The US government wants to erect a new defence perimeter at its Dublin embassy — including a barrier almost 3m high and an outer cordon of 1m-high steel bollards — to protect staff from any likely terrorist attack.

AN TAISCE was accused of being anti-rural and anti-development after the planning watchdog lodged appeals against four one-off homes across Clare.

A WARNING was yesterday sounded that too much land is being rezoned for housing in some of Kerry’s picture postcard tourist areas, which do not have adequate services to support additional development.

LANDOWNERS on the northern and western outskirts of Killarney are set for a huge financial windfall, with large amounts of property due to be zoned for housing.

VERNON Mount House in Cork has been synonymous with motorcycle scrambling for more than 40 years. To most people, the house is just a building that stands in the middle of the circuit.

IRELAND has received its highest ever number of Blue Flags for water quality with 78 beaches and four marinas being awarded the honour by the International Blue Flag Jury for 2005.

Conservation groups are calling for the construction of a planned incinerator near the Newgrange site in Co Meath to be stopped.

NICK FALDO is a step nearer to achieving his dream of building “the best and most unique links golf course in the world” at Bartragh Island off the Mayo coast.

An Taisce today joined a fight to protect the building known as “Ireland’s Alamo”.

A group of protestors have chained themselves to trees over the planned construction of a part of the M50 motorway over a medieval castle.