A 1980 election defeat for her husband set in motion a process of endless revision, by herself and her opponents, that defined her career, writes Robert Draper.

Connacht captain John Muldoon will never forget Saturday night’s visit to Thomond Park.

Edinburgh 13  Gloucester 19

Your top 10 esstentials for Ireland's most famous festival.

Gloucester intend to finish their Heineken Cup campaign with all guns blazing, according to full-back Rob Cook.

Connacht coach Pat Lam admits his side must put on a repeat performance next Saturday if they want to beat Heineken Cup rivals Toulouse for a second time in a week.

Munster 26 Gloucester 10

The descendants of the great houses of the South-West, whose social life once revolved around each other, gathered for the first time in more than 100 years at Muckross House in Killarney over the weekend.

If you know the White family in Booterstown, Dublin, you had better watch your Ps and Qs because they have connections to the British royal family.

Genealogists have discovered a distant “rags-to-riches” Irish cousin of Britain’s Prince William on a 19th century document dedicated to an English lord.

Fulham 1 Wigan 1

Leeds 2 Ipswich 0

A four-year-old girl had an incredibly lucky escape when she spotted that a dumper truck driving in an adjacent lane was about to topple over on to her father’s van.

Joe Schmidt gets his first chance today to run the rule over the Leinster fringe players who will steer him through the early stages of the RaboDirect Pro12 campaign when they meet Gloucester in a friendly at Tallaght Stadium (5pm).

Fulham 2 Norwich 1

Harlequins 20 Gloucester 14

Connacht 10 Gloucester 14

Toulouse 21 Gloucester 17

GLOUCESTER romped to an emphatic 60-7 victory over Agen but it was not enough to keep their Amlin Challenge Cup hopes alive.

Tom Voyce, Scott Lawson and Will James all make their first starts of preseason for Gloucester against Munster at Musgrave Park on Friday evening.

Gloucester 19 Glasgow Warriors 6

“HERE comes George!” – in his final days of canvassing for the Dublin South by-election, Labour’s Alex White can’t escape that political shadow hanging over him in recent weeks.

Biarritz 24 Gloucester 10

The White Stripes star Meg White thrilled fans onstage at a Raconteurs show in Detroit, Michigan on Sunday when she joined bandmate Jack White for an encore.

GETTING an assistant dog has given Mary White, the mother of an autistic child, a new ‘leash’ on life.

London Irish 25 Gloucester 10

GLOUCESTER have acted swiftly following a hugely disappointing season at Kingsholm by axing director of rugby Nigel Melville.

Leeds have today rejected two offers from Manchester United for star striker Alan Smith.

The money men blamed for Leeds’ financial crisis are unlikely to face sanctions for their actions, according to one of the administrators for the club’s Plc.

Leeds 3 Leicester 2

BACK-ROW prospect James Forrester makes his first start for more than two months in Gloucester’s Pool Five appointment with Treviso today.

Gloucester coach Dean Ryan insists events of last season will count for little as the Cherry and Whites prepare for tomorrow’s crunch Pool Five showdown with Munster.

Treviso 12 Gloucester 33

Gloucester were the better side in the first-half of their Powergen Cup semi-final against Leicester, but the Tigers are 6-3 up at half-time.

Gloucester captain Phil Vickery today insisted his Premiership leaders had taken collective responsibility for their Heineken Cup horror show in Limerick last weekend.

Perpignan 31 Gloucester 23

Swansea notched their first Celtic League success of the season as four tries sent Ulster to defeat at St Helen’s.

Leicester Tigers director of rugby Dean Richards has questioned the decision to stage the Heineken Cup final at Parc des Princes in Paris.