Rory McIlroy has been nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year after a career-defining year that saw him win the Masters and complete the career Grand Slam. Hampton’s heroics saw the Chelsea stopper win the Yashin Trophy for the world’s best woman goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or awards. McIlroy (36) emerged from a dramatic playoff against Justin Rose to win the Masters. Kildunne scored five tries as England won the Women’s Rugby World Cup this summer. The Sports Personality of the Year will be awarded at a ceremony in Salford on December 18th, with viewers able to vote live during the show.

Photograph: Chris Maddaloni/CollinsA mother has claimed her baby boy is becoming ill because she has been prevented from breastfeeding the newborn after he was taken into care by Tusla, the child and family agency. However, Robert Barron SC, for the woman, said the action taken under the article was solely about the breastfeeding issue. The woman submits that the child was taken from her due to her mental health issues and that she was briefly prescribed, by her GP the drugs Xanax and Quetiapine. Tusla, the woman claims, then sent her a communication saying they could only “advise” on when it was safe to restart breastfeeding, despite the clear tests. Ms Justice Gearty was told additional affidavits and responses were required in the case before it could be heard.

Ever since the EU Nitrates Directive was introduced in 1991, successive Irish governments have pushed back against it. The directive, intended to curb nitrate pollution, set a limit of 170 kg of organic nitrogen per hectare. The derogation granted in 2006 allowed Irish stocking rates far above the European norm and has been renewed repeatedly ever since. Higher stocking rates are presented as a necessity for the viability of family farms. Continuing to permit elevated stocking rates while Irish waters fail to recover is a policy position at odds with the directive’s purpose and Ireland’s own climate and biodiversity commitments.

And there is a Q&A with Nicola Pierce, author of the award-winning Great Irish Wives: Remarkable Lives from History. This weekend’s Irish Times Eason offer is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, just €5.99, a €6 saving. *Celebrated classicist, writer and broadcaster Mary Beard is to chair the judging panel for next year’s Booker Prize. Beard said: “I’m hugely looking forward to being part of the Booker team this year, and to getting down to business with my excellent fellow judges. Their team of booksellers, Trish, Sarah, Susan and Grace, carefully selected their favourite books in each category: picture books, age 6+, age 8+, age 10+, teens, YA (age 15+), Irish language books, gift and information books.

Ireland produced one of their finer performances in recent years when they took a bonus point from their Pro League game against England on Thursday by winning the penalty shoot-out that followed their 1-1 draw at Abbotstown. Following Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat by Belgium, the result gave Ireland their first points in their debut in the competition which features the elite nations in world hockey. And on 26 minutes Ireland took the lead, Sarah Torrans scoring after Mikayla Power pulled the ball back to her from the baseline. McLoughlin put Ireland ahead again before Murphy made the definitive save in sudden death, denying Hamilton again. Ireland play Belgium again on Saturday before rounding off the first phase of the competition against England on Sunday.

The MV Matthew has been berthed in Co Cork since it was seized in September 2023. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA WireIt is not possible to provide a firm timeline for the sale of a large cargo ship seized by the State as part of the country’s largest cocaine haul that is costing €110,000 per week to detain in Cork, the Revenue Commissioners said. Revenue said that detaining a vessel the size of the MV Matthew was “without precedent in this jurisdiction”. “All necessary actions for the safe and secure management of the vessel since its detention have been undertaken by Revenue. It said that between September 2023 and the end of November 2025, berthing costs in Cork were €3.128 million.

Have you seen an increase in your energy bills? Illustration: Dean Ruxton/iStockCustomers are facing a winter of energy bills without Government subsidies this year amid ongoing high prices for gas and electricity throughout the colder months. We’d like to hear from you about your experiences with energy bills. Have you had to budget to account for rising bills, change provider or seek to moderate your usage? Do heat and electricity bills account for a significant proportion of your household budget?

The number of Irish businesses that view housing as the biggest barrier to Ireland’s competitiveness had continued to grow and now accounts for 48 per cent of those surveyed for a new report. This represents sharp growth in the past year as just one third of businesses identified housing as the top priority this time last year. Housing was also highlighted as the most crucial infrastructure priority for businesses, followed by energy infrastructure. Despite the challenges coming down the track, Irish businesses are more optimistic for the next year than in the survey’s previous years. One third of business leaders expect the economy to grow in the next year, with just 14 per cent anticipating a decline.

Video: ReutersThe US is preparing ​to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil following the seizure of a tanker this week, as it increases pressure on ‍Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, six sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro waves to a crowd during a rally in Caracas on Wednesday. A reduction or halt in Venezuelan oil exports, the main generator of revenue for the Venezuelan government, would strain the Maduro government’s finances. Meanwhile, Russia and its close ally Belarus contacted Mr Maduro on Thursday, raising the possibility he could seek refuge abroad. Mr Maduro told Mr Trump in a telephone call on November 21st that he was ready to leave Venezuela, provided that he and his family had full legal amnesty, sources have told Reuters.

Glenveagh Homes is to lodge plans in the coming days for 1,350 residential units on lands adjoining Belcamp Hall off the Malahide Road in north Dublin. The move by Glenveagh to lodge the Large Scale Residential (LRD) scheme with Fingal County Council follows the housebuilder purchasing €130 million of property from Gannon Homes that includes the Belcamp site earlier this year. [ Glenveagh Homes to seek big changes to 650-home Dublin developmentOpens in new window ]Glenveagh is seeking a 10-year planning permission from Fingal County Council. The overall scheme is made up of 685 two-bedroom units, 398 three-bedroom units, 212 one-bedroom units and 55 four-bedroom units. The firm is active elsewhere in the north Dublin with separate LRD plans currently before Fingal for 398 new residential units at Ballymastone, Donabate.

Photograph: Cheng Xin/GettyEli Lilly’s latest weight-loss shot helped patients lose as much as 29 per cent of their body weight in trials, giving another boost to the US pharmaceutical company’s booming obesity business. Some patients dropped out of the trial because they were losing too much weight, the company said. Listen | 41:32Retatrutide is a next-generation GLP-1 weight-loss drug from Lilly. Previous trials of Lilly’s popular weight-loss drug Zepbound, which was approved in the US in 2023, showed average weight loss of about 15 per cent. Lilly’s trial results also lifted shares of rival Novo Nordisk, which rose 3.6 per cent in Denmark on Thursday.

For those saving to put a deposit down on their first home, the goalposts keep moving, with property prices in the State rising year on year. With that in mind, The Irish Times has asked property experts where the market stands and whether house prices are close to reaching their peak. However, the dearth of supply is not the fault of under-building, McCartney says. “The excess demand comes from the weight of money chasing property,” he says. Mortgage adviser Michael DowlingMortgage adviser Michael Dowling also concurs that prices will continue to rise next year, at a rate of 3 per cent, he estimates.

Oxmantown Road, Stoneybatter, Dublin 72012/2013: There were five sales registered on Oxmantown Road in 2012 and 2013 combined, with prices ranging from €91,000 to €195,000 with a median value of €164,000. (Average value of €448,656)Percentage increase of median value: 171 per centLennox Street, Portobello, Dublin 8Lennox Street, Portobello, Dublin. (Average value of €741,712)Percentage increase of median value: 71 per centLuttrellstown, Castleknock, Dublin 15Luttrellstown, Castleknock. (Average value of €651,217)Percentage increase of median value: 97 per centShrewsbury Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4Shrewsbury Road, Dublin. (Average value of €665,125)Percentage increase of median value: 68 per cent

Minister for Defence Helen McEntee is shown Irish military equipment during a visit to Curragh Camp in Co Kildare. Photograph: Gráinne Ní Aodha/PA WireIreland will have anti-drone technology in place by next summer, Minister for Defence Helen McEntee said. She said it was “essential” that Ireland’s defence continued to be funded amid “changing” and “emerging” threats. She was speaking at the Curragh Camp in Co Kildare as the €1.7 billion national development plan for the Defence Forces was published. “Again, that’s why we are investing, not just in the Defence Forces, but there’s been huge investment in An Garda Siochana to be able to respond to these types of threats.

Back then, it simply crunched quantitative data and made recommendations that were then debated by the board members. The most popular ones for business use include: OpenAI, ChatGPT, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Google Gemini, Meta AI, Perplexity AI and Claude. So, should boards jump on the bandwagon and employ virtual AI board members? Board directors are responsible for every aspect of governance and compliance, including AI usageRisk and responsibilitiesBoard directors are responsible for every aspect of governance and compliance, including AI usage. Under the European Union AI Act directors have specific requirements including that staff operating AI systems have sufficient AI literacy and appropriate training.