A three-year investigation into Mother and Baby Homes will be conducted following the revelations last year about the deaths of almost 800 children at the Tuam home, the Government confirmed today.

Two people were arrested in Roscrea, Co Tipperary this morning as part of a garda crackdown on organised crime and drugs in the town.

Children adopted from a Sacred Heart Sisters’ mother-and-baby home in Cork have called for an independent public inquiry to find out many babies died at the centre and where on the site they are buried.

Department of Education inspectors will carry out evaluations on Teagasc and other agricultural colleges from next year, under a recently-signed agreement.

A training aircraft that crashed killing its two occupants was running dangerously low on fuel — leading investigators to recommend that all registered flight training schools be required to do additional on-board fuel safety checks before departure.

A Canadian astronaut whose daughter, Kristin, 26, attends university in Ireland, has said goodbye to life on the International Space Station by making a cover version of David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’.

The competitive edge to delivering babies is never more to the fore than New Year’s Eve when maternity units around the country vie for the title of “first baby”.

The engine on a light aircraft cut out before it crashed killing two friends, air accident investigators have revealed.

The debate about whether house prices are falling or rising might remain but one fact is certain — Irish people love a property auction.

The largest auction yet of distressed properties takes place in Dublin today, with 127 lots up for grabs.

A man has been acquitted of the manslaughter of Offaly publican Matt Farrell during a burglary of a pub nearly three years ago.

A man has been acquitted of the manslaughter of Offaly publican Matt Farrell during a burglary of a pub nearly three years ago.

The trial of a man accused of the manslaughter of an Offaly publican has today heard that none of the DNA profiles found at the scene matched that of the accused.

The trial of a man accused of the manslaughter of an Offaly publican two years ago has heard how a witness walked into a garda station and told gardaí he knew who the killer was.

The man accused of the manslaughter of a well known Offaly publican two years ago confessed to the killing to a “jailhouse informant”, a court has heard.

The family of an Irish woman killed in the June 2009 Air France plane crash in the Atlantic which claimed the lives of 228 people has given up hope of her body being recovered.

BUDGET cuts are putting human rights at risk for a range of people including children and the elderly, Europe’s main human rights body has warned.

IDYLLIC country living is on offer at a renovated farmhouse in north Tipperary, where the owners keep ducks and geese and grow vegetables.

BREAK out the sun cream. It’s going to be another scorcher today with temperatures likely to be the best in Munster, Leinster and the Midlands, where they will reach highs of 22C.

A FORMER vet has been fined €30,000 after he pleaded guilty to possessing a range of animal medicines without authorisation.

Aviation chiefs hit out at air traffic controllers today as the threat of further strike action loomed at the country’s main airports.

NURSING home residents have alleged physical assault, verbal bullying and the forced removal of their clothes in 28 separate complaints made against staff since the Leas Cross revelations emerged.

A TOTAL of 242 Irish people died in tragic circumstances while away for holidays or work so far in 2009 – the highest number of deaths abroad ever recorded by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

THE remains of one of the three young Irish doctors lost in the air crash off Brazil five weeks ago are on their way home after a positive identification was made from a body recovered from the sea.

GARDA forensic experts are to fly to Brazil to help identify the bodies of people who perished in the Air France plane disaster a week ago.

A SENIOR nurse at a respected public nursing home has been sacked after subjecting an elderly man in his 70s to a sustained period of physical and mental abuse.

Search crews have found two bodies believed to be from the missing Air France flight which disappeared over the Atlantic with five Britons on board, Brazil’s air force said today.

HOPES grew for three Irish families that their loved ones’ final resting place will be traced after wreckage thought to be from the missing Air France plane was spotted in seas off the coast of northern Brazil.

THE family of one of three young Irish women on board the Air France airliner spoke yesterday of their heartbreak at the loss of their daughter.

Families of two young Irish doctors on board the Air France airliner that vanished over the Atlantic spoke today of their heartbreak at the loss of their daughters.

FORMER senator and journalist, Kathleen O’Meara, has been appointed to the newly created position of head of advocacy and communications at the Irish Cancer Society (ICS).

A MAN arrested in connection with the death of an elderly farmer in Co Mayo was released without charge last night.

A motorist was killed today in a road crash in Co Donegal.

The Garda Inspectorate is to examine the shooting of an armed man who barricaded himself in his home in Gort, Co Galway, for almost a day.

A siege situation is continuing in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, today after a man apparently doused himself in petrol and threatened to set himself alight.

Defence Minister Willie O’Dea today swapped his infamous gun-slinging pose in front of the cameras for a more unorthodox salute.

Motorists have been warned to drive with extra caution this morning due to icy conditions in all parts of the country.

MORE than 1,000 people marched through Mitchelstown, Co Cork, yesterday in protest at the decision of Dairygold Co-op to end pig slaughtering at its Galtee plant in the town.

Marking its first year anniversary in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, Taro Ireland announced details of the first phase of its Infrastructural Development Programme 2004.