Other stories in brief.
Tributes paid to war veteran
Tributes were paid yesterday to a second World War veteran who later became a Franciscan brother and peace campaigner, writes Ciarán Murphy.
Originally a native of Dublin, Brother Columbanus Deegan OFM, who died suddenly in Waterford on Wednesday aged 82, lived at the Waterford Franciscan Friary in Waterford city.
He was known locally for his work with the homeless and those with addiction problems.
He joined the British army aged 17 after being rejected by the Defence Forces for being "too skinny". After serving in RAF bomber command, he joined a unit whose mission was to travel by motorbike and salvage crashed aircraft.
This was prior to his involvement in the D-Day landings at Normandy, something he was reluctant to talk about later in his life.
Puttnam to speak at Collins event
Oscar-winning film producer Lord Puttnam has been confirmed as the guest speaker at this year's Michael Collins commemoration at Béal na mBláth in west Cork next month, writes Barry Roche.
Commemoration chairman Dermot Collins confirmed that the committee had approached Lord Puttnam last year to deliver the oration on August 19th at the ambush site near Crookstown, where Collins was killed on August 22nd 1922.
Remanded on bail for three months
A man charged in connection with a burglary in which a Garda was struck and injured by a car has been remanded on bail for three months.
Patrick McInerney (26), The Heath, Portlaoise, is charged with stealing stainless steel and copper wire worth €4,000 from the Glanbia plant in Ballyragget, Co Kilkenny, in the early hours of June 6th, 2007.
When Mr McInerney appeared in court the day after the alleged burglary, he was granted bail on his own bond of €5,000 and an independent surety of €3,000.
At Castlecomer District Court yesterday, Supt Pat Mangan said a number of people were involved in the incident and the Garda investigation was ongoing. Further instructions were awaited from the DPP on whether Mr McInerney should face further charges. The case was adjourned until October 18th.
Private hospital plan lodged
Plans for a 100-bed private hospital which has the backing of a Dundalk healthcare consortium have been lodged with Louth county council, writes Elaine Keogh.
Also proposed for the 10 hectare site opposite the Xerox plant on the former Dublin to Belfast road in Dundalk is a business park, a landmark office building and commercial developments.
The application for outline permission is lodged in the name of Merit Holdings Ltd, a member of the Conway Group which is involved in healthcare, construction, property and retail in the UK and is based in Derry. It says the hospital will consist of five 10-storey buildings and have a gross floor space of 22,000sq ft (278sq m).
Services at the hospital are expected to include oncology, paediatrics, cardiology, an IVF clinic and diagnostic imaging.