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1. Gardaí say only offer of 'substantial' pay rise will halt strike
Pressure has increased on the Government to significantly improve a package of pay-related concessions made to rank-and-file gardaí to avert an unprecedented strike on Friday.
Talks at the Labour Court in Dublin were continuing late last night but the Garda Representative Association (GRA) said it was not yet in a position to call off the planned action.
The association represents some 10,500 of the 12,500 gardaí due to withdraw their service this and every Friday in November.
2. Mayo couple likely died in murder-suicide, gardaí say
The husband and wife killed at their home in Irishtown in Co Mayo on Tuesday died as a result of a murder and suicide, post mortem results today are expected to confirm.
Tom Fitzgerald, a painter/decorator in his 70s, was found dead outside the family home, while the body of his wife, Kitty, who was in her 60s, was found inside.
The couple's son, Paul, who suffered severe injuries from a blunt instrument, remains seriously injured at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
3. OCI says tickets inquiry postponed due to Hickey injunction threat
An inquiry into the Olympic ticket controversy has been postponed until criminal proceedings have concluded in Brazil against ex-Olympic Council of Ireland president Pat Hickey.
It comes after lawyers for Mr Hickey wrote to the OCI threatening to apply for an injunction preventing the completion of the review, the organisation said in a statement on Wednesday night.
Mr Hickey (71) was arrested in Rio over the alleged illegal sale of tickets for the Olympic Games. He denies any wrongdoing.
4. Nearly one in four older teenage girls have self-harmed
Almost a quarter of girls aged 17-18 have self-harmed, according to the latest report from the Economic and Social Research Institute's Growing Up in Ireland study.
The study shows 17 per cent have "hurt [THEMSELVES]on purpose" with 11 per cent having done so in the past year. Self-harming was twice as common among girls (23 per cent) as boys (12 per cent).
5. Whistleblower in 'Grace' case claims HSE lied to discredit her
The whistleblower at the centre of a case involving allegation of sexual abuse at a foster home in the southeast has alleged that the HSE used a "combination of lies, misinformation and obfuscation" to discredit her.
The social worker, who claimed the young woman identified as ‘Grace’ was subjected to sexual abuse for more than 20 years, has criticised the HSE’s treatment of her. The social worker made a series of allegations about the foster home as far back as 2009.
And finally: Brexit is no worse than a united Ireland
Irish nationalists are missing a trick by portraying Brexit as a terrible calamity. What they should be doing is comparing it to the transition to a united Ireland, writes Newton Emerson.