The young man who died in Ireland after a tree fell during Storm Eowyn has been named as Kacper Dudek
Irish premier Micheál Martin said every effort is being made to restore power and water supplies following Storm Eowyn.
He described the destruction caused by some of the strongest winds on record as “unprecedented”.
Continue reading...Some say recent suspected sabotage of transatlantic cables serving Europe and UK means Ireland must be able to defend itself
They are the bedrock of the internet, keeping everything from TikTok to emergency services, business, banking systems and political and military communications running smoothly.
But deep under the sea, the network of cables around British and Irish shores are being considered as increasingly attractive targets for military, terrorist or criminal actors after several incidents in the Baltics where internet cables were severed and internet communications were disrupted.
Continue reading...Researchers say study may help global efforts in controlling disease that still destroys crops today
It was a disaster that killed about 1 million people, devastating 19th century Ireland, but while the potato disease linked to the Irish famine is well known, a battle has raged over where it originated.
Scientists have long been divided over whether the fungus-like pathogen Phtytophthora infestans cropped up in the Andes or originated in Mexico.
Continue reading...Record gusts of 113mph recorded, with ‘unprecedented’ power cuts, fallen trees and 130,000 homes without water
A man has been killed and more than 725,000 homes and businesses have been left without power in Ireland after Storm Éowyn battered the country, leaving a trail of destruction.
More than 500,000 homes were at risk of disruption to water supplies, and boil-water notices were issued in several counties. Authorities said it would take more than a week to restore power to all premises.
Continue reading...Fianna Fáil leader officially elected PM a day after chaotic scenes in Dáil, as thoughts turn to future and Trump
Ireland’s newly appointed prime minister, Micheál Martin, has vowed to protect the country “at a moment of real threat” just days after Donald Trump threatened to wipe out its tax advantage and repatriate American jobs.
He was speaking moments as he was officially appointed as prime minister, but 24 hours after chaotic scenes in the Dáil caused the cancellation of his formal appointment.
Continue reading...Martin’s formal appointment as taoiseach blocked after day of ‘utter disgrace’ in Irish parliament
Ireland’s incoming prime minister, Micheál Martin, has accused opponents of a “subversion of the Irish constitution” after formal election to the role was cancelled amid chaotic scenes in the Irish parliament.
The outgoing taoiseach, Martin’s coalition partner, Simon Harris, called Wednesday’s events in Dáil an “utter disgrace [with] so many pressing issues” facing the country, as a spiralling row over the speaking rights of independent TDs torpedoed the first day of Martin’s new term in office.
Continue reading...Fianna Fáil’s Micheál Martin will be taoiseach for first three years with Fine Gael’s Simon Harris taking over in November 2027
Ireland’s two main centre-right parties have clinched a deal with a group of independent lawmakers to form a coalition government, six weeks after an election that wiped out the Greens as a political force.
In the deal, sealed on Wednesday, Fianna Fáil’s leader, Micheál Martin, will become taoiseach, or prime minister, for the first three years of the five-year government, with the incumbent Fine Gael leader, Simon Harris, taking over in November 2027.
Continue reading...American Zachary Greear, 34, receives suspended sentence after unruly behaviour on United Airlines plane
A “nervous flyer” whose unruly behaviour caused his transatlantic flight to be diverted to Dublin has been given a two-month suspended sentence.
Dublin district court heard that the 34-year-old American had mixed the tranquilliser Xanax with alcohol to combat his anxiety before becoming disruptive on the United Airlines flight on Monday.
Continue reading...From bashing Keir Starmer to promoting the AfD, the X owner is not shy about intervening
A limited – at best – understanding of the continent of Europe and its component countries has not prevented the world’s richest man from intervening in the domestic politics of several of them, as well as attacking the EU itself.
Here we take a brief look at some of the occasions on which X owner Elon Musk has used his position as proprietor of one of the world’s largest social media platforms to meddle in the internal affairs of sovereign democratic states outside the US.
Continue reading...There are also fears electronic travel authorisation will threaten post-peace tourism sector in Northern Ireland
The UK Home Office’s already burdened immigration services could be overwhelmed this summer when a new visa-waiver system comes into force for European business travellers and tourists in April, a leading law firm has said.
There have also been fresh warnings that the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) requirements could threaten the post-peace tourism sector in Northern Ireland, with Americans and Europeans travelling to Dublin and beyond deciding not to bother crossing the border because of the red tape.
Continue reading...Airline seeking €15,000 in damages over ‘inexcusable’ behaviour it says forced plane to divert to Portugal
Ryanair is suing a passenger it claims disrupted a flight between Dublin and Lanzarote, seeking €15,000 (£12,500) in damages to cover expenses incurred when the plane was diverted to Portugal.
The airline said on Wednesday it had filed proceedings in Dublin’s circuit court against the passenger, whose behaviour on the flight last April it described as “inexcusable” and “completely unacceptable.”
Continue reading...Global heating has made conditions more favourable for growing grapes – and finding the right variety is key
Heard the one about Irish wine? Like its English counterpart, it is no longer a joke, with more than a dozen vineyards now producing bottles to emulate those of the terroirs of France, Spain and Italy.
At about €60 (£50) a bottle and produced in small quantities, it is far from a commercial activity, but efforts over the last 10 years have produced what one retailer described as an “arguably very fine” rosé.
Continue reading...Newly released documents show Irish officials sought return of cannon sold by ‘gang of British treasure hunters’
Rare cannon allegedly smuggled out of Irish waters by a gang of British treasure hunters and acquired for a knockdown price by a Tower of London official were at the centre of a decades-long dispute between British and Irish officials, according to newly released records.
Irish officials made extensive efforts to convince UK authorities to return the bronze cannon after claiming they were “illegally smuggled” from a Waterford shipwreck and sold to the Tower of London.
Delicate 650-year-old pages to be preserved are some of the island’s most important historical texts
Work has begun to conserve and digitise one of the oldest paper documents still in existence on the island of Ireland.
The ecclesiastical register, which dates back to the medieval period, is about 650 years old. It belonged to the former archbishop of Armagh Milo Sweteman.
Continue reading...Gangs charging €8,000 for illegal travel packages that avoid crossing Channel on small boats
Hundreds of people have been detained in Northern Ireland trying to get into Great Britain by crossing the border from Ireland in an operation aimed at cracking down on people smugglers.
Criminal gangs are charging up to €8,000 for the illegal travel package they present as a safer route to crossing the Channel on small boats , say immigration officials.
Continue reading...Parties expected to hold talks as election results show incumbents closing in on majority needed to govern
The two main centre-right parties in Ireland are expected to start talks on returning to government as the general election put the incumbents within touching distance of forming the 34th Dáil.
With all Teachta Dála (TD) seats filled by 10pm on Monday evening, Fianna Fáil – led by Micheál Martin – and Fine Gael – led by the taoiseach, Simon Harris – won 86 seats, just two shy of the 88 needed for a majority.
Continue reading...Junior coalition partner loses all but one of 12 seats, while gangland figure Gerry Hutch loses election bid
The Green party in Ireland has been virtually wiped out in the general election, and its leader admitted it was entering a period of “rebuild” after the electorate removed any prospect of the party re-entering government.
The Greens lost all but one of their 12 seats, with its leader, Roderic O’Gorman, scraping through on the 13th count.
Continue reading...But Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald vows to fight for left alliance for government as Greens face wipeout
Ireland has bucked the European trend of elections going against incumbent governments, with two of the parties in its ruling coalition in pole position to lead the next parliament.
An exit poll showed an appetite for change, with 60% backing opposition parties. But the prospect of an alternative left-leaning government still looks unlikely to materialise.
Continue reading...Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin heads preferred as Dáil leaders over Harris – although return of current government most probable outcome
Voters in Ireland have expressed dissatisfaction with the taoiseach, Simon Harris, despite a return of the current government being the most probable outcome of the election, according to an exit poll.
Of those 5,000 voters surveyed after they placed their vote, 35% named Fianna Fáil’s leader, Micheál Martin, as their preferred new leader of the 34th Dáil.
Continue reading...Sinn Féin and Fine Gael both scored 21% in the poll, slightly ahead of Fianna Fáil on 19%
An exit poll in Ireland suggests a dead heat between Sinn Féin and the taoiseach’s party Fine Gael in the general election, with Fianna Fáil only slightly behind.
The survey of first preference votes is the first real indication of how Ireland voted after three weeks of canvassing in the snap election called by Simon Harris.
Continue reading...