Women were abandoned by husbands, landlords and family during the Great Hunger, says Paul D’Alton

Budgets are tight and bonuses are scarce but this hasn’t stopped Irish companies from getting into the festive spirit for charity. Niamh Hennessy takes a look at what firms did for charity this Christmas.

DURING the summer, the discovery of what some people believed was a sacred tree, in a church grounds in Rathkeale, Co Limerick, led to sensational headlines that set off a religious frenzy.