A Christmas dream could soon turn into a nightmare for the owner of a lotto ticket worth €1m as they only have days to claim their prize.

British pub group JD Wetherspoon has effectively put its Irish growth plans on hold until it assesses its performance in city centre locations. It has five pubs in Ireland, four in suburban Dublin and one in Cork, and has plans for more.

British pub group JD Wetherspoon said it remains hopeful it will be granted permission to open new bars at Abbey Street and Camden Street in Dublin, as well as developing two more sites in Carlow and Waterford.

Who knows, we might see Tom Cruise spreading the good news of Scientology in the wild and windy byways of Connemara soon, as the church is seeking Irish translators.

It was like winning the lottery twice over for Craig Shearer when he and his Dublin Bus colleagues collected their €23.8m EuroMillions jackpot in Dublin yesterday.

Supermarket giant Aldi’s continuing expansion has suffered a blow as its plans for a store at the medieval heritage town of Killaloe has been refused by An Bord Pleanála.

Mick O’Dea is steeped in the traditions and lore of the turbulent period around Easter 1916, writes Richard Fitzpatrick

A woman admitted posting a lewd Valentine’s card and a G-string to a detective garda but denied mailing him a bullet or acting on behalf of his colleagues.

A former school and convent is to be transformed into a €10m heritage site honouring the founder of the Presentation order of nuns.

The Garda Ombudsman bugging saga has been reignited following calls by the country’s largest Garda branch for the immediate resignation of the watchdog’s entire leadership.

A former glassblower has told a murder trial that the accused informed him that he had committed the crime hours after the killing.

A Castletownbere-based seafood company was served with a prohibition order last month and six food businesses around the country were closed down, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland in its latest announcement of enforcement orders.

It’s 50 years since the Fab Four played their first and last Irish show at Dublin’s Adelphi Cinema. For those who were there, says Ed Power, it’s like Yesterday.

From scaling mountain peaks to iconic global landmarks — Cork and Clare hurling fans are going to great lengths and heights to show their true colours ahead of tomorrow’s All-Ireland showdown.

It’s a long way from Botswana to the Banner County, but one Clare hurling fan is determined to see his adopted team lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup this weekend.

Two homeless men who lived in public toilets in Ennis for a number of weeks have secured emergency temporary accommodation in Galway.

The sale of Irish Life to Canadian insurance giant Great-West Lifeco is expected to result in the loss of some 250 jobs from its enlarged status over the coming 18-24 months.

O'Connell Street has re-opened in both directions following an earlier collision involving a car and a Luas.

A car and a Luas tram have collided at the junction of Abbey St and O'Connell St in Dublin.

Street dealing in prescription drugs is far outstripping the illegal trading of cocaine and heroin on city streets.

Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan has said a project aimed at helping families being intimidated over drugs debts is succeeding, with the Government saying the scheme could be expanded across the country.

A Luas driver has gone on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for “impaling” his tram into a bus on O’Connell Street.

Gleann Alainn, located on the grounds of a psychiatric hospital in Glanmire just outside Cork city, was deemed to be “in a state of crisis” by HIQA inspectors who found “extremely high-risk behaviour” and a team of people who were not confident or proficient with child protection concerns.

A local authority in Co Clare has become the first outside of Dublin to introduce a cashless pay and display system which accepts credit cards.

A man has been released by Gardaí in County Sligo after he was detained for questioning over a stabbing in Collooney.

A man in his 20s is being questioned by Gardaí in County Sligo over an overnight stabbing there.

Gardaí are investigating the discovery of a suspicious device along the LUAS line in Dublin's IFSC this afternoon.

A charge of murder against the man accused of killing 83-year-old pensioner Christy Hanley in Westmeath last year has been reduced to manslaughter.

A pensioner was found dead in his home in Kilbeggan last year after he was tied up and beaten, having received “blows, punches and kicks” to the face and head, the Central Criminal Court heard today.

An 83-year old pensioner, who was found dead and tied up at his home in Co Westmeath, was beaten to death and robbed of cash, the prosecution claimed today at the trial of the man accused of the pensioner's murder.

THE HIGH Court will be asked on Monday to make orders for the winding up of four of the 14 companies in the Thomas Read group on the grounds they have no reasonable prospect of survival.

A Shannon-based garda, who was suspended from duty earlier today, has been charged with threatening a woman due to appear as a witness in a public order case against him.

CIÉ and Aer Rianta workers are to meet tomorrow to discuss continuing the campaign against Ministers Brennan's plans to break up both semi-state companies.