Latest news with #CoArmagh
BreakingNews.ie
6 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Family escapes injury after pipe bomb attack at house
A family has escaped injury after a pipe bomb was thrown at a house in Co Armagh. Police said the explosion in Mullaghbawn in the early hours of Friday caused substantial damage to windows and an outdoor railing. Advertisement A PSNI spokesperson said: 'At approximately 1am this morning, police received a report of a loud explosion outside a property in the Sliabh Mor area. 'It is believed at this time that a device in the form of a pipe bomb was thrown at the front of a house at around 0030 which subsequently exploded, causing substantial damage to windows and an outdoor railing. 'The occupants of the property are a young family who were fortunately not harmed, though they are understandably left shocked and shaken by this incident. 'Devices of this type can cause damage over a wide area, causing destruction far beyond any intended target.' Advertisement Ireland 'Viable device' discovered inside home in Co Down Read More The device has been taken away for further examination. Police also said they are working to establish a motive for the attack. The spokesperson added: 'Inquiries are continuing and we would appeal to anyone who saw any persons or vehicles acting suspiciously in the area, or who may have CCTV or dashcam footage, to contact detectives on 101, quoting reference number 58 of 27/06/25.'
Irish Times
25-06-2025
- Irish Times
Gardaí appeal for help in tracing driver in 2011 hit-and-run in Co Monaghan
Gardaí are using the 14th anniversary of the death of Fintan Traynor (20), who was killed in a hit and run collision in CoMonaghan, to appeal for help in tracing the driver of an Audi car they suspect was involved. Mr Traynor was walking home after a night out in Castleblayney in the early hours of Sunday, June 26th, 2011. He was struck by a car on the Lemgare Road, which links the villages of Clontibret and Annyalla with Derrynoose and Keady in Co Armagh. The driver of the vehicle failed to stop and fled the scene. Investigating gardaí believe an Audi A4 – 1996 to 2001 model – was involved in the collision. The front lower portion of the grille of such a vehicle was recovered by gardaí at the crash scene.. READ MORE The investigation remains active and in the past 14 years gardaí have followed over 400 leads. However, the vehicle and driver have yet to be located. Dete Insp Adrian Durcan of the Monaghan Garda District said: 'I am appealing to the public that if they have any information to please come forward. 'With the passage of time, now perhaps someone may feel more comfortable coming forward with information in relation to this matter. Do you know someone who may have had damage to an Audi car around this period? Did someone confide in you? 'In 14 years loyalties, friendships and relationships change and perhaps now you are in a position to provide the investigation team with the vital information that would locate the vehicle and driver'. Anyone with information is asked to contact Monaghan Garda station on 047 77200 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111.
BreakingNews.ie
23-06-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Politics watch: O'Neill, Eastwood linked with presidential bids
Here, we have a look at the issues likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come. O'Neill declines to rule out Áras bid, Eastwood hints at run Nothern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill is the latest name to be heavily linked with a presidential bid. Advertisement At a press conference in Co Armagh on Friday, Ms O'Neill was asked about the possibility of her running in the election, which must take place by November 11th. She replied: "I think I've plenty to do, being First Minister. But I would think the fact remains that I could stand for election, I could be elected as Uachtarán na hÉireann, but I can't vote in that election, so that's where there's a deficit and what we need to see is presidential voting rights extended to the North so the Irish citizens in the North can vote.' Former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood was also linked with a presidential bid on Friday. He told the BBC that people had asked him to consider a presidential bid. 'I'm going to take the time to think about it." Advertisement Mr Eastwood was previously involved in talks with Fianna Fáil about closer links between the party and the SDLP, and he could be backed if he decides to run as Fianna Fáil have not yet come to a decision on a candidate. With the end of President Michael D Higgins' second term fast approaching, Fine Gael have not announced a candidate either. There had been speculation the party could sit the presidential election out, or back a candidate in conjunction with Coalition partners Fianna Fáil. However, Tánaiste Simon Harris has previously said his party will name its own candidate. Advertisement In an interview with The Journal in March, the Fine Gael leader said: "'I haven't had any discussions with any other party, but I expect we will run a candidate in our own right. That's my that's my working assumption." Former tánaiste France Fitzgerald had been the favourite to be Fine Gael's candidate, but she confirmed she would not run in April. Taoiseach criticises 'excessive' measures faced by students seeking US visas The Taoiseach has described a decision to subject students applying for J1 visas to a 'comprehensive and thorough vetting' of their social media as 'excessive'. Micheál Martin said he does not agree nor approve of the measures announced by the US embassy on Monday. Advertisement Ireland's national students' union said the new measures represent a significant and disproportionate intrusion into personal lives and digital privacy, and that they raise serious concerns about freedom of expression and online surveillance. The changes also apply for other exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J non-immigrant classifications. Leo Varadkar says Keir Starmer should not 'try to censor' Kneecap Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said politicians should not try to censor artists after UK prime minister Keir Starmer said Kneecap's Glastonbury inclusion was "inappropriate". The Belfast rap trio are scheduled to perform on Saturday at 4pm. Advertisement Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh appeared in court on Wednesday charged, under UK anti-terrorism legislation, with showing support for a proscribed organisation. The performer, known as Mo Chara, allegedly draped himself in a Hezbollah flag at a London gig last November and shouted 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah', referring to the Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups respectively. In an interview with The Sun, Mr Starmer was asked if he thought the trio should perform at Glastonbury, to which he replied: 'No, I don't, and I think we need to come down really clearly on this. 'This is about the threats that shouldn't be made, I won't say too much because there's a court case on, but I don't think that's appropriate.' In a social media post, Mr Varadkar said he initially believed Mr Starmer's comments were "a gag". '[I] no longer hold office nor have any mandate so my views don't count for so much anymore. I get that. But I really thought this was some sort of gag. It's the role of artists to be avant garde, inappropriate, challenging, disruptive - from James Joyce to Sex Pistols and Playboy. 'Politicians really should not try to censor this. If an offence was committed, let the courts decide. In the meantime, the rule of law says the accused is innocent until proven guilty.' Anti-immigrant activists tried to 'weaponise' Carlow shooting incident with misinformation Misinformation around a recent shooting incident at a Carlow shopping centre was "weaponised" by anti-immigrant activists and facilitated by social media algorithms, according to a researcher who monitors far-right activity in Ireland. In an interview with , H&CC research and communications lead Mark Malone said: "Claims from the likes of Derek Blighe, from Gavin Lowbridge (who runs the OffGrid Ireland account on Twitter spaces), they were framing the incident as a terrorist shooting related to their own anti-immigrant politics. This was all within a time period that allowed for no verification, and subsequently what transpired was most of it was utter nonsense." Mr Malone also mentioned anti-immigrant activist Philp Dwyer, who drove to the scene in Carlow to film. "It was telling that Philip Dwyer was travelling back from an anti-migrant demonstration in Clonmel, heard there was something happening and landed up in Carlow, he describes himself as a 'citizen journalist'." Abroad All eyes are on the US, after president Donald Trump sanctioned strikes on Iran in support of Israel. Mr Trump has called into question the future of Iran's ruling theocracy, seemingly contradicting his administration's earlier calls to resume negotiations and avoid an escalation in fighting. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???' Mr Trump posted on social media. 'MIGA!!!' The posting on Truth Social marked something of a reversal from defence secretary Pete Hegseth's Sunday morning news conference that detailed the aerial bombing on three of the country's nuclear sites. 'This mission was not and has not been about regime change,' Mr Hegseth said.
Belfast Telegraph
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Callum Devine holds back tears to revel in ‘amazing' Donegal International Rally hat-trick success
As others wilted in the warm and humid conditions at Round Four of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, Devine – with Noel O'Sullivan once again on the notes – maintained a cool head to get his hands on the Jim Kennedy Perpetual Trophy once again. The 31-year-old becomes the fifth person to successfully achieve the feat and joins a short but illustrious list that includes Cathal Curley (1972-1974), Billy Coleman (1984-1986), Co Armagh's Andrew Nesbitt (2000, 2002 and 2003), and the late Manus Kelly, who dominated his home international alongside Donall Barrett between 2016 and 2018. Devine also becomes the first person to make it a hat-trick of wins over the same three-year period at the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship-counting Killarney Rally of the Lakes. 'To be honest, I was quite happy with my driving all weekend – not one moment, not one mishap all weekend apart from a small overshoot on the Saturday – and once I got myself into a good lead, I was able to fall back into a 'manage it' mode and go from there,' Devine said. 'Noel, again, was top-class, the team were top-class, the tyre choice – everything, really – was top-class and you need all of those things to work if you are to come out on top here. I think it also shows to people the Irish Tarmac Championship is pretty fast. 'It is pretty amazing – we are absolutely thrilled. The competition here this weekend has been top-class and all the guys that came here to race have pushed us really hard. 'For the first Donegal win, I put a lot of pressure on myself, but once you manage to get it over the line and you can see how it is done, it makes a difference.' The pendulum firmly swung the way of Devine on Saturday's repeat of 'Garrygort' when Moira's William Creighton, carrying a puncture, hit a bump and understeered off the road. Creighton started the day in fourth but quickly moved up to second and wasted no time reeling in Devine – who had to make do with no handbrake for much of the day – to sit less than five seconds behind the leading Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 before his trip into a hedge. Devine and O'Sullivan kicked off the Sunday leg with a sizeable 21.8-second cushion over Creighton's team-mate Meirion Evans and were 40 seconds clear of David Kelly's VW Polo. On the opening stage, Devine increased his buffer to half a minute, aided by a small spin for Evans in the second of the Castol-liveried Melvyn Evans Motorsports-run Toyota cars. Devine continued to take a sensible approach either side of service, pushing enough to maintain his concentration levels without putting the result in jeopardy – and it paid off. Joining Creighton on the casualties' list was Paddon, whose first Donegal foray ended on Saturday's 'Knockalla' stage when he had a soft roll on a tightening left-hander. Armstrong also failed to make it to the end as his car came to a stop on the very last test.
Irish Times
20-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill declines to rule out presidential run
Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill has declined to rule out a bid for the presidency . Asked on Friday if she was considering putting her name forward, Ms O'Neill replied: 'I am working my way through our deliberations as we speak.' The Sinn Féin vice-president said the party had not finalised its deliberations on the subject. 'I think I've plenty to do, being First Minister,' Ms O'Neill said at a press conference in Co Armagh . 'But I would think the fact remains that I could stand for election, I could be elected as Uachtarán na hÉireann, but I can't vote in that election, so that's where there's a deficit and what we need to see is presidential voting rights extended to the North so the Irish citizens in the North can vote.' READ MORE Separately on Friday, former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood told the BBC that people had asked him to consider standing for the presidency. 'I'm going to take the time to think about it,' Mr Eastwood said. While SDLP leader, Mr Eastwood was involved in talks with Fianna Fáil about closer co-operation between the parties, although no agreement was progressed. It is expected that should he run in the presidential election, it would be as a Fianna Fáil candidate. Taoiseach Micheál Martin was asked if Mr Eastwood might stand on his party's behalf but he said there had been 'no contact with me' and 'no engagement that I'm aware of with Fianna Fáil'. 'It hasn't been on the agenda at all, I was surprised when I heard that this morning,' Mr Martin said. [ Nobody wants the presidency and its €250k salary. Why? Opens in new window ] On Friday, Mr Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, and Cabinet members joined Ms O'Neill, Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly , and members of the Stormont Executive for a plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council in Armagh. Topics the meeting focused on included US tariffs and trade, potential co-operation on gender-based violence, mother and baby institutions and Magdalene laundries . It also addressed infrastructure projects and an air route between Derry and Dublin. . Ministers also discussed the redevelopment of Casement Park GAA stadium in Belfast, a project currently facing a funding shortfall. Last week the UK government said it would allocate £50 million (€59 million) to support the rebuild, with the Irish Government also set to contribute £50 million. However, even with other money from the GAA and Northern Ireland's Executive, the project is about £90 million (€105 million) short of what is required to develop a 34,000-seater stadium. A smaller ground could be built with the approximate £120 million available. At a press conference following the meeting, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and First Minister and Deputy First Minister were clear that now was the time to proceed. 'I think it is about not letting this moment pass,' Mr Harris said. 'Let's not look back in a number of years and see that this moment was squandered.' The Taoiseach said it was 'very important the moment is seized, when significant amounts of money are now on the table, that the stadium can be built here and can be developed'. Ms O'Neill said it was time for all partners involved to come together and find a way to start the work and complete the project. Meanwhile, Ms Little-Pengelly rejected comments by former taoiseach Leo Varadkar to the BBC on Thursday that Ireland was on a 'trajectory' towards unity . He said the most recent numbers show 'a very clear majority of younger people in Northern Ireland want there to be a new united Ireland'. Ms Little-Pengelly said he was 'entitled to reinvent himself in whatever way he so chooses, but he is wrong in terms of the trajectory … I don't accept that it is an inevitability'. Is Conor McGregor really the only person who wants to be President of Ireland? Listen | 19:19
