Other stories in brief.
Fraudster masquerading as priest
Gardaí are investigating reports that a con man has been impersonating a priest in the northwest, writes Tom Gilmore.
Gardaí have been told that a man claiming to be a priest stole a chequebook from a home in Tuam, Co Galway.
There are similar reports from other towns in Galway and Sligo, gardaí said yesterday.
Tuam locals say they were conned by the man, who visited the town claiming he was a Scottish priest.
One man who shared a pub sing-along in the town with the visitor said he became suspicious when the supposed priest started telling blue jokes.
"For every dirty joke that we would tell, this so-called priest would tell an even dirtier one and this made me suspicious that he was a fraud," the man said.
A Garda source said they were trying to determine whether the "priest" was a man convicted for a number of offences in Ireland and Britain.
Investigation into woman's death
The Garda Ombudsman Commission is to investigate the death of a woman passenger in a car which was being driven by an off- duty member of An Garda Síochána, write Kitty Holland and James Hayden.
The 65-year-old woman, named yesterday as Margaret O'Donoghue, of Bandon, Co Cork, died after the vehicle was involved in a collision with a van at 3.10pm on Tuesday.
Four people were taken to Galway University Hospital following the incident, which occurred at Lenamore, Milltown, Tuam, Co Galway.
A spokesman for the ombudsman commission said the off-duty member of the force was driving his own car at the time of the incident. Ms O'Donoghue was a passenger in the car.
The incident had been referred to its investigators by the Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy, under section 102 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005.
Meanwhile, a number of people were injured following a three-car pile up on the N7 Nenagh bypass in Co Tipperary yesterday.
However, gardaí said none of the injuries was life threatening.
The incident occurred on the main Dublin-Limerick road, on the Nenagh side of Toomevara, shortly after 3.30pm. Weather conditions in the area were showery at the time with heavy thunder showers making for difficult driving conditions.
PSNI investigates barman's shooting
Police are trying to establish the motive for the shooting of a barman in Killyleagh, Co Down, early yesterday morning.
The 28-year-old man had just returned to Killyleagh from working at a bar in Downpatrick when he was attacked, writes Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor.
The victim told a friend that the man who shot him opened his driver's door as he was parking and opened fire.
Local people said they were baffled by the incident, while the injured man is understood to have told police he has no idea why he was targeted.
Local politicians condemned the attack. Strangford DUP MP Iris Robinson urged anyone with information to contact the PSNI.
Building workers hit gas main
A gas leak at a construction site in Rhebogue, Co Limerick, forced locals to be evacuated from their homes shortly before midday yesterday. The alarm was raised shortly after workers accidentally hit a main gas line.
A one-mile exclusion zone was put in place until the main gas supply was cut off by Bord Gáis and repair work got under way.
Every available unit of Limerick Fire Service attended the scene, just a short distance from the busy Parkway roundabout.
It is not yet known what volume of gas escaped into the atmosphere.
Bord Gáis gave the all-clear to residents later yesterday afternoon and they were allowed to return to their homes.