Rain warnings in place for six counties
Mild, wet and blustery weather is expected to continue for the rest of the week. Photograph: Andy GibsonA status yellow rain warning has been issued for six counties by Met Éireann. Since midnight, counties Carlow, Cork, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow have been subject to the weather warning, which will remain in place until midday today. Rain will spread northwards across the country this morning and afternoon, while it will clear northeastwards and turn to scattered showers in the evening. Unsettled conditions are expected to continue for the rest of the week, with wet and blustery weather.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 19:36 UTC
Exam papers ‘sold for €50’ to electrical apprentices
Other “compromised” exam papers were alleged to have been shared with apprentices hoping to qualify as electricians in advance of assessments. QQI confirmed it had in March commenced an independent review of Solas assessments of the electrical apprenticeship programme. The report, finalised in October, recommends Solas improve “the governance of the craft electrical apprenticeship programme”. One Government source described how “there were rumours flying that you could buy an exam paper for €50 the night before an exam”. Mr Lawless asked the Attorney General if the issue should be reported to An Garda Síochána.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 19:31 UTC
‘That’s the Irish upbringing’: Man who stopped UK train attacker says he’d do it for anyone
On the wall behind him hang a red Nottingham Forest football scarf, his wedding photo and more family photographs. On Saturday night, the 61-year-old fended off a man wielding a large kitchen knife on a busy train from northern England towards the UK capital. Walking down the carriage, the attacker ultimately hospitalised 11 people – including Mr Crean himself. He somehow remains mellow and composed when telling The Irish Times about the traumatic event, which he not only witnessed but intervened in. Because Mr Crean placed himself directly in front of the attacker, his fellow passengers were able to run down the carriage to relative safety.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 19:31 UTC
Criminal Assets Bureau selling properties seized from organised criminals at record rate
The Criminal Assets Bureau was created in 1996, after the gun murder of journalist Veronica Guerin by members of the John Gilligan drugs gang. Photograph: Colin Keega/CollinsThe Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) is selling properties seized from criminals, mostly drug dealers, at a faster rate than any time since its inception almost 30 years ago. The Irish Times understands Cab sold 20 seized properties last year, fetching a combined €5 million, compared to 12 sales the previous year, which was a new record at the time. Of the 20 properties sold, seven sales were in Dublin, two were in Kildare and one was in Lazarote. The bureau was created in 1996, after the gun murder of journalist Veronica Guerin by members of the John Gilligan drugs gang.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 19:26 UTC
Dublin 6 the most expensive Eircode with house prices at almost €800,000
A shot of Rathmines village in Dublin 6, which is the most expensive Eircode in the State, according to latest house price data from Geowox. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details of the latest study of house prices by property firm Geowox. In Me & My Money, singer and actor Susan McFadden says “life is too short not to spend your money. So it’s share price slump last week is sure to have set alarm bells ringing at the IDA, writes Cantillon. A new study shows share prices often drift slowly after bad earnings announcements, writes Stocktake.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 19:22 UTC
Ireland’s housing crisis to last another 15 years, Department of Finance predicts
Housing demand is not expected to peak until the early 2030s, the Department of Finance has said. Photograph: Alan BetsonIreland’s housing crisis is likely to persist for at least another 15 years, according to the Department of Finance. Housing demand is not expected to peak until the early 2030s, it said, with “pent-up demand” not fully eliminated until at least 2040. There are currently 116 people in the labour force for every 100 not working. If net migration were zero, the labour force would start to contract by 2035 with major repercussions for the economy.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 19:20 UTC
Allianz insurance Dublin headquarters vandalised by pro-Palestine group
Palestinian Action Éire said it opposes the insurance company’s relationship with an Israeli weapon manufacturer. Screenshot: Palestine Action Éire/XThe Irish headquarters of the insurance company Allianz was vandalised in Dublin overnight. A number of windows were broken and red graffiti sprayed at the office buildings at Elm Park in Dublin 4. A pro-Palestinian group, Palestinian Action Éire, has claimed responsibility. The group said it opposes the insurance company’s alleged relationship with an Israeli weapon manufacturer.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 19:16 UTC
Simon Harris calls for ‘rational, calm, informed debate’ on immigration
Left-wing Opposition leaders have made renewed criticisms of Tánaiste Simon Harris, over remarks he made about migration numbers in Ireland being too high. During Leaders’ Questions, Ms Cairns said Mr Harris spoke about migration numbers being too high just days after anti-immigrant rioting at Citywest. She said it was wrong of the Tánaiste to say Ireland’s migration numbers are too high. Mr Harris said recent data from the Economic and Social Research Institute shows the population is growing “way faster than baseline projections”. So let’s actually have a rational, calm, informed debate that doesn’t seek to label people, shout them down, box them into certain positions.”
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 19:16 UTC
‘This is a godforsaken place’: A despairing letter from a garda stationed in Tipperary in 1940
Some years ago here, I wrote about a visit to the “remote” (my description) Tipperary outpost of Rearcross. The column was mostly about the village’s pretty tin church which, as I said, looked like a little piece of New England dropped among the Slieve Felim Mountains. But reading it in retrospect, I might have been inclined to apologise for calling the place “remote” – a bad habit of Dublin journalists – on the grounds that nowhere is remote if you live there. It was written by a garda newly stationed in Rearcross in 1940. But, remote as the place may have seemed, it hadn’t been remote enough for the IRA’s purposes.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 19:08 UTC
‘I know I won’t stay in Vancouver forever. But I’ll return different’
'Joanne and Vogue’s podcast kept me company, their familiar laughter carrying a part of home far away from home.' One year ago, I arrived in Vancouver with no familiar faces, no clear path, and a head full of dreams that felt just beyond reach. It’s a story that might feel familiar to anyone who has ever packed their life into a suitcase and stepped into the unknown, hoping the ground would appear beneath their feet. Every moment of discomfort was planting something that would one day bloom into the life I’m living today. I know I won’t stay in Vancouver forever.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 18:48 UTC
Fianna Fáil TD accuses Fine Gael of trying to ‘undermine’ party over Ivan Yates training
Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins: 'It’s not really any of Fine Gael’s business what media consultants or media trainers Fianna Fáil use.' Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish TimesA Fianna Fáil TD has accused Fine Gael of trying to “undermine” his party by raising concerns over training provided to some of its senior figures by Ivan Yates. Six senior Fianna Fáil politicians, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin, were also given media training by Mr Yates. The revelations that Mr Yates had provided services to Fianna Fáil was “not new news”, the Limerick County TD said. It’s a matter for Fianna Fáil, who Fianna Fáil engages as a media coach or indeed as a consultant.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 18:44 UTC
‘His good name will probably never recover’: DJ Carey begins 5½ years in prison
Former Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey was once considered an icon. File photograph: Patrick Bolger/Inpho“A final comment,” said Judge Martin Nolan before DJ Carey turned to go. On a busy day in Court 5, DJ Carey was nobody special. At 1.06pm, after a hectic morning during which 32 cases had passed through the court, Judge Nolan announced there was a sentencing matter to be dealt with before lunch. DJ Carey arrives at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin on October 31st.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 18:42 UTC
‘Irish people really value privacy. In Greece it is completely different’
Annie Angelopoulou had never been to the west of Ireland before she moved in 2017 from her native Greece to Ennis, Co Clare. When friends from Austria, the Netherlands and Slovakia heard she was moving Ireland, she says they said: Are you crazy? One aspect of life in Ireland she appreciates is that she finds people value privacy. Irish people will first text or call and say: ‘Will you be available?’ In Greece it’s completely different. I was completely, you know, like a fly in the milk.”Annie Angelopoulou at home in Ennis Co Clare.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 18:36 UTC
‘I’ve no idea how to help ensure my son completes the CAO application process properly’
'If I have one piece of advice for parents, it is to ensure your child reads the 2026 online CAO Handbook carefully.' Photograph: Getty ImagesQuestionMy son is sitting the Leaving Cert next June and his school has advised us that the CAO application process will open today. As a first-time parent, I’ve no idea how to help ensure he completes the application process properly. If I have one piece of advice for parents, it is to ensure your child reads the 2026 online CAO Handbook carefully. It is also vital to remind your son to deal promptly with any correspondence from the CAO.
Source:The Irish Times
November 04, 2025 18:02 UTC