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Irish Times

February 2026

Neil Sedaka, hitmaker behind Oh! Carol and Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, dies at 86

Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka,
Past 70, Pavarotti told me the vocal cords are not what they used to be. I’m very fortunate that my voice has held,

‘Right now it’s only a positive if you are Irish in London,’ say Hot Dinners and Murphia List founders

The thing about The Devonshire, certainly for the first couple of years, was that people were sort of surprised that the Guinness was left on the bar before it was ready to be finished,
One of the things he always told us was, you have to work for yourself. So we’ve always been looking for things that we could work on together that could be our own thing, and this fit the bill for us,
For at least five or six years, we did this in addition to our daytime jobs, and then slowly but surely moved towards spending more time on it, and then eventually becoming full time. So what was a passion project has now actually become a fully fledged business
It’s not just the people and the talent, it’s the fact that so many people here recognise now how amazing Irish produce is, whether we’re talking about meat, cheese, butter, oysters — that’s what we’re really seeing on London menus as well,
Obviously we’re going to hear the accents,
In our experience growing up, there was never a point that being Irish was a negative attribute. I know that certainly for our parents in the 50s and 60s, it would have been slightly different,
One of our local places back in Galway is the Twelve down in Barna. We have been going there since it was a very straightforward pub and hotel. Most recently, their restaurant, the Blackthorn, has just got a nod from the Michelin Guide this year,
We were going to New York a lot, and it was around 2007 or 2008 when we could see that there were all these cool blogs and websites talking about what was opening next and covering the food scene as it was developing,

Departments ask to borrow corporate firms’ staff for Civil Service during EU presidency

Discussions with firms that have expressed interest are still ongoing, so no final numbers have been agreed,” but the total number of private sector staff taking part in the scheme would be “in the single digits,

Inside Ireland’s preparations for EU presidency: ‘You have to make the country look good’

Thomas Byrne (Meath politician)europe
I have no doubt that Russia will try something... so we just have to be prepared as best we can,
Thomas Byrne (Meath politician)europe
We’re fixed very well. The gardaí overall are in charge of security, I think they’re going to do a very good job,
Thomas Byrne (Meath politician)europe
I was keen actually that Italy would be twinned with Meath because Navan is twinned with two Italian towns,
Not every Minister is going to have a major play in it, because their department competencies don’t have a big European dimension,
Thomas Byrne (Meath politician)europe
It’s a hugely important role, we have to be an honest broker and to get things done at an EU level,
In some cases it may not be possible to allocate the number one preference,

Solicitors defending alleged brothel-keeper get €14,000 in legal aid in single sitting, review finds

Remarkably, on the same day these certificates were granted, each case was directed to be heard in a higher court where higher fees apply, therefore raising the question as to why separate payments under regulation 7(4) were granted at all,

Patrick O’Donovan won’t be spending his First Holy Communion money on fixing Oriel Park

Minister, I’m sure after visiting the school you are aware that every single child enrolled in Lucan Community Special School is being sent home at 12pm because the school does not yet have the staffing and resources it needs... firstly ensure that Lucan Community Special School have the resources and staffing they need for the children to attend a full day of school. Then post the celebratory photos.”
One of the key actions I specified in the recently published strategic framework, was the need for the Defence Forces to submit a civilisation strategy for my approval no later than July this year,
Patrick O'Donovanminister for Culture, Communications and Sport
We’re not talking about people who broke the glass ceiling; we’re talking about the people who were kept under the glass ceiling for decades,
Cian Walshresearcher
We do have a potential presidential visit at the Irish Open in September,
It’s fantastic to see this wonderful special school up and running, with 30 students already thriving in a supportive and nurturing environment,
Joe Nashamerican football player
My focus now is to turn this world facility, which has lain idle for the last number of months, into a major visitor attraction under the auspices of my department, and that’s my focus,
Joe, no one would have expected yesterday that we would be at this stage,
David McCullaghirish journalist and writer
As a parent of one of the 30 children I think it would have been far more responsible of you to post this when the school is properly staffed and the children can attend the hours they are entitled to. Please be more thoughtful with your posts in future.”

Camhs review in Kerry represents deeply concerning moment

Against the backdrop of prior CAMHS reviews and prescribing practices nationally, such findings have understandably eroded public confidence in prescribing and warrant careful national reflection

Iran and the United States: key issues that divide them

Washington had also wanted negotiations with Tehran that took place in recent weeks to cover Iran’s ballistic missiles and network of regional militant groups, such as Hizbullah

Iran is a one-trick pony,
Iran’s proxy network has been damaged but not defeated,
As soon as a missile launcher pops up anywhere, the Israelis take it out,
David Albrightnuclear non-proliferation expert
We have not seen any evidence that Iran is trying to reconstitute its nuclear weapons programme or enrich uranium,

Live updates: US launches ‘massive’ military campaign against Iran

Donald Trumppresident
Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world,
Israel Katzisraeli Defence Minister
The State of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,
Donald Trumppresident
I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,
The time has come for all sections of the people in Iran to topple the Ayatollah regime,
Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and that is why we have continually supported efforts to reach a negotiated solution,
Donald Trumppresident
All I want is freedom for the people,
A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel."

Live updates: Iran vows ‘crushing response’ as US launches ‘massive’ military campaign

Benjamin Netanyahuisraeli prime minister
The time has come for all sections of the people in Iran... to remove the yoke of tyranny from [the regime] and bring a free and peace-loving Iran,
Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,
Sirens were sounded in several areas across the country following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel.”
Donald Trumppresident
All I want is freedom for the people,
Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and that is why we have continually supported efforts to reach a negotiated solution,
We are continuing to monitor the situation across the region and our personnel remain committed to completing their mandated tasks,
When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
Israel Katzdefence Minister
The state of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,
Ultimately these strikes originate from the Trump administrations pulling out of the treaty Obama negotiated with Iran on enrichment,
Instead, they attempted to rebuild their nuclear programme and to continue developing long-range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas and could soon reach the American homeland,

Live updates: Iran vows ‘crushing response’ as US launches ‘massive’ military campaign

We also advise against travel to Israel. Our advice at this time to citizens in the region is to shelter in place,
I fully understand the concerns of Irish citizens in the region, and the concerns of their families and friends in Ireland and around the world,
We are continuing to monitor the situation across the region and our personnel remain committed to completing their mandated tasks,

Rosenior has talent to be Chelsea’s answer to Arteta, but can chaos club hold their nerve?

Chelsea have built with a long-term view and, seeing how Arteta has reversed Arsenal’s decline since his appointment as manager in December 2019, have been keen to find a young coach capable of becoming a similarly galvanising force at Stamford Bridge

Live updates: Dozens reportedly killed in Israeli air strike on school in Iran

Benjamin Netanyahuisraeli prime minister
The time has come for all sections of the people in Iran... to remove the yoke of tyranny from [the regime] and bring a free and peace-loving Iran,
Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,
Sirens were sounded in several areas across the country following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel.”
Donald Trumppresident
All I want is freedom for the people,
I fully understand the concerns of Irish citizens in the region, and the concerns of their families and friends in Ireland and around the world,
Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and that is why we have continually supported efforts to reach a negotiated solution,
We are continuing to monitor the situation across the region and our personnel remain committed to completing their mandated tasks,
When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
Israel Katzdefence Minister
The state of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel,

Rare celestial alignment to make six planets visible together tonight

Six planets will parade across the sky this weekend in a rare celestial spectacle

We’re seeing this alignment now because the planets’ orbits have brought them into roughly the same area of the sky from our perspective on Earth. Since each planet circles the sun at a different speed, they constantly shift position against the backdrop of stars. Only occasionally do their paths line up in a way that places several of them together in our night sky,