Parents of pupils attending a Cork City primary school have been urged to check that their children’s vaccinations are up to date on foot of a suspected case of whooping cough at the school.

EDUCATION Minister Mary Coughlan has described the failure to identify the source of an outbreak of TB in a Cork school as a “disappointment”.

AMID a sprinkling of rain and a smidgeon of apprehension, parents yesterday walked their children through the gates of Scoil Iósaf primary school into the media spotlight and a new school term, albeit a week behind schedule.

AS the screening of 220 pupils and teachers from Ballintemple National School began, there was no sense of panic at St Finbarr’s hospital.