On only one occasion did he surpass the 20-goal barrier but Dalot, who often found himself opposing Martial in training, believes he could've been one of the world's best. And I’m going to put one more up front. I’m going to say Martial." Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings‌Dalot then explained: "I’m going to say it because I’m going to combine what, obviously, he could do in games, but in training. But if he wanted, he could be the best player in the world.

‘I was only a baby and you took my life away’ – family speak out after man who abused his five children and locked them away for days without food jailed for 20 years

The Mark Zuckerberg-led company , reduced its annual distribution of stock options by about 5 per cent for most of its staff. That follows a cut of roughly 10 per cent last year, which shocked some staff at the time. Meta employees receive annual so-called equity refreshers, alongside base salaries and annual bonuses. Meta adjusts equity pay based on industry trends but still aims to offer among the highest remuneration in local markets. This meant that the company’s overall compensation budget had gone up despite the broad cuts to equity awards, people said.

The red carpet was appropriately the colours of the Rebel County as a Cork film won best film and best director at the Irish Film & Television Awards tonight. Filmed primarily in Knocknaheeny in Cork City, Christy won the coveted Best Film award. Hamnet also won Best International Film, Best Script, and Best Supporting Actor for Paul Mescal. Best Actor went to Eanna Hardwicke for his portrayal of Roy Keane in Saipan. Steve Coogan collected Éanna's Ifta Best Actor award on his behalf.

PSG have chosen not to appeal the court decision ordering the club to pay Kylian Mbappe £52.5million. The ugly dispute between the striker, who now plays for Real Madrid having left Paris in 2024, started 18 months ago. Mbappe had been seeking £231.5million from the French giants after the protracted dispute reached a Paris labour court last November. But that court reached a verdict, ordering PSG to pay the France captain £52.5m at the end of last year. But the saga is now finally at an end and both player and club can close the chapter.

American freestyle skier Hunter Hess nailed his first halfpipe run at the Winter Olympics on Friday and took a moment to embrace the "loser" label bestowed on him by President Donald Trump. The 27-year-old Hess looked into a nearby TV camera, shaped an “L” with his fingers and held them to his forehead. “Apparently I’m a loser,” he told reporters with a smile. Trump labelled Hess a “real loser” after he spoke of conflicting feelings representing his country. In the comments that irked Trump, Hess had said that just because he was wearing the U.S. flag does not mean he represents everything going on there.

It wasn’t so much a question as an aphorism, one of those remarks Irish people come out with so naturally. Today the plains are flooded, the fields are lakes, the sky is grey, and a clouded mist sticks to you like depression. It feels like I’m on the depression express. Is it any wonder depression filled the mental hospitals while our abusers handed out plenary indulgences? As the actor and writer Stephen Fry says: “Depression isn’t a straightforward response to a bad situation; depression just is, like the weather”.

Gardaí have arrested two men in relation to a serious assault on a man in Dublin’s Temple Bar earlier this week. Officers at Pearse Street Garda Station are investigating if the man may live abroad but is either from Ireland or has an Irish background. The attack happened on Cope Street at around 12.30am on Wednesday. It said: “Gardaí continue to investigate an incident of alleged assault that occurred at Cope Street, Dublin 2, on Wednesday 18th February 2026, at approximately 12:30am. Gardaí can be contacted at Pearse Street Garda Station on 01 666 9000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.

England 21 Ireland 31The template for beating England in their own backyard was laid out by head coach Andrew Browne and his Irish U-20 charges as they stunned their fancied hosts in front of 13,000 at the Rec in Bath. Being strong in the set-piece, full of adventure with the ball in hand and never taking a back foot against an English side going for a Triple Crown, yielded a bonus point win which was as deserved as it was unexpected.

Ireland's Ben Lynch travelled to the Winter Olympics aiming for a top 15 finish in the freeski halfpipe. He achieved far more than that on Friday as he placed eighth in the final. Earlier in the day, Lynch had made history by becoming the first Irish skier to reach an Olympic final. Errors cost Lynch in his first two runs of the final, but on the third he scored 75.00. It's hard to get high scores in world level, World Cup level, but yeah, that's the best score I've ever gotten.

The experience gave me my first taste of writing songs for other people. Released in 2023, the song I had penned that was picked up by James Blunt was called Can’t Forget You. Speaking to James Blunt felt completely natural. It was only when I heard a demo of James Blunt singing the song that it finally started to feel real. It was great to write for James Blunt, but penning a song called Unsaid for The Script last year was the pinnacle for me.

Located in the heart of an Irish city, though not Cork, the building was the very definition of a time capsule. When it comes to maintaining urban vitality, we don’t make things easy for ourselves. Even New York's clunky external fire escapes, retrofitted to 19th-century brownstones, have become emblematic of a city that decided its own vitality was more important than aesthetic or regulatory perfection. will present 'Future Cork', a flagship event bringing together leaders, innovators, and changemakers to explore the opportunities and challenges that will shape Cork’s next decade. This article is part of the Future Cork series.

“Contrary to most political presentation, military spending in Europe has been surging for well over a decade,” he says. Buying AmericanYet, Rogaly notes the contradiction at the heart of the spending surge: Europe has increasingly bought American. His book The Shadow World argues that defence spending is rarely a neutral response to threat, and more often the result of political manipulation and corruption. “Compared to other forms of public investment, military spending has a very weak relationship with growth and jobs,” he says. Resisting demands to rapidly militarise its economy … would allow Ireland to pursue genuine neutrality in its foreign policyThe spending surge is not a neutral response to a measured threat assessment, he argues.

If I’m not working in the bookshop, I’ll write for three or more hours in bed. I read about 300 children’s books a year — both for review and because I love them. We also run workshops for adults who want to write children’s books. Comics books are hugely popular too, and we’ll have kids waiting for their next instalment of Dogman or of Sarah Bowie’s books. Again, it will mostly be children’s or young adult books but I do read books for adults too.

REUTERS/Phil Noble/File PhotoAn experienced Irish charity professional who worked for over a decade with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has described him as a “ghastly man”. The former prince was released from police custody on Thursday night after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office earlier in the day. "The nicest thing I can say about him was that he was an arrogant buffoon. Detectives are continuing searches of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home in Berkshire following his release from custody after he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Speaking after his brother’s arrest on Thursday morning, the British king said: “I have learned with deepest concerns news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office.