Funeral of Garda Kevin Flatley takes place in Co Dublin
Garda Flatley died after being hit by a motorcycle as he was carrying out speed checks on the R132 at Lanestown, north Co Dublin. Video: Dan Dennison
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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
32 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Fears over Russia being used to make ‘insincere' argument against triple lock, Opposition group says
The Government is using fears about Russia to make an 'insincere' argument against the triple lock, according to an alliance of Opposition politicians. Left-wing and Independent politicians have claimed that a number of Government TDs and Senators are uncomfortable with plans to relax the legal barriers that can stop Irish troops from being deployed overseas. Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire of Sinn Féin, Paul Murphy of People Before Profit, Duncan Smith of Labour, Patricia Stephenson of the Social Democrats, and Independent Senator Alice Mary Higgins held a joint press conference today along with a number of civil society groups calling for the retention of the lock. The triple lock is the mechanism under which Ireland can deploy more than 12 troops on missions abroad. Such deployments require the approval of the Government, Dáil Éireann and the UN Security Council . READ MORE The Government has consistently argued that this gives countries like Russia or China, who enjoy permanent membership of the UN Security Council, the power to veto Ireland's participation in international missions. The UN has not agreed a new peacekeeping mission since 2014. Last month, the Government approved plans brought forward by Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris to unravel the triple lock . Mr Harris has said he wants to make progress with the controversial legislation before the Dáil summer recess. Labour's Mr Smith said the Government's discomfort with Russia's place on the council 'seems to be quite recent' and that the issue was not about the status of the UN Security Council. 'I would say they are being insincere in that,' Mr Smith said. He said he believed some Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael backbench TDs and Senators were against their own Government's plans to scrap the triple lock. [ Government wants progress on scrapping triple lock before Dáil break Opens in new window ] 'I do believe there are people in Government that share our position, and we need to reach out to them and try to get them to change the minds of what's going on in Cabinet at the moment, and the public are on our side. 'This is just stuff that you pick up on the margins of meetings or corridor chats and all the rest. They will be getting heat on this from people that don't want to see Irish troops being deployed, which is the majority of people ... it is a headache that backbenchers don't want.' Ms Higgins said she believed Government politicians who want to keep the triple lock 'have a deeper understanding than maybe some of the Ministers seem to have'. 'Because we're getting a very, very narrow description of neutrality as being this entirely technical matter of, 'Are we fully paid up members of Nato?' rather than, 'Are we a country that fulfils that principle under Article 29 of the Constitution?' – which is the peaceful settlement of international disputes,' she added. Save Our Neutrality, a cross-party campaign to keep the triple lock, will be holding a demonstration this Saturday against Government plans to relax the legal barriers for sending Defence Forces overseas.
Irish Times
an hour 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.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
UK sanctions two Israeli ministers as it increases pressure over Gaza
Two Israeli government ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, have been sanctioned by the UK because of their comments on Gaza . Mr Ben-Gvir, the security minister, and Mr Smotrich, the finance minister in Binyamin Netanyahu 's coalition government will both face a travel ban and see their assets frozen. The move comes as the UK and other western nations seek to ramp up pressure on Israel's government amid the war in Gaza . Israel's foreign affairs minister Gideon Sa'ar said it was 'outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to these kind of measures'. READ MORE He added: 'I discussed it earlier today with PM Netanyahu and we will hold a special government meeting early next week to decide on our response to this unacceptable decision.' Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir both belong to right-wing parties which help to prop up Mr Netanyahu's fragile coalition government. Both have been criticised for their hardline stance on the war in Gaza. Mr Smotrich has campaigned against allowing aid into Gaza, while Mr Ben-Gvir has called for Gaza's people to be resettled from the territory. The UK and its allies have increased pressure on Israel in recent months amid aid shortages in Gaza, as well as suggestions it could launch a new large-scale offensive into the territory. Reports suggest only scarce amounts of aid are making their way into the hands of Gazans, amid a new aid initiative backed by the US and Israel, instead of the previous UN-run programme. The slow flow of food and medicines has prompted warnings of famine and starvation among the territory's population. In May, British foreign secretary David Lammy paused negotiations towards a UK trade deal with Israel as the Government sought to pressure Israel to abandon its planned offensive into Gaza. Prime minister Keir Starmer , France's president Emmanuel Macron and Canada's prime minister Mark Carney also wrote a joint statement last month warning that Israel's leaders risked 'breaching International Humanitarian Law', and calling for more aid to be allowed into Gaza. Mr Netanyahu responded by claiming the three leaders were on the 'wrong side' of history. In September last year, the government halted 30 out of around 350 arms sales licences to Israel, for fear they may be used for war crimes. Ministers insist that this means F-35 fighter jets used by Israel no longer receive replacement parts from the UK, and no UK-made bombs or ammunition are used in Gaza. Lord David Cameron has previously said he considered sanctioning both Israeli ministers in his final days as foreign secretary in Rishi Sunak 's Conservative government.
