Other News In Brief

Family Concerned For Whereabouts Of Young Galway Man

The family of a 24-year-old who is missing from Galway city are seeking the public's help to locate him.

Conor Burke was last seen yesterday morning, 14 February, in the city.

He is 6' in height, of medium build, with blue eyes and short brown hair.

When he was last seen he was wearing a light blue t-shirt with white stripes, light blue denim shirt with short sleeves, a dark navy jacket and blue jeans.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Galway Garda Station on 091-576213, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

Fisherman Not Guilty Of Murdering Irishman In Australia

A man has been found not guilty of murdering an Irish father-of-two in Australia.

Andrew Down, a 35-year-old fisherman, was accused of stabbing Charles John McCarthy, 32, to death with a screwdriver during a fight at Perth's Swan River in 2017.

Jurors found him not guilty of both murder and manslaughter following a trial.

An altercation occurred when Mr Doan interpreted a comment by Mr McCarthy, his wife Nicole and a friend Jason Mikel Curran as being racist.

After a verbal argument, the defendant claimed that Mr McCarthy charged and moved to punch him, at which point he impaled himself on a screwdriver that he was holding up.

When he opened his eyes, Mr McCarthy was on the ground, Doan said.

He remained at the scene until emergency services arrived and told police it was him, and then spent over a year in prison awaiting trial.

€23M Invested In Start-Ups Last Year By Enterprise Ireland

Enterprise Ireland, the state agency responsible for the development and growth of Irish companies in global markets, invested €23 million in Irish start-ups in 2018 and supported a total of 132 start-up companies. 


Over 600 entrepreneurs and representatives from early stage businesses representing the start-up class of 2018 alongside investors and members of the start-up community convened yesterday, 14 February at Croke Park for Enterprise Ireland's Annual Start-up showcase event.

Investment was provided as equity through Competitive Start Funds (CSFs) and High Potential Start-Up (HPSUs) funding programmes by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.


Funding awarded to start-ups in 2018 included two calls for up to €1.5 million in funding open to all sectors. €500K in funding was targeted at recent graduates while €750K iwas made available through a fintech and deep tech CSF.

Start-ups who benefited include:

• 82 High Potential ventures- start-up businesses with the potential to create 10 jobs and €1million in sales within three to four years of starting up


• 50 Competitive Start Funds (CSFs)- critical early stage funding into new businesses to accelerate growth


• 28 new female-led HPSUs


• 15 new fintech HPSUs and a further five fintech start-ups were supported under a dedicated CSF fund


• 15 spin-out companies from higher education institutions 


• 26 additional HPSUs which received follow-on investment funding as their businesses scaled.



(JG)