Some people sing for their supper, but not 11-year-old busker Milo McCarthy who plays the guitar on the streets for charity and has raised almost €3,000 in aid of Syrian refugees.

If Peter O’Sullevan hadn’t, as a schoolboy, put his last sixpence on Tipperary Tim, the 100-1 winner of the 1928 Aintree Grand National, he might not have gone on to become one of the most famous figures in British and Irish horse racing.

Birdman topped the 21st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, winning best ensemble cast, even though star Michael Keaton was upset by Eddie Redmayne in the most outstanding actor category.

Irish hotel resorts have taken the top two places and feature in nine of Europe’s 20 best in the latest survey by Condé Nast Traveler magazine.

Calls have been made for a crackdown on "sinister elements’’ allegedly involved in a protection racket at a fair in a top tourist town.

Health Minister James Reilly, on a breakneck trip to the South-West for a number of pre-election duties yesterday, denied he was being "held back" by Fine Gael strategists because of a perceived lack of popularity.

The five-star hotel business operated by TV’s trouble-shooting hotelier brothers John and Francis Brennan, has “weathered the storm” to record two years of profits.

The chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland yesterday said there was “absolutely no excuse for negligent practices”.

From loose and tousled to day-old curly, good hair compensates for imperfections. Blow salons open at 7am, and Brown Sugar offer ‘couture finishing’, says Edel Coffey.

It could be described as Downton Abbey Irish-style — a glimpse of life in those great houses in wooded estates behind high stone walls.

AS the Christmas countdown enters its final week, let’s combine properly festive jollity with sensible shopping: you don’t have to spend crazy money.

A DEVOTED son brought the body of his elderly mother to Ireland – but it has now gone “missing”.

INDUSTRIAL unrest now seems an inevitable by-product of the cuts required to reboot the Irish economy, leading economists are warning.

WITHIN 24 hours of its opening, 15 babies had been born at the country’s newest maternity hospital.

IRISH restaurateurs yesterday named Dublin’s Chapter One as the country’s top restaurant.

CREDITORS of a bridal outfitters which ceased trading last month with debts of over €1 million are unlikely to receive a cent in compensation.

THE head of the civil service believes the private sector provides a clear and attractive option for the recruitment of skilled personnel for top-level posts with the service.

THE rigidity in some of Europe’s biggest labour markets is a major reason European economic growth has fallen behind most of the world, European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said last night.

The Iraqi husband of murdered aid worker Margaret Hassan is arriving in Ireland this week to accept the country’s most prestigious peace prize on her behalf.

A memorial service will be held this morning for Irish-born aid worker, Margaret Hassan, who has reportedly been murdered in Iraq.

The Government is leaving no stone unturned in its attempts to free aid director Margaret Hassan from her captors in Iraq, the Dáil was told today.

Fáilte Ireland is investing an additional 20% funding into promoting home holidays within Ireland, bringing the total spend on home holiday promotion to €3.3m.

The ISEQ index of Irish shares was down 48.72 points to close at 5179.62 today.

MAJOR job announcements by IDA Ireland are in the pipeline, chief executive Sean Dorgan said last night.

The two gardai, who died this morning in a road accident in Cork City, have been named.