Emma Roche Murphy from St Kevin’s Girls NS, in Kilnamanagh, at Bloom in the Phoenix Park today. Emma’s school was presented with gardening equipment for being the best growers in the Innocent and GIY ‘Sow and Grow’ project. Unrelated side note: you’re not allowed to bring space hoppers on a train this weekend. (Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)

HERE ARE THE things we learned, loved and shared today as we round off the day in three easy steps.

THINGS WE LEARNED:

#ROADS: Two people have been killed, and a third person seriously injured, in a road traffic accident outside Athy this afternoon. A motorcyclist in his 20s died, as did the female passenger of the car he collided with. Her companion – who, like the woman, was in his 80s – is in hospital.

#CORPORATE TAX: Two influential US senators have repeated their assertion that Ireland is “a tax haven” – in direct response to a letter from Ireland’s ambassador claiming otherwise. John McCain and Carl Levin say they’re convinced Apple has a special tax arrangement with Ireland, which in their book means Michael Collins’ defence holds no water.

#SHOOTING: Gardaí have appealed for information about a shooting in Dublin last night. A 45-year-old man was shot a number of times at St Dominic’s Shopping Centre, and remains in a critical condition at Tallaght Hospital.

#MEDIA: The minister in charge of media has said struggling newspapers should not expect to be able to get public funding through the new broadcasting charge. Pat Rabbitte told TheJournal.ie that the charge, which is to replace the TV licence, needed to ensure that RTÉ was able to maintain its level of public service before being split among other broadcasters.

#CHILDCARE: Representatives from the HSE are to be summoned to the next meeting of the Oireachtas health committee to explain how mistreatment at childcare facilities were not discovered sooner. The hearings could also include figures from the chains at the centre of the allegations made on Tuesday’s Prime Time.

#BABY NAMES: ‘Jack’ and ‘Emily’ remain the most popular names for babies in Ireland, according to new CSO data. James, Daniel, Sean and Conor round out the boys’ list, while Sophie, Emma, Grace and Lily all feature in the girls’ list.

So this is a thing that people wear now. A model wears designs by Maiko Takeda during the Royal College of Art graduate fashion show in Kensington, west London. (Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)

THINGS WE LOVED:

• Ciara Knight’s Tumblr is a pretty simple concept: she just superimposes her face upon the faces of every person in any given picture. The result – ‘My Stupid Face in Stuff‘ – is inexplicably hilarious.
• Twitter have spent some time drawing maps of the geographical locations from which every tweet is posted. The European map is brilliant because it even shows the major sea routes - check out the thick line between Dublin and Holyhead.
• We want all of these amazingly-designed products. Including the soother with a moustache.
• Extra bonus item today: a video of the first time that Jay-Z heard the beat for ‘Dirt Off Your Shoulder’. The magic happens at 1m45, but it’s best if you compare his mesmerised reaction with his total non-plussedness beforehand:

(YouTube: ghproductions1000)

THINGS WE SHARED:

• Here’s an interesting study spotted by Wired: an academic examination of the most controversial articles in Wikipedia, as identified by the number of amendments to pages which were later reversed in full. Gawker has an interesting note: check out the article at Number 4 on the list…
• Just so you know, ahead of the long weekend: the new meme is Baguetting, and goes a little something like this.
• Awwwwwwwww. Boy is fed some octopus legs, asks some questions, becomes probable lifelong vegetarian:

(YouTube: Raffaella Ciavatta)

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More