- A three-man armed gang forced their way into a house near Kinsale, Co. Cork last Sunday morning and assaulted the three residents, a couple in their 50s and their teenage son. The man, who worked in Britain, was forced to provide details of his bank accounts in the Isle of Man, and the gang also stole credit cards and a laptop computer with bank details. The family managed to raise the alarm after the gang left and the bank was contacted before any attempt was made to remove money from the accounts or use the credit cards.
- The parents of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, murdered in west Cork in December 1996, returned to the site of their daughter's death at the weekend to lay a wreath. Speaking after a commemorative Mass yesterday, Mme Bouniol expressed the fear that she would die before anyone is brought to justice for the murder. She was also critical of the lack of cooperation between the Irish and French governments on legal matters.
- In an interview with the Irish Times marking his ten years as Primate of Ireland, Archbishop of Armagh Seán Brady, spoke of the deep concern of many at the "growing coarseness and aggression" that has become a feature of modern Ireland. This, he said, was evident on the roads, in binge-drinking and the sexualisation of children. He blamed the change on the "marginalisation of religion", a development that has created "a very deep concern, particularly by parents, about where we are going morally and spiritually". Probably what captured most attention was his question, "Do we want to have a culture of Podge and Rodge, or one of decency and respect?" Not that people were falling over themselves to answer this. Instead they focused on the two puppets, late night regulars on RTÉ 2, who could be described as offering the ultimate in bad taste, a description with which even their fans could hardly disagree.
- The Irish Times reports that a Department of Foreign Affairs audit committee is concerned at the management of the Irish Aid budget. It notes that staffing in the department's evaluation and audit unit are "barely adequate", leaving it "susceptible to sickness, emergencies, staff departures, etc.". The committee is also concerned at the implications of decentralising the Irish Aid unit to Limerick; experienced staff who are not interested in relocating are being replaced with staff from other departments. The separation of the Irish Aid unit from the rest of the Department could, it is feared, lead to inconsistencies with other aspects of foreign policy. The practice of using consultants to prepare reports was questioned, as often there is insufficient staff to implement the resultant recommendations.
- The Government on Tuesday published details of a strategy aimed at making the country properly bi-lingual over the next 20 years. The plan was launched by Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív, accompanied by the entire cabinet. Among the targeted areas are education and broadcasting. Mr Ó Cuív noted that policies to date have been successful as successive censuses have shown increasing numbers of people able to speak Irish, while Minister for Justice Michael McDowell noted that 100,000 pupils attend Gaelscoileanna every day.
- Det. Sgt John White, who has been severely criticised in more than one report from the Morris Tribunal, has been dismissed from an Garda Síochána. He is, however, appealing the decision. He was told that his dismissal arose from the conclusions of the Morris Tribunal in relation to the Ardara module. This found that he had planted an explosive device at a television transmitter so that he could arrest, under the Offences Against the State Act, a number of people who had been protesting against the company which owned the transmitter. That particular Act allowed for their detention for three days rather than 12 hours.
- Two members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, a New York-based religious order, have arrived in Limerick where they are to open a friary in the city's Moyross area. The order already has a presence in New York, London, Honduras and Albuquerque where they work with deprived communities.
- It is expected that from 2008 onwards taxis which are more than nine years old will be considered unfit for use. This is being proposed by Taxi Regulator Ger Deering but he first plans a period of public consultation on that and other issues.
- Ireland's celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin is currently taking action in the High Court in London against a British garden designer. Mr Gavin alleges that Andrew Sturgeon, winner of the gold medal at this year's Chelsea Flower Show, infringed his copyright with the winning design.
- On Tuesday, gardaí in Dublin arrested a 23-year-old man after 17kg of heroin, worth around €4m, was found in his car.
- A garda on foot patrol in the Blanchardstown area of Dublin received minor injuries when he was knocked down while attempting to stop a car on Tuesday evening. Garda mobile units were alerted and some time later a car was stopped on the M50. The driver was arrested and has since appeared in court, charged with a number of motoring offences.
- "Mad cow disease", or BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), is still with us although on a very much reduced scale from previous years. This year the total number of cases detected was 41, down from 69 last year and 333 in 2003.
- Those who were lucky enough to be chosen to visit Newgrange on the shortest day of the year were rewarded with a perfect sunrise illuminating the burial chamber just before nine o'clock on Thursday morning.
- Four gardaí jumped into the water at Custom House Quay in Wexford on Friday to rescue a local man who had been seen to jump from the parapet of the bridge. Gardaí James Maher, John Joe Sinnott, Eric O'Sullivan and John O'Flynn were treated at Wexford General Hospital for hypothermia, as was the man they rescued.
National Lottery Winning Numbers:
- Wed: 27, 30, 35, 39, 42, 45 (44) - the jackpot of €3.96m wasn't won.
- Sat: 13, 17, 29, 31, 34, 39 (2) – the jackpot of €5.93m wasn't won.
