Mother and baby home survivors
Survivors of mother and baby homes, Magdalene Laundries and workhouses have been urged to speak to police.
Detectives are investigating allegations of abuse at the institutions which were formerly run primarily by the Catholic Church, but also by other churches and charities across Northern Ireland.
Last year, a major academic research report was published outlining the scale of mistreatment endured by thousands of women and girls in the institutions, the last of which closed in the 1990s.
Police have so far received 57 reports, including from mothers who have never met their children.
Dillon Quirke funeral
Tipperary hurling star Dillon Quirke died last Friday “doing what he loved”, in the Premier County’s home of hurling, his funeral mass heard on Tuesday.
Mr Quirke (24) who catapulted through the hurling ranks from underage to the Tipperary senior hurling team, died after he collapsed while captaining Clonoulty Rossmore against Kilruane MacDonaghs, during a county senior hurling championship match at Semple Stadium, Thurles, last Friday.
The idyllic rural village of Clonoulty came to a standstill as the local hurling legend’s remains were first driven by hearse from his home to his local GAA pitch, before his coffin was shouldered almost 2km to St John the Baptist Church, as it passed hundreds of silent standing mourners on the way.
Members of the Tipperary County Board, along with President of the GAA Larry McCarthy, led the cortège to the church where local hurling and camogie players as well as Mr Quirke’s Tipperary teammates, performed guards of honour.
Roscommon siblings
Mourners have heard about the “special bond” between two siblings who died in a “tragic” suspected drowning incident.
Brother and sister Desmond Byrne (50) and Muriel Eriksson (62) died off Ballybunion Beach, Co Kerry, last week.
Mr Byrne, who was originally from Athlone, was living in Lecarrow, Co Roscommon, while Mrs Eriksson had an address in Malmo, Sweden.
During Mr Byrne’s eulogy at a funeral mass in Co Roscommon, mourners were told of his “wicked sense of humour, his brutal honesty and his sense of always knowing best”.
“He loved the simple things in life. His dog Darcy, cat Ginger, and his chickens Heineken and Bud,” Keith Byrne told the service.
Donegal road accidents
There have been a total of 34 road traffic accidents across Donegal involving more than 50 people since Tuesday last.
Some have been minor while others have resulted in several people being hospitalised.
Garda Niall Maguire of Falcarragh Garda Station said people need to be more vigilant.
"That is quite a high number for all we have here in Donegal.
"We would appeal to drivers to be vigilant and to slow down," he said.
Donegal County Council's Road Safety Officer, Brian O'Donnell said that the good weather meant there would also be a lot more agricultural vehicles on the road.
Ryan Giggs trial
Former Manchester United player Ryan Giggs had “full-on relationships” with eight other women while he was with the ex-girlfriend he is accused of assaulting, a court has heard.
PR executive Kate Greville, 36, claimed she discovered the footballer’s affairs on his tablet computer shortly before she decided to leave him.
Giggs, 48, is alleged to have headbutted her at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, on November 1st 2020.
On Tuesday, a jury at Manchester Crown Court was shown a police interview with Ms Greville.
She said Giggs constantly denied he was cheating on her but she “needed to know the truth” so she checked his device.
Carlow jobs
Carlow construction materials testing laboratory MTS is to create 45 new jobs in an expansion plan, it announced on Tuesday.
The new hires will all be based in Carlow, and will be made up of laboratory technicians, administration, management, field technicians, sales and marketing roles.
MTS aims to increase its overall testing capacity and add specialised testing services over the next two to three years.
“The criteria for construction materials testing in Ireland is adapting to current environments” said Vincent Anderson, managing director at MTS.
“Stricter enforcement, evolving standards and practices are driving technical advancements in the testing sector. MTS is well positioned to develop and expand on a number of these opportunities”.
