As Six Nations’ Grand Slams go, the one Rory Best collected amid the snowflakes at Twickenham beats them all.

Cronin’s in Crosshaven is among 30 pubs across the island of Ireland that have reached the Michelin standard for good pub grub.

A quantity of class A drugs with a street value of over €17,000 was seized.

Cork Constitution’s Conor Kindregan was last night named as the Ulster Bank Player of the Year for Division 1A, cushioning the blow of losing the final to Clontarf.

AS YOU enter the castle/hotel gates of Ballynahinch, and travel along its splendid lengthy drive, there is a sense that you will very shortly be overcome by grandiosity and an overbearing sense of self-importance. 

Noel Welch travels west to the Ballynahinch Castle Hotel and Estate, where fly fishing for salmon and trout, clay shooting, and walking are among the many outdoor pursuits on offer.

AT TIMES it is forgotten that business is about people and in Ballynahinch this is very much the case. 

Even though Finland’s Esapekka Lappi and co-driver Janne Ferm (Skoda Fabia S2000) dominated most of the 10 stages in yesterday’s opening leg of the Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally, the event remains delicately poised and set for a frenetic finish through today’s eight stages.

Hot on the heels of his takeover of Dublin’s Beacon Private Hospital, billionaire Denis O’Brien has reopened the historic Ballynahinch Castle in Connemara.

The Easter Stages Rally, due to take place this weekend across counties Down and Antrim, has been cancelled because of the heavy snow.

ULSTER BANK LEAGUE HALF-TIMES:

Liam Finn spoke of his pride after being confirmed as Ireland’s captain for the 2013 World Cup.

A man killed following what has been described as a vicious attack was the former manager of his local football team.

A 47-year-old man has died following a serious assault.

A man is in a critical condition in hospital following an assault in Ballynahinch in Co Down.

The extraordinary bravery of a young woman who tried to rescue her father and two brothers – one of them a top Ulster rugby player – when they were overcome by killer fumes emerged today.

They had streamed through the gates of Ravenhill many times before, but never for an occasion like this.

A 20-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a serious sexual assault on a 17-year-old girl in the north over the weekend.

ONE half of the pair of murderous drifters who terrified Ireland in 1976 has died, but for almost an hour yesterday the crimes of Geoffrey Evans sent a further chill down the spine.

Connacht Rugby have announced the signing of openside flanker Willie Faloon from Ulster on a two-year deal from the end of the season.

TWO things are hard to find in Connemara. The first is a reliable weather forecast.

HOW do you get to know a nation? Taste their food? Walk their streets? Read their history? Try clicking through the nearest turnstile, follow the route on the back of your ticket to the seat. And learn.

Shannon have started the new Ulster Bank League season with a marginal win over Dolphin today.

A 45-year-old man has died after a serious road accident involving a car and a motorcycle in Co Down today.

Two Housing Executive offices in Co Down have been forced to close today after a member of staff was threatened.

HAD the Dublin footballers won last year’s All-Ireland title then virtually every county squad in the country would have been training this morning at 6.30am.

ULSTER centre Nevin Spence would not look out of place as an altar boy singing Christmas carols.

THIRTY-FIVE years almost to the day since his father made his Munster debut at Ravenhill, prop Jerry Cronin will feature in the same fixture tomorrow night — as an Ulster player.

A Catholic priest facing a child abuse allegation has stood down, it was revealed tonight.

THE scene is set for a grandstand climax to the AIB League as high rollers Cork Constitution, St. Mary’s, Shannon, Dolphin as well as Garryowen and Blackrock continue to slug it out over three more weekends.

THE death toll on Irish roads has climbed to 74 after a string of weekend tragedies.

A man has been stabbed in the back in Co. Down.

OLD rivals Cork Constitution and Shannon, two of the most highly featured teams throughout the history of the AIB League, meet in a hugely important clash at Temple Hill this afternoon (2.30pm) — a fixture postponed due to adverse weather conditions in January.

ALL IRELAND LEAGUE.

A 23-year-old man was today charged with the attempted murder of a teenager in Co Down and the weekend.

Three women were charged today in connection with the stabbing of a teenager in Co Down at the weekend.

Four policemen in the North killed in an horrific road crash died trying to make their community a safer place, mourners at three of their funerals heard today.

Up to 30 people have been left homeless following a fire at a publicly owned flats complex in Co Down.

Police in the North are appealing for witnesses following a robbery yesterday afternoon in which two people in their 60s were assaulted by three masked men.