NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

The Birmingham Six outside the Old Bailey in London after being released in 1991. Eamonn Farrell Eamonn Farrell

• The Covid-19 vaccine rollout will begin on Tuesday instead of Wednesday
• There were 744 new cases of Covid-19 today, but people were warned that there has been a drop in the number of Covid-19 tests requested over the past two days
• Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the pandemic has “exposed the duality of the Irish economy” and said that the Government would begin looking at a living wage
• The Moriarty Tribunal is set to finally conclude early next year after costing the taxpayer at least €65.5 million
• Coastal flooding is expected in several counties due to Storm Bella 
• The 1990 State Papers show that the Irish Government refused a request from the Birmingham Six to act as bail guarantors amid concerns it could prove embarrassing
• Also in the State Papers, Charles Haughey rebuked the British ambassador after Margaret Thatcher questioned the State’s commitment to defeating the IRA.

WORLD

President Faustin-Archange Touadera speaks to the media after casting his vote in the capital Bangui, Central African Republic. AP / PA Images AP / PA Images / PA Images

#VACCINE ROLLOUT: European Union nations began a coordinated effort to give Covid-19 vaccinations to adults among their 450 million citizens.

#BREXIT TRADE DEAL: SNP MPs will vote against UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s trade deal, branding it a “disaster for Scotland”.

#OXFORD VACCINE: The Covid-19 vaccine developed by the British drugs group AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has achieved a “winning formula” for efficacy.

PARTING SHOT

There is a deep, deep attachment with the dolphin. He’s very as much a part of Dingle as say, Paddy Bawn Brosnan, the Kerry footballer, or Wran’s Day on 26 December. He was central to the town’s identity, and because of that, there was a great fondness for him. 

Three generations of my family have known Fungie – my father, my brother and me, and my children. Thirty seven years. It was a privilege to have had him in Dingle. He was a comfort and joy to everyone.

What the dolphin gave was people could stay here, people had a choice. They can go, of course, but they can stay too. Even through the recessions, people could always make a living here in the tourist industry… because of the dolphin.

Some of the reasons Dingle locals gave TheJournal.ie as to why Fungie was so important to them – and how they’re so sorry to lose him.