The Week that was

Monday

SIMON Coveney fears his supporters in the Fine Gael leadership race face being axed from their ministerial posts by a vengeful Leo Varadkar. Sources close to the Cork TD have complained that Mr Varadkar’s team gave some ministers an ultimatum “to back him or suffer the consequences”. Mr Coveney admitted he is “concerned about the people who are committing to me”.

Tuesday

A SUICIDE bomber detonated a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday night. As people woke up to the news on Tuesday, it was confirmed that 19 people had been killed – three more have since died. Scores more were injured (pictured above), some critically, at Manchester Arena, as officials warned that the death toll could be even higher.

Wednesday

ISIL claimed responsibility for the Monday night carnage in Manchester, which counted children as young as eight among its victims and left 59 wounded. Police raided two sites in the northern English city and arrested a 23-year-old man at a third location.

Thursday

COUNTER-TERRORISM agencies are investigating a “network” in connection with the Manchester bombing, police have confirmed for the first time, as it emerged an off-duty female officer was killed in the atrocity. As the huge inquiry continued, the father of perpetrator Salman Abedi (pictured above) claimed his son was innocent, saying: “We don’t believe in killing innocents. This is not us.”

Friday

A SEVEN-MONTH-OLD baby girl died in hospital after she was left alone in a car for a number of hours on the hottest day of the year. The child, named locally as Chloe Fogarty, was found in an “unresponsive” state at 1.45pm in Dundrum, Co Tipperary. It is suspected she may have developed heatstroke as temperatures in the area reached 25C on Thursday.