In Short

A round-up of today's other Irish news stories in brief

A round-up of today's other Irish news stories in brief

Campaign for male victims of domestic abuse

Amen has launched a campaign to encourage men who are victims of domestic violence to come forward, writes Fiona Gartland.

The second annual Domestic Violence Against Men Awareness Week, organised by the charity, aims to raise awareness of violence in the home against men.

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Amen will run advertisements to highlight the issue on buses, billboards and in newspapers. In July, Amen received 309 calls to its helpline. Some 290 callers were suffering psychological abuse and 59 were suffering physical abuse.

In 2005, a survey by the National Crime Council found 26 per cent of men suffered domestic abuse but only 1 in 20 reported it, compared to one in three women.

According to the charity, male victims who come from all walks of life, are often not believed because they are men and they may become depressed, feel suicidal and sometimes they take their own lives.

Praise for woman who died in fire

A woman who died in a house fire in Co Limerick yesterday was praised for saving the lives of two family members.

Nora May O’Hanlon (64) died in a blaze, which started shortly after 5am yesterday, at her end-of-terrace home in the Corbry housing estate in the village of Glin.

Ms O’Hanlon had raised the alarm and saved the lives of her brother-in-law PJ Woulfe and his daughter Patricia who were asleep at the time.

However she was overcome by smoke when she returned upstairs to retrieve something.

Supt Joe Rowe of Askeaton Garda station said they were investigating the theory that the fire started outside at the rear of the house.

Ms O’Hanlon was the second person to die in a house fire in Limerick in as many days.

Book on swimming scandal launched

Former Olympic swimmer Gary O’Toole has said the child sex abuse scandals in the sport happened because those in authority failed to act.

O’Toole said the victims who had spoken out about the behaviour of the paedophiles who had been involved in Irish swimming had “changed society in Ireland forever”.

Mr O’Toole spoke at the launch last night of Deep Deception, a book by journalist Justine McCarthy about the four men who had used their status in Irish swimming to prey on young victims – Derry O’Rourke, George Gibney, Frank McCann and Fr Ronald Bennett.

"Good Samaritan" critical after attack

A “good Samaritan” who tried to intervene in a fight outside a Limerick pub was in a critical condition in hospital last night after being struck with an iron bar on the head.

Eddie Carey (42) was walking home in the Mungret Street area when he came upon a row shortly after midnight on Sunday night.

Gardaí said the man, who lived locally,was trying to act as peacemaker when he was struck on the head.