A round up of today's stories in brief...
Inquest into fatal shooting adjourned
Inquests into the deaths of two men who were shot dead in Dublin were adjourned at Dublin City Coroner's Court yesterday due to ongoing Garda investigations, writes Georgina O'Halloran.
James Purdue (22), of Tulip Court, Darndale, was shot dead in Donaghmede on June 19th, 2006, outside the apartment in which he lived in a gangland-style shooting.
Keith Fitzsimons (24), from Glin Grove, Coolock, Dublin, was shot dead on June 2nd, 2006, during a drive-by shooting in Kilbarrack. He was not the intended victim.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell granted a three-month adjournment in both cases under Section 25.1 of the Coroner's Act as Garda inquiries are ongoing.
Man remanded on rape charges
A man from the Waterside area of Derry is to be arraigned before the city's Crown Court next month charged with raping a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
William Joseph O'Connor (42), Stoneburn Park, Currynierin, is charged with raping the girl, having unlawful carnal knowledge of her, indecently assaulting her and unlawfully imprisoning her against her will, on a dates earlier this year.
Not guilty plea in sex assault case
A 23-year-old Meath resident has gone on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court charged with sexually assaulting a young woman over a year ago. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexually assaulting her on February 11th, 2006. He cannot be identified for legal reasons.
A jury has been sworn in for the trial which is scheduled to continue for three day before Judge Patrick McCartan.
Men jailed for attack on doorman
Two men whose drunken attack on a city-centre bar doorman left him with long-term injuries have been sentenced to 4½ years by Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Enda Moran (21), of Ashbrook, Ennis Road, Limerick, smashed a pint glass into the face of Michael Hogan at Judge Roy Bean's, Nassau Street, Dublin, after his companion, Karl Uzell (27), of Mourne Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, went "berserk" when ordered out of the premises.
Moran and Uzell pleaded guilty to the assault charges.
Firearms charge accused remanded
A man appeared in the Special Criminal Court yesterday charged with the possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Eoin Clail (39), of Stanhope Green, Stanhope Street, Dublin, was charged with possession of a semi-automatic firearm and 12 rounds of ammunition at his home on October 2nd.
Mr Justice John MacMenamin remanded him in custody.
Guilty plea in dumping case
A Wicklow man is to be sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for dumping waste illegally over a four-year period near Blessington.
John Healy, of Crosscool Harbour, Blessington, pleaded guilty to disposing lorry loads of waste at the Roadstone (Dublin) Ltd site at Blessington.
Judge Katherine Delahunt adjourned sentence to next February when all evidence in the case will be heard.
Fire at tyre depot in Galway
Six units of Galway fire brigade were trying to bring an industrial fire under control in the outskirts of Galway city last night, writes Lorna Siggins.
The fire broke out at a tyre depot in Ballybane Industrial Estate shortly after 7pm. The depot is close to 50 other units on the industrial estate on the northeast side of the city.
Several minor crashes were reported as traffic was disrupted.
Gort school praised for integration
A community school in Gort, Co Galway, said to be the most multi-cultural town in Ireland, has been praised for its efforts in integrating students from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The latest school evaluation reports published by the Department of Education said the work that Gort Community School was doing to support pupils from ethnic minorities was to be "commended".
According to the latest census, 40 per cent of the population of Gort was born outside Ireland, with the majority coming from Brazil.
The whole-school evaluation said the school had established "good links" with the local Brazilian population, had published its code of good school behaviour in Portuguese, employed people who are fluent in both English and Portuguese, and had encouraged students and parents from an ethnic minority background to take a full part in the running of the school.
Award for Panda Waste Services
Panda Waste Services, which is challenging Dublin City Council's dominance in the waste collection business, has won the Large Recovery Operator Award in the annual Repak Recycling Awards which were presented last night.
The awards were presented by Nationwide presenter Mary Kennedy at the Four Seasons hotel.
In the citation, Repak said Panda had grown to become one of Ireland's most innovative recycling companies. It had grown from a two-truck operation to a company with three waste-management facilities and a €50 million a year turnover.
Repak said proof of the company's innovation was the "improved green bin collection into which customers can place not only cardboard and paper but also plastics and glass".
Other winners included Alcan Packaging Dublin Ltd for the Repak Best Practice Award, and HJ Heinz Co which received the award for the Best Prevention Initiative Award.
Repak singled out
Tesco for an excellence award for its plans to be the first Irish retailer to reach 100 per cent recycling of packaging and store waste by 2010.
Among the local authorities, Louth County Council was honoured as Repak's Local Authority of the Year.
O'Reilly's Centra food market, Bunclody, Co Wexford, collected the Best Practice Award in the independent retail sector.