Plans to force HSE director general Tony O’Brien to address concerns that he and others misled a Dáil committee over the Grace scandal last year could be blocked because the inquiry into the case is now in place.

Man City 0 - Stoke 0: Stoke frustrated Manchester City as they held out for a goalless draw in their rearranged Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.

The Government will today launch a year-long investigation into the ‘Grace’ foster abuse scandal which will focus on cover-up claims, “threats” against whistle-blowers, and the actions of still-employed senior officials central to the case.

Grace; the babies of Tuam; the children, in their thousands, sent to industrial schools. Not one of them had anyone to watch over them, writes Fergus Finlay.

Sunderland 0 Manchester City 2: Sunderland were game, but the harsh truth is that they were woefully lacking in just about every department. Try as they might, the most stern test faced by Manchester City arrived in the aftermath of the final whistle.

Tipperary 0-28 Clare 0-21: “I’m not joking, we’re doing nothing different,” insisted Michael Ryan after this latest piece of evidence that the crown weighs lighter on Tipperary’s heads than previous times.

Check out this week’s Premier league talking points.

The old cliché that form goes out of the window for the North London derby certainly held true. Arsenal, lacklustre so far, were lively and dominant; Spurs showed absolutely nothing of the form that has got everyone talking and referee Mike Dean firmly put to bed the view that he is biased towards Spurs.

“GOL! GOL! GOL-GOL-GOL-GOL!! HAMEZ MAKLAINES!!! GOL! GOL! GOL!!!!” Which is how George Hamilton might have sounded in Cardiff had he donned a Panama hat.

Cardiff hero James McClean insists Ireland didn’t overdo the celebrations after Monday’s win against Wales as they know it will mean nothing unless they reach the World Cup.

It must be the dawn of a new era when one of Ireland’s great recoveries didn’t require the deft touches of Wes Hoolahan, but this wasn’t an evening for silken skills.

Wales 0 Republic of Ireland 1: This Irish team may rarely if ever command games but they certainly provide magic moments. And sometimes, as on this incredible night in Cardiff, they’re special enough to far outlast the 90.

In times past, pieces of magic may have drawn a few lines in a local paper’s match report the following week and been firmly consigned to history after that. But not anymore it seems, writes Mike Quirke.