A round-up of today's other Irish news stories in brief
1.36m for cross-Border health research
The University of Ulster (UU) has won €1.36 million in funding in support of a cross-Border research initiative to study nutritional aspects of osteoporosis and other diseases.
The effort – which also involves three universities in the South – will see health studies of 7,800 people on both sides of the Border.
The UU funding comes via the North’s Department for Employment and Learning and its “Strengthening the All-Ireland Research Base” initiative. It adds to the €10 million already allocated to the project via the Irish Department of Agriculture’s Food Institutional Research Measure.
Known as Jingo, the Joint Irish Nutrigenomics Organisation, the five-year initiative got under way about two years ago. UCD, TCD and UCC are the Southern universities involved.
Manuela Riedo concert in Galway
Almost two years after the murder of Swiss student Manuela Riedo in Galway, her life is to be remembered this Friday with a concert and the release of hundreds of balloons over Galway Bay, writes Lorna Siggins.
Musician Sharon Shannon, singer Mary McPartlan, All Ireland talent show winners the Mulkerrins Brothers and Galway tenor Frank Naughton will play at the concert, which will raise funds for the Manuela Riedo Foundation.
The balloons will go up at Salthill’s Ladies Beach at 7pm, and be followed by the concert in the Salthill Hotel.
Man charged over sword attack
A man donned a motorcycle helmet before attacking his neighbour with a samurai sword, it was claimed in the High Court in Belfast yesterday.
Rodney Barnes (23) is alleged to have inflicted stab wounds to the victim’s foot during an assault in Cookstown, Co Tyrone.
Prosecutors claim he swung the sword at the man who had just arrived home to Greenvale Drive after a family wedding. Mr Barnes faces charges of grievous bodily harm and possession of a weapon. Bail was refused.
Polluting firm fined €20,000
A Circuit Court judge yesterday ordered Finsa Forest Products to pay more than €20,000 after it pleaded guilty to six separate charges of polluting the atmosphere at its plant in the east Clare village of Scarriff.
At Ennis Circuit Court yesterday, Judge Carroll Moran imposed the fines and awarded costs to the Environmental Protection Agency against the company which manufactures chipboard.