A round-up of today's Irish news stories in brief
Giraffe born at Fota Wildlife Park
Fota Wildlife Park was yesterday celebrating the birth of a giraffe calf, Aoife, the eighth calf to be born to its mother Róisín.
The wardens at the park like to give the Cork born giraffes Irish names. “It was decided in the early days of the park that we would give our giraffes Irish names so Aoife joins mum Róisín and dad Tadhg in continuing that tradition”, said head warden at the park Willie Dufy.
Aoife now becomes the youngest of a herd of Rothschild giraffe at the park, which are one of nine races of giraffe found in Africa.
Exterminated from much of their former habitat, they can now be seen in western Kenya and eastern Uganda.
The park also saw some magic yesterday when Keith Barry paid a visit to the six remaining contestants of the Wild Life competition which comes to a close with a grand final on Easter Monday.
Three questioned over dissident links
Three men have been arrested in Co Down and are being questioned in connection with dissident republican activity, writes Dan Keenan.
The three, aged 25, 35 and 38, were arrested in the Castlewellan area of south Down and were taken to the PSNI’s serious crime suite in Antrim for questioning.
The detentions follow a claim earlier this week that co-operation between the PSNI and the Garda is being stepped up to counter the dissident threat.
Chief Constable Matt Baggott said the two police services had agreed a series of protocols that would enhance co-operation in joint investigations. The measures include more efficient sharing of evidence, better communications channels and the increased capacity to prosecute for offences carried out in the neighbouring jurisdiction.
Youth (17) critical following car crash
A 17 year old remains in a critical condition in hospital following a single vehicle crash on Wednesday night from which a girl, also in her teens, had a lucky escape.
The crash occurred shortly before 11pm at Lower Park Road in the Limerick city suburb of Corbally. The car which the young Limerick man was driving apparently lost control and left the road before hitting a concrete wall.
The driver is believed to have been travelling from Corbally towards Rhebogue at the time of the crash. The youth had to be cut from the wreckage by fire personnel using specialist cutting equipment. The girl, believed to be 15, also had to be cut from the car but her injuries are said to be less serious.
Medics stabilised the patients as fire crews worked to remove them from the car.
After being treated at the scene and the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, the youth was transferred to Cork University Hospital.
Strike at seven hospitals averted
A strike planned for seven hospitals in the Dublin region next Wednesday has been averted after an agreement was reached between trade union Siptu and management.
The 48-hour industrial action had been scheduled to take place at Beaumont; St James’s; the Mater; Loughlinstown; Blanchardstown, Tallaght and St Vincent’s hospitals.
Some 4,500 lower-paid staff in the facilities – including porters, catering personnel, security, healthcare assistants and supervisors – had voted in favour of the industrial action following a dispute over pay and the possible outsourcing of jobs.