Presidential candidates Heather Humphreys and Catherine Connolly took part in a one-on-one debate this evening. Illustration: Paul Scott

On Wednesday night there’s a bit of a hooley for Catherine Connolly at the Button Factory in Dublin. Higgins goes on to tell us that Connolly can’t make the event herself before playing a campaign video in which Connolly thanks the audience. The audience really go for it. Healy tells The Irish Times why they support Connolly: “More than anything she’s invested in the people. Before the night ends, Higgins tells the audience they have raised €8,000 for Connolly’s campaign.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has indicated it will appeal a significant High Court decision with potentially adverse implications for thousands of drink-driving prosecutions. David Staunton, for the DPP, told Ms Justice Phelan on Thursday that based on her judgment the Director of Public Prosecutions has indicated an intention to appeal the decision. Ms Justice Phelan made final orders in the case, noting there was no application for a stay from the DPP. In her judgment, delivered in late July, Ms Justice Phelan acknowledged her decision would likely have implications beyond the subject case of the proceedings. The prosecution of the man was based on a blood specimen taken on August 21st, 2022.

An apparent oversight by the EU may make it harder to manufacture hot water tanks. Photograph: iStockEuropeans are at risk of cold showers after materials critical to hot water tanks were not included on an EU list of authorised substances, which was revised as part of the bloc’s sprawling environmental legislation. “[Hafnium] is absolutely safe to use,” said Paolo Falcioni, director-general of Applia, stressing that the element had been used for more than 100 years in enamelled hot water tanks. If hafnium or zirconium are not mixed with the enamel, he explained, the glazing “cracks and the hot water is not hot”. Italy’s Ariston, another major manufacturer of hot water tanks, raised similar concerns.

A new integrated payroll and human resources system at Beaumont Hospital will cost close to €3 million more than originally projected while the project was never put out to tender, the Dáil Public Accounts Committee has heard. The committee was told on Thursday that initially it had been estimated that the new system would cost €1.9 million. He criticised hospital management for not alerting the Public Accounts Committee in advance about the issue before a scheduled hearing on Thursday. He said he had raised the issue internally with hospital management. Mr Hanlon said there had been “a significant overrun in cost”.

In a report attached to the accounts, the directors of Ashford Castle Hotel said the overall results were driven by “improved market conditions” and the “continued strength of international travel. Ashford Castle, the five-star Co Mayo that was recognised at Michelin’s prestigious Key Hotels awards on Wednesday, has seen an uplift in trade this year after rising costs took a chunk out of its bottom line in 2024. However, accounts filed this week by Ashford Castle Hotel reveal revenues at the luxury property in Cong increased by 1.8 per cent last year to more than €32 million. Ashford Castle Hotel employed some 327 people last year, down from 342 in 2023, however, the company’s wages and salaries bill increased from €9.5 million to more than €10 million in the year. Meanwhile, at a ceremony in Paris on Wednesday night, Ashford Castle was awarded two keys at Michelin’s Key Hotels awards 2025.

Carton House, a Fairmont Managed Hotel have a host of festive breaks available, from relaxing pre-Christmas stays that include festive Afternoon Tea to “Betwixtmas” breaks to rest and recharge between Christmas and New Years. Perhaps most special of all, Carton House Fairmont will be open for a luxurious two night break for guests arriving on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. You will also be welcomed with a special Christmas gift in your room on arrival. Wake up on Christmas morning, put on your favourite Christmas outfit and make your way to a spectacular Christmas morning breakfast buffet. Enjoy a morning swim in the wellness suite, a stroll or cycle on the 1,100 estate and work up an appetite for your lunch - a magnificent Christmas Day feast.

A celebration of Ireland’s literary legacy through flavour, storytelling, and elegance. Set beneath a soaring glass ceiling in the heart of Dublin’s cultural corner, this unique experience is a tribute to Ireland’s greatest writers. From Yeats to Wilde, Beckett to Heaney, guests will enjoy an exquisite menu of sweet and savoury delights, each inspired by the characters, works, and wit of Ireland’s literary icons. The Literary Afternoon Tea is available daily from 12 noon to 5.30 pm and costs €65 per person (€85 with Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut). For your chance to win, simply fill in the form below.

Micheál Martin and Jim Gavin at the Ploughing Championships last month. Photograph: Ronan McGreevyMicheál Martin has apologised and acknowledged the “hurt and shock” of Fianna Fáil members as he addressed his party on its disastrous presidential election campaign. Mr Gavin was party leader Mr Martin’s preferred choice to be Fianna Fáil’s candidate. Mr O’Callaghan said it was “easy to say in hindsight there were mistakes in the process” of selecting Mr Gavin as Fianna Fáil candidate. Fianna Fáil emerged from the latest general election as the largest party in Government and Mr Martin was “doing a very good job as leader of Fianna Fáil and, indeed, as Taoiseach”, Mr O’Callaghan said.

Your research is about stress, tell us more. I look at how stress affects ageing, and particularly how it affects our memory performance as we get older. For some people, stress can feed into worrying things such as brain fog, poor sleep, mental health problems and memory impairment. My research looks for biological signals that can tell us about how stress relates to a person’s experience of ageing. [ Canny canines can sniff out stress in humans, new research showsOpens in new window ]Finally, how do you take a break from work?

Ashford Castle in Cong, Co Mayo, which was recognised by the Michelin Key awards in Paris on WednesdaySixteen hotels in Ireland were recognised in Michelin’s 2025 Key Hotels awards at a ceremony in Paris on Wednesday evening, with two retaining the top ‘Three Keys’ honour. There were two new Irish names in the key listings, which are akin to Michelin stars for hotels: Ashford Castle in Co Mayo and Park Hotel Kenmare in Co Kerry. These are hotels that could be “a destination for the trip of a lifetime”, according to the Michelin rankings. Sheen Falls was named best resort in Europe in the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards earlier this week. In total, the 2025 awards recognise 143 three-key hotels, 572 two-key properties and 1,742 one-key names around the world.

Even before Jim Gavin’s presidential campaign imploded on Sunday, it was shadowed by one very big unanswered question. From his debut as a presidential candidate it was painfully obvious to everyone that this taciturnity was not tactical. [ Live: Jim Gavin withdraws from race; decision is a ‘fiasco’ for Fianna Fáil, MEP Barry Andrews saysOpens in new window ]Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin withdrew from the presidential election on Sunday night. With Gavin, Martin clearly hadn’t a clue. He hadn’t a clue about Gavin but he also hadn’t a clue about what he wants Fianna Fáil to stand for.

The MV Matthew moored in Cork following its seizure in 2023. Photograph: PAOngoing maintenance of the MV Matthew, the vessel seized as part of the largest ever cocaine smuggling operation in Ireland, is costing the State €110,000 per week and has been labelled a “considerable” environmental and ecological risk by the Revenue Commissioners. The 189-metre bulk cargo vessel of 28,647 gross tonnage was detained by Revenue on September 26th, 2023, under customs legislation. Mr Cody said that detaining a vessel the size of the MV Matthew was “without precedent in this jurisdiction”. The huge merchant ship MV Matthew in Cork Harbour“All necessary actions for the safe and secure management of the vessel since its detention have been undertaken by Revenue.

Even in 2018, they absolutely did not say she was “a member”The Irish Times’ Ursula Ní Shionnáin story is not journalism. But in the social preview — the snippet readers see when they share the link — it has:“Éirígí says Ursula Ní Shionnáin still member…”. It might be a real thing that Ursula Ní Shionnáin could agree with or deny. The Irish Times boasts millions of monthly users of its stale and boring take on the world. Both distortions serve the same function: to smear someone more radical than the unserious Irish Times, to police the boundaries of political respectability.

Russian troops seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant shortly after launching their all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It is Russian shelling that prevents repair of the power lines to the plant and the restoration of basic safety,” he added. “This is a threat to everyone – no terrorist in the world has ever dared to do to a nuclear plant what Russia is doing. Photograph: Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP via Getty“It is foolish, to say the least, to accuse the Russian side of bombing a plant it controls ... Mr Zelenskiy ordered a high-level review of why the downpours led to what he called “a horrific situation” in the Black Sea city.