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St Michael's College captain Conor Cleary holds the Leinster Schools Senior Cup aloft as he and his team-mates celebrate their 6-0 victory over Clongowes Wood College at Donnybrook yesterday to secure their first title.

Photograph: Matt Kavanagh

Fears for cattle bring plan for windows crashing down
A decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning permission for three new windows in a Co Wicklow house on the basis that cattle in an adjoining field might run into them has been greeted with incredulity by planners.

Doubters in DUP try to thwart devolution deadline
A battle of political wills between the DUP and Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain is looming in the countdown to next Monday's "deadline" for the restoration of powersharing at Stormont.
Warning of 'serious risk' at Drogheda maternity unit
The head of a high-powered Health Service Executive task force has warned of "serious risk" to maternity services at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda due to critical staffing shortages.

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Ireland

Six killed in crashes on the roads during the weekend
People returning home from their Bank Holiday break today have been urged to drive carefully, after six people died in road crashes at the weekend. p
More than 600 mobile phones seized in Mountjoy
More than 600 mobile telephones were seized from inmates in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, last year, The Irish Times has learned. p
Truck traffic takes heavy toll on Kerry's bridges
Extensive repairs to the bridges of Co Kerry - largely because of the toll of heavy goods vehicles crossing them - will prove a major drain on resources this year, the head of the county's roads' department has warned. p
Natives join New Irish in jamboree of silly hats
All of a sudden, there is no shame in silly hats. The lid is off the fancy dress box. Sartorial decorum on St Patrick's Day is a thing of the past. Best frock and dollop of shamrock doesn't cut it anymore. p
Testing of Galway water supply continues
Scientific testing has continued in Galway over the weekend to try to establish the source of a gastric illness which could be linked to drinking water. p

Finance

Lack of choice in audit market 'harmful'
The concentration of audit work "among a small number of firms" could harm Ireland's attractiveness as a location for inward investment. p
Barclays makes approach to take over ABN Amro
Barclays and several other large European banks have approached ABN Amro about a takeover as the embattled Dutch bank attempts to fight off a campaign by activist investors. p
Time to retune Ireland Inc's growth engine
In the past number of weeks Ireland has been hit by a number of companies announcing closures or redundancy programmes. p

World

Support for boycott of Palestinian authority fading fast
MIDDLE EAST: As the new Palestinian unity government met under prime minister Ismail Haniyeh yesterday to discuss ways to lift the financial embargo, international will to maintain the boycott dissipated. p
Mugabe threatens opponents as MP is attacked
ZIMBABWE: A Zimbabwean MP, Nelson Chamisa, was beaten unconscious yesterday at Harare airport as he was about to fly to Brussels, his party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said. p
N Korea on track to agree nuclear deal
NORTH KOREA: North Korea, under its secretive leader Kim Jong-il, is on track to fulfil its side of a disarmament accord by shutting down its main atomic reactor next month, the US envoy to six-party talks on the North's nuclear programme said yesterday. p

Sport

Dublin produce goods again
GAA/Dublin 2-7 Galway 1-8: Yes, there were times yesterday amidst the wind, the sleet, the hail and the snow which battered Parnell Park when we thought about how pleasant it would be to be watching cricket in Jamaica. In the end though the sacrifice was worth it. p
Ireland revel with sun on their backs
Italy 24 Ireland 51: The booty and the World Cup psychological edge may have gone to the French, but this was a far-from-worthless Roman odyssey. In their last competitive outing before next September's global jamboree, and in similar conditions, this Irish team revelled in having the sun on their backs and cut themselves free from all shackles. p
Endgame cannot really tarnish glory that was Rome
RUGBY: Rugby treks don't come much better than that. An under-20 Grand Slam, glorious sunshine for three days, the best of good food, wine and sightseeing, euros being spent like they were liras, and then a 50-pointer against a damn-fine Italian side in which possibly the best collection of backs ever to wear the Irish jersey gave full vent to their talents in carnival atmosphere at the Stadio Flaminio. And yet there was a feeling of anti-climax. p
Death of Woolmer casts long shadow
CRICKET: The success of Ireland's cricketers in the World Cup has been marred by the sudden death of Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan team coach. p

Opinion

New York a model to embrace
John Waters: There is a shame in confessing it: I had never been to New York until I went last week to speak at a conference on the world crisis of fatherhood at Columbia University. If I hadn't been invited I might have lived and died without going. p

Features

Invention, not convention
Chris Wood is peeling back convention to expose the strength of tradition in one of the most maligned musical genres - English folk music, writes Siobhán Long p
An arabic winter of discontent
Richard III as a power-hungry oil-rich Arab is the latest manifestation of the long history between Shakespeare and the Arab world, writes Mary Russell p