ABP Food Group has appointed Kevin Cahill as CEO of ABP UK, and Jerome Aherne as MD of ABP Ireland and Poland. Frank Stephenson, CEO of ABP Food Group, said: “Kevin and Jerome Aherne are both leaders and bring deep sector knowledge, international experience and a strong understanding of our business. These appointments reflect the depth of talent within ABP and our commitment to strong leadership across all markets.”

Benfica release new statement after claims Gianluca Prestianni admitted Vinicius Jr racismBenfica have issued a new statement to explain the stance of Gianluca Prestianni after he was suspended by UEFA following allegations he racially abused Real Madrid's Vinicius JuniorView 2 Images Gianluca Prestianni allegedly racially abused Vinicius Jr (Image: Soccrates Images, Getty Images)Benfica have denied that Gianluca Prestianni admitted to his team-mates that he had racially abused Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior. ‌The Benfica player publicly denied the allegations afterwards, saying his opponent had "misinterpreted" what he'd said after pulling his shirt over his mouth. It reads: "Sport Lisboa e Benfica categorically denies that the player Prestianni has communicated to the squad or the club's structure that he has uttered a racist insult to the player Vinicius Jr, from Real Madrid. UEFA suspended the Argentine for the second leg and is investigating. ‌Vinicius has been supported by his club and scored in the second leg to help Real progress.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has a big political call to make soon on the Mercosur trade agreement. Photograph: Enda O'Dowd/The Irish timesEuropean Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has a big political call to make soon on the Mercosur trade agreement. Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly, one of the loudest critics of the Mercosur deal, welcomed the referral to the courts as a “clear victory for farmers”. Fears about the harm the Ceta (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) deal would wreak upon Irish agriculture were not borne out and the political heat has gone out of that fight. The same thing may well happen with the Mercosur deal.

RTÉ has confirmed that it has received payment of €3m from the GAA for its stake in the streaming service GAAGO, with the proceeds going towards regional studios and production facilities, particularly in Cork, Limerick and Galway. A sale of RTÉ’s 50% stake in GAAGO was announced back in February 2025 with the GAA offering to buy out the broadcaster, and the proceeds being re-invested in the provision of services to the public. However, RTÉ said at the time that any final agreement would be subject to the necessary consents and approvals being in place. “These consents and approvals are now in place and receipt of this payment from the GAA means that the sale of GAAGO is now complete,” RTÉ said in a statement today. Following the announcement of the buyout of RTÉ, the GAA said the streaming service would be renamed GAA+.

A family has been left stunned after their dog gave birth to a record-breaking 17 puppies after a gruelling 13-hour labour. Her Irish Setter, who was mated with a miniature black poodle, is now believed to have produced Britain's largest ever litter of Irish Doodles. The puppies, now nearly eight weeks old, are all healthy, nursed by their weary mother, who currently needs a staggering 12 tins of dog food a day to refuel. Before Marigold's remarkable brood, the largest documented Irish Doodle litter involving an Irish Setter mum in the UK boasted 16 puppies. And dogs of this breed are prized for their friendly, energetic, and affectionate temperament, making them ideal family companions.

It is unlikely that any of these will make their way into the final strategy — but a good strategy teases out all ideas. When I was a student myself, we used to joke that the only thing that got in the way of college life was college itself! The same principle must surely apply to student life. Picture: Maxwell'sHaving read the most recent Defence Strategy Statement 2025-2028, I can assure him that unnecessary expenditure on “things that go bang” is certainly not planned. This will require greater ambition than that demonstrated in the aforementioned Irish Defence Strategy Statement.

It just makes me feel good that libraries exist. “They” reckon libraries started, like most things, in Nineveh in Mesopotamia (in Iraq) about 5,000 years ago, and were largely storing clay tablets. I’d like to think that van driver is not as stressed as the poor divils breaking their backs delivering your Temu shite on time. The design of a library ticket is an old museum artefact, like a telephone receiver or those mad welders’ visors people wore during covid. To sit in a travelling mobile library van, like the one that used to park at Dripsey Cross.

Our education system gets a lot wrong when it comes to teaching young people about sex. One sexual education class I received at the age of about 15 discussed the mystery of menstruation: "When blood passes through the female body every month." If you were to believe the sexual education I received, gay people existed; they just didn’t have sex. We’re practically told women should pretend they’re a Victorian doing their patriotic duty: Lie back and think of Ireland. Upon reflection, maybe we could do with fewer bird houses and some real sex education.

Of all my many responsibilities, I loathe anything to do with mechanics and car sales staff. From the minute I park my car, I feel instantly vulnerable. Yvonne Reddin: 'Can we please have more women in car sales? I’ve often thought how different the experience might be if there were more women working in car sales. And finally, can we please have more women in car sales?

How do you get City Hall to see the problems you see? Most public discourse about the city feels reactive, procedural, locked into what can’t be done right now. What’s missing in City Hall isn’t intelligence. Picture: Denis MinihaneWhat’s missing in City Hall isn’t intelligence. So where are the people asking the bigger questions about what kind of city Cork wants to be in 20 or 30 years?

The US ambassador to Ireland has moved to downplay concerns about the impact of geopolitical disruptions, such as America’s shifting tariff policies, telling business leaders he’s annoyed by the narrative around the impact of “uncertainty”. Ambassador Edward Walsh made the comments yesterday, to a high-powered audience of Irish and US executives at the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland’s (AmCham) Global Business Conference. “This uncertainty word is something that I guess everybody uses it, I’m getting annoyed at the word. “If you listen to the main CEOs, they don’t use that word, they’re always looking forward. So I think that stuff is more just politicians talking and then talking to a few people or something,” he added.

Manchester United confirmed during January that the midfielder will depart when his contract runs out on 30 June. Latest United news and more on our dedicated Facebook pageThe Sun reports sources close to the player have suggested Italy represents a possible destination. They point to his former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric and his transfer to AC Milan last summer as a precedent. ‌Speculation regarding a switch to Italy comes after former United striker Dion Dublin's appeal for Casemiro to remain. He told OLBG that United ought to allocate some of their transfer funds to offer him fresh terms.

Drogheda United fans have been banned from the club’s next four away games after using pyrotechnics during the side’s match against Dundalk at Oriel Park on February 20. The pyrotechnics damaged the pitch and injured a minor, prompting the League of Ireland to release an official statement on Thursday night. The statement says Drogheda United fans will be banned from attending the club’s next four away fixtures, as well as from Oriel Park for the remainder of the 2026 season. "Such conduct presents a serious and unacceptable risk to public safety, causes damage to facilities and will continue to result in disciplinary action." Mr O'Donovan commended the FAI and League of Ireland for "acting swiftly".

Ireland now administers 70% of Europe's exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with the market growing by 41% in 2025 to pass €2.7 trillion in assets under management, according to new research by EY Ireland. ETFs are a diversified investment fund that track specific market assets, commodities, or sectors and trades like a stock. The global ETF market grew by 33%, from $14.9tn (€12.6tn) to $19.9tn (€16.8tn). While EY describes Ireland is the "engine room" of Europe's ETF market, with the regulatory and tax system attracting financial institutions to set up here, EY said the State's tax system acts as a barrier to individual investors here. Ireland's tax system means that domestic investors in ETFs face an exit tax of 38%, and ETFs are "deemed disposed" after eight years even if they haven't been sold.

Four people accused of being members of a Lithuanian organised crime group operating in Ireland have been remanded in custody, after they lost an appeal against a High Court ruling that refused them bail. All four accused were refused bail by Ms Justice Eileen Creedon in the High Court last October. Mr White said she had been refused bail because of her ties abroad, but counsel submitted that there must be evidence of her being a flight risk for bail to be refused. “It looks pretty bleak from his point of view,” remarked Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy. Mr White replied that Mr Pavillions had offered to stay outside of Cork and had offered an address in Carlow where he would reside.