A round-up of some other stories in brief. . .
Fire damages Delgany Golf Club's roof
A fire at the clubhouse at Delgany Golf Club, Co Wicklow, yesterday caused extensive damage to the roof. Flames were spotted at about 8.30am, and units of the Greystones, Bray and Wicklow fire brigades took 90 minutes to bring it under control.
A fire service spokesman said the building was not in use at the time because work was taking place on an extension and redevelopment of the interior.
The club has been using facilities in temporary accommodation nearby. It is thought the fire may have been smouldering overnight and initial speculation centred on an electrical fault. Club manager Peter Ribeiro said the fire damaged about 30 per cent of the roof, but because the building was not being used "it is business as usual at Delgany".
Delgany is the only golf club in the world to have produced four Ryder Cup players in Harry Bradshaw, Jimmy Martin, John O'Leary and Eamonn D'Arcy.
Reward for men in manuscript find
The three men who found the ancient book of psalms in a Tipperary bog last July would be rewarded generously by the State, Dr Patrick Wallace, director of the National Museum of Ireland, said yesterday.
The amount "would not be insubstantial". It would be calculated with reference to the rarity of the find and what it might have got at public auction, he said. He felt it was important to encourage the good example given by the three men involved.
Moments earlier Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue praised Eddie Fogarty, the machine operator who dug out the manuscript at Faddan Mór bog near Carrig in north Tipperary on July 20th last, and the bog owners, Kevin and Patrick Leonard, who assisted with preserving it on the spot before contacting the National Museum.
He was speaking during a brief ceremony in the conservation department of the National Museum at Collins Barracks in Dublin held to honour the three men and their families.
Mr Fogarty said that after news of their find broke he could "hardly go to the pub" such was his celebrity, but that it had died off a bit.
Five men arrested after drugs seizure
Five men were arrested yesterday following an operation in the Rush/Lusk area of north Co Dublin by gardaí from the National Drug Unit, from Balbriggan and the Garda dog unit.
Eight kilos of a substance believed to be cocaine were seized along with a large quantity of cash. The men were arrested and the drugs seized when gardaí stopped and searched a car and a truck. The seizure may have a potential street value of €500,000.
Woman (81) has her car hijacked
An 81-year-old woman was yesterday being treated in hospital after three youths dragged her from her car and hijacked the vehicle. The woman had stopped at the scene of a car crash in Toberona, Dundalk, Co Louth, at 3pm yesterday when three young people approached her car and forcibly removed her from the vehicle.
"Three youths aged between 17 and 20 wearing dark clothing pulled her from her car and in the process she gashed her leg," a Garda press officer said.
Gardaí were last night searching for the three youths who stole her Nissan Micra car.
Motorcyclist dies in fence collision
A motorcyclist was killed yesterday when his vehicle collided with a fence in Clonmel, Co Tipperary. The man, who was in his 40s, was involved in the crash at 6.45pm. It took place at Rathkeeven on the main Clonmel to Cahir road. No other vehicles were involved. Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to contact them on 052-77640.