Saturday.

Custom House Quay and Butt Bridge, Dublin 1.

Further to the the anti-mask rally….

…a group of black-clad, pro-mask counter protestors briefly clashed with anti-maskers before finally being repelled when Gardai moved them back on to Butt Bridge.

Earlier, anti-maskers breached a poorly manned cordon preventing people approaching The Custom House.

Saturday: A Rush And A Push

Sam Boal/Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

FIGHT!

Behold: Messier 51, aka ‘The Whirlpool’ – a grand design spiral galaxy 60,000 light-years across – with its arms digitally unwound (bottom) in a transformation of a magnificent Hubble Space Telescope portrait from 2005 (top). To wit:

In fact, M51 is one of the original spiral nebulae, its winding arms described by a mathematical curve known as a logarithmic spiral, a spiral whose separation grows in a geometric way with increasing distance from the center. Applying logarithms to shift the pixel coordinates in the Hubble image relative to the center of M51 maps the galaxy’s spiral arms into diagonal straight lines. The transformed image dramatically shows the arms themselves are traced by star formation, lined with pinkish star-forming regions and young blue star clusters. Companion galaxy NGC 5195 (top) seems to alter the track of the arm in front of it though, and itself remains relatively unaffected by this unwinding of M51. Also known as the spira mirabilis, logarthimic spirals can be found in nature on all scales. For example, logarithmic spirals can also describe hurricanes, the tracks of subatomic particles in a bubble chamber and, of course, cauliflower.

(Image: Data – Hubble Heritage Project, Unwinding – Paul Howell)

apod

‘sup?

The hills are alive with the sound of arf-ing.

Irish dog rescue group Madra writes:

Good day from ex-MADRA collie Kate (above) who sent us a pic from her recent holiday in Austria

She was rehomed in Germany via our good friends at irische Hunde in Not (IHIN).

We love to see our rescue dogs living the dream!

Madra

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has sought further Golfgate details and clarifications from Ireland’s EU Commissioner Phil Hogan

This morning/afternoon.

Following growing calls for Phil Hogan to resign his post as Ireland EU Trade Commissioner….

Via RTÉ news:

“This is a matter which requires careful assessment on our side. This is a matter where details count,” spokesperson Dana Spinant told a news briefing this morning.

“Therefore, the president has required Commissioner Hogan to provide a full report. The president has received such a report from Commissioner Hogan last night. She is now looking at it… the president has requested further clarifications because details are important and she wishes to have them.”

Ms Spinant added that it was difficult for the Commission to establish if Mr Hogan’s reported movements between Kildare, Kilkenny and Galway were in line with Irish regulations, “which differ county to county”.

Pressed by reporters on the issue of Mr Hogan being cautioned by gardaí for using his mobile phone while driving, Ms Spinant said traffic incidents are for local police authorities to address.

EU President Von der Leyen seeking further details from Hogan (RTÉ)

Previously: Big Phil And Little Séamus

Getty

This morning.

Cork’s 96FM Opinion Line with PJ Coogan.

Deirdre writes:

A note (top) from one Corkonian to a Good Samaritan who stopped his car from rolling down Patrick’s Hill went viral over the weekend…

It’s author was none other than 96fm’s superstar DJ, Darren Johnston.

Darren, who no longer uses social media himself was pretty surprised to be going viral nonetheless…

96FM

The Oireachtas Golf Society’s dinner, which took place last Wednesday at the Station House Hotel (above) in Clifden, County Galway, was attended by a host of senior politicians and notable public figures.

Who Runs Ireland?

Not the Deliveroo riders named Tariq and Omar
who Gemma O’Doherty is terrified will try to marry her.
Nor the taxi drivers from Togo John Waters fears will
make him go around the place wearing a veil.
Not the Hutch Kinehan wet squad The Sunday World keeps
telling you are coming to ruffle your dahlias.
Nor the puppets of George Soros
Jim Corr knows, from his research, are trying to put
a brown paper bag over his head.

But the Supreme Court Justices,
the Banking Federation chief executive,
the Ministers past and present,
the journalists who are meant to ask them questions.
These are the people who sign off on your life.
They go by the secret name ‘Oireachtas Golf Society’.

And for the sake of what Saturday’s Irish Times calls stability,
you must allow such people eat in peace:
the French onion soup, the seared king scallops,
and a selection of ice creams,
all from the one big bowl.

And if they wish to have a sex party afterwards,
to slither across each other, pink as piglets;
such eventualities are covered
in the terms and conditions
of the Oireachtas Golf Society.

For the sake of what The Sunday Independent calls
the national interest, such people must be let gobble
who and what they will.

Kevin Higgins

Pic via Twitter

Ireland’s EU Commissioner Phil Hogan (left) and Supreme Court Justice Séamus Woulfe

This morning.

RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne.

The Taoiseach said he made it clear to Mr Hogan in a phone call the anger on the ground over the golf society dinner.

Mr Martin said given there is a discrepancy between Mr Hogan’s statements, he needs to know that the restrictions in Kildare were not breached.

He said the information on Mr Hogan being stopped in Kildare was passed to the Department of Justice by the Garda Commissioner, which is at his discretion, but it raised concerns that a breach of restrictions may have possibly occurred.

….The Taoiseach said Mr Justice Séamus Woulfe should not have been at the event, but this is something the judiciary needs to look at.

Tapiseach To Discuss Return Of Dáil (RTÉ)

Meanwhile….

Midlands North-West MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan told Newstalk that Commissioner Hogan’s position is no longer tenable.

“Micheál Martin got rid of Dara Calleary for doing the exact same thing,” he said.

“So now Micheál Martin needs to talk to [Ursula Von der Leyen and tell her that Phil Hogan needs to be removed from his position.e,

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett noted that Judge Woulfe would have had a clear understanding of COVID-19 guidelines through both his current position and his former position as Attorney General of the previous Government.

“The former Attorney General now Supreme Court Judge had signed off on the emergency legislation around COVID-19 and would have been familiar in detail with the public health restrictions and yet was involved in a flagrant violation of those restrictions,” he said.

“It is completely untenable that he would not be held to account for that.”

Increasing Calls For Phil Hogan And Séamus Woulfe To Resign (Newstalk)

Saturday: Woulfe Trapped

Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

In fairness.

Broadsheet.ie