A multiplicity of errors and omissions led to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) green energy scandal that brought down powersharing in Northern Ireland, not political corruption, a public inquiry has found.

The politicians were asked to respond to comments from Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, who on Thursday said he favoured a tunnel rather than a bridge as a way to link the two nations.

The Irish women’s team were narrowly beaten by Australia in the first round of the four- kilometre Team Pursuit at the World Track Championships in Berlin. Despite the loss the team will take heart from the ride which saw them break a new national record.

Michael Blake will be hoping for an improved placing when he takes charge of the Irish showjumping team for his second outing as manager this weekend. His team started brilliantly but dwindled to a sixth-place finish two weeks back in the Nations Cup of America at Deeridge Farms in Wellington, Florida, near to where this second contest is being staged at Palm Beach International Equestrian Centre, also in Wellington.

The FEI has announced that show jumpers from Qatar and Sri Lanka will not be allowed compete at this year’s Olympic Games

The Irish-owned Four Star Pizza chain is looking to expand into Great Britain, saying it has reached saturation point in Ireland.

Higher costs and less availability will hit the region hardest unless extra measures are taken mitigating the effects of Brexit, the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC), which represents larger businesses, said.

Irish exports reached a record €152.5 billion last year a jump of 8% on exports for 2018.

Reunification of Ireland and the future status of Scotland are issues “definitely on the table” as a result of Brexit, the former head of the UK Foreign Office and Diplomatic Service has said.

One of the oldest buildings at University College Cork (UCC) has opened for the first time as a state of the art, one-stop-shop for students following a multi-million euro transformation.

Shaun Edwards played his only game of Rugby Union for England so long ago that Ollie Campbell’s goals had just made Ireland joint champions of the Five Nations.

Hosting the Euro-Pro Tour golf event at Tulfarris for the past two years has been a great experience.

With serious show jumping team action still some time away in 2020, there are no early season pointers to go on seven months out from the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Beef prices improved in December, but not in time to lift Ireland from ninth place, in R3 heifer price rankings across 16 EU countries.

The political ground has shifted in the North since last Thursday’s election.

Ireland will start their Olympics campaign against South Africa.

UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that a leaked document, marked “official, sensitive”, had provided the “cold hard evidence” that Boris Johnson had been “misleading” people about his Brexit deal.

Ireland’s women will meet the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, India and South Africa in the group stages of the Olympic Games following confirmation of the final entrants on Saturday.

It would be the first December British election in 100 years and there would be a five-week campaign by parties up to polling day.

Rory McIlroy has said he will play golf at the Olympics for Ireland.

Ireland’s Shannon McCurley has won a silver medal in the scratch race on day 1 of the European Track Championships in the Netherlands.

Irish restaurants have done well to win Michelin stars recently, but achieving the coveted award brings a big pressure to retain it, writes Dan Buckley

There was a time when the height of Irish cuisine in a restaurant was either a dessicated steak or a feed of hairy bacon and overcooked cabbage, followed by sherry trifle.

After Sunday’s clinching of an Olympic place in show jumping in Barcelona, Irish equestrian sport has moved to a place it’s never been before. The country will have eventing, dressage, and show jumping teams at next year’s Olympics - the first time ever that the sport in this country has been able to say that.

Six Irish restaurants have become new recipients of the Michelin Star.

The underlying narrative behind the decision to stage the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan is that it is an opportunity to give a huge impetus to the game in a country where it is — relatively speaking — a marginal presence.

Boris Johnson’s plan to scrap the backstop and replace it with a double border now leaves Ireland and the EU in a Brexit predicament where none of the viable options include an orderly exit.

The final hour is at hand for Ireland’s show jumpers to deliver their country out of the Olympic wilderness. Not since Athens 2004 has Ireland qualified a show jumping team for the Games, and tomorrow sees the Irish riders embark on their last chance to make Tokyo 2020.

The predisposition of bureaucrats and politicians to fall for ideas that might be labelled fairly as barmy isn’t a uniquely 21st-century affliction.

Both the Irish senior women and men got one of their preferred draw for the Olympic qualifiers as they both face battles with Canada in the next two months for a ticket to Tokyo 2020.