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Evidence suggests Kearney strangled, jury told
Siobhán Kearney died from asphyxiation due to neck
compression, a Central Criminal Court jury has heard. Brian Kearney
(50), Carnroe, Knocknashee, Goatstown, Dublin, has pleaded not
guilty to murdering his wife Siobhán (38) on February 28th,
2006, his 49th birthday. p
2,000 on waiting lists decline offer of private treatment
More than 2,000 public patients on hospital outpatient waiting lists, who were offered treatment privately by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) last year, declined the offer and chose to continue waiting, according to figures published today. p
Fiona Shaw and Colm Meaney honoured
Irish actors Colm Meaney and Fiona Shaw and US director James L
Brooks were the recipients of the third annual Oscar Wilde:
Honouring the Irish in Film awards presented by the US-Ireland
Alliance at a ceremony in the Ebell theatre in Los Angeles on
Thursday night, writes
Michael Dwyer , Film Correspondent, in Los
Angeles p
Other Stories
Aer Lingus talks continue in bid to avert strike action
Talks between management at Aer Lingus and the trade union Siptu were continuing last night in a bid to avert industrial action from next week which could affect up to 20,000 passengers daily. Martin Wall , Industry Correspondent, reports. pIbec strongly critical of air traffic controllers threatened action
Employers group Ibec has strongly criticised the planned 24-hour strike next Thursday by air traffic controllers which it said would be in breach of the national agreement Towards 2016, as well as separate deal with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). pCouncillors 'can help stop suicide'
Local councillors have a major role to play in helping prevent suicide among older men in rural areas, Senator Mary White has said. pEU cleric to be new Bishop of Down and Connor
It was confirmed yesterday that the new Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor diocese is to be Mgr Noel Treanor (57), currently secretary general of the Commission of the Bishops' Conference of the European Community, a post he has held since 1993. pFOI requests down 78%
The number of Freedom of Information requests received by the Department of Finance dropped by up to 78 per cent from 2003-2007 following amendments to the FOI Act in 2003, it has emerged. pPlan for Dún Laoghaire baths gets guarded welcome
Proposals to redevelop Dún Laoghaire baths as part of a €129 million scheme to provide new beach and aquatic facilities at Sandycove were given a guarded welcome by local councillors and the campaign group Save Our Seafront. pMajor developments in 'The Irish Times'
The Irish Times will embark on the single biggest development programme in its editorial history next week to broaden its appeal to readers with more content and supplements - in advance of the newspaper's 150th anniversary on March 29th, 2009. pIrish teenagers spend 43 minutes a day on Bebo
Irish teenagers spend an average of 43 minutes per day on the social networking site Bebo, 10 minutes more than their British counterparts, according to figures supplied by the company. pMiriam Lord's Week
Committee tensions bad for health; 14 Marys brought to book; Prone set to take another spin; Panzer Mansergh lets fly for Bertie; Anointed One to be put through paces in Dáil; gongs for Ahern and Blair in North pDevelopers benefit by €250m due to tax loophole
Property developers have been spared hundreds of millions of euro in stamp duty taxes following a decision by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen to abandon a tax change that was recommended to close a loophole. pTDs refuse to let Senators use Dáil while Seanad is refurbished
TDs have refused to grant Senators the use of the Dáil chamber on non-sitting days during the year-long multi-million euro refurbishment of Leinster House due to begin this summer. pCommercial rates reform delay
Reform of the system of calculating commercial rates is not going to be completed by 2010 as hoped, and will now take considerably longer than the five years allocated for the project, according to a report from Comptroller and Auditor General John Purcell published yesterday. pEU move prompts new Irish interpreting degree in Galway
NUI Galway has initiated a new post-graduate degree in conference interpreting as Gaeilge in response to Irish becoming an official EU language. pIn Short
A round-up of today's other stories. p
Ahern 'cannot dictate' to his cumann
FF accounts: Bertie Ahern has said he is not in a position to dictate to his constituency organisation in Dublin Central and its accounts are not under his control. Paul Cullen reports pO'Neill suggests £8,000 a dig-out
Manchester money: Tribunal lawyers have suggested a donation of £8,000 sterling to Bertie Ahern by a group of Manchester businessman amounts to a third "dig-out" rather than a personal or political donation. pLoan funded house for Ahern's ex-partner
Celia Larkin: A £30,000 loan described by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on Thursday as having been given to "a staff member" was given to his former partner Celia Larkin, the Mahon tribunal heard yesterday. pHeated exchanges on claim by Ahern counsel
Exchanges: The chairman of the Mahon tribunal has firmly rejected allegations made by counsel for the Taoiseach that the tribunal judges were being manipulated by their own staff. pRights trampled, says Larkin's solicitor
Letter: Solicitors for Celia Larkin and her 90-year-old aunt said the two women's rights to privacy had been "trampled on" when the Mahon tribunal decided to discuss publicly details of a £30,000 loan given to them in 1993. pGilmore urges Ahern to resign after address to US Congress
Political reaction: Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's credibility suffered such a damaging blow yesterday that he should step down immediately after addressing the United States Congress in April, Labour leader Éamon Gilmore said last night. pBertie's explanations out of this world as B/T funds home
Tribunal sketch: How did Fianna Fáil manage to win three general elections on the trot? The party, according to its leader, couldn't organise its way out of a paper bag. He paints the officer corps of the legendary political machine as a bunch of incompetents who conduct their business through a fug of confusion and ignorance, writes Miriam Lord . pBeneficial ownership at heart of tribunal's inquiries
Analysis: Two accounts in Drumcondra had been untouched since 1995, writes Colm Keena. pTranscript
Extracts from the exchanges between Judge Alan Mahon and the Taoiseach's counsel, Conor Maguire SC. p
Flex could only have held woman's weight 'for seven seconds'
Tests have shown that a flex that was found around the body of Siobhán Kearney could not have held her weight for more than five to seven seconds, the Central Criminal Court was told yesterday. pStark reminders of victim's life and death overwhelm
For the McLaughlins, the tipping point came just after 3.30pm. It had been a long, draining day at the end of a punishing week, and an afternoon given over to evidence on the elasticity and stress points of Dyson vacuum cleaner cords was easing mercifully towards a close. pHSE may operate on man (93) unable to give consent
The HSE has secured a High Court order allowing surgeons to perform an urgent and potentially life-saving operation on a 93-year-old man with dementia who is deaf and blind, with no known family, and unable to provide consent to the procedure. pThree arrested over allegedly forged will
Gardaí in Co Wexford have arrested three people for questioning and have interviewed a fourth person as part of an investigation into the alleged forgery of a will relating to a large farm in the county worth several million euro. pTeen jailed for four years after accidental shooting
A Finglas man who accidentally shot and almost killed an eight-year-old boy when he was shooting at birds with a pellet gun has been sentenced to four years by Judge Patricia Ryan pArmy drugs dismissal overturned
A soldier has won his High Court action to prevent his discharge from the Army after testing positive for drugs. pIn Short
A round-up of today's other stories in brief. p
Majority back devolution of policing
Six out of 10 people in Northern Ireland, including a majority of DUP supporters, favour the proposed devolution of responsibility for policing and justice to the Northern Executive, according to a new British government survey. pChildren's centre in beleaguered Sandy Row may close
Sandy Row has had it hard over the past 40 years. Violence and paramilitarism have taken their toll. But while some Belfast communities, especially nationalist ones, are experiencing a cultural and commercial revival, this loyalist enclave is facing further decline. p
Council to discipline official over land sale
Cork County Council has begun disciplinary proceedings against a council official following an inquiry into a controversial land sale in north Cork in which the council negotiated to buy land for €11.6 million that had earlier been on sale for €8 million. p50% of farmers oppose walkers on lands
In a survey on rural tourism, 50 per cent of farmers said they would not be willing to participate in a walking scheme even if they could be indemnified against claims and no permanent right of way would be established. pFormer priest jailed for abusing children
A former Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to 53 counts of
indecently assaulting children has been jailed for four years. p
