Georgina and Paul Driver bring their little girls on hiking adventures that they hope will trigger a life-long respect for the environment, writes Ellie O’Byrne.

After Sean O’Brien singlehandedly flew the flag for the club during the past decade, Tullow RFC now have a new favourite son in the shape of Ireland U20s prop Charlie Ward.

A woman dressed as celery was ejected from a polling station in Kilgarvan as she attempted to accompany the TD Danny Healy Rae in to vote in his home village.

OUR fascination with interiors inspiration (in print, online and of course in the likes of social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram) is not going anywhere any time soon.

All seven adults were brought to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Lacemakers in Limerick want to preserve their unique craft for future generations and hope to gain UNESCO heritage status, writes Ellie O’Byrne.

While pay and conditions will dominate PDForra’s annual conference, so too will overburdening stress within the ranks of the Defence Forces caused by manpower shortages.

Junior Defence Minister Paul Kehoe has refused to rule out using a veto to prevent the association representing enlisted personnel, PDForra, from becoming affiliated to ICTU.

Confirmation of a second meeting between Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and British prime minister Boris Johnson has raised hopes a Brexit deal is possible before the October 31 deadline.

Irish farmers "live or die" by international trade and many other countries would happily take our place if beef supplies are disrupted, the Agriculture Minister has warned.

A small number of blockades are still taking place outside beef processing plants, however a number of protests were called off overnight.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said he is "very concerned" about remarks made by a number of TDs on asylum seekers in recent days.

President Michael D Higgins has waded into the beef crisis by telling crowds on the first day of the National Ploughing Championships in Co Carlow that there needed to be more transparency in the price relationship between producers and farmers.

TDs return from their summer break today as the Dáil sits for the first time for the new term.

A visiting Chinese delegation inspecting Irish meat-processing plants may witness a stand-off at one facility today after efforts to broker a temporary lifting of the picket were rejected.

The order was granted in favour of Liffey Meats, which owns and operates plants outside Ballinasloe in Co Roscommon, Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan and Hackettstown in Co Carlow.

We hope it's a local - say the owners of the lucky service station in County Wicklow where Ireland’s largest winning Lotto ticket in two years was sold.

A National Lottery spokesperson confirmed that they are still waiting to hear from the winner or winners of the jackpot.

Players in the county are being asked to check their tickets today after last night's draw.

A TV documentary on the chilling realities of plastic pollution made ice-cream chain owner Jonathan Kirwan focus on more sustainability in his business, while at home it’s the little things that count, he tells Ellie O’Byrne.

A motorist in Co Carlow had an unlucky time of it when gardaí discovered that he was trying to pass a scratch card off as an insurance disc.

People of all ages and faiths are being asked to choose their favourite traditional prayer and to compose a prayer of their own for the protection of the environment.

Update: Anna Reis has been found safe and well.

Ireland became a member of the European Union in 1973, within a short time a tidal wave of regulations swept over the country.

RTÉ broadcaster Olivia O’Leary will be at the Amergin Solstice Poetry Gathering in Waterville, Co Kerry, over the next few days. Originally from Borris, Co Carlow, Olivia also presents The Poetry Programme on RTÉ Radio 1 and does a radio column every Tuesday for the Drivetime programme.

The death has occurred of Harry Kehoe, who led the potato breeding programme at Teagasc Oak Park for over 40 years.

The health and well being of Jennifer Walsh, placed by the HSE in a nursing home in 2017, is deteriorating, the High Court heard today.

Located 10km east of the town of Fethard in South Tipperary, a 61-acre non-residential farm is likely to attract some strong offers in the coming weeks and months.

Carlow has been at the number one spot since 2015, with Dublin occupying the spot from 2010 to 2014.

The president of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, said, in order to have a retail pharmacy business open, it is a statutory requirement to have a pharmacist at the premises.

A Co Kilkenny dairy farmer is showing the way forward to low carbon agriculture, with his own solar farm, on course to reduce his annual dairy farm electricity bill by 20%.

Good historians and archaeologists don’t sit on their laurels.

A man who kicked his former partner in the face during an attack and told her that “tonight was her execution” has been jailed for five years.

Two of the occupants of the car were seriously injured in the single-vehicle crash.

So that’s Friday nearly wrapped up. Here are some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

The discovery of a California king snake on the beach at Youghal, Co Cork, earlier this month, again highlighted a continuing craze among a minority of people for exotic animals.

A 38-year-old man who got into rehabilitation and managed to stay off drugs such as cocaine for a year fell back into addiction when he suffered a severe ankle fracture and was prescribed codeine.

One of the country’s major drug bosses is suspected of being behind one of the largest hauls of ecstasy and ketamine in recent years.

Thousands of people may come forward to sue the State and religious orders over forced and illegal adoptions following the settlement of a high-profile case in the High Court.

Tressa Donnelly Reeves spent more than 50 years searching for her son. She told the High Court she was informed by a nun during her quest that adopted children don't want anything to do with their birth parents.

Killeen Farmhouse, Co Galway, was the big Irish winner at the 2018 British Cheese Awards which took place at the Royal Bath and West Show in Somerset, England.

A fund is entitled to judgment for €3.89m against members of a partnership over default on repayment of borrowings to build 16 apartments at Mill Race, Bunclody, Co Wexford.