News from Birr

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered to let the leaders of Hamas leave Gaza but demanded the group abandoned its arms, as his country kept up its bombardment of the Palestinian territory.

30 March 2025

Groundhog! Groundhog! Groundhog! When Irish peacekeepers hear those words, they know what to do: sprint to the nearest bunker and hunker down.

30 March 2025

Healthcare unions have suspended a planned work-to-rule that was due to begin tomorrow after agreement was reached in a dispute over staffing numbers.

30 March 2025

Some of the biggest names in tech were standing behind US President Donald Trump at his inauguration in January. The so-called 'tech bros' or 'broligarchy' have embraced Mr Trump, with many CEOs welcoming his anti-regulation policies.

30 March 2025

Climate change is a gloomy subject. The fact that it is an existential challenge makes good news hard to find.

30 March 2025

While Ireland's maternity leave compares well to other EU countries, Irish fathers are still far behind in terms of entitlements.

30 March 2025

"Trump is emotionally pro-Brit", Reform leader Nigel Farage declared to a room of journalists at a lunchtime gathering in the Palace of Westminster this week.

30 March 2025

Cards and flowers sit on now empty shelves in a drapery shop in Co Carlow that has served its community for 100 years.

30 March 2025

The Catholic Bishop of Derry has warned parishioners that someone posing as an ordained priest who is part of a breakaway fundamentalist faction of the church is conducting illicit Masses in the diocese.

30 March 2025

The current owner of the house in which James Joyce set his famous story 'The Dead' has said if the Arts Council or the Government are interested in purchasing the property, he would be a willing seller.

30 March 2025

Irish-Czech singer-songwriter Joshua Curran has said penning a track for Eurovision 2025 has "been an incredible experience" and admits it's "really cool" to say he's the first Irishman to write a song for Armenia.

30 March 2025

Communions and Confirmations often come with a less heavenly side - the price tag.

30 March 2025

Defence Forces personnel will be able to avail of a new state-of-the-art body armour, with supplies due to arrive before the end of the year.

30 March 2025

Myanmar faces a humanitarian crisis and the country's aid needs are increasing by the hour, Red Cross officials have said.

30 March 2025

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a transitional government, appointing 23 ministers in a broadened cabinet seen as a key milestone in the transition from decades of Assad family rule and to improving Syria's ties with the West.

30 March 2025

Russian forces have captured a village just seven kilometres from the border of Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region in their latest battlefield advance, Moscow has said.

30 March 2025

A senior Hamas official has said the group approved a new Gaza ceasefire proposal put forth by mediators, urging Israel to back it but warning the Iran-backed group's weapons were a "red line".

29 March 2025

Denmark has said it did not like the "tone" of US Vice President JD Vance comments that Copenhagen had not done enough for Greenland during a visit to the strategically placed, resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump.

29 March 2025

Having shown they can compete as underdogs, Ireland are in Italy this weekend to prove that they can now win as favourites as they travel to face Italy in Parma.

28 March 2025

Sponsors may not like Jack O'Connor's declaration that it's "not the be-all and end-all who wins" the final but James McMahon writes that, after a chaotic Allianz League, both Mayo and Kerry will be happy for the chance to play in Croke Park.

28 March 2025