05/06 The Saturday Papers

The Front Pages

Here at JOE we like to be a bit cheeky and a little bit caustic as we cast our eyes over the day’s papers. But there’s nothing funny about the front of The Irish Times, which reports that “Child deaths while in care or contact with services now at 188”.

This figure marks a major revision of figures released this time last week by the HSE, at which point the number was 37 but only include those youngsters who were actually in care as opposed to those who were “known to social services” and therefore presumably at risk, and people aged 18-21 who were in after care. That figure had been revised up from 23 the previous week.

The first words of the first line of the Times’ story warns that this might not be the end of the story. “AT LEAST 188 young people…,” it says. It is reported that senior HSE official Bernard Gloster, who had been involved in collating the figures, admits that “disputes over the provision of figures had further dented public confidence in social services”.

Elsewhere on the front of The Times, a catholic bishop and a religious congregation have refused to remove two priests form a retreat centre in east Galway that is frequently visited by groups of young people, despite a recommendation for their removal by a group commissioned by the bishop to advise him. Plus there’s talk of €1.2billion loans to Anglo Irish Bank from US insurance giants AIG being under scrutiny by the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation. One day we’ll have positive news to report relating to banks or banks… maybe.

The Irish Examiner leads with the same story as The Times, pointing out that of the 188, 84 children suffered ‘unnatural deaths’. The Examiner also goes with more on the story of Senator Ivor Callely, his expenses, and his rift with his party Fianna Fail. Like The Examiner, Callely is a native of Cork… or so his expenses would have us believe.

Plus there’s news that Monday will almost certainly see the launch of the new 4G version of the iPhone when Apple boss Steve Jobs takes to the stage at his company’s annual software development conference in San Francisco. It is speculated that the iPhone 4G will have a clearer display, a front-facing camera and improved battery life.

“Israeli PM vows to stop Irish aid ship” the Irish Independent splashes across the front page.  Efforts by our diplomats to secure a peaceful passage for the MV Rachel Corrie have been rejected by those on board the vessel, with those on board, including five Irish people, insisting that the ship is allowed to dock and unload at Gaza’s port rather than up the coast at Ashdod in Israeli territory.

The story, which takes up the whole front page, is accompanied by a picture of Fiachra O Luian being greeted  by his mother having arrived at Dublin Airport on Friday following his deportation from Israel for being aboard one of the aid ships that had been blocked from delivering aid to Gaza earlier in the week. There’s also a picture of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who appears to be snarling.

Tales from the Tabs

The Irish Sun go big this Saturday with their ‘Showbiz Exclusive’ that Cheryl Cole is set to hit her love-cheat hubby Ashley with demands of a divorce settlement of at least €4.8million. An insider has revealed that Ashley “is expecting it to cost him at least €4.8million. He can’t believe she will walk away without a penny”.

So basically: an unnamed source is speculating that Ashley thinks that Cheryl will want some money. She hasn’t asked for any, but the unnamed source thinks maybe she might. It’s a bit of a weak story to lead with, if you ask us. Still, it gives us the excuse to put a picture of the Girls Aloud star on this page.

The Irish Daily Star has the story of the Monaghan granny killed when her teenage L-driver grandson reversed into her as she tended to her garden. The freak accident came as teen Conor was learning how to drive. Bridie Kelly, 66, was rushed to hospital, but died from her injuries.

The Irish Daily Mirror, meanwhile, leads with the story of “The Boy Who Got Away”, namely nine-year-old Jordan Williams who came face to face with deranged killer Derrick Bird in the middle of his killing spree in Cumbria, northern England, but escaped with his life, despite freezing to the spot at point-blank range as Bird stopped his car next to him.

The articulate young lad tells The Mirror: “His eyes were black like those of a hawk looking for prey. I stared back. He’d just shot a man in front of me. We were like it for seven seconds, but I didn’t run. I don’t know why. For some reason he just grabbed the wheel and started moving.”

The Sports Pages

“A painful evening on every front” is the headline across the top of the front page of The Irish Times’ Sports Weekend section. It relates to Ireland’s loss against the Barbarians on Friday night in Limerick in a game that saw Declan Kidney’s selection options prior to Ireland’s tour of Australia and New Zealand narrow further.

During a game that the Baa-baas dominate for at least the first 50 minutes, Fergus McFadden and JOE’s own Jerry Flannery  suffered injuries that may rule them out of the tour. Earlier in the day, Shane Horgan had gone to hospital with a stomach complaint that leaves him “extremely doubtful”.

Although the lead headline referred to one story, it was equally suitable for a second story on the page which related to the 2010 World Cup and to Rio Ferdinand being ruled out of the tournament after suffering a knee ligament injury and Didier Drogba in doubt after injuring his arm.

The Irish Daily Mirror leads with the Ferdinand and Drogba story, calling the day they got injured “Black Friday”. They also make reference to Italy’s Andrea Pirlo – man of the match in Italy’s World Cup final triumph four years ago – who they say is struggling to be match fit ahead of the group stage of the big event in South Africa.

The Irish Sun also focus on Ferdinand, with quotes from the England skipper’s friend and agent Pini Zahavi. “Rio said: ‘I think somebody cursed me’.  That is honestly how the man feels,” Zahavi says. The Sun also has the story that hints that Sven Goran Eriksson would like to throw his hat in the ring for the manager’s job at Anfield. Sun reporter Paul Jiggins says that Sven has confessed to being a lifelong Livepool fan and has admitted that managing the Kop would be a dream job. Dream job? More of a nightmare – just ask the freshly-departed Benitez.

Gaelic Games get a look in on the back page of the Indo, with a look at Kerry’s dynamic duo of Kieran Donaghy and Colm Cooper. GAA writer Vincent Hogan writes that Donaghy’s return to finess liberates sidekick Copper to give Kerry back their cutting edge.