A round-up to today's other stories in brief
Mini tornado seen in Bailieborough
A mini-tornado was reported in Co Cavan yesterday afternoon. Gardaí said the incident happened at 3.35pm at Lear on the Shercock Road, near Bailieborough.
"There were a lot of trees down, a couple of roofs were damaged, a chimney was hit and some tiles came off the houses," a spokesman said. A moving car narrowly avoided being hit by a falling tree, he added, but there were no injuries.
About 1,000 homes in the area were without electricity after a tree fell on to a power line, but a spokesman for the ESB said all services had been restored by 9pm last night.
Carlow man envoy for Sierra Leone
The government of Sierra Leone has appointed Joseph Manning, Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, to be its consul general in Ireland. Mr Manning, a Carlow businessman, is chairman of the Ireland/Sierra Leone Partnership.
Kevin Myers's Belfast memoirs
Irish Times columnist Kevin Myers is to publish a memoir of his years as a reporter in Belfast.
Myers's Memoir of Belfast 1971-78 is due out in the autumn from Lilliput Press, which describes it as a "trenchant, first-hand account of life on the streets of Belfast during the height of the 'Troubles', as a young reporter witnesses the blood feuds and chaos of a divided society on the brink of civil war".
The book is also described as "a beautifully written, evocative and shockingly honest narrative record of a pivotal time in Ireland's past, blending articulacy with savage indignation".
Myers has previously published a novel, Banks of Green Willow, and a collection of his Irishman's Diary columns.
Limerick woman hit by truck dies
An elderly woman died after she was hit by a truck in Limerick city on Thursday evening.
Catherine Nunan (77), John's Street, Limerick, was hit by a truck at the junction of Bedford Row and Henry Street. She was brought to the Mid Western Regional Hospital where she died later that evening.
Witnesses are asked to contact gardaí at Henry Street on 061-212400.
Ballyfermot man missing
Gardaí at Ballyfermot, Dublin are seeking assistance in tracing Tony Heneghan (62), who has been missing from his home on Lally Road, Ballyfermot, since Thursday.
Mr Heneghan is 173cm (5ft 8in) with grey hair and slightly built. He was wearing a blue T-shirt, navy tracksuit bottoms and brown slippers. He requires medical attention and gardaí and his family are concerned.
Any person with information is asked to contact Ballyfermot gardaí on 01-666 7200.
Kenny elected to Europe grouping
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has been elected a vice-president of the European People's Party, a Europe-wide grouping of centre-right political parties.
Mr Kenny was elected to one of 10 vice-presidential positions from about 15 candidates at the EPP congress in Rome yesterday.
Ireland's 'highest CF incidence'
Labour Party TD Mary Upton has said that cystic fibrosis is the most common genetic disease in Ireland, which now has the highest incidence in Europe.
Opening the Cystic Fibrosis Association's annual conference in Portmarnock, Co Dublin, yesterday, Ms Upton said: "The Pollock report last year was critical of the facilities in Ireland, and contrasted them with those in other countries."
She said the average life expectancy of a cystic fibrosis patient in the Republic was less than for those in Northern Ireland.