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Status of Irish in Britain could change, says Theresa May
Theresa May has declined to rule out a change in the status of Irish nationals living in Britain, suggesting the issue is part of a broader negotiation about the rights of EU citizens after Brexit. After Britain leaves the EU, it will be free to choose what rights to offer Irish citizens in the UK, including a continuation of the current arrangement under which they have most of the same rights as British citizens. But in response to a question from Laurence Robertson, the Conservative chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, the prime minister appeared to link the issue to securing a reciprocal arrangement for UK citizens living in the EU after Brexit. “The issue of the rights of
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Laois man, who raped wife after she refused to hold his hand, jailed for seven years
A Laois man, who raped and brutally beat his wife in their marital bed after she declined to hold his hand, has been jailed for seven years. Mr Justice Paul Butler, who suspended the final two years of the sentence, said it was a “tragic” case”, which had left a family destroyed. “The family relationships of the brave victim have been completely destroyed,” Mr Butler told the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday. The man’s sentence hearing earlier this month heard that his two adult sons supported him and had written letters of testimonial describing him as a good father. The victim, who was not in court for the sentence, previously gave an emotional victim impact statement in which she said that
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Amy Schumer's Christmas gift to her dad with bring a tear to your eye
Amy Schumer has only gone and done it, she’s offically won Christmas 2016 with this present to her dad. For those of you who don’t know, Amy’s dad was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 12. His diagnosis led to a financial strain on his small business and her parents were forced to declare bankruptcy. This then led to her family losing their family farm, relocating to Long Island and soon after, her parents separating. Don't worry, it gets better. The actress took to Instagram on Monday to share the news that she had bought her dad back the farm she grew up on as a child. The post included this adorable home video from the farm with the caption, “Video from the farm when I was running
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The photographer who took the shocking pictures of the Russian ambassador assassination tells his story
When photographer Burhan Ozbilici attended a photo exhibition on Monday evening in Ankara, Turkey, he thought that he might get a few decent images of Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov, who was speaking there, which would come in handy to illustrate future stories on the two countries. Little did he realise he’d soon be witness to an assassination – and that he’d be taking photos that would shock the world. Recalling his experience to employer the Associated Press, he said: "When a man on stage pulled out a gun I was stunned and thought it was a theatrical flourish. "It took me a few seconds to realise what had happened: A man had died in front of me; a life had disappeared before my eyes.” "The
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Puppy abandoned at Dublin Airport finds new home
A small white puppy found abandoned at Dublin Airport in a plastic box at the back of car park has been given a new home in time for Christmas. The six-week-old dog, who was named Sneachta by DAA staff, captured the public’s attention with floods of offers of help when news of his mystery appearance emerged on Thursday. His new name was selected following a Twitter competition, winning out over alternative monikers like Rudolph, Snowball and the Simpsons inspired Santa’s Little Helper. While not quite the steps of a church, the person who found the puppy abandoned behind the multi-storey car park at Terminal One initially thought a baby was in the box. Sneachta was handed into lost property where
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Witness describes 'carnage' of Berlin market attack and hostility towards 'Middle East people' after
A tourist who was enjoying Berlin's Christmas market with his girlfriend when a truck ploughed into the crowds has described the "carnage" at the scene. Luke Theis, 21, and Lara Colombo, 22, both from Washington, US, were on the other side of Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and heading to the area which was targeted when they became aware of the commotion. Mr Theis, a student, told the Press Association: "We started seeing people running and hearing ambulances from all directions so we walked over. It was carnage everywhere. There was blood all over the floor. "There were people lying on the floor - I am not sure what their condition was - I could count about eight lying down. "The biggest mental
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Emmerdale viewers demand award for hard-hitting episode on dementia
Everybody is praising both Emmerdale and actor John Middleton for the portrayal of dementia in a special one-off episode. Tuesday night’s emotional programme followed a day in the life of long-running character Ashley Thomas, who has been battling with stroke-related early onset vascular dementia. As viewers watched him struggle to understand his surroundings and recognise the people and places around him, they took to Twitter to show their appreciation of how the condition was shown. Sadly, different forms of dementia are not uncommon, and viewers who have experience of dealing with its effects were first to congratulate the programme. It certainly wasn’t easy watching at times, but it gave
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Dublin shop manager jailed for six years for kicking customer to death over 70c bill
An internet café manager has been jailed for six years for kicking a customer to death on a Dublin street after a row over 70 cent. Zhen Dong Zhao (40) had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Noel Fegan, a father of two. He kicked him to death outside the e-Times internet café and call shop on Lower Wellington Quay in Dublin city centre on May 20th, 2011. Zhao of Jervis Street, Dublin, was originally convicted of the 39-year old’s murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2012. That conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal earlier this year and a retrial ordered. However, the Chinese man’s plea was accepted by the State at the Central Criminal Court
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Passengers review: In space, no can hear you scream at your agent
Sorry? Where am I supposed to put this? What am I supposed to do with it? Morten Tyldum has followed up The Imitation Game with a morally indefensible clunker. Passengers wants to be thought of as a science-fiction film, but the outer space setting is mere decoration for an insanely expensive variation on ancient rom-com templates. We are dealing with the creaky plot that finds one half of a couple living a terrible lie that, 20 minutes before the end, will be revealed and cause convulsion before bridges are rebuilt. You know the sort of thing. Rock Hudson is really the guy sharing Doris Day’s party line. Jean Arthur is really an investigative reporter. Chris Pratt murders Jennifer Lawrence,
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Ireland to be first country in Europe to roll out 5G geographically
Ireland’s Communications Minister Denis Naughten, TD, has revealed that Ireland’s 5G mobile broadband auctions using 700MHz spectrum will take place in 2019. This could place Ireland ahead of the rest of the EU, which plans to have 5G deployed across Europe from 2020. The difference is that rather than the roll-out 5G on a population basis, as had been the case with the 4G auctions in 2012, the country will instead license 5G on a geographic basis. ‘If we do not roll out 5G on a geographic basis, we will be missing out on a major opportunity’ – DENIS NAUGHTEN Naughten was speaking to Siliconrepublic.com following the publication of the first report of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce,
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Holly Holm: Conor McGregor shows how powerful the mind is
Holly Holm says Conor McGregor proves that if you believe in yourself, you’ll perform well. Speaking to Hot 97′s Peter Rosenberg about life since defeating Ronda Rousey and the build up to UFC 208, the 35-year-old spoke highly of the Irishman. “He believes he’s something special, and he comes out and he doesn’t just talk the talk, he really believes it. And it also shows how powerful the mind is.” Asked by Rosenberg how good McGregor actually is, from a fighter’s perspective, Holm said: “I think he’s great… a lot of people are like ‘well, he’s never gone the distance’ or ‘well, he’s never been with a wrestler’, or ‘well, he’s never been with this person who hits this hard’. “He’s been put in
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‘My Christmas saved by an act of kindness’
The Fermoy local was among dozens welcoming loved ones home for Christmas at Cork Airport yesterday. Greeting his daughter Maeve following her long haul flight from Vancouver had an extra special significance given the frightening ordeal he suffered last March on Shandon Street. “I was on my own at the time when I suffered a stroke nine months ago,” he said. “Two men and a woman with a little girl who were at the other side of the street came to my assistance. They knew there was something wrong as I was holding on to the railing. It was their actions that saved my life. “They flagged down a taxi and I was at the Mercy(hospital) in 10 minutes. I couldn’t even move to put my hand in my pocket
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The Greatest 12 Pubs Costumes Ever!
Well, Holy God! This is Jonathan Dunne and his buds doing The 12 Pubs Of Christmas. The lads and ladies travelled through Limerick dressed as a FULL Nativity Scene! Of course the star of the show is Baby Jesus (he's even got a bit of hay). Here's the full credits: Mary and the Donkey : Steve Joseph : Lisa Baby Jesus : Johnny Dunne Angel Gabriel :Seamus Shepard: Mary Our Wise Man (we could only find one) Eoin Sheep: Aine Slutty Star : Adrian Maher Holy Spirit - Steve 'Dopey' Ryan (Dopey couldn't be there so he was the Holy Spirit!) Ted The Pineapple
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Watch: Tom Cruise drops one of the funniest trailers of the year
Due to be released in mid-2017, The Mummy is Universal Studios’ latest attempt at a franchise reboot, but judging by the recently released Imax trailer, there’s still a lot of sound editing to be done before the film is ready. From the isolated screams, inadvertent grunts and mis-synced explosions to the occasional “oohs” and “aahs” this trailer ranks as one of the funniest released this year - or any. While Imax has since deleted the trailer from its official platforms, thanks to eagle-eyed fans, it will live on forever on the unforgiving internet.
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Dollar hits fresh 14-year high as euro edges towards parity
The dollar hit a fresh 14-year high on Tuesday, boosted by upbeat comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen that kept alive market expectations for swifter US interest rate hikes next year than had been expected. The dollar climbed broadly but its gains were strongest against the yen, which slid as much as 1 percent after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged. Yellen said late on Monday that the US labour market had improved to its strongest in almost a decade, suggesting wage growth is picking up.The Fed chair did not mention monetary policy, but some analysts said the fact that she did not pour cold water on investors’ moves to price in a possible three rate hikes in 2017 after the Fed’s policy statement and rate rise last week was a catalyst for dollar strength.
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Living in an Iron Lung: 'It was a long, airtight coffin-shaped box with my head sticking out at one end'
JIM COSTELLO REPRESENTED polio survivors in Paris recently, receiving a Louis Pasteur Polio Hero medal in recognition of his work as a founding member of the Post Polio Support Group in Ireland. Jim called on those who attack vaccination teams to look at him and consider: is this how you want your children to live their lives? Jim is the only man in Ireland still using an iron lung. This is his story. I AM NOW 73 and my polio journey began when I was admitted to Cherry Orchard Hospital in Dublin, in 1958 with suspected meningitis. I was 15. Within days I was transferred to the polio ward and put into an “iron lung ventilator”. I was diagnosed with acute respiratory poliomyelitis – my upper body
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Slieve Russell Hotel closed due to winter vomiting bug
The Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, has been closed at one of its busiest times of the year following a norovirus outbreak. The highly contagious winter vomiting bug causes diarrhoea for those affected by it. The four-star hotel, once owned by Seán Quinn’s family, informed the Health Service Executive (HSE) after its residents, staff and customers began suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea. The hotel is usually busy with weddings at this time of year. A HSE spokesperson said clinical testing confirmed the outbreak was caused by the norovirus infection. “There is currently a high incidence of this infection in the community in Ireland and outbreaks have been noted in hospitals,
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How to make the perfect Irish coffee
Irish coffee was not created with Christmas in mind, but by accident and design it has become a Christmas drink. It is suitably decadent for the season that is in it and has two things that are most in demand at Christmas time, warmth and alcohol. Irish coffee has only four ingredients: coffee – Irish whiskey, sugar and cream – but a thousand twists. It is an easy drink to get passably right, but a hard drink to perfect. The coffee has to be strong and the whiskey has to be Irish, or else it is not an Irish coffee. Scotch coffee does not have the same ring to it or cachet. The oft-repeated story goes that Irish coffee was invented in the old Foynes Flying Boat Airport in 1942 when a transatlantic
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Celtic struggle but extend 21-game unbeaten streak
Celtic 1 Partick Thistle 0 Scott Sinclair scored the only goal of the game as Celtic struggled past bottom side Partick Thistle to go 14 points clear at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership The 27-year-old winger, one of eight changes to the Hoops line-up, notched the winner in the 16th minute with a clipped strike from 16 yards. Thistle – beaten 4-1 at home by the champions 11 days ago – more than played their part, but passed up several chances before and after Sinclair’s effort as Celtic stretched their unbeaten domestic run to 21 games. Brendan Rodgers’ men also missed opportunities at a sodden Parkhead, but it was far from a vintage display from the home side who also have the luxury of
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TV3’s ‘Red Rock’ awarded €550,000 from licence fee funds
TV3 soap opera Red Rock has received €550,000 in funding from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) for its next series, the highest award in the latest round of grants from its Sound and Vision scheme. The makers of the Garda-themed drama were previously awarded a grant of €800,000 to get the production up and running as well as a second grant of €700,000 for its second series, taking its tally of licence fee funding above €2 million. Red Rock, made for TV3 by Element Pictures and Angel Station, has now switched to producing 40 episodes of 44 minutes’ duration each year, rather than the original 80 episodes of 22 minutes’ duration. The soap, which TV3 has sold to both BBC One and Amazon Prime Video, took a mid-season break in November and will return with an extra-long special episode on January 9th.
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