Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Horrific cases come to light after childbirth op pay-out

By ALISON O'RIORDAN




Sunday March 25 2012




A woman awarded €450,000 in compensation by the High Court on Friday after her life was "destroyed" by an outdated childbirth operation has prompted others to reveal horrific stories and take action for undergoing unnecessary symphysiotomy operations.

Olivia Kearney (60) endured a "wholly unnecessary" surgical procedure after she had her first baby nearly 43 years ago.

Teresa Devoy, who was only 18 when she became pregnant

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Saturday, March 31, 2012

Nooky in the Olympic Village

What happens when the world's fittest bodies shack up together? Alison O'Riordan talks to Ireland's Olympians
By Alison O'Riordan


Saturday March 24 2012





The London 2012 Olympics Games -- dubbed the greatest 18-30 singles club in the world -- are happening on our doorstep this July.

For two weeks, 10,500 athletes of super-human strength (and sexual appeal) will mingle together in what has been described as, ahem, a 'f**k fest'.

You only gain access if you are in the

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Thursday, March 22, 2012

Thieves strip yet another bandstand

By: Alison O'Riordan

METAL worth €4,000 has been stolen from the National Botanic Gardens as thieves target historic gardens for the second time in a week.

The lead roof of a bandstand in the National Botanic Gardens was dismantled and removed in the early hours of Monday morning.

It comes after the bandstand beside Dublin Zoo in the Phoenix Park was stripped of its roof last Friday.

Metal theft is on the increase in Ireland due to the soaring value of scrap metal. Lead costs

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Computer problems delay mortgage relief

By Alison O'Riordan


TAX refunds for boom-time buyers face delays of up to four months because computer systems at the Revenue Commissioners and mortgage lenders need to be upgraded.

First-time homeowners in negative equity will not now receive their mortgage interest relief - worth up to €500 for couples and €250 for single buyers - until the summer.

The extra relief promised in the last Budget was supposed to be applied from the start of January for 270,000 people who bought

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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

We will pay a bigger slice for our cakes

Bakers pass on 30 per cent egg hike to customers

By: Alison O'Riordan

THOSE with a sweet tooth could soon be in for a rude awakening when they find themselves having to part with some extra cash for their chocolate éclair or sponge cake.

The egg industry is being hit by a 30 per cent increase and bakers and caterers are already feeling the hit - while the higher cost will soon be passed on to the consumer.

Experts say an EU directive banning battery hens means that many

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Monday, March 19, 2012

Glenda in Helix for a bit of old-school support

By: Alison O'Riordan

WITH the voice of an angel, it's hardly surprising that she is a choir member.

But it was the masses, not Mass-goers, who got to hear the talented Claire O'Loughlin last night, when she took to the stage of Dublin's Helix for The Voice Of Ireland.

Among those cheering was Glenda Gilson, who has been friends with the mother of two since their school days.

The Xposé presenter got to know the blonde singer - who mentor Brian Kennedy described as 'smokin' hot' -

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Elton's Tipp for an Oscar bash? Get an Irish chef...

By: ALISON O'RIORDAN

NOT only is he Elton John's favourite rocket man, he can whip up a delicious dressing for the salad leaves too.

Tipperary-born chef Stuart O'Keeffe cooked up a storm for the singer and 400 of his guests at the Grammy Award winner's Oscar dinner party last month.

Among the A-listers who dined on his culinary delights at the €2,000-per-ticket event were Katy Perry, Sharon Stone and Florence Welch.

Mr O'Keeffe, who has also landed a show, Home Made Simple, on

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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Getting my breasts done changed my life ... I want my implants replaced

Sarita Clery



By Alison O'Riordan



Saturday March 10 2012





Sarita Clery is one of the 1,500 Irish women who have been fitted with suspect breast implants. When the women spoke out, they were met with hostility, and even a suggestion that they were vain and deserved to die of cancer. Alison O'Riordan reports

'I was quite plain growing up. I wanted to wear nice clothes but they didn't cling to the right bits," says 31-year-old Sarita Clery from Lucan, Dublin,

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Dubs hardman Ger to show spiritual side in Croker...as religious volunteer Dubs hardman Ger to show spiritual side in Croker...as religious volunteer

By Alison O'Riordan

Monday February 27 2012


HE is an on-pitch tough guy but Dublin star Ger Brennan has a spiritual side too. The All-Ireland winner will be one of 82,000 people in Croke Park this summer -- but for once all eyes won't be on his football skills.

 

Instead he will be lining out as a volunteer for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress.

For the week prior to the closing ceremony in Croke Park on June 17, the RDS will be filled with 25,000 people daily

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My mum lost her savings and I want to see justice

By Alison O'Riordan

Monday February 27 2012


A VICTIM of the Custom House Capital collapse is determined to have her day in court and make someone accountable for her elderly mother's savings being eroded.

Ingrid Baugh's 85-year-old mother from Shankill, Co Dublin, is one of 1,500 victims of the scheme but is determined to fight back.

"My mother sold her home in 2006 and decided to move into a retirement complex with sheltered accommodation. She wanted to put the proceeds from the

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Monday, February 27, 2012

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My coach saved my life, says Voice star

Bullies drove singer Kiera to the brink of suicide
By Alison O’Riordan
HER confident and assured performances on The Voice Of Ireland have marked her out as a born star.But Kiera Byrne has revealed
that only a year ago she had lost every shred of self-belief and had even considered taking her own life.
The 22-year-old had harboured ambitions of being a professional singer since she was seven but had given up hope after piling
on weight and being remorselessly picked on at school.
‘I

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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Immigrant pics highlight our changed society

ALISON O’RIORDAN

THE vast contribution made by leaders of immigrant networks to Irish society is being showcased in a photographic exhibition entitled ‘Leaders’. This exhibition documents the work and achievements of 18 individuals and organisations in rights advocacy, gender issues, culture, the media and religion.

Dr Ronit Lentin, originally from Israel but who settled in Ireland 40 years ago, is principal investigator of the Migrant Networks Project and believes this exhibition

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Music legend BP earns his stripes with magical single

ALISON O’RIORDAN

LEGENDARY Irish muso BP Fallon, who has been submerged in music all his life, has released a solo record in collaboration with Jack White, of American rock duo The White Stripes. To rock ‘n' roll what a stamp is to an envelope, BP says of his seven-inch vinyl single, entitled Fame #9: “I'm more than blessed, rockin' around the world and now making this record. It's wild, really.” Not least the most interesting thing about this 45’ single is that it is

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Monday, January 30, 2012

ON THE OTHER HAND, LOVE CAN BE A MANY-SPLENDOURED THING, AT ANY AGE

Ireland’s famous couples believe if it feels right, then it is right, says Alison O’Riordan

WE don’t need scientists to tell us that older men prefer younger women, but the statistic cal evidence of older women running off with younger men is on a skyrocket trajectory.

So is there such a thing as an acceptable age gap in relationships? Well, Ireland’s celebrity couples don’t seem to have a problem and are of the opinion that if it feels right just to go for it.

Celebrity

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Monsignor celebrates 70 years in priesthood

ONE of Ireland's oldest priests still in active ministry reaches an extraordinary milestone today.

Monsignor John Moloney, of the Three Patrons Church in Rathgar, Dublin, celebrates his platinum jubilee in the priesthood.

Seventy years ago today – on July 13, 1941 while World War II raged – the monsignor was ordained a priest in Rome.

The 95-year-old from Limerick, who was a close friend of Pope John Paul II, is still a serving priest in his parish of Rathgar.

“Every day has

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Friday, January 27, 2012

With the finish line in sight, all the pain’s been worth it

Tomorrow I, along with 12,499 people, will willingly put myself through unspeakable agony on the streets of Dublin to achieve something remarkable, but what I will hopefully accomplish will have come at a price. I am taking part in the Dublin Marathon.

It has been my junkie fix, so to speak, for the last few months; everything in my life has been dictated by when my next run would be. Social life, drinking sessions with friends and lazy Sundays on the couch have gone out the

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Yes to Lisbon: Politicians, businessmen, TV stars and entrepreneurs explain to Alison O’Riordan why they’ll say Yes in the Lisbon referendum

Dr Garret FitzGerald, former Taoiseach: “I am voting Yes because it is the most democratically drafted treaty every signed — drawn up by democratically elected politicians from opposition parties as well as governments. Second, because Ireland had a bigger input than into any other treaty every agreed. John Bruton on the Presidium of the Convention that prepared the draft text; Dick Roche organising and chairing the group of 16 smaller countries that ensured the larger countries could not

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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Businessman 'driven to the brink' by the banks dreamed of his own funeral

By Alison O'Riordan

Tuesday January 10 2012


A BUSINESSMAN has revealed how he was driven to the brink by callous banks.

George Mordaunt says that his whole life fell apart along with his once successful car dealership.

The father-of-two visualised his own funeral as he felt victimised by Irish banks.

"You get into this frenzy of scheming for survival and it takes over your life and everything else gets parked and it becomes a seven-day-a-week frenzy," he told the

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