At their party conference, it was clear the Social Democrats see themselves in growth mode - the by-elections in May will be the first test to show if the electorate agrees, writes Joe Mag Raollaigh

Avalanches have killed three people skiing off-piste in the mountains of Trentino Alto Adige and Lombardy, two regions that are home to some of the venues of the Milano Cortina Winter Games www.rte.ie/news/world/2026/0207/1557292-avalanches-italy/

bout 200 people attended a protest at Donegal Airport calling on the Government to ensure afternoon flights from and to Dublin are secured.

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns has heavily criticised the Government for what she described as the "endless doom loop of failure" over the housing crisis.

Watch: Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns will deliver her keynote speech at the end of the party's national conference at the Silversprings Hotel in Cork City shortly www.rte.ie/news/politics/2026/0207/1557210-social-democrats-conference/

Former prime minister Gordon Brown said the situation facing Keir Starmer was "serious" and suggested the Labour leader had been "too slow to do the right things" to clean up politics in the wake of the Peter Mandelson row

A British Army officer killed in a training incident took up his call "to serve the common good of humanity", mourners have been told at his funeral service in Co Roscommon

Searches are being carried out in Co Armagh for a young mother of two who has been missing for a week.

A Government minister has ruled out a U-turn on a decision not to grant an emergency winter payment for people with disabilities www.rte.ie/news/politics/2026/0207/1557266-disability-payment/

The Minister of State at the Department of Justice has said the St Patrick's Day visit to the White House by the Taoiseach "isn't just about Micheál Martin and Donald Trump" and that Ireland and the US share "deep economic and cultural ties"

A plaque to honour Brendan Behan has been unveiled on the site of the writer's former home at 13 Russell Street in Dublin 1 on what would have been his 103rd birthday

A Roscommon man has finished a cycling challenge which began almost two years ago and saw him travel over 30,000km across three continents to Australia

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns has said Taoiseach Micheál Martin should use his St Patrick's Day meeting at the White House to tell US President Donald Trump that the Irish people disagree with his foreign and domestic policies

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said he hopes talks with the United States would resume soon but also warned that Tehran would target US bases in the region if the US attacked Iranian territory

The United States wants Ukraine and Russia to end their nearly four-year war by June, and has offered to host talks between the two sides in Florida next week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said

Former EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness has revealed she was diagnosed with severe post-viral syndrome last year, prompting her to withdraw from the presidential election race

US President Donald Trump condemned but did not apologise for a video on his social media account depicting Democratic former president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as apes, a post that triggered ⁠swift, bipartisan criticism

A "massive attack" by Russian forces on Ukraine's energy infrastructure has caused power outages across the country, the state grid operator said today

A Mayo man has completed a 6,000km barefoot walk from Istanbul to west Kerry

Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Correspondent Aengus Cox looks at what consumers might want to know about Brazilian meat imports

The Social Democrats are upbeat about their chances in the upcoming by-elections, and there are reasons for such an outlook, writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith www.rte.ie/news/analysi...

The UN's top man wrote a letter to member states warning of imminent "financial collapse". RTÉ Global Security Reporter Yvonne Murray looks at why the UN is in such dire finanical straits

Business owners and residents in Midleton, Co Cork, are frustrated over the lack of a flood relief scheme after flooding caused by Storm Babet in October 2023 devastated the town, writes Southern Editor Paschal Sheehy

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is discovering that his most trusted adviser, a Corkman, may have led him into a scandal from which there is no escape, writes Deputy Foreign Editor Edmund Heaphy

The Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns has insisted Ireland must not "bow down to bullies" when Taoiseach Micheál Martin meets with US President Donald Trump at the White House on St Patrick's Day

Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary are calling for their congressional testimony on ties to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to be held publicly, in a bid to prevent Republicans from politicising the issue

More than 100kg of herbal cannabis concealed in a box labelled 'linen bedding' was seized at Dublin Airport today

The Taoiseach said the meeting will be "an opportunity to celebrate the warm and historic friendship between the US and Ireland".

Canada and France, which both oppose US President Donald Trump's claim to Greenland, have opened consulates in the Danish autonomous territory's capital, in a show of support for the local government.

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns has said "that is the nature of politics" in response to questions over how the unofficial opposition party partnership will cope with two upcoming by-elections where each party runs a candidate.

Behind the Story: Winter Olympics and the politics of sport:

Opposition parties have published their proposed amendments to the Residential Tenancies Bill 2026.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a new round of sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war, including a ban on providing shipping services for Russian crude oil.

The digital archive brings together every edition of An Gaodhal, which was published in the United States between 1881 and 1898.

A suicide bombing at a Shi'ite Mosque in Pakistan's capital Islamabad has killed at least 31 people, local authorities said, with a police source saying more than 130 were wounded

The Garda Commissioner has said "nothing is off the table" in relation to the way gardaí will police the problem of scramblers, e-bikes and motorbikes following the death of 16-year-old Grace Lynch in Finglas

Further batches of Danone's Aptamil and Cow & Gate infant formula and follow-on formula have been recalled due to the possible presence of cereulide

A further 22 sets of infant remains have been recovered from the site of the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway as excavation work continues there

The European Commission has accused TikTok of creating an "addictive design" in its app which could harm the physical and mental wellbeing of minors and vulnerable adults

President Catherine Connolly has concluded her three-day visit to Northern Ireland by meeting youth groups in Derry.

The Netherlands has returned a 3,500-year-old sculpture ⁠to Egypt after the looted artefact resurfaced at a Dutch art fair in 2022.

The Gruffalo family will expand in the long-awaited third book about the beloved monster - titled Gruffalo Granny.

Applications are open to become a volunteer for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Co Limerick

As the number of children enrolling in primary schools across the country falls, there is pressure on many small rural schools with closure, or the loss of teachers, a very real reality.

A Russian general was shot in an apartment building in Moscow this morning and rushed to hospital, officials have said, in the latest apparent assassination attempt of a top Russian military figure

The Grand Emperor Hotel in Macau said it had ripped up the real gold bricks from its distinctive lobby floor and sold them for around $13 million (€11m), cashing in on the metal's market surge.

Údarás na Gaeltachta has reported a year of "sustained growth" with 9,716 people employed across client companies and sales exceeding €1 billion for the second consecutive year.

Iran and the US are preparing for talks in Oman, with Washington looking to see if there was any prospect of diplomatic progress on the Iranian nuclear programme and other issues while refusing to rule out military action.

US President Donald Trump has called for a brand new nuclear treaty after the last agreement with Russia expired prompting fears of a new global arms race.

Hot Press magazine will celebrate its 50th anniversary today with a special celebratory gig at the 3Arena entitled 'History in the Making'.