Michael Macken (41) has two previous convictions for sexual assault, including the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl at an amusement arcade in 2006. Michael Macken (41) was in August 2024 caught having highly sexualised conversations with who he believed were nine different teenage girls. In text conversations read out in court, Macken asked some of the girls if they would get into bed with him. Macken has two previous convictions for sexual assault, including the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl at an amusement arcade in Trabolgan, Co Cork, in 2006. Defence counsel told the court his client did not apply for bail after his arrest for charge on February 21st last year.

I’m going backwards......I’m taking my first driving lesson in a 16-seater bus and it’s time to do the ol’ reverse-around-the-corner bit. But right now, in this driving lesson, I’m worried my backwards trajectory might actually be a metaphor for my own life. Easier said than done, especially when the vehicle I’m attempting to master is almost twice the length of my usual ‘wheels’. Somebody found the juxtaposition of this body contact sport with the placement of a driving test centre perfectly normal, it seems. Almost a year on from my first driving lesson, I’m back in the queue once more....

High in the rolling hills of the Italian province of Ascoli Piceno, there is a tiny village that not many will have heard of. Dubbed 'The Narrowest Alley in Italy' on the travel site, it has been rated 4.2 out of five stars. Another gushed over the views of the characterful village and said: 'Worth the trip to squeeze into the narrowest street in Italy. A tiny street in Reutlingen, Germany holds that title according to the Book of Guinness World Records. Ripatransone's tiny street does, however, hold the title of Italy's smallest alley from the famous book, according to Visit Ripatransone.

The map shows minimal fallout would hit Georgia, Mississippi and Arkansas, suggesting residents would not have to shelter. The US has strategically positioned nuclear forces that could be prime nuclear targets across the nation. Military targets are highlighted with red circles, with the largest clusters appearing where the silos are. These are located in Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and North Dakota, and the map shows these regions bombarded by nukes. But the new map shows attacks from all sides of the country, hitting around 150 military sites.

The International Fund for Ireland has funded the removal of some peace walls, but others remain. Photograph: Bryan O’BrienThe United States has ended what was its main financial support for the peacebuilding project on the island of Ireland over the last 40 years, it has been confirmed. The peace and reconciliation project has funded the removal of peace walls in Northern Ireland and programmes to prevent young people from being recruited by paramilitaries. Successive Washington administrations – including the first Trump one – together contributed more than $500 million (€435 million) to it. Now the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the US did withdraw funding from the IFI last year.

‘Weaving bits of Gaeilge into each pose, my dormant abilities start to waken’ – how to put your cúpla focail to the testConas atá tú inniu? If you’ve answered, you’ll know how an increasing number of us are keen to brush up on our Irish. But are there outlets that exist beyond the Gaeltachts and Seachtain na Gaeilge? Etain McGuckian finds outSeachtain na Gaeilge: How Ciorcal Comhrá (conversation circles) in libraries across the country are helping people practise their cúpla focailEtain McGuckian Yesterday at 06:30If I’m honest, the last time I properly used my Irish was in my 20s, and that wasn’t even in Ireland. Travelling around Southeast Asia with my friend Jeanie, whose whole foclóir (dictionary) probably amounted to four words – tá, níl, uafásach agus go hálainn (yes, no, horrible and gorgeous), we managed to escape quite a few encounters with weirdos or let the other secretly know we were interested in a buachaill (boy).

Israel launched strikes on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, after the militant group Hezbollah fired missiles across the border early on Monday. He was the firebrand former Iranian president, who gained international notoriety by calling for Israel’s erasure and denying the Holocaust. There were nine people killed in the city of Beit Shemesh in one of the many revenge strikes on Israel. A black plume of smoke is seen rising from a warehouse at the industrial area of Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Sunday. Across the United Arab Emirates, 165 ballistic missiles were detected with authorities destroying 152, and intercepted two cruise missiles, its defence ministry said.

Eimear DoddA man who choked his former partner and hit her with a bike has been jailed for three-and-a-half years. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the woman obtained a safety order against the man in November 2024. The judge noted the woman's victim impact statement made it clear that the offending had a significant and ongoing effect on her. Judge Hayes noted the serious nature of the offending and said the woman was the “victim of an unprovoked and serious assault”. The judge noted the couple's child was in the home at the time, but there is no evidence that they witnessed the assault.

Why have the US and Israel attacked Iran? Our Europe Correspondent, Naomi O'Leary, takes us through the latest. Video: Naomi O'Leary

Meath 1-21 Kildare 0-10Meath's promotion bid looks set to be boosted by the return of two key players for their remaining Division 2 games. All told, it was a significant improvement from the loss in Cork and has left Meath close to securing promotion. Meath scorers: J Morris (1-5); S Brennan (0-5, 2 tpf, 0-1 45); J O'Connor (0-4); R Kinsella (0-2); A Lynch, E Frayne, J Flynn, C O'Connor, K Curtis (0-1 each). Meath: S Brennan; B O'Halloran, S Lavin, S Rafferty; D Keogan, S Coffey, C Caulfield; B Menton, J Flynn; J O'Connor, R Kinsella, A O'Neill; J Morris, E Frayne, A Lynch. Kildare: C Burke; B Byrne, P Spillane, H O'Neill; J Harris, E Lawlor, J McKevitt; C Bolton, B Gibbons; C Dalton, D Kirwan, C Moran; B McLoughlin, A Beirne, B Loakman.

Prof Jurgita Ovadnevaite of the Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies at the University of Galway said the findings were a surprise. Photograph: Andrew Downes/xposureLow-smoke and smokeless fuels do not lower the risk to human health from air pollution, scientists in Galway have found. These ultrafine particles, PM0.1, are invisible to the naked eye so even when there are many of them, they are emitted without appearing as smoke. “Our results indicate that switching from raw solid fuels to those marketed as ‘smokeless’ may not yield the anticipated health benefits,” their study states. “But at least if you understand how burning fuels affects your own health, you can make that conscious decision to burn or not.

No 66 Foxfield Park in Dublin’s Raheny suburb is perfect for chiselers, of both little and literal kinds. He returned to Dublin to work and to exhibit from 1963, and secured a teaching job in the National College of Art and Design in 1976. Some unfinished work and chisels remain, cherished by family and as a testament to his ‘work from home’ set-up. VERDICT: Carve out a niche in the capital’s well-settled and well-serviced 660 Foxfield Park, the final home and studio of an Irish talent. The retrospective A Life’s Work is currently on show at the stately Pearse Museum, Dublin, hosted by the Office of Public Works, until March 29.

Antarctica has lost an area of ice more than eight times larger than Greater London over the last 30 years, a study has revealed. This revealed that the continent's ice loss is far more concentrated than scientists had previously thought. Antarctica has lost an area of ice more than eight times larger than Greater London over the last 30 years, a study has revealed. This shows that ice loss has been concentrated in Western AntarcticaThere was significantly less ice loss in East Antarctica (pictured). What is harder to explain is why the satellite data also shows significant ice loss at multiple points in the Northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Kenneth FoxA total of 71 per cent of adults believe that the Re-Turn scheme has been a success since it was introduced in Ireland. 2 years after the Re-Turn Scheme was introduced in Ireland, iReach asked adults in Ireland their thoughts on the success and barriers of the Deposit Return Scheme. This is highest for adults aged 25-34, with 30 per cent using the machines much more than they did at the start. 36 per cent think that having to put items in one-by-one isn’t worth it, 33 per cent think the locations of machines aren’t convenient, and 32 per cent think the machines are faulty. 48 per cent of adults think the deposit return scheme was and is just another way for the government to make money off the Irish population, with 24 per cent feeling this strongly.

Scientists are learning more about a newly defined heart condition that mimics severe heart attacks and can strike healthy people. It can strike even healthy people, unlike a heart attack, which most often occurs in people with underlying health conditions. Broken heart syndrome can develop at any age, but it tends to affect more women than men 58 to 75. Although broken heart syndrome isn't classified as rare, its true prevalence remains unclear. Broken heart syndrome can occur at any age but is most common in women ages 58 to 75.