Latest news with #Enda
Irish Independent
20-07-2025
- Science
- Irish Independent
Wicklow astro-photographer continues to reach for the stars
The competition aims to find the best astro-photographs taken in Ireland over the past year. Edna Kelly from Wicklow town has a longstanding history in the competition and has been shortlisted this year in the Out of This World planetary category for his entry titled Moon Opposition Season from October to April. Each frame in this composite captures Mars on a different night, revealing how its apparent size, brightness, and surface detail evolved over time. The central image shows Mars at opposition in January 2025, when it was at its most striking. Arranged chronologically, the sequence also hints at the subtle arc of retrograde motion—a visual illusion caused by Earth overtaking Mars in its orbit, making the red planet appear to reverse direction in the sky before resuming its path. In 2023, Enda was awarded the runner-up prize in the Out of This World category for his image When the planets align. Lunar occultation of Mars, which depicted the full moon as it concealed Mars from view by passing in front of it, and captured Mars just before it disappeared behind the moon from our perspective on earth. Enda also had two of his images selected last year as part of the competition to feature in an outdoor exhibition organised by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. While a high-profile judging panel will select the overall winning entries, an online vote is open for members of the public to view the images and vote for their favourite in the Public Choice Award. Enda will be looking for plenty of Wicklow support and you can visit in order to cast your vote. Voting is open until 5pm on Thursday, July 24, and is restricted to one vote per person. Alongside the Public Choice Award, the overall winners will be chosen by the judging panel which includes Professor Peter Gallagher, Head of Astrophysics at DIAS; Michael McCreary, president of the Irish Astronomical Society; Dr Lisa McNamee co-founder Space Medicine Ireland and Alan Betson, Irish Times photographer and multiple winner of the Press Photographer of the Year award. The winning images selected by the judging panel and the Public Choice Award will be announced in August with an accompanying outdoor exhibition being held at DIAS HQ on Dublin's Burlington Road, for a limited time.
RTÉ News
26-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
GAA Podcast: Fizz of excitement as Football Championship comes to a head
As the All-Ireland Football Championship reaches the quarter-final stage, Jacqui Hurley and Rory O'Neill are joined by Enda McGinley and Tomás Ó Sé to preview a mouth-watering weekend of football. Tomás understand why Donegal and Jim McGuinness have made a big deal of the gap between the Louth game and this Saturday's meeting with Monaghan, but he knows the messaging is different at training. Monaghan come in as one of the form teams in the country but in need of a 'statement win' at Croke Park - Enda wonders if they truly believe they can win an All-Ireland. Tyrone, on the other hand, despite playing no better than Monaghan, will truly believe they can beat Dublin and claim Sam Maguire. The battle around the middle will be key in Saturday's second game, with Tomás suggesting Dessie Farrell's men were slow to adapt to how new rules affected kick-outs. Sunday's first match is Galway v Meath, and in Matthew Thompson Tomás reckons Galway have the best young footballer in the country. While Meath have shocked Dublin and Kerry this summer, Enda says both defeated team were 'flat' against the Royals and it will take a performance above and beyond what Robbie Brennan's men have done thus far if they're to take down a battle-hardened Galway. And finally to the clash of All-Ireland champions Armagh and Kerry. Despite the loss of their first choice midfield, Tomás gives his own county a real chance of causing an upset - if the middle eight perform to their best, the form of David Clifford will keep them in the game. All the better if they have Paul Geaney and Paudie Clifford fit and firing. For Enda, it will hinge on how Armagh's super-structured defence of the arc handles Kerry's multi-pronged attack.
Irish Independent
30-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
2002 nostalgia, Brogan vs McNulty and Cosgrove's red-hot summer
Alan reflects on being marked by Enda in that All-Ireland semi-final, Ray remembers his red-hot goal-scoring summer and the panel discuss the fiery rematch the following year that saw Stephen Cluxton sent off. Before the all-star panel, Ronan and Will join Conan to reminisce about '02 championship summer - when football was football! If you'd like to get in touch with the show, email us at indosportpodcast@ here. Spotify Apple Podcasts
CBS News
16-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Trump plans to make it easier to build in areas protected by Endangered Species Act, White House official says
President Trump plans to overhaul the Endangered Species Act to make it easier to build in the U.S. where endangered species live, a White House official confirmed Wednesday. The president has voiced frustration with the 1973 law and similar environmental protections, saying environmentalists are impeding growth. Real Clear Politics first reported Mr. Trump's plans to overhaul the law. A White House source was granted anonymity as the announcement is not official. It's not yet exactly clear how Mr. Trump would alter the use of the law, since only Congress can change or repeal it, but it would likely come through the federal rule-making process. The law was established to protect species of wildlife, fish and plants that have been depleted enough to be in danger of extinction. Last week, the president directed agencies regulating energy and the environment to sunset a number of environmental protections, among other steps to curb environmental protections to spur construction and economic growth. One step the administration is considering is to repeal the definition of 'harm,' which would remove nearly all habitat protections for endangered species across the country. Currently, if any business or activity harms a protected species, it's a violation of the law, as established by the ESA. The law defines "harm" as including "any activity that can modify a species' habitat." Loss of habitat is the single greatest threat to most species, since many aren't "taken" or killed to the point of extinction.. By eliminating this legal definition of "harm," it would clear the way for many forms of economic development, including logging, oil and gas drilling, or critical mineral mining that could eradicate a species, environmentalists say. "We'll go to court to fight as many of these rollbacks as possible," said Brett Hartle, director of government affairs for the Center for Biological Diversity. "The federal government is large and they're throwing everything at the wall hoping to overwhelm us, but we'll do our damnedest to make sure nothing becomes permanent." The Endangered Species Act was established in 1973 to protect "various species of fish, wildlife, and plants in the United States that had been rendered extinct as a consequence of economic growth and development untampered by adequate concern and conservation." By designating species with a protected status, this ensures that the ecosystems where the species live will be conserved and steps are taken to help support the species to avoid extinction. This, by extension, means that Congress and federal agencies will work with state and local governments to address water resources that impact species, as well as habitat. Critics of the Endangered Species Act claim the law goes far beyond the initial intent and is overly burdensome. Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, has frequently suggested changes to the ESA and last month proposed the Endangered Species Amendment Act of 2025. He said in a statement, "The Endangered Species Act has consistently failed to achieve its intended goals and has been warped by decades of radical environmental litigation into a weapon instead of a tool." Much of what the Trump administration is proposing, by sunsetting regulations and overhauling the ESA, aligns with Westerman's bill."Environmental is the biggest tool for stopping growth," Mr. Trump said in an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan last year. Environmentalists, however, are concerned about weakening the law. "This is a full-out assault on America's heritage," said Andrew Wetzler, the senior vice president of nature at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "If Trump is successful, it will turn the ESA into a shell of itself, and this would be open season for our most important wildlife." In the 50 years since the law was enacted, the ESA has been credited with saving 99% of the listed species . Notable species saved include the bald eagle, American alligators, whooping cranes and peregrine falcons. CBS News reported in 2023 that since the passage of the law, more than 1,7000 plants, mammals, fish, insects and other species in the U.S. have been listed as threatened or endangered. But federal data shows that of the roughly $1.2 billion a year spent on endangered and threatened species, about half goes toward recovery of just two types of fish: salmon and steelhead trout along the West Coast. Tracy J. Wholf contributed to this report.
