A detective garda, who thought he would die when he was viciously attacked by two pitbull terriers, has been awarded €200,000 damages against the State in the High Court.

THERE are days when you just want middle-of-the-road, keep-the-show-on-the road food — days when you don’t need, or even want, poppy-seed brown bread knitted by celibate artisan bakers; days you just can’t summon up the joie de vivre needed to make the prospect of crabmeat or pan-roasted cod named after the port in which its captor buys his marine diesel, seem even vaguely uplifting. 

VOTED one of the greatest festivals on the planet, the 49th Galway International Oyster Festival kicks off for a weekend of gourmet food, good Guinness and traditional craic.