A Laois man who was jailed less than three months ago for raping a friend on wasteland on Halloween night when they were both teenagers has had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal

In response to a letter sent by loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, the DUP leader said his party would not be intimidated over any return to Stormont.

The Central Criminal Court heard Sam Archbold (37) was under threat after failing to pay back a €2,000 debt

The victim said she thought she was going to die during the attack

Gerard Cervi pleaded not guilty to the murder of Robert Messett and the attempted murders of Peter Taylor and Ian Britton

Aaron Brady (32) is serving a life sentence with a 40-year minimum having been found guilty in 2020 of murdering Det Gda Donohoe (41) at Lordship Credit Union in 2013

The basic weapons training has been criticised as ‘a new departure in the Government’s breach of Irish military neutrality’.

The man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 16 sample counts of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and indecent assault between 1985 and 1995

The court heard the boy was 15 when he stole a Volkswagen Golf in Cabra and led Gardaí on a high-speed chase

Gardaí said the threat of violence against a named person was ‘a matter of serious concern’

The case was among three debt settlement arrangements were approved by the High Court on Monday

Here, we have a look at what to expect on the political agenda in the next week, with plenty of talking points besides the obvious one of Budget 2024

The Minister for Justice hailed 3,000 new Irish citizens

Josef Puska (32) is charged with the 23-year-old primary school teacher

Members of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) have threatened to withdraw their labour if the dispute is not resolved

The Special Criminal Court previously heard Michael Carroll (43) wanted to "ingratiate himself with organised criminals" due to his drug debts

His inquest began in March and is scheduled to resume next January.

Gardaí have said the seizure was the largest in the history of the State

Five judges are yet to be appointment to the High Court bench, as well as two judges for the Circuit Courts

Jason O’Callaghan (50) helps his clients lose weight, give up smoking and overcome their fears.