The 9 at 9: Friday

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news you need to know to start the day.

Storm Austen

1. Heavy rain has hit the country overnight as Storm Austen rolled in, with conditions starting to ease this morning as the worst of the storm passes.

 A second storm, Storm Boelo, is set to quickly follow over the weekend and bring heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday.

Debts to HSE

2. Drug and medicine discounts – called rebates – are a significant source of income for the HSE.

Major issues have been identified in this complex system of collecting money, The Journal Investigates has revealed.

Lockhart steps down

3. DUP MP Carla Lockhart has resigned as a party officer amid a deepening row with the leadership over the future of Stormont.

Philip Cairns appeal

4. Gardaí have issued a fresh appeal on the 40th anniversary of the disappearance of schoolboy Philip Cairns.

Cairns disappeared as he walked from his home to his school, Coláiste Éanna, in Rathfarnham, Dublin 16, on 23 October 1986.

Mortgage drawdowns

5. The most recent financial quarter saw mortgage drawdown values at the highest they’ve been since mid-2008.

A total of 14,217 mortgages worth €4,598 million were drawn down by borrowers between July and September 2026, according to the latest Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) report.

Ukraine

6. The Starshield military communications system is “back” in Ukraine, Donald Trump said Thursday, after the Wall Street Journal reported the US president asked tech billionaire Elon Musk to restore the service, which is vital to Kyiv’s forces.

Mercury Prize

7. UK singer-songwriter Raye has been awarded the 2026 Mercury Prize for her album This Music May Contain Hope.

Thomas O’Donoghue, an artist from Co Galway known by his stage name Dove Ellis, was among the nominees for his debut solo album Blizzard.

Horse-drawn carriage ban

8. New York City councillors have voted to ban horse-drawn carriages from June 2028, bringing an end to a Central Park attraction that dates back more than 160 years.

RIP

9. 

Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor who embodied a solid, wry authority figure, whether as a flight instructor in Top Gun, a tough-but-fair sheriff on TV’s Picket Fences or the doomed captain of Alien, has died aged 93.