As boss of a North London photographic company in the mid-1970s George Ward played a central role in a key episode in Margaret Thatcher's developing belief that the power of Britain's trade unions had to be curbed. The strike at his firm dragged on for two long and bitter years, encompassing violence on the picket lines, huge political controversy and high-level legal proceedings before ending in defeat for the unions.

The Reverend Ray Davey, who has died aged 97, was a Presbyterian minister who created a Christian community on the north coast of Northern Ireland with the aim of fostering reconciliation between Catholic and Protestant. He did so in 1965, a few years before the Troubles erupted, with a small team dedicated to the gradual improvement of community relations at a time of simmering tensions but little actual violence.

A lawyer defending Labour MP Peter Hain against claims that he "scandalised a judge" has challenged whether the offence still exists.

A Dublin security tribunal today heard allegations that Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland's deputy first minister, was involved in sanctioning the murders of two senior police officers in 1989.

Harry Crews was for many years professor of creative writing at the university of Florida, producing novels and journalism which brought him a considerable cult following.

Vast majority surveyed say Vatican's teachings on sex and marriage are no longer relevant

In events that might inspire an Irish dramatist, an unholy turf war has broken out across the country's bogs, pitting the government, the European Commission and the green lobby against rural-dwellers fighting for the right to heat their homes.

Ex-Sinn Fein councillor and his accomplice lured officer to an ambush with fake 999 call

He gained a reputation as a ruthless operator who jailed and sometimes killed his opponents

Jocky Wilson was a legend as a darts player, as a television character and because of the legendarily large amounts of lager and vodka he knocked back during tournaments.