A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Two jailed for Dublin drive-by shooting
Two gangland criminals who fired a gunshot through the livingroom window of a house before speeding off in a car and throwing their gun out the window while being chased by gardaí have each been jailed for eight years.
The court heard the two men were shooting at the house because they mistakenly thought people linked to their rivals live at the property.
Joseph Redmond (33) and David Roche (26) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawfully possessing a firearm and discharging a firearm at Keeper Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, on April 18th, 2009.
Redmond, Kilworth Road, Drimnagh, has 41 previous convictions, including one for robbery.
Roche, of Abbotstown Avenue, Finglas, has 20 previous convictions for minor matters at District Court level.
Both men are members of one of two gangs that have been involved in feuding for the past decade in the Dublin suburbs of Crumlin and Drimnagh.
Corr land fails to sell at auction
A parcel of land owned by musician Jim Corr and his business partner failed to sell when it came up for public auction yesterday.
An auctioneer selling the 91-acre holding near the village of Goresbridge in Co Kilkenny had hoped to fetch between €800,000 and €900,000 for the property, but had to withdraw it from auction when it failed to attract bids higher than €650,000.
Ed Donohoe of Donohoe Properties in Kilkenny said afterwards that they were “in negotiations” with the highest bidder, but those negotiations were not expected to be resolved by last night.
The land is currently the subject of a High Court action by ACC Bank, who have taken legal proceedings against Jim Corr and business partner Liam Marks over the alleged failure to repay a €1.36 million loan.
Garda appeal after fatal collision
Gardaí in Clonark, Co Roscommon, are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road collision yesterday evening on the old N6 road between Ballinasloe and Athlone.
A woman pedestrian in her mid-50s was hit by a car and pronounced dead at the scene. She was removed to Ballinasloe hospital.
Witnesses are asked to contact Roscommon Garda station on 090-6638300, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
Property investors agree settlement
A multimillion euro Commercial Court case taken by over 60 investors, including rugby player Paul O’Connell, against former Irish rugby team manager Pat Whelan, has been settled out of court.
Over €13 million was invested in the property venture in London, but those who bought in to the project are expected to receive just 20 per cent of their original investment.
The proceedings were lodged in the High Court this March by the investors against Mr Whelan (60) of Hollybank, O’Connell Avenue, and his business partner Pat Chesser (56) of Newcastle, Castletroy.
Explosive device thrown at officers
Two PSNI officers were hospitalised last night after they were injured by an explosive device in west Belfast, writes Gerry Moriarty.
They suffered what police believed to be non-life-threatening injuries when the device was thrown at them in the Shaw’s Road area shortly after 9pm.
The officers were investigating a robbery at a local bookmakers at the time.
Two men charged in connection with man found stabbed to death
Two men have been charged in relation to the murder of a man who was stabbed to death last year before his body was dumped in a remote location nearly 10 miles away, writes Conor Lally.
The body of Peter Gunn (28), was found dumped on the side of Dunsoghly Lane, near Finglas, north Dublin, on January 15th, 2009. He had been stabbed to death. A father of two, he had been missing for more than two weeks.
A postmortem by the State Pathologist, Prof Marie Cassidy, found Mr Gunn died from a stab wound to the chest.
Mr Gunn, from Larkhill Road, Whitehall, north Dublin, was last seen alive in the early hours of Sunday, January 4th, 2009, at Summerhill, Dublin.
He had earlier met friends in a pub on nearby Parnell Street. He had been due to celebrate his 29th birthday the week after he was last seen alive.
Kastriot Boza (37), Killarney Parade, Dublin, was charged with impeding arrest or prosecution. He was remanded in custody until Thursday. Hayrush Rama (33), Rathgar Road, Dublin, was charged with withholding information.
He was granted bail until December 3rd.
Irish man's ashes to be repatriated
The body of a Sligo man who died after being struck by a car in Australia will be cremated before being flown to Ireland for his funeral service next week.
Eymard Scully (27) from Ballymote was hit by a taxi in Darlinghurst, Sydney, last Saturday night. He was admitted to hospital with severe head injuries and died on Wednesday night.
The Department of Foreign Affairs meanwhile is providing consular assistance to the family of a man who died in Thailand on Wednesday. Aiden Hopkins, from Edenderry, Co Offaly, who was in his mid- 40s and had been living in Thailand, was struck by a car.
Corrib field costs may reach €2.5bn
The final cost of developing the controversial Corrib gas field off the Co Mayo coast is now expected to be close to €2.5 billion, writes Gordon Deegan.
The revised cost estimate emerged yesterday as new documents just filed with the Companies Office by Shell’s Irish subsidiary, Shell EP Ireland Ltd, show that the capital outlay on the project to the end of December reached €1.918 billion.
Partners Shell, Statoil and Canadian-owned Vermillion spent an additional €424 million on the project last year and it is understood that around €300 million will be spent in 2010.
Man convicted of aggravated burglary
A man has been convicted of aggravated burglary at the home of a well-known Westmeath businessman. Brian McGinley(38), Blackberry Lane, Athlone, had denied being part of a four-man gang who tied up Damien Kilmartin and his family at their home in Lady's Well, Glasson, Athlone, in February 2005. The gang threatened the Kilmartin household with iron bars, a baseball bat and a knife before escaping in Ms Kilmartin's vehicle with a safe containing over €100,000 worth of jewellery.