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Laika Party at Eurovision 2025 semi-final

Laika Party at Eurovision 2025 semi-final

Irish Times16-05-2025

Emmy performs "Laika Party" for Ireland's entry at the second semi-final for Eurovision 2025.
Cork-based singer/songwriter Martin Leahy marks three years of singing his song Everyone Should Have a Home outside Leinster House. Video: Dan Dennison
Syrians in Damascus celebrate after US president Donald Trump announced plans to ease sanctions on Syria and normalise relation. Video: Sally Hayden
Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 52,908 people since October 2023, while the total number of injuries has climbed to 119,721.
Hollywood icon Robert De Niro lambasted 'philistine' US President Donald Trump and his proposed movie tariff at the Cannes Film Festival's opening ceremony.
Released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was reunited with family members after 19 months of captivity by Hamas. Video: Reuters
Dubliner Oscar Despard captained a team from Christ's College, Cambridge to victory in the final of the BBC student quizshow University Challenge. Video: BBC
The Irish Times chess columnist Jim 'JJ' Walsh (93) has retired. He has written about chess in the newspaper for close to 70 years. Video: Dan Dennison
The front facade of an unoccupied cottage in Ranelagh has crumbled and fallen onto the street, obstructing a footpath. Video: Dara MacDonaill
Donegal managed to get players underlapping back the pitch in order to retain possession at the end of extra-time as Armagh aggressively hunted them

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Locals block OPW vehicles at Castletown House as dispute over access continues
Locals block OPW vehicles at Castletown House as dispute over access continues

Irish Times

time29 minutes ago

  • Irish Times

Locals block OPW vehicles at Castletown House as dispute over access continues

Locals stopped essential service vehicles entering Castletown House estate in Celbridge, Co Kildare on Monday as the long-running dispute over public access to the site shows no sign of abating. On Monday morning Office of Public Works (OPW) staff attempted to use motorised buggies to accompany the vehicles from the Celbridge gate entrance along Lime Avenue, a path leading to the house used by locals and protesters, who claim it is not suitable for vehicles. Locals from the Save Castletown Gate Protectors (SCGP) group said the use of the route by service vehicles would make it unsafe for vulnerable pedestrians and people who use wheelchairs. Gardaí were also present at the scene of Monday's stand-off. READ MORE The dispute over access to Castletown House has been ongoing for 20 months. The house was acquired by the State in the 1990s and sits on a large estate that is popular with local walkers. The house, one of the most architecturally significant Palladian-style country homes in Ireland, was closed in 2023 in a dispute over a right of access to its lands. On the estate a 235-acre parcel of land that stretches from the M4 entrance to the house, was bought by a developer Kilross Properties in April 2023. The gate to Castletown House at Celbridge, Co Kildare. Photograph: Stephen Farrell The M4 entrance and nearby car park were closed to the public and to the OPW. OPW staff returned to Castletown House on April 10th for the first time in two years, with a goal of opening the house to the public at the end of May. Local representatives joined protesters at Monday's peaceful stand-off. They included Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly and Fianna Fáil TD Naoise Ó Cearúil, and councillors Rupert Heather (Lab), Nuala Killeen and Claire O'Rourke (both Social Democrats). [ Vandals cause €500,000 worth of damage to OPW site used to access Castletown House Opens in new window ] The OPW want four to five essential services vehicles to drive daily along Lime Avenue accompanied by a buggy. They announced this plan on social media on Friday. The State's property management agency said the use of the avenue is safe, citing a health and safety report carried out in 2024. Protesters from the SCGP group have proposed that any essential service vehicles are accompanied on foot by an OPW staff member. The OPW said this would be too costly, at €10,000 a year – a figure disputed by protesters. Locals want the entrance at the M4 Dublin to Galway motorway and nearby car park reopened to the public, which would also allow for ease of access for essential services vehicles. [ Challenge brought over alleged unauthorised erection of gates blocking access to Castletown House Opens in new window ] 'Lime Avenue is not the solution,' said Miriam Flynn, a member of the SCGP group. 'The solution required is for the Minister to do what's necessary for there to be access via the M4 entrance.' The OPW said it was developing an application for planning permission, which will be made this summer, for a visitor car park in the Kildare Innovation Centre. Ms Flynn criticised the delay in applying for this planning permission. Local woman Monica Joy, a member of the SCGP group, expressed frustration that local residents do not have proper access to the house and its grounds. 'If you take a drive around Celbridge, there are no amenities. There is no investment for communities even though huge numbers of houses have been built,' she said.

Pensions of 13,000 civil servants being checked for errors after ‘serious issues' found
Pensions of 13,000 civil servants being checked for errors after ‘serious issues' found

Irish Times

timean hour ago

  • Irish Times

Pensions of 13,000 civil servants being checked for errors after ‘serious issues' found

A pool of 13,000 retired civil servants as well as current and former Government ministers are to have their pension deductions checked amid 'serious issues' at the State office that handles pension payments. Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers revealed errors at the National Shared Services Office (NSSO) and said that any money owed to the State will be recouped. The affected former civil servants are all people who were in work-share arrangements and not all may be affected. Meanwhile, it is believed that most current Government Ministers will owe money to the State due to errors in their pension deductions, though some may also be due some money back. READ MORE The pension deductions of ministers in previous Governments are also impacted by the issue. People whose pension deductions contained errors are to be contacted while Mr Chambers also announced a number of reviews into the situation. This is a breaking story and will be updated shortly.

‘A lot of fuel' – RTE pundit John Mullane warns Cork their celebratory pub video may help Limerick revenge mission
‘A lot of fuel' – RTE pundit John Mullane warns Cork their celebratory pub video may help Limerick revenge mission

The Irish Sun

time2 hours ago

  • The Irish Sun

‘A lot of fuel' – RTE pundit John Mullane warns Cork their celebratory pub video may help Limerick revenge mission

JOHN Mullane has warned Cork's panel that they may have inadvertently supplied Limerick with "a lot of fuel" with their pub sing-song. A video of players singing a mocking song about Limerick following Advertisement 2 Manager Pat Ryan is visible in the video though he is not seen singing along Credit: X 2 Mullane's media work also includes co-commentary for Saturday/Sunday Sport on RTE Radio 1 Credit: @IndoSport Most people have dismissed it as harmless banter that is commonplace when any team beats a rival in a major final. Mullane shares this view but did caution that there may be an unintended consequence to come from it in the form of extra motivation for Limerick should they meet for a third time this summer. Speaking on the He said: "Just watching the celebrations after the match, I think the Limerick players were going in and Kiely called them back, and he got the whole Limerick players to sit through the celebrations. Advertisement Read More On GAA "You're even seeing some of the videos circulating... "Now it's fantastic to see the Cork players and management celebrating in the manner in which they are, and they're fully entitled to celebrate. "To win a Munster Championship is so hard, you should rightly celebrate it in the manner in which it deserves to be celebrated. "But if you're a Limerick player and you're on that Limerick management team, you're watching those celebrations. Advertisement Most read in GAA Hurling "And you're seeing some of those videos circulating around, knowing that we should've won that match, I can only imagine how peed off some of those Limerick players were Saturday night. "There's a lot of fuel there now, there's a lot of fuel now there that they can go and use in their favour. Brendan Cummins defends time-keeping in Munster GAA hurling final between Cork and Limerick "It's just set up lovely if these teams meet in six weeks' time." The Rebels' collective mood was sure to have been particularly jubilant on Saturday night since Advertisement Once again the Gaelic Grounds was the venue but this time around Pat Ryan's charges were able to match the Treaty's intensity throughout a frenetic 94 minutes of hurling warfare. Ultimately, the contest was settled using the surreal method of a penalty shoot-out. The merits of such a tie-breaker being used in hurling in this post-replay era Similarly, the Advertisement

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