Who is Mark O’Brien? – What we know about the talented Dublin chef who made it to the final of ‘MasterChef: The Professionals’Dublin-born culinary star made it to the final three in the highly competitive cooking contest ‘MasterChef: The Professionals’ on BBC'MasterChef: The Professionals' finalist Mark O'Brien. Photo: BBC/Shine TVSophie Grenham Today at 09:40While most of the country was glued to the Irish football team’s World Cup qualifier match against Czechia last night [Thursday, March 26], some of us engaged in a different kind of patriotism by watching the final of MasterChef: The Professionals.

Alan Shearer showed off a series of painful injuries he received after falling off his bike on Friday. In a number of gory snaps shared to Instagram, the Newcastle legend blamed pot holes for the multiple cuts scattering his leg and arm. Although the pictures appeared painful, the England icon might have avoided far worse injuries with none of the cuts seeming too deep. Nine years ago Shearer found himself in far more dangerous circumstances cycling when a fall saw him forced to undergo major surgery. 'Let me chuck this at you, Jude Bellingham and Trent are a pretty powerful couple,' Shearer raised to Lineker.

The number of people accessing emergency homeless accommodation has reached a new high, in the last snapshot from before the Government’s rental reforms were introduced. The total is made up of 11,851 adults and 5,457 children, both at record levels. The number of people accessing emergency accommodation has been increasing steadily for years and the monthly figures published by the Department of Housing do not account for people sleeping rough or those staying in hospitals, asylum centres or domestic violence shelters. The figures give a sense of pressures on homeless services just before the Government’s rental reforms came into effect at the start of March. It means the number of people using emergency homeless accommodation has almost tripled in the last 10 years, with the overall figure being 5,811 at the end of February 2016.

Loan moves characterised his stint at United and he made just four Premier League appearances before ultimately heading back to his previous club. ‌Yet Varela found it difficult to leave the same impression with Ferguson's successors, with David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho all passing him over. The club suspended him and abandoned any intentions to extend his loan, sending him back to Manchester with his career prospects damaged. Following his departure from United in 2017, Varela reconstructed his career throughout Europe and further afield, representing Copenhagen and Dynamo Moscow before signing for Brazilian side Flamengo in 2023. After leaving England, he discovered consistency and international acclaim, collecting 26 caps for the Uruguay national side.

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Sir, – The investigation published by The Irish Times on the links between Aughinish Alumina and Russia’s military supply chain (“ From the Shannon to Siberia ”, March 24th) is timely and important, both for the substance of the story itself but also the general trend it exposes. For a long time, the clear Achilles heel in Irish foreign policy – be that in Palestine, in Ukraine, or our positioning on human rights, global justice and international development more generally – has been a deep and persistent unwillingness to properly regulate powerful corporate actors. The holding position from Minister of State at the Deparement of Justice Niall Collins gives an indication on the limits of that opposition. Whether it’s pharmaceutical giants using Ireland as a base to avoid tax, energy providers importing coal linked to serious environmental harm and abuses, or tech companies pushing back on regulation, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile Ireland’s human rights and foreign policies with the corporate reality at home. – Yours, etc,CONOR O’NEILLHead of Policy, Christian Aid Ireland,Chair, Irish Coalition for Business & Human Rights.

Parents have been told to limit screen time to an hour a day for under-fives and keep them off AI and social media – under new government guidelines. 'The impact extends well beyond the under-fives, and too often parents are left to contend with social media and big tech on their own.' Under the guidance, screen time for children under two should be avoided other than for shared activities encouraging interaction. It comes as the Government is also considering measures to ban social media for under-16s and outlaw smartphones in schools. It needs to listen to the House of Lords and ban under-16s from social media and also make sure that every school is enforcing an effective smartphone ban.'

It is the 30th running of the World Cup itself. The mile-and-a-quarter dirt race is the $12 million (€10.4 million) feature of an eight-race card worth over $30 million in all. Morning track work in advance of the Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Dubai World Cup’s legacy is how it has laid the foundation for a new dimension to global flat racing’s ecosystem in the Middle East. Even in a war zone, the World Cup programme has still attracted the world’s top-rated dirt horse in Japan’s Forever Young and the best turf horse, Calandagan, from France.

Now, top scientists have called for an end to Daylight Saving Time (DST) amid fears it fuels a rise in cancer, traffic accidents and sleep issues. 'But there is quite a strong argument for just having permanent daylight saving these days.' Some studies have suggested that the risk of fatal traffic accidents increases by around six per cent following the spring daylight savings time transition. Writing in the European Journal of Epidemiology, they emphasised the need for more robust research before firm conclusions can be made about the cost–benefit of Daylight Saving Time. Lead author Dr Aiste Steponenaite said: 'Public debate often frames daylight saving time as either clearly harmful or clearly beneficial but our findings suggest the reality is more nuanced.

Lloyds Banking Group has revealed 447,936 Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland customers saw other people's transactions or had their data shared with others due to IT issues on March 12. The banking giant said 114,182 people clicked on other people's transactions when they became visible. The bank has so far paid out £139,000 in compensation to 3,625 customers for distress and inconvenience linked to the incident. The letter highlighted that the personal data of individuals who were not customers of Lloyds Banking Group had also been visible. 'The issue was quickly identified and resolved, and we've contacted customers whose transactions may have been visible for that short time.'

Major £2.4m project that could transform farming launches in LincolnshireThe 'circular farm' model could make a huge difference moving forwardsView Image Pollybell Farm (Image: University of Lincoln)A major farming project aiming to turn crops into food and low-carbon fuel has launched in Lincolnshire. ‌Three-year initiative RePeat involves the University of Lincoln, Pollybell Farm and Flogas, a national supplier of Liquefied Petroleum Gas. ‌The organisations will work together to test a 'circular farm' model that integrates food production, renewable fuel generation, and environmental land management into a single system. ‌The £2.4m project is being funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in partnership with Innovate UK. The project aims to address a key problem for UK agriculture: how to maintain food production while reducing emissions, whilst also adapting to climate pressures and volatile markets.

Tiger Woods will not be competing at the upcoming Masters, according to President Donald Trump. Interestingly, Woods is currently dating Vanessa Trump, the ex-wife of Trump's oldest son, Donald Jr.'I love Tiger, but he won't be there,' Trump told The Five. 🚨❌🐅 #BREAKING — U.S. President Donald Trump reveals that Tiger Woods will NOT be playing in the 2026 Masters Tournament. It doesn't mean I'm not trying - I've been trying for a while. 'I want to play, I've loved the tournament, I've loved being there since I was 19 years old.

This time last year O’Brien ran another three-year-old in the race, Camille Pissarro, who was a Group One winner at two. Defeat did not prevent Camille Pissarro from going on to win the French Derby in June, however. It will not be straightforward for Albert Einstein, as a three-year-old taking on his elders at this time of year, not least Ed Walker’s five-year-old Ten Bob Tony. “Let’s just run him where he’s going to run his best race. That is probably the Curragh, with dig in the ground over seven.

I am starting to wonder if Sinn Féin is serious about wanting to be in government – it seems so indecisive. Older households are particularly vulnerable to energy poverty. Energy poverty can have significant health implications for older people. Age Action calls for reform to the eligibility conditions for Fuel Allowance to better address energy poverty among older people. The Voting Rights Act dismantled many of those barriers to the ballot – or so it seemed.

Paul Geaney reckons his club-mate Mark O’Connor would have been Kerry’s greatest midfielder had he not chosen a professional career. He would have been a Kerry senior for 15 years if he'd stayed around. “We got to the All-Ireland final and he got another man of the match award. He's made a great career out there.”For Geaney, there was never a doubt O’Connor would establish himself in Australia although 150 games has Geaney scratching his head. And the next day, there was photos of him training.”Along with O’Sullivan and Geaney, O’Connor was chosen in the AIB senior club team of the year.