Un handshake??

This morning.

President Michael D Higgins has welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron at Áras an Uachtaráin on his first official visit to Ireland.

Mr Macron is undertaking a one-day tour of Dublin.

He is meeting President Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin, as well as visiting Trinity College and the Guinness Enterprise Centre.

President Higgins welcomes French President to Ireland (RTÉ)

RollingNews

Sit down next to me.

Yesterday.

Reims, France.

Patrons enjoy a picnic next to cafés policed by the vaccine passport.

Couldn’t happen here.

No.

Or could it?

No.

In fairness.

*sobs*

“Eco-friendly” LED streetlights produce even worse light pollution for insects than the traditional sodium bulbs they are replacing

Predators like a streetlight
When going out hunting at night
Because they’re aware
Of moths everywhere
So ecologists say they’re a blight

John Moynes

AFP

An unexpectedly poignant, fourth wall breaking short by Scottish animator Will Anderson wherein we follow a little green bird called Bobby, as he looks for his butter, his Betty and the love that seems to have melted away.

Mmf.

shortoftheweek


This afternoon.

Just ‘dropped’.

Darragh Doyle writes:

David Brophy’s incredible Frontline Choir perform a spine-tingling version of U2’s “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own”. Projected onto the walls of the wards of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, this video is a taste of Choir of Ages, a programme produced by Tyrone Productions that will air on RTÉ One later this Autumn.

David Brophy?

‘Revellers’ at Electric Picnic in 2015

This afternoon.

Via RTÉ

Laois County Council has said it cannot legally revisit its previous refusal of an event licence for Electric Picnic 2021 and that statutory timelines would not allow for the processing of a new application in time for the original date.

….MCD’s Caroline Downey said that in light of ‘Dr Holohan’s remarks remarks and those made by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, the promoters have re-applied to Laois County Council to run the event.

She said if successful, and unlike Croke Park last weekend, organisers would only allow people to work or attend the festival if they are fully-vaccinated, using a Covid certificate to confirm this.

Laois council says it can’t revisit Electric Picnic licence refusal (RTÉ)

Earlier…

This afternoon.

Andy Pipkin writes:

The Government has no plans to introduce new laws or regulations that would allow large outdoor events to take place for people who are fully vaccinated or immune from Covid-19.
Digital covid certificates that are currently being used by people to access indoor dining on the basis they are fully vaccinated or immune having had the disease in the last six months could not legally be used to restrict access to outdoor events, the Government has clarified.

Earlier…

Last night/this morning.

Via RTE:

The scenes of large crowds at Croke Park has led to representatives from the entertainment industry to question why similar events cannot be held with similar crowds for their sector.

Mr Donnelly said the entertainment industry has had a “really brutal time”, adding the Government wants to see it reopen safely and not have to close down again.

Asked if an event such as Electric Picnic could go ahead, he said he did not want to comment about individual events.

“The questions being raised by the entertainment sector are very reasonable … there should be more pilots to scale up these events,” the minister said.

Changes to All-Ireland spectator rules ‘unlikely’ – Donnelly (RTE)

RollingNews

Meanwhile…

‘For now, the practicalities of returning to some kind of normal remain unclear. Officials sensibly advised people to be cautious in their mixing given the high levels of disease circulating at present, but their advice about congregation was at times confusing.

Dr Holohan effectively said he was happy for vaccinated people to attend events such as the All-Ireland final or Electric Picnic and for the unvaccinated to be kept out.

At the same briefing, his Nphet colleague and university lecturer Prof Philip Nolan was firm in ruling out the exclusion of unvaccinated students from third-level lectures. It wasn’t just that he disagreed with it; he felt it would serve little use.’

It’s all about when – not if – Covid restrictions will be lifted (Irish Times)

From top: Minister for Education Norma Foley outside the Department of Education in Dublin earlier; A carbon monoxide monitor for classrooms

This afternoon.

Via RTÉ:

…an order of carbon dioxide monitors for schools has arrived and will be distributed in the coming days.

Minister for Education Norma Foley said the monitors are “an additional tool” to aid ventilation and the recommendation is that they should be portable and shared between classrooms at different times of the day.

Anyone?

Meanwhile..

Ms Foley said that pilot antigen testing is being carried out in the childcare sector and at third level, and said should it be recommended that antigen testing be rolled out in schools, she will be happy to comply with that….

Ms Foley said the Department of Health has recommended the continued use of masks at secondary level and not primary.

Minister ‘confident’ of measures in place for school reopening (RTÉ)

Sam Boal/RollingNews/Honeywell

Meanwhile…

Meanwhile…

This afternoon.

Boyband impresario Louis Walsh helps Minister Foley launch the Arts Programme for Schools for reasons that remain unclear.

Sam Boal/Rollingnews

Broadsheet.ie