Latest from Irish Independent
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Shane O'Brien misses out on match-day squad as John Kiely reveals hand for Dublin showdown
Shane O'Brien misses out on the match-day 26 for Limerick's All-Ireland quarter-final against Dublin, with John Kiely naming an unchanged starting 15 for the game.
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Climate
- Irish Independent
Hottest day of year so far as temperatures climb to 27C; Friday expected to hit 29C in some counties
The highest reading across the country today was at Mount Dillon in Roscommon, which saw exactly 27.0. One weather station in Kerry also recorded 26.4C this afternoon. Weather stations in Carlow, Galway, Westmeath, Dublin and Clare all recorded over 26 degrees and all surpassed the previous high of 25.9C at Athenry on April 30. Friday may be even hotter across the country with Met Éireann expecting temperatures to go up to 29 degrees in places. Friday is set to be very warm and hot, with high summer sunshine. While showers may break out locally, the highest temperatures will range from 20 to 29 degrees. The north of the country will be the hottest, with a moderate southeast breeze in most areas. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Saturday will again see warm sunshine, although scattered showers are expected. Some showers will be heavy and possibly thundery. Top temperatures across the country will range from 19 to 25 degrees, with the highest temperatures in the east. There will also be a general light to moderate southwest wind. Sunday will be breezier than previous days with temperatures ranging from 15 to 20 degrees, with the hottest temperatures in the east. There will be some sunny spells but also showery rain and rather brisk westerly winds. Today will see mist and fog give way to warm or very warm and dry conditions later in the day. Long spells of summer sunshine today will see highest temperatures of 21 to 26 degrees, with a light to moderate southeast breeze. In terms of next week, Met Éireann's extended forecast predicts a week of mixed conditions, although high temperatures may continue. Rainfall is currently forecasted to be above normal in the south and below normal in the north, with a potential risk of thunderstorm activity.
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Ireland is most expensive country in EU after Denmark as prices continue to soar
Prices here are 38pc above the EU average – we are behind only Denmark when it comes to high costs. In 2015, prices in Ireland were 28pc above the average, but since then Ireland has been getting increasingly more expensive. The findings, from the statistics agency Eurostat, will put a new focus on the Government's decision not to pay out universal cost-of-living packages in the next budget. Eurostat found that when it comes to alcohol and tobacco, prices here are the most expensive in the EU – more than double the average. Daragh Cassidy, of price comparison site said this is due to taxation and, more recently, minimum unit pricing on alcohol. When it comes to alcohol, prices here are the second-highest in the EU. Finland has the dearest. Food and non-alcoholic drink prices here are the third-highest in the EU at almost 15pc above the EU average. We are behind only Luxembourg and Denmark when it comes to what we pay for food. However, this is an improvement on recent years, as these prices were more than 21pc above average in 2020. Ireland's restaurant and hotel prices are the second-highest in the EU – Denmark's are dearest – at 29pc above the average. Communications costs are almost 40pc above average. Ireland is the third-most-expensive country for electricity, gas and fuel, with prices 17pc above the average. However, clothing prices in Ireland are 1pc below the EU average and cheaper than in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. Mr Cassidy said Ireland will never be a cheap place to live Non-EU countries Iceland, Norway and Switzerland were also included in the research and generally have prices higher than those in Ireland. Mr Cassidy said we have known for a while that Ireland is an expensive country and these figures from Eurostat confirm that. 'There are several reasons why prices here are so high,' he said. 'These include our higher wages, a lack of competition in certain sectors, high taxation on certain goods such as tobacco, alcohol and fuel, and lower government subsidies in certain areas such as public transport and childcare compared to our European neighbours.' He said businesses are also faced with high insurance and energy costs, which then get passed on to consumers. Mr Cassidy said Ireland will never be a cheap place to live. 'And it's worth noting that many of the world's most expensive countries, such as Switzerland, Iceland and Denmark, also have some of the highest standards of living in the world,' he added. He said wages in Ireland, while high by international standards, generally do not match the salaries in those countries. At the same time, taxpayers in more expensive countries tend to get back more from their governments in terms of better and more affordable healthcare, childcare and public transport, though there have been improvements made here in recent years. Mr Cassidy called for the Government to lower the standard rate of Vat, which at 23pc is one of the highest in the world.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘I just feel so proud of them, it brings a tear to your eye' – Kneecap fans bask in party atmosphere at Dublin gig
Thousands of Kneecap fans gathered at Dublin's Fairview Park on Thursday evening as the group hit the stage at the sold-out show on the Irish leg of their European tour. And while fans were soaking up the sunshine and the party atmosphere, it seemed all anyone wanted to talk about was the events of the day before - when rapper Mo Chara appeared in court in London to face a terror charge which the group say is politically motivated and designed to silence them on Palestine.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Rory McIlroy eager for birdie mode at Travelers after finding a ‘feeling' off the tee at Oakmont
While he has been battling for motivation since winning the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, he has also struggled to hit fairways until last week. Getting emotionally and physically ready for The Open at Royal Portrush is his next big goal, and after driving the ball well at Oakmont, he's looking forward to making birdies at TPC River Highlands. 'Definitely last week, I found a feeling, especially off the tee, that was repeatable, that was working well, and I led strokes gained off the tee last week, which was a big thing for me,' McIlroy said. Making birdies in Connecticut should help his mood. 'I think the weeks after Major championships in these events, sometimes when you are in contention and you are trying to win them, it can feel quite difficult to go play the next week,' added McIlroy, who shot a joint-best of the day 67 on Sunday to tie for 19th 'After a week like I had at Oakmont, where you are not quite in the mix but you might feel you find something in your game, you are excited to come back and play again. 'This is the perfect sort of chaser for what Oakmont was last week, and nice to get out on a golf course where you feel you can make quite a few birdies.' McIlroy is joined in the field by Shane Lowry, who missed the cut at Oakmont but plays his fourth event in a row in the knowledge that he tied for ninth behind Scottie Scheffler last year. 'There are a lot of guys in the field this week where this is their fourth tournament in a row, so they have been put through the wringer the last few weeks,' McIlroy said. 'This is a welcome setup where they feel like they can relax a little bit and not have to grind so much for your score.' McIlroy will play the first two rounds alongside US Ryder Keegan Bradley, who believes new US Open champion JJ Spaun will be a big asset to his team. ADVERTISEMENT 'I think going to a course like Bethpage Black, the people are really going to be behind a guy like JJ Spaun,' Bradley said. It's a major week for Leona Maguire, who will be trying to end a miserable run of form in the KPMG Women's PGA at 6,600-yard Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco. The Cavan star arrives in Texas on the back of four successive missed cuts and faces tough conditions in 30c temperatures for her opening round alongside American Joanna Coe and Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit. There is no event on the DP World Tour this week, but Max Kennedy, Mark Power and Dermot McElroy are playing in the HotelPlanner Tour's Blot Play9 at Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André in France. Meanwhile, County Louth's Gavin Tiernan was the only Irish player to get through the first round of the Amateur Championship at Royal St George's. He beat Scotland's Niall Shiels Donegan on the 18th to set up a last-32 clash with Belgium's Jarno Tollenaire. Galgorm's Joshua Hill lost 3&2 to Canada's Isaiah Ibit, while County Louth's Stuart Grehan fell 4&2 to Mexico's Rodrigo Vasquez. Leading qualifier Conor Graham of Scotland had to dig deep to see off Denmark's Mads Viernose Larsen on the 21st. Travelers Championship, 8pm
