Come rain or shine RTE will have weather latest online
Parents of tragic Luke demand driving law change
Weather map A NEW weather website was unveiled by RTE and Met Eireann yesterday.
Rte.ie/weather will provide the most up-todate forecast for your specific location across mobile, desktop and tablet.
A statement said: “Feeding the nation’s obsession with weather, the new RTE site will provide round the clock, up-to-date news from all over the country including a seven-day forecast for any location around Ireland with national, coastal and sea area forecasts also a feature.
“A feed of video forecasts will now be available and event goers can prepare in advance with the addition of tailored forecasts for major events.
“Go to rte.ie/weather for yellow, orange and red weather warnings and live maps for temperature, rainfall, wind and pressure.”
The launch coincided with the final night of Weather Live on RTE One tonight at 7pm.
The series features interviews, weather balloon launches, challenges and a science corner.
Meanwhile, temperatures fell as low as -2C in some places last night.
But an area of high pressure is set to build today, bringing relatively mild and settled weather for the weekend.
ON RTE RADIO YESTERDAY
HEARTBROKEN Josephine and Stephen O’donovan THE parents of a six-year-old killed in a hit-and-run appealed yesterday for changes to be made to driving laws to prevent future tragedies.
Luke O’donovan was killed outside his home in Ballymacoda, Co Cork, on April 16, 2014.
It emerged the driver Edmond Walsh, 51, had suffered a traumatic brain injury in the 1980s and again in 2006, which left him with the mentality of a child.
Luke’s heartbroken parents Josephine and Stephen made a plea for people who have suffered brain injuries to be required to re-sit the driving test.
Last May, Walsh was given a suspended sentence for failing to remain at the scene of an accident and failing to offer assistance to someone who had been hurt.
But the O’donovans are angry he was allowed to drive again and have written a letter to the Transport Minister.
Edmond told the Sean O’rourke Show on RTE Radio One: “I think you have to look at the guidelines and that’s all they are at the moment. The onus seems to be on the driver or the family of the driver or the health professionals.
“I think, especially when you’re dealing with a brain injury, a cerebral injury where you can’t see inside a person’s head, you need a specialist exam when it comes to putting someone back on the road.
GUIDELINES
“You need to feel confident that somebody driving against you is capable and can understand the responsibility that comes with driving a car.”
Josephine added: “I was 42 when I had Luke. We had given up on ever having children. I had a difficult pregnancy and there were three occasions we thought we nearly lost him and eventually Luke was delivered by emergency section.
“The cord was wrapped around his neck so he had a dramatic entry into the world, I suppose it’s only fitting I guess that he had a dramatic entry out of the world.
“He just changed our lives, he was everything to us.” The O’donovans said they had no hesitation making the decision to donate Luke’s organs, saving the lives of four people. Josephine added: “Luke spent two nights in intensive care. If anyone spent 20 minutes in intensive care you see people fighting for their lives, you see families hoping and praying beyond hope that their loved one will survive.
“We had no doubt he would have because he was a very caring little chap.”
You need be confident someone driving against you is capable STEPHEN O’DONOVAN