A roundup of today's other news stories in brief
Woman (79) killed in hit-and-run
A 79-year-old woman was killed in a hit-and-run collision in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow yesterday evening.
The woman was walking at Killeager, The Scalp, shortly after 5pm when she was struck by a vehicle that failed to stop at the scene.
Gardaí later arrested a 33-year-old man in connection with the incident. Gardaí are appealing for anybody who was in the Killeager area yesterday evening to contact them at Shankill.
'Santa Claus' gets arrested in Cork
A 54-year-old man who dressed up as Santa Claus to protest against homelessness in Cork city ended up spending last night in Cork Prison after he was arrested and charged with causing €300 worth of damage to a door at Cork Courthouse, writes Barry Roche.
Pat Allen of Pearse Road, Ballyphehane, Cork was arrested and charged with causing criminal damage to the door of courtroom No 3 at Anglesea Street Courthouse yesterday afternoon and brought before Cork District Court.
Judge David Riordan remanded Allen on his own bail but he refused to sign the bail bond while he also refused to accept an offer of free legal aid and he was remanded in custody to appear again on Thursday.
Two men charged over shooting
Two men in their 20s have been charged in connection with a shooting incident in Cork over the weekend in which a family escaped uninjured after a number of shots were fired through the front door of their home on the north side of the city, writes Barry Roche.
David O'Driscoll (23) from Cushing Place, Farranree and Wayne McCarthy (21) from Kilnap Green, Farranree were both charged with an offence under Section 27A of the Firearms Act 1964 following the shooting incident at Kilmore Road, Knocknaheeny on December 16th.
Judge Uinsinn Mac Gruairc remanded both men in custody to appear again in court today for the resumed hearing.
Kenny case for High Court
The legal row between broadcaster Pat Kenny and his neighbours over lands adjoining their homes in Dalkey has been fixed for a full hearing in the High Court on April 1st.
The dispute is between Pat and Cathy Kenny and their next door neighbours Gerard Charlton and his wife Maeve.
The Charltons claim to be the legal owners of the land, a rocky outcrop known as Gorse Hill. However, the Kennys contest the Charltons title and claim any title the Charltons may have had to the property has been extinguished by adverse possession (squatters rights).
Mr Charlton, a retired solicitor of Maple Trees House, Harbour Road, Dalkey, rejects the Kennys' claim that they have squatters rights, which can apply where a property has been abandoned for 12 or more years.
Appeal court increases jail term
The Court of Criminal Appeal has increased to seven years a jail sentence imposed on a man for the manslaughter of another man, who died after he was stabbed in the neck. The court had earlier upheld arguments by the DPP that the original four-year sentence was unduly lenient.
Jurijs Princs, a Latvian national of Cromwellsfort House, Wexford, was jailed in November 2006 for the manslaughter of Robertas Stravinskas, a Lithuanian, at a rented flat in Cromwellsfort House, in May 2005.
Last October, the three-judge appeal found the four-year term "fell well below the appropriate range of sentence for this kind of case". Ruling yesterday, the court said a sentence of 10 years with the final three years suspended was more appropriate.