Europe swelters under scorching temperatures as regions issue heat alerts
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Murder most vulgar: Frank McNally on an infamous case of the 1820s
That there is nothing new under the sun is well illustrated by an entry in the Faber Book of Diaries from 197 years ago this week, in which a Somerset clergyman laments the vulgarisation of public tastes by clickbait media, although not in those exact terms. 'Still the same dreadful weather,' Rev John Skinner begins his account of August 14th, 1828. Then his mood darkens further as he surveys a two-page newspaper spread on the notorious 'Red Barn Murder' of a year before. In an earlier entry, he had deplored the grisly tourist industry that had since arisen, whereby 'people of all kinds and classes flocked to the barn' in Suffolk where one Maria Marten had been killed and buried by her lover, William Corder. Now he was appalled by news that 10,000 people had turned up to watch 'when [that] detestable wretch was launched into eternity'. READ MORE In the short-term, the Suffolk murder scene attracted tourists 'from as far afield as Ireland' Rev Skinner was especially depressed to read of 'well-dressed and delicate females' jostling to be close to the gallows where the hangman had to supplement the basic procedure by himself hanging out of the condemned man 'for two minutes' to finish the job. But he was in no doubt about where the blame for such bad taste lay. Of the newspaper coverage, he summarised: 'There needs not any other proof of the deplorable state of depraved feelings in which this country has gradually arrived through the instruction of novelists and fatalists ...' In a famous essay of 1946, George Orwell mock-lamented the 'Decline of the English Murder'. He was satirising British tabloids, especially the now late and little lamented News of the World, for their sensationalist (and very popular) reporting. But he cut the irony so fine you could easily mistake the essay as nostalgia for a golden age of homicide, whose practitioners included Dr Crippen, Mrs Maybrick, and Jack the Ripper. By Orwell's calculation, England's 'Elizabethan period' of murder occurred 'between roughly 1850 and 1925'. Since then, he suggested, the crime had become too commonplace and banal to merit the dramatic journalism and fiction of old. Recalling the 'most talked of English murder of recent years', he wrote: 'It is difficult to believe that this case will be so long remembered as the old domestic poisoning dramas, product of a stable society where the all-prevailing hypocrisy did at least ensure that crimes as serious as murder should have strong emotions behind them.' Whatever about 1925 being the endpoint, the Red Barn Murder suggests Orwell should have predated the start of his golden age by a generation at least. Certainly, the crime had no lack of strong emotions. And its infamy inspired many ballads, books and stage adaptations, one as recently as the 1990s. On the gallows, prompted by the prison governor, the murderer did indeed confess In the short-term, the Suffolk murder scene attracted tourists 'from as far afield as Ireland'. But blame for the murder had a similarly reach, and for long afterwards. In a 1996 column for the Belfast Telegraph, for example, Sam McAughtry recalled the anti-Catholic propaganda of his 1930s childhood in Tiger's Bay, Belfast: 'The accusation that sticks in my mind from those far-off days was to the effect that the Micks were at the back of a famous case which was dramatised under the name of Maria Martin [sic] and the Red Barn Murder.' In fact there was no known Irish angle in the 1827 case, although it has similarities with the 1940 one involving Moll McCarthy, which was still haunting Tipperary as recently as last year. Marten was an attractive, unmarried young woman who had children by different local men, including Corder, a known corner boy. She hoped he would marry her and the pair had discussed elopement, which was assumed to have happened when they both disappeared. When he turned up again and could not produce her, however, worse was suspected. Then came the big breakthrough in the investigation, when Marten's stepmother had a supposed dream in which Corder confessed guilt, leading to a search of the barn where the couple often met. On the gallows, prompted by the prison governor, the murderer did indeed confess. But among the competing theories during his trial was that the stepmother had been having an affair with him too and the 'dream' was cover-up for her own involvement. In any case, as was the way then, the saga also spawned a lucrative trade in memorabilia. Pieces of the barn door were stolen as souvenirs. The hangman's rope was sold in sections for a guinea each. After the usual public dissection of the body, the skeleton was displayed for a time in a hospital, with a tasteful mechanism attached that caused one of the arms to move, drawing visitors attention to a collection box. There's an old saying in publishing that 'everyone has a book in them'. This was more than usually true of Corder, who had part of a book on him, at least. Earlier this year, British newspapers reported the find in a Bury St Edmonds museum of a 200-year-old account of the Red Barn trial, one of two volumes now known to be bound with the murderer's skin.
Agriland
2 days ago
- Agriland
FSAI goes to High Court to enforce closure order on food business
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) went to the High Court last month to enforce a closure order on a business after it continued to trade despite the order. The closure order was one of 10 closure orders and two prohibition orders issued in July. These orders, collectively referred to as enforcement orders, were issued for breaches of food safety legislation under to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020. Closures orders can refer to the immediate closure of all or part of the food premises, or all or some of its activities, while prohibition orders are designed to prohibit the sale of a product, either temporarily or permanently. The enforcement orders were issued by environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE). Four closure orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on: Lidl Sallynoggin Road, Glenageary, Co. Dublin (order lifted on August 1); Creed's Foodstore, Burncourt, Cahir, Co. Tipperary (order lifted on August 6); Brandon Hotel (closed areas include all kitchen areas, including dry goods store, wash up areas, staff canteen, restaurant and stills area), Prince's Street, Tralee, Co. Kerry (order lifted on July 25); Emerald Park (closed area includes the storage unit located to the rear of 'coffee dock' in Emerald Park), Kilbrew, Ashbourne, Co. Meath (order lifted on July 15). A further six closure orders were issued under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on: Londis Athboy (closed areas include the deli/food preparation area and ice cream service area), Connaught Street, Athboy, Co. Meath (order lifted on July 28); KRS Catering Stall (closed activity includes the service of all foods prepared off-site and transported to the venue; closure does not apply to the sale or service of beverages and foods prepared on-site), Powerstown Park Racecourse, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary (order lifted on July 17); Tim Nessa, 2A John's Street, Co. Limerick; Hidden Dojo Asian Street food, 47A Phibsborough Road, Phibsborough, Dublin 7; Wakami Sushi & Asian, 47A Phibsborough Road, Phibsborough, Dublin 7; Costa Coffee, 1 Dawson Street, Dublin 2 (order lifted on July 4). In relation to one of the businesses listed above, Tim Nessa, 2A John's Street, Limerick, the FSAI said: "The FSAI is aware that this food to trade despite the service by the HSE on July 8, 2025 of a closure order. "As a result, and in accordance with the applicable legislation, the FSAI applied to the High Court for various orders including that the continuance of the food business operator be prohibited and that the food business premises should immediately close until the food business is notified in writing that contraventions in the closure order have been remedied, or further order of the High Court," the authority added. The FSAI said the court granted an order to this effect on July 29, and that the parties concerned are at liberty to apply to the High Court in the meantime. The authority said that the food business concerned will be monitored to ensure it complies with the High Court's order, the HSE's closure order, and the relevant food legislation. Elsewhere, one prohibition order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on Ballymaguire Foods Unlimited Company, Rathmooney, Lusk, Co. Dublin for pre-packaged turkey and ham dinners. Finally, one prohibition order was served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on Timothy Onwuegbusi, 2A John's Street, Limerick and Emeka Ikebudu, 2A John's Street, Limerick, for various products. Without referring to any particular business, the FSAI said that some of the reasons for enforcement orders in July include: rat droppings in a dishwasher room and food store; inadequate means to wash hands; owners and staff not wearing clean protective clothing; dead beetles observed in the bottom of a container of packaged food; various foods being kept at unsafe temperatures; rat droppings found in a storage unit; numerous rodent droppings on shelving; dead cockroaches in a main kitchen; and extensive food debris. Commenting on July's enforcement orders, FSAI chief executive Greg Dempsey said: "Recent foodborne incidents serve as a stark reminder of the need for food businesses to maintain the highest food safety standards. Consumers are entitled to expect that the food they purchase is safe, and food businesses have a clear legal and moral responsibility to ensure that it is. "The FSAI can provide support and advice to food businesses to help them meet their obligations. However, as demonstrated by the enforcement actions this month, where food businesses do not comply with their obligations, we will take action," Dempsey added.
Irish Independent
27-07-2025
- Irish Independent
US authorities arrest 56 Irish citizens under Trump's immigration crackdown
Most were arrested in Boston, New Jersey or New York and are mostly young people who overstayed tourist visas At least 56 Irish people have been arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office so far this year, as Donald Trump embarks on a major immigration crackdown. Of these, 43 Irish citizens have been deported or are due to be deported. Data obtained by the Sunday Independent shows there were 35 males and 21 females arrested, with the majority in Boston, New Jersey or New York. They are mostly young people in their 20s who overstayed their three-month tourist visas. ICE does not publish figures of its arrests, but the Deportation Data Project — which was founded by a group of lawyers and academics — used a freedom of information act lawsuit to obtain data that provides a detailed picture of immigration enforcement under the Trump regime. In general, the figures show ICE has tripled its number of daily arrests since Mr Trump's inauguration, that the majority of people being arrested have no criminal convictions and that detention centres are being stretched beyond capacity. As well as the 43 Irish citizens who were deported, the figures show many more are being detained. Despite Mr Trump's claims that his administration is seeking out the 'worst of the worst' and that his administration is trying to deport 'dangerous criminals', the majority of Irish people deported had no criminal record. Of the 43, 10 had a criminal conviction, while six were facing a criminal charge. Figures separately provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs showed 43 Irish people have sought consular assistance for deportation related issues in the US so far this year. This is a sharp rise from previous years. There were 15 such cases last year, 18 in 2023, 11 in 2022 and five in 2021. The figures were provided in response to a series of parliamentary questions to the Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris, who said his officials 'stand ready' to provide all possible consular assistance to Irish citizens in difficulty abroad. 'The number of citizens who have requested assistance in relation to deportation from the United States of America in the year to date is 43,' Mr Harris said. 'This number includes both those who have already been deported and those who are still going through the deportation process, which may include being held in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 'It is important to note that this figure only relates to cases where a citizen or their family has requested consular assistance and does not necessarily reflect all deportations to Ireland or where a citizen is currently being detained by ICE.' The total number of people held in ICE detention jumped from 40,000 before Trump's inauguration to about 55,000 last month. However, there are just 41,500 detainee beds available, meaning facilities are becoming overcrowded. There have been 127,000 deportations since Mr Trump took office. Mr Trump's spending bill, which was signed into law this month, allocated $45bn (€38bn) to expand the detention system, enough to double its capacity to detain people. ICE is also changing its policies to make it easier to detain more people, for longer periods of time.
