A round-up of today's Irish news stories in brief
Gardaí arrest woman in murder case
Gardaí investigating the murder of a man in a flat in Cork city more than 18 months ago have arrested a woman and have charged
her in connection with the killing.
The woman (33), who is originally from Hollyhill in Cork city, was arrested in the city centre at about 5.30pm yesterday and brought to Mayfield Garda station where she was formally charged with the murder of John McManus.
A native of Fermoy, Mr McManus (25) disappeared from his flat at Verdon Place, Wellington Road, on October 30th, 2008. His body was discovered in a field at Ballyduff outside Listowel, Co Kerry, on November 6th, 2009.
The woman was last night being held in Mayfield Garda station and she will be brought before Cork District Court this morning.
UTV reporter seeks to stand for SDLP
A second former UTV news anchor has put his name forward to stand in the Westminster elections. Following on Mike Nesbitt’s decision to run in Strangford, his former UTV colleague Fearghal McKinney is seeking to stand for the SDLP in Fermanagh-South Tyrone.
Mr McKinney, who worked as a political reporter and frequently co-anchored the main UTV teatime news with Mr Nesbitt, said he was entering politics to “bolster the political middle ground”.
Mr McKinney is seeking to unseat the Sinn Féin MP and Northern Executive agriculture minister Michelle Gildernew. Fermanagh SDLP Assembly member Tommy Gallagher, said he was not seeking the candidacy, making it more likely that Mr McKinney will get the nomination.
Dylan to play at Thomond Park
Bob Dylan is to play a concert in Limerick’s Thomond Park this summer.
Aiken Promotions has confirmed that the legendary American singer/songwriter is to take to the stage of the Limerick stadium on July 4th.
Tickets for the concert are to go on sale through Ticketmaster on Monday, March 15th, at 9am, and will cost €65.70 for general admission, while seated tickets will cost between €60 and €81.65.
Dylan, who played Dublin’s O2 last year, was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for ‘‘his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power”.
Free lecture on Shemus cartoons
A free lecture on the Shemus cartoons, which appeared in the Freeman’s Journal between 1920 and 1924, is to be given at the National Print Museum, Beggar’s Bush, Dublin, at 7.30pm tonight.
The cartoons, drawn by Ernest Forbes, were described as “artistic bombs” in Dáil Éireann at the time and renowned for depicting the developments of the era, such as the War of Independence and Anglo- Irish Treaty, in a hard-hitting fashion.
Felix Larkin, vice-chairman of the National Library of Ireland Society, will present a selection of the cartoons, with an introduction on the life and work of Ernest Forbes.
Concerns over emergency cover
The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine has raised concerns over “severe difficulties” experienced by Irish emergency departments in recruiting non-consultant medical doctors.
The association says that at the beginning of March, 34 of about 200 senior house officer posts remained unfilled while 23 registrar posts out of 130 were unfilled in emergency departments.
The association claims a significant number of unfilled posts means individual shifts are not being covered, resulting in reductions in the number of doctors on duty. In other cases their place is being taken by locums, who may be unfamiliar with individual hospital processes.