A mix of sun and snow over Dundalk bay this morning. (Image: Arthur Kinahan/TheJournal.ie reader)

HERE ARE ALL the things we learned, loved and shared today.

THINGS WE LEARNED

#NEW POPE Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina has been elected as the new pope and has taken the name Francis. The 76-year-old emerged from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to the cry of “Habemus Papam!” (“We Have a Pope!”). He is the first Jesuit to become pope and is believed to have been the runner-up in 2005.

#PENALTY POINTS Roscommon County Manager Frank Dawson has ‘utterly rejected’ allegations that he ‘sorted out’ an incident in which local TD Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan had two penalty points removed from his driving licence.

#MORTGAGE ARREARS With over 143,851 homes in mortgage arrears, the Government has outlined a plan to tackle the problem, including split mortgages, deferring payments or debt write-off.

#BONDS The NTMA sold €5 billion of Irish 10-year bonds this morning, the first 10-year government bonds since before Ireland entered the EU-IMF bailout programme.

#RICKSHAWS City Councillors have voted to ban rickshaws from the streets of Galway because they say they are “too dangerous” and the streets are “too narrow”, claims which have been rubbished by a legal operator of the bike taxis.

White smoke from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in St. Peter’s Square indicates that a new pope has been elected. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

THINGS WE LOVED

• On a wet and gloomy St Patrick’s Day in 1965, RTÉ News takes a look at festivities from around the country.
• Is this the world’s smallest book? Measuring 0.75 millimetres and impossible to read with the naked eye, it just might be according to The Telegraph.
• Buzzfeed’s look at some of the happiest dance crazes of all time, including the Loco-Motion, the Moonwalk and the Macarena.

An Afghan National Army soldiers stands on the roof of a butcher’s shop in the center of Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

THINGS WE SHARED

• Have you lost this dog? She jumped on the Dart today at Howth Junction and is being minded at Connolly Station until her owner picks her up.
• This video from the BBC tells us that one of the reasons Neanderthals became extinct was because they had larger eyes than our species.
• This website is trying to educate all Americans that it’s St Paddy’s Day and not St Patty’s Day.
• Morto for this Hooters ball girl who interrupted a baseball game when she picked up the ball and threw it to a young fan. Silly Hooters girl.

(TrendsNow0987/YouTube)