Here's what happened today: Thursday

07 May 2026, 19:37 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.

A man pictured at a pop up store selling Kneecap merch at the Bernard Shaw in Drumcondra. Rolling NewsRolling News

IRELAND

Plans are still being worked out for two Irish passengers aboard the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius, as international health authorities continue to monitor the outbreak linked to the cruise ship.
The building of a bicycle shed at University Hospital Kerry which cost €127,000 is a “pure waste” and another slap in the face to families who are at breaking point, Sinn Féin said.
Workers at outsourcing tech firm Covalen voted in favour of strike action after the company announced that the jobs of 720 workers on Meta projects are at risk of redundancy.
Almost 300 asylum seekers who claimed to be children were subsequently found to be adults in the last four years, according to Tusla.
A €700 million cross-border investment deal will deliver a more reliable and comfortable rail service between Belfast and Dublin, operators have said.
Fine Gael candidate Senator Seán Kyne has a narrow lead over Noel Thomas of Independent Ireland in the race to fill the vacancy left by Catherine Connolly’s election as President, according to a new opinion poll from TG4 and the Irish Times.
Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has insisted there is no “threat to recruitment” in the health service, and said a recruitment freeze for frontline HSE staff such as nurses and midwives is not on her “radar”.
The winner of Saturday night’s €8.7 million Lotto jackpot has come forward and arrangements are underway for them to collect their prize.

INTERNATIONAL

The MV Hondius cruise ship anchored at a port in Praia, Cape Verde. Alamy Stock PhotoAlamy Stock Photo

#HANTAVIRUS: Health officials have stressed the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius is not expected to develop into a major epidemic.

#NEW YORK: A US judge has released a suicide note purportedly written by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein weeks before his death in a New York jail.

#ISRAEL: An Israeli settler suspected of kicking and wounding a French Catholic nun in Jerusalem will go on trial for assault motivated by hostility towards a religious group, Israel’s justice ministry has said.

#POPE: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met with Pope Leo XIV amid ongoing tensions between Donald Trump and the first US pope.

#UK ELECTIONS: Labour is expected to take a hammering in today’s elections across England, Scotland and Wales, with some pollsters predicting Keir Starmer’s party will lose 75% of the council seats they’re defending.

PARTING SHOT

Bambino's Stephen Street shop BambinoBambino

Popular pizza chain Bambino is opening a new shop in Dublin city centre.

Bambino has become a firm favourite with Dubliners, and queues have become a mainstay outside its Stephen Street and Merrion Street locations.

No doubt fans will be glad to hear the business is looking to meet demand, as it announced it will open a third shop.

The new shop will be situated on Camden Street, between Hang Dai Chinese restaurant and Frank’s wine bar.