Ireland

Remains of teenage girl from about 2500 BC found in Ireland

Dublin, September 11 : The partial remains of a young person, probably female, which could date back to between 2500-2000 BC, have been uncovered during an archaeological dig in the Burren, Co Clare, in Ireland.

According to a report in the Irish Times, the prehistoric remains were found in the passageway to the central burial chamber of Caherconnell Cashel, a well-preserved stone fort, during the dig that began a fortnight ago.

A significant factor of the discovery is that the body had been allowed to decompose elsewhere before some of the skeleton was placed where it was found, according to archaeologist, Graham Hull.

Immigrants face discrimination in Irish labour market

Dublin - Immigrants are more likely to be unemployed and less likely to secure professional and managerial positions, a report published Wednesday in Dublin shows.

The report, Immigrants at Work: Ethnicity and Nationality in the Irish Labour Market, by researchers from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and supported by the Equality Authority, was based on information from Ireland's Central Statistics Office.

ESRI researchers Dr Philip J O'Connell and Dr Frances McGinnity found that black people were nine times more likely to be unemployed than Irish nationals, while immigrants from non-English-speaking countries were largely excluded from the most privileged occupations.

One-fifth of Irish primary school children in classes of 30 or more

Dublin, Ireland Dublin - Just over 20 per cent of Irish primary school children are being taught in classes of 30 pupils or more, figures from the Education Ministry released Monday showed.

A total of 95,773 of the 470,270 pupils in Irish primary schools were in classes of 30 and more, the figures showed.

"Almost 100,000 children remain in classes of 30 pupils or more despite year-on-year promises to tackle the issue," said John Carr, general secretary of the primary teachers' union, the Irish National Teachers Organization.

He said a lack of government planning was to blame.

Ireland makes diplomatic moves on Chernobyl children from Belarus

Dublin  - Ireland has asked its ambassador to Belarus to discuss a travel ban on children affected by the Chernobyl disaster with the Belarusian authorities, Irish national broadcaster RTE reported Monday.

Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said he had asked the ambassador to discuss formal arrangements for the children, 1,000 of whom visit Ireland each year for holidays and medical treatment, following a travel ban imposed on all children last week after a Belarusian teen refused to return home after a summer holiday in the United States.

Thousands of Belarusian children affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster enjoy foreign holidays funded by the charity the Chernobyl Children's Project.

Police in Northern Ireland report massive arms and ammunition haul

Police in Northern Ireland report massive arms and ammunition haul Belfast/London  - A massive arsenal of weapons destined for criminal gangs in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic has been recovered in a major cross-border police operation that also extended to the Netherlands, police in Belfast said Friday.

Hugh Orde, the police chief of Northern Ireland, said a total of 230 handguns, 10,000 rounds of ammunition, 450,000 euro in cash and drugs with an estimated street value of over four million euro were seized in the operation.

Belfast report says era of IRA violence is "well and truly over"

Belfast report says era of IRA violence is "well and truly over"Belfast/London - The formerly terrorist Irish Republican Army (IRA) has relinquished its leadership structures and would no longer be able to wage a terrorist campaign, an independent report on the disbanding of the organization said Wednesday.

The report by the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC), set up to monitor paramilitary groups under the 1998 Belfast Peace Agreement, also stated that the IRA Army Council - the organization's ruling body - had "become redundant and serves no function."

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