A priest who became known as "Father Cupid" for his work in finding partners for lovelorn Irish men and women over the past 30 years yesterday called for an end to the marriage ban on clergy.
Father Michael Keane, whose Knock Marriage Bureau has resulted in 820 marriages and more than 15,000 introductions since 1968, said celibacy should never have been imposed.
"We have lost thousands of good priests over the years who left the priesthood to get married," he said.
Now 79, the Dublin-based priest admitted he would have liked to be married himself.
"At different stages in parishes there were women I was attracted to, but the ruling on celibacy meant that a relationship or marriage was not feasible," he said.
The annual figures Knock Marriage Bureau published yesterday show a strong level of interest in the bureau despite competition from computer dating agencies and the Internet.
Some 129 nine men and 106 women applied looking for an introduction during 2003. Most of the female applicants were from Dublin and were in the 31-to-35 age group, while most of the men were also from Dublin and in the 36-40 age bracket.
Finding €5 led to Cork Lotto win
A Cork woman who found a €5 note on the roadside went to a nearby newsagents, bought a Lotto ticket and won €200,000.
Ms Sinead Hudson (23), from Ballyphehane, Cork city, could not believe her luck when all of her numbers came up in last Saturday's Lotto Plus Two draw.
The young woman, who works as an office administrator with building contractors, Rohcon Ltd, flew to Dublin yesterday to collect the cheque.
"I was delighted at finding €5 on the road. My aunt said my luck was in and I should do the Lotto, so I took her advice and bought a €4.50 quick pick, even though I had already bought my Lotto ticket," she said.
The other winners were two people from Cork city who collected €300,000 on Monday when they won the top prize in the Lotto Plus One draw last Wednesday.
The anonymous winners bought their Lotto tickets in O'Reilly's service station, Watercourse Road, Cork.
Killarney council to sell property
Killarney Town Council is to sell off surplus public property to complete a long-awaited €11 million public swimming pool and leisure facility.
Already €1 million has been spent on consultants' fees and advertising. Some €6 million in grant aid will be available for the project.
The town manager, Mr Tom Curran, said yesterday the council was faced with winding up the project unless it could come up with the necessary local funding.
The project is 20 years in the planning and is known as the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre.
The council executive has said the pool would pay for itself and not cost the town council anything for the first five years.
Mr Curran said that among the options open to the council was selling part of the town's main car-park to be developed as a public-private multi-storey car-parking facility.
Already, the council has decided to sell a building and site to support the project. This is expected to raise over €3 million.
Winds and flooding in Kerry
Winds and high rainfall led to flooding and the closure of the Kenmare-Killarney road yesterday. One car crashed and a number of others had to be removed from a major section of the N71 Ring of Kerry Road at the Eagle's Nest.
The extent of the flooding making the road impassable surprised gardaí and emergency services.
There were also incidents of fallen trees throughout south Kerry.