THE build-up to Halloween seems to be starting earlier each year and bats, more than any other animal, have come to symbolise this ancient pagan festival. Bats are being used to create a creepy, macabre, and ghostly atmosphere. Be not afraid, however. It’s mostly mythology.

A convicted Louth sex offender has been jailed for six years for the manslaughter of a 57-year-old man whom he claimed sexually molested his girlfriend while they slept rough on a Dublin street.