NEED TO CATCH up? The Journal brings you a roundup of today’s news.

IRELAND

Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin held a vigil at the Spire today in memory of 16-year-old Trans girl Brianna Ghey, who was murdered in Cheshire United Kingdom last Saturday. Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that next week’s cost of living package will be “targeted” and will have a “welfare element”. 
• Eight people were arrested and forty kilos of cocaine with a street value of €2.8 million was seized following a raid on a premises understood to be linked to the Kinahan Organised Crime Gang in Dublin yesterday.
• The top civil servant in the Department of Health said that the policy of charging fees to nursing home residents who were entitled to free care was “never challenged” politically in the decades it was in place.
• Stephen Silver, who has been charged with the capital murder of Garda Colm Horkan, told detectives that Garda Horkan went for his gun after “losing whatever struggle” ensued between the two men.
• New data from the Central Statistics Office found that suspects of sexual offences were known to the the victim in the majority of cases between the autumns of 2021 and 2022.
• The Irish Naval service detained a German-registered fishing vessel for multiple suspected breaches of sea-fisheries legislation in Irish waters.
• Dublin City Council’s prosecution of an art group over three street murals in the city was struck out after a judge noted they had settled legal costs.
• Ryan Tubridy is RTÉ’s highest-paid presenter once again, according to figures released by the national broadcaster today.

INTERNATIONAL

Nicola Sturgeon speaking during a press conference at Bute House in Edinburgh where she announced she will stand down as First Minister of Scotland. PA PA

#RESIGNATION Nicola Sturgeon resigned as Scotland’s first minister after more than eight years in the role.

#BUFFALO SHOOTING A white supremacist who murdered 10 Black people during a live-streamed supermarket rampage in New York state last year was sentenced to life in prison.

#UKRAINE WAR A Russian court sentenced a journalist to six years in prison for comments critical of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, officials said, as part of an ongoing crackdown on dissent.

#RIP A teenage footballer who was one of a dozen boys rescued from a Thai cave in 2018 has died.

PARTING SHOT 

Crowds gathered at a vigil at the Spire in Dublin this evening in memory of 16-year-old trans girl Brianna Ghey. Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

A vigil was held in Dublin this evening in memory of transgender teenage girl Brianna Ghey.

A crowd of several hundred gathered beneath The Spire on O’Connell Street to pay their respects to the English 16-year-old.

People holding a transgender flag while attending the vigil in memory of Brianna Ghey. Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

The teenager, from Birchwood in Warrington, was found by members of the public as she lay wounded on a path in Culcheth Linear Park at around 3.13pm on Saturday.

Cheshire Police confirmed today that two teenagers have been arrested and charged with Ghey’s murder. 

Hundreds gathered at Dublin vigil for Brianna Ghey this evening pic.twitter.com/VglM3g79pX

— Órla Ryan (@orlaryan) February 15, 2023

A vigil was also held in Belfast this evening, while people also gathered at St George’s Hall in Liverpool and at College Green in Bristol in memory of Ghey. 

More vigils are due to be held in the coming days.