A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Limerick man on trial this week for murder of carpenter in 2009
A Limerick man is due to stand trial at the Central Criminal Court later this week for the murder of a young carpenter.
Kenneth Collopy (20), Kilonan, Ballysimon, appeared briefly in court yesterday where he pleaded not guilty to the murder of Daniel Fitzgerald (24), at Cloughnadromin, Ballysimon in 2009.
Mr Fitzgerald was shot dead at a house on the main Limerick to Tipperary road on December 8th of that year.
Just after the jury was sworn in, Mr Collopy’s defending barrister, Brendan Grehan, informed the court his client had recognised one of the jurors. Mr Justice Paul Carney excused the juror, and another was sworn in in their place.
The trial is expected to take two weeks before the jury of nine women and three men.
New Kennedy exhibition centre
Plans are going ahead for a new exhibition centre to be developed at the Kennedy homestead in Dunganstown, New Ross.
The Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland were granted planning permission by Wexford County Council to construct a single-storey, stone-clad exhibition building, together with a free-standing, lightweight canopy, linking the proposed building to the existing one.
The exhibition will depict the origins of the Kennedy family, while a special section will be dedicated to the relationship the late senator Edward Kennedy enjoyed with Ireland.
This project received funding of €1.5 million in the government’s 2009 budget.
High number for Lough Derg jobs
A record number of people have applied for seasonal jobs at St Patrick’s Purgatory, Lough Derg, which recently advertised for 50 seasonal workers to help with the 20,000 pilgrims who are expected to visit the centre this summer.
Lough Derg prior, Msgr Richard Mohan, said applications for their seasonal jobs were significantly up on previous years due to the recession.
The ancient site near Pettigo, Co Donegal, which can only be accessed by boat, recently received nearly three times as many applicants as jobs available for the upcoming season.
Further information at loughderg.org.