Fine Gael councillor for Macroom, Michael Creed, has passed away, aged 68. The party confirmed his death in a statement on Sunday, with tributes paid by Fine Gael leader Simon Harris. Mr Creed, from Carrigaphooka in Macroom, had first been elected to Cork County Council in 2009 and retained his seat in every subsequent election. Mr Harris lead the tributes to Mr Creed, saying that Fine Gael had lost a “cherished friend”. “Michael’s loss will be felt profoundly within the Fine Gael family, his community of Macroom-Millstreet and beyond.

Iran, like China, has some of the world’s most expansive known surveillance abilities. These digital surveillance abilities have received less attention than the internet blackouts that the government imposed during the violent crackdown to end the protests last month. In the years since, censorship tools were used to block information and various online services, while surveillance systems let authorities identify and track opponents, according to researchers at Project Ainita, a group focused on Iran’s digital networks. In about 2019, the government created a centralised digital identity that links a citizen’s personal identity and his or her digital behaviour, according to researchers. Civil society groups and security researchers have raised alarms about the government’s secretly subverting digital tools that Iranians use to avoid censorship and surveillance.

Man City duo take £17.8m hit on earnings ahead of summer transfer decisionsTwo Manchester City players who could be on the move this summer have both lost a significant chunk of their earningsView 2 Images Bernardo Silva could be in his final season at Manchester City (Image: PA)A Manchester City duo have been named among the UK's biggest taxpayers as they weigh up their futures in English football. Bernardo Silva and Omar Marmoush have paid a combined £17.8m to the Inland Revenue over the past 12 months. Silva paid £9m - the same as Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes - while Marmoush coughed up £8.8m. ‌While Haaland's future at City looks secure, the same cannot be said of Silva and Marmoush, who could both be on the move this summer. As well as the huge salaries being paid, footballers do not pay tax on earnings in country.

Real Madrid boss singles out Trent Alexander-Arnold after statement on returnTrent Alexander-Arnold has endured a difficult start to life as a Real Madrid player, but the ex-Liverpool star was singled out for praise after Los Blancos' big win over Real SociedadView 2 Images Trent Alexander-Arnold impressed in Real Madrid's 4-1 win over Real Sociedad (Image: Helios de la Rubia/Real Madrid)Alvaro Arbeloa lavished praise upon Trent Alexander-Arnold after the Real Madrid defender starred on his return from injury, saying the Spanish champions are 'lucky to have' the former Liverpool man. ‌Alexander-Arnold, 27, has been plagued by injuries during a challenging maiden season as a Los Blancos player, starting just six times in La Liga for his new club. ‌There were even reports back in January that Arbeloa, who has succeeded Alonso at the helm, had told Alexander-Arnold to leave the club, though those claims have since been quashed. ‌And the former Liverpool right-back waxed lyrical about Alexander-Arnold after he made a statement on his first start for over two months, registering an assist in the 4-1 win over Real Sociedad. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

Chasing missing PRSI contributions can be challenging many years later when the employer may no longer exist. However, in checking my contributions there is nothing for the years 1990 to 1992 on my social welfare. PLPay-Related Social Insurance (PRSI), like income tax, is something that most of us just assume is working as it should do – until it isn’t. Apart from producing copies of your PRSI record, this is also the office that follows up reports of missing contributions. It might even enlighten the department on gaps in the company’s paperwork and filings on matters such as PRSI.

Mohamed Salah handed £45m reality as Liverpool weigh up transfer decisionLiverpool star Mohamed Salah's company assets have increased to £45million according to the latest accounts, while speculation continues over his future at AnfieldView 2 Images Mohamed Salah's future at Liverpool remains uncertain (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)Mohamed Salah has enjoyed a substantial financial windfall over the past year as rumours persist regarding his Liverpool future. ‌Salah converted from the penalty spot as Liverpool secured a comfortable 3-0 victory in the fourth-round clash at Anfield on Saturday night. The Liverpool forward's company, Salah UK Commercial Ltd, disclosed the update in the most recent set of accounts. In April of the previous year, Salah inked a two-year contract extension, pledging his future to Liverpool until the summer of 2027. Following his goal against Brighton, Salah received praise from Arne Slot, with the Liverpool head coach offering a prediction about the future.

“Children don’t need to choose between languages or identities,” says Francesca La Morgia, the founder of Mother Tongues. Ferrari helped to develop Mother Tongues’ language explorers programme which sees artists work with children to examine, share and be proud of their home languages. You can learn a language late in lifeOpens in new window ]Jaber’s family has a third language, Irish sign language. Agnieszka Pedrak, a lecturer in language development at Maynooth University, will be speaking at the Mother Tongues festival. It’s joyful, it’s moving and it’s deeply human.”The Mother Tongues festival takes place in Tallaght, Dublin, on February 20th and 21st and is timed to coincide with International Mother Language Day.

“Ninety-nine words for rain in Irish?” Manchán Magan wrote in The Irish Times a few weeks before his tragic death, last October. So relentlessly miserable has been the weather that even the most pinch-mouthed Ulsterman – the sort that bellows at the summer sun if it dares to show itself for more than an hour – finds himself yearning for a moment without precipitation. I have had to buy waterproof trousers for the bike – plastic trousers, like something an infant might wear over his nappy. In The Beatles’ magnificent Rain – arguably their best B-side – it acts as a damp gesture towards the state of psychedelia. Sitting in my plastic trousers, chugging chestily on Lemsip, I don’t feel in the mood for Singin’ in the Rain.

Carlo Ancelotti has made thoughts clear on Man Utd job as candidate rules himself outCarlo Ancelotti has been linked with the Manchester United manager job but the Brazil boss has made his feelings extremely clearView 2 Images Thomas Tuchel and Carlo Ancelotti were both in the frame for the job (Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)Manchester United are still on the hunt for a permanent replacement for Ruben Amorim in the summer, despite Michael Carrick's promising start. However, Carlo Ancelotti has already taken himself out of contention and Thomas Tuchel also committed his future to England. ‌Carrick has stepped into the hot seat as caretaker manager following Amorim's sacking last month and has been impressive. FOLLOW OUR MAN UTD FB PAGE! "At this stage, I can't control that and we'll see what happens, but it's certainly about trying to improve the team and making Manchester United stronger.

What is the best result against Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup? No-one at Arsenal would ever contemplate throwing an FA Cup tie but, right now, getting beaten by Wigan would not be a complete disaster. Because amongst the ‘crimes’ of those authorities has been the one to have the FA Cup final staged on the penultimate weekend of the domestic season. So, you could then have the ridiculous situation of Mikel Arteta resting the likes of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka for an FA Cup final … because there were more important games ahead. That cannot happen if the FA Cup final is as it should be - the last game of the domestic season.

Alexei Navalny was killed by dart frog poison, five European nations have said. Dart frogs in captivity do not produce this toxin and it is not found naturally in Russia. The UK foreign office, which oversees the intelligence agencies, said it has pursued the truth of Navalny’s death with partners from Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Germany. “Russia saw Navalny as a threat. By using this form of poison the Russian state demonstrated the despicable tools it has at its disposal and the overwhelming fear it has of political opposition.” – Guardian

When Dónal and Marion Kissane were planning their passive house on the Cork coast in 2008, they got some baffled looks. A few years earlier, architect Tomás O’Leary had built the State’s first certified passive house, so the concept was still quite new to Ireland. “South-facing windows are one of the passive design principles, to ensure we get a lot of passive solar gain,” he explains. A 750-litre thermal store, which is basically an enormous hot water tank, is heated by the thermal solar panels and used for underfloor space heating, while the PV solar panels provide the electricity. Dónal believes anyone building a house today is wasting money if they don’t go down the passive house route.

Take asking prices: it has become the norm now for buyers to assume that every home will sell well above asking price. In other countries, the first person to offer the asking price gets the home. Estate agents can then use this in their marketing for their next client: “We always sell, on average, for X over the asking price.” I’ve heard of opening bids that are €80,000 above the asking price. You have more transparency buying a steak in Ireland than you do a home. Ciarán Mulqueen hosts the social media page Crazy House Prices and is the author of How to Buy a Home in Ireland

We took five days out to explore more of Australia by train. Internal flights are cheap in Australia and run almost hourly between Sydney and Brisbane, where we begin our adventure on The Great Southern Railway. There’s an old world ambience that accompanies train travel and we feel more like pioneers than tourists. Train travel eases your body into a new landscape without the shock of arriving suddenly. Although it’s a big expense to travel to Australia, it is well worth it.

Photograph: Sam Boal/CollinsOne of the great feuds in Irish politics is between the Taoiseach and Sinn Féin. The Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe called for a “truth commission”, long a demand of the party. The conversion of the republican movement to exclusively democratic means of advancing its objectives has been an overwhelmingly positive development in Irish politics. The shadows of history no longer loom over Irish politics in the way they once did. The parties and their voters will also need to consider if Gerry Hutch is someone who should be in the national parliament.