Thursday’s Top Stories: Contest for next taoiseach gets under way; Men on horseback cause traffic disruption at protest in Coolock

Leo Varadkar resignation: Simon Harris in pole position as contest for next taoiseach gets under way

The day after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s surprise resignation finds Fine Gael, the Coalition Government and the Dáil more widely adjusting to what the job opening means for their future.

In the party, thoughts turn to succession. Simon Harris, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, has emerged as an early frontrunner. Paschal Donohoe, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and Heather Humphreys, the Minister for Social Protection and Rural and Community Development, are also thought to be serious contenders should they choose to run - while Minister for Justice Helen McEntee’s star has dimmed after challenges in the portfolio.

Developments will come quickly: after a meeting of the Fine Gael executive on Wednesday night, a tight timeline is set, with nominations opening today and closing on Monday morning.

Leo Varadkar resignation

• Inside Leo Varadkar’s shock decision to resign: why now?
• Simon Harris is early front-runner to become taoiseach
• Should we be surprised that Leo Varadkar, in the most pressurised job of all, decided to step down?
• Leo Varadkar: A Taoiseach not so much resigning as throwing in the towel

Top News Stories

• Men on horseback cause traffic disruption at protest in Coolock: Men on horseback joined a protest which caused significant traffic disruptions on Wednesday evening in Coolock, Dublin.
• ‘Making it here to Ireland. It’s a miracle’: Family reunited in Dublin after fleeing Gaza Strip: On Tuesday night, Isam Hammad slept in a bed for the first time in more than five months. “I usually wake up very early in the morning but today I slept until 11am, I just kept sleeping.”
• Family Courts Bill will create ‘two-tier’ system for people seeking divorce or legal separation, say barristers: Proposals to have all divorce, judicial separation and co-habitation cases where land and the family home are worth less than €1 million heard at District Court level will create a “two-tier” justice system, the Bar Council has said.
• Investigation into death of man in Cobh following sword attack upgraded to murder inquiry: Gardaí have formally upgraded their investigation into an attack on a young man in Cobh into a murder inquiry following the receipt of postmortem results. It is understood the results confirm the man died as a result of injuries sustained in an assault by a man armed with what is believed to have been a samurai sword.
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The Big Read

• If you have unshiftable regrets, just remember that we are all faulty: Accepting the discomfort of regret is an important life skill, with research suggesting older people are better at handling it.

The best from Opinion

• Finn McRedmond: String of political departures in the UK and Republic leaves politics in a malaise
• Newton Emerson: DUP’s best option is to say the Stormont brake has been tested and then move swiftly on

Today's Business

• The sky high price of flight name change leaves passenger reeling: Many people will be familiar with that sinking feeling that comes with realising that the name on a boarding pass, holiday booking or flight doesn’t quite match the name on the passport.

Top Sports news

• Judge had to walk fine line in sentencing Limerick hurling star Kyle Hayes: Judge Dermot Sheehan faced a tricky job when sentencing Limerick hurling star Kyle Hayes on Wednesday for his role in a violent nightclub attack four years ago.
• ‘It was the same as playing anyone else’ - Radek Szagański, the Cork bus driver who beat Luke Littler: Luke Littler rolls into Dublin on Thursday, while in Cork this morning Radek Szagański will be making his way to Kinsale with a busload of early risers. The 4.45am Bus Éireann service might not be full but there isn’t a seat to be got for the darts at the 3Arena tonight.

Martyn Turner

Culture and Life & Style Highlights

• ‘We were told he had leukaemia . . . I became his full-time nurse, carer, counsellor, you name it’: Louisa McEleney went into ‘fight mode’ upon hearing her son Alex’s diagnosis. Seven years later, he is still undergoing treatment but getting on with his life.
• ‘A real adult? Oh my god no!’: Derry Girl Nicola Coughlan stars in new comedy Big Mood: Nicola Coughlan has just spilt cola all over her laptop. “I have a granny tray for eating my dinner in front of the telly,” says the Derry Girls and Bridgerton star over Zoom, “and I dumped it all over my computer.” She dabs at the keyboard, a black hoodie zipped up to her chin. “But it’s fine!” Elsewhere on the chat is Lydia West, breakout star of It’s a Sin and Years and Years, who has her camera turned off so she can pump milk, having just had a baby.
• Patrick Freyne: The English now have both our fourth green field and Lindsay Lohan: “This week for my column I’m going to do a deep dive into the work of John McGahern.” “Really?” says my editor. “That would be quite refreshing.” “Only joking. I’m going to discuss Irish Wish, featuring Lindsay Lohan.” “[Inaudible sob],” says my editor.

Podcast Highlights

• Inside Business: ‘A danger to national security’ - the drive to ban TikTok in the US

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