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

IRELAND

Father Ted fans pictured enjoying Tedfest Festival on Inis Mor in the Aran Islands, Galway Gareth Chaney Gareth Chaney

• Taoiseach Micheal Martin condemned a “reckless strike” on a United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) base in southern Lebanon that has left a number of Ghanaian peacekeepers injured.
• Prices at filling stations have increased by up to 26c per litre in just three days, The Journal found. 
• The landlord behind controversial planned evictions of some 36 households in Co Wexford said it “decided to withdraw” the notices.
• The first Government-chartered flight from Oman to Dublin that had been expected to depart today has been delayed until tomorrow.
• Conflict in the Middle East has forced a number of ministers to re-route their St Patrick’s Day trips, while the Taoiseach is expected to travel to the US next week on his new private jet.
• An Irish sailor and marine electrical technician who is trapped on board a bulk gas carrier in the Gulf has spoken of the uncertainty crews in the region are facing.
• The parents of children in a Co Kildare primary school which was forced to close earlier this week due to “urgent” safety concerns have said that a request to inspect the building before it re-opens on Monday has been “ignored”.
• A law passed two years ago, which allows people to seek compensation where court cases are not concluded within a reasonable time, has not yet been commenced by government, The Journal revealed. 
• Garda raids of more than 20 properties linked to organised crime in Dublin, Wicklow and Meath recovered over €1.6 million in drugs and an assortment of sophisticated devices used to conceal their transportation.
• Three people were killed and 54 were seriously injured in crashes involving a scrambler on Irish roads between 2021 and 2025.
• A 15-year-old boy was given a five-month custodial sentence for a 16-month motor crime spree that targeted cars across Dublin.
• Men feel more comfortable than women when it comes to negotiating a pay rise and also expect to earn €11,000 more than women.
• CMAT won the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Album of the Year for her 2025 album Euro-Country, as well as the award for Irish Artist of the Year at last night’s Choice Music Awards at Vicar Street.
• Barry Keoghan and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci are among the guests on The Pat Kenny Show’s weekend debut.

INTERNATIONAL

Smoke rises following Israeli airstrike today in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#MIDDLE EAST: Israel said it hit more than 400 “targets” in Iran today and has also pressed ahead with strikes on Lebanon.

#LEBANON: Oxfam warned of the risk of “catastrophe” in Lebanon after a fresh Israeli bombardment today.

#IRAN SCHOOL STRIKE: Two news outlets have said the US is likely responsible for the bombing of a school in Iran that killed dozens of children and staff members last weekend.

#EPSTEIN FILES: The US Justice Department published additional FBI documents describing interviews with a woman who said Trump sexually assaulted her after she was introduced to him by Jeffrey Epstein.

PARTING SHOT

'I need to clarify something for all the cat lovers of the world. I love cats alright,' Buckley said. The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Kerry actress Jessie Buckley cleared up her views on cats after a clip from an old podcast suggesting she’s not a feline fan went viral and caused chaos online.

Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night, Buckley said: “I need to clarify something for all the cat lovers of the world. I love cats alright,” she said.

She said a “misconception” has grown from an interview she and her Hamnet co-star Paul Mescal did on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused Podcast, where they both admitted they were dog people rather than cat people.

Buckley told the podcast that she previously made her husband choose between her or his two cats – a point which has not gone down well for the Oscar nominee. 

“My husband, when I started dating him … he had two cats. One of the cats was a pedigree model bitch and she staged like a coup against me. I’d come home and there’d just be poo on my pillow. And I was, like, ‘it’s me or the cats’. 

The exchange has gone viral on multiple platforms. Last night, Buckley told Fallon she woke up yesterday morning to the world thinking she “really does not love cats”.