In Short

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

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

Limerick man charged over Glock pistol

A 46-year-old man appeared before a special sitting of Limerick District Court last night charged with possession of a Glock semi-automatic pistol, writes Kathryn Hayes.

Stephen Fitzgerald, of no fixed abode, is also charged with the possession of 19 rounds of ammunition.

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The court heard Fitzgerald made no reply to the charges.

Fitzgerald was granted legal aid and defence solicitor John Herbert was assigned to represent him.

Mr Herbert asked that the case be adjourned until next Wednesday's sitting of Limerick District Court.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy remanded the accused in custody until April 16th next.

Games finals to move from Meath

An illustrious era in Irish amateur sport will come to an end next year when the Community Games national finals departs from its Mosney home, writes Steven Carroll.

Some 500,000 children aged between six and 16 take part in the event each year, with 8,000 athletes progressing to the finals, which have taken place at the Co Meath venue since 1973.

The games will move to the the Athlone Institute of Technology sports campus in Co Westmeath from 2009.

The decision came when Mosney's owners said the venue would be unavailable after 2009 to allow for work on facilities to accommodate asylum seekers.

Two held after drugs seized

Two men have been arrested following the seizure of drugs with an estimated street value of €60,000 during raids in Dublin, writes Steven Carroll.

Heroin, cocaine and an assortment of tablets were seized during the operation in which gardaí raided 16 properties in the Bluebell area of west Dublin yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, four men arrested as part of a surveillance operation into drug trafficking in north Dublin remain in Garda custody.

Some €2 million worth of cocaine was discovered by members of the Garda National Drugs Unit in a car at Pearse Square, off Pearse Street, on Thursday.

INLA linked to Belfast attack

A man was being treated in hospital yesterday following a paramilitary attack in west Belfast on Thursday night, writes John Heaneyin Belfast.

The 29-year-old man was at home in Turf Lodge when men broke into his house and shot him in both knees.

The man's wife and two children were in the house.

One source said the attack was carried out by the INLA.

Fire victim went back for puppies

A woman who died in a fire at a Co Waterford house had escaped but returned to rescue a litter of pups, it emerged last night, writes Ciaran Murphy.

Described locally as a US citizen and a "New Age Traveller", Nicole Greene (50), made her way to safety on Thursday night.

However, as she returned from the blaze, Ms Greene got caught in the porch area of the house as it collapsed, said a Garda source last night.

Pole's body found in Liffey

Gardaí in Dublin were last night working to formally identify a middle-aged man whose body was recovered from the River Liffey at lunchtime yesterday, writes John Downes.

The body of the man, who was said to be of Polish origin, was taken to the Dublin city mortuary after it was retrieved by the emergency services at about noon at George's Dock near the International Financial Services Centre.

A spokesman for the Garda press office said there was nothing to suggest the man's death was suspicious at this stage.