THE GAA wants to retain the freedom to be able to negotiate with any of Ireland's terrestrial television stations for the sale of the rights to their games.

While many people in England are keen to wave their green, white and orange tricolours to spur on the Republic of Ireland, the Irish are less keen to cheer for their English cousins.

A general election campaign row broke out between Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Sinn Fein tonight after Bertie Ahern ruled out sharing power with the party in a coalition Government.

Any decommissioning of arms carried out by the IRA over the next few days will be no more than a meaningless stunt, Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley predicted today.

US Senator Hillary Clinton today hailed the Ireland as an example to the world in how to improve standards of life and declared: ‘‘The ties between us are only getting stronger.’’

The Scottish Football Association have made ‘‘considerable progress’’ in their plans to submit a joint bid to host Euro 2008 with Ireland.

A specially convened meeting of Sinn Fein members was held tonight to assess the fall-out from IRA decommissioning among "troubled" grass-roots republicans.

Sinn Fein used a CND conference in Britain today to demand the closure of the Sellafield nuclear waste disposal plant.

Unionist moves to oust Sinn Fein from government in Northern Ireland will not receive the nationalist SDLP’s crucial backing, the Labour Party conference heard tonight.

In an initial response to the Government’s new abortion referendum plan, veteran pro-life campaigner Des Hanafin said Mr Ahern had honoured his commitment to have a nationwide vote on the issue.

The Mayor of Limerick today defended the city’s reputation against comments made by a judge suggesting it deserved to be known as ‘‘stab city’’.

European Commission chief Romano Prodi was today joining The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for a tour of the picturesque Ring of Kerry.

A centre for US studies is to be established by the Irish government in honour of former US President Bill Clinton.

The new Fine Gael leader today ruled out the possibility of his party entering into coalition government in the Republic with Sinn Fein.