NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

Walkers enjoy warm temperatures on Sandymount Strand. Sam Boal Sam Boal

• Health officials this evening confirmed a further 27 people have died from Covid-19 in Ireland.
• The Leaving Cert will not go ahead as planned this year and instead, some 61,000 students who were due to sit the exams will receive ‘calculated grades’.
• The Religious Sisters of Charity order is to gift land worth €200 million to the State as it transfers ownership of the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group. 
• There is now a total of 10 clusters of Covid-19 at meat processing factories across the country, the Department of Health has confirmed. 
• HIQA has confirmed it will carry out an inspection at Dealgan House Nursing Home in Dundalk “in the near future” after it was confirmed there have been 23 deaths among residents since 1 April. 
• An estimated 1,600 people living in Direct Provision have been tested for Covid-19, the HSE has confirmed, amid calls for a clear testing strategy for asylum seekers.
• Ireland’s unemployment rate would be 28.2% if claimants of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) were classified as unemployed, the CSO has said. 
• Tributes have been paid to RTÉ radio presenter Sean O’Rourke, who retires from RTÉ today ahead of his 65th birthday.
• A fall-off in the number of child protection referrals to the Child and Family Agency Tusla has raised fears that a significant number of children are vulnerable to abuse and neglect during the current public health crisis. 

INTERNATIONAL

Scuffles in Hong Kong PA Images PA Images

#GEORGIA Police have arrested two white men for the shooting dead of an unarmed black jogger in Georgia whose killing was captured in a video that went viral, sparking a massive public outcry.

#HONG KONG Scuffle broke out at Hong Kong’s Legislative Council today as members of opposing camps competed to preside over a meeting to determine who has authority over a key committee which scrutinises bills.

#ROYALLY TROUBLED The Duke of York is caught in a dispute over a Swiss chalet amid reports legal proceedings have been launched against him over an unpaid bill.

Parting Shot

Little ‘ole Ireland is still taking the world by storm despite a global pandemic as Irish-language movie Arracht scooped five awards at the American Golden Picture International Film Festival. 

The film had its premier in Estonia in November 2019, its Irish premiere at the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival in February, and its UK premiere at Glasgow Film Festival in March. 

It picked up the award for the Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Child Actress. 

The movie set in Ireland in 1845, and centres on a fisherman and father, who takes in a stranger at the behest of a local priest. Patsy, a former soldier arrives just ahead of ‘the blight,’ a crop disease that caused the Great Plague, killing and displacing millions of Irish people.

Check out the trailer here. 

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More