“Sam Ewing was deputising for J J (Slevin) and he was very confident at the time and also very complimentary about him afterwards. Meanwhile, Blizzard Of Oz is not without mention as he attempts to bounce back to his best in Sunday’s O’Driscolls Irish Whiskey Leopardstown Handicap Chase. “Blizzard Of Oz was disappointing at Leopardstown at Christmas but was running a huge race in the Coral Gold Cup before making a mistake at the cross-fence. J J thought he was cantering and if he’s in the same form there is a big handicap in him. “You can put a line through his last run and I don’t think soft ground will be much of a problem for him.”

So-called 'injury units' across Midwest counties treated more than 50,000 people last year — one in three emergency patients locally. Injury units at Nenagh, Ennis, and St John’s hospitals offer an alternative to the emergency department for minor injuries. “More than one in three of all unscheduled care patients attending HSE acute hospitals across the region are seen in one of our injury units,” HSE Midwest said. The injury units are heavily used and operating at scale, diverting one in three urgent care contacts and doing exactly what they were designed to do. Dr Joe Kelly, consultant in emergency medicine at University Hospital Limerick and St John’s Hospital Injury Unit.

Gary Keegan is one of the country’s most respected performance coaches but even he faced the court of public opinion after Cork's loss to Tipperary last July. You're always trying to incrementally evolve and that evolution has to be deliberate and managed, if that makes sense. “I think when you're in the trenches, right, you're going to learn how to survive and how to thrive. You've got to be experiencing, and you've got to earn the right, for people to feel your value, right? And because if you haven't earned the right, you're gone.

Amazon has told staff it plans to cut around 16,000 jobs globally as part of efforts to streamline its operations. It is the latest major round of lay-offs at the retail technology giant, coming only three months after it axed around 14,000 jobs. It is understood the majority of jobs impacted by the latest cuts will be in the US but the UK operation will see some jobs axed. The company did not disclose how many UK workers will be affected. Last September, Amazon announced the closure of its 19 Amazon Fresh stores across the UK, impacting around 250 jobs.

Chelsea fan reveals terrifying moment they were attacked by Napoli hooligansA group of Chelsea supporters were attacked on the eve of the Blues' final league stage game of this year's Champions League against Napoli in ItalyView 2 Images A group of Chelsea fans were attacked on the eve of the Blues' Champions League game against Napoli (Image: Tullio Puglia/UEFA)A Chelsea fan has recalled the harrowing encounter with Napoli ultras that saw his friend stabbed with a screwdriver ahead of the Blues' Champions League tie in Naples on Wednesday night. ‌Liam Rosenior's side travel to Italy for their final league stage fixture of their Champions League campaign. Aadam, who chose not to give his last name, was part of a group of seven Chelsea supporters who were ambushed in a side street on Tuesday night. ‌“The guys at the front started running and, unfortunately, they grabbed Marcus by his shoulder and started talking to him. “I’ve travelled with Chelsea in Europe before and never had anything like this, home or away, so we’ll see how we feel.

However, the 2026 New Year Plant Hunt shows that hundreds of plant species are now flowering in midwinter. Picture: Dan RyanThis New Year’s plant hunters found an astonishing 663 different plant species in bloom in the first days of January. 3-year old Ezri Jones uses a magnifying glass to check flowers on her New Year Plant Hunt. Dandelions and daisies were the most commonly recorded flowering species in the first days of January. This year, it was the 33rd most frequent plant recorded on Irish New Year Plant Hunt lists.

State-backed lender Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) increased its total loan approvals by 25 per cent to more than €3.3 billion by the end of December, new figures show. The body has now approved funding for 16,588 new homes in 233 developments across 25 counties. “It is positive to see a strong demand for HBFI products from SME home builders,” Tánaiste Simon Harris said. “A further new funding facility of €200 million will strengthen HBFI’s capacity to continue to provide funding where it is most needed. We need to help the SME sector to scale up activity to get to the level of house building our country needs.”

Amazon slashed 14,000 white-collar jobs in late October, with CEO Andy Jassy saying the company needed to eliminate excessive bureaucracy by trimming operational levels and reducing the number of managers. That's not our plan," said Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon. Mr Jassy had said last summer that the increased use of AI tools would lead to more automation of duties, resulting in corporate job losses. On Tuesday night, Amazon appeared to have prematurely alerted Amazon Web Services cloud-computing employees to layoffs planned for Wednesday morning by sending a commiseration email and team-wide meeting invitation hours early. In Slack messages viewed by Reuters, AWS employees who received the email said the Wednesday meeting was almost immediately canceled.

Tariffs on 99.5 per cent of goods from India to the EU and 96.6 per cent of European goods exports to India will be eliminated or reduced. “We have sent a signal to the world that rules-based co-operation still delivers great outcomes,” von der Leyen said. Previous US administrations regarded the EU and India as almost indispensable allies, but Trump has humiliated both and incentivised them to reduce their dependence on Washington. The Europeans signed a trade deal with India,” he said, adding that the Europeans were financing a war against themselves. Where the EU and India appeared to agree was on Trump’s ‘Board of Peace‘, which neither of them is in any hurry to join.

It follows news earlier today that Bundee Aki has been axed from the travelling party for discplinary reasons. The IRFU said: "Hugo Keenan will return to Ireland tomorrow after sustaining a fractured thumb in training on Tuesday afternoon in Portugal." Aki is set to appear in front of an Independent Disciplinary Committee on Wednesday after the URC alleged Aki engaged with match officials on “several occasions” following Connacht’s defeat by Leinster at Dexcom Stadium last Saturday. Hugo Keenan arrives for the Ireland team assembly day at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin ahead of the 2026 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship. “The IRFU can confirm that Bundee Aki has not travelled with the Men’s senior squad to Portugal for disciplinary reasons,” its statement said.

There was no change to Irish pig prices on Friday last, following a 4c/kg reduction reported across the market the previous week. Producers are reporting a range of prices in the Republic, in particular, under the Rosderra graded pricing system. The average pig price for pigs slaughtered this week in the Republic of Ireland now stands between €1.74/kg and €1.78/kg, although some farmers are securing prices above this average in factories in the North.

The Taoiseach will make a formal Dáil apology to survivors of industrial homes, after a deal was reached between the Government and four hunger strikers campaigning for better support. A Government spokesperson confirmed a package of supports was agreed for survivors of institutional abuse after a mediation process. In November, four industrial home survivors called off their 50-day hunger strike after a meeting with Micheál Martin and having received reassurances. The apology is expected to build on the previous 1999 apology to victims of institutional abuse, alongside parts of the 2021 apology to mother and baby home survivors. After they ended their hunger strike, Ms Moriarty Owens said she was “over the moon”.

Communities across several counties face lengthy clean-up operations following Storm Chandra, with forecasters warning of further issues in the days ahead. Widespread flooding caused severe disruption, leaving thousands of homes, farms, and businesses without electricity and dozens damaged. Need to remain vigilantMet Éireann meteorologist Mark Bowe warned that people must remain vigilant, despite the rain easing. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Department of Social Protection will assist households affected by flooding and provide support where required. Mr Martin added Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, and Cork were “significantly disrupted” but said there were “flooding impacts across the country”.

Snow forecast maps reveal 'devastating' weather phenomenon to hit Brits in daysSnow could hit several cities at the start of next month, but it might not be the only hazard as forecasting maps reveal some areas also face a potentially ‘devastating’ weather phenomenonView 3 Images Snow and 'freezing rain' could hit the UK on February 4 (Image: WXCharts)Advanced weather modelling maps suggest Brits could face a potentially "devastating" weather phenomenon at the start of February. ‌Orange patches on the maps show where ‘freezing rain’ could fall. View 3 Images More freezing rain is expected at midday (Image: WXCharts)UK snow maps reveal exact dates 36-hour storm will bury Brits under 28 inches READ MORE :What is freezing rain? The Met Office explains that freezing rain is “a rare type of liquid precipitation” which freezes almost instantly when it lands on a cold surface. Thankfully, the freezing rain shown on the latest weather maps is not as prolonged or widespread as what occurred in 1996.

The injunction taken against Michael Flatley is an attempt "to control and demand and dictate what happens in relation to Lord Of The Dance", a court has heard. He said the second affidavit raised "new issues, but issues that are very relevant" because they "will speak to the credibility and reliability" to do with how Mr Flatley "manages his finances". He told the court: "Mr Flatley agreed by this agreement to license to Switzer certain intellectual property rights of Lord Of The Dance. He later added: "Switzer is saying, 'we require an injunction to stop Mr Flatley exercising any control' in circumstances where Switzer is nothing more than a management agent entitled to a fee." Mr Dunlop further claimed Switzer filed new accounts on Saturday, increasing its value based on Lord Of The Dance intellectual property.