Blood Ties: The real stories behind Ireland's most notorious murders

by Niamh O'Connor

Husband against wife …
Wife against husband …
Discover what happens when the bonds of family break …

Find out more about the gruesome case of the so-called ‘Scissor Sisters’, whose bloody slaughter of their mother’s lover ended with an unsolved mystery as to the final resting place of the victim’s head - see the only interview with killer Charlotte Mulhall since she entered prison. .

Read the most up-to-date account of the murder of mother-of-two Rachel O’Reilly, including her husband’s latest appeal.

And get the full story behind the sensational case of Sharon Collins and the ‘Lying Eyes’ hitman-for-hire scandal.

As a leading crime reporter for the Sunday World, Niamh O’Connor has interviewed killers, has sat in court as justice was done, and spoken to the condemned in prison to give us the inside stories on three of Ireland’s most notorious murder cases.

Brian Cowen: The Path to Power

by Jason O'Toole

Meet Ireland’s new Taoiseach, Brian Cowen

Despite a high profile at the centre of Irish political life for more than twenty years, relatively little is known about our new leader. Just who is Brian Cowen?

The story begins in the village of Clara, Co. Offaly, where family, local life and the GAA were formative influences. The sudden and unexpected death of his father, Ber Cowen, Fianna Fáil TD for Laois Offaly, thrust a twenty-four year-old Cowen into the heart of Irish politics.

After an eight-year apprenticeship on the back benches, Cowen was appointed to his first ministerial position by Albert Reynolds and later went on to hold the senior cabinet positions of Health, Foreign Affairs and Finance. By the time of Bertie Ahern’s resignation, Cowen’s standing in the party was such that his election to the leadership of Fianna Fáil seemed inevitable. On 7 May 2008, Brian Cowen became Ireland’s eleventh Taoiseach.

Here, for the first time, is a portrait of Brian Cowen which follows his remarkable life story, tracing the road to power from early childhood right up to his eventful early months in the office of An Taoiseach.

Champagne Babes

by Amanda Brunker

Eva Valentine is back and Trouble is still her middle name!

After surviving a near-death experience, Eva marries the man who nursed her back to health. Living it up in style on their honeymoon she discovers she is already three months pregnant.

When little Daisy is born life is far from perfect and soon Eva is struggling with marriage to a man she hardly knows.

Thankfully, her best friends drag her away for weekends of fun and lust, and with all the forbidden sex on offer, she no longer feels like a desperate housewife.

But it's anyone's guess whose bed she’ll end up in next…

Champagne Babes

by Amanda Brunker

Eva Valentine is back! Following on from Champagne Kisses, the spoilt diva finds that Trouble is still her middle name.

After a near-death experience which left her in a deep coma, Eva survives against all odds and quickly marries the man who nursed her back to health. Boozing her way through her wedding and three-week honeymoon in Mauritius, Eva is shocked to learn that she is already three months pregnant.

She doesn’t want a baby yet – and neither does her husband, Michael. And when Daisy is born, life is far from perfect. Weight issues and guilt about her daughter ensue as she struggles to keep alive a marriage to a man she hardly knows. Thankfully, her hilarious best friends regularly drag her away for naughty weekends of fun and lust, which see a return of the old Eva the Diva.

With all the forbidden sex on offer, she no longer feels like a desperate housewife, but it's anyone's guess whose bed she’ll end up in.

Champagne Kisses

by Amanda Brunker

Like any great diva, Eva Valentine is a flawed character.Spoilt, stubborn and sassy, she exudes lioness confidence when in the company of her fellow bitches Maddie and Parker, and hungers for sex like others desire chocolate.

Eva is a woman who would kiss your girlfriend as quick as she’d steal your husband, but underneath this hard-nosed facade she’s just a regular girl who craves normality, and a love that she can call her own...

After CCTV images of a clumsy clinch with her very married boss make headlines in the Sunday papers, her whole world begins to crumble. Eva must come to terms with the harsh consequences of her reckless actions, but don’t think for a second that this would ever stop her fun. In Europe’s most expensive capital, beautiful people can always find rich friends to fly them to fabulous parties in London or glamorous holidays in Marbella.