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Poll: Will you celebrate St Brigid's Day today?

TODAY IS ST Brigid’s Day.

With its origins in the Celtic festival of Imbolc, St Brigid’s Day was the festival of fertility and marked the beginning of spring. You can read more about it on the National History Museum’s site here.

Typically, it’s the day Irish children make crosses from rushes and reeds to honour the feast day of St Brigid.

This morning we want to know: Will you celebrate St Brigid’s Day today?

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Wednesday 1 February

Today's Top Stories

# Protocol

The UK and EU have reached a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol, according to reports

# BACKLOG

RSA chief to apologise in front of Transport Committee for delays in NCT inspections

# Missed the mark

Ireland three years past deadline to send long-term climate strategy to European Union

# Andrew Gearns

Prison staff knew Cork man was suffering 'delusions' prior to fatal suicide attempt

Empty platforms at Paddington Station in London this morning as rail workers from the Rail, Maritime and Transport and Aslef unions take strike action in a dispute over pay.

# strike action

Walkout Wednesday: Up to 500,000 workers across the UK on strike today

Show more Top Stories

# rent credit

'Exceptionally high volume' of calls to RTB leading to backlog on queries about renters' credit

Green Party TD Patrick Costello said that the RTB are overburdened and don’t have the resources they currently need.

1.2k

Updated 9 minutes ago

# Roderic O'Gorman

Integration minister: Govt may provide more information about housing of asylum seekers in future

However, Minister Roderic O’Gorman expressed concern about the impact consultation would have in some cases.

3.2k

1 hour ago

# nursing home charges

Public Accounts Committee to probe whether Government hid information about nursing home charges

The committee is meeting this afternoon to discuss the strategy.

1.9k

1 hour ago

Good Morning

The 9 at 9 Potential Protocol breakthrough, €14 billion in mortgages drawn down and PayPal announces job cuts.

3.7k

Updated 2 hours ago

Leap Card users can bring a +1 for free this February Bank Holiday

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# Phew

Missing radioactive capsule found in Australia

Mining giant Rio Tinto apologised for losing the capsule.

12.5k

3 hours ago

# strike action

Walkout Wednesday: Up to 500,000 workers across the UK on strike today

Teachers, university lecturers, train drivers, civil servants, bus drivers and security guards are going on strike.

7.3k

3 hours ago

# Ukraine

Ukraine to push for European Union membership at summit in Kyiv

Ukraine gained EU candidate status in June last year, several months after Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops rolling across the border.

4.5k

3 hours ago

# Finance committee

KBC due to report 'significant decline' in account activity following exit from Irish market

TDs are due to hear from both KBC and Ulster Bank later today.

5.5k

3 hours ago

# tech lay offs

PayPal to cut around 2,000 jobs, 7% of its global workforce

PayPal employees around 2,000 people in Ireland and has operations here in Blanchardstown and Dundalk.

5.0k

4 hours ago

# BACKLOG

RSA chief to apologise in front of Transport Committee for delays in NCT inspections

The average wait between booking an appointment and the next available date is currently 27 days, compared to a pre-pandemic average of 12 days.

8.6k

4 hours ago

# Protocol

The UK and EU have reached a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol, according to reports

The EU has accepted a plan that would avoid routine checks on goods going into the region, The Times reported.

18.9k

4 hours ago

Voices

Opinion: Will it take a miracle for State to do right thing on Mother and Baby redress scheme?

The proposed redress scheme – which is expected to pass in the Dáil today – is deeply flawed, James Smith writes.

2.1k

4 hours ago

SPOTLIGHT

Voices

A wide mix of viewpoints, analysis and first-hand experiences

Misinformation

How will Irish politicians cope with an increasingly angry electorate?

Larry Donnelly

Trauma

The law on pregnancy concealment is outdated and cruel to women

Lorraine Clifford-Lee

The squeezed middle

What we should learn from the Great Recession of 2007-2013

Yekaterina Chzhen, Ryan Alberto Ó Giobúin and Stefanie Sprong

Feast day

Make no mistake – history shows us that Brigit was a boss

Dr Niamh Wycherley

Listen Now

The Explainer helping make sense of challenging news stories every single week.
Listen now wherever you get your podcasts:

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# tyre nichols

Tyre Nichols to be laid to rest three weeks after deadly assault by police

A funeral will be held on Wednesday for the 29-year-old skateboarder and amateur photographer.

2.6k

4 hours ago

# ChatGPT

ChatGPT creators release new tool aimed at easing concerns over university plagiarism

Various universities have now banned the software.

6.4k

4 hours ago

# heatwaves

Planting more trees in cities could reduce deaths from intense summer heat, study finds

“This is becoming increasingly urgent as Europe experiences more extreme temperature fluctuations caused by climate change,” one researcher said.

3.2k

4 hours ago

# Mortgages

Ireland had the highest number of mortgage drawdowns last year since 2008

That’s according to two reports published today by the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland.

4.7k

5 hours ago

THE MORNING LEAD

Ireland three years past deadline to send long-term climate strategy to European Union

A report by

Lauren Boland

The government has repeatedly fallen short of promises to get the important strategy finished.

7.3k

11 hours ago

Yesterday

31st January 2023

# rust

Alec Baldwin formally charged with involuntary manslaughter over fatal film set shooting

Baldwin was holding a Colt .45 during rehearsals when it discharged, killing Halyna Hutchins in October 2021.

12.0k

13 hours ago

# Done Deal

Spurs terminate Matt Doherty's contract to enable Atletico Madrid move

Meanwhile, Tottenham have signed Pedro Porro in a reported €45 million deal.

40.1k

13 hours ago

# Nuclear Weapons

US says Russia is not complying with last remaining nuclear treaty

Moscow announced in early August that it was suspending US inspections of its military sites, which were part of the New START treaty.

10.5k

13 hours ago

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# Andrew Gearns

Prison staff knew Cork man was suffering 'delusions' prior to fatal suicide attempt

Report finds staff did carry out a significant number of checks on cell – more than what is required by Irish Prison Service procedures.

32.5k

13 hours ago

# Bah Non

1.27 million people joined protests over French pension reforms, say officials

11,000 police were on duty for an estimated 250 protests nationwide.

8.9k

13 hours ago

# accommodation crisis

Ministers sign off on new €10m International Protection Fund to support community needs

The minister emphasised the need for urgent access to large-scale temporary facilities.

16.4k

Updated 14 hours ago

# News Fix

Here's What Happened Today: Tuesday

Here’s your round-up of what made the headlines today.

6.4k

14 hours ago

# Welsh ties

'I’d made my decision that I wanted to wear green, not to be in red'

Tadhg Beirne had the option of playing for Wales but decided to return home to Ireland.

38.7k

15 hours ago

# Paris 2024

Olympic Committee rejects Russian demand that its athletes compete without restrictions

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it considered if Russians could compete as neutral athletes rather than under their national flag.

13.9k

Updated 15 hours ago

Voices

Money Diaries: Have you been affected by the cost of living - would you like to keep a diary for us?

We are asking readers to keep a Money Diary to let us know how your spending and savings are changing.

7.5k

15 hours ago

# nightlife

Longer drinking hours could harm public health, committee warned

An Oireachtas committee heard from public health organisations that deal with alcohol-related harm.

10.3k

15 hours ago

# nursing home charges

Varadkar defends controversial 'legal strategy' for limiting nursing home payouts

Opposition parties have called on the Government to release documents relating to the strategy.

The government has confirmed the legal strategy existed to block refunds to nursing home residents and that the plan was "pursued by successive governments".

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar agreed with the policy, calling it a "sound policy approach" and "legitimate legal strategy".

Wexford TD Verona Murphy told The Journal that some families who have contacted her feel "aggrieved" at the legal strategy, as they made sacrifices in order to pay for the nursing home care.

33.2k

Updated 16 hours ago

# Congo

Pope Francis denounces 'economic colonialism' in Africa on first day of tour

‘Stop choking Africa: It is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered,’ the pope said.

6.7k

16 hours ago

Voices

Analysis: The six-month rule for Mother and Baby Homes redress does not add up

Barrister Seán Beatty says the government’s six-month rule around compensation is impossible to justify.

4.5k

17 hours ago

# Courts

Second man admits facilitating gang in murder of Thomas McCarthy

Charles McClean (32), of St Mark’s Drive, Clondalkin was arraigned before the Central Criminal Court this morning.

8.9k

17 hours ago

# Criminal Assets Bureau

Man arrested after CAB seizes cash, luxury watches and designer handbags

Raid were carried out at 15 locations today.

20.1k

17 hours ago

# Comment

Replay decision made but twists remain in sorry All-Ireland club final saga

Kilmacud Crokes have three days to appeal the CCCC’s decision that the game should be replayed.

29.8k

Updated 18 hours ago

Evening Wrap

The 5 at 5 Five minutes, five stories, five o’clock…

3.9k

18 hours ago

# Natalie McNally

Man arrested for second time in connection with murder of Natalie McNally

The man was previously arrested on 19 December.

15.1k

18 hours ago

# Job Losses

Tesco says its Ireland stores are unaffected by UK overhaul of 2,100 jobs

It announced that it will extend changes to store management roles, shut remaining counters and hot delis and shut a number of in-store pharmacies as part of the shake-up.

11.6k

18 hours ago

# Explainer

Nursing home charges: What is the controversy about and how has the Government responded?

A 2011 memo stated that the liability from these incorrect charges could amount to €12 billion.

12.4k

19 hours ago