There is something obsessive about wanting to go to such an island as Potato Island. Why would anyone want to go there? Then why would anyone not want to go there?

A boil water notice has been issued for 1,500 people in Co Westmeath.

Two men have been arrested and a firearm has been seized in Rathowen, Co Westmeath today.

A couple of weeks back I reported that French wine sales had dropped further in the last year. They now rank behind Spain, Australia and Chile.

Meat processors continued legal efforts to stop protests at their facilities, with Meat Industry Ireland admitting that some export markets have not be served in recent days due to the blockages at processing facilities.

Peadar Toibin, the Meath West TD, stood up in the public gallery during the call-over of cases and said he wished to inform the court that some named defendants had not been served with and had no knowledge of the proceedings against them

It was one of 29 reports from a number of similar homes carried out by the health watchdog in the last few months, with most found to be compliant.

The man was treated at the scene before being airlifted to the Mater Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

A Co Clare man who defiled a 15-year-old girl while the girl was on a sleepover in a tent in the back garden of a friend's house today walked free from court.

Lorna Siggins When a replica of an Iron Age logboat is launched for the first time on Lough Corrib today

A Co Clare teen defiled a 15-year-old girl while the girl was on a sleepover in a tent in the back garden of a friend's house.

Gardaí are appealing for information after a cash box was stolen in Co Westmeath this morning.

Almost three-quarters of Irish bathing waters have been rated "excellent" by European standards, but the country is lagging significantly behind many of our European neighbours.

Ireland’s beaches and lakes benefitted from the scorching sunshine last summer, as record heat killed off bacteria and other harmful growths that can contaminate bathing waters.

The incident occurred this morning at around 10:25am on Blackhall Street when a van was making a collection from a bank.

A feed-in tariff and preferential grid access are needed to make on-farm and community renewable energy possible, said IFA president Joe Healy.

When I read that skeletal remains, indicating an infant “on its left side”, lie in a structure that was probably designed for sewage, in the former grounds of the Mother and Baby home in Tuam, I feel sick.

A cross-country motorbike racing enthusiast is entitled to a rehearing of his dismissed action for damages over an accident in which he was struck by a motorcycle coming behind him at a motocross practice event, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Five people died on the roads over the bank holiday weekend, bringing the total number of fatalities so far this year to 39.

The pedestrian, in his 30s, was struck on the N4 near Mullingar, Co Westmeath.

A man has died following a crash in Co. Westmeath.

Adoption rights campaigner Paul Redmond has resigned from the Mother and Baby Homes Collaborative Forum, calling it “a cynical, time-wasting farce”.

The future for Irish space exploration is safe, considering the remarkable achievement of four secondary school students from Athlone, Co Westmeath.

A man who bought two cruiser berths on a River Shannon marina - which turned out to be "useless" - has been awarded more than €59,000 by the High Court for breach of contract.

The mother of a young man who died in a senseless attack has joined a Garda campaign urging young people not to use their fists when out socialising.

The newly-ordained Bishop of Ossory has weighed into the debate on abortion on his first day in office, describing as “paradoxical and in some ways the ultimate delusion” the proposal to “extinguish” the right to life of a child.

Gardaí investigating a number of burglaries have arrested three men in Co. Westmeath.

There was a time Ireland’s raised bogs were considered to be of little worth but now their value as a refuge for rare and beautiful plant and animal species is recognised across the world, writes Donal Hickey

Irish horse breeders and producers deserve commendation for their continued success in the sport of eventing, writes Stephen Cadogan.

A baby girl is in a serious condition following a crash in Mullingar this afternoon.

A jobless couple was removed from a local authority housing list because their annual social protection income had jumped to just over €29,000 after the birth of an eighth child, the High Court was told.

Over half of dwellings in one Westmeath village have no broadband.

An ambulance crashed on the way to the scene of a fatal car crash, it emerged during a High Court case yesterday.

Sleaford Mods might eschew the role of spokesmen for the downtrodden but they do add some grit to the prawn-sandwich of popular music, writes Ed Power

Campaigners have called on the Government to start excavations at other mother and baby home sites after Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone said she is in favour of such a move.

Two men armed with a hammer and a bar threatened staff and stole cash from a supermarket in Co Westmeath last night.

The young revolutionary who killed the only policeman to die violently between 1916 and the War of Independence later became an early member of An Garda Síochána, a police researcher has found.

More than €40.5m has been paid by the State over the past seven years to the operators of two toll roads due to lower-than-expected traffic volumes.

Most of Ireland’s big music events have unveiled their lineups. Ed Power rounds up his top 10.

The true picture of what happened in Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Cork may be difficult to hear but it needs to come out, the Bishop of Cloyne, William Crean said yesterday.

An eye witness told the trial that Mr Nevin came screaming out of the house he was in with an axe.

A book of evidence was served yesterday on a man accused of selling fraudulent Adele concert tickets for thousands of euro.