Here's What Happened Today: Wednesday

29 Jul 2026, 19:53 by David MacRedmond, https://www.thejournal.ie/author/david-macredmond/ · TheJournal.ie

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

Kate O'Connor throws a jevelin in the heptathlon at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Alamy Stock PhotoAlamy Stock Photo

IRELAND

Glen Hansard, the Oscar-winning songwriter and lead singer with Dublin band The Frames, died aged 56.
Gardaí believe a man who disappeared five weeks ago in Dublin was stabbed to death in an apartment in Dublin and his body concealed by his attacker.
Police in Croatia arrested a Norwegian man last Friday on suspicion of raping a young Irish woman in the coastal city of Split.
Households were set to face another increase in their electricity bills from October after the energy regulator approved higher network charges to fund upgrades to Ireland’s electricity grid.
From September, TDs will have to use a new system to submit parliamentary questions to ministers in an effort to ease pressure caused by AI use.
Kate O’Connor was still in the gold medal position with just one heptathlon event remaining at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The High Court granted permission for the publication in a national newspaper of the names of more than 300 former Christian Brothers who are now co-defendants accused of a breach of duty in a civil abuse claim.
The government is falling far short on delivering the climate measures it has committed to, with just 10 of 74 measures completed over the past three years.
A judge jailed a retired industrial engineer for one year for the possession of child abuse images that included two short videos of two babies being sexually abused by an adult male.

Firefighters use controlled burning to halt a wildfire that continues to spread near Cebreros, Avila province, Spain Alamy Stock PhotoAlamy Stock Photo

INTERNATIONAL

#EUROPE: Three firefighters were killed in Greece as wildfires continued to burn across Europe.

#USA: An autonomous AI agent made by OpenAI which hacked a computer programming platform last week also attempted to breach other companies during the incident.

#UK: The leader of the British Green Party, Zack Polanski, said he would not apologise to Nigel Farage for sharing an image featuring a man in a t-shirt with a guillotine.

PARTING SHOT

THE HOSEPIPE BAN has recently been extended across Ireland, and in the aftermath of near-record-breaking heatwaves, houses are still being urged to do their part to reduce their water use. Meanwhile, some of the largest water consumers, data centres and other heavy industry, continue to draw on the public water supply without meaningful restriction or oversight.

Responsible governance and an informed public debate require reliable data to base decisions on. However, when it comes to data centres, the information is patchy and confusing, and what information we do have is often the result of journalistic efforts. It’s clear an environment of secrecy has favoured this sector amidst its ever-growing impacts.

You can read the full Voices article by Dylan Murphy, Dr Aideen O’Dochartaigh and Dr Elain McGoff here.