GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day. 

Cashel Tragedy

1. Two adults and a three-year-old boy have died and two more adults have been seriously injured in a road crash in Co Tipperary.

The single vehicle collision occurred shortly before 9pm yesterday evening when a car hit a wall in the Windmill Knockbulloge area of Cashel.

Electoral Commission

2. Ireland is to get 14 additional TDs, bringing the total figure to 174, following a review of Dáil and European Parliament constituency boundaries.

The report published today also recommends the creation of four new constituencies. 

Murder in Derry

3. The PSNI has launched a murder investigation after a 56-year-old man was stabbed to death in Kilrea. 

A 33-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the case, at present, police are not looking for any other suspects. 

Rural Home Births

4. Women in rural Ireland who want to have a home birth may face restrictions as the HSE still wants them to live no further than a 30-minute ‘blue light’ ambulance distance from a maternity unit.

The HSE has confirmed to Noteworthy that the controversial guidance “remains in place” despite protests against it last year – and an inconsistent take-up of the advice by some hospital groups.

Electric Picnic

5. Gardaí have warned that “no amnesty” will be given to those who are in possession of controlled drugs at Electric Picnic this year, despite the HSE announcing that drug ‘surrender bins’ will be in operation at again.

Gabon Coup

6. Soldiers appeared on TV claiming that they had seized power in the Central African country in the early hours of this morning, and that the borders would be closed “until further notice”. 

The apparent military coup comes after the recent election results, which saw the President holding onto power yet again, were met with contention. 

Hurricane Idalia

7. The major hurricane intensified early this morning as it hurtled towards northwest Florida, threatening “catastrophic” impacts including a dangerous storm surge, with officials forecasting it will slam the coast within hours as an extreme and historic Category 4 storm.

Officials are warning that the storm surge resulting from hurricane could be a “once in a lifetime” weather event for parts of Florida, with potentially deadly effects. 

Tributes 

8. Locals and politicians are paying tribute to the people who lost their lives in the crash in Cashel yesterday. 

 Local Fine Gael councillor Declan Burgess said the community was “numb” at hearing the news.

National Archives

9. The Department of Justice was afraid in the 1970s that removing Ireland’s criminal ban on sexual relationships between men would lead to “public displays of homosexual relationships”.

The department recently released decades-old files to the National Archives that document Ireland’s journey to decriminalising homosexuality in 1993, years behind many other countries in western Europe, where same-sex activity was legal in most cases since the 1960s and 1970s.