Latest news with #CoLimerick
Irish Independent
a day ago
- General
- Irish Independent
Lucky Kildare lotto player wakes up €500,000 richer
Home > Regionals > Kildare > News A player from Kildare, along with a player in Limerick won €500,000 each in the Euromillions plus draw Kildare lotto player scoops €500,000. Stock image The Co Kildare player along with a player in Limerick won €500,000 each in the Euromillions plus draw after matching all five numbers. This Kildare player purchased their quick pick ticket on the day of the draw, Friday August 15, online. Meanwhile, the Co Limerick player purchased their winning ticket on the day of the draw from Day Today, New Line, Rathkeale, Co Limerick. The winning numbers in Friday night's EuroMillions plus draw were 10, 34, 37, 38 and 43. 'Huge congratulations to our EuroMillions plus winners in Co Limerick and Co Kildare, who have each won €500,000,' said Emma Monaghan, National Lottery spokesperson, "Over 70,000 players in Ireland won prizes in the EuroMillions and plus games.' The National Lottery is urging all players in the Limerick area to check their tickets carefully, while an email notification has been sent to the online Kildare player. Winners can contact the National Lottery prize claims team on 1800 666 222 or email claims@ to arrange the collection of your prize.
BreakingNews.ie
07-08-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
'It's alarming' - No garda drugs unit in rural Limerick, serving garda claims
A Limerick Garda issued an 'alarming' warning that garda drugs unit personnel in Co Limerick have been completely depleted. Despite the crisis of garda resources, Garda Headquarters said drug detection across the Limerick Garda Division increased by nine per cent on last year. Advertisement Limerick Garda and former president of the Garda Representative Association (GRA), Frank Thornton, issued the stark warning that 'there is no Divisional Drugs Unit out the county'. Garda Thornton said that 'resourcing in An Garda Síochána remains critical' and that 'recruitment intakes are not matching the retirement and resignation numbers'. 'Locally, this is evident with the depleting resources in the Limerick Division, who have a net loss so far (on) 2025 in personnel. The Divisional Drugs Unit has not escaped unscathed with the unit strength depleted over the past number of years,' Garda Thornton said. Garda Thornton said Garda members attached to the Divisional Drugs Unit, based in Limerick City, 'are covering a vast area with minimal resourcing, which is alarming' due to the depletion of resources rurally. Advertisement 'There is no end in sight presently to the chronic personnel shortage, and any additional resources would come from an already threadbare front line service,' he further warned. It comes in the wake of comments by Willie O'Dea, Fianna Fáil TD, who, last month in the Dáil, revealed a 12-month delay in the Office of Public Works identifying a site for a garda station in Castletroy to help police the area - one of Limerick City's biggest suburbs - which Mr O'Dea claimed has been 'subjected to a tsunami of crime'. Mr O'Dea said he expected 20 new Garda recruits to be deployed to Limerick soon; however, Garda sources said these recruits would not immediately mitigate the decline in garda numbers in the county's rural drug personnel. Fine Gael councillor, Adam Teskey, an outgoing chairperson of the Limerick City and County Joint Policing Committee, branded the lack of drugs squad officers in the county as 'bizarre'. Advertisement Cllr Teskey warned drug dealing and drug abuse have flourished as a direct result, and said the drugs 'scourge' in County Limerick was 'an absolute pandemic of a problem that is escalating and escalating'. A statement provided by the Garda Press Office said Limerick has a Divisional Drug Unit, but stated that, 'for operational reasons, An Garda Síochána does not comment on current or future deployment of resources'. 'It should also be noted that detections in possession of drugs for sale or supply has increased by 9% year to date.' The garda statement said the Limerick City and County is policed by 609 Garda members of all ranks, including some, it said, who have 'extensive experience in tackling organised crime and disrupted and dismantled many gangs now and in the past'. Garda sources said a wave of experienced officers who helped to break up gangs in Limerick between the late 90s and mid-2000s have retired. Advertisement The official Garda response added that managing the deployment of resources across 560 garda stations nationally is 'a complex process' and that these resources are kept 'under constant review'. 'An Garda Síochána, as a family-friendly organisation, also has responsibilities for supporting individual employees' circumstances and statutory work-life balance policies,' it said. 'In emergency situations, or urgent Garda assistance is required, the public should always contact 999/112,' the statement added.
Irish Examiner
16-06-2025
- Science
- Irish Examiner
Limerick brothers to trial facial recognition software in sheep
If you thought all sheep looked the same, it turns out you would be wrong. In fact, in the world of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the differences are so distinct that two Co Limerick brothers, who are already revolutionising sheep worming, are now hoping to integrate facial recognition into their software, with trials about to begin across the globe, in New Zealand. The Cotter brothers, Nick and Jack from Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick, have already picked up an array of awards for their invention, the Cotter Crate, which significantly reduces the labour involved in drenching lambs. The pair are hoping to begin trials for the facial recognition software for sheep in New Zealand alongside Beef+Lamb NZ in February. Nick and Jack have already picked up an array of awards for their invention, the Cotter Crate, which significantly reduces the labour involved in drenching lambs. Previously, they have also developed software that allows stockkeepers to reduce wormer use on sheep by up to 60% without hampering productivity. The brother's SmartWorm software, which has recently been validated in trials with UCD, QUB, and Beef+LambNZ, uses data on how the animals are growing, local weather conditions, and pasture availability and quality to predict whether stock should be treated for worms with 95% accuracy, with scientific studies on the project expected to be published imminently. Later this month, the pair hope to take it a step further and will be partnering with a US company to launch an automatic drenching gun for sheep in Ireland and the UK — which will work with their software and select doses based on weight — and with that comes huge sustainability benefits. Meanwhile, Nick will be examining the adoption of technology within the sheep sector to improve productivity, profitability and sustainability of the sector as part of his Nuffield scholarship. 'The space we want to be in is technology for sheep farmers — it's a very neglected sector, but it's also a sector we know very well, growing up on a sheep farm,' he said, explaining he was keen to overcome barriers specific to different countries. 'In Australia, some farms are not willing to handle the animals every four weeks [as is currently required by the brothers' technology] — it's too frequent for them,' he said. Ear tags are not mandatory in sheep in Australia and New Zealand. 'These farms are spread across huge expanses of land — it's unimaginable scale. For those types of farms, we are integrating with remote weighing platforms — these are weighing platforms that operate out in the field. They are set in front of an attractant — it could be a mineral bucket or a water trough. We just need to see the animals once over a four-week period.' Farmers can also, through the app, make settings that will draft out the ones that are needed into another paddock. 'It means the weighing is already done, and they are only working with the ones that need to be drenched rather than the whole flock and trying to sort through them manually,' Nick added. 'The reason why we started in New Zealand is that our software depends on seeing the average daily liveweight gain of sheep — we need to see each sheep individually, so what we need at the moment is we need to weigh them and we need to scan the eartag with the weight, so we know that animal No 1 weighed 40kg today, and in four weeks' time animal No 1 is 45kg, so we don't need to treat them. "To do that, we need identification on each animal, so we need eartags.' It's no problem in Europe, where eartags for sheep have been legally mandated for many years, however, in Australia and New Zealand there is no legislative requirement to individually identify sheep, and as a result, most sheep are not tagged. It's set to change in Australia from January this year, when new rules were scheduled to come into effect. However, there is no sign of any similar change on the horizon in New Zealand. It's a problem for farmers who want to be able to reduce their use of wormers there, especially considering resistance has already become a major problem in Australasia. 'At the moment, farmers who want to use our app in New Zealand would have to take on eartagging as an additional cost just to use our software,' Nick explained. 'When you have 10,000 lambs and a set of tags cost roughly €1 each, that's €10,000. We are trying to reduce the barrier to using SmartWorm by using facial recognition technology out in the paddock and on the weigh crates that we use. This is a far lower-cost technology — in fact, it's about a quarter or a fifth of the cost of ear tags.' Sheep at Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand. To achieve their aim, the brothers are working on using artificial intelligence to develop a new set of algorithms capable of recognising and identifying individual sheep. 'The machine needs to see the sheep on a regular basis and use machine learning model to analyse videos or pictures of its face,' Nick said. 'We don't use their body because the body is unreliable on sheep — for example, if they are shorn, of course, it will look very different.' Nick explained early progress suggests there are indeed enough differences on their faces that it can identify each sheep individually. However, work is still under way to test the tech with different breeds. But with such huge possibilities for the technology, it's a challenge well worth undertaking. 'The potential goes far beyond just individual identification for weighing, we can go much more expansive with this, with cameras out in paddocks and look at automatic detection of lameness in sheep and automatic detection of things like flystrike and go further again and look at mothering up of lambs, to know which lambs came off which mother,' he said. The trial, which is hoped to begin in February, will also put the Cotter brothers' existing technology to the test and will build on previous research studies. This time, it will include farms in both the North and South Islands and will also cover a longer period of time over the grazing season.
Irish Independent
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Letters: Humanity is doomed if demilitarisation does not occur soon
France is still providing Israel with military assistance including weapons and munitions that are being use by the Israeli military to commit genocide in Gaza. The two-state solution and demilitarisation would be a good idea, but only if the Israeli state was also demilitarised. The Palestinian people should be allowed to return to the lands and property they rightfully own and to be properly compensated for all they have suffered since 1948. The imperial powers – France, Britain and the US – have played major historical roles in destabilising the Middle East since World War I and are continuing to do so since World War II, by abusing their powers of veto at the UN Security Council. France is believed to have assisted Israel to develop nuclear weapons. Israel is now believed to have at least 90 nuclear bombs. Iran has never had nuclear weapons but is now being attacked by Israel. Demilitarisation, rather than rearmament, is now urgently needed worldwide if humanity is to survive all the existential threats, including the threat of nuclear war and actual damage being done by wars and militarisation to our already-damaged environment. Edward Horgan, Castletroy, Co Limerick Even wars have rules, but Israel continues to see itself as above global law Just as the decades of crimes under Israeli occupation – such as the demolition of homes, arbitrary imprisonment and torture and the destruction of olive groves – do not justify Hamas committing war crimes against civilians in Israel, the crimes committed by Hamas cannot justify war crimes by Israeli forces. These include the bombing of hospitals and depriving the civilian population in Gaza of food, water and medical supplies. As emphasised by United Nations humanitarian relief co-ordinator Tom Fletcher: 'We see war being used to justify massive human suffering. This is unacceptable... Even wars have rules… If your principles apply only to your opponents, then they are not humanitarian principles.' Terry Hansen, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Keir Starmer risks plunging UK into another war by enabling attacks on Iran When Israel previously attacked Iran, Britain defended Israel from the Iranian retaliation with no adverse consequences. This time Iran says that if Britain defends Israel it will be regarded as an aggressor. British prime minister Keir Starmer has sent fighter jets to the Middle East and refused to answer when asked if the UK would defend Israel. Israel justified attacking Iran by saying there was an imminent, existential threat from Iran. Before involving Britain in another war, Starmer needs to demonstrate to his people that that statement was true. Brendan O'Brien, London Greta Thunberg is a true hero who has held a mirror up to the terror of Tel Aviv Why does Greta Thunberg's activism so enrage the hurlers on the ditch? If one were to compare the courage of Ms Thunberg's aid mission with the inaction and complicity of Western governments, then one can see that this young woman is the quintessential iconoclast, subversive and renegade. It's my contention that the Madleen was no 'selfie yacht'. It is to my mind a symbol of human compassion in a world that has decided to look the other way. It's my assertion that Ms Thunberg is someone who is trying to do the right thing while being decried by Israel, as it refers to her actions as a publicity stunt. I believe Ms Thunberg was doing what she believed to be morally right as she used her prodigious global platform to highlight the inequities and injustices that are being perpetrated against the people of Gaza. It's easy for the so-called hurlers on the ditch to call into question the motives of this autistic woman? I see her as a woman who is holding a mirror up to Israel. Her critics may sneer, but standing in solidarity with over two million Palestinians in Gaza is what makes Greta a hero. John O'Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary For myriad controversial reasons, we should not give Trump tyranny legitimacy As Donald Trump celebrated his 79th birthday, while at the same time overseeing a multi-million-dollar extravaganza to celebrate the US military's 250th year, large 'No Kings' demonstrations were taking place all over America, to protest against instability and division. America and its people are now even more polarised than they were ever before, and that is down to the Trump MAGA ideology. It has created a more unstable world and has bolstered right-wing extremism in Europe and other parts of the globe. His lack of diplomatic nous; his incendiary and divisive trolling on his Truth Social platform; his propensity for exaggeration and lying have all become the hallmark of a presidency in virtual freefall. Trump's sociopathic acolytes and Republican rearguard have all the traits of what many class as a dictatorial or monarchical regime. His imposition of Marines and National Guards against the wishes of California governor Gavin Newsom to quell riots; his use of immigration and customs officials to deport anyone randomly; his threats to take over sovereign nations; and his tariff impositions, only highlight his abuse of power. Why should we, in Western democracies, have anything to do with this administration, knowing what we know? Why should we give it legitimacy when we know that every step, every executive order Trump makes, goes against the very fabric of social society and the very foundations of our democratic values? Christy Galligan, Letterkenny, Co Donegal GAA commentary needs to be more grounded – I was floored by what I heard I watched the Armagh v Galway game on GAA+ from Breffni Park on Saturday night. The weather was rough, but not enough to warrant what I heard from the commentary team – players, apparently, kept 'hitting the floor'. Unless they moved the match indoors without telling us, I'm fairly sure they meant 'the ground'. The floor is what you mop. The ground is what you get up from after a Galway shoulder.
Irish Times
30-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Charles Byrnes says no one hurting more than son Philip after ‘soft unseat' at Wexford
Trainer Charles Byrnes has said no one is hurting more than his son Philip following the jockey's controversial unseat from Redwood Queen at Wexford on Wednesday. The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board is carrying out an investigation into the incident that saw Philip Byrnes unseated from his father's runner at the final flight of a claiming hurdle race. Redwood Queen, who had drifted in betting for the contest, looked to have the race won until unshipping her rider. It allowed the odds-on favourite Beacon Edge to win. The incident has generated significant comment including immediately afterwards on Racing TV where it was described as a 'soft unseat' by one pundit although the race-day stewards at Wexford reviewed the unseating they took no further action. However, the IHRB has subsequently opted to carry out a review of the incident. READ MORE Lots of online discussion following the opening race at Wexford earlier, and our team look back at the incident — Racing TV (@RacingTV) Charles Byrnes defended his son on Friday, arguing it is clear what occurred at the final hurdle. 'It's obvious what happened. He was trying to get the mare to go in and pop it, because obviously she had the race won, and she came up out of his hands and blew him out of the saddle. There's no one hurting more than Philip about it,' the Co Limerick trainer said. He declined to comment further on the matter. Redwood Queen started a 13-2 shot for the race but traded at cramped odds 'in running' before Byrnes (25), was unseated. The IHRB declined to comment on the matter on Friday but a regulatory body spokesperson previously said: 'We note the position of the race-day stewards following their review of the incident. We can now confirm the matter is down for review by an IHRB senior racing official.' Redwood Queen was subsequently claimed out of the race by new trainer Cian Collins for €6,000.
