The floral tributes spelled out the words “friend” and “mam”.

The death of Sr Paula Buckley in a double tragedy at Inch Strand last week in Kerry had left two families in mourning, the chief celebrant at her funeral Mass said yesterday.

As the 1000th anniversary of Brian Boru’s death approaches, Robert Hume attempts to separate fact from fiction in the Munster king’s momentous battle against the Vikings of Leinster.

A number of reports on child abuse in the Catholic Church will be published this morning.

An 80-year-old former factory worker has told the High Court that he felt like the man who won the Lotto and lost the ticket after he found out his late sister had left €2.7m to charity in her will.

The country’s newest Catholic bishop, who has chosen “love one another” as his motto, said it was by no means certain the good times would soon return and urged more sharing with the needy.

There’s a photo that has pride of place on a wall in a comfortable home in Cork city, a photo that has been a long, long time in the framing.

Tipperary 3-23 UCC 2-15

The Junior Minister Kathleen Lynch says the four Archbishops of the Catholic Church are entitled to their opinions on abortion.

Born in Kilbreedy (1869-1938), near Kilmallock, Co Limerick, John J Flanagan was one of the most proficient athletes ever produced by this country. He became the first man to be crowned Olympic champion in one specific event at three consecutive games.

Hi Emperor gave trainer Sean Hennessy his first training success when justifying 5/4 favouritism in the Follow Fairyhouse On Twitter Maiden at Fairyhouse last night.

Communities will be involved in any plans to radically reorganise the amount of dioceses in this country, according to the summary report presented by the Vatican team who visited the country last year.

THE Vatican is believed to be meeting resistance from Irish archbishops to its plans to cut the number of dioceses by up to a half — meaning the country would need fewer bishops.

The popular tourist spot of Killarney in Co Kerry has been named the tidiest town in Ireland.

A long-awaited report into the handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations in the Diocese of Cloyne is due to be made public within weeks.

THE auction offering of 65 discounted Irish properties was as damp a squib as the day outside was a washout.

VICTIMS of clerical sex abuse in the diocese of Cloyne have expressed absolute fury at the decision to draft in a UCD psychologist to prepare priests for the public outcry once the Murphy Commission report into abuse is published.

A CLINICAL psychologist is coming to Cork this weekend to prepare priests from the diocese of Cloyne for the expected public outcry following publication of the Dublin Archdiocese report into the handling of child abuse in the diocese.

An Archbishop tonight apologised to a victim of clerical abuse after a priest pleaded guilty to gross indecency while hearing confession.

IRELAND’S four most senior churchmen have been called to Rome to discuss final preparation for a Vatican investigation of the Church in Ireland due to get under way later this month.

The country's most senior clergymen have been called to Rome to discuss final preparations for a Vatican investigation of the Catholic Church here, which is due to get underway within the next month.

Carrick on Shannon in Co Leitrim won European recognition when it was awarded a gold medal at the 2010 Entente Florale Awards in Cervia in Italy over the weekend.

TALLANSTOWN, a village in Co Louth with a population of about 600, has taken the title of Ireland’s Tidiest Town 2010.

HOPES are rising that the virtual disappearance of horse dung from the streets of Killarney could help the tourist haven win the top award in the national Tidy Towns competition.

SEVERAL of the Catholic Church’s top enforcers against paedophile priests have been appointed by the Pope to carry out an inquiry into the Church’s handling of the problem here.

The former head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales is one of five senior clerics appointed today to monitor child protection procedures in the church in Ireland.

ALEXANDER WETTERHALL (Sweden Team Sprocket Pro) hung on to the race leader’s yellow jersey by six seconds as Jon Tiernan-Locke (Britian Rapha Condor Sharp) powered his way to victory at the top of Seskin Hill where a huge crowd gathered to welcome yesterday’s fifth stage of the FBD Insurance Rás.

NOW that vendors have accepted the real market value of properties, farms of all shapes and sizes are starting to trickle through to the market this spring.

A second bishop was dramatically removed from the Catholic hierarchy over child sex abuse scandals tonight, with another three senior clerics expected to face the same fall from grace.

Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of a senior Irish bishop who stood down over his mishandling of clerical child sex abuse allegations, it was confirmed today.

ABOUT 1,200 students attend full-time agricultural courses in Ireland. At Clonakilty Agricultural College, Michael Stack, from Farran, Co Cork, is a third-year student, from a non-farming background.

Emly in Co. Tipperary has been named the tidiest town in Ireland.

NINE counties were represented among 20 qualifiers who lined up for the GVM All Ireland €2,500 commercial championship at last week’s Cappamore Show in Co Limerick.

Three men are due in court in Co Tipperary this morning in connection with an incident in which one man was shot in the leg and another stabbed in the back.

TOWNS and villages throughout the mid-west are being thrown into lawlessness by “neighbours from hell”.

Gardaí are questioning five men in connection with an incident yesterday afternoon in which one man was shot in the leg and another stabbed in the back.

ONE man was shot in the leg and another stabbed in the back in Co Tipperary yesterday as Limerick’s gang war spilled into the neighbouring county.

Four people have been arrested in Limerick following a shooting today in Tipperary.

A MAN and woman, both in their late 20s, were being questioned last night by gardaí in Limerick following the discovery of a large consignment of cannabis resin.

Gardaí confirmed this afternoon that they found two pipe bombs at Emly on the Limerick-Tipperary border during the weekend.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern last night described Muintir na Tíre founder John Canon Hayes as a man of vision and a pioneer of community development.

THE Irish Greyhound Board's annual doping report reveals 6,113 samples were taken from greyhounds during 2005 - with 69 testing positive for banned substances.