1. Dublin Bus strike: Unions to meet company for 'exploratory' talks
Talks between unions and management at Dublin Bus aimed at averting further strikes are to start today, just hours before the next 48-hour strike is due to begin.
However, the new process has been described as “exploratory” and, for the moment at least, work stoppages planned for tomorrow and Wednesday are still scheduled to go ahead.
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2. US military removes Irish flag from anti-Isis website
The Government contacted the United States military last week about the use of an Irish Tricolour on the website of the US-led military campaign against Islamic State.
The flag was one of more than 60 that appeared alongside images of fighter jets and battlefield scenes on the homepage of Operation Inherent Resolve, the US military's name for the military intervention against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
Responding to a query from The Irish Times, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Ireland "has not and will not" participate in international military action against Isis. "Our flag should not be used in this context and we are following up," a spokesman said. The flag was removed within five days.
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3. Dublin may seek replay after All-Ireland final becomes a sore point
Dublin may seek a replay after Cork's victory in the ladies All-Ireland football final because of an umpire's first-half decision to signal a Carla Rowe effort wide, when replays showed it had clearly gone inside the left post.
Croke Park’s Hawk-Eye, in use for men’s games at the stadium since 2013, could have cleared it all up . . . if it wasn’t switched off for the day.
Why? Because the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, a separate entity to the GAA, decided not to use it, largely because of the cost.
The women’s game uses a smaller size four football, compared to the men’s size five, so Croke Park’s Hawk-Eye would have to be recalibrated.
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4. Golfing legend Arnold Palmer dies aged 87
Champion golfer Arnold Palmer has died at the age of 87. His full-bore style of play, dramatic tournament victories and magnetic personality inspired an American golf boom.
He attracted a following known as Arnie’s Army and made him one of the most popular athletes in the world.
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5. Chief Justice complains over lack of judicial council
The failure to establish a judicial council "weighs heavily" on relations between the judiciary and the Cabinet, Chief Justice Susan Denham has said.
The unusually strong comments from the country’s most senior judge demonstrate that relations between the two arms of the State are being adversely affected.
Proposals for the creation of such a body have been in existence for almost two decades but the programme for government negotiated in May did not include a commitment to introduce such a Bill.