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[Sarah Deacy (centre), 100 today, and family. Newspaper pile out of shot ]

Sarah Deacy, from Straide, Co Mayo, is 100 today.

And she’s having none of your Kindle nonsense.

Sarah reads two daily papers most days, ‘The Irish Mirror’ and the ‘Irish Independent’ as well as ‘The Connaught Telegraph’ and ‘The Mayo News’ most weeks, as well as reading plenty of books…

Mmf.

Print.

Meet the 100-year-old great-granny who Skypes (Edwin McGreal, Mayo News)

Pic: Ken McGreal

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(Chief Supt Harry Breen and Supt Bob Buchanan)

Yesterday three retired Garda Chief Superintendents publicly denied the conclusions of the Smithwick Tribunal that a member of the force in Dundalk Garda station colluded in the deaths of RUC oofficers Chief Supt Harry Breen and Supt Bob Buchanan in 1989..

Ed Moloney, author of The Secret History of the IRA in his blog today writes that the Provisional IRA did have a mole in Dundalk Garda station at the time of the RUC men’s killing.

I do not know what happened on the day that the two RUC men met their end but there are two things that I do know: one is that it was not necessary for the Gardai informant to tip off the IRA on the day of the killings for him to have colluded in the deaths.

The other thing I know is that the IRA did have an agent inside the Dundalk Garda station. The Smithwick Tribunal was established largely because of allegations from Toby Harnden in his book Bandit Country – The IRA and South Armagh that a Dundalk-based Garda helped the IRA kill the two RUC men.

I believed him not just because I know him to be a reputable and ethical journalist but also because I was told the same, that a well known Dundalk Garda was in the back pocket of the IRA in South Armagh. My source was a well-placed member of the IRA whose position in the organisation was such that he was in a position to know all about the Garda agent.

The details about the agent that I was given dovetail exactly with Harnden’s information. The protestations to the contrary from the retired Garda officers are understandable but they do not add up.


The IRA Did Have An Agent In The Dundalk Gardai (Ed Moloney, The Broken Elbow)

Previously: “Beyond Comprehension”

“There Was No Way They Were Going To Get Back”

Nicolai Troshinsky

A nifty little short about the sensory experience of ‘being lost’ by Spanish animator Nicolai Troshinsky, who sez:

A boy, having lost his glasses, can only see one thing in focus at a time. His sight gets attracted by the sounds that surround him. He will have to explore a blurry world of unknown places and strange characters.”

bookofjoe

191793381

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx4yAFZi8UA

[The Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise and a trailer for tomorrow’s Prime Time]

Via RTE:

In a special Prime Time programme tomorrow, Thursday, the RTÉ Investigations Unit reveals the details of its investigation into the deaths of a number of babies over a six year period at the Maternity Unit in the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise.

These babies were alive at the onset of labour but died either during the labour or within seven days of birth. In the cases examined by RTÉ there were no congenital abnormalities, meaning the babies did not have a physical condition where their ability to survive was diminished resulting in death. Therefore other factors led to their

A report into the death of one baby in 2008 found there were a number of failings in the care provided by the hospital to both the mother and baby. These included a failure to recognise when the baby was in distress during labour and the inappropriate use of a drug used to increase the rate of contractions. A number of recommendations were made in the report to improve patient safety.

However the RTÉ Investigations Unit has learned that other babies subsequently died in very similar circumstances and that the review of these cases also found failings in the care provided. The care failures in these cases showed strong similarities to the failures in the earlier case. The programme finds the hospital and HSE had failed to implement the previous recommendations in full, which may have saved these babies lives.

Jaysus.

Fatal Failures – Prime Time, at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ News Now..

Thanks Laura Fitzgerald

samples

Of this rather excellent sample of sampled and resampled sampling, Eclectic Method sez:

A video remix journey through the history of sampling taking in some of the most noted breaks and riffs of the decades. A chronological journey from the Beatles’ use of the Mellotron in the 60s to the sample dense hiphop and dance music of the 80s and 90s. Each break is represented by a vibrating vinyl soundwave exploding into various tracks that sampled it, each re-use another chapter in the modern narrative.

Mp3 download here.

Previously: Robocop Remixed

curiousbrain

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At the announcement of the Irish Winter Olympic team for the Sochi ‘Games in the Merrion Hotel, Dublin this afternoon.

From top: Conor Lyne (Men downhill slalom and giant slalom); Florence Bell (women downhill slalom and giant slalom) and Seamus O’Connor (Snowboarding-half pipe and slopestyle).

Part of a five member squad including…

skeleton

Canadian-born Sean Greenwood who will compete for Ireland in the skeleton event.

Sochi 2014: Sean Greenwood to continue Irish skeleton tradition (BBC)

(Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland)

Thanks Wayne F

pk

 

 

Meanwhile, from last week..

 

Oh.

Paul Kimmage quits as Brian O’Driscoll ghost-writer (Mark Hillard, Irish Times)

Broadsheet.ie