Here's what happened today: Thursday

24 Sep 2026, 20:44 by Andrew Walsh, https://www.thejournal.ie/author/andrew-walsh/ · TheJournal.ie

NEED TO CATCH up? The Journal brings you a round-up of today’s news.

Colm Tóibín pictured with one of the new stamps celebrates modern Irish literary fiction. MAXWELLSMAXWELLS

IRELAND

Taoiseach Micheál Martin signalled that immigrant workers already in Ireland may be able to qualify for citizenship under the existing five-year rule, despite the incoming reforms.
Gary Anderson, a 29-year-old man who had been unlawfully at large for more than a week after absconding while attending his father’s funeral, appeared at a special sitting of Letterkenny District Court this morning.
MetroLink officials have been “going around Europe for the last year” on the hunt for workers and engineers on the multibillion euro project.
A Seanad byelection to fill the seat vacated by Fine Gael’s Seán Kyne will take place in November, and just 234 people (members of the Oireachtas) will be eligible to vote.
Four men were arrested by gardaí after an operation resulted in the seizure of large quantities of drugs including cocaine, diamorphine and magic mushrooms.
Police have charged a man with the murder of Robert ‘Robbie’ Lawlor in Belfast six years ago.
A barrister said the Omagh Bombing Inquiry intends to “seek answers from the Republic of Ireland” about “outstanding questions” relating to the theft of the car used in the 1998 atrocity.
US rapper Macklemore announced a “Free Palestine” tour and will bring it to Dublin next month.

INTERNATIONAL

Delegates and diplomats left the hall as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the UN summit. Alamy Stock PhotoAlamy Stock Photo

#UN SUMMIT: Dozens of delegates at the UN General Assembly walked out en masse as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the podium to deliver his address in New York today.

#REVOLUT: A second data breach involving Revolut customers has been confirmed by the fintech company.

#AI HACK: Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese confirmed this morning that a rogue OpenAI model bypassed safeguards during training and hacked a government website, as he admonished the ChatGPT creator over an “obviously unacceptable” breach.

#EUROVISION: The Netherlands will participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest in Bulgaria, after it boycotted the competition this year over Israel’s participation.

#WHITE HOUSE: News outlets CNN, MS NOW and Politico have been allowed back into the White House after a judge ordered their access be restored.

#AMAZON: Amazon customers may see cheques of up to $200 arrive in the post as part of a revised order following a $2.5 billion (€2.1 billion) settlement the tech company struck with US regulators last year.

PARTING SHOT

The album will feature 12 new songs by the band. Alamy Stock PhotoAlamy Stock Photo

Dolly Parton’s final recorded vocal performance is set to feature on U2’s upcoming album Carnaval De Luz.

The late country music legend, who died last month aged 80, appears alongside Bono on Torn, the closing track on the Dublin band’s new record.

The country song, which explores broken family ties, was co-written by U2, Parton and Irish songwriter Johnny McDaid.

The 12-track album will be released on 13 November and will be U2’s first full-length album of new material since 2017.

The band also released a new song, Silencio, today as they mark their 50th anniversary year.