EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the stories you need to know as you start your day.

1. #HURRICANE MARIA: The tropical storm strengthened into a “potentially catastrophic” category 5 storm as it barrelled into eastern Caribbean islands.

2. #FIRE: A woman and two children were hospitalised after a fire in Inchicore last night.

3. #MYANMAR: Aung San Suu Kyi has defended her country against international condemnation following a mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims from the country to Bangladesh.

4. #LIMERICK: Limerick City and County Council has been criticised after plans for a large development in the city will contain no residential units, despite the fact that the council said it would two years ago.

5. #SHOOTING: A man who was shot dead near City West in Dublin last night has been named locally as John Gibson.

6. #PLOUGHING: The 86th National Ploughing Championships is getting underway today, with close to 300,000 people expected to attend over the three days. (RTÉ)

7. TONIGHT: TheJournal.ie sat down with Matt Cooper and Ivan Yates ahead of the first episode of their current affairs show on TV3 tonight.

8. RYANAIR: It’s been a tumultuous week for Ryanair, with the airline announcing its list of cancellations for the month until the end of October. On top of this, pilots of the airline are now threatening strike action, the Irish Independent reports.

9. #HALAWA: The former cellmate of imprisoned Irish man Ibrahim Halawa has welcomed his release and labelled questions around his innocence as “spurious and ridiculous”.