IRE - The Irish Times

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1. More than 150 arson attacks in last five years linked to drug-related intimidation

   Incidents of drug-related intimidation up almost 40%, with 2,500 cases since 2021

2. ‘I thought it would be jammers’: St Stephen’s Day sales get off to a leisurely start in Dublin

   With five minutes to go before opening, a queue suddenly formed outside Brown Thomas, with menswear proving the most popular

3. Man who died in Christmas Day e-scooter crash is named

   Alan Walsh (40s) collided with a car in Waterford city

4. Belfast’s first Fleadh Cheoil expecting 700,000 visitors and impact on par with Open

   Eight-day music and culture festival to bring £60m of benefit in August, tourism chief predicts

5. Church services

   Week beginning Saturday, December 27th, 2025

6. ‘I’m not out to kill foxes’: Hunting splits rural community as St Stephen’s Day chase held

   Meath landowner says this month’s defeat of Bill on banning foxhunting was ‘diabolical’

7. ‘I’m an honorary Irishman now – a black Paddy’: Nigerian priest on his ‘reverse mission’ to Mayo

   Fr Victor Akongwale describes himself as ‘a Catholic of Irish descent, as Nigeria is’

8. Winter sunshine and settled conditions set to continue in coming days

   Relative calm will continue to New Year’s Eve - though sub-zero temperatures could bite overnight

9. ‘I don’t know who else to turn to’: Letters for help to Minister from people affected by housing crisis

   People write of ‘soul-destroying’ search for homes

10. The most Ukrainian town in Ireland: ‘We had to get used to each other’s culture’

    An influx of refugees to Cahersiveen in Kerry brought challenges but many benefits to the local community