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National News Briefs

Welsh Police continue search for missing Irish woman

Police in Wales are continuing to search for a missing Irish woman – who they believe may have been murdered.

A 46 year old man from Wales has been arrested on suspicion of killing  37 year old Catherine Gowing.

The vet, who’s originally from Clareen near Birr in Co. Offaly, was last seen almost a week ago – leaving her work place in the town of Mold in Wales.

Catherine’s sister Emma and her husband Shay have travelled to North Wales to assist police with their enquiries.
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Fianna Fáil bounces back to second place

FIANNA FÁIL has bounced back to become the second-biggest party in the State for the first time in more than two years, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll.

Since its disastrous general election performance 18 months ago, Fianna Fáil has frequently found itself in fourth place in opinion polls behind Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Sinn Féin.

Fianna Fáil is now narrowly ahead of Sinn Féin and well ahead of Labour, having gained a substantial level of support over the course of 2012.

Fine Gael has dropped a point since the last Irish Times poll in May while Labour is up two.

Satisfaction with the Government is down six points while the satisfaction of all the main party leaders has dropped. Taoiseach Enda Kenny is the most popular party leader.
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FAI back Trapattoni . . . for now

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI was last night given the backing of the FAI and will remain as manager of the Republic of Ireland after a dramatic day of speculation.

When the 73-year-old maintainted late on Tuesday night that he had “no idea” whether he was about to be shown the door by the FAI, the small band of Irish reporters present weren’t 100 per cent sure that he wasn’t sticking to the script he was asked to follow as part of a drama unfolding behind the scenes.
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Sex attacker to avoid jail if he pays teenage victim €15,000

A 29-YEAR-OLD man who committed a violent sexual attack on a teenager he met in a chip shop has avoided jail on condition he pay €15,000 to the girl.

Graham Griffiths told gardaí he felt he was “under some magnetic force” and “it must have been the hormones” that caused him to attack the 17-year-old girl.

He had been at a drugs party the previous night and later admitted to gardaí he had taken hallucinogenic drugs along with alcohol.

Griffiths, of The Saltings, Annagassan, Co Louth, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sexually assaulting the girl on April 17th, 2011. He is originally from Dublin but has been living in Louth with his girlfriend for the last six years. The couple plan to get married.
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TD claims €12,000 for car repairs and travelling 12km to Dail

PEOPLE Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett is using taxpayers' money to pay for repairing his car.

The left-wing TD has been a strident critic of Government cutbacks and this week challenged Taoiseach Enda Kenny in the Dail over the reduction in home-help hours.

But he has confirmed that he claimed €12,000 last year in expenses for travelling to the Dail from his home in Glenageary, in his Dun Laoghaire constituency -- a distance of just 12km.

He said he used the full amount for travel expenses -- including his car-repair bills.

"First of all, my car had to be repaired several times because I use it so much. I travel sometimes twice a day back and forth from Dun Laoghaire," said Mr Boyd Barrett.
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McFeely sneers at former Priory Hall residents

CONTROVERSIAL Priory Hall developer Tom McFeely has ridiculed residents of the troubled apartment complex who took part in a protest march.

McFeely, whose career has seen him move from IRA activist to one-time millionaire property developer, was dismissive of their demands. Referring to the residents' protest march while he enjoyed a night out in a Dublin pub, McFeely said: "They were there for a day out."

The Co Derry native is now involved in a number of court actions arising from the collapse of his property empire. And as he sipped vodka in one of the city's best-known hostelries, The Bleeding Horse, McFeely insisted that he had "no fears" about being sent to prison, saying: "It could happen. I spent 14 years in prison. I'm not afraid of spending one day more there."

McFeely also alleged that many residents in Priory Hall paid their rents using "government cheques" and dismissed their demonstrations as "a joke".
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Sean Quinn Junior may get second spell in jail

THE jailed son of bankrupt billionaire Sean Quinn is set to be released from prison tomorrow.

But Sean Quinn Jnr, who has completed a three-month jail term in Mountjoy Prison for contempt, could face another spell in jail.

The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to the 33-year-old's conviction for contempt of court and his three-month prison sentence, which is due to expire tomorrow.

The majority Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Susan Denham, said the High Court was entitled to jail the former Belfry Club owner for three months over his involvement in a controversial $500,000 payment to a Ukranian woman.

Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman dissented from the five-judge court and said he would have allowed Sean Quinn Jnr's appeal in its entirety.
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