A round-up of today's home news in brief
Three injured in Dublin shooting
Two masked men fired a shotgun outside a house at Pinewood Green Road, Balbriggan, at about 8.40pm on Thursday. Two women, one in her 30s, the other in her 40s, and a man in his 20s were wounded in the attack.
Gardaí said the women were slightly injured by shrapnel. The man was shot and more seriously hurt but his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
Three children and a fourth adult were in the house at the time of the attack.
Priest denies abusing sisters
A Dublin-based priest yesterday denied sexually abusing three Co Fermanagh girls on dates going back to the early 1960s.
Fr Eugene Lewis (75), with an address in Templeogue, Dublin, was formally arraigned before Dungannon Crown Court on a total of 11 charges involving the girls, three sisters.
No details surrounding the charges were given to Judge David McFarland, who released Fr Lewis on bail until December 17th.
It is expected that Fr Lewis will go on trial in mid-April of next year at Enniskillen Crown Court.
New sentence for hammer attack
Two brothers who battered a former business associate with hammers after breaking into his north Belfast home in January 2008 were yesterday given new 12-month jail terms.
Judges in the Court of Appeal increased the sentences of William and Gary Vokes of Shore Crescent, Belfast, after lawyers for the Attorney General argued their original punishment was unduly lenient.
Accused stopped on way to Amsterdam
A Belfast man accused of being involved in supplying £250,000 (€277,700) worth of cannabis was stopped as he was about to board a one-way flight to Amsterdam, the High Court in Belfast heard yesterday.
Michael Grimley (25) told police he was going to the Dutch city to “party until his money ran out”, prosecutors said.
Mr Grimley, of Glenkeen, Dunmurry, was detained at Belfast International Airport last week following a police surveillance operation linked to an alleged drugs handover at the Sprucefield car park.
Two bridges for Tyrone, Monaghan
Two bridges spanning the river Blackwater between Counties Monaghan and Tyrone are to be rebuilt early next year, as a result of a North-South deal.
A Co Meath-based firm, Jons Civil Engineering, which is based in Duleek, has been awarded a €1 million design and build contract for the provision of the two new bridges near the Monaghan village of Glaslough, both of which were blown up during the Northern Troubles.
Man killed in railway station work accident
A man was killed in an industrial accident in Dublin yesterday afternoon.
The incident took place in the new railway station at Barnhill, Lucan, at about 2.30pm.
The deceased man was working in a trench with another man when they were both struck by the bucket of a large construction vehicle.
Both men were taken to Blanchardstown hospital. The second man’s injuries were minor.
The body of the dead man has not yet been identified, however, he is a foreign national.
The scene has been preserved and a full inquiry is being carried out by the Health and Safety Authority.
Energy savings ‘could net 100m’
Raising energy standards in the State's public buildings could save up to €100 million over the next two to three years, Friends of the Earth claimed yesterday, reports Tim O'Brien.
The group, which staged a publicity event outside Government Buildings to publicise their figures, said the savings could be achieved without job loses. Spokeswoman Anna Heussaff said cutting the energy used in public buildings would save money and protect jobs.
She said Ireland’s progress on the issue had been “painfully slow”, however.
Garda held over human trafficking
A garda (52) is among three people arrested for questioning in connection with an alleged human trafficking ring linked to prostitution, reports Conor Lally, Crime Correspondent.
The garda was arrested in Sligo on Thursday. He has since been released and a file on his alleged role in the ring is being prepared for the DPP.
He has been suspended from duty for the past year as the investigation progressed.