A MAN who hijacked an Aer Lingus flight on route from Dublin to London wrote to then taoiseach Garret FitzGerald from his prison cell in Paris complaining about his treatment while he lived and worked in Ireland.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern borrowed the words of Ian Paisley today to tell a republican commemoration that a settlement to the Irish question was at its closest for two centuries.

There is reason to hope a violent feud between loyalist paramilitary groups may be drawing close to an end, a senior unionist politician said today.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will today reiterate his call to loyalists to build stability within their communities in the North.

Last season’s Irish Derby winner Grey Swallow is among 13 five-day confirmations for the High Chaparral EBF Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh on Monday.

Intensive efforts to achieve a breakthrough in the North’s peace process were due to continue today as Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionists try to bridge the remaining gaps between them.