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...Holly Cairns announces birth of daughter on day of Ireland’s general election
• Ireland’s election: the parties, the issues and the voting
The leader of Ireland’s Social Democrats party has announced the birth of a baby daughter on the day of the country’s general election.
Holly Cairns, who is standing for re-election in the Cork South-West constituency, posted on Instagram: “She’s here. We are completely in love with her.”
Continue reading...Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin all on about 20% in opinion polls after short, sharp campaign
Ireland goes to the polls on Friday with voters expected to choose either a second term for the incumbent centre-right coalition or a left-leaning rainbow coalition led by a resurgent Sinn Féin, the former political wing of the IRA.
Opinion polls show a dead heat, with the two main government parties – Fine Gael, led by the taoiseach, Simon Harris, and Fianna Fáil, led by the former PM Micheál Martin – and Sinn Féin all hovering at about 20% of the vote.
Continue reading...Fine Gael had looked sure of victory on Friday before Simon Harris’s disastrous interaction with care worker
Ireland’s three main parties are almost neck and neck in the polls ahead of Friday’s general election, as the taoiseach, Simon Harris, struggles to contain the damage inflicted on his campaign by a disastrous interaction with an angry care worker.
In what has been called the “Simon slump”, Fine Gael, the centre-right party which Harris leads, and which seemed almost certain to top the polls, is now under pressure. An Irish Times poll on Monday showed FG had lost its commanding lead of two weeks ago and was down six points.
Continue reading...Figure costed for three multinationals repatriating to US after nomination for commerce secretary hits out at Ireland’s tax regime
Ireland’s prime minister has said the country could lose €10bn (£8.35bn) in corporate tax if just three US multinationals were repatriated to America under a hostile Donald Trump administration.
His remarks come just days after Trump nominated the Wall Street investor Howard Lutnick to lead the Department of Commerce with direct responsibility for trade.
Continue reading...Incident revealed after civil court found MMA fighter had assaulted Nikita Hand in December 2018
A gang of masked men broke into the home of a woman who had taken a civil case against the mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor that accused him of raping her, it can now be revealed.
The incident was referred to at the start of the court case in Dublin but could not be reported until now as it emerged during legal discussion while the jury were not present.
Continue reading...McGregor ordered to pay nearly €250,000 in damages to Nikita Hand after he was accused of 2018 assault
A jury at a civil trial at Ireland’s high court has found that the Irish martial arts fighter Conor McGregor assaulted a woman who had accused him of raping her at a hotel in Dublin in December 2018.
McGregor was ordered pay nearly €250,000 (£210,000) in damages to Nikita Hand, who is also known as Nikita Ní Laimhín.
Continue reading...Viktor Orbán says he will not enforce ICC decision that requires court members to detain Israeli PM if he enters their country
Hungary’s illiberal prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has said he will invite his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, to visit in defiance of an international criminal court arrest warrant, as world leaders split over the ICC’s momentous decision.
The world’s highest criminal court issued warrants on Thursday for Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant and the Hamas commander Ibrahim al-Masri, commonly known as Mohammed Deif, who is believed to be dead, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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