A murder trial jury has been told it has sat through one of the worst set of facts in relation to any murder in the history of the State.

A 29-year-old man was hailed a hero after bravely overpowering a gunman during a hostage incident in Clare in which a weapon was discharged.

Friends and loved ones of those who died in the US balcony collapse have begun paying emotional tributes.

Brian O’Driscoll’s entry in the Guinness World Records 2014 may be impressive — but can it compete with the creator of the world’s largest yo-yo or the achievement of owning the longest human tongue?

Papers are to be lodged in the Supreme Court in relation to a Circuit Court ruling in an action by a former senator who was unsuccessful in his attempt to have a local election result overturned.

A retired detective inspector who was involved in the Kerry Babies investigation 30 years ago has called for the exhumation of the remains of both male infants for full DNA analysis.

A retired garda who is alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman in his patrol car 13 years ago says he did not think to obtain his phone records for the time to help establish an alibi which showed he was at home on a meal break when the incident occurred.

As John B Keane’s classic tragedy Sive returns to the Abbey stage, his family hope that two of his unseen plays will also be produced, writes Pádraic Killeen

Death threats, knife attacks, physical assaults, verbal abuse, and attacks on security staff and members of the public are just some of the dangers Social Protection staff as well as dole claimants are facing in welfare offices.

A 19-year-old man was being questioned by gardaí last night in connection with the killing of a woman in her 50s in North Kerry.

A murder trial witness told of receiving photographs sent from a mobile phone showing the victim with blood on his head and his hands tied.

A grandnephew of Michael Collins has described the proposed sale of a lock of the Republican leader’s hair as macabre and undignified.

A man has been arrested after a body was discovered in a bog.

HUNDREDS of hard- pressed Irish widows are to descend on Leinster House in Dublin tomorrow to protest against the avalanche of welfare cuts and tax increases faced by their members and others.

BOOKER Prize winner John Banville was further honoured last night when he scooped the top award at Writers’ Week, in Listowel, Co Kerry.

A MAN convicted of sexual assault told gardaí that his victim had knelt before him in a carpark and asked him to ‘f**k’ her.

The priest who shook the hand and gave character evidence on behalf of a convicted sex offender has left his post of parish priest in Castlegregory.

FOOD giant Kerry Group was criticised last night for deciding to shut a sophisticated butter making plant, resulting in the loss of 29 jobs.

FARMING organisations have objected to the decision by the Department of Agriculture to publish the name and home town of farmers who received payments under the Common Agricultural Policy.

THE vendor wants to take up his beds, and berths, and walk.

A SENIOR policing official has warned that Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s planned Joint Policing Committees will be ineffective unless they are give proper powers and a defined role.

Knife and tool maker Imperial Schrade Europe is to cut its workforce by 28 employees at the company's manufacturing operation in Listowel, Co Kerry.

LONG-ESTABLISHED businesses will not be protected, in the long term, by campaigns to keep out German-owned discount stores, it has been warned.

A FAMILY holiday and a festival in Kerry have been marred by the deaths of two people in traffic accidents.

IT may not be generally known, but playwright John B Keane was also a prolific writer of songs and poems, a collection of which was launched yesterday on the first anniversary of his death.

LIVELY music and the beat of dancers’ tapping feet filled the balmy air as the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil opened in Listowel, Co Kerry, last night.

Acclaimed playwright John B Keane will be buried in his native Listowel this morning, after losing his battle with illness on Thursday.

The writer, John B Keane, has died at his home in Listowel, Co Kerry aged 73.