album about a woman dying in hospital. Her malady was a metaphor: the LP was really about the breakup of a relationship (the particulars of which Silberman would rather not divulge). But he chose to call the record Hospice and critics assumed the story it told was true. That’s where things got complicated.

Size: Sq m 233 (2,500 sq ft)

Boylesports Hero will be the favourite to land next weekend’s final of the €80,000-to-the-winner Con and Annie Kirby Memorial at Limerick following a scintillating display of raw pace in Saturday night’s semi-final.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed the warmth of his relationship with artist Damien Hirst was a major factor behind his decision to return to snooker after almost a year out.

'Thunderbirds' is returning with a new TV series – 50 years after the cult show featuring the exploits of International Rescue first went on air.

Long-serving Coronation Street star Julie Hesmondhalgh is leaving the soap after 15 years as TV favourite Hayley Cropper.

THE speech and language therapist sat in front of my wife and I, careful not to make eye contact. She sifted through papers on her lap, ticking little notes and boxes, silent for a few minutes as she chose her words.

Vengeance

Love hurts, though not too badly, in Nicholas Stoller’s romantic comedy about a doe-eyed couple whose rose-tinted dreams of marital bliss are undone by the pressures of everyday life.

Rita Ora was a "cheeky" student.

After she completes the Dublin mini-marathon today, Sylvia Skelton will prepare her baby daughter for critical cardiac treatment at Crumlin Children’s Hospital.

An elderly man suffered a “café coronary” after choking on a piece of meat during a meal at a Cork hotel, an inquest heard yesterday.

THE old cliché that time is money becomes a literal truth in writer-director Andrew Niccol’s (Gattaca) latest sci-fi thriller, In Time (12A).

New Zealand-born screenwriter Andrew Niccol has consistently conjured dark clouds with his dystopian visions of life in the 21st century and beyond.

AN Australian player has been stripped of his berth on the International Rules for leaving the scene of a car accident.

If bullying is to be properly addressed, we must learn to tolerate and accept highly targeted youth subcultures, writes Noel Baker

SHE was once the object of millions of male fantasies.

Police in the North say they are becoming increasingly concerned for a teenage girl who has been missing since last month.

SINCE the fatal road accident in Knocknaheeny last Thursday night, rumours have flourished over the exact reasons behind the tragedy.

Jade Goody left almost £3m (€3.3m) to her sons, it has been revealed.

BOOKS on friendship and bonding are important for the very young who have begun mixing with their peers at pre-school.

Retired boxing manager Terry Lawless, who steered Frank Bruno to a world title challenge against Mike Tyson and guided four other British fighters to world titles, died in the early hours of Christmas Eve.

Charlize Theron - who appears naked in the first scene of new movie 'The Burning Plain', and has also stripped off in ‘Monster’ and ‘The Devil’s Advocate’ – insists she only flashes flesh on film if it is integral to the storyline.