The 21-year-old, who spent four years in prison in Cairo before being cleared of charges relating to mass protests in the Egyptian capital in 2013, told Ryan Tubridy on RTÉ’s Late Late Show that he was “a normal 17-year-old.

“I didn’t know about politics and didn’t care who was president because it didn’t affect me,” he said.

Mr Halawa, from Firhouse, south Co Dublin, denied supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, who protested against the ousting of president Mohamed Morsi in a military coup.

“I didn’t agree with what was going on with the Muslim Brotherhood being in charge of the Government at the time but they were the elected government by the people whether any of us like it or not,” he said.

“I was a 17-year-old you don’t now what the Muslim Brotherhood . . . Of course I’m not a member . . . I do not support the ideology. I was imprisoned with them and I differ with them on a lot of points. A lot of people said it was a Brotherhood rally I was caught up in but it wasn’t . . . There were Christian organisations and trade union organisations there,” he said.

He said he was at the cinema when he became involved in the protest and ended up addressing the crowd.

“Two of my friends died. I had to stand up for them. It was my first time getting politically involved,” he said. “I told the crowd, use the ballot box . . . don’t use the military or to kill people.”

Mr Halawa said he took refuge in a mosque, where he filmed a video message after being told the group inside needed someone who spoke English to address the world.

“It’s freedom of speech – I didn’t think I was going to be arrested. I thought I was going to die – definitely,” he said. “My sisters were in the mosque and that’s what made it harder, I thought we were going to die.”

He said he took a bullet during the mosque siege and his hand is still damaged from the injury.

He was arrested with three of his sisters, Omaima, Somaia and Fatima. His sisters were released on bail and returned to Ireland three months later, but he remained, and it was not until four years later that he was acquitted of all charges.

Mr Halawa, whose trial was postponed 28 times in four years, was reunited with his family last month.

Last night he told Tubridy about his four years in prison, where he experienced violence at the hands of prison officers.

“You are beaten with metal bars, chains, electric wires, sticks – anything they find. This is what they called the party in prison. This is how they did it in Egypt - in every prison it was the same thing.”

He said he went on several hunger strikes and was beaten up by a prison officer in front of his mother when he was 18.

“Prison is not like the movies; it’s so hard. I’m sad to leave some of the people I met in prison behind because of the conditions they are in,” he said.

“I went home and I couldn’t sleep in a bed back in Dublin so I slept on the ground – I had become institutionalised.”

Mr Halawa also addressed several rumours surrounding his time in prison, including one that he destroyed his Irish passport.

Mr Halawa insisted he did not go to Egypt to become politically involved.

“If I wanted to be politically active in Egypt as people would say, I would have gone to Egypt when the revolution was in 2011; I was in Ireland,” he said.

He also spoke out about his “haters” and critical and racist online commentary about him and his family.

“A girl messaged me and told me to take my award and go back to my country but then she added me as a friend on Facebook,” he said.

Looking ahead, Mr Halawa said he is going to write a book and to help people who are falsely imprisoned and to help the homeless.

Keane got off to a flying start when It’s Two O Clock made a successful introduction in the opening Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden.

The Ger Lyons-trained 4-9 favourite may not have beaten much but showed a decent change of gear to account for Khwarizmi by two and a half lengths.

Keane leads Pat Smullen by 98 winners to 87, with just Naas on Sunday to go before the season draws to a close.

He said: “From day one this season we hit the ground running. Ger’s horses were very consistent all season and he’s kept them going very well.

“When I wasn’t riding for Ger, my agent Ruaidhrí Tierney had me on the best rides available. It was a big team effort and, to be honest, I’m glad it’s over.

“Obviously it’s a great sense of achievement but it hasn’t really sunk in yet. Hopefully come Sunday evening when the presentation is made, it might sink in then.

“I rode my first winner in Dundalk and it’s been a very good track to me. I’ve been very lucky here thankfully.

“It was great to ride my first Group One winner in Italy last Sunday. It would have been nice to have it on home soil but it’s great to have a Group One winner anywhere. For it to be Tony’s [Martin] first Group One winner as well made it special as he supported me as an apprentice.

“Every day you ride a winner is a good day and anything after that is a bonus. There was plenty of times this year that it got close, and it was only in the last few days where it looked likely.”

The Chelsea head coach, who is seeking an immediate positive response after his side were thrashed by Roma in midweek, has been denied the opportunity to field both players together this season because of injury. Drinkwater succumbed early to a calf complaint from which he has only just recovered, and has yet to start a – Premier League game since his £35 million (€39m) move in August. Kanté has been absent since damaging a hamstring in France’s World Cup qualifying victory over –Bulgaria last month.

The Frenchman has been back in full training for more than a week and might have featured at the Stadio Olimpico, only to indicate he did not feel ready. The club’s medical staff will check on Kanté before kick-off but the 26-year-old is expected to line up against United and has worked alongside Drinkwater in training.

Progressing well

Conte revealed that Roman Abramovich watched training last Sunday in the wake of the 1-0 win at Bournemouth, with the owner having been at Cobham this week. The champions are nine points off Manchester City in the league, albeit still in fourth place, and the humiliation at Roma prompted the head coach to question, both publicly and privately, his players’ commitment and hunger to defend their title. He has since claimed the team’s malaise will demonstrate whether the players “are winners or losers”.

“Honestly, we spoke about the Bournemouth game and then the first game against Rome,” he said of Sunday’s conversation with the owner. “My relationship with Mr Abramovich is the same as last season, and I don’t see a difference between this season and last [in that respect]. My only concern is to put everything into the job so that, when I finish my work, I’m satisfied with what I’ve done.”

The bulk of O’Brien’s biggest ever Breeders’ Cup squad compete on Saturday but after September’s unlucky third in the first of the 13 Grade One contests run on Friday night, Mendelssohn justified 9-2 favouritism in style under Ryan Moore.

The son of Scat Daddy commanded a huge purchase price as a yearling and confirmed his Breeders’ Cup pedigree as a half brother to Beholder who won three times at American racing’s shop-window event.

Breaking smartly from stall one, Moore had Mendelssohn in a perfect stalking position throughout and arched out with his running early in the short straight.

It was a 27th Group/Grade One victory of 2017 for O’Brien and a 12th Breeders’ Cup success in all for Ireland’s champion trainer. It was ninth success at the Breeders’ Cup for Moore and a perfect start to the $28 million extravaganza for the Coolmore Stud partnership.

Mendelssohn had belied 50-1 odds on his previous start when runner-up to his stable companion US Navy Flag in the Dewhurst Stakes a month ago and despite reportedly being colty in the Del Mar preliminaries he looked to improve again.

“He’s progressed with every run and he looks to have stepped up again so it’s marvellous,” O’Brien said. “It’s a big team effort and we’re just grateful to be part of it.”

Moore had earlier had an unlucky passage from an inside draw in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf on board Happily but not so much as O’Brien’s other runner September who fluffed the start completely in a race won by Rushing Fall.

But there were no such problems for Mendelssohn who gave Moore a fourth success in the Juvenile Turf on an O’Brien-trained runner.

“He’s a beautiful horse who’s just been backward mentally. Everything went our way,” the Englishman said. “He always travelled like the best horse but when he hit the front he just didn’t know what to do.”

Mendelssohn beat the US runner Untamed Domain while the other Irish starter, Beckford, ran on well from the rear of the field to finish fifth.

There are a lot of lessons to learn each time you complete an Ironman, especially in the heat. Every action has a reaction and nowhere is this more evident than over the course of an Ironman race. Every time I race, I discover another piece of the puzzle to implement in the future.

Ironman racing certainly requires an immense amount of physical training and work in preparing for it, but, on the day, it is things like pacing, staying well hydrated, adequately fuelling the body and keeping strong mentally that can make or break it.

I arrived fit and ready to the start the race last week. The week leading into the race involved a good amount of rest and quality sleep. It was a real bonus getting valuable rest on board and something that would be desirable year-round in an ideal scenario. I had a race plan for the day and felt comfort in knowing that if I stuck to the plan, all would go well.

Hydration strategy

Lessons I had learnt from my previous experience in Kona included being more mindful of sun protection, keeping the body from overheating and improving my hydration strategy. I decided to wear a suit for the bike section that offered maximum coverage to help in protection from the sun. VeloRevolution kindly made me a custom-made aerodynamic speed suit to wear which was very comfortable and allowed me to bike through the heat of the lava fields without any worry of scorching myself. I took on lots of electrolytes on the bike section and tried to stay away from energy drinks as this can negatively affect my stomach.

My race on the day was an hour quicker than 2015 and I felt 100 times better and totally enjoyed the experience. Overall, I raced conservatively, but this paid off as I was able to pick up my pace for the final 10km of the run. I also did a much better job at keeping control of my body temperature by using ice in my running cap from the very start of the run. I think if your head feels cold the rest of your body gets tricked into feeling cooler too.

Calibre

Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii is like no other ironman race out there. The level and calibre of athletes competing is astonishing and the speed that some of them can cover those miles is impressive.

I know first-hand the hard work, dedication and sacrifice it takes to get to the start line in Kona and there is a collective mutual respect amongst the athletes that is very special.

I finished 34th in my age group out of 94. I hoped to finish a little closer to the top of the field, but I was happy I put in a decent race performance in such hot conditions.

On the day, over 2,500 competitors towed the line on race morning having qualified from Ironman races all over the world.

Glasgow Warriors continued their winning sequence in the Guinness Pro 14 after outscoring Leinster at Scotstoun with a performance of fast-running rugby that allowed the home side to claim a bonus point and an eighth consecutive win.

Leinster came to Scotstoun having soundly defeated Glasgow in European Cup rugby at the ground last month. But any hopes of repeating this result were dashed in the first half when Glasgow put on a crowd-pleasing performance of delightful attacking running before being tamed in the second half by the heavier and stronger Leinster pack.

With so many first-choice players missing from their side, Leinster were not expected to win against a Glasgow side that was less affected by the absence of senior players.

Moreover, having lost their two opening European matches, Glasgow are effectively out of that competition and as such their priority is the league. That was evident from the off with Glasgow showing the greater determination to take control of the game with a blend of fast and risk taking rugby that produced points in the first half.

Leinster were unfortunate not to gain a losing bonus point in what was the first of seven cross conference matches but they can take credit for winning the second half and for the way their debutant players performed against the league leaders.

Leinster were quick out of the blocks, scoring a blistering try in the opening minutes after fullback Jordan Larmour cut the Glasgow defence to shreds with a penetrating run that ended with Jamison Gibson Park darting over from close range and Ross Byrne converting.

No sooner had the players gathered breath than Glasgow replied in kind as Fijian international Niko Matawalu set up a try for George Horne, converted by elder brother Peter to level the scores.

Leinster again showed their danger in the outside channels, attacking on the left flank before moving the ball to the other touchline for Rory O’Loughlin to claim the second try, Byrne again converting.

The breakneck pace set by both teams continued with another break by Matawalu who again had the younger Horne brother in support. The Warriors’ scrumhalf was caught but when the ball was recycled centre Nick Grigg was on hand to bag the try, Peter Horne’s conversion again levelling the scores.

Leinster were dealt a blow when Jordi Murphy was carded for preventing Glasgow taking a tap penalty. The one-man advantage soon told as Warriors used their forwards close to the line to set up a second try for George Horne, comfortably converted by brother Peter.

Then with just 26 minutes of the game played Glasgow achieved their bonus point score with an outrageously audacious score made by a length-of-the- pitch run by Matawalu and the finish by Grigg. Horne added the extras before goaling a penalty.

Leinster tried desperately to narrow the lead from two penalty-created lineouts in the corner, but to no avail leaving Glasgow leading 31-14 at half-time.

Glasgow were reduced to 14 men when lock Scott Cummings was carded early in the second half allowing Leinster to apply forward pressure and ultimately a try in the corner for wing Adam Byrne, expertly converted by Ross Byrne.

No sooner was Cummings back on the field than Glasgow lost replacement Alex Dunbar to the bin for slowing down the ball as Leinster went for the kill.

Leinster were now looking the stronger side but the visitors failed to capitalise when they butchered a four-on-two attack albeit there was a territorial dividend.

With rain arriving the accuracy of the earlier passing was gone, denying the likes of Matawalu, named as man of the match, from working further magic. With the game going into its final minutes the contest became more of a forward slog but the battle between the heavyweights yielded no further points leaving Glasgow winners and able to celebrate continued success in the Guinness Pro 14.

GLASGOW WARRIORS: R Jackson; L Masaga, N Grigg, S Johnson, N Matawalu; P Horne, G Horne; J Bhatti, G Turner, D Rae; T Swinson, S Cummings; R Harley, C Gibbins, M Fagerson.

Replacements: P MacArthur for Turner (58 mins), A Allan for Bhatti (58 mins), A Nicol for Rae (69 mins), L Wynne for Fagerson (53 mins), M Smith for Fagerson (66 mins), H Pyrgos for Horne (54 mins), A Dunbar for Johnson (56 mins), L Sarto for Masaga (70 mins).

LEINSTER: J Lamour; A Byrne, R O’Loughlin, C O’Brien, D Kearney; R Byrne, J Gibson-Park; E Byrne, S Cronin, M Bent; R Molony, M Kearney; S Fardy, J Murphy, M Deegan.

Replacements: R Strauss for Cronin (58 mins), P Dooley for E Bryne (51 mins), A Porter for Bent (51 mins), Josh Murphy for Jordan Murphy (69 mins), D Leavy for Fardy (40 mins), N McCarthy for Gibson-Park (51 mins), C Marsh for R Byrne (73 mins), H Keenan for O’Brien (73 mins).

Referee: S Berry (SARU).

The force’s chief of detectives, Robert Boyce, said the NYPD was working with New York’s attorney general to gather enough evidence before obtaining an arrest warrant for the disgraced Hollywood producer.

His comments came during a conference at the authority’s headquarters on Friday as he was asked about a claim made by former Boardwalk Empire star Paz De La Huerta that Weinstein raped her in 2010. According to Vanity Fair magazine, she gave her account to the publication over the phone.

Mr Boyce said: “We became aware of the [alleged] victim on October 25th. We got a phone call where we spoke to her. She put forth a credible and detailed narrative to us.

“We then sought to garner corroboration. This happened seven years ago, and we found corroboration along the way. We immediately contacted the district attorney in New York and we started working the case together.

“We have an actual case here, so we are happy with where the investigation is right now. Mr Weinstein is out of state, we would need an arrest warrant to arrest him.

“So right now we are gathering our evidence. We continue to do so every day. So that’s where we are in the case right now.

“As to others, I’m not going to close the door and say that others won’t come forward, but this is what we have right now, this is what we are moving forward with.”

He added: “To arrest Mr Weinstein we would need an arrest warrant, so that requires a court order, so we want to get our evidence first before we go out and do something like that.”

The update comes shortly after Beverly Hills authorities became the fourth police department to launch an investigation into claims made against the movie mogul.

Officers said they had received “multiple complaints” about Weinstein, adding to investigations in the UK and elsewhere in the US.

Weinstein has “unequivocally denied” allegations of non-consensual sex.

The force also said it is investigating James Toback, the film-maker who has reportedly been accused of sexual harassment by more than 200 women, including actresses Julianne Moore, Selma Blair and Rachel McAdams. – PA

Circuit Court Judge Thomas E O’Donnell told the six men and six women sworn in on Wednesday that the prosecution case was not strong enough. The jury had not begun its deliberations. The judge’s decision came after an application by the defence .

Driver of a year old Kia Rio car Kelly Ann Roantree (34) of Clounametig, Abbeydorney, denied the charge of careless driving causing the death of father- of-one Mark Shanahan, of Lixnaw and also of Ballymullen Tralee. The incident took place sometime after 6pm on July 14th , 2013 at Clounametig, Abbeydorney.

Ms Roantree had been returning home from food shopping in Tralee and crossing to her drive way .The State’s case was that she entered the path of the motorcyclist coming from Abbeydorney, the jury had been told on the opening day.

Defence barrister John O’Sullivan had made an application at the conclusion of the State case, Judge O’Donnell told the jury .

“I have given my decision and as a result of that will be asking you to enter a plea of not guilty,” Judge O’Donnell said.

He was not at liberty to tell the jury his reasons “other than on the basis of the strength of the prosecution case and the standard of proof that is required,” Judge O’Donnell said.

He also said the jury would want an explanation as to why it took so long getting the case to trial. The accident had occurred in July 2013 and it was now November 2017, he said.

This was because of legal issues which affected a number of other cases also arising from a conviction in the O’Shea case in Naas in 2013 which had gone to the court of appeal and then to the the Supreme Court, the judge said. The Supreme Court decision was given this year.

“Through no fault of anyone this case has had to await that outcome,” Judge O’Donnell said.

He thanked the jury for their attendance, excused them from jury service for a period of five years and confirmed with Tom Rice, prosecuiting, the order was Not guilty by direction of the trial judge.

There were a few inevitable things about this encounter in Cork. Munster were always destined to win against a team that had lost its last 27 games on the road in this competition. And it was surely inevitable that Simon Zebo, back in action on Leeside for the first time since announcing his departure to France, would score.

Both of those things were achieved by the half hour mark with Zebo spinning out of a few tackles to squeeze over in the left corner and JJ Hanrahan’s conversion making it 14-3. The margin of victory was all that really remained to be decided after that.

Hanrahan, the villain last week in the loss away to Connacht when he missed a tackle for Tom Farrell’s clinching try, produced a superb performance to ensure that Rassie Erasmus enjoyed the perfect send-off.

Hanrahan was involved in several of Munster’s seven tries and crowned a wonderful display by landing all seven conversions, most of them from difficult angles.

It was the perfect way for Erasmus to end his term, although it took them 20 minutes to make their dominance show on the scoreboard.

Hanrahan created the opening to send centre Rory Scannell through for his second try of the season, sliding home despite the tackle of Dragons fullback Will Talbot-Davies.

Hanrahan landed the conversion from the left touchline, buy almost directly from the restart they conceded a penalty and Dragons outhalf Angus O’Brien punished them from 38 metres.

It was as much as Dragons mustered in terms of opening-half attacks, but Munster still only led 14-3 at the break despite being on top.

The second try came from a barn-storming break from South African flanker Chris Cloete on his debut. After knocking a couple of tacklers out of his way, he fed wide for Zebo to take it at speed and spun out of the tackles and score in the left corner.

It was the second week in a row he has scored since being dropped from the Irish squad and it was his 57th try in 126 appearances for Munster.

Hanrahan again negotiated the touchline conversion from the left to make it 14-3, an interval scoreline which did little to illustrate the gulf between the sides.

The gap actually was reduced two minutes after the restart when O’Brien landed another penalty, this time from 30 metres, to leave eight between the sides.

But that was as good as it got for Bernard Jackman’s men and Munster had the bonus point in the bag by the hour mark with a couple of excellent tries.

Jack O’Donoghue got the first of these after 48 minutes in a move down the right which twice involved Darren Sweetnam, with Robin Copeland taking it on in between, before the inrushing number eight finished the try in style.

Hanrahan again converted and then set up the bonus point try after 58 minutes with a wide pass after several unsuccessful forays which sent Sweetnam over to clinch the extra point.

Munster didn’t relent after that and despite both teams emptying their benches, the home side continued to dominate proceedings even if they ended up having to put centre Chris Farrell into number eight when O’Donoghue was injured.

It proved to be a memorable night as well for former Irish under-20 Sam Arnold who marked his first appearance of the season after injury in style.

He crossed for his first try for Munster after 64 minutes after being set up by man of the match Hanrahan.

Munster turned the screw in the closing stages, replacement hooker Kevin O’Byrne going over for his first try for the province after a good drive from a lineout.

And the rout was completed in the closing stages when Arnold got over for his second try of the night as Dragons capitulated.

MUNSTER: S Zebo; D Sweetnam, C Farrell, R Scannell, A Wootton; JJ Hanrahan, D Williams; L O’Connor, R Marshall, S Archer; J Kleyn, B Holland; J O’Donoghue, C Cloete, R Copeland.

Replacements: J Cronin for O’Connor (49 mins), D O’Shea for Kleyn (49 mins), J Hart for Williams (52 mins), S Arnold for Scannell (59 mins), K O’Byrne for Marshall (60 mins), M Flanagan for Cloete (64 mins), B Scott for Archer (65 mins), I Keatley for O’Donoghue (71 mins).

DRAGONS: W Talbot-Davies; A Hewitt, A Warren, J Dixon, J Rosser; A O’Brien, C Davies; T Davies, G Ellis, L Fairbrother; J Davies, R Landman; A Wainwright, J Benjamin, J Sheekey.

Replacements: L Belcher for Ellis (45 mins), L Garrett for T Davies (50 mins), B Harris for Fairbrother (50 mins), B Roach for Sheekey (50 mins), S Pretorius for C Davies (51 mins), P Howard for Dixon (59 mins), S Andrews for J Davies (65 mins), A Robson for O’Brien (65 mins).

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU).

Moninne Griffith is executive director of BeLonGTo, a national organisation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) young people.

The current Act allows transgender people over the age of 18 to self-declare their own gender identity.

The review of the 2015 Act will cover issues such as gender recognition for children younger than 16 years of age; arrangements for 16- and 17-year-olds; and the position of non-binary and intersex persons.

The review will include the position of people who are non-binary (do not identify as exclusively male or female) and the position of 16- and 17-year-olds and younger children.

Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty also announced three members of the group – Sara Phillips, Seamus Byrne and Dr Tanya Ní Mhuirthile.

The full membership of the group will be finalised in the coming days and the group will commence its work later this month.

Ms Doherty said Ms Griffith’s professional background and her current work make her an ideal person to chair the group.

Ms Griffith said she looked forward to working with the many individuals and groups who have views and a vision of what the 2015 Act can deliver.

It is intended that the review will be completed by end of May 2018.

The council’s deputy chief executive and head of housing with the council Brendan Kenny said the issues of extreme overcrowding in rental accommodation, highlighted in an RTÉ Investigates programme, were a relatively new phenomenon in the city.

“While there have been ongoing issues with standards in rental accommodation, these are improving, but the issue of gross overcrowding is a new phenomenon over the last 12 months in the context of the housing crisis.”

The council was reliant on receiving complaints in order to identify issues of overcrowding, Mr Kenny said.

“We undertake proactive inspections of properties where there our RAS [Rental Accommodation Scheme] and HAP [Housing Assistance Payment] tenants are living, but we don’t generally know about overcrowding unless it is reported, and we get very few reports.”

Overcrowded

Tenants paying to live in overcrowded private houses, generally do not make complaints he said. “These tenants are mostly young foreign nationals, some of whom may not be in the country legally, and many would be afraid of losing their accommodation if they made a complaint.”

However, he said acknowledged there had been delays in responding to complaints made as part of the RTÉ programme.

“There was a looseness in administration there that is being tightened up. In the next couple of weeks we will be launching a media campaign, which we had planned before the RTÉ programme, with a dedicated phone line to encourage people to report issues to us.”

He said that even if the council increased its inspections, unscrupulous landlords would face few consequences. “There are no fines for landlords for overcrowding, and for data protection reasons we can’t report them to the Revenue Commissioners.”

It comes after the councillor made controversial remarks on social media in September.

He claimed that Sharia law was operating in Ireland, criticised the Irish Naval Service’s mission in the Mediterranean and argued that European politicians were “too weak” to protect the EU’s borders.

“The Irish military should not be being forced to act as a ferry service for smugglers and illegal economic migrants in the Mediterranean,” he wrote on September 1st.

Another post as part of a series of tweets on September 5th read: “Sharia Law is operating in Ireland and most of the political class either do not know or do not care. It is a subversion of our legal system.”

Mr Murphy, who represents the Dundrum electoral area, also called for “visible armed police” outside Leinster House, “due to the very real danger we unfortunately now face”.

The Fine Gael whip has been removed from Mr Murphy, for a period of 12 months, effective from October 31st.

This means that he is no longer regarded as a Fine Gael councillor. However, he remains a member of the party.

It means he will not represent Fine Gael on the council, or any of its committees, cannot describe himself as an Fine Gael councillor, cannot use the Fine Gael logo on material.

Cllr Murphy in entitled to appeal the decision, within 30 days of the decision being issued. Should he decide to appeal the decision, the sanction will be set aside pending consideration of the appeal.

Fine Gael TD for Dublin Rathdown Josepha Madigan said she “wholly disagrees” with recent comments made by Cllr Murphy.

“In light of those comments, I believe Fine Gael was right to remove the whip,” she said.

In his profile on the Fine Gael website, Cllr Murphy says he is 25 years old and has been living in Goatstown for the past nine years.

He says he is employed in “accounting/tax consultancy” after studying business management and Dublin Institute of Technology and International Business at the UCD Smurfit Business School.

Uefa earlier confirmed it had opened disciplinary proceedings against Evra following the incident and his club have now taken action.

“Jacques-Henri Eyraud, president of Marseille, met Patrice Evra today and informed him of his lay-off with immediate effect and a summons to an interview prior to a possible disciplinary sanction,” a statement from the French club said.

The former Manchester United player, named as a substitute for OM’s fixture away to Vitoria, lashed out at the fan in a heated confrontation prior to Thursday night’s match in Portugal.

Evra was sent off and on Friday Uefa announced the 36-year-old would miss “at least one match”, with the organisation’s disciplinary body set to discuss his case at its next meeting on November 10th.

Marseille added there had been “unacceptable behaviour” from some fans who subjected Evra and his team-mates to “hateful attacks” but said: “As a professional and experienced player, Patrice Evra could not respond in such an inappropriate way.”

Evra is almost certain to face a more severe sanction from Uefa following scenes reminiscent of Eric Cantona’s kung-fu kick at Selhurst Park in 1995.

Video footage showed Evra aiming the kick at the Marseille fan as visiting players and supporters, who had seemingly scaled barriers to reach the advertising hoardings at the Estadio D Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes, confronted each other at the side of the pitch. He was then ushered away by a team-mate.

Marseille boss Rudi Garcia revealed afterwards Evra had reacted to taunts from the fans, but still criticised his actions.

“Pat has experience and he must not react, it’s obvious,” Garcia was quoted by L’Equipe as telling BeIN Sports.

“Patrice is a more than experienced player and we cannot respond to insults so low and so incredible because they come from one of our supporters.”

On the fan, Garcia said: “He is not a supporter of OM, because you cannot insult your own players, you have to be behind everyone.”

Former France captain Evra, who won five Premier League titles and the Champions League during an eight-year spell with United, joined Marseille from Juventus in January.

He has made just two appearances for the club in all competitions this season, though.

Further to Uefa investigation’s into Evra, the governing body has charged Marseille with breaches of Article 16 of its disciplinary regulations: namely the “field invasion by supporters, the setting-off of fireworks and acts of damages.”

For all but one of them, it was likely to be the first night of many. Santi Vila, the former business minister, was released after posting bail. Unless the ruling is reversed, the others will remain in detention until their trial for rebellion, sedition and embezzlement.

The arrests on Thursday offered a high-drama coda to a high-drama week that started with a defiant declaration of independence in the Catalan regional parliament and ended with the entire Catalan leadership in jail or on the run.

Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan president who fled to Brussels with some ministers on Monday, continues to hold out in the Belgian capital, and has vowed to fight any European arrest warrant Spanish judges may issue.

In legal terms, the separatist defeat is complete. Both the Catalan government and pro-secession social movements have lost their leaders. In political terms, however, the crackdown looks set to give the independence movement new momentum and new focus. With a regional election looming in December, the secessionist camp has been handed a powerful campaign theme – as well as a strong incentive to re-establish the frayed unity within its ranks.

“This is likely to consolidate the unity of the sovereigntist [pro-secession] camp at a time when that unity was showing signs of deteriorating,” said José Fernández-Albertos, a political analyst at Spain’s CSIC research centre. The detentions, he added, made it “increasingly costly for moderates to distance themselves from hardcore independence supporters”.

Shot in the arm

After days of disarray and confusion, separatist groups and leaders on Thursday called a fresh series of protests, which are due to culminate in a mass demonstration on Sunday next week.

Hours after the court decision was announced in Madrid, protesters filled streets and squares across the prosperous northern region to demand the release of the ex-ministers. From Brussels, Puigdemont denounced the arrests as “ferocious repression”, and referred to himself as the “legitimate president of the [Catalan] government”.

If the arrests on Thursday offered a shot in the arm for the independence movement, it was one the separatists badly needed after a disastrous few days. Barely a week after thousands of secessionists squeezed into Barcelona’s Plaça San Jaume to celebrate freedom from Spain, the independence movement was flailing, the euphoria gone.

Spain formally took control of the Catalan regional government on Monday, a move that many separatists thought would be met with resistance across the region. Instead, Catalonia’s 200,000 civil servants showed up at work like any other day and r Puigdemont fled to Brussels via Marseille. Many colleagues back in Barcelona were left in the dark about his plans, heightening the sense of chaos.

Aleix Rosa was one of many who stood ready to take to the streets to defend the new republic. The waiter envisaged joining forces with other pro-independence activists to surround government buildings and protect Catalonia’s ministers from Spanish police.

But there was nobody to tell him where to go, he says, no co-ordination from the usual channels that had for weeks been promising a “Catalan Spring” to resist Spanish rule. “Everyone had gone silent,” he said. As Rosa was waiting for instructions that never came, Catalan institutions quickly deferred to Spanish government authority in a way that officials in Madrid could barely have imagined.

Finally, in a tacit admission that Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s prime minister, was calling the shots, Catalonia’s two main separatist parties agreed to take part in a snap regional election that Rajoy called for December 21st.

“I feel a bit let down,” said Rosa before the Thursday arrests. “All this talk of a new republic and in the end we were not willing to defend it.”

Liz Castro, a pro-independence activist and former figure in the ANC, a separatist group, said: “People are hungry for information and instructions . . . It would have been a good week for us to have been out on the streets.”

Mireia Boya, an official with the far-left pro-independence CUP, lamented that they were simply underprepared.

Ominous sign

The jailing of the former Catalan government ministers offers the independence movement at least a chance to regroup and rejuvenate. Even in Madrid, there is concern that the Spanish courts could end up “making them martyrs”, as one official from the governing Popular party put it.

Officials on both sides note that some polls show a shift in Catalan public opinion in favour of independence, a potentially ominous sign for Madrid ahead of next month’s ballot. Rajoy and his supporters are hoping anti-independence parties win a solid majority on December 21st, and wrest control of the regional government from separatists.

But an official Catalan government poll published on Tuesday showed 48.7 per cent of Catalans believe the region should be independent, up from 41.1 per cent in June, and the highest since December 2014.

Albert Puig, an adviser to Oriol Junqueras, the ex-Catalan deputy leader, said creating a republic was never going to be “low-cost, easy and quick”.– Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017

An European Arrest Warrant had not been issued yet and could take a week, Dublin District Court was told on Friday.

Stephen Henry (41), formerly of Mountpottinger Road, Belfast, did not return to Magilligan Prison in the North earlier this week after he was granted a day-release pass to visit his family.

He was jailed for life at Craigavon Crown Court in 2006 after pleading guilty to murdering an acquaintance, John Cooke, with a Samurai-style sword.

The PSNI launched a manhunt and appealed for information on his whereabouts. On Monday the PSNI issued a statement stating he might be in either the Craigavon or Belfast areas.

However, he crossed the Border on Tuesday and was picked up by gardaí in Dublin on Friday.

He was arrested drunk on Friday morning after being thrown out of a city-centre hostel and getting mugged.

Endanger himself

He was arrested on Merrion Road at 8.50am on a charge under the Public Order Act for being intoxicated to an extent he might endanger himself or another person in his vicinity.

Barely able to keep his eyes open, he was brought before Dublin District Court on Friday evening and let go after being fined €75 for a public order offence that does not carry a jail sentence.

Henry, who has tattoos on both upper arms and scars on his forehead and left ear, was brought before Judge Conal Gibbons at a late sitting of Dublin District Court.

Dressed in a black tracksuit, green and white shirt, and brown shoes, Henry, with two cuts on his forehead, remained silent during his hearing.

Garda David Carty told the court Henry had been brought to Irishtown Garda station and made “no reply when charged”.

He objected to bail, however, the judge pointed out that the charge did not carry a penal sanction – just a fine – and the High Court would not be pleased if he refused.

Interpol

There was no charge before the District Court for being unlawfully at large. Defence solicitor Tracy Horan said she thought it would take at least a week for a European Arrest Warrant to be issued.

Garda Carty said contact would be made with Interpol.

Judge Gibbons held that he had to grant bail but because Henry had no ties to the jurisdiction he was going to require him to lodge €50 cash.

However, Ms Horan said that her client had been robbed overnight; his bag and phone were taken. He had a brother in Dublin but did not have his number. She argued that asking for a cash lodgement was tantamount to refusing bail.

Judge Gibbons said the lodgement would be required because Henry had no ties to the State.

This would have resulted in him being remanded in custody for until the bail money was lodged. The defence solicitor took instructions from Henry at the side of the Court and then told the judge her client was pleading guilty.

Also for the second year in a row, the Footballer of the Year award went outside the All-Ireland champions, with Mayo’s Andy Moran following his teammate Lee Keegan on the roll of honour.

On the whole, the selection is most notable for the fact that it contains 13 players from the two All-Ireland finalists, the most of any All Stars team since the scheme began in 1971. While it’s certainly not unprecedented for the All Stars to narrow their focus down to as few as four counties – it happened as recently as 2014 – never before has there been such a concentration of selections from the two September survivors.

Dublin lead the way with seven gongs, with Mayo appropriately close on their tails on six. Colm Cavanagh of Tyrone and Kerry’s Paul Geaney round out the team, leaving everyone else staring at their shoes. For the second year in a row, the Connacht champions leave All Star night empty-handed, Roscommon following Galway in 2016 as provincial winners who didn’t last long enough to sufficiently impress the selectors.

But for those sniffing out the red meat of controversy, the choice of Clarke ahead of Cluxton will be the first port of call. On the face of it, it is a curio that Cluxton, the man roundly hailed as having had the greatest effect of any one player on the sport over the past decade, has now gone four years without an All Star nod.

Especially when Dublin have put together three All-Irelands in a row in that period. For historical context, the only other times three-in-a-rows were done in the life of the All Stars – 1978-81 and 1984-86 – then Kerry goalkeeper Charlie Nelligan took home an award somewhere along the way on both occasions.

Though it isn’t the sort of thing that Cluxton will get too perturbed about, there are likely to be plenty of voices raised on his behalf. He conceded just two goals all summer, one of them an injury-time consolation against Kildare. The flip-side of that coin is that Dublin’s general dominance meant he only faced six shots at his goal in the whole championship.

As Edwin McGreal of the Mayo News pointed out during the week, Clarke was by far the busier goalkeeper, facing 18 shots over the course of Mayo’s nine-game marathon and saving 10 of them. And perhaps surprisingly – without wishing to completely steal the fine work of said publication – Clarke and Cluxton’s kick-out numbers are more or less identical, both across the season and in the final. Cluxton’s omission will be a debating point, for sure. But it’s possibly stretching matters to gin it up into an outrage.

In the traditional net-casting to find other names who can count themselves unfortunate to miss out, All-Ireland foes Lee Keegan and Ciarán Kilkenny are probably highest up the list. There’s a small irony to be found in the fact that Kilkenny was surely bang in the running until Keegan erased him from that pulsating final in September. Con O’Callaghan’s brilliant early goal and Dean Rock’s four points from play probably did for their Dublin team-mate. O’Callaghan was the straightforward choice for Young Footballer of the Year.

As for Keegan, his outstanding All-Ireland final display obviously came too late. His thunderous quarter-final against Roscommon apart, the 2016 Footballer of the Year had too many so-so games to squeeze into the selection. That said, he must have run Cian O’Sullivan reasonably close in the final reckoning.

In any other year, Tom Parsons would have been a strong choice for one of the two midfield spots but once Cavanagh was nominated in that category, he and James McCarthy were never going to be shifted.

Keith Higgins and Colm Boyle pick up their fourth award apiece, drawing level with Keegan at the top of the all-time list of Mayo players with the most All Stars. Cavanagh and Chris Barrett both pick up their first award despite having crossed the Rubicon into their 30s.

The hurling team having been announced on Thursday, all that was left of the night’s business was the Player of the Year awards. In a nice touch by the organisers, the late Tony Keady’s daughter Shannon presented Joe Canning with the Hurler of the Year award. And as expected, Galway corner forward Conor Whelan took the Young Hurler of the Year.

THE 2017 PwC ALL-STAR FOOTBALL TEAM
1 David Clarke (Mayo). Two-time All-Star. Previously won in 2016
2 Chris Barrett (Mayo). First-time winner.
3 Michael Fitzsimons (Dublin). First-time winner.
4 Keith Higgins (Mayo). Four-time All-Star. Previously won in 2012/’13/’14
5 Colm Boyle (Mayo). Four-time All-Star. Previously won in 2013/’14/’16
6 Cian O’Sullivan (Dublin). Three-time All-Star. Previously won in 2013 & 2015
7 Jack McCaffrey (Dublin). Two-time All-Star. Previously win in 2015
8 Colm Cavanagh (Tyrone). First-time All-Star
9 James McCarthy (Dublin). Two-time All-Star. Previously won in 2014
10 Dean Rock (Dublin). Two-time All-Star. Previously won in 2016
11 Aidan O’Shea (Mayo). Three-time All-Star. Previously won in 2013 & 2015
12 Con O’Callaghan (Dublin). First-time All-Star
13 Paul Mannion (Dublin). First-time All-Star
14 Paul Geaney (Kerry). Two-time All-Star. Previously won in 2016
15 Andy Moran (Mayo). Two-time All-Star. Previously won in 2011

Footballer of the Year: Andy Moran (Mayo)
Young Footballer of the Year: Con O’Callaghan (Dublin)

Hurler of the Year: Joe Canning (Galway)
Young Hurler of the Year: Conor Whelan (Galway)

The US president’s assertions on Twitter and in remarks at the White House appear to have caught the Pentagon by surprise. “We are working on that and I don’t have anything for you yet,” said a spokesman. He suggested checking directly with the White House, and Central Command, which oversees all Middle East and Afghanistan operations.

The daily data produced by Central Command’s counter-Islamic State campaign, Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), did not show any increase in bombing sorties and or other attacks on the terror group, als known as Isis since Tuesday’s truck attack on a New York bicycle path.

The attack was carried out by an Uzbek immigrant who was claimed by Islamic State on Thursday as one of its “soldiers”.

However, the defence department did report that the US had carried out two air strikes against Islamic State targets in north-eastern Somalia early on Friday, the first time the group has been targeted by US aircraft in that country. It is not clear whether Trump was referring to those sorties.

Mr Trump had insisted that the US military had escalated its counter-Islamic State campaign in the wake of that unsubstantiated claim in an Isis publication.

“Based on that, the Military has hit ISIS ‘much harder’ over the last two days. They will pay a big price for every attack on us!” the president wrote on Twitter on Friday.

He went further in remarks to reporters at the White House later, saying the US would hit Islamic State 10 times harder every time there was an attack on the US. He said the military action he was talking about had taken place on Thursday.

“What we’re doing is every time we are attacked from this point forward and it took place yesterday, we are hitting them 10 times harder,” he said. “So when we have an animal do an attack like he did the other day on the west side of Manhattan, we are hitting them 10 times harder. They claim him as a soldier, good luck. Every time they hit us, we know it is Isis, we hit them like you folks won’t believe.”

Air strikes

However, Central Command’s OIR action report shows no significant increase in the military tempo on Thursday, with 13 air strikes carried out. That was slightly up on Wednesday, when there were 11 strikes, but the same as Tuesday, the day of the attack.

The two air strikes in Somalia were reported to have taken place at about midnight local time and then later in the morning. The Associated Press quoted an unnamed Somali security official as saying at least six missiles struck in Buqa, a remote mountainous village roughly 60km north of Qandala town in Somalia’s northern state of Puntland.

The intensity of the campaign had been much higher in the preceding months, with the campaigns to take Mosul and Raqqa, the Islamic State strongholds in Iraq and Syria respectively. Both those campaigns were set in motion by the Obama administration and with their completion the pace of OIR operations has lessened as Isis has dispersed into the Syrian and Iraqi countryside.

Meanwhile the sister of the suspect in the New York attack, Sayfullo Saipov, appealed to Mr Trump to ensure he gets a fair trial and suggested he might have been brainwashed.

Mr Trump has called for Saipov to receive the death penalty and mused about sending him to Guantánamo Bay.

Umida Saipova told Radio Free Europe she and her family hoped her brother would not be sentenced to death in some rushed show trial.

“We don’t know who has brainwashed him,” Ms Saipova told RFE. “Perhaps he’s become part of some organised group. I don’t know, honestly, how long it will take for his head to get rid of that poison, but I’m sure he will come to his senses, God willing.”

She said she had spoken to her brother the day before the attack. “He was in a good mood. It was a usual, good conversation,” she said.

Separately she told Reuters she and her family had been shocked to see Saipov sporting a long beard after his 2013 marriage.

Amid unconfirmed reports that the Uzbek authorities are questioning her family, she added that she did not know where her father and uncle were. – Guardian/Reuters/AP

The programme, broadcast on Thursday, revealed severe overcrowding and dangerous fire and safety conditions in rented properties in Dublin, Co Louth and in Cobh, Co Cork.

Dublin Fire Brigade, which has closed three buildings at the centre of the investigation, has called for legislation that would define overcrowding and the remedies to prevent it as legislation covering fire safety, housing, building control and planning all deal with buildings but none address overcrowding directly.

“We need specific legislation to deal with the overcrowding issue,” Mr Fleming told The Irish Times.

“When Dublin Fire Brigade receives a complaint about a property we do our best to deal with it under the Fire Services Act that we operate under but it should not be the primary legislation to deal with this.”

Cramped conditions

The three multi-occupancy buildings that were closed had numerous rooms fitted with bunk beds and housed more than 120 tenants in cramped conditions with poor ventilation and limited access to fire exits.

Mr Fleming said that often when the fire brigade is called out due to a complaint about overcrowding, it is “coming after the event” when other legislation should have prevented the problem.

“Overcrowding poses many other issues to people in terms of general lifestyle other than fire. The legislation that deals with housing standards should deal with this,” he said.

“That is where it fits and obviously if there are fire safety issues, there is legislation there to deal with it but that has nothing go to do with overcrowding.”

He noted that the legislation on overcrowding was so out of date that the 1966 Housing Act addressed the issue by focusing on the number of male and female tenants in the same room.

After around three years of mass arrivals, the number of migrants reaching Italy has fallen sharply since July, when Rome struck a deal with Libya to block what had become a busy route for people smugglers.

A Spanish ship deployed in the European Union’s Operation Sophia naval mission recovered the dead, along with 64 survivors, from a sinking rubber boat, the mission said on its Facebook page.

“A tough day in the Central Mediterranean Sea,” the Facebook post said, adding the rescues had started in the early morning.

Six rescue operations were carried out in total on Friday, the spokesman said, making it one of the busiest days for rescues in recent months. Seven people were found dead and 900 saved on Wednesday.

The Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti was heading for the southern port of Reggio Calabria with 764 rescued migrants on board, the ANSA news agency said in a report confirmed by the coast guard spokesman.

Diciotti was also carrying eight dead bodies, ANSA said. It was not clear if they had been among those recovered by the Spanish ship.

Irish ship LÉ Niamh was involved in one event rescuing a total of 53 migrants in distress.

Those rescued were originally from Sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan, Libya, Bangladesh, Algeria, Egypt, Nepal, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, ANSA said.

In the Aegean Sea on Friday, three people drowned, six were known to be missing and scores of others were rescued while trying to reach Greece. – Reuters

Arqiva, the TV, radio and mobile phone mast company, had been expected to float this month valued at about £4.5 billion, but said on Friday it would not be going ahead because of “market uncertainty”.

Bakkavor, a supplier of fresh food to UK supermarkets, also cancelled its planned London initial public offering. The company had expected to raise about £1.5 billion and was due to price its shares on Friday morning.

Also on Friday, EN+, Oleg Deripaska’s hydropower-to-aluminium conglomerate, priced its London flotation at the bottom of a previously announced range, with the stock debuting at $14 a share.

Bakkavor said it had received sufficient demand from financial institutions for its shares. However, a person close to the company said its directors and bankers had nevertheless decided that conditions had become unsuitable for a stock market debut.

That argument was echoed by advisers to Arqiva, who pointed to a number of underwhelming floats across Europe to justify its decision to postpone the listing. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017

The delay means the council will not be able to stop buses crossing College Green ahead of the start of operations of the new Cross City Luas line in December.

The council applied to An Bord Pleanála last May for permission to build the pedestrian- and cyclist-only plaza, banning all traffic, including buses, access to and from Dame Street. The planning board had initially intended to make a decision on the application at the start of this month.

However, last August, following submissions from Dublin Bus, the National Transport Authority (NTA), Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and city business interests, the board ordered the council to undertake a “comprehensive assessment” of proposed traffic changes for the plaza.

The council had to assess how the how traffic changes would affect individual streets, access to homes and businesses, including car parks, and provide details of current journey times for buses and other traffic over a distance stretching from Heuston Station to Shelbourne Park greyhound stadium in Ringsend, and from the Mater hospital to Leeson Street Bridge.

“The assessment shall address the wider city implications of removing traffic from College Green and the adequacy of infrastructure,” the board said.

‘Premature’

The council had to respond to the NTA and Dublin Bus concerns that its proposals were “premature” pending the ongoing redesign of bus services in the city, as well as the bus company’s concern that buses would be prevented from travelling west-east through College Green.

Dublin Bus wants to keep running buses through College Green and said stopping it from doing so would have a “socially regressive impact on already disadvantaged communities”.

The council submitted its assessment to An Bord Pleanála last month, but the board has now directed it must allow the public to view and make submissions on the new information.

In a letter to the council, the board said the new information included “significant additional data in relation to the likely effects on the environment of the proposed development and the likely consequences for proper planning and sustainable development in the area”.

The council has said it will publish the information within the next two weeks.

Public hearing

The board has pushed out the date for its decision on the plaza until the end of April next year, and could decide to hold a public hearing on the plaza before then.

The council had initially intended to have the plaza in place last June ahead of the start of operations of the new Luas line which runs in front of Trinity College, but in October of last year it decided the project needed to be submitted to An Bord Pleanála.

When it made its application to the board last May, the council said the plaza was expected to take up to 18 months to construct, and would not be in place ahead of the start of operations of the line. However, it said if the board granted permission as expected by November, it would be in a position to implement the traffic changes immediately, before building the plaza.

With the board’s decision deferred until next April, the council will not be able to stop buses crossing the Luas line to access Dame Street, although it has said it can use its traffic control powers to stop cars and taxis.

The world number one had his right knee strapped during his third-round win over Pablo Cuevas on Thursday and struggled with his movement.

Nadal played down the issue after the match but withdrew ahead of his scheduled quarter-final against Filip Krajinovic.

In a press conference shown on Sky Sports, Nadal said: “The pain during the match was too much but it was not the moment to stop.

“I don’t like to stop during the match, even if I’ve had to do it a couple of times in my life. Especially winning the match, thinking I have some hours in between to do some treatment.

“That’s what I did yesterday with the doctor. But being honest with the tournament, being honest with my opponents and being honest with myself, the way that I am today, I don’t see myself playing three more matches here.”

After wrist problems badly affected his 2016 season, Nadal had stayed fit throughout a remarkably successful 2017 campaign, winning two grand slam titles and returning to the top of the rankings.

But knee problems, which have dogged his career, resurfaced in Shanghai last month, causing him to miss last week’s tournament in Basel.

Nadal had hoped rest would fix the issue and there must now be serious questions over whether he will risk exacerbating the problem by playing in the ATP Finals at the O2 Arena.

The tournament – which like Paris is staged on Nadal’s least favourite surface, indoor hard courts – begins on November 12th, giving him little over a week to recover.

Forced to miss the tournament

Nadal did not want to speculate about his prospects, saying: “I cannot talk about London now. I am sad enough to pull out from here. The only thing I can say is I’m going to do my treatment, I’m going to try my best to be playing in London.”

Nadal has been forced to miss the tournament, the biggest title to elude him during his career, on five previous occasions because of injury.

Juan Martin del Potro’s surge towards the ATP Finals fell agonisingly short when he was beaten in the Paris quarter-finals by John Isner.

Victory for Del Potro, who was well out of the race before reaching the US Open semi-finals, would have assured him of one of the eight spots in London.

The popular Argentinian made his most recent appearance at the O2 Arena in 2013 before serious wrist problems nearly ended his career.

He made a concerted push to try to qualify following his heroics in New York, reaching the semi-finals of the Masters event in Shanghai, winning in Stockholm and then losing narrowly to Roger Federer in the final in Basel last weekend.

But a weary Del Potro came up just short, losing 6-4 6-7 (5/7) 6-4 to Isner, and the only way he could now play at the O2 would be if Nadal or one of the other competitors withdrew.

Isner’s victory kept alive his own chances, which had appeared very slim at the start of the tournament. Winning the title would see him overtake Pablo Carreno Busta, who currently sits in the final qualifying spot.

– (PA)

Becomes the sixth ever goalkeeper to win back-to-back All Stars. Made crucial saves throughout the summer, notably against Cork, Kerry and Dublin.

2 Chris Barrett (Mayo)

First-time winner. Was having a fine season anyway but won his All Star in the All-Ireland final, his tough tackling causing myriad turnovers.

3 Michael Fitzsimons (Dublin)

Has become Dublin’s most reliable house-minder since Rory O’Carroll’s departure. A hugely-trusted insurance policy for the other defenders.

4 Keith Higgins (Mayo)

Put in some magnificent displays, notably on the front foot in the Roscommon replay and in defence in the drawn Kerry game. This is his fourth All Star.

5 Colm Boyle (Mayo)

Scorer of a brilliant goal in the drawn Kerry game and man of the match in the replay. Only ever stopped when his number came up.

6 Cian O’Sullivan (Dublin)

Played a more regulation centre-back’s role this season, as opposed to the deep-lying sweeper of before. The organisational brains of the Dublin defence. Second All Star.

7 Jack McCaffrey (Dublin)

His final was cut cruelly short but he was virtually unplayable up to then. Excellent against Tyrone, giving Dublin width and pace to beat the blanket. Second All Star.

8 Colm Cavanagh (Tyrone)

The only Tyrone player to distinguish himself against Dublin. Tyrone’s best defender all year and the heartbeat of the team. His first award.

9 James McCarthy (Dublin)

Second award for the powerhouse of the Dublin midfield. Outstanding in the All-Ireland final, particularly in the closing stages with the game on the line.

10 Dean Rock (Dublin)

Four points from play in the final showed he was more than just a free-taker. He was that too, as his injury-time winner proved. Second award.

11 Aidan O’Shea (Mayo)

Kept Mayo ticking through the wandering roads of the qualifiers. Filled in wherever they needed him, including – infamously – full back

12 Con O’Callaghan (Dublin)

Had Young Player of the Year wrapped up by the Leinster final. Ruthless finishes for goals in the All-Ireland semi-final and final belied his age.

13 Paul Mannion (Dublin)

Dublin’s most consistent score-getter. Eight points from play against Westmeath, three each against Monaghan and Mayo. First award.

14 Paul Geaney (Kerry)

Comfortably Kerry’s leading scorer, he was unplayable against Cork and put Keith Higgins to the pin of his collar against Mayo. Second All Star.

15 Andy Moran (Mayo)

His second award, six years after his first. The best forward in the country this summer, leading scorer from play with 3-24 to his name.

Prof Richard Layte, an expert in the impact of disadvantage on children, said all politicians “will look at the position of children in poverty and say that it’s unacceptable” and most knew investment in their early years was most effective to tackle children’s poverty.

“Often what we see in . . . the policy stance politicians take is a queasiness about trying to improve the living standards of low-income households because of a fear that it is going to diminish their attachment to the labour force; that it is going to diminish their incentive to work and contribute to the economy.”

If political leaders were intent on improving the basic living standards of the poorest parents, to improve the basic living standards of their children, “they can’t help but have some kind of redistribution of resources to low-income communities and low-income households, and that’s often the nub of the political problem,” he said.

Prof Layte was speaking at a conference in Dublin on Friday, hosted by the lone-parents support group Spark (Single Parents Acting for the Rights of Kids), on poverty in these households.

Louise Bayliss, founding member of Spark, said lone parents were “in crisis”. She said changes to welfare entitlements and activation policies aimed at making lone parents take up employment, introduced since 2012, had contributed to a 26 per cent poverty rate among lone-parent households this year.

“Children in lone-parent families are now over three times more likely to live in poverty than children in two-parent families.”

Prof Layte said in some areas the Government was “doing more”, such as increased investment in early childcare services and increases in welfare payments to the poorest children in last month’s budget.

“But we’re still not seeing investment in community services and the early environment. A lot of our investment is still happening in the teenage and higher education years which is assuming they have had the environment early on that allows them to make use of those funds.”

Stressing the importance of investment in improving the early lives of disadvantaged children in poverty, he said they not only suffered worse health and education outcomes than their affluent peers, but their parents were more stressed and so they often experienced less emotional warmth and more anxiety in the home.

“For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported by the extent of the observational evidence,” said the report by a group of more than 50 US government scientists released on Friday.

The report, required by congress every four years, was written by scientists from government bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Future temperatures will depend heavily on the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, the report said. Global average sea levels are expected to rise “at least several inches in the next 15 years” due to rising temperatures, it added.

Mr Trump has repeatedly called climate change a hoax, and in June announced that he would withdraw the US from a global pact to combat it – calling the deal too costly for the US economy.

His EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, has also expressed doubts about the causes of climate change, at one point saying he did not believe carbon dioxide from human activity is the primary driver.

White House spokesman Raj Shah said: “The administration supports rigorous scientific analysis and debate and encourages public comment on the draft documents being released today.”

Officials at the EPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. – Reuters