The partner of former North Melbourne forward Phoenix Spicer, has revealed that the 23-year-old died as a result of a sudden brain aneurysm. His partner, Ky-ya Nicholson Ward, is now hoping to raise awareness by urging others to ‘get checked’ and ‘listen to your body’. On Sunday, Nicholson Ward wrote on Facebook that her 'heart is broken' following Spicer's passing. Tributes have poured in for Spicer, with North Melbourne president Sonja Hood stating: ‘Phoenix was only at the club for a short time but he was a popular and well-liked member of the playing group. In 2023, Spicer had assisted artist Emma Bamblett to design North Melbourne’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round guernsey.

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Apprentice makers urged to tighten vetting after candidate’s social media stormBy Casey Cooper-Fiske, PA Senior Entertainment ReporterThe BBC has demanded the makers of The Apprentice tighten their vetting after a candidate on the upcoming series was found to have made racist and sexist posts on social media. The 33-year-old from South Yorkshire apologised for the posts, which were deleted after the newspaper alerted the broadcaster. A BBC spokesperson said: “We were completely unaware that this contestant had made such abhorrent comments. “We have asked the independent production company for further assurances on their social media checks given the process has not been completed to a satisfactory standard in this instance. “We work with reputable third-party providers to carry out comprehensive background and social media checks on all of our candidates as part of our rigorous due diligence before casting.

In the 19th century, long-distance hiking hardly existed as an endeavour. Ordinary people were fixated on a daily struggle to lift themselves from poverty with the result that esoteric practices, such as multi-day hikes, didn’t really feature as leisure options. Walking was dictated by necessity and people avoided it if they could since it was seen, not as pleasurable, but as a means to an end. Change came in the early 20th century with a movement in the USA that viewed extended hiking not as a chore, but as having merit in itself.

The NHS is teaching midwives the 'benefits' of cousin marriage despite it increasing the risk of birth defects, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Admitting there are some 'risks to child health associated with close relative marriage', the guidance says these should 'be balanced against the potential benefits... from this marriage practice'. The document, used as training for midwives, states that 'discouraging cousin marriage is inappropriate' and would be 'alienating and ineffective'. The risk, says the guide, are 'exaggerated' and there has been an 'unwarranted, narrow focus on close relative marriage'. The Mail on Sunday has previously found areas in the UK with cousin marriage are significantly more likely to claim benefits – owing to the higher levels of birth defects.

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Seventeen counties are under a fog warning on Sunday morning, with Met Éireann warning of "hazardous travelling conditions". "Areas of dense fog or freezing fog possible, leading to impaired visibility and hazardous travelling conditions," Met Éireann warned. This afternoon, outbreaks of rain will develop in the west and southwest, while there will be further rain this evening. Towards morning, outbreaks of rain will develop in the southwest with freshening winds. Heading into Tuesday, areas of fog "will clear through the morning as it becomes breezy with outbreaks of rain", which will be heavy at times.

Photograph: Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty“I don’t need international law,” Donald Trump told the New York Times. Asked what constrained him then he replied: “It depends on how you define international law. International law functions here as consistency, predictability and certainty, all of which are likely to be withheld from a rogue US, since transactional politics requires reciprocity. Law can be weaponised against a rogue US, just as it did with globalisation’s supply chains over the last generation. Power as law can be confronted by law as power.

Dubliner Tanya Sweeney has a lot to celebrate as we ease into 2026. Her debut novel, Esther is Now Following You, has arrived in bookshops accompanied by the kind of pre-publicity and literary merch (badges and tote bags) most budding authors can only fantasise about. “Writing a novel was like a monkey on my back,” Sweeney says over coffee. “It was a massively stressful time, so anything creative went by the wayside and I fell into a bit of a depression about it all. Esther is Now Following You by Tanya Sweeney is published by Transworld

Zedda says she uses ChatGPT to help her “clarify” her ideas. “When you’re a very busy person and you have all these goals, you put a lot of pressure on yourself so sometimes using ChatGPT helps me clarify my ideas,” she says. Their use as a replacement for therapists due to their accessibility is of increasing concern among mental health professionals in Ireland and abroad. “Any responsible discussion about AI and mental health must be clear that these tools are not clinicians” she says. The consultant psychiatrist says the increased use of ChatGPT for therapeutic reasons is a “a wake-up call for services – health services, social services and mental health services – to provide better and proper information in a very clear and responsive way”.

The greenway will run from the 12th lock at Castleknock to the Kildare border close to Leixlip Confey railway station. Photo: Fingal.iePlans to construct an 8km missing link in the 150km Dublin to Longford Royal Canal Greenway are finally to be submitted to An Coimisiún Pleanála by Fingal County Council, 14 years after the project was proposed. Once the Fingal section is complete, cyclists will be able to travel on the scenic canal route from Dublin’s docklands to Longford, or Athlone. The Royal Canal Greenway extends across six local authority areas – Dublin City Council, and Fingal, Kildare, Meath, Westmeath and Longford County Councils. By 2019 the Meath to Kildare section was complete, and the following year, Dublin City Council opened a short section from the Docklands to the North Strand.

It said that I was 99 per cent Irish, and not only that, but also 99 per cent from a particular part of Ireland – Cavan! I think I always wanted to live somewhere else, but saying that, I love Ireland and I love to go back there. Without that, I don’t think I would have taken any of the risks I took in my 20s. I hope I’m wrong, because I think I’ve had a reasonably good life. I don’t really care, but maybe someone like Colin Farrell or Stephen Rea.

The Traitors' 2026's break out star Harriet Tyce has admitted she hated watching herself lose her temper in her final explosive episoe on the BBC show. After months of anticipation as to how her scenes would play out in the edit, Harriet has admitted watching the summer-filmed show back this week 'was awful'. 'It was awful watching it, I lost my temper and it's not nice to see that. After attaining a degree in English from Oxford University in 1994, Harriet went on to qualify as a lawyer and worked as a barrister for almost ten years. After attending Eton and Oxford University, he worked as a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland and at the High Court of Justiciary.

We took out the suspended timber floors and came back up with hard-core and insulation and radon and concrete with underfloor heating,” he says. We put in air tightness membranes and new attic insulation.”He used recycled paper for the attic and timber frame insulation. Between 2015 and October 2025, the measures most in demand for grant aid were solar panels, attic insulation and cavity wall insulation. If you want to take a step-by-step approach, the Better Energy Homes and Solar PV scheme offers individual energy upgrades. Insulating the attic of the same house attracts a grant of €1,300 while the median cost of this work is €1,983.

A teenager has died, and three others were injured, following an early morning single-vehicle crash in Co Galway. Gardaí and emergency services responded to the incident that occurred on the N65 at Loughrea at approximately 2.20am on Sunday. The driver and two other passengers were brought by ambulance to University Hospital Galway with non-life-threatening injuries. The road is currently closed for examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators, and gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact them. Anyone with information is asked to contact Loughrea Garda Station on 091 842870, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.