EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you need to know as you start your day.
1. #CARDINAL BRADY: Cardinal Seán Brady is coming under increasing pressure to resign over revelations that he failed to report instances of child sex abuse to the parents of Brendan Smyth’s victims. Survivor Colm O’Gorman has told TheJournal.ie that even though he has been discussing the issue for twenty years, he is “as angry, outraged and upset” as he’s ever been.
2. #JOBSWATCH: Software firm SAP is to create 250 new jobs at its Galway and Dublin operations as part of a €110 million expansion, according to RTÉ.
3. #VITA CORTEX: Although a resolution has been reached in the Vita Cortex dispute between former employees and the plant’s owners, workers said they will continue their 139-day sit-in until money owed to them is sitting in their bank accounts.
4. #FRANCE: Presidential candidates Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande went head-to-head in a heated debate last night, the only live TV exchange of the campaign. Insults were traded as both men hoped to convince voters ahead of Sunday’s decisive vote.
5. #LYING EYES: Sharon Collins, the Clare woman who was jailed for six years for soliciting a man to kill her partner and his sons, in what became known as the ‘Lying Eyes’ case, has had a request for temporary release refused, The Star reports today.
6. #USA 2012: Newt Gingrich has finally conceded defeat and exited the race to gain the Republican party’s presidential nomination. Bowing out of the contest, he gave a cautious endorsement of former rival Mitt Romney, stating he was a better option than the incumbent, Barack Obama.
7. #MARY: The Irish Times has learned that former president Mary McAleese returned – voluntarily – more than half a million euro in personal allowance funds that she did not use over her 14 years in office.
8. #ART: One of the most recognisable works of art, Edvard Munch’s The Scream, has now also become the world’s highest-priced piece to be sold at auction after fetching a whopping $119m at Sotheby’s yesterday. The record-breaking sale lasted 12 minutes and was hotly contested by seven bidders.
9. #MIRACLE: Premiership footballer Fabrice Muamba couldn’t fight back the tears last night as he stepped out at the Reebok Stadium to mark an incredible moment in his miraculous recovery. The 24-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest during Bolton’s FA Cup quarter-final on 17 March but yesterday’s scenes were very different as he was greeted with chants and a standing ovation by both home and visiting fans:
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