Internal polling by Sinn Féin in central Dublin is said to have shown the party is unlikely to increase its share of seats on the city council and may actually lose some to immigration reform candidates.

Sinn Féin are wobbling.

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Ross Lake House in Galway on fire tonight.

Built in 1850, the former hotel was earmarked to accommodate 70 single male asylum seekers from the 21st of December.

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The tragic thing about Ross Lake House is that the couple who sold their Texan home to buy it were really excited by their purchase and had a youtube, instagram & tiktok with 33k followers dedicated to the property's renovation, which they renamed back to what the planters had originally called it—Killaguile House.

They were loving their retirement in Galway, with a daughter in the Rose of Tralee and a son in Riverdance.

Then in early December, everything was mysteriously wiped from their social media—well, almost everything. Shannon Kincaid still has footage on her facebook gardening the property with her husband, Allen Stringer, in the background while she admires the large number of rhododendrons on the grounds—an invasive species introduced to Ireland by the planters in the 1700s.

Though they may appear beautiful, the rhododendron is in fact a death warrant to the patches of the countryside it invades and need to be cut and then burned to prevent regrowth.

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According to Fianna Fáil Councillor Noel Thomas, the damage to Ross Lake House from the fire is devastating.

When asked about the extent of the damage he told Galway Beo: "It's all gone."

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil councillor for Connemara North, Séamus Walsh, has told Galway Bay FM that while nobody could condone criminal damage, the government needs to take some responsibility.

"If it was a criminal act we have to stand back and look at it. What made that criminal act happen? And it's the senseless policy of the government."

"The people are living in fear, as I said, and if it was done maliciously, it is absolutely the fear for the safety and well-being of their families that drove people to this."

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A tour of Ross Lake House, AKA Killaguile House, by its new owners from Texas, before the Georgian mansion was destroyed in a fire last night, after it was announced that 70 asylum seekers were set to be accommodated there. The former hotel was bought for €1.4 million in 2022.

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A Labour local election candidate in Dublin has apologised for believing that the rate of immigration into Ireland is too high.

Carol Reynolds had told community activist Gavin Pepper, who is running as an independent local election candidate, that there were too many immigrants coming into Ireland and that it was wrong to label people who raise concerns about immigration "racist".

However, on Sunday, Reynolds issued a statement that she had made the comments in error and wished to express her regret for stating them.

Speaking to The Journal today, Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the party has launched an internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the comments which she said do not align with Labour values.

“We take this very seriously, there’s no doubt about that.”

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