LAST UPDATE | 9 Sep 2025

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news you need to know as you start the day.

Fianna Fáil picks Áras candidate

1. Fianna Fáil TDs, MEPs and Senators will cast their votes this morning in a secret ballot to decide whether MEP Billy Kelleher or outside choice Jim Gavin will be their presidential election candidate

Epstein letter

2. US Democrats have released a sexually suggestive letter that US President Donald Trump allegedly sent to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday

Gaza flotilla 

3. Organisers of a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists claimed that one of their boats was hit by a suspected UAV off the coast of Tunisia last night

Loneliness health risks

4. Lonelieness is emerging as a major but often overlooked health risk for Ireland’s older population, according to new findings from a Trinity College study

Child poverty

5. The level of child deprivation is on par with the “darkest days” of the economic crash, with one in five children currently living below the poverty line

Budget spending warning

6. Budget 2026 is being planned “without a clear roadmap for fiscal policy”, the State’s economic watchdog has warned

Murdoch succession

7. Rupert Murdoch’s children have reached a settlement in the legal dispute over who will control the right-wing media mogul’s companies

Garda assault

8. Gardaí are investigating after an off-duty garda was injured in an assault in Dublin yesterday evening

EuroDreams

9. An Irish EuroDreams player has scooped the game’s top prize of €20,000 every month for the next 30 years, the National Lottery has confirmed