A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Inquiry into Fr Molloy’s death renewed
The family of the late Fr Niall Molloy have welcomed a renewed Garda inquiry into his death 25 years ago.
Gardaí said they recently took statements from two people and preliminary inquiries were being carried out.
They said a formal investigation was not being undertaken at present into the case which made headlines in the 1980s.
Fr Molloy was found dead on the floor of the bedroom of wealthy businessman Richard Flynn and his wife Theresa at their home in Kilcoursey House, Co Offaly, on July 8th, 1985.
Mr Flynn admitted a row but denied any wrongdoing. He was tried on a charge of manslaughter but the trial only lasted a morning when the judge stated the evidence of the State pathologist indicated Fr Molloy had hit a blunt object like a bedpost and suffered a heart attack.
A subsequent inquest found he had died from a “serious injury to the head”.
Fr Molloy’s nephew Bill Maher, now 60, and Mr Maher’s late brother Ian always maintained the inquiry was not satisfactory.
Garda Det Insp Christy Mangan, head of the Serious Crime Review team, will lead the new investigation into Fr Molloy’s death.
More competition for bus routes
Guidelines which allow private bus operators to compete for an existing commercial route licence have been published by the National Transport Authority.
The move means bus companies are set to face more direct competition for existing licensed routes and have an equal opportunity to provide commercial services to bus passengers.
However, the challenge will not extend to most routes operated by Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus as these are not considered “commercial”, as they require a subsidy.
A spokeswoman for the National Transport Authority said some Bus Éireann routes may come within the remit of the guidelines, as they were profit-making.
However, she said the CIÉ companies had “fixed contracts agreed for five years” from when the NTA came into existence on December 1st last.
Gray Chair fails to sell at US auction
A chair made by the Irish designer Eileen Gray failed to sell at a Christie’s auction in New York on Tuesday night despite a bid of $1.7 million, writes Michael Parsons.
The lacquered and painted beechwood armchair, known as the ‘Sirène’, was made in Paris 90 years ago by the Enniscorthy, Co Wexford-born architect and furniture designer. Â It had a pre-sale estimate of $2million-$3million and was offered for sale by an American private collector.
Bidding opened at $1.2 million and rose quickly in increments of $100,000 before stalling at $1.7 million at which point the
auctioneer decided to pass.
The result was a surprise as another chair by the designer – a leather armchair known as the Fauteil aux Dragons  (the Dragons’ Chair) – sold for €21.9 million last year in Paris and set a world record price for 20th-century furniture.
A second lot by Eileen Gray – a painted wood screen – sold for $842,500. It is one of a pair made by the designer. The other is in the collection of the National Museum of Ireland and is on display at Collins Barracks in Dublin.
Eileen Gray grew up in Ireland but moved to France early in the last century. She died, aged 98, in Paris in 1976. Virtually unknown in Ireland during her lifetime, since her death she has been increasingly recognised as one of the most influential figures in the history of art deco design.