Your top stories on Tuesday: ‘We watched our daughter die,’ Aoife Johnston’s parents tell inquest; State apology for Stardust victims

Aoife Johnston inquest: ‘We watched our daughter die – I wouldn’t wish it on anyone’

The parents of a 16-year-old girl who died at University Hospital Limerick following a failure in her care tried to reassure her that she was in the best place only for them to watch her die two days later, an inquest has heard.

Carol Johnston told the inquest into the death of her daughter, Aoife Johnston, that “we watched our daughter die – I wouldn’t wish it on anyone” as she recounted how the hospital treated her after she was admitted to the emergency department UHL at 5.40pm on December 17th, 2022.

News

• Stardust families invited to hear State apology in the Dail: Taoiseach Simon Harris will today issue a State apology to the families of the Stardust fire tragedy, more than 40 years after the blaze that ripped through the nightclub in north Dublin.
• Gardaí policing far right ‘fear for their safety’: Policing the activities of the far right represents a “huge challenge” and gardaí are worried for their safety, the head of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) has said.
• Plan for extra 1,000 student rooms discussed: An extra 1,000 student beds will be delivered across three universities as part of plans due to be approved by Cabinet on Tuesday.
• All you need to know about Ireland’s newest national park, Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara: Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí is Ireland’s eighth national park, and the largest so far, centred around the area of Corca Dhuibhne, Co Kerry.
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World

• Juror’s toothache bites into Donald Trump’s hush money trial: It took a toothache to halt the trial of the century. No sooner had David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher and the first witness in the Donald Trump “hush money” case in Manhattan, relaxed into his seat than Judge Juan Merchan was obliged to break for the day at 12.30pm.

The Big Read

• ‘Too many of us are stressed and losing sleep’: Students explain why school needs to change: It was the day everything changed: March 12th, 2020. Schools were shut and catapulted into an experiment in remote learning on a huge scale.

Opinion

• Fintan O’Toole: Have we ditched the Stardust-era stereotype that the working classes are wild and reckless?
• The Debate: Should the mandatory three-day wait for abortion be lifted?

Business

• Surprise! Bluey has become the Taylor Swift of children’s television: The long-anticipated epic was released as scheduled, consumed with disbelieving gasps and thoroughly dissected on social media by those in awe of its sharp writing.

Sports

• Michael Murphy: Derry freeze as Donegal turn their rival’s strengths into weaknesses: After a couple of weekends of dour fixtures and challenging weather, the championship finally arrived at the weekend.

Life & Style

• ‘There’s more of a laissez-faire kind of thing in Ireland and especially that translates to driving’: When Emily McKenzie moved from Vancouver in Canada to Dublin in 2017, she did not expect to still be here seven years later.

Podcast Highlights

• In the News Podcast: Are we in a new, dangerous climate era?

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