A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Man charged with Navan manslaughter
A man has appeared in Navan District Court charged with manslaughter in Navan, Co Meath, last year.
Richard Mullen (19) Claremount Estate, is charged with the unlawful killing of Simon Sharkey (18) at Boyne View, Johnstownwood, Navan, in May last year. Mr Sharkey died on June 3rd, six days after he was stabbed.
Judge John Brophy remanded Mr Mullen in custody to appear again next week.
Pre-trial publicity restricted
Judge Frank O'Donnell has made an order restricting pre-trial publicity in relation to the trial of Dermot Laide at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for the manslaughter of Brian Murphy outside the Burlington Hotel Dublin.
Mr Laide (23), Rossvale, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, is accused of the manslaughter of Mr Murphy outside the hotel on August 31st, 2000. His trial is set for April 24th and is expected to last for five weeks.
Two in court over airport drug finds
Two men have appeared before a court in Dublin charged in relation to the seizure of 4kg of cocaine at Dublin airport yesterday.
A 32-year-old Dutch national and a 36-year-old English man were arrested after cocaine, with an estimated street value of €280,000, was discovered in baggage belonging to one of them.
Officers from Revenue's customs service found the drugs concealed in luggage from Sao Paolo, Brazil, via Amsterdam. The men were detained at Santry Garda station.
References for rapist queried
Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI), the national forum of Rape Crisis Centres, has questioned the actions of a priest and doctor who gave character references to a man sentenced for child sex abuse in the Central Criminal Court last Monday.
The network has called on churches and relevant professional bodies to establish standards in the matter.
Joseph Dempsey (61) Monasterevin, described in court as "a substantial Kildare farmer", was sentenced to six years. He was found guilty of anally raping his nephew and of sexually assaulting him from 1984 to 1993 when the boy was aged four or five to 13.
In a statement yesterday the RCNI said "shame on those who gave character references for unrepentant child abuser Joseph Dempsey" and questioned the actions of Fr John Dunphy and Dr Denis O'Dwyer, who did so.
Kate Mulkerrins, the Rape Crisis Network legal co-ordinator, said: "What is shocking in this particular case is that Dr Denis O'Dwyer and Fr John Dunphy appear to have spoken up on behalf of an individual who by virtue of his 'not guilty' plea had not even accepted his own responsibility for the suffering caused to his young nephew."
The actions of "these respected pillars of the community . . . begs the question, in what circumstances should the credibility and status of these professions and vocations be used to excuse a man who has not asked for forgiveness for a crime he has denied. One can only imagine the impact such character references for the abuser has on the victim."
Five years for knife robberies
A heroin addict who committed a series of knife robberies within a month of being released from jail has been sentenced to five years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Derek Byrne (22), St Anthony's Road, Rialto, Dublin, was arrested in April 2005 and remanded in custody following "a crime spree" on pharmacies throughout the city centre.
He was granted bail in October to attend a residential drug treatment centre but absconded and was rearrested 11 days later.