Donie's Ireland news Blog Thursday

Government must put pressure on Irish banks to open their books

  

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has today called on the Government to demand that bailed-out banks open their books after a study claimed Ireland is second only to Greece in terms of refusing loans to small firms.

Business groups maintained the Central Bank survey backs their long-standing argument that access to finance is being denied to viable but vulnerable companies.

The report revealed more than one in four small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) have been turned down for a loan or overdraft in the six months to March – double the eurozone average.

ISME’s Mark Fielding called on Government to demand full and complete disclosure from bailed-out banks on lending.

“While Irish banks have been recapitalised with enormous fiscal injections, the truth of the matter is the bailed-out banks are not fixed, rescued bankers continue to utter untruths, banking reform is delayed and banking policy is turning good business bad,” said Mr Fielding.

“This present administration must stop their current love affair with the banks, demand changes in bank operations and insist that they partake in a positive way in the recovery.”

However, the Irish Banking Federation (IBF) rejected the report’s findings and accused the Central Bank of pursuing a populous line.

IBF chief executive Pat Farrell said: “I can understand why sentiment towards banks is very negative because of the circumstance we find ourselves, but I would have expected more than a populous line from the Central Bank.

“I would reject the findings of the report because the definitive report on this area is the Mazars Report.”

He said the Mazars Report – which was commissioned by the Department of Finance and examined 1,500 SMEs in the same period – established banks were meeting the demand from small businesses.

Less than 500 firms were surveyed for the Central Bank study, which also found Ireland had the second highest number of firms afraid or discouraged from borrowing, while changes in terms and conditions linked with new bank credit were among the least favourable in the euro area.

Co-author and economist, Fergal McCann, denied the study was spin.

“The Central Bank is an independent institution and all we have done in this report is place Ireland in a ranking of European countries using two useful and valuable data sources,” he added.

New lending to SMEs amounted to €407m at the start of 2012, a 29.6% drop from three months earlier and down from more than €700m since the end of 2010.

The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) said hotels continue to face unjustifiable difficulties in accessing appropriate levels of credit from financial institutions.

John Whelan, of the Exporters Association, added: “The simple fact of the matter is that many exporting firms are still unable to get adequate finance to sustain their existing business and to grow their export markets.”

Elsewhere, Chambers Ireland raised concerns at the high level of businesses not applying for loans for fear of rejection.

However, Allied Irish Banks (AIB) maintained it exceeded its SME lending target of €3bn in 2011 and was 17% ahead of its €3.5bn target for 2012.

“We fully recognise that today’s credit process is more extensive than it was in previous times,” it said.

“We believe this is appropriate and is in no way meant to be an obstacle to obtaining credit

Green tea extract ‘eradicates skin cancer with no side-effects’

BUT DRINKING IT DOES NOT WORK

  

A green tea extract has a potent effect on cancer cells in the lab

A chemical found in green tea has been used to treat two types of skin cancer, scientists say.

The extract is too weak to make an impact when consumed in tea. However, when applied to cancer cells in the lab it made two-thirds of tumours shrink or disappear.

Scientists at the universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, who carried out the research, found the extract, known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg), had no side-effects on other cells or tissue.

They created a cell with EGCg and transferrin, a protein that naturally targets and latches on to the surface of cancer cells, and applied it to tumours.

Tests were done on two types of skin cancer: epidermoid carcinoma which forms scales on the surface of the skin and melanoma which often develops in people who have moles on their skin.

In both studies, 40 per cent of tumours vanished, while 30 per cent of tumours in carcinoma cases and 20 per cent in melanoma cases shrank. A further 10 per cent of melanoma tumours were stabilised, so did not grow or shrink.

Around 10,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with melanoma each year, with the majority women, according to the Macmillan Cancer Support charity.

Anti-cancer properties of EGCg were established in earlier laboratory tests elsewhere. Scientists at other universities around the world have experimented with it to treat prostate cancer and leukaemia.

Lead researcher Dr Christine Dufes, from the University of Strathclyde, said: ‘These are very encouraging results which we hope could pave the way for new and effective cancer treatments.

‘When we used our method, the green tea extract reduced the size of many of the tumours every day, in some cases removing them altogether. By contrast, the extract had no effect at all when it was delivered by other means, as every one of these tumours continued to grow.

‘This research could open doors to new treatments for what is still one of the biggest killer diseases in many countries.’

The research is published in the medical journal Nanomedicine.

Lovely roses of Tralee are in full bloom right now

  

The lovely Girls Rose’s have hit Tralee — and none of my fellow red-blooded Kerrymen are complaining.

It has its critics and sniggerers but year after year the Rose of Tralee proves a huge public, and TV, draw.

Who needs bikinis when you have a twinkle in the eye and a bit of Daithi O’Se’s Dingle patter?

It might be 2012 outside but in the Dome it’s still DeValera’s dream of comely maidens riverdancing at the crossroads. Or attempting to.

Excess weight & Obesity leads to diabetes

  

Lifestyle changes is the key to tackling Diabetes among  lower socio-economic groups in our society, say researchers who found that excess weight is the most important single contributing factor for developing the condition among these disadvantaged groups. 

The burden of type 2 diabetes disproportionally affects these groups. Lifestyle related risk factors are thought to play a key role, but previous studies have tended to underestimate their effect. 

So an international team of researchers set out to measure the contribution of several major risk factors for type 2 diabetes to socio-economic differences across society. 
They assessed health behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and physical activity), body mass index, and biological risk markers (blood pressure and lipid levels) in 7,237 middle-aged adults without diabetes, measuring these risk factors repeatedly over an average of 14 years. 

All the study participants were taking part in the Whitehall II study, which is evaluating the impact of social and economic factors on the long-term health of around 10,000 British civil servants, aged between 35 and 55 in 1985. 

Socio-economic status was assessed through occupational position and reflected education, salary, social status, and level of responsibility at work. 
Over the average follow-up of 14 years, 818 cases of diabetes were identified. Participants in the lowest occupational category had a 1.86-fold greater risk of developing diabetes relative to those in the highest occupational category. 

Health behaviours and body mass index explained up to 45 percent of this socio-economic differential in both men and women when changes over time and long-term exposure were accounted for. With additional adjustments for biological risk markers, a total of 53 percent of the socio-economic differential was explained. 

Body mass index was the most important single contributing factor, explaining about 20 percent of socio-economic differences. 
This finding is not surprising, said the researchers, as weight gain is strongly socially patterned. 

However, the effects of diet and physical activity were smaller than expected, given that these behaviours are also strongly socially patterned, they added. The contribution of smoking and alcohol consumption was also modest. 

“Given the increasing burden of type 2 diabetes and the observed increase in social inequalities in prevalence of type 2 diabetes, further efforts to tackle these factors are urgently needed,” they concluded.

Footage emerges of massive blaze engulfing closed Donegal hotel

The huge blaze took control of the disused Lough Swilly Hotel in Buncrana Co Donegal last night Wednesday.

   

The blaze at the old Lough Swilly Hotel in Buncrana

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rzjLvPC-bQ&feature=plcp

THE video footage (click above link) of a huge blaze which gutted a landmark Donegal hotel last night click above link to see the 42 second footage.

Lough Swilly Hotel on fire, Buncrana, Inishowen, County Donegal. Burning down on the 22nd August 2012

The former Lough Swilly Hotel in Buncrana, which was around 150 years old, had closed in the 1970s, and had been used as a music venue and a warehouse since then,  Local company Flanagans took the building over several years ago, but it had been under the control of Deloitte and Touche since Flanagans went into receivership last year. Brian Flanagan told Highland Radio that there had been some issues with vandalism at the site when it was in their control, leading to increased security.

In 2010 An Bord Pleanála had given the go ahead for the hotel to be knocked down to make way for a new development, but the work never went ahead.

Gardaí are launching an investigation into the cause of the blaze, which has now been extinguished. Roads in the area have reopened and Visit Inishowen has tweeted that the local ferry service is back in operation.

Donie's Friday news Ireland Blog

Some 900 Irish jobs will be created in 53 start-ups companies

  

More than 900 jobs will be created over the next three years in 53 new start-up companies.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton announced the positions will open by 2014 as the new firms set up shop across the country, following a Government and Enterprise Ireland initiative to support start-ups.

“What we must also do if we are to create the jobs we need is to create a base of indigenous companies that match that level of success,” said Mr Bruton.

“As I have said before, our aim is not only to attract the next Google or Microsoft to Ireland, but to make it possible for the next Google or Microsoft to start-up in Ireland.”

The 53 companies delivering the jobs come from different sectors including financial services, ICT, digital games, medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

Among them is games developer Digit Games Studio Ltd, which will create 47 jobs, and digital marketing company Digital Marketing Institute, which will open 39 positions. Both companies have bases in Dublin.

Others include financial services software firm Nomoseire, which will create 14 positions in Cork, and abrasives manufacturers Kerry Abrasives, opening nine jobs in Listowel, Co Kerry.

The firms were given support during the first six months of the year under Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Start-Ups (HPSU) programme. The idea was to invest in indigenous businesses that have strong export potential.

“The new Government has already delivered a series of measures aimed at better supporting indigenous companies to succeed in export markets,” said Mr Bruton. “We have established a new potential exporters division in Enterprise Ireland to provide new supports for exporters. We have delivered new mentoring and management support programmes to help companies improve their performance.”

Head of HPSU and scaling at Enterprise Ireland Greg Treston said the organisation’s aim was to meet the needs of fledgling companies to help them grow.

Four out of every 10 Irish people 15 to 25 years old are without work

  

Four IN ten young people under the age of 25 were unemployed at the time of the 2011 census, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office yesterday.

The latest CSO data, which concentrates on people at work, shows that more than 82,000 people between 15 and 24 were not working in April 2011.

The rate of youth unemployment rose by 74 per cent between the 2006 and 2011 censuses, with 39 per cent of those aged 15-24 recorded as being without work in April last year.

Unemployment among men in this age category almost doubled in that period to 50,440 from 26,448, meaning the unemployment rate among young males stood at 45 per cent last April.

Among women in the same age group, unemployment increased from 20,674 in 2006 to 31,713 – yielding an unemployment rate of 32 per cent.

Limerick city and Co Donegal had the highest levels of youth unemployment, with rates of 50 and 49 per cent respectively, while the jobless rate in Co Wexford stood at 47 per cent.

Almost 70,000 of those 15-24-year-olds out of work had finished their education. However, there was significant variation in unemployment levels depending on the level of education completed.

For the 4,732 people who were educated to primary level only, the unemployment rate was 70 per cent. For those who had completed lower secondary level (Junior Cert), the rate stood at 65 per cent. Those with an upper secondary education had an unemployment rate of 39 per cent, while the rate for the 7,534 people with third-level qualifications was significantly lower at 18 per cent.

The lowest youth unemployment rate, 27 per cent, was recorded in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, while Fingal, Cork county and Galway city were also at the lower end of the spectrum.

A total of 34,166 people were looking for their first regular job in April 2011, more than 60 per cent of whom were 15-24. Of the 8,622 15-19 year olds in this category, 5,424 were male.

Just over a quarter of first-time jobseekers were foreign nationals, the majority from Eastern Europe, while British, Nigerians, Brazilians and Indians also featured.

Of the 6,941 people with a third-level qualification looking for their first job, almost one in five had a qualification in business and administration. A further 9 per cent had an arts qualification. Almost 400 people with a third-level qualification in architecture were looking for their first regular job.

The wider census results show that, although the labour force grew by 5.8 per cent in the past five years, the numbers at work declined by over 6 per cent to 1,807,369 in the same period.

The number of people unemployed increased dramatically from 150,084 to 390,677 between 2006 and 2011. Combined with people looking for their first job, the total number out of work stood at 424,843 in April 2011.

The unemployment rate jumped from 8.5 per cent in 2006 to 19 per cent in 2011.

The rate of unemployment among foreign nationals in 2011 stood at 22 per cent compared with an unemployment rate of 18.5 per cent among Irish people.

The census pointed to a much higher employment rate among people who spoke English well or very well than those who had inferior English-language abilities; almost one-third of the 67,531 people who either could not speak English well or could not speak English at all were unemployed.

Of the more than 35,000 people in employment who did not speak English well or at all, the largest group (4,149 people) were cleaners, followed by 6 per cent who worked as kitchen or catering assistants. A similar cohort worked as food, drink or tobacco operatives.

New ‘wonder drug’ JD5037 to tackle obesity

      

A new drug that combats “the munchies” could provide a long-lasting solution to weight loss, researchers have claimed.

The drug, known only as JD5037, increases sensitivity to a natural hormone in the body that suppresses appetite.

It acts by blocking the same brain pathways responsible for feelings of hunger after taking cannabis. But, crucially, it does not penetrate far enough into the brain to cause psychiatric problems.

A similar anti-obesity drug, rimonabant, had to be withdrawn after it was linked to anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.

JD5037 affects the way the body reacts to leptin, a hormone that promotes feelings of satiety, or “fullness”.

Attempts to boost leptin levels have failed because the body becomes desensitised to the hormone and stops responding to it. JD5037 does not increase levels of leptin, but enhances its effect.

“By sensitising the body to naturally occurring leptin, the new drug could not only promote weight loss, but also help to maintain it,” said lead scientist Dr George Kunos, from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the United States.

“This finding bodes well for the development of a new class of compounds for the treatment of obesity and its metabolic consequences.”

The research, reported in the journal Cell Metabolism, was conducted on overfed obese mice.

Scientists found that giving the mice the drug caused weight loss and improved metabolic health. The animals showed no signs of anxiety or other behavioural side-effects.

Satellites reveal sudden Greenland ice melt

   

The first image shows Greenland’s ice sheet on 8 July, the second, taken four days later, shows the area where ice has melted at the surface

The surface of Greenland’s massive ice sheet has melted this month over an unusually large area, Nasa has said.

Scientists said the “unprecedented” melting took place over a larger area than has been detected in three decades of satellite observation.

Melting even occurred at Greenland’s coldest and highest place, Summit station.

The thawed ice area jumped from 40% of the ice sheet to 97% in just four days from 8 July.

Melting events of this type occur about once every 150 years on average. With the last one happening in 1889, this event is right on time”

Although about half of Greenland’s ice sheet normally sees surface melting over the summer months, the speed and scale of this year’s thaw surprised scientists, who described the phenomenon as “extraordinary”.

Nasa said that nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its centre, which is 3km (two miles) thick, experienced some degree of melting at its surface.

Until now, the most extensive melting seen by satellites in the past three decades was about 55% of the area.

According to ice core records, such pronounced melting at Summit station and across the ice sheet has not occurred since 1889.

“When we see melt in places that we haven’t seen before, at least in a long period of time, it makes you sit up and ask what’s happening,” Nasa chief scientist Waleed Abdalati said.

“It’s a big signal, the meaning of which we’re going to sort out for years to come.”

Watch this space

He said that, because this Greenland-wide melting has happened before – in 1889 – scientists are not yet able to determine whether this is a natural but rare event, or if it has been sparked by man-made climate change.

The observation is in my view much more important than the recently reported break up of a large iceberg from Petermann Glacier”

“Ice cores from Summit show that melting events of this type occur about once every 150 years on average. With the last one happening in 1889, this event is right on time,” said Lora Koenig, a glaciologist from Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and a member of the research team analysing the satellite data.

“But if we continue to observe melting events like this in upcoming years, it will be worrisome.”

Prof Eric Wolff, from the British Antarctic Survey (Bas) told BBC News: “There have clearly been some very warm days in Greenland this month. As a result, the surface snow has melted across the whole ice sheet.

“This is confirmed by some of my international colleagues who are on the ground at the NEEM ice core drilling site in north Greenland – they are reporting several days with temperatures above zero, and ice layers forming in the snow.

“While this is very unusual, as always we cannot attribute any individual extreme event to climate change: We will have to wait and see if more such events occur in the next few years to understand its significance for both the climate and the health of the ice sheet.”

Dr Poul Christoffersen, a glaciologist and engineer at the Scott Polar Institute in Cambridge, told BBC News: “The melting seen in the satellite data is unprecedented, as it extends all the way across the ice sheet including the summit, which is located 3,200 m above sea level. Melting is usually limited to less than 2000m elevation.”

The news comes just days after Nasa satellite imagery revealed that a massive iceberg, twice the size of Manhattan, had broken off the Petermann Glacier in Greenland.

“The observation [from Greenland] is in my view much more important than the recently reported break up of a large iceberg from Petermann Glacier,” Dr Christofferson added.

Nasa’s Tom Wagner said: “This event, combined with other natural but uncommon phenomena, such as the large calving event last week on Petermann Glacier, are part of a complex story.”

Scientists said they believed that much of Greenland’s ice was already freezing again.

Shift work has link to ‘increased risk of heart problems’

     

Working night shifts can disrupt the body’s clock and lead to health problems

Shift workers are slightly more at risk of having a heart attack or stroke than day workers, research suggests.

An analysis of studies involving more than 2m workers in the British Medical Journal said shift work can disrupt the body clock and have an adverse effect on lifestyle.

It has previously been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure and diabetes.

Limiting night shifts would help workers cope, experts said.

The team of researchers from Canada and Norway analysed 34 studies.

In total, there were 17,359 coronary events of some kind, including cardiac arrests, 6,598 heart attacks and 1,854 strokes caused by lack of blood to the brain.

These events were more common in shift workers than in other people.

The BMJ study calculated that shift work was linked to a 23% increased risk of heart attack, 24% increased risk of coronary event and 5% increased risk of stroke.

But they also said shift work was not linked to increased mortality rates from heart problems and that the relative risks associated with heart problems were “modest”.

Ensuring workers have a minimum of two full nights sleep between day and night shifts can help people to cope with shift work.”

The researchers took the socioeconomics status of the workers, their diet and general health into account in their findings.

No rest

Dan Hackam, associate professor at Western University, London Ontario in Canada, said shift workers were more prone to sleeping and eating badly.

“Night shift workers are up all the time and they don’t have a defined rest period. They are in a state of perpetual nervous system activation which is bad for things like obesity and cholesterol,” he said.

The authors say that screening programmes could help identify and treat risk factors for shift workers, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

They add that shift workers could also be educated about what symptoms to look our for, which might indicate early heart problems.

Jane White, research and information services manager at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, said there are complex issues surrounding shift work.

“It can result in disturbed appetite and digestion, reliance on sedatives and, or stimulants, as well as social and domestic problems.

“These can affect performance, increase the likelihood of errors and accidents at work, and even have a negative effect on health.

She said the effects of shift work needed to be well-managed.

“Avoiding permanent night shifts, limiting shifts to a maximum of 12 hours and ensuring workers have a minimum of two full nights sleep between day and night shifts are simple, practical solutions that can help people to cope with shift work.”

Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said the increased risk to an individual shift worker “was relatively small”.

“But many Brits don’t work nine to five and so these findings becomes much more significant. “Whether you work nights, evenings or regular office hours, eating healthily, getting active and quitting smoking can make a big difference to your heart health.”

Donie's news Ireland daily Blog

Yes they did shake hands after all?

Sinn Féin & Martin McGuinness accept’s the Queen’s hand in Belfast

    

Queen Elizabeth shakes hands with Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness watched by First Minister Peter Robinson at the  Lyric Theatre in Belfast yesterday.

You do not initiate a handshake with the British monarch. You wait for her to make the first move. And you don’t touch Queen Elizabeth without her permission.

These are the niceties of British-Irish relations that Sinn Féin must become familiar with, following yesterday’s historic events in Belfast.

All is changed, changed utterly, and the Provisional republicans have irrevocably gone from the clenched fist to the open hand.

The Lyric Theatre in leafy south Belfast was a suitable location for this much-heralded exercise in civility between the commander-in-chief of the British armed forces and the former poster-boy of the IRA.

The news media were kept at a good distance from Ridgway Street where the Lyric is located. It is indeed a rare occasion when a theatre audience are told they must stay away.

In the end, Queen Elizabeth and Martin McGuinness shook hands not once, but twice. The first was in a private room, unseen by most of the other invited guests at the Lyric.

Perhaps taking his cue from the queen’s cúpla focal at Dublin Castle last year, he greeted her with the words, “fáilte romhat”: you’re welcome.

No title was used, but when he turned to greet President Michael D Higgins, he uttered a more generous, “céad míle fáilte” (a hundred thousand welcomes) and added, “a Uachtaráin” (Mr President).

Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Derry and Buckingham Palace, like that famous moment at the end of the film, Casablanca? Will the British monarch and the Deputy First Minister now start exchanging text messages on a regular basis? Probably not: McGuinness likes to talk and he may have blown it by delivering a homily to the queen praising her visit south of the Border last year and stressing the importance of leadership in building peace.

Then, on the way out, there was a further handshake . The queen smiled and McGuinness, we are told, said “slán agus beannacht” (goodbye and a blessing upon you).

A woman who did not wish to be named was watching the proceedings from across the street. She arranged to stay overnight in her daughter’s house so she could see the whole thing.

But she wasn’t interested in the former IRA commander from Derry: “I love the queen, I really do, she is such a lady.” She shrugged when questioned about the encounter between the British royal and the Irish republican: “A handshake is a handshake.”

Queen Elizabeth has a sense of occasion: she wore powder blue in Enniskillen on Tuesday but yesterday it was lime green with, as a gesture to the artistic community, a quill in her hat. McGuinness wore a green tie.

The Duke of Edinburgh can always be relied on for a laugh, and he commented on the size of the scones at the reception. “Who eats those?” he quipped.

Given that the IRA killed his uncle, Lord Mountbatten (who was also the queen’s cousin) there was speculation he might not shake hands with McGuinness, but he did.

At one point, the Deputy First Minister circumvented President Higgins and made his way closer to Prince Philip as though wishing to engage in conversation.

However, the prince moved on smartly to join the queen and that was the end of that. Perhaps Lord Louis was watching.

A set of portraits by painter Colin Davidson was on show, along with some of the real-life subjects. Classical pianist Barry Douglas asked the queen: “Which is better, the real me or the painting?” The monarch replied diplomatically: “I don’t know, what do you think?”

Once portrayed in a TV documentary as Britain’s most dangerous man, McGuinness insisted on his way out that “I’m still a republican”, but, reflecting the new atmosphere, he added that the meeting with the queen was “very nice”.

Singer Dolores Keane gets her 3rd driving ban and four years with a fine of €300

    

Dolores Keane at Glenties District Court (above) yesterday. She is now on her third driving ban.

Irish singer Dolores Keane has been banned from driving for four years and fined €300 for drunk-driving.

Judge Paul Kelly yesterday paid tribute to Ms Keane for her involvement with the best-selling album A Woman’s Heart, and wished her the best of luck in her career.

Ms Keane (58), who is now on her third driving ban, told the judge at Glenties District Court: “Thank you very much.” She had admitted being nearly twice over the alcohol limit when driving outside the courthouse and less than 80m from the Garda station on March 26th, 2011.

The court was told it was her second drink-driving incident within a few months as she was already banned for three years for an offence near her home outside Tuam, Co Galway, in November 2010.

The four-year ban, which started yesterday, will run concurrently with the three-year disqualification.

Judge Kelly was also told that Ms Keane, who spent three months this year at an alcoholic counselling and treatment centre, was first banned from driving for two years in June 2000.

Garda Insp Dennis Joyce, prosecuting, said Ms Keane’s latest drink-driving occurred in March last year outside the courthouse in Glenties when gardaí received a report of a car being driven in an erratic manner on the wrong side of the road. Ms Keane was co-operative with gardaí.

Solicitor Eric Gleeson, defending, said Ms Keane had two children, one of whom was blind. “She drank all her life, which affected her health and wellbeing, and more recently began to drink heavily,” Mr Gleeson told the court.

This year she went on a 12-week alcoholic counselling and treatment course in a Cuan Mhuire centre and, at one stage, she was removed for treatment to hospital in Limerick.

Mr Gleeson added that she was now off alcohol and medication and “a lot more healthy” than when he first took instructions from her last year. She was getting her career back on track and there was a forthcoming tour.

Judge Kelly said to Ms Keane that it was obvious her being in court was “sufficient” punishment.  She replied: “Yes.”

The judge said: “I am sure you would rather be remembered for A Woman’s Heart and your other fine productions.”

He added that he wished her the best of luck with her continued career. She replied: “Thank you very much.”

The judge said he would impose only a fine instead of a prison or suspended prison sentence. He also banned her for four years.

“You are seriously in peril if you find yourself in this situation again,” he told her.

Ms Keane, Caherlistrane, Tuam, once more replied “thank you” as she left the court with a sister and her manager.

Donegal Priest found not guilty of indecent assault in Derry court

         

A Catholic priest who is originally from Moville, Co Donegal, has been found not guilty at the crown court in Derry of five charges of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl 20 years ago.

Fr Eugene Boland (66), the parochial house, Killyclogher Road, Omagh, was found not guilty yesterday of the charges by majority verdicts. He had denied claims he had indecently assaulted the girl in the parochial house at St Joseph’s parish in the Galliagh area of Derry between June 1990 and June 1992 when he was the then parish administrator.

The verdicts followed an eight-day trial before Judge Stephen Fowler and almost four hours of deliberation over two days by the jury. Following the verdicts, the complainant wept in court.

Through his solicitor Kevin McGuigan, Fr Boland told reporters the last three years had been a nightmare and he thanked the jurors for bringing that nightmare to an end.

Elderly woman from Ballyshannon dies after her car collides with lorry in Cliffoney Sligo

   

A Ballyshannon Co DONEGAL pensioner has died after a car crash on Wednesday afternoon @ about 1:30. The elderly woman of eighty  died when her car collided with a lorry near the village of Cliffoney in Co Sligo at around lunchtime yesterday.

The woman in her 80s was seriously injured when the car she was travelling in collided with a lorry on the N15 Sligo to Bundoran road near Cliffoney village at around 1.30pm today.

She was taken by ambulance to Sligo General Hospital where she was pronounced dead. The drivers of both vehicles were also taken to hospital.

Forensic collision investigators are at the scene and diversions are in place, Gardaí say.

They have also appealed for any witnesses to the collision to contact them at Sligo Garda Station on 071 915 7000, or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

Two cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of heart failure  (but five are not good for you)

       

Two mugs of coffee a day could help keep the heart healthy. A study has linked the drink with a lower risk of heart failure.

With up to 40 per cent of those affected dying within a year of diagnosis, heart failure has a worse survival rate than many cancers.

The latest research suggests that regularly drinking moderate amounts of coffee can cut the odds of cardiac trouble – though too much could be counter-productive.

Coffee may protect against heart failure by reducing the chance of developing diabetes, said scientists

Crunching together the results of five previous studies, involving almost 150,000 men and women, showed that those who enjoyed one or two mugs of coffee a day were 11 per cent less likely to develop heart failure than those who had none.

Heart attack survivors gained as much benefit as those with healthy hearts.

BUT DRINKING FIVE OR MORE MUGS A DAY APPEARED TO BE BAD FOR THE HEART, THE JOURNAL CIRCULATION HEART FAILURE REPORTS.

Researcher Dr Murray Mittleman, of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said: ‘As with so many things, moderation appears to be the key here too.’

The researchers aren’t sure why coffee seems to cut the odds of heart failure, in which the organ, weakened by a heart attack or disease, struggles to pump blood around the body.

They say it may be because the drink reduces the likelihood of high blood pressure and of diabetes – both of which boost the odds of heart failure.

Dr Mittleman said: ‘It stands to reason that reducing one’s odds of developing either one of them,  in turn, reduces one’s chance of heart failure.’

Colleague Elizabeth Mostofsky added: ‘This is good news for coffee drinkers.’

Other recent research to hearten coffee drinkers includes a study that credited the drink with helping people live longer.

The US government-funded researchers found the more coffee you drink, the less likely you are to die from a number of different ailments.

These include heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, injuries, accidents, diabetes and infections, but not cancer.

It is also known that some people inherit genes that make them more reliant on caffeine than others.

Those with the ‘caffeine addict’ genes, need to drink more coffee to get the same buzz.

Cheetah’s the gold medalist’s of sprinting cats

   

With the Olympics around the corner in London, we could see a few world records smashed.

But when it comes to sprinting, the cheetah is nature’s gold medallist. A new study in the Journal of Experimental Biology sought to find out more about why the cats are so fast by comparing them to the less speedy but still fleet greyhound.

By comparing force plate and high-speed video data of galloping cheetahs and greyhounds, the researchers saw that the cheetah’s stride length and frequency, and how the cat supports a greater percentage of its body weight on its hind legs at high speeds (18 metres per second) could be factors that help it outrun the dogs.

At the other end of the scale, there are plenty that could overtake Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus). A separate study used data-logging tags on six of the fish and saw cruising speeds of 0.34 metres per second with “bursts” of up to 0.7 metres per second.

“We showed that Greenland sharks swim at the slowest speed for their size among fishes studied to date, presumably because of the depressing effect of cold polar waters on locomotor muscle functions,” write the study authors in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.

The term “sluggish” springs to mind, but their lack of speed doesn’t seem to lead to a lack of dinner – Greenland sharks apparently attack live seals.

So why does their prey not just swim away? The authors hypothesise that the slow-moving sharks might target seals that are sleeping in the water to avoid polar bears.