Britain misses the point in approach to Brexit talks, writes Martin Mansergh

Cathy Desmond talks to Liam Byrne, who is to bring the sound of the viola da gamba to Kilkenny as part of the city’s arts festival.

Hook Lighthouse was a victim of its own success last year with visitors queuing for up to two hours at times to take a tour — so this year online ticketing has been introduced.

THE sight of Britain’s Prince Charles wielding a hurley and striking a sliothar into the back of the net would have been unimaginable a few short years ago. 

Just a few hours after paying tribute to fallen police officers at the opening of a memorial in Belfast, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited Áras an Uachtaráin where they saw the Peace Bell which was designed in 2008 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

The Prince of Wales stressed the possibilities inherent in breaking down barriers on a Northern Ireland visit that took in a cross border hospital and a centre dedicated to one of his favourite poets.

The family of a young woman who went missing 21 years ago do not want revenge — they just want to know where her body is.

Up for auction are some fine and decorative arts from the collection of AJF O’Reilly, writes Des O’Sullivan.

Ireland’s largest-ever celebration of Mozart’s music has kicked off in Kilkenny.

John Creedon is back on our screens on Sunday, and this time he’s getting to grips with the East. Series producer Marie Toft reveals the highlights of their summer road-trip.

Visitor numbers to national heritage sites rose 11% last year to more than 4.9m.

GOOD profit levels are now recorded at Kilkenny’s Lyrath Estate hotel and spa on 170 pastoral acres, up for sale a decade after it opened at a development cost of €50m.

1. Dracula Delights

Here are just some of the many success stories from the small and medium sized enterprise category.

Five years after a loved one takes their own life, more than a third of family members still feel depressed and anxious about their loss, while a quarter admit to having suicidal thoughts, according to new research.

Surveying the crowd of thousands last night in Nowlan Park at another victory celebration, Brian Cody was already planting the seeds for more All-Ireland homecomings in Kilkenny.

President Michael D Higgins led the nation in memory of those who died in overseas service and on UN missions.

The Guinness Storehouse, the Cliffs of Moher, and Dublin Zoo had more than 1m visitors each last year as some of the country’s top attractions showed rising interest.

YOU would never think that in the space above the rather beautifully appointed Kilkenny Design Centre is a restaurant that has quite likely one of the longest floor plans in Ireland (it was, centuries ago, a series of grain stores for horses belonging to the Earl of Ormonde, which accounts for the length of the building).

Kilkenny City hasn’t been as badly affected by high-street vacancies as some other towns and cities but has seen a rise in the number of vacant commercial spaces, from 3.3% in early 2014 to 7.7% in the first quarter of this year.

Almost 1.5m trips were made to Ireland by overseas visitors in the first two months of the year, figures show.

Plans have been drawn up to revive The Gathering, a tourism campaign that in 2013 helped boost visitor numbers by 7%.

The Government wants to grow the value of the tourism sector to €5bn by 2025.

Cummins or Nash? Bugler or Brendan Maher? Reid or Dowling? Picking the best hurling team of the last five years is no easy task

Check out our spolier-free guide to Christmas Eve TV.

The family of Josephine 'Jo Jo' Dollard have gathered on the 19th anniversary of her disappearance.

Kilkenny County Board chairman Ned Quinn has called for the building of a hurling museum in the city to mark the county’s illustrious GAA past.

MUSIC NEWS: Hozier is in Mitchelstown this weekend, and has also released a video of a duet with Karen Cowley on his single ‘In A Week’ that was recorded at Kilkenny Castle.

If there’s one thing we do well in Irish politics it’s dynasties and yesterday one of the most revered members of one branch of Fine Gael royalty travelled south to give his blessing to the scion of another blueshirt-blueblood line.

Ristorante Rinuccini,

Hoping to surprise your loved one this Valentine’s Day? Pól Ó Conghaile suggests a raft of romantic breaks at home and abroad.

OVER the past 70 years a serious body of art has been amassed by the Butler Gallery at Kilkenny Castle.

The cash-strapped Office of Public Works is to open concessions, such as restaurants and playgrounds, at 17 of the country’s most popular heritage sites in order to generate funds to pay for all the heritage locations it operates across the country.

A fleet of ‘Banner Bangers’ was on parade in Ennis yesterday ready to lead the mass exodus from Clare today to Dublin for the All-Ireland final hurling replay.

The discerning readers of Condé Nast Traveller magazine voted Kilkenny one of its top 10 of world’s friendliest cities recently, and if you visit during its festival period, you might even consider a mere top 10 is a bit unfair to the place.

It’s the sizzle without the drizzle, the kind of heatwave we can usually only dream of, in fact it’s so damn hot, Met Éireann has devised a new weather alert.

The proposed creation of a new road through the historic heart of Kilkenny city will bring increased traffic through the area and will sever the ‘Medieval Mile’ which links Kilkenny Castle with St Canice’s Cathedral.

Looking for somewhere novel to bring your dad this father’s day? Pól Ó Conghaile has 10 great suggestions to suit all budgets.

One of Ireland’s oldest breweries is to be transformed into a €3m visitor centre which is set to open its doors in less than a year.

Anyone with an outdated tax disc may have got a fright yesterday morning if they were in the vicinity of Kilkenny Castle, as 160 motorcycle police officers gathered in force.

Oscar-winning film producer Lord David Puttnam will be giving young Irish film- makers the benefit of his wisdom and experience at a national conference taking place in Kilkenny Castle later this month.