More news in brief.
Artillery shell removed from recycling area
Army bomb disposal experts were called to a recycling centre in Rathfarnham yesterday afternoon after the discovery of a 12lb artillery shell.
The shell contained no explosives and was safely removed from the scene, said a Defence Forces spokesman. Comdt Gavin Young said that the shell was very old, possibly dating from the Civil War. He said it was probably kept as a memento, perhaps used a doorstop.
"It shouldn't have been brought to the recycling centre," he said. "If people find these things . . . they should call the Garda so they can be examined and safely removed."
Hamill family request refused
The Northern Ireland Office has refused to extend the scope of the Hamill inquiry to allow it to examine the role of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Robert Hamill (25) a Catholic, was kicked to death by loyalists in the centre of Portadown 11 years ago, while a team of RUC officers in a nearby Land-Rover allegedly failed to intervene.
His family asked to question DPP staff 18 months ago but Northern Secretary Shaun Woodward yesterday rejected the request.
Clinton will miss North events
Former US president Bill Clinton has cancelled plans to attend a series of events throughout Ireland next month due to his pressing schedule in his wife's campaign.
Mr Clinton was to have attended an event in Belfast on April 10th to mark the 10th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement, along with former senator George Mitchell and other key negotiators.
Omagh victims to get some records
The High Court in Dublin has determined that the families of some victims of the 1998 Omagh bombing are entitled to some but not all of the documentation they had been seeking from five persons to be used in proceedings for damages against the five in the Northern Ireland courts.
The families had brought a motion seeking the books of evidence and the transcripts of criminal trials involving each of the five men.
The families had argued that the documents were relevant to an action arising from the death and personal injuries which is to take place before the High Court in Belfast early next month.
Mr Justice Paul Gilligan yesterday said that there was nothing in Irish law that prohibits books of evidence served on them during proceedings taken against them at their trials at the Special Criminal Court from being discovered.
However the judge found that there was an impediment preventing the defendants from providing the transcripts of their trials at the Special Criminal Court.
The five men against whom discovery is being sought include Michael McKevitt, Beech Park, Blackrock, Co Louth, who is serving a 20- year sentence for directing terrorist activities for the Real IRA. The Supreme Court has reserved judgment on his appeal.
Claim 300 sheep killed by dogs
Clare dog warden Frankie Coote claims that more than 300 sheep have been killed across Clare since the start of the year.
Some 20 sheep have been killed by two dogs in Inagh in past number of days. Mr Coote said: "There were only the head and tails left of one or two. They were fully eaten by the dogs."
Tallaght crash victim named
The man who died in a road crash in Tallaght, Dublin, on Tuesday has been named as Miroslav Obara (53), from Mountain Park, Tallaght. He died when the car he was driving crashed into a pole on the N81 at Blessington Road, shortly after 4.30pm.