Dublin (Ireland), Dec. 25 : Two more bishops said Friday they were offering their resignation to Pope Benedict XVI in the wake of a child sex abuse scandal in Ireland.

Auxiliary Bishops of Dublin Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field said in a statement they had informed the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, on Christmas Eve of their intention to quit.

Dublin, Nov 23 : Angry cleaners in Ireland have decided dump their ‘Henry vacuum cleaners’ after France striker Thierry Henry''s handball ended the nation''s World Cup dreams.

Though the footballer has no association with the vacuum cleaner company, workers said that they couldn’t bear to look at the smiley-faced machines following the French striker''s cheating.

Dublin, Nov 20 : Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has called on FIFA to order a replay of the controversial World Cup play-off between Ireland and France.

Ahern''s call came as Ireland is still raging at the double handball by France striker Thierry Henry, which enabled the latter to score the extra-time goal that won their play-off 2-1 on aggregate and sent them through to the finals in South Africa next summer.

Dublin, November 2 : The skeletal remains of more than a thousand people have been recovered from what experts believe was one of Ireland’s largest medieval cemeteries.

According to a report in the Irish Examiner, the ancient bones have produced evidence of several suspected murders and one case of leprosy – an extremely rare occurrence in medieval times.

Dublin, November 2 : The skeletal remains of more than a thousand people have been recovered from what experts believe was one of Ireland’s largest medieval cemeteries.

According to a report in the Irish Examiner, the ancient bones have produced evidence of several suspected murders and one case of leprosy – an extremely rare occurrence in medieval times.

Osteoarchaeologist Carmelita Troy, of Headland Archaeology in Cork, said yesterday she has studied the ancient remains of nearly 1,300 individuals – adult males and females along with children – who were buried at the site at Ardreigh, Athy, in Co Kildare.

It is one of the largest skeleton assemblages in the country.

Dublin - Concern was mounting in Ireland Monday over the welfare of an Irish priest who was snatched by six armed men from his mission's residence in a southern Philippine city.

The Irish Ambassador to Singapore has travelled to Manila to support the efforts to release 79-year-old Father Michael Sinnott, a Columban priest from Wexford in Ireland's south-east.

London/Dublin  - Ireland's governing platform won approval Saturday from the Green Party, keeping the country's centre-left coalition intact.

The Green Party met Saturday in Dublin to decide whether to remain in coalition with Prime Minister Brian Cowen's Fianna Fail, the senion party in the coalition.

Failure to achieve a two-thirds majority for the new governing agreement, reached Friday between Cowen and Greens leader John Gormley, would have forced new elections.

Dublin  - Polling stations across Ireland opened Friday, with a 3 million-strong electorate able to vote - for a second time - on the European Union's Lisbon treaty.

Polling began at 7 am (0600 GMT) in 43 constituencies and was to continue until 10 pm (2100 GMT).

The Lisbon Treaty was rejected by the Irish electorate in a first referendum in June 2008, with the "No" side winning 53.4 per cent of the vote.

Dublin - Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen on Wednesday ruled out a third referendum on the Lisbon Treaty if Irish voters rejected it in the upcoming second referendum.

"There won't be a Lisbon III, I think that's for sure," Cowen said, when hypothesizing over a possible defeat of the treaty in the referendum to be held on Friday.

The Irish leader however warned that a defeat would lead the European Union into crisis.

Dublin  - A row over a pay-off to the disgraced former chief of the Irish government training and employment agency, Fas, is threatening to overshadow the final days of the Lisbon referendum campaign in Ireland.

The contradictory evidence from the Irish Premier Brian Cowen and a senior civil servant over the reasons behind a pay-off to agency chief Roddy Molloy was dominating headlines Monday, days ahead of Ireland's second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty on Friday.

A successful "No" vote defeated the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum in Ireland in June 2008.

Dublin - A new opinion poll shows that opposition to the Lisbon Treaty has grown in Ireland in the last fortnight, but that the "Yes" side is still leading comfortably, the Irish Times daily newspaper reported Friday.

With just one week to go before the referendum, the pro-Lisbon vote is leading by 59 per cent to 41 per cent when undecided voters are excluded, according to the poll published Friday.

The "No" side has also gained some ground, up four points to 33 per cent since the last Irish Times poll two weeks ago, while 48 per cent said they would vote yes, an increase of two points.

The percentage of those who said they did not know has fallen by six points to 19 per cent.

Dublin, September 6 : Construction work during roadwork in different counties in Ireland has revealed the remains of a 9,000-year-old fishing basket, along with other ancient artifacts, which give a fresh perspective on early Irish life.

According to a report in The Irish Times, the 9,000-year-old fishing basket was found at Clowanstown in Co Meath, a monastic bell-making facility was discovered at Clonfad in Co Westmeath and an "exceptional" raised wooden trackway was found close to the Dromod-Roosky bypass.

Archaeologist Dr Farina Sternke said that an excavation at Tullahedy in Co Tipperary had uncovered the remains of a palisade encircling a natural mound, which had been altered over time via the dumping of several layers of glacial soil.

Dublin, August 25 : Two ancient skeletons with a rare genetic bone disease unearthed from a medieval Irish graveyard may hold key insights for medical experts in solving the mysterious ailment.

The two skeletons - one around 800-years-old and the other 1,100-years-old - dug up along with the remains of more than 1,000 men, women and children from the Ballyhanna graveyard site at Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, have attracted the attention of international medical researchers.

Dublin, August 20 : Two workers have discovered an oak barrel, full of butter, estimated to be roughly 3,000 years old, in Gilltown bog, between Timahoe and Staplestown, in Ireland.

According to a report in Leinster Leader, the amazing discovery of the barrel, which is being described by archaeology experts in the National Museum as a “really fine example” was found by two Bord na Mona workers.

The pair, John Fitzharris and Martin Lane, were harrowing the bog one day in late May when they noticed a distinctive white streak in the peat.

Dublin  - Ireland is to take in two detainees from the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, officials in Dublin said Wednesday.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern confirmed the decision in a meeting with US Ambassador Dan Rooney, according to media reports.

The two detainees are due for release alongside other Guantanamo inmates deemed to no longer pose a threat to security but unable to return to their countries of origin.

Dublin - The world tour plans of Irish rock band U2 were thrown into disarray Tuesday by picketing residents in Dublin who blocked the trucks carrying their touring equipment.

Dozens of trucks that had been stationed at the city's Croke Park stadium where U2 performed the before a 240,000-strong audience the previous three nights were blocked by the picketers early Tuesday.

The residents were protesting the decision by city authorities to allow the stadium owners and concert promoters permission to dismantle the band's custom-built stage overnight Monday.

Dublin  - Real Madrid captain Raul Gonzalez is excited about the team's new season, and he stressed Tuesday that he does not feel threatened by the recent signings of world-class attacking players like Cristiano Ronaldo or Karim Benzema.

In the first day of Real Madrid's pre-season training camp in Dublin, the veteran striker faced reporters to say he will fight for a place in the team.

Dublin/Hamburg  - Two aid workers for the Irish organization Goal have been kidnapped from the Darfur crisis region of Sudan, the group's spokesperson told Irish radio RTE Friday evening.

John O'Shea said unknown armed abductors had broken into a Goal office in northern Darfur and kidnapped an Irish woman, age 32, and a Ugandan aid worker.

The abduction marks the third time since March that foreign aid workers have been kidnapped from Darfur, according to the British broadcaster BBC.

Dublin - The Irish government coalition faced a parliamentary vote of no confidence Tuesday, after its abysmal performance in the European and local elections.

The two-day debate will be an opportunity for the Fine Gael opposition to repeat its calls for a general election.

"We've had a party in government for the last 12 years who have presided over a particular economic philosophy which has led us here and we need change," opposition Fine Gael leader Enda Kelly told The Irish Times newspaper.

Dublin  - Ireland's ruling Fianna Fail party suffered a humiliating defeat in Dublin as it lost its European Parliament seat in the capital to the Socialist party Monday.

"I will be the voice of working people in Europe," said anti-Lisbon Socialist party candidate Joe Higgins after defeating Fianna Fail's outgoing MEP Eoin Ryan in a cliffhanger finish in the Dublin constituency.

Higgins pledged to champion the interests of working people as "the creators of wealth" in Europe.