More news in brief
Irish director John Moore has optioned the film rights to Irish writer John Connolly's novel, The Book of Lost Things. Published last September, it is the seventh novel from Connolly (39), a former journalist, writes Michael Dwyer.
The story deals with a 12- year-old boy who is mourning the loss of his mother and retreats into the fantasy world of his books. Moore's most recent film was a remake of The Omen, released last year
A native of Dundalk, Moore (37) made a number of award-winning short films in Ireland before going to Hollywood.
He has directed three feature films for 20th Century Fox: Behind Enemy Lines starring Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman; The Flight of the Phoenix with Dennis Quaid and Hugh Laurie; and The Omen, starring Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles. He has optioned the film rights to The Book of Lost Things through his company, Point Road Productions.
Cereal production drops over 22%
Ireland's self-sufficiency in cereals has fallen to 75 per cent and cereal production dropped by 22.7 per cent last year, Central Statistics Office figures show.
The CSO said usable production of cereals dropped to 675,000 tonnes last year on the 2004/2005 levels. Wheat production fell by 21.7 per cent or 221,000 tonnes and oat production fell by 44,000 tonnes. Barley production in 2005/2006 was also down by 22.8 per cent or 302,000 tonnes on the harvest of the previous year.
"Irish self-sufficiency in cereals has decreased to 75 per cent in 2005/2006 from 90 per cent in 2004/2005," noted the CSO report.
The decline in production led to an increase in imports with total cereal imports increasing by 16.1 per cent or 124,000 tonnes last year.
"Wheat, oats and barley all had increased imports with wheat registering a 7.9 per cent or 57,000 tonne increase, and barley imports increasing by 127.3 per cent, or 56,000 tonnes," the report stated. There was also a reduction in cereals exported last year, 12.7 per cent or 54,000 tonnes.
Wheat exports, noted the report, fell by 21.1 per cent or 68,000 tonnes and while barley exports decreased marginally, oats exports increased by 83 per cent or 15,000 tonnes.
World demand for cereals has grown dramatically in the past six months for food and also as an alternative fuel.
This has driven up the price on international markets by as much as 40 per cent.
Inquest hears of car crash death
A man was killed when he was thrown from his car after he lost control of the vehicle and crashed through a dangerous bridge after failing to negotiate a sharp bend at high speeds, an inquest heard yesterday.
Darragh O'Farrell (32), Woodhill Villas, Tivoli, Cork, died from brain swelling and other cerebral trauma after he was thrown from his Mazda saloon when it ploughed through the side wall of Tivoli Bridge, Cork at about 3am on October 24th last.
Mr O'Farrell had been returning to his house in Glanmire with two friends, Bill Gharani and Amy Thornhill, after a night socialising in Cork city. A postmortem revealed he had a blood alcohol concentration of 130mg.
Mr Gharani told Cork City Coroners Court that he felt too drunk to drive and threw the keys to Mr O'Farrell who seemed fine.
He said that he urged Mr O'Farrell to slow down as they approached the Tivoli Bridge and when he looked at the speedometer, it showed that they were travelling at 170km/h as Mr O'Farrell struggled to prevent the car from skidding out of control.
Mr Gharani managed to walk from the wreckage and Ms Thornhill was catapulted from the back seat through the driver's window, though she recovered from her injuries.