Ireland's Eye - a round up of top Irish news stories

Catch up on some of the news coming out of Ireland

Ready to Run

The Bare Your Soul Nearly Naked Run for Valentine’s Day was launched last week in Dublin, in aid of Turn2me.org, an online mental health community providing peer and professional support, and The Irish Heart Foundation.

A Cold Court

A reading of minus one Celsius was recorded in Athy District Court on Tuesday of last week after Judge Desmond Zaidan called a halt to proceedings for 20 minutes and ordered Gardai (police) to bring back a thermometer.

Zaidan rose from the bench to allow all present to go and warm up with a hot drink while Gardai went in search for the thermometer.

A reading of minus one degree was recorded inside the courthouse at 12:45 p.m. by Inspector Jim Doyle despite a sophisticated underfloor heating system installed in the landmark building.

“The reading is minus one from the thermometer,” he said. “It’s actually warmer outside than it is inside.”

Zaidan said to work in such conditions was “unacceptable.”

“It is unacceptable to work in these conditions and especially for members of the public to work in these conditions. It’s freezing.”

He also said his chamber was colder than the main body of the court, but he refused to adjourn the whole sitting and later in the afternoon the temperature went up one degree.

He added that there had been an issue with the timer on the heating system, and that the court caretaker had done his best.

Meanwhile members of the public, solicitors and the press wore their hats, scarves and kept their coats on throughout the day.

-Leinster Leader

Tragic Avalanche Death

Tributes have poured in for the Coleraine junior doctor who died in an avalanche in the Scottish mountains two weekends ago.

Una Rachel Finnegan, 25, was killed with three of her friends when an artificial cliff of snow and ice gave way underneath them on Bidean Nam Bian in Glencoe. The four climbers were swept 1,000 feet down to the bottom of the mountain, where they were smothered by ice and snow.  One other man escaped with minor head injuries and a woman remains critically ill in hospital with severe head injuries.

News of Finnegan's death was met with shock when her name was released as one of the climbers who had perished in the freak accident.  Finnegan, described by her former vice principal as a "very bright and talented young student," was a keen climber, and the group she was with were said to be experienced winter walkers.

The daughter of retired Causeway Hospital consultant Dr. Owen Finnegan, she had been living in Edinburgh, where she was following in her father's footsteps by working as a junior doctor in the city.

-Coleraine Chronicle

17 Convicted of Benefit Fraud

The scale of benefit fraud in Dungannon, Cookstown and Magherafelt was made clear last week as new figures revealed over £150,000 was falsely paid to claimants convicted of benefit fraud in the last year.

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Nster.com