A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Loyalist goes on trial for man's murder
Leading loyalist and alleged UDA commander William Courtney yesterday went on trial for the murder of a former lieutenant of his alleged arch rival Johnny Adair.
At Belfast Crown Court, Courtney (43), originally from Fernhill Heights, Belfast, denies murdering Alan McCullough on May 28th, 2003, and membership of the UDA and UFF.
Courtney, who allegedly replaced Adair as UDA commander, is accused of shooting McCullough four or five times after picking him up at his mother, Barbara McCullough's Denmark Street home.
The case is being held in a Diplock no jury court before Mr Justice McLaughlin.
Circus trailer deaths trial
A son of the well-known Courtney circus family has been sent for trial charged with the defective fitting of a trailer which became detached from a circus lorry on the outskirts of Galway city last April, killing a mother and daughter travelling by car in the opposite direction, writes Ann Healy.
Stephen Courtney (35) Earl Street, Longford town, Co Longford, is charged with intentionally or recklessly engaging in conduct which allowed a trailer to be attached to a lorry and another trailer in a defective manner, thereby causing the trailer to become detached and colliding with a car, causing the deaths of Ms Joan Reilly and her daughter, Siobhán Reilly.
Judge Mary Fahy sent the accused forward for trial to Galway Circuit Criminal Court on October 3rd.
Teenager on robbery charge
A Lithuanian teenager charged with robbery in connection with an alleged sex attack on a woman in Dublin in July has been remanded on continuing bail pending directions from the DPP and the possibility of more serious charges.
The 16-year-old boy had been charged in the Dublin Children's Court with robbery of a mobile phone and an Ipod from a woman in her twenties, at Castlefield Park, Blanchardstown, Dublin, on July 30th.
The case had been adjourned since July.
Judge Ryan remanded the boy, who was supported in court by his mother, on continuing bail until November.
Gardaí investigate cruelty to dogs
Gardaí in Galway and the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are investigating after the discovery of four dogs and four puppies in deplorable conditions in Cahergowen, Claregalway, writes Avril Horan.
Gardaí and the ISPCA discovered the dogs during a raid last Friday morning.
Margaret O'Sullivan of the ISPCA said the dogs are slowly recovering.
"There were a lot of outhouses and in one shed we uncovered four dogs - one was so badly injured he will need reconstructive surgery," said Ms O'Sullivan.
"The four pups were found in a container with no windows or doors, they had no food or water and were found in a dehydrated state. They are slowly being nursed back to health."
Cork teenager struck by car dies
A Cork teenager struck by a car while walking near her home has died in hospital. Clodagh Murphy (14), of Tower, Blarney, was seriously injured in the incident last Wednesday and lost her life at Cork University Hospital on Sunday.
Meanwhile, gardaí are continuing their investigation into a head-on collision with a Garda car near Killarney, Co Kerry.
Jeremiah Harrington (22) from Riverview Tower in Blarney, Co Cork, died when his car burst into flames upon impact with the patrol car at 3am on Sunday morning. A postmortem on his body is to be carried out today.