A popular Irish rock band announced they made the decision to split after a decade performing together, with the group writing one more album before they part ways
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Irish rock band announce they ‘want it to end on a high’ as band announce split(Image: Kieran Frost/Redferns)
Kodaline, the beloved Irish band, has announced their split after a decade-long journey together. The group, comprising Steve Garrigan, Vincent May, Mark Prendergast and Jason Boland, have assured fans that they will be hitting the studio “one last time” to create their fifth and final album.
The Dublin-based band shared the news via a video on their Instagram page on Thursday. The caption accompanying the video read: “After over a decade, it’s time to say goodbye. With all our love VSMJ,” along with the hashtags: #ThankYou #KodalineLastAlbum #KodalineOneLastTime.
In a voiceover for the video, the band members expressed: “After over a decade together we’ve made the difficult decision to say goodbye to Kodaline.”
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“It might come as a surprise, and it’s definitely bittersweet for us too. What we’ve shared has changed our lives forever. From busking on the streets of Dublin to playing shows across the world, it really has been the stuff that dreams are made of.
“We want it to end on a high, so before we say goodbye, we’re heading into the studio one last time to record our fifth and final album as Kodaline.
“We are, and always will be, forever grateful for your love and support.
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“It’s been a journey that we’ll never forget and we hope that the music stays with you long after we’re gone.”
They concluded the video by saying: “With all our love Vinny, Steve, Mark and Jay,” reports the Irish Mirror.
Fans rushed to the comment section of their post on social media to share their shock, with one user writing: “When you said your last goodbye, i died a little bit inside.. never hit harder than today.”
“This is my biggest heartbreak for the year,” another fan commented while one friend said: “Ah lads. You brought me on my first ever tour and completely changed my life. Will always be the best
Originally known as 21 Demands, the band was formed in Swords, north county Dublin and rebranded themselves as Kodaline in 2012 to reflect their new musical direction.
They have released four albums to date: In a Perfect World (2013), Coming Up for Air (2015), Politics of Living (2018), and One Day at a Time (2020).
The last time Kodaline performed in Ireland was when they headlined the Electric Picnic festival in 2024.
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As Charlotte Church takes part in the first ever celebrity version of the hit BBC show The Traitors, we take a look at the singer/songwriter’s new life after blowing her fortune, her downsized home and teaching witchcraft in the woods
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The legendary ‘voice of angel’ singer is appearing in Celebrity Traitors (Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
She first shot to fame in 1997 at the tender age of 11 for having the ‘voice of an angel’ after singing a version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu over the phone on This Morning.
Charlotte Church then went on to have an album of the same name and a hugely successful career in classical singing before crossing over into pop. The vocal talent also enjoyed a stint working in TV presenting before taking a step back from the spotlight to focus on her children when she became a mother.
These days she spends her days immersed in nature at her spiritual retreat where she relishes her role as a sound healer and leads a witchcraft course. She still dips her toe into the world of showbiz though and makes occasional appearances.
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Even though she admits she doesn’t watch much telly these days, Charlotte Church confessed The Traitors is one that does grab her attention. Good job really as she’s starring in the latest series of the BBC reality show – its first celebrity version.
Despite signing up to The Traitors, public appearances from the 39-year-old are relatively rare these days. Having found fame almost 30 years ago at such a tender age, it was probably inevitable she would tire of life in the spotlight earlier than most stars.
She amassed a huge fortune of £25million by the time she was 17 and had sold more than 10million records worldwide. However the singing sensation blew a large amount of her fortune, and by 2010 was said to be down to £11million. In 2014, she spoke to Stylist magazine about her cash flow and lavish spending habits. “I haven’t got a lot of money. I’ve got enough to be comfortable if I was reasonable for the rest of my life, but I’m not reasonable,” she confessed. “So I will have to find a way to sustain my lifestyle.”
These days Charlotte admits she’s no longer a millionaire but has very different life goals. In March this year when she was discussing her Welsh based retreat she said she knew she wanted to buy it as soon as she laid eyes on it. “I also didn’t want to have to make a living from showbusiness any longer,” she explained. “I wanted to make art and music, but not be reliant on celebrity; to live more in line with my values.”
She and second husband Jonathan Powell bought Rhydoldog, the former idyllic home of designer Laura Ashley, back in 2021 and opened it as wellness centre, The Dreaming, in 2023. Set on 47 acres of ancient woodland, Charlotte guides guests through immersive experiences such as breathwork, forest bathing, creative expression, and more.
Explaining her role at the retreat, she said: “I’m a sound healer now, so I’m doing stuff at The Dreaming, which is really about pulling out the strands of how sound can be used for healing, how voice can be used for healing. I wanna sort of try and meld this idea of music and healing, and voice and healing, with that joy and ecstasy.” She has even appeared on ITV’s This Morning to promote the practice and ‘heal’ hosts Dermott O’Leary and Alison Hammond – although the latter couldn’t control her giggles during the session.
The Classical Brit Award winner is also a high priestess on a five day Witch experience at the centre which is “designed to activate the witch within”, according to the website. “This retreat is for seekers ready to embrace their inner Witch, heal the witch wound, deepen their connection to magic, and immerse themselves in ritual & sacred practice,” the course description continues.
Despite one of these retreats setting a couple back up to £3,000, the centre is reported to be struggling to make a profit. Last year Charlotte was said to have been forced to sell her home and downsize to a semi-detached house.
She and her family lived in a huge mansion, The Spinney, in Dinas Powys, Wales. She is rumoured to have paid £1.3million for it in 2010 and made almost a million when it sold for £2million. Charlotte had previously told Closer about the school she ran from the “beautiful” property. “We had a school there for a bit and a studio,” she said. “When it is used by the community, it makes sense, but when it is not used, it doesn’t.”
More recently she spoke about her life at home with her family. She has two children, Ruby 18 and Dexter 16, with ex fiance and rugby star Gavin Henson. She and musician husband Jonathan, who she married in 2017, also share five year old daughter Frida Simone.
Although it sometimes makes for a hectic environment, she told House Beautiful her home is where she goes to escape. “Sometimes stressful and incredibly busy,” she said, explaining the atmosphere in the house. “I’ve got three kids, two dogs and a husband – and a place of refuge. My house is full of books, music, instruments, art and conversations in the kitchen.”
Revealing that the first thing she does when she gets home is “clean” thanks to the mess her family makes, she said she was at her happiest when they were all, “outside together gardening”. Describing the garden as her favourite room in her house where she often just sits to watch the weather, she continued: “I’m green-fingered, but growing up, I had no concept of nature. It was just in the background. Through having kids and growing a human being inside my body, nature is the centre of my life.”
Her perfect Sunday these days would be “out and about” in a forest, at a riverside or the beach. She also loves spending time at The Dreaming where she can rest and reflect. It’s where the family holds big get-togethers and dinner parties too. “We always do it at The Dreaming,” she said. “My husband does all the cooking and it’s always sharing food, so people can choose the amounts they want.”
The retreat offers hearty, vegetarian home cooked meals for guests and Charlotte has also had something of an epiphany when it comes to her diet in recent years. Admitting she used to be a junk food fanatic, she revealed she now only eats whole foods.
“I’ve just read a book, Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken, which has completely changed my eating habits, which will therefore change my life,” she said in an interview with the Mirror in 2023. “It explains how we’re all eating all these chemicals, which disrupt the appetite pathways.
“The correlation with obesity is frightening – our bodies don’t even know what’s hungry and what’s not. My relationship with food was always a bit of a rebellion, I think in part because I was scrutinised so much as a young person and throughout my life. My weight was always part of that scrutiny, so I really kicked against it. I had a pretty well-balanced diet, but I totally ate junk food as well, had loads of sweets – I was a proper sugar fiend. I ate whatever I wanted, all of the time.”
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Revealing that she found the shift in eating habits easy, she added: “But something in this book has clicked and it completely changed my diet overnight, cutting out anything that’s not ‘real’ food. It hasn’t even been a struggle, which I never in a million years thought would happen. I’m pleasantly surprised by the ease of this transition.”
A Texas court has issued a stay of execution for Robert Roberson, a man whose 2003 murder conviction has raised serious questions about the validity of “shaken baby syndrome” as a medical diagnosis.
Thursday’s decision arrived with only a week remaining until Roberson’s scheduled execution date on October 16.
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Roberson, a 58-year-old autistic man, was accused of having killed his two-year-old daughter Nikki Michelle Curtis in January 2002, after he brought her to a hospital emergency room unconscious.
He has maintained that Nikki had been sick and fell from her bed overnight. But prosecutors argued that her head trauma must have been caused by “shaken baby syndrome”, a diagnosis popularised in the late 1990s as evidence of physical abuse in infants and toddlers.
But that diagnosis has been increasingly rejected, as doctors and medical researchers point out that the symptoms of “shaken baby syndrome” — namely, bleeding or swelling in the eyes or brain — can be caused by other conditions.
Roberson’s defence team has argued that Nikki suffered from chronic pneumonia in the lead-up to her death, and the medications she was given, including codeine, contributed to her death.
In Thursday’s decision, the judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to pause his execution in light of a similar case being overturned in 2024.
Judge Bert Richardson contrasted the shifting nature of the medical research with the finality of execution in his concurring opinion.
“There is a delicate balance and tension in our criminal justice system between the finality of judgment and its accuracy based on our ever-advancing scientific understanding,” Judge Richardson wrote.
“A death sentence is clearly final and, once carried out, hindsight is useless. Thus, when moving forward in such a way, we should require the highest standards of accuracy so that we can act with a reliable degree of certainty.”
But the court limited its judgement to reopening Roberson’s petition for habeas corpus, which questions the constitutionality of a person’s imprisonment.
It declined to reconsider Roberson’s case as a whole. That prompted some of the judges on the court to issue a partial dissent.
Judge David Schenck, for instance, argued that “a new trial is necessary and mandated by our Constitution”, given the new evidence that has emerged in the two decades since Roberson was sentenced to death.
“The merits of Roberson’s claims and the cumulative effect of the evidence Roberson presents — in his fifth application as well as his previous and subsequent applications — would be more properly and more swiftly assessed at this point by a jury in a new trial,” Schenck said.
He added that a new trial would also offer the state of Texas “an opportunity to present this case on its merits”.
Still, some judges on the panel said they were opposed to reopening the case, arguing that the shift in medical consensus did not rule out an act of violence in Nikki’s death.
“Arguably credible and reliable scientific evidence still exists to suggest that shaking a child can cause serious injury or death,” Judge Kevin Yeary wrote in his opinion.
This is not the first time that Roberson’s case has been delayed. He has spent nearly 23 years on death row and was also slated to be executed a year ago, in October 2024.
But that execution date was scuttled in an extraordinary series of events. With his execution scheduled for October 17 of that year, a bipartisan group of legislators in the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence agreed to issue a subpoena for Roberson on October 21 — effectively setting up a battle between the legislature’s will and the court’s.
The subpoen sparked a court case about the separation of powers in Texas: A witness could not answer a legislative subpoena if the justice system executed him first.
Further, the members of the Texas House committee had argued that a 2013 state law barring the use of “junk science” in court cases had failed to be applied in Roberson’s case.
The case reached the Texas Supreme Court, which halted Roberson’s execution while the matter was resolved. Execution dates are set with at least 90 days’ notice in Texas, resulting in a prolonged pause.
On July 16, after appeals from Roberson’s defence team, a new execution date was set for this month.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, has accused critics of Roberson’s sentence of “interfering with the capital punishment proceedings” and has repeatedly pledged to push forward with the execution.
But even those involved in Roberson’s original capital murder trial have sought to see his sentence overturned.
Brian Wharton, the lead investigator in Roberson’s case, had once testified in favour of the prosecution. But last year, he told the Texas House committee that he supported Roberson’s appeal, given the new evidence that has come to light.
“He is an innocent man, and we are very close to killing him for something he did not do,” Wharton said.
On Thursday, one of the jurors who helped convict Roberson also published an opinion column in the Houston Chronicle, asserting that she was “wrong” to side with the prosecution.
“If we on the jury knew then what I know now — about the new evidence of Nikki’s missed pneumonia, how her breathing would have been affected by the Phenergan and codeine doctors gave her that last week, the signs of sepsis, and all the things that were wrong with the version of shaken baby syndrome used in the case — we would have had a lot more to discuss,” Terre Compton wrote.
“Based on all that has come out since the trial, I am 100% certain that Robert Roberson did not murder his child.”
The famous faces taking part in the first series of The Celebrity Traitors aren’t just taking part for the fun of it – they’re getting paid a pretty penny for the BBC too
Ever wondered how much celebrities get paid to take part in reality shows? The salaries of the cast of the Celebrity Traitors have been revealed.
The show stars big names such as Stephen Fry and Alan Carr. Their salaries were revealed on The Rest is Entertainment podcast, which is hosted by Richard Osman and Marina Hyde.
According to Marina, all the celebrities on the show have been paid a flat fee of £40,000 to appear on the show. Everyone has been paid the same, regardless of their level of fame.
This means those that make it to the final will be paid the same as the first to be ‘murdered’ or banished. The prize pot will be donated to charity, so no celebrity will take home more cash than their fee.
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“It’s certainly interesting to compare something like Celebrity Traitors on the BBC to I’m a Celebrity on ITV,” Marina said in a podcast episode that aired before the show launched. “Although we haven’t seen the celebrity iteration yet, but we know it’s gonna be massive.
“Look at the calibre of the people they got. They were able to pay everybody a blanket £40k fee, right? I am spilling all my tea today. They’re paying them a £40k fee.”
The Thursday Murder Club author Richard compared the show to The White Lotus, which also paid their cast a flat fee – $40,000 (£29,000) – rather than an individual wage.
“It’s like White Lotus when everyone got paid the same, they got paid much less than you would normally do,” he said, before adding that “everyone is massively overpaid in the entertainment business”.
The Celebrity Traitors started on 8 October and follows the same format as the original hit series, where people are split into ‘faithfuls’ and a group who are secretly ‘traitors’. While everyone completes tasks to build up a prize pot, the faithfuls must root out the traitors, as if even one is left at the end, they will take all the money. Meanwhile, the traitors agree to ‘murder’ one faithful each night, to thin out the group.
Claudia Winkleman has also returned to host the show. The only difference between the celeb version and the main show, other than the start-studded cast, is that the prize pot will go to a charity of the winners’ choice.
This is the first season of the Celebrity Traitors and the full cast includes actors Stephen Fry, Celia Imrie, Nick Mohammad, Tameka Empson, Mark Bonnar and Ruth Codd.
It also includes comedians Alan Carr, Joe Wilkinson and Lucy Beaumont, broadcasters Kate Garraway, Clare Balding and Jonathan Ross, singers Paloma Faith, Cat Burns and Charlotte Church, as well as sports stars Tom Daley and Joe Marler, writer David Olusoga and YouTuber Niko Omilana.
The traitors were chosen in the first episode, though no one was murdered, nor was there a banishment. As such, the entire cast remain, with singer Cat, Jonathan and Alan as the Traitors. The show was filmed during the spring.
The Federal Government has instructed tertiary institutions in the country to submit reports of intervention funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund(TETfund) that have not been utilised within the next thirty days.
Addressing heads of tertiary institutions at a meeting in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the ministry has been faced with a dilemma over the issue of allocations that are not being put to good use.
He explained that resources that could have been used to develop infrastructure in institutions have remained idle due to avoidable bottlenecks.
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The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa.
The minister also announced that capacity-building programmes will be introduced to strengthen project management, compliance, and reporting, alongside mentorship initiatives, while quarterly reviews will be introduced to track progress and compliance, with sanctions for institutions that fail to utilise funds effectively.
“Institutions must submit reconciled reports of all unutilised funds within 30 days, which will be jointly verified. Unused funds may be redirected to priority projects, and carrying them over without strong justification will no longer be allowed. Procurement plans must align with approved interventions, and approvals should be fast-tracked to prevent delays,” Alausa said.
Transparency will be enhanced through a public dashboard showing disbursement and utilisation data, and institutions will be required to publish project progress reports.
Alausa also emphasised that the success of this initiative depends on strong collaboration among stakeholders.
“TETFund must lead with professionalism, enforce compliance, and ensure transparency. Institutional heads should drive urgency and accountability, while bursars, procurement officers, and project coordinators must plan and report diligently.
“Auditors and oversight bodies are expected to monitor activities and flag irregularities. All stakeholders must uphold a sense of stewardship, recognising that every TETFund naira represents public trust,” Alausa said.
TETFund. Facebook/TETFund
Utilised Allocations
This directive is coming as no surprise, as TETFund has repeatedly expressed concern over the significant amount of unused allocations by higher institutions in Nigeria.
In July 2025, TETFund threatened to delist institutions that fail to access and utilise their allocations, emphasising that the funds would be diverted to institutions that are up to date with accessing and utilising disbursements.
The allocation of TETFund resources is based on demand-driven interventions, where institutions submit proposals for projects based on their needs, and TETFund approves them accordingly.
Scottish actor Mark Bonnar is one of the cast of the UK’s first-ever series of Celebrity Traitors. Mark previously admitted that it is hard for him to be apart from his family while on set
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Mark Bonnar has been with his TV star wife for 17 years(Image: WireImage)
Mark Bonnar has landed standout roles in Shetland, Line of Duty, Guilt, and is now taking on a completely new challenge with The Celebrity Traitors.
But away from the cameras, the Scottish actor enjoys a quieter life with his wife, actress Lucy Gaskell, and their two children. The couple have been together for over two decades, after meeting in 2003 while appearing in a stage production of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.
They went on to get married four years later, in December 2007. Lucy, 44, is well known to TV audiences in her own right. She has starred in several hit British dramas including Cutting It, Casualty, Being Human, Waking the Dead, DCI Banks and even Doctor Who.
Fans of the BBC medical series may remember that both Lucy and Mark have appeared on Casualty, though at different times.
While on Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast in 2023, Mark reflected fondly on their marriage, sharing: “It was our 15-year wedding anniversary [in] December. I couldn’t believe it was 15 years we were celebrating because I’m still filled with love when I look at her, you know, which is a wonderful thing to feel.”
He continued: “She’s really kind of taught me a lot about life and about love and care and commitment.” The couple share two children — Martha, 13, and Samuel, nine.
Family life clearly means a lot to Mark. He has spoken about his parenting philosophy, explaining: “[Having kids] was late in the day for me. I met Lucy when I was in my mid-30s and we had eight years before we had children.
“My parents always said to me: ‘If you’re happy, we’re happy,’ and I’m going to try to do the same with my kids. As a parent, your children’s happiness is the most important thing.”
On a sadder note, he added: “I don’t like being away from home. I need to be with my family… because I miss it. Even if you’re away for like four or five days, you still get back and think there’s little changes you can see… and you go… ‘I missed that.’”
Although it was likely tough for Mark to spend a few weeks away from his kids while in Ardross Castle, he was also enormously excited by the prospect of taking on The Celebrity Traitors.
Ahead of filming, he told the BBC: “I was thrilled to be asked, to be honest with you. I’m a fan of the show. It’s one of the few things that we watch as a family.”
He admitted that the reality series is “way out my comfort zone” but insisted that was one of the reasons he wanted to star in it, as he likes to challenge himself with new roles.
The actor also joked: “I’ve got a terrible memory. I’m worried that I’m going to forget a lot or not catch some things. That means I have to work hard on not being gullible if evil masterminds try to sway me! I’m hoping it’ll be fun.”
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His poor memory left him hoping he would be chosen as one of the Faithfuls as he felt being a Traitor might be too hard for his “wee brain”, and thankfully his wish has been fulfilled — at least so far.
