THE Claret Jug coveted by golfers the world over made a return journey to Dublin last night as Open champion Pádraig Harrington came home to a hero’s welcome.

DAMAGED valves have been found in the engine of a Beechcraft Skipper plane which lost power and crashed in Co Mayo in May, killing the pilot and seriously injuring the passenger.

A PLANE crash at Raharney in Co Westmeath may have been caused by a loss of engine power resulting from “carburetor icing”, an inquiry has found.

THE new British Open winner yesterday revealed that he did not like the look of his winning putt at the British Open Championship, despite nervelessly rolling it in for victory.

AN INTERNAL Customs review of security at the country’s smaller airports has endorsed the system being used.

The Green Party has criticised Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny's proposals for a second international airport in Dublin.

A MAJOR review of security at the country’s private airports established in the wake of a plane flying out of Dublin with €10 million worth of drugs, is due to report within the next six weeks, Finance Minister Brian Cowen has said.

A 36-year-old aviation broker appeared before Dublin District Court today charged in connection with last week’s seizure of €10m of heroin at a small airport in Belgium.

A 36-year-old businessman is due in court this morning in connection with an international multi-million euro drug smuggling operation.

Gardaí are reportedly investigating whether smugglers may be using Ireland's small airports to get drugs into the country.

Belgian police have seized up to €10m worth of heroin as part of an international police investigation led by the Garda Drugs Unit.

UP to 20,000 spectators are expected today at the K Club in Straffan, Co Kildare to inspect the cream of European and US golfers in action during the first of three practice days in advance of the official start of the Ryder Cup on Friday.

THE Ryder Cup will require the biggest public transport operation since the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland in 1979, CIÉ claimed yesterday.

A MASSIVE temporary car park which will service people travelling to and from the Ryder Cup has been given planning permission despite objections from locals who fear it will lead to increased traffic volumes and who argue a more suitable site might have been found.

GOLF fans attending the Ryder Cup in September face the possibility of travel chaos after taxi drivers warned that a work stoppage during the tournament was a possibility.

A RYANAIR flight that passed as low as 20 feet over homes in a Cork suburb is the subject of two investigations.

Investigations are continuing in an effort to identify to cause of yesterday's light aircraft crash in Co Westmeath.

TWO men died instantly yesterday when the light aircraft they were flying crashed into a field in Co Westmeath.

Air accident investigators were tonight examining the wreckage of a light aircraft in which two men died when it crashed into a field in Co Westmeath.

Two men have died in a light aircraft crash near Killucan in Co Westmeath this morning.

A MAN who was stabbed several times outside his home in Kildare yesterday morning was last night released from Blanchardstown hospital, where he was being treated for his injuries.

Rescuers searching for a light aircraft that disappeared over the Irish Sea yesterday afternoon have recovered a body off the Welsh coast.

FEARS increased last night for the safety of a couple whose light aircraft disappeared over the Irish Sea.

MILLIONAIRE businessman and leading Fianna Fáil supporter, Jim Mansfield, has admitted he was “technically wrong” to begin construction work on a €50m conference centre at his Citywest hotel and golf complex in south-west Dublin without fully-authorised planning permission.

MILLIONAIRE businessman and leading Fianna Fáil supporter Jim Mansfield looks set for another major confrontation with the planning authorities over his plans to build a €50 million conference centre as part of his Citywest complex in south-west Dublin.

PILOT inexperience or an unspecified engine problem, or both, are believed to be the most likely causes of a fatal helicopter crash in Co Longford in 1999.