Here's What Happened Today: Sunday

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

IRELAND

Pictured after their performance at the GOAL NextGen Street Takeover in St Stephen's Green are the Lithuanian Folk Dance Troupe with GOAL volunteers Meabh Boyd (front) and Jessica Murphy. Mark Stedman Mark Stedman

• A man in his 50s has died after his motorcycle crashed in Co Wexford yesterday.
• Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that First Minister Michelle O’Neill’s boycott of Washington DC’s St Patrick’s events was a “big mistake”.
• Two border counties have spent more than €1.6 million on the clean-up of toxic sludge from illegal diesel laundering plants over the past five years.
• A plan for all types of parents and families to be recognised across the entire EU needs to be put back on the political agenda after a series of delays from more conservative countries, Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh has said. 
• A number of prepay customers of Three were this morning affected by issues with their accounts, as their available credit disappeared.
• Lisa O’Rourke has been defeated in the final 70kg division at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Niš, Serbia.

INTERNATIONAL

People hug outside a hospital in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, following a nightclub fire that has killed 59 people. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#NORTH MACEDONIA: A fire tore through a nightclub in North Macedonia overnight, killing 59 people, apparently after on-stage fireworks set the building ablaze.

#CEASEFIRE TALKS: US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week, officials said today, as Washington and Kyiv’s European allies press Moscow to accept a ceasefire in the three-year war.

#YEMEN: US air strikes on Yemen have killed at least 31 people, with the White House saying that “multiple” Houthi leaders are among the death toll after US President Donald Trump ordered the air strikes on the capital Sanaa.

#PITTSBURGH: Sixteen people were hospitalised following the collapse of a porch at a St Patrick’s Day celebration in Pittsburgh on Friday, local authorities have confirmed.

#POPE FRANCIS: The first picture of Pope Francis since he was hospitalised has been released by the Vatican.

PARTING SHOT

TONIGHT MARKS THE end of this year’s Dancing With The Stars – whether you love it or hate it. 

The Journal’s Carl Kinsella paid a visit to the set last week to see how it all works behind the scenes, and asks the question: Dancing With The Stars Ireland is beloved… but are we prepared to pay for more TV like this?