Ballyfermot home petrol bombed in case of mistaken identity
As Dublin awaits Metrolink from the airport we examine why it is back in the news and why costs are being talked about again. Video: Dan Dennison
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The 42
30 minutes ago
- The 42
'She was low on confidence' - Ward hails Ireland's Player of the Match Murphy
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND WNT manager Carla Ward has hailed the performance of Emily Murphy who was named the Player of the Match after their Nations League victory over Slovenia. Ireland's quest for automatic qualification to League A fell short in Páirc Uí Chaoimh but Murphy's impressive display was one of the many positives for the hosts to take forward to the play-offs in October. Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, and Austria await Ireland in the draw on Friday. Murphy, who scored the late winner against Türkiye last week, was prominent throughout and broke through for chances at goal while winning plenty of possession and breaking through tackles. She also played a part in Saoirse Noonan's goal as she provided the pass for Jessie Stapleton to send in the delivery for Noonan's header. But speaking after Ireland's 1-0 win, Ward said that Murphy was not playing with much confidence when she took over as the new manager back in January. 'She was low on confidence, had not played many minutes. We had an honest conversation with her after the first camp, that she might not be in the second camp, as we needed more from her. She's got better and better.' Similarly, Ireland's goal-scorer Saoirse Noonan had a breakthrough performance this evening. Her goal on 19 minutes proved to be the difference while her all-round display was equally effective before her withdrawal on 62 minutes for Amber Barrett. This was Noonan's first competitive start for Ireland, starring in front of a home crowd along with fellow Cork natives Megan Connolly and Denise O'Sullivan. 'I know she's been around a while,' Ward replied when asked about Noonan's performance. 'Her first competitive start for her country, which I reminded her of just before the game and said, 'Look, here's your moment.' I thought she was excellent. She held the ball up really, really well. Advertisement 'When she came on against Türkiye, she was excellent. And tonight, she's done exactly what we needed her to do. So, to get the goal on her home soil is pleasing.' Reflecting on Ireland's overall performance, Ward said she was satisfied that her team corrected the mistakes that marred last Friday's comeback 2-1 win in Istanbul. Ireland struggled to deal with Türkiye's counter-attack and fell behind just after half-time. She said Ireland adapted to being a 'mid-press team' against Slovenia which she wants to develop ahead of two important friendlies against the four-time World Cup winners USA in the summer before the Nations League play-offs in October. 'Probably the way I'd put it would be a Carla Ward team on the ball and an Irish mentality off the ball. That's what we need to build on. If we want to play in an exciting way going forward, we have to be better off the ball. 'And that was the start of it tonight. Now we go to the US and play the best in the world and try to continue that work but there is still a lot of work to do. 'There was an attitude and a mentality from the word go. 15 shots on goal which is huge. We've not struggled to create in this group but certainly maybe struggled to be clinical. But as I said I'm nothing but proud of the group tonight.' The Ireland team honour Louise Quinn after her final game tonight. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO Louise Quinn made her final appearance in an Ireland shirt this evening, coming on for Abbie Larkin with 10 minutes to go. Ward praised the veteran defender for imparting inspirational words to the group on full-time which focused on the next generation and the importance of never taking the Irish jersey for granted. She added that she would like to have Quinn with the travelling group for their trip to America, but says Quinn has declined to go. 'I've been literally trying to convince her. 'She's been brilliant. Even in team meetings, she sparks conversation where maybe some of the younger ones don't. Her message at the end was so important, so important in terms of, now it's over to you guys.'
Irish Times
33 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Leaving Cert advice
Sir, – May I give some advice to the many parents of children starting their Leaving Cert. Tell your children that you love them – and often. Tell them that you hope they will do their best but whatever the outcome they can come home and they will be loved just as much as ever. Tell them there is lifelong learning and the Leaving Cert is but one, relatively small, stepping stone along the road of life. And always remember, the ones who do best do not always succeed best in life. I sat my Leaving in 1969, and the pressure was horrific, way over the top. Of course, it did not help that school life in general at that time was a very unhappy experience. READ MORE I survived and learnt very quickly that there was a lot more to life than the Leaving Cert. – Yours, etc, BRIAN McDEVITT, Glenties, Co Donegal.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Leaving Cert 2025: Record numbers to sit State exams
A record-breaking 140,000 students will begin their Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle exams today. It means the delivery of this year's State exams is an even bigger logistical exercise than ever before, involving the secure distribution of about four million exam papers to hundreds of second-level schools and other settings across the State. A combination of factors is behind the record numbers, including a demographic bubble of young people at second level and greater numbers staying on in school to complete their exams. The number entered to take the 2025 exams is up by 3 per cent (+4,297) on last year's entry figure of 136,160 candidates. The most significant increases are in the numbers entered for the Leaving Cert (+5 per cent) and Leaving Cert Applied programme (+11 per cent). READ MORE The volume of students in receipt of additional supports has also climbed to a new high. [ Classroom to college: our essential Leaving Cert guide for parents, guardians and students ] While exams will take place in more than 5,800 sports halls and other large settings, there are almost 10,000 smaller settings this year, known as 'special examination centres'. These are aimed at students with additional needs or who may suffer from anxiety. Most education experts put the bulk of these increases down to greater awareness of learning difficulties, more access to expert advice and a broader definition of some developmental conditions. This year's exams will run until Tuesday, June 24th for Leaving Cert and Monday, June 16th for Junior Cycle exams. Once the Leaving Cert exams are marked, the State Examination Commission (SEC) will apply a 'postmarking adjustment' to students' papers. This follows a direction from the Department of Education to implement a 'gradual return to normal Leaving Cert outcomes', beginning this year. Grades soared during the pandemic when teacher-predicted grades were introduced and marks have been artificially inflated since 2021 to keep them at 7 per cent, on aggregate, in advance of pre-Covid grades. This year, the SEC will apply a postmarking adjustment to bring overall Leaving Cert results in the aggregate to a point broadly midway between the 2020 and 2021 levels, or about 5.5 per cent above pre-Covid grades. The move has sparked some controversy on the basis that it means the class of 2025 will be competing against an estimated 10,000-15,000 students from previous years with bumper grades for college places. Minister for Education Helen McEntee has defended the move on the basis that a very gradual pace of returning to normal will minimise the impact on students as far as possible. Universities have also complained that inflated grades risk undermining the integrity of results and make it difficult to differentiate between top candidates for high-points courses. The SEC, meanwhile, intends to issue this year's Leaving Cert exam results to candidates on Friday, August 22nd, which is in line with the date of issue of the results last year, but later than pre-Covid times. The SEC said developing and applying the postmarking adjustment adds time to the results process in comparison to normal years. 'The results issue date of Friday, 22 August, takes account of the time needed for this additional step. The timeline for results must also allow sufficient time for an extensive range of quality assurance checks to be undertaken,' it said.
