Fireworks exploding over Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong. (Photo: AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

THESE ARE THE things you need to know as we round off the day in three easy steps:

1. THINGS WE LEARNED

#GAY MARRIAGE: Eamon Gilmore has become the most senior Government minister to publicly say that he wants to see same-sex marriage introduced in Ireland. The Labour leader said that the right of gay couples to marry is the “civil rights issue of this generation” and that he believes the time for marriage equality has arrived.

#APOLOGY: Martin McGuinness has dismissed a report that the IRA is going to issue an apology to all its victims through the years, including members of the British Army. The Sinn Féin deputy leader said that he didn’t know where the story came from “because the IRA are gone; I don’t know who’s going to [apologise]“.

#WELFARE: Joan Burton has said that almost 900 people have had their benefits cut significantly for not taking up jobs or training offered to them. The Minister for Social Protection also suggested that she would like to see an increase in employers’ PRSI.

#QUINN VERSUS ANGLO: The Irish Mail on Sunday has broken a major story on Sean Quinn with a video showing him and family members in Kiev apparently trying to broker a multi-million euro deal – at a time when the High Court had taken out an injunction banning them from hiding their assets.

#HOUSEHOLD CHARGE: The first set of letters reminding householders to pay the €100 household charge have been sent out to some of the hundreds of thousands of homeowners who have not yet paid the charge.

#GET THE POINT: Taoiseach Enda Kenny really, really likes pointing at things.

2. THINGS WE LOVED

• Remember that Kerry town we mentioned yesterday which was trying to break the word record for the most number of nuns gathered in one place? Good news: They smashed the record this weekend with more than 1400 people donning full habits in the town of Listowel, smashing the previous record of a mere 250. Good work…

(Photo: Brendan Landy/Landyphoto.com)

• This Onion headline wins the award for greatest headline of the day (and the picture isn’t too shabby either):  Report – 94% of South Dakotans Unprepared for Mount Rushmore Faces Coming Alive and Eating Everyone.
• How often do you tell people that you can’t do something because you’re too busy? Do you ever say it with a tiny little hint of pride, maybe as more of a boast than a complaint? In that case it’s worth taking a read of this piece from the New York Times about how MOST people – even kids – are busy and it’s just about how to deal with it that counts.
• What was it like to be a police officer on the frontline of the riots in London last year? The Guardian has published this fascinating piece about officers who described the “living hell” of what it was like trying to tackle the riots.

3. THINGS WE SHARED

• @RupertMurdoch has been taking to Twitter to blast Scientology as a “very weird cult” that is “creepy, maybe even evil”. The billionaire tycoon said he has been attacked by hundreds of tweeters since he made the comments, but is standing by what he said. It may be time to lawyer up…

• It may not feel like it but today was the first of July. While we try to forget about how wet June was (seriously, how can so much rain fall in summer?) and wait expectantly for the REAL summer to begin, here’s Mundy singing about just how good July can be…

(Video via djspinners2k7/YouTube)

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