Kevin Lunney shares trauma
The physical scars and mental trauma of the kidnap and assault on businessman Kevin Lunney will remain with him and his family for the rest of their lives, the Special Criminal Court has heard.
Mr Lunney wrote a victim impact statement for the court which was read out at a sentencing hearing on Monday morning for the three men convicted of abducting him near his home in Fermanagh and torturing him in a horse trailer in Cavan.
Mr Lunney said he thinks every day of the effect the ordeal has had on his wife and children, saying: "The anguish they have had to endure is a greater torment to me than the physical pain of the attack."
Covid latest
The Government is ready to administer Covid vaccines to primary school children if European regulators approve it, the Taoiseach has said.
Micheál Martin said, however, it was unlikely children in the five to 11 age group will get the jab here before Christmas, given the timeline and logistics involved.
It comes as the general secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) claimed that schools have been abandoned by public health.
John Boyle said that 605 primary school teachers had tested positive for Covid-19 over the past two weeks, which was leading to a shortage of teachers and meant that children were missing school.
In other Covid news, the Dáil’s Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl has tested positive for the virus.
Garth Brooks in Ireland
Country musician Garth Brooks has said having to cancel five sold-out concerts in Dublin back in 2014 was like a "death in the family".
Brooks was back in Ireland launching two September 2022 gigs at Croke Park, the same venue where the 2014 concerts had been set to be played.
However, objections from local residents' groups ultimately led to the cancellation after licences were only granted for three shows, to which the musician responded by saying he would play all five or none at all.
Speaking about the 2014 cancellation at Monday's launch, Brooks said it was the "greatest heartache" due to how highly he thinks of Ireland.
