A desperate father whose family is living in emergency accommodation in Navan, Co Meath, has begged his local authority: “Do you want my baby to die before you do something to help us?”

A man caught with over €37,000 worth of heroin on St Patrick’s Day in a car near a motorway toll booth in Cork had a lifestyle that included trips to Las Vegas, despite social welfare being his only declared income.

It’s being described as a “breakthrough towards an artificial pancreas” and it has certainly transformed the life of diabetic Mary Vaughan.

A three-year-old child was among seven people treated for mild hypothermia after climbing Croagh Patrick; A priest in Co Meath intervened to stop a brawl between members of the Travelling community that erupted after Mass yesterday; Greece’s former finance minister has admitted he had begun planning to leave the euro and reintroduce the drachma. Here’s today’s lunchtime irishexaminer.com round-up.

Fr Declan Hurley, a priest in Navan, Co Meath, yesterday intervened to stop a brawl between members of the Travelling community that erupted outside the church after 1pm Mass.

The Irish Farmers Association has criticised the Department of Agriculture’s publication of details outlining EU grants paid to farm-ers, describing the move as a breach of confidentiality.

Credit unions will aim to have issued 500,000 of their new debit cards within the next five years to make the project viable, according to the head of the company rolling out the project.

Scaredy-cats of all ages are in for a frightfully good time over the next few days as Monday’s bank holiday, the mid-term break and Halloween merge into a week-long October horror-fest.

Killarney jarveys, who have had major rows with the authorities in recent years, are fully supporting colleagues fighting a ban on horsedrawn carriages in New York.

A man has been killed after his car crashed into a wall in Navan, Co Meath.

Two friends of the late model Katy French will be sentenced in two weeks' time for a drug offence committed on the weekend the socialite collapsed at their home.

The X-Factor judge Louis Walsh’s entertainment firm more than quadrupled its pre-tax profits last year to €1.268m.

AS expected Fairyhouse has fallen foul of the weather and it’s triple Grade 1 card scheduled for tomorrow has again been cancelled.

Dublin champions Kilmacud Crokes and Offaly side Rhode will contest the AIB Leinster Club Senior Football Championship decider at O'Moore Park on December 5.

A CRACKDOWN on an internet banking fraud gang saw gardaí seize computers and documents at a Meath home.

MORE than 23,500 places in 20 new schools and 32 extensions have been promised as part of the Government’s €579 million school building programme.

AMBULANCE officer Paul Gray successfully delivered a baby in about 60 seconds in rush hour traffic in Dublin on Wednesday evening.

DOLE processing times remain at an all-time high despite commitments by the Social Affairs Minister to commit more staff to speed up welfare payments.

SWIFT action by lifeguards saved a young boy from drowning in the pool of a popular holiday village.

SINN Féin President Gerry Adams has said the development of his party in the south is frustratingly slow.

More than half of the workers at Tara Mines today struck agreement with bosses over cost-cutting plans after weeks of crisis talks.

GARDAÍ made a large drugs and guns bust in west Dublin over the weekend.

The High Court has today directed that just a bank account containing just under €6m, believed to be the proceeds of the IRA, that has been frozen for more than 20 years be handed over to the State

UNSUSPECTING motorists have been stung after selling their cars for stolen bank drafts.

MARRIAGE is for life, say couples who took part in the first ever study conducted in Ireland.

MOUNT JULIET, the popular golf and leisure resort, has been declared Best Hotel of the Year 2006 by a leading food and hospitality awards scheme.

Insurance company Quinn Direct is reportedly set to create 1,000 jobs at three locations in Ireland during the next five years.

GARDAÍ in Dublin were last night examining CCTV footage taken from a bus which crashed into a pole yesterday morning.

PASSENGERS at Cork’s main railway station yesterday were unhappy over the wildcat strike action that left them stranded and facing lengthy journeys by road.

A former Official IRA leader wanted in the US for forging millions of dollars today criticised a former Irish Government minister at a public meeting in Dublin.

Leaving Certificate students in the town where the worst school bus crash in Irish history occurred last month sat a specially modified exam today.

FINANCE Minister Brian Cowen last night attempted to curtail speculation that Fianna Fáil had given up hope on its North Kildare by-election candidate, Aine Brady, by insisting she still had a chance of winning.

Revenue has collected over €97m from tax defaulters in the three months from July to September this year.

More than 1,000 voters in Navan, Co Meath, have been told that they will not be allowed to vote in the forthcoming urban council election in the town next month.

LEE LUCCHESI, who was laid out last night in the kit of his beloved Liverpool, lived for football and to die on a football field was tragic, his great grandfather said last night.

There are reports that a nine-year-old child has been killed during a junior soccer match in Navan, Co Meath.

Nearly 370 jobs were lost around the country today through three company closures.

GARDAÍ chasing thieves who have stolen more than €5m in cigarettes now communicate by mobile phone because the criminals are eavesdropping on their radio conversations.

The name’s Brosnan, Pierce Brosnan and don’t forget it because the super suave star has no intention of hanging up his golden gun just yet.

Tara Mines has announced it is to restart production next month.