EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you should know with your morning cup of coffee.
1. #BELFAST: Four more babies have contracted the infection believed to be responsible for the deaths of three infants in a Belfast maternity hospital, the Irish News reports. Two have fully recovered, another is being treated and the fourth baby recovered but subsequently died of a separate illness. An investigation is being carried out into the source of the bacterial infection and a deep clean of the ward where the infection was found is taking place.
2. #FINGERS: Former head of Irish Nationwide Michael Fingleton reportedly moved €500,000 – half of his cash savings – to an off-shore bank account just days after he was ordered to pay €13.6 million by Ulster Bank, the Irish Independent reports. Dearbhail McDonald writes that ‘Fingers’ Fingeleton moved the money to an account in his name in Montenegro in November 2010.
3. #OUCH: Speaking of fingers… Magician Paul Daniels chopped off a finger with a circular saw as he was making props for his stage show in his garden shed on New Year’s Day, the Guardian reports. Plastic surgeons saved one finger but were unable to save the top of his ring finger, which the magician described as being “all ground up and gone” after the incident.
4. #ABUSE: The EU official who tried to silence broadcaster Vincent Browne as he asked questions at a troika press conference during the week has received abusive emails since the incident. The Irish Daily Star reports that Barbara Nolan, the Director of the European Commission Representation in Dublin, will not be contacting the gardaí over the emails which contained “profanity” and “abuse”.
5. #FACEBOOK: Facebook is considering more than doubling the size of its office in Dublin as it looks to expand operations at its European headquarters. The move would cement Ireland’s place as a hub for major technology companies with Yahoo and Google already in place and Twitter set to open an office in Dublin later this year.
6. #FIRE: Residents had to be evacuated from a large apartment block in New Ross, Co Wexford yesterday afternoon after a large fire broke out. No injuries were reported in the blaze, which needed at least four units of the fire brigade to put it out.
7. #WOMEN: Enda Kenny has been criticised for making a “patronising” remark about one of his female junior ministers – at a conference intended to encourage women to enter politics. The Irish Independent reports that the Taoiseach described Kathleen Lynch as a “doughty fighter” with her “flaming red hair” at the How To Elect More Women conference in Dublin yesterday. TheJournal.ie was at the conference yesterday and you can read all about some of the other noteworthy moments from it here.
8. #PRESSURE: Suicide, alcoholism, doping – we shouldn’t be surprised by what happens to high-level sportspeople, according to sports psychologist Dr Tadhg MacIntyre. In a column for TheJournal.ie this morning, he writes about the pressure put on sportspeople to perform – and what happens when they can’t.
9. #TALLAFORNIA: Last night saw the debut of the much-hyped TV3 show about 7 people living together in the Dublin suburb of Tallaght for four weeks. The preview alone in December saw a huge audience tune in – but last night’s episode went head to head with The Late Late Show. Did you watch it?
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