In Phoenix Park, Dublin, three homosexual men were reportedly pursued and targeted by a mob of six knife-wielding antagonists due to their sexual orientation, as informed to Seanad by Fine Gael Senator Barry Ward who was told this by one of the victims.
In relation to other news, Aer Lingus is possibly reaching out to competing airlines for help to accommodate its passengers impacted by the intended pilots’ industrial action, sparking cancellations, the corporation has confirmed.
Furthermore, a profound problem has been reported as children with special needs face a shortage of secondary school places. One instance is that of Sylvanna McDaniel’s son, Dara aged 13, who will complete his primary education next week but has not secured a place in a secondary school for the impending academic year.
A new report indicates that in secondary schools, there are students who hesitate to come forward about bullying, and it states that a third of post-primary students do not sense a secure environment to freely voice their thoughts.
UK presenter Graham Norton recently unveiled a Covid-19 memorial in Bandon, his birthplace, dedicating it to the townsfolk who lost their lives to the pandemic.
Turning to the weather, a mix of cloud and sunshine is anticipated across the nation, with sporadic light rainfall in the north, west, and southwest. The daytime peak temperatures range between 16 and 21 degrees, the latter being cooler in Atlantic coastal zones. The night is expected to be mild with clouds stretching eastward with some mild showers. Rain is expected to hit the Atlantic coasts by morning with temperatures not falling below 10 to 14 degrees.
On a global scale, the USA is under a heat emergency warning. Wildfires on the last day of spring in New Mexico caused thousands to abandon their homes, while a tropical storm wreaked havoc on the Texas coast. These severe conditions combined have resulted in an unprecedented ‘heat dome’ alert being issued, impacting 80 million residents from the east coast to the Great Lakes region.
Michael Harding reminisces on his past interactions with Travellers, revealing how he became familiar with their ways and astonished by their similarities to his own lifestyle after getting to know them more intimately. As he tidied his workspace recently, he stumbled upon a collection of audiotapes containing tales he’d heard from these nomads years prior.
Meanwhile, Diane Ihirwe shares her perspective as a person of colour in Dublin, noting that being in the city’s darker corners doesn’t necessarily equate to feeling fear. On a humorous note, Finn McRedmond discusses the jokey rivalry between Austrians and French, involving taunts with baguettes, a form of nationalism he believes everyone can embrace.
In business news, there’s some ambiguity about impending safeguards for scholars living in rented properties. Predictions indicate that owing to uncertainty about governmental schedules, students may need to cover rental fees for a number of weeks more than their actual stay.
Regarding sports, Dave Hannigan looks back at Muhammad Ali’s career beginnings. He revisits an encounter the boxer, then-known as Cassius Clay Jr., had with Huston Horn of Sports Illustrated at his family residence in Louisville, a year following his meteoric rise to fame at the 1960 Olympics.
Among the highlighted podcasts, there’s a discussion concerning the potential of a looming crisis linked to Fentanyl in Ireland. To lighten the mood, perhaps you might want to attempt one of our Crosswords & Puzzles.