Last night/This morning.

Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Further to anti covid response measures appearing on advertising screens at Belfast’s Castlecourt shopping centre and Newtownabbey’s Abbey Centre over the weekend…

via Belfast Telegraph:

Alliance councillor Danny Donnelly criticised the billboards. He condemned reports of “anti-vaccine passport messages being promoted on multiple screens in [the Abbey Centre].” He continued: “This is undermining public health response to Covid and should be turned off ASAP.”

He said reports of similar messaging in Castlecourt was “Very concerning“. “It would appear that these ad spaces have been booked by a lobby group that is bent on undermining public health messages on Covid,” he said.

Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson said the messages were “absolutely shocking“. He said they were “putting the lives of shop workers and others at risk by encouraging this message”.

Castlecourt Shopping Centre has been contacted for a response, as has Big Brother Watch.

Anti-vaccine passport messaging in NI shopping centres ‘very concerning’ (Belfast Telegraph)

Pics Big Brother Watch

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly

This morning.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said “it is likely” that the new Covid variant is in Ireland.

Via RTÉ News:

In the coming days it is likely that the country will be identifying Omicron cases, he told RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne.

He said officials were focusing strongly and urgently on the new variant.

The scientific community is investigating if the new variant is more transmissible, more severe and what impact the vaccine might have on it.

It comes as the leaders of the three Coalition parties are due to meet the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) today to discuss the Omicron variant and the wider Covid situation.

‘Likely’ new Omicron variant is in Ireland – Donnelly (RTE)

RollingNews

Meanwhile…

Meanwhile…

Yesterday.

Irishtown Road, Dublin 4.

St Patrick’s Athletic fans are attacked at the Irishtown House pub ahead of the FAI Cup Final at the Aviva between St Pats and Bohemians.

Ugly scenes as groups brawl in Dublin pub before FAI Cup final (DublinLive)

Meanwhile…

Gulp.

Migrants on the English Channel

The Death By Drowning Of Twenty Seven Migrants
In The English Channel on Wednesday

It could have been twenty seven Cliff Richard fans
who quite like that Boris Johnson really;
twenty seven Noel Edmonds lookalikes
whose wives stimulate themselves with The Daily Express;
twenty seven former double glazing salesmen from Folkestone, Kent
who blame everything on the French;
twenty seven members of the Murdoch family
(including Jerry Hall);
twenty seven known business associates of the Duke of York;
twenty seven potential Archbishops of Canterbury;
twenty seven people with Allegra Stratton accents;
twenty seven arthritic comedians who spent
four years making Diane Abbot quips;
twenty seven logical positivists
who get their political philosophy from the tweets
of Right Said Fred, Joanna Lumley, & David Baddiel;
twenty seven OBEs, MBEs, and Commanders of The British Empire.

Tragically, it wasn’t.

Kevin Higgins

Pic: Wikimedia

Donald Trump has challenged leading editors and politicians to debate him in public that Joe Biden beat him in the 2020 presidential election through fraud

Trump thinks that it’s worth a try
To repeat once again his big lie
That the vote was a fix
And that some dirty tricks
Meant what should have occurred went awry

John Moynes

Getty

This afternoon.

Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

A ‘Save Our Spaces’ protest outside Leinster House organised by Radicailín calling for the rights of women and girls to ‘female-only, single sex spaces and services’.

Miriam Cotton writes:

Women from all over Ireland gathered to speak in defence of the preservation of women’s safe spaces. Speakers included Nuala Gallagher of Radicailín, the organisers of #SaveOurSpaces, Laoise Uí Aodha de Brun, spokesperson for The Countess.ie, Ceri Black of LGB Alliance Ireland, Rachel Moran of The Irish Women’s Lobby – and Graham Linehan of Father Ted Fame.

Previously: Gender  Questioning

Pics: Miriam Cotton

.

This afternoon.

Thousands protesting covid response measures such as vaccine passports pass through Dublin city centre.

Sam Boal/RollingNews

Meanwhile…

Earlier…

This morning/afternoon.

City West vaccination centre,

Health Care workers queue for Covid booster vaccines.

Sam Boal/RollingNews

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