Video: Mother pays tribute to Pte Seán Rooney; Airports ready for Christmas homecomings

Private Seán Rooney funeral

The mother of Private Séan Rooney told his funeral Mass he is a "national hero", adding there are "no words great enough" to express her love for him.

Pte Rooney, from Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal, was killed in Lebanon last week when his convoy came under attack.

The 24-year-old’s body was returned to his family after being repatriated on Monday.

His funeral Mass was held on Thursday morning at Holy Family Church in Dundalk ahead of his burial in Colehill, Donegal.

President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris were among those in attendance, as well as some of Pte Rooney’s colleagues from Lebanon.

Christmas homecomings

Airports and ports around the country are in for a busy few days as families and friends reunite for Christmas.

The DAA, which operates Dublin Airport, said 1.5 million people are expected to through Dublin Airport over the coming days.

The figures will likely be on par with pre-pandemic years, as figures from the CSO showed November's arrivals were just shy of those noted in the same month of 2019.

Gender pay gap report

The introduction of mandatory gender pay gap reporting for large businesses in Ireland is shining a light on a lack of equality in the workplace, according to the National Women's Council.

Under the Pay Gap Information Act 2021, Irish companies employing more than 250 people are required to publish their pay comparison figures by the end of the month.

The council's director, Orla O'Connor, said the publication of the figures is "really important and significant", adding it will give a "better understanding of what is happening in the differences between women and men's earnings".

Ballymurphy inquiry

The families of a group of people killed by the British army in west Belfast in 1971 have held their first meeting with police in a bid to have a murder investigation opened.

The meeting comes after a fresh inquest into the deaths in Ballymurphy in August 1971 concluded that the 10 were innocent victims.

The British army was found to be responsible for nine of the 10 deaths, with not enough evidence to determine who fired the shot which killed the tenth victim.

The families of the victims want to see a murder inquiry opened.