He may be a Hollywood A-lister, but even Matt Damon isn't safe from the mockery of his teenage children. The actor, 55, was joined by his stunning wife Luciana and their four daughters Alexia, 25, Isabella, 19, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15, at the premiere on his new film The Rip on Tuesday in New York City. Matt Damon’s daughter ripped into his posing with Ben Affleck at ‘The Rip’ premiere. It comes after Matt revealed that his wife Luciana, 49, had originally thought that Ben was 'the cute one' out of the two of them, before they crossed paths. Appearing on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show on Monday with Ben, Matt recalled: 'This is f****** completely true.

Parts of the county can expect low temperatures, heavy rain, frost and hail this week, although Met Éireann says other areas will enjoy dry weather. It will be a mix of dry, clear spells and showers later on Thursday night. Southern and eastern parts of the country will see some heavy showers and potentially hail and thunder. It will stay dry for many, but wet conditions will affect the south and east. While there will be some light rain and drizzle, it should stay relatively dry before rain pushes into the west later in the day.

Manchester United appointed Michael Carrick as interim head coach until the end of the 2025/26 season, formalising a return to Old Trafford designed to steady a club in turmoil. The club said the appointment was agreed in principle and that it will assess long-term options in the months ahead. 2, Jonathan Woodgate joins as part of the coaching staff, and Travis Binnion will continue his work with United’s Under-21s. His managerial résumé outside Old Trafford is mixed. Appointed head coach at Middlesbrough in October 2022, Carrick initially improved a side that had been 21st when he arrived, but his tenure produced inconsistent results.

An appeal against a judge’s decision to throw out the terrorism case against Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh is set to be heard at the British high court on Wednesday. But the case was thrown out on technical grounds in September last year, with chief magistrate Paul Goldspring ruling that the proceedings were “instituted unlawfully”. The British Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced the following month that it would appeal against the decision, stating that the case involved an “important point of law which needs to be clarified”. Ó hAnnaidh is opposing the appeal, with Kneecap stating last year that “we will win again”. Prosecutors had alleged that Ó hAnnaidh could be seen in a recording of the gig in 2024, which showed him wearing and displaying the flag of Hezbollah while saying “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.

BRIDGE Street in Dunmore which has become an eyesore and safety risk.Photo: Ray RyanCrowds to fill the street in protestHUNDREDS of residents and businessowners are expected to turn out for the protest in Dunmore on Saturday - calling for urgent works to be carried out on the narrow and derelict Bridge Street. The protest will be held from 12pm at the Square in Dunmore and organisers are calling on people to gather together to voice and show their concerns for the safety of the public, motorists and children traversing the route on a daily basis. A deputation of three members - Padraic Cosgrove, David Glynn and Marie Howley - representing the Dunmore community met with members of Tuam Municipal District Council on Monday expressing their frustration at the delay and lack of clarity regarding the planned regeneration project for the area.

A road worker who was employed by a county council for 50 years is entitled to have his pension payments increased because he worked at least nine hours of compulsory overtime every week, the High Court has ruled. The pensioner will be entitled to a future increase in his ongoing pension payments to reflect the fact that he worked at least nine hours extra, the judge said. The council contended that the employment contract only required the plaintiff to complete 39 hours per week and that any hours worked in excess of that amount constituted optional overtime hours. The court concluded that this amount of overtime hours was compulsory. His conclusions were grounded on the wording of the employment contract read in light of the employment rights legislation and the pattern of working hours and the agreed overtime spreadsheet.

The head of an elite garda unit specialising in cyber crime has criticised the lack of effective age verification on online sites where sexualised images can be accessed, as gardaí appeal for victims of the recent 'nudification' trend to come forward. Investigators have insisted that the sexualisation of unsuspecting people on the social media platform X is being treated "with the utmost seriousness”. An AI tool, known as Grok, embedded in the social media platform X, has allowed users to create thousands of sexualised images of women and children, by "undressing people" from real photographs. Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said the Government and regulator had failed to take on the social media companies. "Last year, edit features were added to Grok to make it easy to undress people in photographs," she said.

Tánaiste Simon Harris said he had 'a warm and constructive discussion on a variety of key issues' with California governor Gavin Newsom. Photograph: Department of FinanceTánaiste Simon Harris said he had “a warm and constructive discussion on a variety of key issues” with governor of California Gavin Newsom on Tuesday. Mr Harris is on an official visit to California, meeting business leaders and politicians. Mr Newsom, a vocal critic of US president Donald Trump, is considered to be a 2028 presidential hopeful for the Democrats. Mr Harris said his visit represents an opportunity to “consider how we can continue to strengthen our co-operation in the years to come”.

'Unfortunate tropes' are being used to justify proposed carve-outs of sweeping hate speech laws, a peak Jewish group says. Draft laws to be debated next week when parliament returns early would introduce hate speech and racial vilification offences, with a defence included for people quoting directly from a religious text. The bid to strengthen hate speech laws is in response to an Islamic State-inspired attack which killed 15 people at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14. While supporting gun reform, the party is pushing to expand hate speech protections to other minorities, including on the basis of sexuality and disability. He wants hate crime provisions expanded to protect individuals over other attributes, including sexual orientation, gender, age and disability.

Coláiste Choilm is one of six schools in Offaly to have received sanction for special classes for the coming year. Six new special classes sanctioned for Offaly schoolsBanagher College, Coláiste Choilm, Tullamore College, St Brendan’s Boys Primary School in Birr, Durrow National School, and Tullamore Educate Together National School have all been sanctioned for special classes as part of an announcement of 168 new special classes at 159 schools nationwide. “Not only that, but the right resources must be there for those who depend on it, and that is why I am delighted with this allocation for my constituency” he said. Deputy McCormack stressed that clarity for parents “is paramount” and said the proactive approach of the Fianna Fail Minister for Special Education, Michael Moynihan, in providing parents and children with that certainty and clarity going into the new school year benefits schools, so they have adequate time to plan for the opening of their new special classes. More special classes are due to be sanctioned at schools nationwide over the coming weeks, according to the Department of Education and Youth.

Met Office tells Brits 'prepare emergency kit' in new weather warning for 15 hoursThe Met Office has issued new weather warnings this week, including one for rain spanning several areas such as the Southwest of England, as conditions remain unsettledView 3 Images It is set to become wet and windy this week (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)Brits living in 39 areas have been urged to prepare an "emergency" kit as the Met Office has issued a fresh weather warning. ‌The alert for rain, which starts at 9am on Thursday and isn't expected to cease until 11.59pm that day, warns residents flooding is likely. Up to 70mm (nearly three inches) of rain is expected during this timeframe, which equates to around a standard January's precipitation for some cities in the areas affected by the warning. ‌The Met Office website reads: "A deepening area of low pressure will migrate northeastwards across England and Wales on Thursday. Due to this concern, Brits living across the affected regions should get "an emergency kit" ready in case of flooding, the Met Office says.

Michael Carrick reversed previous Man Utd manager's decision as part of shake-upMichael Carrick has not been afraid to make his presence felt at Manchester UnitedView 2 Images Michael Carrick was not afraid to make the big calls in his first spell with Man United (Image: Getty)Former Manchester United player and coach Michael Carrick made his impact felt in his short stint as interim boss after the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November 2021. The ex-midfielder, 44, has been appointed United boss once again following the club's dismissal of Ruben Amorim. ‌Yet upon Carrick taking temporary charge, he brought Jones with the Red Devils to Spain for the Champions League win over Villarreal. It's also possible that Marcus Rashford, currently on loan at Barcelona, could yet have a future with his parent club under Carrick. Carrick showed during his previous spell in charge of the club that he isn't afraid to make big decisions.

What makes them so might be the fact that they have no state, no home, and no right to work. The new International Protection Bill 2026 will introduce significant changes to our asylum laws by giving effect to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact. This will result in families being torn apartFinding a balance between what is manageable and what is ideal is always challenging. The Irish Refugee Council (IRC) has accused the Government of ushering in “cruel proposals” which are “intent on keeping families separated”. IRC chief Nick Henderson said this “will result in families being torn apart”.

Chloë finds a hobby: I want to look like Shakira but the weighted ab machine feels like I’m being caught in a meat grinderIt’s back to the gym for Chloë McPolin, but this time with a personal trainer and a twist – namely a once-a-week, 20-minute workout that gets results...Chloë McPolin starts off the new year with some minimal activity training at Fit20 in Blackglen Village Centre, Sandyford. Photo: Steve HumphreysChloë McPolin Today at 06:30Hobby comrades, with 2026 well and truly upon us – and the classic ‘new year, new me’ mantra being thrown around – I decided there was nothing more fitting than a return to the gym... but this time with a personal trainer.

Montaigne wrote this in the 16th century; what would Montaigne make of our 21st century, when impatience is not only accepted, but revered? A similar anti-bookish blight is spreading across universities, where students read less and less. Perhaps the best way to reverse the global process of democratic backsliding is by instilling the ancient art of patience. Heraclitus, a 5th century BC Greek philosopher, understood that patience is indispensable in forming a good character: “Good character is not formed in a week or a month. Herein lies the paradox: to learn from Tolstoy’s wisdom we must first find the patience to read the 1296 pages of his War and Peace.