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GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
1. Last weekend, hundreds of men, women and children gathered at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin as they had done several times during the pandemic.
From 2pm, they marched together down Parnell Square and up O’Connell Street under garda escort, waving flags and homemade signs which described Covid-19 vaccines as “kill shots” and touted the benefits of ivermectin, a debunked ‘cure’ for the virus.
Upon reaching the GPO, the demonstration stopped and gathered on the street’s central median, where barriers and a stage were erected to allow speakers to address the crowd.
One speakers said the crowd was there “to fight for their freedom and to push the Government into a complete repealing of the legislation which at any moment could be used to reinstate the measures lifted today”.
In today’s lead story, Stephen McDermott asks: Where does Ireland’s anti-lockdown movement go next?
2. Russia has agreed to relocate its naval tests outside Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
Russia’s ambassador to Ireland Yury Filatov said the decision was made as a “gesture of goodwill” following discussions with the Irish Government and the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation.
He said this has been done “with the aim not to hinder fishing activities by the Irish vessels in the traditional fishing areas”.
Defence Minister Simon Coveney welcomed the news yesterday evening.
3. Today is the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry that left 13 people dead on 30 January 1972. A 14th person died a few months later.
A major memorial event is to take place in the city today, with the final Sunday in January this year also the 30th of the month as it was in 1972.
The commemorative event Beyond the Silence will take place before a limited audience in Guildhall Square.
President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Micheal Martin and former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn are among those taking part.
4. A relative of a Bloody Sunday victim has told how his family could not bear to play music in their house for years after his brother was shot dead.
William McKinney was a keen amateur photographer with a love of music. He had gone to the civil rights march in Derry on 30 January 1972 to record events on his new video camera.
The camera was found in his jacket pocket as he lay dying after being shot in the back in Glenfada Park 50 years ago. He was 27 years old.
His brother Joe McKinney recalled how William had bought a new stereo shortly before he died.
5. Revenue officers at Dublin Port seized cocaine believed to be worth just over €3 million on Saturday.
The 45kg of drugs were found hidden in the refrigeration unit of a vehicle that was stopped and searched as part of an operation involving An Garda Siochána and the Customs Service.
The find was part of an ongoing investigation into people suspected of involvement with international organised crime.
A 46-year-old man was arrested and is being held at the Bridewell Garda Station.
6. Gardaí in Clondalkin are investigating a road traffic collision in which a man in his 40s died last night.
The collision, which involved a car and a pedestrian, occurred at 11pm yesterday on the R120 in Newcastle, Co Dublin.
The pedestrian, a man aged in his 40s, was seriously injured during the collision. He was taken to Tallaght University Hospital by ambulance, where he later died. No other injuries were reported during the collision.
7. A fifth Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use in Ireland.
The Nuvaxovid vaccine, created by US-based Novavax, will now be included in Ireland’s booster vaccination programme for people aged 18 years and older.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the vaccine “has been shown to be highly effective in preventing symptomatic, moderate and severe disease” and he expects it to be available from next month.
The vaccine is given in two doses with an interval of three weeks between doses.
8. The Central Statistics Office will consider whether it can reflect the disproportionate impact of price increases on lower income groups amid soaring inflation rates.
Concerns have been raised that the CSO’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) does not reflect how a sharp rise in the cost-of-living affects certain households in Ireland.
The index is a measure of the average prices of a range of goods and services and tracks how these prices change over time.
9. And finally, the weather.
Most places are dry this morning, according to Met Éireann, but patchy light rain and drizzle affecting western areas will extend eastwards.
It’s expected to become windy by the afternoon as a spell of more persistent rain arrives into the west and northwest, spreading across the country through the day. Highest temperatures will range from 8 to 10 degrees.
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