GOOD MORNING. HERE are the top stories as the weekend gets underway.
Camp attack
1. Tents belonging to homeless refugees were burned last night at a makeshift camp in Dublin city centre, following a tense standoff between anti-immigration protesters, and those who turned up to voice their support for refugees.
Earlier in the evening gardaí were present on the street to separate anti-migrant protesters from pro-migrant counter protesters at the site, which is close to where international protection applicants are sleeping in tents.
Rory Gallagher
2. Rory Gallagher has stepped back as Derry senior football manager with immediate effect. The development comes in a week in which domestic abuse allegations were made against him.
In a statement on Friday evening, Gallagher said: “I have advised Derry GAA that I am stepping back as Derry senior football manager with immediate effect.
“This decision is borne out of a desire to protect my children from the ongoing turmoil. They will always be my priority.”
Motorcycle crash
3. Gardaí are appealing for witnesses after a man died in a motorcycle crash in Co Leitrim yesterday morning.
Gardaí and emergency services were alerted to the incident shortly after 8.40am on the R208 Drumcong to Ballinamore Road at Aghacashlaun.
The motorcyclist, a man in his late 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.
Shooting
4. Gardaí in Cork are appealing for witnesses to come forward following a shooting in the city in the early hours of yesterday morning. A man in his 40s was injured in the incident, which occurred in the Wilton Manor area of the city.
Gardaí are in particular looking for information on the movements of a silver saloon car that was observed in the surrounding areas at the time of the shooting. It’s understood this car then travelled from the scene in the direction of Bishopstown.
5. Former RTÉ Director General Noel Curran has said “alarm bells” should be ringing at the rate of change in social media giant Twitter since its takeover by Elon Musk.
Curran currently heads the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). He said people should be concerned at the effect a social media giant changing its policies can have on the world.
“That should be really worrying for people,” said Curran, “that a platform that has that amount of influence can just change policies overnight because they change owner and the owner says, ‘well, let’s do it like this’.
Manslaughter
6. A US marine veteran appeared in court yesterday on a manslaughter charge over the chokehold death of a mentally ill homeless man behaving erratically on New York City’s subway.
The death earlier this month of Jordan Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator who often performed on the train, sparked outrage after it was caught on camera.
Custom House Capital
7. Four senior executives of Custom House Capital have been sentenced for their roles in a “highly organised” and “sophisticated” operation to defraud investors in the firm over a decade ago.
The company’s former CEO Harry Cassidy (67) was handed a sentence of six years and ten months by Judge Orla Crowe yesterday at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Lotto
8. The National Lottery’s new in-app feature, which allows users to schedule payments to play the Lotto or the EuroMillions automatically, has been described as “concerning” by problem gambling experts.
The new feature, unveiled last week, will allow players to set up “continuous play” for Lotto and EuroMillions games for up to a year. It means that users can gamble up to three times per week via draws for both lotteries.
Eurovision
9. The Eurovision Final takes place this evening in Liverpool.
The UK is hosting the contest this year on behalf of last year’s winners Ukraine. A total of 27 countries from Europe and beyond will take part in the contest. Unfortunately, Ireland won’t be among them, as band Wild Youth failed to make the cut on Tuesday.
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