A round-up of today's Irish stories in brief
Man (27) on sexual assault charge
A man has been charged with the sexual assault of a woman in Galway.
The man (27), who cannot be named, was remanded in custody when he appeared before a special sitting of Galway District Court on Saturday morning.
He is charged with sexually assaulting a woman at Silverstrand on the west of Galway city near Barna in the early hours of last Thursday morning. The man is in Ireland on a student visa.
Golf ball found in dead man's throat
A Garda investigation has begun into how a golf ball came to be lodged in the throat of a Dublin man’s remains.
Foul play is not suspected in the death last month.
His remains were taken to St James’s Hospital where a postmortem was carried out.
Following the postmortem the remains were taken to a funeral directors.
Staff there found a golf ball lodged in the deceased’s throat and contacted gardaí.
Church raises money for wheelchair
Members of a Presbyterian congregation in Co Antrim have raised more than £12,000 (€13,800) for a special gift for a teenage cerebral palsy sufferer.
Scott Osprey (14), from New Mossley on the outskirts of north Belfast, has been confined to a wheelchair all his life. Recently he was provided with a special “stand-up” chair. His parents could not afford to buy the motorised chair despite the huge improvement it made to Scott’s quality of life.
Members of the local Presbyterian Church have raised the money and made the surprise Valentine’s Day donation to him after yesterday’s morning service.
Church minister the Rev Ian McDonald said: “Scott and his family have been members of our congregation for some time and as a church family we have always been keen to do what we can to help. The generosity of everyone has been overwhelming and it’s wonderful to see such a practical expression and sharing of Christ’s love by all in the community.”