There were emotional scenes in Derry Crown Court yesterday when a 35-year-old mother of six was found not guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to a daughter when she was four weeks old.
On Thursday, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found not guilty of intentionally harming her baby daughter on October 19th, 2002. Yesterday, by a majority verdict, she was acquitted of the second offence.
A number of women in the public gallery shouted abuse at the woman when the "not guilty" verdict was read out. The baby's mother wept and pressed her hands against the glass screen surrounding the dock as she whispered "thank you" to the jury of nine women and three men.
Speaking outside the courthouse, the woman, whose father is terminally ill with cancer, said that she was determined to regain the custody of her two youngest daughters, aged two and four, who have been in care since she was charged with the offences two years ago.
Dispute at Bord na Mona plant
A group of 45 employees in the rail transport section of Bord na Mona's Boora-Blackwater plant in Shannonbridge, Co Offaly, were refusing to work yesterday in a dispute over new practices imposed by the management, writes Liam Horan.
Last month, over 2,000 Bord na Mona workers voted to strike over a pay deal, but action was averted when the management agreed to the increase.
SIPTU has 120 other members in the new plant, but they continued working normally.
Mr Paddy Duffy, a spokesperson for the company, said that Boora-Blackwater had contractual obligations to supply peat to the west Offaly power plant. He said negotiations had been taking place between the workers and management, and progress had been made.
Award for RTÉ journalist
Carole Coleman, the RTÉ broadcaster, is to be honoured tonight with a Bank of Ireland/Rehab "People of the Year" award. Her mother, Mrs Kathleen Coleman, will accept the honour on her behalf at a presentation in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Ms Coleman (37), RTÉ's Washington Correspondent, is currently on assignment in the US. Last month she was named Ireland's Political/Current Affairs Journalist of the Year for a interview she did with President George W. Bush. The White House protested to the Irish Embassy in Washington over the interview.
The New York Times, which has not been granted an interview with Mr Bush since he took office, said at the time: "It was a sight for sore eyes - an American President who seldom holds a White House news conference unexpectedly subjected to some muscular European perspective."
Vomiting bug hits Kerry hospital
Two cases of the so-called "winter vomiting bug" have been confirmed at Kerry General Hospital, the Southern Health Board's second-largest acute hospital. Several more cases are suspected at the 368-bed facility.
No cases have been confirmed at Cork University Hospital or at other hospitals in the Cork area so far, according to a spokesman for the health board.
Seven cases of mumps in west
Seven cases of mumps have been reported to the Western Health Board since last Monday. Three of the cases involve students attending the Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology, while the remainder are spread across the health board's region - one case in Roscommon town, two cases in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, and one in Cong, Co Mayo.