A closed down shop in Nottingham city centre with a facade that reads, ‘Reality continues to ruin my life’ after the record shop business went bust. (Lewis Stickley/PA Wire)

HERE ARE THE things we learned, loved and shared today.

THINGS WE LEARNED:

#GARDA DEATH: Gardaí have issued a new appeal for witnesses to a car robbery in Co Louth last week – believing the robbery could be linked to the death of Adrian Donohoe. The car was stolen from Clogherhead on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning – and is the one found burnt out in Keady, Co Armagh, just over 24 hours after Donohoe was shot and killed in a raid on a credit union. The Dail and Seanad will adjourn for several hours tomorrow to mark Det Garda Donohoe’s funeral.

#LONGFORD: Two people have been killed, with another three seriously injured, after a wall collapsed at a DIY store in Co Longford. The incident occurred at the Connacht Gold DIY and Garden Centre on the Athlone Road in Longford town this afternoon.

#APOLOGY: Gerry Adams has issued a landmark apology to the family of Jerry McCabe, the Detective Garda who was shot and killed by the Provisional IRA in a similar raid in 1996. Adams extended the apology to the families of members of State security forces who were killed by republicans throughout the Northern Ireland conflict.

#HOSPITALS: Enda Kenny has criticised opposition parties for leading a ‘witch hunt’ against health minister James Reilly, after it emerged that he had fast-tracked works on hospitals in the home towns of two of his cabinet colleagues. Kenny said the works were badly needed and had been left overdue by previous governments.

#IRISH WATER: Dublin’s city manager John Tierney has been appointed as the managing director of Irish Water, the body being set up to oversee the implementation of water charges. Tierney will step down from his post in Dublin City Council – which brings with it a salary of €189,000 – in April.

#SIX NATIONS: Ireland rugby boss Declan Kidney has named his starting 15 for Ireland’s Six Natons opener against Wales in Cardiff this Saturday. Simon Zebo and Craig Gilroy are the most high-profile inclusions, with Keith Earls left on the bench. Brian O’Driscoll partners Gordon D’Arcy in the centre.

THINGS WE LOVED:

• The upbeat way with which this father and daughter welcomed getting drenched by this giant wave in Kilkee, Co Clare, on Sunday.
• This blog by a movie location scout in New York. Check out his most recent post of a cinema that’s been converted into the most elaborate modern church you’ve ever seen.
• Medical science:

Brendan Marrocco uses his transplanted arm to brush his hair back during a news conference in Baltimore today. Marrocco received a transplant of two arms from a deceased donor after losing all four limbs in a 2009 roadside bomb attack in Iraq. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

THINGS WE SHARED:

• This incredible read from the Smithsonian mag – about a Siberian family which lived in total isolation for 40 years, meaning they hadn’t even heard about World War II.
• This awesome video by Sunchaser Pictures. This group of explorers spent a night leaving their cameras running in Death Valley National Park in the USA. The result is this thing of beauty. Speakers up, full screen, HD. You’ll enjoy it.

(Vimeo/Sunchaser Pictures)

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