What the papers say: Thursday's front pages
Ottoline Spearman
The murder of four-year-old Mason O'Connell-Conway by his stepmother dominates the front pages of Ireland's papers this Thursday morning.
The Danish foreign minister has told the US secretary of state that an American attack on Greenland would be a threat to Danish territory, reports the Irish Times. The country has expanded its military presence after the two countries held a phone call that lasted 50 minutes. A data centre in West Dublin uses ten times the electricity of a nearby pharmaceutical plant employing 2,000 people - the equivalent of 200,000 homes - an internal document has revealed. And the number of US citizens seeking asylum increased fourfold last year.
The HSE has issued an apology following the death of a woman after she used a home-birth pool provided by the HSE, reports the Irish Examiner. Laura Liston's death was recorded as a medical misadventure. Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has said that Musk's AI chatbot Grok should be banned, and JCD has acquired a site for a Cork office for €30 million.
Cork councils are considering their use of the X platform following the sexualised deepfakes from its AI chatbot Grok, reports The Echo. This comes after an Oireachtas committee meeting where it was revealed that gardaí are currently investigating 200 cases of images possibly containing child sexual abuse material.
The family of Mason O'Connell-Conway, 4, who was murdered, have questioned why he was in the care of his father John Paul O’Connell and killer stepmother Tegan McGhee, despite concerns being raised with Tusla before he died, according to the Irish Independent.
The Irish Daily Mirror also covers the story of Mason O'Connell-Conway, looking at the "evil stepmum" Teghan McGee, who abused the four-year-old for four months.
The Irish Daily Star leads with Mason's story, also showing a picture of his mother alongside the four-year-old and his step mother.
Michael Flatley has been accused of trying to hijack the Lord of the Dance tour to fund his debts and lifestyle, according to the Irish Daily Mail. The company that runs the tour has sought an injunction against the dancer.
And finally, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service has spent nothing on fire safety advertising campaigns over the past three years according to the Belfast Telegraph, with last year being the worst for blazes in the last 25 years.
