EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the five stories you should know before you head out the door for the day.

1. #COURTS: A man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for the death of a 5-year-old girl after he set fire to her family home in Roscommon last October. John Lynch was also sentenced to eight years for assault and arson with intent to cause harm to the girl’s father, RTE reports.  The judge said he did not accept the claim by Lynch that he did not know there were people in the house at the time and that 5-year-old Mari Keane Connolly had died in horrifying circumstances.

2. #CASH FOR GOLD: Gardaí have visited every one of the 124 Cash for Gold shops in the country as part of an investigation into the shops published today by Justice Minister Alan Shatter. The report, which looked at any possibly criminal activity taking place in the shops, is to be brought before the Oireachtas Committee on Justice which will examine the findings and may hold hearings.

3. #MICHAELA: The prosecution in the Michaela McAreavey murder trial has rested its case today, almost a month after proceedings began in the Mauritius court. Earlier today the jury visited the Legends hotel where the 27-year-old teacher was strangled to death in January 2011.

4. #DOG ATTACK: Gardaí are investigating after a dog in Donegal was stabbed five times and had its throat slit at a family home. The two-year-old German Shepherd named Rex was found dead at a shed in east Donegal at the weekend. The family who owned the dog are said to have been shaken by the killing.

5. #VATILEAKS: A high ranking cardinal in the Vatican has said that many journalists are trying to ‘imitate Dan Brown’ in their reporting of the ongoing Vatileaks scandal. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was referring to the controversy surrounding a series of leaks from the church that allege corruption in the church’s dealings. The cardinal said that the media is ignoring the good things the church is doing and focusing too much on the scandals.