What the papers say: Friday's front pages

Ellen O'Donoghue

A variety of stories feature on Irish front pages on Friday, from US troops at Shannon to crime, and to politics.

The Irish Times lead with US troops travelling through Shannon jumping 80 per cent before and during the US attacks on Iran, a judge's refusal to convict 34 speeding drivers being challenged,  and the number of people working past the age of 65 rising by 31 per cent in three years.

The Irish Examiner lead with therapy notes being “used as a weapon” in court, over 7,800 requests for special education class places, a Cork conman who targeted elderly victims, and children with complex needs self-harming because their teeth are causing so much pain as they face long waits for treatment.

The Irish Independent lead with Dublin City Council setting aside more than €10 million to refurbish its Wood Quay office building despite planning to move to a new location 2km away in 2029.

The Echo lead with extra Garda patrols in the city centre pushing drug users out into the suburbs in Cork, and a gathering being planned at the former Bessborough mother and baby home on Sunday to read aloud the names of the children known to have died there.

The Irish Daily Mail lead with Micheál Martin being "in denial" over Fianna Fáil support, according to one of the party's sitting TDs.

The Herald lead with a court hearing that a father missed his daughter's wedding by triggering a security alert at Dublin Airport when he made a "horrendous" joke about having a bomb in his luggage.

The Irish Daily Mirror lead with a romance fraudster preying on a young, vulnerable woman whose husband died suddenly, meeting her at her husband's wake and stealing €140,000 from her.

The Irish Daily Star lead with an armed burglar in the Lucky Dip gang being stopped in his tracks by a garda dog bite.

The Belfast Telegraph lead with Northern Ireland's health service spending more than £2.5 million a year on "skinny jabs".