A glance at the week that was
Tunnel vision
An Irish man who spent 40 years digging a network of tunnels underneath his London home was ordered to pay his local council £300,000 to repair the damage he caused. The excavational endeavours of William Lyttle (77) had put his 20-room Victorian house, which was being held up by wooden beams and household appliances, in danger of collapse. The retired civil engineer had also dug holes around the property, which he was using to store cars, boats and other items. Hackney Council had to evict him and do repairs before the house fell.
Double vision
Gardai have raided it four times, publicans are up in arms and even Limerick City Council has been embroiled in the efforts to close down a shebeen in Southill in Limerick, but alcohol continues to flow at the Kelly family shed. According to owner Francis Kelly, who is reportedly barred from every other drinking establishment in the area, the alcohol served on the premises is for his friends. Each time the alcohol has been confiscated, stocks have been quickly replenished and "guests" are continuing to frequent what they see as a welcome amenity.
"Authors have a right to protect their works from misuse. Do I have fewer rights because many people read my books?"
JK Rowling on her case against the writer and publisher of an unofficial Harry Potter encyclopedia
We now know
Having a big brain may protect against dementia, at least if your hippocampus is generously proportioned
The majority of Irish teenagers want the legal drinking age to be reduced from 18 to 16 as part of a series of steps to tackle alcohol misuse
The first draft of The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin is now available on the internet, if you're ready to trawl through some 20,000 items and 90,000 images
The numbers
547,600:The number of trips abroad made by Irish people in February, compared to 471,300 visits to Ireland from abroad.
36:The number of years of our life we spend sitting down, according to a survey by a skin-care company.
€360,000:The record price paid for an original copy of the Proclamation of Independence (right) at auction this week.