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

Two men and a dog enjoy a walk along a furze lined lane in full bloom on the Curragh in Co Kildare. Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

IRELAND

• President Catherine Connolly convened a meeting of the Council of State to discuss the constitutionality of the International Protection Bill 2026.
• Tánaiste Simon Harris appealed to the TD who gave a character reference to a sexual offender to come forward and “have the courage to put their name to it”.
• Taoiseach Michál Martin denied pushing Michael Healy-Rae out of government.
• A young man who killed a pensioner with an MMA-style kick was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing next month.
• The Department of Enterprise confirmed that Paypal is planning redundancies at its Dublin office.
• A garda said members of the force feel unsafe in their homes as numerous online threats are identifying their children in posts in a campaign of intimidation linked to the fuel protests.
• A Fianna Fáil TD wrote to her party colleague and Housing Minister James Browne to express concern over “inadvertent” impacts of the government’s new rental legislation on tenants looking to swap flatmates.
• A woman who tasered one security official and punched another one as they repossessed her home was taken into custody after she refused to enter a good behaviour bond.
• There were calls for greater transparency on electricity costs after Energy Minister Darragh O’Brien warned of price hikes of up to 9% over the summer.

INTERNATIONAL

UK prime minister Keir Starmer in the House of Commons this afternoon. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#IRAN: Donald Trump said he will not lift the US blockade near the Strait of Hormuz until a deal is struck with Iran to end the war.

#PRINCE OF DARKNESS: British prime minister Keir Starmer maintained that he was not informed that Peter Mandelson failed his vetting.

#GAZA: A joint UN-EU assessment found that more than $71bn will be needed over the next decade for recovery and reconstruction in Gaza, adding that the scale and extent of deprivation “have pushed back human development” there by 77 years.

#LEBANON: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is “stunned and saddened” after an image emerged of an IDF soldier damaging a statue of Jesus in Lebanon.

#UK: Amy Winehouse’s father lost a High Court claim against two of his daughter’s friends over the auctioning of items that had been owned by the singer.

PARTING SHOT

The 1926 Census – the first census of the Irish Free State – was officially published over the weekend, giving us a glimpse into the lives of nearly three million people in the country at the time. 

If you’ve been searching through the data and discovered something about your own family or anything of interest about your local area or otherwise, we want to hear from you.