ireland.com - The Irish Times

Benefactor buys Pearse letter for State
The director of the National Museum of Ireland, Dr Pat Wallace, said yesterday he was "thrilled" that a letter written by Pádraig Pearse on the eve of his execution has been bought for the State. p

Irishman charged in Cairo with spying
Authorities in Egypt have charged an Irishman over his alleged role in an international spy ring in which information from an Egyptian nuclear worker was being supplied to the Israelis. p

Dentist tries again to have birth registered as female
A dentist who underwent a sex change operation has begun a further stage of a 10-year legal battle to be registered as female at birth. p

Other Stories

If society values families then it must invest to support them
Properly funded family support services are key to helping those in crisis, writes Carl O'Brien p
Fears for Veronica's future as Station of the Cross unfounded
Reports of the demise of the sixth Station of the Cross, where Veronica wipes the face of Jesus, appear greatly exaggerated. It was confirmed last night that she stays on. p
Harney sees no prospect of end to nurses' action
As nurses prepare to hold further one-hour work stoppages at a number of hospitals this morning, Minister for Health Mary Harney admitted last night she saw no sign of their dispute with employers over pay and conditions being resolved. p
Nurses' dispute: stoppages around the country
Louth: A nursing and midwifery "juggernaut" is coming down the road and the Government needs to take action, a protest by nurses at Louth County Hospital was told. p
Benchmarking can meet nurses' needs, says Siptu
Reduced working time and increased pay for midwives and nurses can be achieved through the benchmarking process, according to Siptu's nursing president, Mary Durkin. p
Recruitment drive will fail, say consultants
Attempts by Minister for Health Mary Harney to recruit new consultants to the health service on terms that have not been agreed with the consultants' representative bodies will fail, the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) said yesterday. p
HSE defends maternity hospital's admissions procedure
The Health Service Executive (HSE) yesterday defended its handling of admissions at the new Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) after an expectant mother complained she was left waiting for seven hours in a waiting room because there were no beds available in the labour ward. p
Landmark inquest into hospital death adjourned again
A landmark inquest which has been listed for hearing on 22 occasions was again adjourned yesterday because a key medical witness was unavailable to attend. p
New report against TV licences for phones and computers
New technologies that allow for television reception on computers, mobile phones and other devices should not be subject to a licence fee, an Oireachtas committee is set to suggest today. p
Longer trams to reduce crowding on Tallaght line
Trams running on the Luas Red Line from Connolly station to Tallaght in Dublin will soon be less crowded. p
Call for more resources to tackle domestic violence
Some 83 per cent of frontline services dealing with victims of domestic violence do not have enough resources, the director of Women's Aid said yesterday. p
Ballyholme rector made Bishop of Connor
The new Church of Ireland Bishop of Connor is Canon Alan Abernethy (50), rector of Ballyholme, Bangor, Co Down. He was appointed yesterday at a meeting of the church's House of Bishops in Dublin. He succeeds the new Church of Ireland primate and Archbishop of Armagh, Most Rev Alan Harper. p
Inquest told boy (11) found his brother (4) hanging from window
An inquest was told yesterday how an 11-year-old boy discovered his four-year-old brother hanging by his hood from a toilet window at their primary school in east Clare last year. p
Kenny rejects smear campaign claim
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny yesterday insisted nobody in the party had his permission to launch a smear campaign against Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. p
FF promises to create 250,000 jobs if re-elected
Fianna Fáil will today promise to create a minimum of 250,000 jobs - or an average of 50,000 a year - over the lifetime of the next government if it is returned to power. p
Council use of glamour models may end
The use of glamour models to publicise Dublin City Council events may be banned from next month if a motion due to come before councillors is accepted. p
Bitten child gets €13,000
A three-year-old child, who was punched and bitten by another child in a creche, has been awarded more than €13,000 damages in a court settlement. p
Oppositionhostile to enterprise- Tánaiste
The electorate should not award the balance of power in the next Dáil to parties which are either hostile or indifferent to private enterprise, Tánaiste and Progressive Democrats leader Michael McDowell said yesterday. p
Bike thieves get easy ride despite the political spin
CRIME the small stuff: The Tánaiste's promised specialist Garda unit never materialised but bicycle theft is easier to prevent than to solve. Ronan McGreevy reports p
Legal action over four Moore St buildings
A Dublin businessman and architect has brought a High Court challenge to the preservation orders on premises in Dublin's Moore Street, including one believed to be the final headquarters of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. p
Toxicologist warns of dangers of burning waste
Incineration is a "fail-dangerous system" rather than a "fail-safe mechanism", a medical toxicologist has claimed at an An Bord Pleanála hearing. p
Literary Lion: Frank McGuinness enters Hennessy Hall of Fame
Leading playwright Frank McGuinness was yesterday presented with the Hennessy Literary Awards Hall of Fame accolade at a ceremony in Dublin. p
In Short
A roundup of today's other news stories in brief p

In the North

Paisley vows to serve full term as first minister
The Democratic Unionist Party leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, has stated that he will see out the full four-year term of the Northern Assembly as first minister, despite initial speculation that he would resign within the first two years. p
Death of man hit by PSNI vehicle a 'tragic accident'
The Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan has found that a 29-year-old man who was knocked down and killed by a PSNI Land Rover in west Belfast two years ago was the victim of a "tragic accident". p

In the Courts

Abuse victim settles action against HSE
The woman victim at the centre of a rape trial which ultimately led to the resignation in 2002 of then government minister and Progressive Democrats founder Bobby Molloy has settled an action for damages against the Health Service Executive (HSE) in the High Court. p
Mother says accused 'really loved' his sister
The mother of a Clare man (21) accused of murdering his sister (17) broke down in the witness box as she told a jury she didn't know why her son killed her daughter. p
Chemists contest end of early payment
An action by pharmacists against the Minister for Health over the decision to discontinue advance payments as part of the General Medical Services (GMS) scheme has opened in the High Court. p
Man on IRA charge allowed bail
The man gardaí believe is a leader of the Real IRA in the greater Dublin region was granted 24 hours' bail by the Special Criminal Court yesterday to allow him to attend his daughter's First Communion. p
In Short
Today's other court stories in brief... p

Regional News

Man found dead in hurling field was stabbed
Gardaí in Thurles, Co Tipperary, yesterday launched a murder investigation after a postmortem revealed that a man whose body was found in a hurling field in the town last Sunday died as the result of a stabbing. p
Motorist gets three years for causing deaths of three
A judge said that it was alcohol and speed that resulted in a motorist killing three pedestrians and not the possibility that he may have had an epileptic seizure as submitted in his defence in court yesterday. p
Mayor questions Minister over his water criticism
Mayor of Galway Niall Ó Brolcháin has questioned why Minister for the Environment Dick Roche is continuing to direct all his criticism of the contaminated public water system at Galway City Council. p
Shell queried on plans to cold-vent gas at refinery
Shell E&P Ireland has been asked to provide detailed documentation of a consultation process the company claims it carried out with Mayo County Council and the community living near the proposed Bellanaboy refinery, regarding its decision to cold-vent gas rather than flare it. p
Complaints over Garda presence at Corrib hearing
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it has contacted the Garda over complaints about its presence at the Corrib gas oral hearing in north Mayo. p
Piper's Lament: emigrant's final wishes realised at graveside in Spiddal
The final request of a woman, whose unclaimed body lay in a London morgue since her death on Christmas Day, was realised yesterday in the Connemara village of Spiddal. p

Changing Places

'If you hear a knock on the door, you think the Garda is coming'
Migration and the reinvention of Ireland: Many migrants have become undocumented for reasons beyond their control, such as workplace exploitation, Ruadhán MacCormaic reports in his continuing series p
EU's 'undocumented' on losing side of immigration debate
'Our goal and our determination is to secure the passage of legislation that would enable the undocumented to regularise their status," Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern told a rally in Dublin last weekend. p

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