Your top stories on Thursday: Cathal Crotty set to face dismissal from Defence Forces; boy (14) dies in quad bike crash

Defence Forces chiefs hope to expel convicted soldier Cathal Crotty

Defence Forces management hopes to be able to expel soldier Cathal Crotty by early next week, following his conviction for beating a woman unconscious in Limerick in 2022.

Last Thursday Crotty (22) received a suspended sentence for violently attacking Natasha O’Brien on the street after she asked him to stop shouting homophobic abuse at passersby. In the hours after the attack Crotty, an Army private from Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, boasted to friends on Snapchat: “Two to put her down, two to put her out,” in reference to striking Ms O’Brien four times.

News in Ireland

• Boy dies following quad bike crash: A 14-year-boy has died following a quad bike crash in Co Derry.
• New teachers to receive €2,000 incentive: Newly qualified teachers will be entitled to a €2,000 incentive payment next summer if they take up a full-time teaching role for the coming school year as part of a fresh effort to boost the supply of classroom professionals.
• Garda’s home attacked while family present: The home of a garda was attacked as he was attending the Donegal International Rally with a modified car in Garda livery, in a project designed to foster relations with young car and motorsport enthusiasts.
• Dáil accepts controversial EU Migration Pact: The Dáil has voted by 79 votes to 72 to opt into the controversial EU Migration and Asylum Pact for a standardised immigration control system across the 27 member states.
• Aer Lingus to meet pilots today: Aer Lingus will meet pilots this morning reviving hopes of a breakthrough in a dispute that has forced the airline to cancel 270 flights, hitting tens of thousands of passengers.
• Weather forecast: Blustery outbreaks of showery rain will extend nationwide this morning, persisting into the afternoon. It will be driest overall across south and southeast counties with the best of the sunny spells here. Cool for the time of year with highs of 13 to 17 degrees. Unseasonably windy too. Tonight will be mostly dry with clear spells, and moderating westerly winds. Some passing showers, mainly in the North. Lows of 8 to 11 degrees.
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Restaurant Review

• Lir, Coleraine: Stunning fish in a magical setting by the water’s edge: The menu changes according to the catch from local boats and the fresh flavours of the sea are allowed to shine.

Opinion

• Finn McRedmond: Lamentations of ‘broken’ Britain are hollow when you see what’s happening elsewhere in Europe
• Who is ahead in the US presidential campaign? Niall O’Dowd and Daniel Geary give their verdicts

Business

• Dublin has been waiting for Taylor. But does the ‘Swift lift’ really add up to €150 million? Swifties may be happy to splurge on the singer’s Eras tour, but the reported average spend of €1,000 per person overstates the reality for most fans.
• Irish real wages grow for first time in two years as inflation eases: Real wages grew in April for the first time in more than two years, as inflation continued to ease and the labour market remained tight with the unemployment rate running at about 4 per cent, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute.

Sports

• Bill Belichick becomes a punchline as new relationship with 24-year-old woman comes to light: On a recent episode of The View, America’s most popular daytime talkshow, the women hosts got around to discussing reports of Bill Belichick’s new relationship.

UK Election

• Sunak goes for it in final debate with Starmer but true target probably wasn’t in the room: With the opinion polls seemingly cemented throughout this UK election campaign, and his Conservative party stuck miles behind Labour, prime minister Rishi Sunak went for it in the final televised debate on Wednesday night against his likely successor, Keir Starmer.

Life & Style

• Paris Hilton testifies she was ‘force-fed medications and sexually abused’ as a teen: Paris Hilton, the American socialite and media figure, has told a US congressional panel looking into strengthening child welfare protections that she was “force-fed medications and sexually abused by staff” while she was institutionalised as a teenager.

Podcast Highlights

• In the News Podcast: Gamblegate: Is a Tory wipeout inevitable after yet another scandal?

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