Brrr: People walk across the Millennium Bridge and the Grattan Bridge in Dublin city centre this afternoon as light snow falls (Photo: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)

THINGS WE LEARNED

#SENTENCING: Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he hopes that the case of Fiona Doyle, who was repeatedly raped by her father over a ten year period, will not discourage other victims from coming forward. Patrick Doyle was released on bail yesterday having had nine years of his 12 year sentence suspended, leading to much criticism of sentencing guidelines for sexual offences.

#DRINK DRIVING: The Government has dismissed a motion from Kerry County Council to ease drink-driving limits in part of rural Ireland. The Department of Transport this evening said strict limits on drink driving had been one of the main reasons behind the reduction in deaths on Irish roads and there are no plans to reverse them.

#TAX: A Dublin businessman sentenced to six years in jail for not paying €1.6 million in garlic import duty has had his conviction set aside by the Court of Criminal Appeal, RTE reports. However Paul Begley remains in jail until at least February when a decision will be made on an alternative sentence.

#DISCRIMINATION: A man has been awarded €24,000 after the Equality Tribunal found that he had been discriminated against on the basis of his sexual orientation while he worked at a Credit Union.

#IONA INSTITUTE: The YouTube account of Catholic think-tank The Iona Institute has been restored following its removal from the video sharing website earlier today. David Quinn of the Iona Institute blamed a verification issue, saying the organisation “hadn’t responded to an email from [YouTube] verifying our account”.

#STRIKE: Teachers in France went on strike today over a plan by the government to increase their work week from four days to… five days.

THINGS WE LOVED

• Wait… Beyoncé MIMED at Obama’s inauguration yesterday? Is nothing sacred?

To be fair,  at least she put a lot of effort in (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

• If you’ve ever felt bad about your lack of celebrity friends – what? You haven’t? – then worry no more. One journalist decided to work out how many celebrities he could hire to come to his birthday party in his small flat in London – and for just £8,000, he got Craig from Big Brother, Michael Fish, Stavros Flatley AND Richard Blackwood. Bargain. Here’s what happened when they all arrived.
• Not to hyperbolise or anything, but this gif showing how keys work is possibly the most beautiful and perfect thing you’ll see all day.

THINGS WE SHARED

• Some masochist decided to hook two (male) television presenters up to a machine which simulated the pain of childbirth and video what happened. Spoiler alert: They gave up after two hours.
• Wow. Watch these surfers as a huge swell hits Mullaghmore in Sligo yesterday:

(Video: cmpireland/YouTube)

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More