Large crowds are attending the funerals of three of those who died in Sunday night's car crash in north Inishowen. Hugh Friel's Requiem Mass took place at 10:00am in the church at Urris, near Clonmany. Mark McLaughlin's funeral started at 11:00am in the church at Fahan and P.J. McLaughlin's will be buried from the same church in the afternoon.

Four more funerals will take place tomorrow and the final victim will be buried on Friday.

17th gun death of the year

Stephen Byrne (32) became the latest gangland murder victim when he was shot dead outside St Laurence O'Toole Church on Sheriff Street, a short distance from his home in Dublin's north inner city. His is the fifth death in this particular feud which started when a criminal gang split after their leader was charged with the rape of a young girl.

The dead man seems to have been a particularly violent criminal. He had convictions for robbery at gunpoint and at knife point and was suspected of murdering one of the earlier victim's of the feud.

Gardaí investigating the murder have arrested a 15-year-old boy and a man in his late 20s.

ESRI has good news and bad news

In its latest Quarterly Economic Commentary the Economic and Social Research Institute has revised upwards its economic projections for the country but is pessimistic about growth in employment. It also forecasts that 70.000 people will leave the country in the year to the end of April 2010 and that a further 50,000 will depart in the year to April 2011. Most of the leaving the country will be foreign nationals.

In the current year GDP is expected to grow by 0.25% in volume terms; the corresponding figure for GNP is for a fall of 0.5%. Next year GDP growth of 2.75% is forecast while GNP should grow by 2.25%.

The 2010 General Government Deficit has been revised upwards from 11.5% of GDP to 19.75% in an accounting exercise under which the cost of the bailout for Anglo Irish Bank and INBS is treated as current spending. For 2011, the deficit is expected to fall to 10% of GDP.

Callely's expenses again under scrutiny

Senator Ivor Callely was again cross-examined by a committee of his fellow senators as they sought clarification of his claim for expenses of some €80k. Yesterday's meeting was a fairly tetchy affair with Senator Callely insisting that he had done no wrong but refusing to answer some of the questions put to him.

The Senator's family home is in Dublin but he has been claiming expenses on the basis that he was resident in his holiday home in west Cork. Yesterday he revealed that he doesn't actually own the house in Cork

The committee is now finalising its report.

Rioting continues in Belfast

For the third night in succession rioters were out in the Ardoyne area of Belfast but on this occasion no injuries were reported. Petrol bombs and pipe bombs were thrown at police lines and at one point six shots were fired. Dissident republicans from outside the area are being blamed for orchestrating the riots and they have been accused of using children as shields.

Uganda bomb victim named

The Irish woman who was one of 76 people killed in a bomb explosion in the Ugandan capital of Kampala on Sunday night has been named as 51-year-old Marie Smith (nee O'Sullivan) who came from Dublin but had been working as a lay missionary in Africa since 1989. She had been in Uganda for two months and was due to return next week to her base in South Africa.  

Today's Papers

Following a similar pattern to yesterday it is only the Irish Examiner which continues to take the Donegal car crash as its lead story; the headline reads "Grief-stricken". Both the Irish Times and the Irish Independent take the results of an ESRI report for their headlines, with "120,000 expected to emigrate by end of 2011, says report" and "5,000 leave each month in search of a new job" respectively.

The Irish News also focuses on the employment situations, with "Graduates ‘are willing to flip burgers until jobs crisis ends'".

The Weather in Galway

Rain fell early but we have had a few hours of warm sunshine as respite before heavier more persistent rain arrives. Temperature 18C.

---

Using the buttons below you can save this article to your favourite social bookmarking site