Some of today's other stories in brief.
Kilkenny road substandard, says engineer
A engineer who examined the scene of a fatal road traffic crash on the Piltown-Fiddown bypass on the N24 in Co Kilkenny in June 2004 described the junction in question as "grossly substandard", writes Mary Cody.
John Hayes, a consultant engineer, was giving evidence at Kilkenny Circuit Court in the case of Jacek Sztafinski, who was found not guilty of dangerous driving causing death.
He was, however, found guilty of careless driving and fined €1,000.
Celine Kennedy died on June 18th, 2004, when her car was hit by an articulated truck being driven by Sztafinski.
There have been seven fatalities on the Piltown/Fiddown bypass since it was built in 2002. A considerable amount of money has been spent recently on improving the road. The bypass has 13 junctions on a 9.3 kilometre stretch.
Students charged with burglary
Three University of Limerick students have appeared in court charged in connection with a house burglary last weekend near the campus, Karl Hanlon reports.
Appearing before Judge David O'Riordan at Limerick District Court yesterday were Desmond O'Donovan (20), Kevin Cott (20) and Brian Sheehan (20), all with addresses in Castletroy. They were charged with burglary in College Court, Castletroy, on May 6th. Judge O'Riordan remanded all three on continuing bail to appear again before Limerick District Court on June 8th.
Work to begin on Carlow bypass
Work is expected to begin in July on the long-anticipated Carlow bypass on the Dublin-Waterford road, writes Michael Parsons.
The 19km stretch of dual-carriageway, costing €208 million, will begin south of Castledermot, Co Kildare and end close to Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow. Ascon, the Kildare-based civil engineering company which has been awarded the construction contract, says it will open in early 2008. Four hundred jobs will be created during the two-year construction period. The road will eliminate a major bottleneck on the N9 route.
Surfers converge on Lahinch
Surfers from all over Ireland will converge on Lahinch, Co Clare, this weekend hoping to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest number of surfers to surf one wave.
The event was the brainchild of Lahinch surfer Oisín McGrath, who has teamed up with John McCarthy, owner of Lahinch Surf School. It is hoped to get under way at 3pm tomorrow.