They reached out from somewhere and dragged me into a world I didn’t know existed at that young age. I didn’t want to read about children climbing trees or playing football, I wanted to do it for myself. Read More Richard Hogan: We need to take on Big Tech and let children really be childrenI triedMoby Dick, White Fang, Tom Sawyer,etc, but they didn’t really capture my attention. My parents even gave me football books, Hot Shot Hamishand Mighty Mouse,but again they didn’t really do it for me. Getting your children into the world of reading could be one of the most important gifts you give them.

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is experiencing an “ecclesiastical earthquake” as it deals with safeguarding failings, a congregation-wide meeting has heard. The church has held its second gathering in Belfast to hear an update on failings in welfare and protection processes. In 2025, the church announced that significant failings had been found in central safeguarding functions. Former Presbyterian moderator Rev Trevor Gribben stood down last year after a review found “serious and significant failings” in the functions from 2009 to 2022. “As a church, we will have an important job to do when these reports are completed.

Nevertheless, one Leinster county could virtually be gone from Division 1A after this weekend. With Clare already looking to be making a swift return to Division 1A, there’s a possibility next year’s top flight could be considered a dry run for the Munster senior hurling championship. Since then, there have been six all-Munster Division 1 finals and one all-Leinster decider in 16 renewals. If the southern province takes over Division 1A, it will simply be considered a sign of the times. If 2027’s Division 1A is going to be a Munster mash, Kilkenny will sure as hell want to be one of the gatecrashers.

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Apple's new office in Dublin will be located at Park Place next to the Iveagh Gardens. Photograph: Getty ImagesApple is to expand its Irish footprint, opening a new office in Dublin’s city centre that can accommodate up to 300 people. The new premises, which is Apple’s first permanent office in the capital, will be located at Park Place in Dublin, next to the Iveagh Gardens. “We have found our permanent home in Dublin; it’s very much complementary,” said Apple vice-president of operations Cathy Kearney. Kearney said the new Dublin office would be complementary to the Cork teams, and that it would evolve over the next few years.

Liverpool Champions League intrigue grows after red card and late dramaLiverpool are waiting to discover who they could face in the Champions League round of 16 next monthView Image Liverpool are waiting to discover who they could face in the Champions League round of 16 (Image: Francesco Scaccianoce - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)Liverpool are still no nearer to discovering their potential opponents in the Champions League knockout stages after a dramatic round of play-off games. ‌The Reds progressed directly to the last 16 by virtue of finishing in third place in the opening league table behind Arsenal and Bayern Munich. Article continues belowWith the Italian side having never before overturned a three-goal deficit in Europe, Galatasaray - who beat Liverpool 1-0 in the league stage in September - are odds-on favourites to progress. Liverpool will discover their round of 16 opponents and their full path to the final when the draw takes place in Nyon on Friday week. The first knockout round takes place on March 10/11 and March 17/18.

Apple unveils new Dublin office and says ‘no barriers’ to more investment in IrelandApple boss Cathy Kearney told the Irish Independent that a new high-end building in the tech giant’s Cork campus was “testament” to the company’s intent to deepen its roots in Ireland, as fiscal data suggests Apple is responsible for a disproportionate amount of Irish corporation taxCathy Kearney, vice president of operations at AppleAdrian Weckler Today at 16:00Apple boss Cathy Kearney says the company sees "no barriers" to further expansion in Ireland with the company shaking off recent EU grievances to announce a new Dublin office that has space for 300 people.

Almost one in three women snubbed lifesaving breast screening despite the programme catching 20,000 cancers last year, new figures show. NHS England said 1.94 million women attended screening within six months of receiving an invitation in 2024/25, up from 1.75 million the previous year. Dr Harrison Carter, director of screening at NHS England, said: ‘Breast screening can save lives. Philomena Ofodu, 54, had her stage two breast cancer detected through screening, although she admits she almost ignored her invitation. She said: ‘Encouraging women to attend their breast screening appointment is something that I am extremely passionate about, as I know how much it matters.

Jack Crowley named to start as Ireland make five changes for England clashMichael BoltonJack Crowley will start his first game of this year's Six Nations as Andy Farrell has named the Ireland side to face England in Twickenham on Saturday. Crowley replaces Sam Prendergast, who has been left out of the matchday squad, with Ciarán Frawley as the backup option at fly-half. They join captain Caelan Doris in the back row, with James Ryan and Joe McCarthy in the second row. Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Finlay Bealham, Nick Timoney, Jack Conan, Craig Casey, Ciaran Frawley, Tommy O’Brien. Replacements: Jamie George, Bevan Rodd, Trevor Davison, Alex Coles, Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill, Jack van Poortvliet, Marcus Smith.

Barcelona release fresh Marcus Rashford statement as Man Utd get update on transfer impactBarcelona have released a statement about Manchester United loanee Marcus RashfordView 2 Images Barcelona have released a statement about Marcus Rashford (Image: Josep LAGO / AFP via Getty Images)Barcelona have delivered a positive update on Marcus Rashford’s recovery from a knee injury. The Spanish club provided an update on Thursday, which explained that Rashford and Barcelona teammate Pedri had returned to training. ‌OPINION Andy Dunn Man Utd should have Michael Carrick talks before making Marcus Rashford transfer callA Barcelona club statement read: “Back out on the pitch at the Ciutat Esportiva. View 2 Images Rashford is enjoying his time at Barcelona (Image: Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)FOLLOW OUR MAN UTD FB PAGE! Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football.

Hilary Duff shared a rare photo of her 13-year-old son Luca on social media on Wednesday. Duff is also a mother to three daughters - Banks, seven, Mae, nearly five, and Townes, 21 months - with her current husband husband Matthew Koma, 38. And last month, the star also shared a video of Luca towering over her in height while shrugging off the 'toxic' mom group drama sparked by Ashley Tisdale. She did so during her London concerts earlier this month as she performed her new track We Don't Talk. Duff continued, 'People ask me how you're doing / I wanna say amazing, but the truth is that I don't know / What I always end up saying is how we don't talk / we don't talk about it / We don't talk about anything anymore.'

The entrance to the Department of Education premises in Cornamaddy, Athlone. 'Only European meat' served at Department of Education in AthloneThe Minister for Education, Hildegarde Naughton, has responded to a Dáil question about the origin of meat served in her Department's canteen in Athlone and indicated that, while not all of the meat there is Irish, it does all come from within Europe. In her reply, the Minister Naughton confirmed that "my Department operate a canteen service on our campus in Athlone," and that "the current service providers are a local company, A Slice Of Life Catering". She provided a table in her response, setting out the various origins of different types of meat used by the service provider. The Department of Education has had a premises in Athlone since the 1970s, and is one of the town's biggest employers.

John Eustace issues Jacob Widell Zetterstrom update and shuts down 'ridiculous' Derby County theoriesThe Sweden international has not played since the West Brom game due to a virus as Eustace explained the issueView Image Derby County's Jacob Widell Zetterstrom (Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)John Eustace says Derby County goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom is still not ready to play a competitive game after admitting he is still suffering from the complications of a virus. ‌Zetterstrom had to pull out of the win over Charlton in the warm-up and then returned for the 1-1 draw against West Brom, but has not played since. Latest Derby County news, analysis and more via our Rams Facebook page‌"Jacob is still struggling with his virus," said Eustace. Unfortunately with Jacob's virus it has just caused other issues from a contact point of view, which isn't allowing him to fully train properly. "He is on the grass, he has done some training, but won't be available to compete yet in a competitive game."

A British man has died three weeks after a motorbike crash left him in a coma. Tiger Duggan, 23, had been receiving treatment at a hospital in Bangkok after travelling in the country for his birthday celebrations. For three weeks, he had been in hospital in a critical condition, with his family paying soaring medical bills for his care. His family wrote in a tribute: 'Our beautiful soft skinned, beautiful long eye lashed boy with a cheeky, charming infectious smile that touched everyone's hearts left this dimension early this morning in my arms.' 'Goodnight our beautiful boy Tiger Duggan.'

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky hands Taoiseach Micheál Martin's notes to him after they were blown by the wind during the two leaders' press conference at Government Buildings in December. Photo: PAThe visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Ireland in December came at a cost of €100,000 to the State, it has been revealed. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky inspects the guard of honour at Government Buildings in Dublin. Photo: PAAccording to figures released by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, total expenses for Mr Zelensky’s stopover amounted €97,207.12. Transport of an armoured car to Ireland for shuttling Mr Zelensky safely around Dublin cost €25,000, while hotel accommodation for him and his wife came in at €16,415.