Morning Focus opened with Gavin discussing the ongoing investigation into the murder of Dubliner, Kenneth O’Brien with Irish Daily Star crime correspondent, Michael O’Toole. An area near the canal in Sallins, Co Kildare has been sealed off.
Gardai say items of evidence were discovered there yesterday evening and these items will be forensically examined today. The 33 year old’s torso was found in a suitcase in the Grand Canal near Arclough over a week ago.
Later on in the show Gavin spoke to several people about the impact and cost of the flooding crisis. Alice Shannon spoke of concerns she had over a local road she and her neighbours use to access their homes. Alice feared that the road, which had been raised after severe flooding in 1995, had since been compromised by recent flooding which meant the road was only passable by tractor. Geraldine Quinlivan and her family have finally been able to return to their home following the floods, and are gradually clearing silt, muck and other debris from their property. Geraldine, from Springfield, Clonlara, says her family are assessing the financial impact of the flooding, but believe the emotional cost can never be counted. Gavin also spoke to Pat Quinn of Labane, Ardrahan, Co Galway. Pat runs a stonework and plant hire business on the main N18 by-passing Labane. The N18 was closed due to flooding at the end of December with traffic diverted through the village of Labane. Pat believes around 12,000 vehicles per day are using the diversion route, with implications for road safety of local people.
Superintendent Brendan McDonagh of Ennis Garda Station updated Gavin on an investigation into a bomb scare on a plane diverted to Shannon Airport on Sunday last.
Former GAA president and MEP for Ireland South, Sean Kelly, has described UEFA’s ticket allocation to Ireland for Euro 2016 as ‘miniscule’. Ireland fans have been allocated 26,000 tickets for the three group-stage games, with half of that amount being for crunch opener against Sweden on June 13. Allocations of 6,000 and 7,000 tickets have been provided for the following games against Belgium and Italy respectively.
Ronan Moyles, from Clare FM News presented a package from Clare Leader Forum pre-election hostings.
According to the Veracity Index, a survey conducted by IPSO MORI, people trust their hairdressers more than police officers, politicians or priests. Doctors, teachers, judges, and scientists all rate highly on the Trust Index, while politicians are least trusted. Speaking to Gavin today was Clare McCarthy, blogger and curator of Clarewiththehair.com.
The show wrapped up with a package on 'The Beautiful Vale of Bellvoir' a song celebrating a townland in East Clare.
