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The stories of Niall de Burca captivate a young audience at the Kilkenny Arts Festival over the weekend.

New structures studied to deal with immigrants
The Government is planning to respond to the needs of the rapidly-growing population of migrant workers and foreign nationals through a new cross-departmental political structure, writes Carl O'Brien , Social Affairs Correspondent

Fighting intensifies in run-up to UN ceasefire
As Israel's cabinet announced its acceptance of the UN-brokered truce, due to take effect from 5am GMT today, fighting escalated to an intensity not seen since the conflict erupted a month ago, write Michael Jansen in Beirut and Peter Hirschberg in Jerusalem
Offer of 100 new consultants linked to A&E performance
Hospitals which eliminate the practice of patients waiting on trolleys and which make substantial progress towards fully assessing patients in A&E within six hours are to be offered access to additional consultant posts. Martin Wall reports

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Ireland

RUC never looked for McConville, says O'Loan
Police in the North failed to investigate the disappearance of mother-of-10 Jean McConville for more than 20 years, a Police Ombudsman investigation has found. p
Graduate results getting better, says HEA
Dublin City University (DCU) graduates are more than twice as likely to obtain a first-class honour in their primary degree than their counterparts at University College Dublin (UCD), which awards the lowest percentage of "firsts" of all seven universities, new Higher Education Authority (HEA) figures reveal. p
Rail lines to Celbridge set to be doubled
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen has made a railway order allowing Iarnród Éireann to proceed with plans to double the number of tracks on the Kildare line between Heuston Station and Hazelhatch, near Celbridge. p
Adams tells rally to be proud of hunger strikers
Republicans need to shun sectarianism and reach out to the unionist population, Gerry Adams said in Belfast yesterday. Speaking at a rally in the GAA's Casement Park in Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strikes, the president of Sinn Féin told a crowd of 20,000 people to be proud of the hunger strikers. p
Rossport protesters end walk in Dublin
Opponents of the Corrib gas project completed their 300-kilometre "long walk" from Rossport, Co Mayo, to Dublin on Saturday and were welcomed at their journey's end by Lord Mayor of Dublin Vincent Jackson. p
Ten respond to Cork couple's appeal for surrogate
A Cork couple who have made a public appeal for a surrogate mother to have their child claim to have received two phone calls from "very interested women" and about eight calls from people considering helping them. p
Rider ends birthday week with win
Marie Burke put in her strongest bid yet for a place on this month's World Equestrian Games team with a brilliant performance for a third-place finish in the €120,000 Longines Grand Prix at the RDS yesterday. p
Councillor reported mobile phone incident to gardai
A Fianna Fáil Dublin city councillor has criticised the publication of photographs taken of him at a private party, which appeared in two newspapers this weekend. p
Government extends sympathies to golfer
The Government last night joined leading figures in the world of sport in expressing sympathy to Irish golf star Darren Clarke on the death of his wife, Heather. p
Wicklow Way - this route was made for walking
The Wicklow Way, the oldest and busiest long-distance walking route in the Republic, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, writes Paul Cullen . Up to 24,000 people a year walk along the busiest sections of the Way each year, according to newly-compiled figures from the Wicklow Uplands Council. p

Finance

ESB plans €600m plant in Wales
The ESB is planning a new €600 million gas-fired power station near Port Talbot in Wales as its international expansion gathers pace. The company's international division, ESB International, is currently assessing various sites in the Port Talbot area for the plant. p
IMF urges more control of insurance sector
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called for "improvements" in official supervision of the insurance and reinsurance sectors in the Republic and said there was scope for more robust on-site visits to insurers. p
Construction activity up in July
Construction activity picked up across the economy in July, but the rate of expansion was a touch slower than in the previous month. The latest figures in the Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) show that construction firms linked the latest rise in business levels to new orders and efforts to meet existing deadlines. p

World

Angolan army on border as Congo results awaited
ANGOLA: Thousands of Angolan troops have been moved to the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo as Congo awaits the results of its first multiparty elections for more than 40 years. p
Journalist claims US helped plan campaign
US: The US government was closely involved in planning the Israeli campaign in Lebanon, even before Hizbullah seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid in July. p
Shock at revelation that Grass was in SS
GERMANY: Germans have reacted with anger and disappointment to Nobel Prize-winning author Günter Grass's admission that he was a teenage member of the Waffen-SS. p

Sport

Long grass just fine for Kilkenny's big cats
GAELIC GAMES: Anthony Daly rubbed his hand over that part of his head which was until a few years ago thatched with hair. The trouble in his eyes told you where the hair had gone. If you love Clare hurling it's a cruel life with many torments. p
Hill inclined to bank on title tilt
Like the great circus posters of yesteryear, there were plenty of signs around Dublin this weekend that The Greatest Show On Earth was back in town. Tens of thousands of sky blue Dublin fans gathered in Croke Park at four o'clock (ish) to watch the Leinster championships steam through to the All-Ireland semi-final. p
Agony for Cragg as disaster strikes in heel of the hunt
ATHLETICS: Anyone who has tried to run on an injured Achilles tendon can imagine how Alistair Cragg hurt physically in yesterday's European 5,000-metre final - but few can imagine his emotional pain after dropping out. His dream was to win this gold medal for Ireland and failing in that could hurt him for years to come. p