Surely insisting on a united Ireland was what the later Civil War was all about? There are also two pocket-guides, one an outline of the Civil War and the other an account of the complex Treaty talks in London in 1921. Certainly not to justify some Civil War “side”. I have never been aligned with any of “the Civil War parties” and carry no baggage for them. Eastwood Books/Wordwell produced my four most recent titles, while Merrion Press published the Griffith volume.

Mr Zelenskiy said the “strongest” guarantees Ukraine could get would be from the US. European leaders used the meeting to raise the financial pressure on Moscow as they declared “positive progress” in plans to use frozen Russian sovereign assets. Downing Street said there had been “positive progress made to use immobilised Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction”. “The prime minister will update president Zelenskiy on our wider support,” the officials had said before the meeting. “That includes through the use of the value of immobilised Russian sovereign assets.

Photograph: Getty Images/iStockA Co Limerick family living on the side of a busy road in a caravan without running water or a toilet has been given High Court leave to challenge a decision by Limerick County Council that allegedly found they are not homeless as they have a “roof over their heads”. Mr Kinsley told Mr Justice Simons that the family were members of the Traveller community, had three young children and had a history of housing applications. Counsel said the family were told in person they were deemed not to be homeless by a council official as they had “a roof over your head”. Counsel said that solicitors’ letters written to the council by the Free Legal Advice Centre, who represent the family, had gone unanswered. The refusals of offers led to the family being told by the council’s homeless action team that they were therefore not entitled to service.

Cambodian villagers fleeting from their homes close to the border with Thailand. Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodia over the weekend after border clashes that killed one Thai soldier and a series of what Thailand describes as “provocations” by Cambodia, including laying landmines in disputed territory. The century-old conflict centres around a border dispute, notably involving one of the biggest flashpoints, the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, which Cambodia claims based on a 1907 map created during French colonial rule. The International Court of Justice awarded jurisdiction of the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but Thailand has continued to maintain a military presence in the area. While Thailand continues to press diplomatically for recognition of its claim, Cambodia wants the ICJ to rule again.

James Lowe will return to training for Leinster and is in line to play against Leicester at Welford Road on Friday night. Photograph: James Crombie/InphoJames Lowe will return to training and is expected to be available for selection on Friday for Leinster‘s trip to play Leicester at Welford Road (kick-off 8pm). Snyman shipped a shoulder injury and a final decision will be made later in the week, while Ringrose had a cramp related issue. Will Connors will return to training as he continues his recovery from an arm injury, again with a final decision on his availability to be made later in the week. There were no further updates on Cormac Foley, Hugo Keenan, James Culhane, Jamie Osborne, Ryan Baird and Andrew Porter.

Fota Wildlife Park in Cork is set to reopen in time for ChristmasFota Wildlife Park in Cork has confirmed it will reopen in time for Christmas after a ten-week closure due to an outbreak of avian flu originating from wild birds. Director Aileen Tennant said she was “delighted to confirm” the park will reopen on December 20th following an outbreak of avian flu among some of the birds in the park in October. Fota Wildlife Park closed as a precautionary measure on October 14th due to an outbreak of avian flu among the park’s Greylag geese, which form part of its bird collection, which comprises 21 species and 168 individuals. Ms Tennant confirmed Fota had carried out measures to prevent the spread of avian flu from wild birds to its captive bird population. Ms Tennant urged people to continue to support Fota Wildlife Park, which is a registered conservation charity, in the run-up to Christmas by donating, purchasing gift vouchers, sponsoring an animal or prebooking online tickets.

Of the five largest US companies, only one is issuing shares; the others are shrinking their floats. Photograph: Timothy Clary/AFP via Getty ImagesA $350 billion Anthropic stock market flotation would seem, at first glance, like the sort of thing that happens only at the frothiest market peaks. However, if you look at the signal that mattered most back then – equity issuance – today looks nothing like 1999. Of the five largest US companies, says Lamont, only one is issuing shares; the others are shrinking their floats. None of this rules out speculative pockets in AI, nor does it predict that an Anthropic IPO would be sensibly priced.

Gardaí have arrested a 31-year-old man for questioning about cattle rustling after they recovered 18 cattle worth €30,000 stolen from a farm in west Cork last month. Detectives arrested the man at about 5.30pm on Monday after 20 gardaí and some 15 Department of Agriculture inspectors spent the day searching a farm at Cappamore between Ballydehob and Skibbereen and found the 18 stolen Friesians. Gardaí worked closely with Department of Agriculture officials, who were able to identify the stolen cattle as they had been given new ear identification tags for dead animals. Gardaí also recovered the original tags from the stolen cattle. Speaking immediately after the theft of the animals, Mr Lawlor, who milks about 200 cows, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that the stolen animals were all aged between 12 months and 14 months and that they were worth about €30,000.

Photograph: iStockAlmost 15 per cent of the population were deprived of basic needs in 2025, Central Statistics Office figures show. People living in enforced deprivation are defined as those living in a household that cannot afford two or more of the 11 basic deprivation items considered to be the norm. A Social Justice Ireland analysis of the CSO figures found that 807,873 people were impacted this year, including almost 236,000 children. In 2025, 26.6 per cent of households regarded housing costs as a heavy financial burden, down on the 2024 rate of 29.5 per cent, the CSO said. Three in 10 single-adult households with children went into debt to meet ordinary living expenses in 2025.

Israeli police forcibly entered the compound of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees in Jerusalem early on Monday. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa) said that “sizeable numbers” of Israeli forces, including police on motorcycles, trucks and forklifts, entered the compound in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah and cut communications to the compound. Israeli police and officials erecting an Israeli flag on the Unrwa compound. Throughout the war, Israel has accused the agency of being infiltrated by Hamas, allegations the UN has denied. The agency shut down its Jerusalem compound in May after far-right protesters, including at least one member of the Israeli parliament, overran its gate in the presence of the police.

Mark Paul of The Irish Times won business news story of the year on Monday at the annual UCD Smurfit School Business Journalist Awards. Photograph: Aidan Crawley 26 September 2008Mark Paul, London Correspondent of The Irish Times, won business news story of the year on Monday at the annual UCD Smurfit School Business Journalist Awards in the Westbury Hotel in Dublin. Details of the transfer were included in a trove of documents obtained by The Irish Times from UK records in a long-running investigation into Mr Quinlan’s finances. Now in its 18th year, the Smurfit journalism awards are sponsored by Bank of Ireland and covered seven categories. Eoin Burke-Kennedy, Ciara O’Brien and Hugh Dooley of The Irish Times were also shortlisted for awards.

The group was being advised by Teneo, a New York-based firm, about how best they could lobby the EU system. The leaked internal records show how Teneo was brought in by ExxonMobil, Koch and the other companies to help them get both rules watered down. Members of the European Parliament vote during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on March 12th, 2025. The flag of European Union at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Other companies involved in the lobby group did not respond to requests for comment.

Doctors at Tallaght University Hospital diagnosed 18 young people with a neurological disorder caused by inhaling nitrous oxide or “laughing gas” during a recent 20-month period, a new report shows. All 18 – the youngest of whom was just 16 – reported recent use of inhaled nitrous oxide, which is a gas used as an anaesthetic in hospitals and dental surgeries. They noted that many of the patients were using larger 580g or 640g canisters of nitrous oxide, rather than 8g canisters that had originally been popular in the recreational setting. Some of those admitted to the hospital reported using laughing gas for years, while others told doctors that it was their first time trying the drug. Nitrous oxide can cause inactivation of vitamin B12 in the body, which in turn causes damage or loss of the protective layer around nerve fibres in the dorsal spinal column.

In a new report, property website MyHome and Bank of Ireland argue that Ireland's opaque system of property bidding is responsible for the low number of homes coming to market. Photograph: Getty Images/Agency StockGet the latest business news and commentary from our expert business team in your inbox every weekday morningPoor information and murky bidding are depressing the number of homes sold in the Republic, Barry O’Halloran reports. Stena Line wants to be able to sign much longer port contracts in Dublin, the ferry company’s chief Niclas Mårtensson tells Colin Gleeson. “Therefore, I need to have a reflection in the port contract that there is a willingness to have us there for 40 years. And finally, a concerned parent asks Dominic Coyle about the tax implications of their adult child living rent-free in their second home.

ESRI director and report co-author Alan Barrett said the goal of the research series is to assess how the two economies evolve over time. “While the rate of growth in Northern Ireland lags that of [the Republic], the rate for Northern Ireland is more than double that of the UK in the same period,” the report’s authors said. The North’s unemployment rate was also substantially lower than the Republic’s at the end of the second quarter, “although this must be viewed in the context of the lower participation rate in Northern Ireland”, the authors said. Data for the North is “generally available with more of a lag” than for the Republic, particularly in relation to demographic indicators, it found. [ Manufacturing in Northern Ireland definitely not a thing of the pastOpens in new window ]The economists said that developing comparable data on an all-island basis “could support more effective labour market planning”.