Fianna Fáil has avoided a Milliband-type moment after a candidate decided to withdraw from a selection convention contest where he was to be pitted against his brother.

A man convicted of assaulting a garda was told by a sentencing judge "the blaggardism" had to stop.

A man on trial for attacking a member of An Garda Síochána claimed the officer assaulted him and that "a tiger in the wild would not do to a suckling calf" what the detective did to him.

A man in dispute with management of Fermoy Mart on the question of whether cattle for sale had horns went on trial yesterday on a charge of assault on a garda at the mart in March last year.

More than 100 people were present at Corrin Mart, Fermoy, yesterday to witness the €1.975m sale of a residential farm near Blarney, Co Cork.

Steady viewing and welcoming vendors have been the order of the day for the substantial, 176-acre Applebe farm at Dawstown, Blarney, which is probably best known as a one-time point-to-point racing location.

The British crew of Hugh Hunter/Andy Marchbank (Subaru WRC) roared to victory in the Trim-based ALMC Rally, round four of the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship.

Formerly home to Dawstown Point to Point horse races, this exceptional farm just outside Blarney, Co Cork, is going to be one of the sales of the year for the team at estate agents CCM.

A bid to create a native woodland in Clonakilty springs into action this weekend when 2,000 trees will be planted by up to 100 volunteers on grounds near Gullane Lake, donated by Cork County Council.

The lorry driver on trial for assault causing harm to a detective at Fermoy Mart said yesterday that he stabbed the guard repeatedly in the hand with the key to his lorry, but only because he believed the officer was trying to get him out “dead or alive”.

A farmer protesting at Fermoy Mart about cattle with horns allegedly being sold to him caught a detective garda, pulled him in through the window of his truck and stabbed his hand with a metal object, it was claimed on the opening day of a trial yesterday.

The earliest known settlers in Co Cork were hunter-gatherers who lived near Fermoy more than 10,100 years ago.

County councillors are demanding trucks carrying earth for flood-prevention embankments be diverted from a picturesque village which has won awards for its tidiness and floral displays at regional, national, and European level.

A cattle dealer accused of stabbing a garda attended court in Fermoy yesterday — on horseback.

A man accused of stabbing a garda during a standoff at a mart has been released on bail after giving a sworn undertaking to stay away from the premises and its staff.

A detective garda who had a truck driven at him was stabbed a number of times in the hand as he tried to take the keys off the driver.

The January sales in many department stores will see retailers slashing prices on unsold stock, and long queues forming by those afraid of missing out on a bargain.

Like a ship making to port, mart reports this week seem to indicate a “steady as she goes” approach.

I got a call just before 2pm last Tuesday from the Joe Duffy programme asking would I go on air to talk about that day’s IFA protest in Dublin.

Prices for younger or lesser conformation animals have eased, but as one mart manager said to me, “Money is the life blood and there’s still plenty of it about.”

Although this summer’s horrendous weather has brought great difficulties for the farming sector, the recent price pull of 25 cent at the factory gates has had a far more marked effect on the mart trade, this week.

"There is a danger that you could end up with a self-fulfilling prophecy".

It is very tempting to explain away the reason for larger than expected numbers of cattle at marts across the country this week being down totally to the very bad weather.

June of 2012 will probably be remembered by many farmers as the month that redefined the meaning of hardship.

With considerable numbers of animals returned indoors in many areas, due to a combination of scarce grass and poor underfoot conditions, the mart trade has seen numbers reduced, as sellers concentrate on getting their farms realigned to overcome weather difficulties.

A woman was killed this morning when the car she was travelling was in collision with an articulated truck near the toll plaza in north Cork.

Having studied various mart reports and allowing for weather and grass difficulties, I have noticed a third element becoming more obvious this week around the sales rings — price divergence on the basis of conformation.

A TEENAGER who suffered head injuries in a car crash that resulted in the death of his 12-year-old cousin five years ago was awarded €550,000 in damages at the High Court in Cork yesterday.

WE are a small group with ideas we feel can be beneficial to this area, or even to the country as a whole, if they are implemented by the powers that be.

UNDER leaden skies, Stuart Mangan, the 26-year-old rugby player from Fermoy, Co Cork, who died last week, made his final journey home yesterday to be laid to rest at Kilcrumper cemetery, one of the oldest Christian burial places in Ireland.

TURNOVER in the Cork Marts Group increased last year but group profits fell slightly due to higher interest charges.

A NEW era in livestock sales began yesterday when a €17 million mart opened for business in Co Cork.

THE largest single property development ever planned for a north Cork town was outlined yesterday.

WORK has started on constructing the most modern livestock sales centre in the country at Corrin, Fermoy.

FOUR men were arrested after they rammed two garda cars and were involved in a 25-mile-long high speed chase in Cork yesterday.

“TO LOSE a child is a nightmare. We are now existing instead of living. Our once close-knit family has been torn apart. Sadly this is all down to one person, Mr Bloomfield.”