Floods aren't all bad: a rarely-seen Liffey Otter wrestles with an eel, as the swollen waters of the Liffey made for easy fishing.

Image: Stephen Kilkenny/Light Curve Photo

EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you a roundup of the day’s main news – plus any bits and pieces you may have missed.

In the race for the Áras…

• A war of words has continued between Seán Gallagher and Martin McGuinness today over their conflicting accounts of Gallagher’s encounter with Hugh Morgan, who donated €5,000 to attend a Fianna Fáil fundraiser which Gallagher helped organise in 2008. Here’s how the day unfolded, in chronological order:
  • Fianna Fáil issued a press release to clarify that the donation given by Hugh Morgan was received by cheque before the infamous fundraiser in Dundalk on July 1, 2008 – meaning Gallagher could not have collected Morgan’s cheque after the fundraiser.
  • Gallagher issued a press release saying Fianna Fáil had vindicated his account of affairs, as given on The Frontline last night, and accused Sinn Féin of attempting a “political assassination”.
  • Sinn Féin responded by saying the Fianna Fáil statement had at least confirmed that Gallagher had received the €5,000 donation, and denied trying to perpetrate a “hatchet job”.
  • Then, just as a pre-recorded Gallagher interview was being played on Today FM – in which Gallagher said he could not recall visiting Morgan at any event, Morgan issued a statement saying he had met Morgan on three occasions – before, at, and after the fundraising event.
  • Gallagher, in response, accused Morgan and Sinn Féin of ‘fabricating’ the story, arguing that Morgan’s account was “completely at odds with what he allegedly told Martin McGuinness two hours before the Frontline debate”.

The aftermath of the east coast floods:

• Transport disruptions are easing this evening as the clean-up following yesterday’s floods continues. Some Northbound commuter and DART rail services are affected, though Dublin Bus services are back in full operation. The Luas Green line remains partially suspended.
• Met Éireann have confirmed that the rainfall yesterday set a new record for a single day’s rain in October since records began. The peak rainfall, at Casement aerodrome in Baldonnell, was some 82mm – with over four-fifths of that falling within six hours.
• Flood damage in Howth caused a graveyard wall to subside in the North Dublin town, leaving at least two coffins exposed to the elements.
• Dublin South East TD Eoghan Murphy has accused Dublin City Council of being unable to respond to emergency situations, after TheJournal.ie exclusively reported how council staff had lost the keys to floodgates in Sandymount – which were padlocked in the open position at the time.
• The body of Garda Ciaran Jones – who fell into the River Liffey in Co Wicklow, while trying to direct traffic during the peak of the rains last night – has been recovered from the river around 5km from where he went missing. Tributes have been paid to Jones, who was off-duty at the time.
• Court proceedings were disrupted by the floods, with the Criminal Courts of Justice in Parkgate St completely inaccessible as a result of the flooding.
• Was your car caught in the floodwaters yesterday? Here’s a guide to some of the practical steps you can take to ensure your motor keeps running.
• If your house was flooded, meanwhile, we’ve also gotten some insurance advice.
• We’ve been curating a gallery of your photographs all day, as businesses and homeowners begin to count the cost of the flood damage.

“The calm after the storm” – a photo, sent in by reader Niall Staines, shows how weather conditions had gotten back to normal in Dublin – just hours after yesterday’s torrential rain.

In the day’s other news…

• Three men have been arrested following an armed robbery at a jewellery shop in Trim, Co Meath. One man was arrested immediately after the robbery – in which the elderly owner of the store was assaulted – while the other two were arrested after being traced by a Garda helicopter.
• An 80-year-old man has died after a two-car collision in Callan, Co Kilkenny.
• Enda Kenny says Ireland still has a number of options to reduce its bailout bill – amid accusations he was willing to prioritise Europe’s economic wellbeing above Ireland’s.
• Some good news amid the rubble in Turkey: a two-week-old baby has been pulled alive from the wreckage of Sunday’s earthquake. Here’s the incredible footage.
• The property market is still sinking – with prices down by over 14 per cent in the last year, according to new CSO stats.
• Ireland’s unemployment rate is still above 14 per cent – but even still, one in three of us are looking to quit our jobs.
• U2 have been named the best band of the last 25 years at this year’s Q Awards.
• Today FM’s chief executive Willie O’Reilly has resigned from the station to take up a job at RTÉ. His appointment takes effect in January.
• A New Jersey blogger has revealed how a sexually suggestive note was left in her luggage by airport security – after they found some naughty inclusions in her luggage on a flight to Dublin.
• Was Muammar Gaddafi a Liverpool FC fan? Some new photographs from inside his villa appear to suggest… yes, he was.
• Have you met Dublin West by-election candidate Jim Tallon? Here he is… as Knight Rider.
• Finally today, a video put together by the students’ union at Trinity College – with students reading letters to their first-year selves. It’s part of TCDSU’s mental health awareness week.

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