The first waves have peeled across an artificial surf lagoon built on the site of an old aluminium works on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park.

The inland lake covers an area the size of six football pitches, and the site cost Â£15m to build.
The owners of Surf Snowdonia claim to have created the longest man-made surf wave in the world.
The lozenge-shaped lagoon now dominating the Conwy valley is 300m long and 110m wide.
That's roughly the size of six football pitches.
It holds more than six million gallons (33,000 cu m) of filtered rainwater that is piped down from mountain reservoirs.
A snowplough-shaped underwater foil positioned under a pier running the length of the lake is designed to generate breakers reaching up to a hefty 6ft (2m).
It "barrels", which means it is fast and large enough to create a kind of mini "tube", which is what experienced surfers want. Surf Snowdonia says it will create up to 50 waves per hour.
It is also consistent, breaking in the same place every time. This could tempt beginners into the water along with helping pro-surfers perfect complex moves.
This kind of technology with its guarantee of waves could also help surfing to eventually become an Olympic sport.
Entrepreneur Andy Ainscough, director of Surf Snowdonia, calls it "surfing for softies", with heated changing rooms and hot showers nearby. "The hardest bit about surfing is that first learning stage. This fast-forwards this. I'm confident that our instructors could get anyone up," he said.
The wave itself was designed by Wavegarden, a company run by a group of engineers from northern Spain who are surfers. It took more than a decade to develop, and this is the first time that the technology has been used anywhere in the world.
The funding and logistics for the site in north Wales were organised at breakneck speed by Mr Ainscough, working alongside former Army colonel and managing director Steve Davies. The project received around Â£4m in loans and grants from the Welsh government.
Mr Davies spent more than 30 years in the Army. "The building and development of the former factory site was probably the biggest challenge because a century of contamination beneath the ground took a hell of a lot of work to decontaminate," he said.
Eighteen tanker-loads of heavy metals and hydrocarbons were removed, and 25,000 cu m of rubble from the old foundations were crushed and reused.
Despite the size and complexity of the project, it was completed in a year.
"Beneath the waves is the most closely guarded commercial secret of this project - the wavefoil," said Mr Davies.
"However, in effect it looks to the naked eye like a couple of snowploughs bolted togetherâ€¦ but in combination with the speed and the depth of water, they are shaped to create the waves that every surfer wants."
Four-times Welsh surf champion Jo Dennison was recruited to work as a coach.
"I think it's going to shape the future of surfing. You can't compare it with surfing in the ocean, it's definitely a special thing to be in the water with nature, but this is a fantastic training facility."
There have been several setbacks including a fire in April, however the project has been completed on time.
A rival project in Bristol has decided to change the type of system it will use to generate its wave. It says the WaveLoch SurfPool technology will offer more waves per hour, and "has no moving parts in the water with the surfers, important for safety and maintenance".
Scottish company Murphys Waves uses a different system to generate what it claims are the "largest man-made waves in the world", up to 3.3m (12ft) high at a man-made site in Tenerife.
Surf Snowdonia's site is remote but the company stresses that more than seven million people - mainly in Liverpool and Manchester - live within two hours' drive.
There are good beach surf spots fairly near on the Llyn Peninsula. The question is whether surfers would rather spend time in the ocean or in a wave theme park.
Follow Claire on Twitter.


The Gambia has formally sworn in its new elected President, Adama Barrow, in front of a crowd of thousands including African heads of state.

It was the second time he had taken the oath after his formal inauguration was delayed by the reluctance of his predecessor to leave office.
"This is a victory for democracy," he told a full stadium of his countrymen near the capital Banjul.
"Few people would have thought that I'd be standing here today," he said.
He told the crowd that Gambian people now had the power to control their own destiny and that he was going to free political prisoners and improve press freedom.
"For 22 years, the Gambian people yearned to live in a country where our diverse tribes will be bridged by tolerance and our determination to work together for the common good," he said. "One Gambia, one nation, one people."
Mr Barrow, 51, talked of pressing economic challenges left over from the rule of his predecessor, Yahya Jammeh.
"We have inherited an economy in decline," the new president said, and promised to attract investment in the technology sector, introduce free primary education and strengthen the judiciary.
"Gambia has changed forever. The people are fully conscious that they can put a government in office as well as remove it."
The president's first swearing-in was at a low-key event at the country's embassy in Senegal last month, after the lengthy power struggle forced him into exile.
Crowds on Saturday had queued through the night to get a good spot inside the Independence Stadium.
Brass bands began playing ahead of the event and flags waved.
Mr Barrow is only the third president in the history of The Gambia, and the celebrations also mark 52 years of the west African country's independence.
Mr Jammeh was voted out in December but he only agreed to step aside when regional powers sent in troops ready to remove him by force.
He has since fled to Equatorial Guinea.
The Gambia is now set to rejoin international institutions such as the International Criminal Court and the Commonwealth.
Mr Barrow, a successful property developer who has never held public office, defied the odds by winning the election.
Speaking to the BBC just before the election, he said that Gambians "had been suffering for 22 years" and were ready for change.
His predecessor had once told the BBC he would rule for a billion years, if necessary.


George Osborne says the decision to push ahead with tax credit cuts is a "judgement call" he is "comfortable" with despite pressure over the plans.

He told the Commons Treasury committee the decision came down to a "simple judgement" on whether the UK's welfare system was "too expensive".
The chancellor urged peers not to "second guess" the Commons amid efforts to kill off the measure in the Lords.
Labour opposes the cuts and some Tories have also warned against them.
Mr Osborne refused to hand over an analysis of the impact the changes will have to the committee, saying: "I have provided a huge amount of information, but it comes down to a very simple judgment, which is do you think our welfare system is too expensive?
"Do you think we should move to a higher wage, lower welfare economy and ultimately that's the decision we are all being asked to take as Members of Parliament," he said.
"We all know this is fundamentally a judgment call and I'm comfortable with the judgment call that I've made and that the House of Commons supported this week."
Labour MP John Mann said the tax credit row risks becoming a "political disaster" for Mr Osborne and the country - and he urged the Chancellor to "avoid Mrs Thatcher's mistakes with the poll tax".
Mr Osborne said the lowest paid were the most affected when a country could not "live within its means".
"They are the people who lose their jobs, they are the people who suffer when the economy fails, when the country can't live within its means, when the welfare bill gets out of control. I feel very strongly about that," he added.
Former Conservative chancellor Lord Lawson is among those urging Mr Osborne to find ways to limit the impact of the cuts, which come into effect in April, on low earners.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "You cannot remove these tax credits without people being worse off."
But Lord Lawson hit out at "wholly wrong" attempts to kill off the policy altogether in the House of Lords, arguing that they should be "tweaked" to protect poorer households.
Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords have tabled a so-called "fatal motion" which would axe the Â£4.4bn cut altogether if approved on Monday.
Labour and crossbench peers are also pushing votes that would refuse to sign off on the policy until the government had considered changes.
Prime Minister David Cameron has warned the upper chamber not to defy convention that it does not block financial measures.
The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies calculates that the higher national minimum wage promised as part of the reforms would not compensate entirely for the loss of tax credits.


Oscar-winning actress Cate Blachett is to receive the BFI Fellowship for her contribution to film.

The BFI praised the 46-year-old's "mesmerising screen presence" which "has captivated audiences since her earliest roles".
The actress won Academy Awards for her roles in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine in 2014 and in 2005 for The Aviator.
She will be awarded the honour at the London Film Festival's annual awards ceremony on 17 October.
The BFI described Blanchett as "a fearless and subtle actress".
"She has the rare gift of seeming utterly to inhabit the characters she plays and has an amazing ability to convey complex layers of emotion to stunning effect," it added.
Blanchett shot to global fame playing Queen Elizabeth I in 1998 film Elizabeth, followed by roles in The Talented Mr Ripley, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
The actress has two films receiving their UK premiere at the London Film Festival - Carol and Truth.
Truth, which also stars Robert Redford and Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss, tells the true story of CBS journalist and 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes, who risked her career to find the "truth" and expose a story on the then US President George W Bush.
It will be screened as the Fellowship special presentation film.
Set in 1950s Manhattan, Carol sees Blanchett play a woman trapped in a loveless marriage who falls for a younger woman, played by Rooney Mara.
Previous recipients of the Fellowship include Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Stephen Frears.
Al Pacino and Mel Brooks have also been awarded the honour in the past year.
Suffragette, starring Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan, will open the London Film Festival on 7 October, while Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs biopic will bring it to a close on 18 October.


There is a sense of disappointment in the Indian media as stories of "betrayal and backstabbing" in the anti-corruption party AAP continue to dominate headlines.

Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP or Common Man's Party) has seen many twists and turns in it's short history
The party was born out of an anti-corruption movement that swept India in 2011, and made a spectacular debut in Delhi assembly elections in 2013.
Mr Kejriwal became the chief minister of Delhi and the media at the time had termed this "common man's rise" to power as the "new dawn in Indian politics".
But he quit from the post after serving 49 days in office, disappointing many of his followers and media commentators. The party went on to lose badly in the 2014 general elections.
He was written off and the party disappeared from the front pages of Indian newspapers.
But Mr Kejriwal continued working in Delhi and surprised many political pundits by winning 67 out of 70 seats in the fresh polls for the Delhi assembly in February this year.
He returned to front pages and social media once again hailed him as a crusader against corruption.
But a month later, the story is very different.
Papers and TV channels have been reporting the infighting in the AAP, often with details leaked by different factions in the party.
On Saturday, the AAP sacked its founding members Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from the National Executive - the party's top decision-making body.
"Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan tried to defeat AAP in Delhi polls. Prashant Bhushan betrayed my trust, cannot work with him," the NDTV website quotes Mr Kejriwal as saying.
The Delhi chief minister gave an emotional speech to his followers before the duo were sacked from their key positions in the party.
Mr Bhushan and Mr Yadav rejected their colleague's allegations, saying the AAP has forgotten its basic idea of upholding democracy within the party.
"He has displayed today that is that he is willing to use his dictatorial powers to ruthlessly stifle dissent and ruthlessly stop any discussion or opposition to what he wants," Mr Bhushan said.
Papers say the people of Delhi voted the AAP into power with high hopes of clean governance and fast development.
For many, Delhi is losing its battle against pollution, traffic congestion and corruption because top leaders of the ruling party are busy dealing with "personal issues".
The Asian Age says the AAP "has presented an unprepossessing sight in the past month".
"The AAP today is a house divided against itself in a manner that just did not seem thinkable in the first flush of its formation," it says.
The paper finds faults in Mr Kejriwal and his inability to keep the party together.
"Mr Kejriwal was the charismatic figure around whom everyone coalesced for a time and swept to a famous victory. But his severe limitations have been exposed. The language he has used for senior colleagues, and the tactics he has shown himself capable of in his drive to power and then staying put, mark him out as no different from the clever politicians of the older parties who are widely disdained," it adds.
For The Times of India, the "fracas has exposed the lack of internal cohesion within a party that lacks a well defined ideological glue to hold it together".
"Mr Yadav and Mr Bhushan should have recognised that Mr Kejriwal was the leader with the mass connect and backed off from a public confrontation, rather than put on an appearance of misplaced martyrdom. With neither side willing to compromise, a credibility loss and break-up became inevitable," it says.
And finally, papers praise Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal for "breaking a jinx" to win the India Open badminton championship in Delhi on Sunday, The Hindu reports.
Saina, who is currently the top woman player in the world, defeated Thai shuttler and former champion Ratchanok Intanon.
"Saina's previous-best performance in five previous appearances since 2011 was the quarterfinal finish last year," the paper reports.
Meanwhile, Indian shuttler K Srikanth defeated Denmark's Viktor Axelsen to win the men's singles at the tournament.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.


Newspapers in China have gone into propaganda overdrive, a day after a tribunal in The Hague ruled against Beijing's claim to the resources of much of the South China Sea.

Regional papers, which usually focus on local news, are devoting their front pages to a staunch defence of China's claim over the disputed waters.
The papers dismiss the tribunal's decision outright, and many feature maps that depict disputed islands in the South China Sea as belonging to China.
This concerted propaganda effort will have considerable clout. China Statistics Press, an official agency, says China has around 1,900 newspaper titles.
Dahe Daily in central Henan province shows the words "Hague arbitration" on a piece of scrap paper being thrown into a bin.
Nanjing paper Modern Express shows a map of China and the disputed South China Sea region. It says: "We neither accept, nor recognise this."
Guangzhou paper Information Times has a similarly striking cover, with the same words in bold against a plain white background.
New Express Daily, in southern Guangdong, depicts the word "arbitration" on a piece of paper being ripped up.
Shenyang Evening Post, northeast Liaoning province, carries the headline: "Shared hearts and shared defences, this is our sea."
Another paper from the region, Liaoshen Evening Post, simply says "NO" on its front cover.
From the east, Hangzhou-based Youth Times shows a map of China with the South China Sea included. Its headline reads "China: Nothing more, nothing less".
The Beijing Morning Post carries a picture of China superimposed against a sea, and the headline: "South China Sea Islands: China's territory".
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring  on Twitter and Facebook.


England captain Alastair Cook complied with new helmet regulations in Essex's match against Sussex, but lasted only five balls as he was dismissed for one.

Cook, 31, was spoken to by the England and Wales Cricket Board after he wore a helmet that contravened new rules in last week's win over Gloucestershire.
His helmet in that match, in which Cook made 105, had an adjustable grille and a large gap between peak and grille.
But, after making the switch, Cook was caught in the slips off Steve Magoffin.
The Essex opener has been made available for the county's first four Championship matches before he is due to captain England in the first Test of the summer, against Sri Lanka at Headingley on 19 May.
The new helmet regulations were brought in following facial injuries to both Stuart Broad and Craig Kieswetter.


Zimbabwe has auctioned cattle worth $1m (Â£770,000) to raise money for the African Union (AU) Foundation to help end the "donor dependency syndrome", President Robert Mugabe has said.

He added that he had donated 300 cattle from his herd, and other Zimbabweans doubled the number as they wanted to contribute towards a "noble cause".
Mr Mugabe handed the $1m cheque to the AU at its leaders' summit in Ethiopia.
The donation comes amid a severe cash and food crisis in Zimbabwe.
Last year, more than four million people were in need of food aid in the southern African state after rains failed.
However, there has been a bumper harvest this year, with the country expected to be self-sufficient for the first time in years.
The opposition blames the government for food shortages, saying its controversial land reform programme has ruined the farming sector.
Zimbabwe has also been forced to introduce so-called bond notes after running out of the US dollar, the main currency people use.
Hyperinflation forced the government to abandon the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009.
Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said the cattle had been donated mostly by farmers who had benefited from the land reform programme, the state-run Herald newspaper reported.
Their donation was an "expansion" of a 2015 pledge by Mr Mugabe to donate 300 cattle, he added.
Speaking at the summit, Mr Mugabe said it was a "modest contribution" and a "symbolic step" towards helping to end the "donor dependency syndrome" in Africa.
"As an African and a farmer, the donation of cattle came naturally to me, given that our continent is rich in cattle and cattle are held as a store of wealth," Mr Mugabe said.
On its website, the AU Foundation says it focuses on development programmes for youth and women, and promoting gender equality.
Mr Mumbengegwi said the donation was significant as it showed that the AU could find innovative ways to raise money for its projects.
Mr Mugabe, during his term as AU chairman in 2015 and 2016, campaigned for the AU to be self-financed as about 60% of its budget came from foreign donors, the Herald reported.


The International Criminal Court (ICC) has launched a preliminary inquiry into an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla which left nine Turkish activists dead.

ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said it would establish whether there were grounds for a full investigation.
The move follows a request from the Comoros islands, in which one of the vessels was registered.
The boats were trying to transport aid supplies to Gaza in May 2010.
The Free Gaza Flotilla, which had more than 600 pro-Palestinian activists aboard several ships, was trying to break Israel's naval blockade.
The activists were killed when Israeli commandos boarded the lead flotilla vessel, Mavi Marmara.
"My office will be conducting a preliminary examination in order to establish whether the criteria for opening an investigation are met," Ms Bensouda said in a statement on Tuesday.
She said she had met with a Turkish law firm acting on behalf of the government of the Union of the Comoros, an island state in the Indian Ocean.
Israel's assault on the Mavi Marmara drew widespread foreign criticism and strained its ties with Turkey.
A UN inquiry in 2011 found the Israeli commandos' actions were "excessive and unreasonable".
However, it also found Israel's naval blockade "was imposed as a legitimate security measure" which "complied with the requirements of international law".
Israel says the blockade is necessary to prevent weapons and ammunition being smuggled to the Gaza Strip, which has been governed by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas since 2007.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologised to Turkey in March 2013 for "any errors that could have led to loss of life" during the raid, and agreed to compensate the families of those killed.
The ICC investigates and tries cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity in countries that are unwilling or unable to prosecute them on their own, often at the request of ratifying states.
It does not have automatic jurisdiction over Israel as it is not a party to the treaty establishing the ICC.
But lawyers from the Istanbul-based firm Elmadag argued that events should be considered as having taken place on the territory of Comoros, which is a member of the court, according to the news agency AP.


Several million people - up to 10% of the population - are reluctant to admit that they are having debt problems, according to the Money Advice Service.

As a result it is calling on friends and family members to do more to spot the tell-tale signs of money issues.
These include secretive behaviour, or a tendency always to be buying the latest "must-have" item.
There can also be physical and emotional symptoms that they are in trouble, the Money Advice Service said.
Signs to watch out for include:
The Money Advice Service (MAS) - which is backed by the government- says that getting debt advice can make a big difference to people's lives.
One study suggested that within 3 months of receiving advice, 65% of participants were either repaying their debts, or had cleared them in full.
"Free debt advice is available now and will help support you in getting your finances back on track before your money worries become a bigger issue," said Sheila Wheeler, director of debt advice at the MAS.
Those with access to the internet can use this debt test to help them work out how to resolve their problems.
And they can find out where free advice is available here.
While personal debt has been falling over the last few years, borrowing has been increasing.
Incomes are also being squeezed. Since April inflation has been higher than the growth in wages.
In May the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) showed annual growth of 2.9%, while wages are currently increasing by 2.1% a year.


A 37-year-old man is in a serious condition in hospital following an attack in Renfrewshire which police are treating as attempted murder.

Police were called to reports of a man being attacked in a flat in Houston Street, Renfrew, at 19:20 on Wednesday.
Emergency services attended and the man was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
Police said the man may have been targeted by two men who were known to him. They have appealed for witnesses.
The suspects are described as white, with one being over 6ft tall and thin.
The other man is described as being of average height and build.
The men may have been in the company of a woman, also white and aged between 25 and 30 years old.
Det Insp Alexander Nelson said: "We are gathering CCTV images to review in the hope that it provides us with further details on the suspects.
"I am appealing to people in the local area to think about whether they saw or heard something - did you see the two men, did you see the woman?
"Any small piece of information could prove vital in helping us locate the people responsible for this attack. Whilst we don't know the motive for the attack we do not believe it to be random."


A French court has found the British low-cost airline Easyjet guilty of discriminating against three disabled passengers in 2008 and 2009.

The court fined Easyjet 70,000 euros ($90,000, Â£58,000) for not allowing the unaccompanied wheelchair users onto a plane at Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris, citing safety concerns.
A lawyer for the three passengers described it as a "landmark ruling".
Easyjet has denied any "discriminatory intention" and says it may appeal.
During the trial prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini said Easyjet's business model was behind the discrimination.
He accused the company of having "an aggressive commercial policy that consists of reducing operating costs as much as possible".
All three of the passengers who brought the case were told they could not check in for their flights because they did not have a helper to assist with their evacuation in the event of an emergency.
One of the three, Karine Viera, had ticked a box when booking on the Easyjet website to say she was in a wheelchair, the French disability rights group APF says.
The group says she was denied a refund when she went to the company's main desk at the airport.
The court ordered Easyjet to pay each of the passengers 2,000 euros ($2,500, Â£1,660) in compensation.
A lawyer for the three, Patrick de la Grange, said: "This is an economic model that's being punished, that of low-cost. With cost reductions, the aim is to have as few personnel as possible."
Easyjet said it carried 1,000 reduced-mobility passengers every day and was disappointed by the outcome of the case.
"The company denies having had any discriminatory intention whatsoever," company lawyer, Philippe Van der Meulen said, adding that Easyjet would consider appealing against the verdict.
The company will face further similar charges at another court case in Paris in March.


Wrexham have appointed former midfielder Dean Keates as their new manager on an 18-month contract.

Keates made over 150 league appearances for Wrexham and captained the club to an FA Trophy win in 2013.
The 38-year-old, along with Joey Jones and Andy Davies, had been in temporary charge of the National League club after Gary Mills was sacked on 13 October.
"Dean is a man with an excellent pedigree in football," the club said.
"He is someone who knows all about Wrexham AFC and the fans expectations and someone who has a real passion for the club.
"We believe has the knowledge, the drive and the determination to bring lasting success to the Club as we build for a successful future."
His first game in charge as permanent manager will be the home National League game against Barrow on Tuesday.
Keates, who started his career with hometown club Walsall, also played for Hull City, Kidderminster Harriers, Lincoln City, Peterborough United and Wycombe Wanderers.
He joined Wrexham in the summer of 2010 and after five seasons at the Racecourse left in 2015 before a spell with Rhyl in the Welsh Premier League and more recently played at Rushall.


A nine-year-old boy is in a critical condition in hospital after two cars crashed in Lancashire.

He suffered head injuries and a neck fracture in the crash near to Hurlstone Hall in Southport Road, Scarisbrick, at about 19:40 BST on Thursday.
The boy was a passenger in a car that was being driven in opposite direction to another when the collision happened.
He was airlifted to hospital and the 32-year-old female driver of the other car suffered serious internal injuries.
She has been left with a punctured lung, broken ribs, a broken elbow and a broken forearm.
The road was closed for four hours while investigations took place.
Police are appealing for witnesses.


WWE heavyweight Brock Lesnar has returned a second positive doping test, the UFC has announced.

Lesnar, 39, tested positive for an unnamed substance in an in-competition sample after his UFC 200 heavyweight victory over Mark Hunt on 9 July.
The same substance was found in an out-of-competition sample from 28 June.
A UFC statement said the United States Anti-Doping Agency would "handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case".
UFC anti-doping policy states that a legal review process is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed.
Lesnar's victory over Hunt at UFC 200 in his first MMA fight in four years secured him a UFC record purse of $2.5m (£1.9m).


Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill says no timescale has been put on Seamus Coleman's recovery from his horrific double leg fracture.

O'Neill told BBC Five Live's Sportsweek Coleman's operation had been a success following his injury in the World Cup qualifier against Wales on Friday.
"I'm not sure, I would only be guessing," said O'Neill, when asked how long Everton's Coleman could be out.
"Even the doctors and surgeons wouldn't be terribly sure."
The Republic boss added: "Sometimes there are complications afterwards and injuries can be more prolonged, other times it can be clean and clear sailing.
"It will take some time but Seamus has great determination and sometimes those things work very much in your favour, in terms of recovery."
At this stage, the Republic captain looks highly unlikely to feature in any of the remaining five World Cup qualifiers over the next seven months, with the possibility of an additional play-off double-header in November.
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O'Neill revealed that the 28-year-old defender's operation took place early on Saturday morning following Friday night's goalless draw.
"He has realised everything that has happened and is obviously very disappointed," said O'Neill.
"It will take some time to heal, it's a double break but it has been pinned up now and screwed in.
"I know the doctors and surgeons are all very, very pleased with the way the operation has gone and now it's time for recuperation."
Aston Villa defender Neil Taylor was sent off for the tackle on Coleman and O'Neill described the challenge and Gareth Bale's earlier tackle on John O'Shea  as "very poor challenges".
The draw meant the Republic missed the chance to return to the top of Group D, after Serbia beat Georgia on Friday, with Wales four points behind in third.
The Republic's next qualifier takes place against Austria in Dublin on 11 June.


Olympic gold medallist Katie Archibald won the Cicle Classic in Melton Mowbray in the women's road race series.

Team WNT's Archibald, 23, came from behind to beat Drops' Laura Massey and 2016 champion Nikki Juniper, riding for Team Ford Ecoboost, in a close sprint.
"It feels good. My first was 2014, and it feels just as fun," Scot Archibald told British Cycling.
Chanel Mason of Storey Racing leads the overall standings after four of the nine rounds.


A kitten which was flung from a car in a motorway crash has been reunited with its owner after a public appeal.

Hussein Sharaf's car overturned on the M4 two weeks ago and five-month-old Bruno was thrown into the road.
The 22-year-old said he had lost hope of finding his pet after an initial search proved fruitless.
But the pair have now been reunited thanks to determined volunteers from social media groups and pet websites.
The tabby-Bengal mix was spotted by a member of the public on Wednesday next to the motorway in Wiltshire.
He was said to be "hungry but OK".
Mr Sharaf's car crashed into the central reservation near Royal Wootton Bassett, launching the cat carrier into the middle lane of the motorway.
A policeman told the software developer he had seen the animal "flee in fear".
After his release from hospital, Mr Sharaf was joined by members of 'lost and found' websites and Facebook groups in the search for the missing cat.
But he said it was "like searching for a needle in a haystack" and he reluctantly returned to his home in London.
However, volunteers continued the search and put up posters until Bruno was spotted 12 days later by motorist Lee Palmer.
"I'd been looking out for him daily on my journey home... and managed to stop and coax him towards me," he said.
"I got him home and fed him as he was skin and bone as he'd clearly not been eating."
Mr Sharaf added: "It just goes to show that there are such amazing people in this world.
"Not just Lee but all the lovely volunteers who went out looking for him."


The number of people living in the UK aged 100 increased by 73% in the decade to 2012, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In 2012 there were 13,350 centenarians living in Britain, from 7,740 in 2002.
The ONS also said life expectancy in Britain had "reached its highest level on record for both males and females".
A newborn boy could live 78.7 years, and a girl, 82.6 years, if mortality rates stayed the same for 2010 and 2012 in the UK, it said.
Meanwhile, a man aged 65 in the UK could expect to live for 18.2 years, a 40% increase in the 30 years to 2012, and a 65-year-old woman, for 20.7 years, a 25% increase.
The life expectancy gap between sexes had narrowed to four years, when it was measured between 2010 and 2012, from six years between 1980 and 1982, said the ONS.
The latest ageing figures showed the changing nature of Britain's population, as the ONS reported more than half a million people aged 90 and over were living in the UK in 2012, a group the organisation calls the "very old".
There were 264 women for every 100 men aged over 90, it said.
Out of the 13,350 centenarians living in the UK in 2012, 660 were aged 105 years and older, while England and Wales had the most 100-year-olds.
The number of people aged 90 and over increased to 806 per 100,000 in 2012, compared to 305 per 100,000 in 1982.
Male life expectancy increased by two-and-a-half years every decade since 1980 to 1982, and two years for women over the same timeframe, the ONS said.
Internationally, the UK lagged only behind Spain, Italy, France and Japan for the number of 100-year-olds in its population.
In 2012, Japan had almost double the number of Britain's 21 centenarians per 100,000 of its population.
But the ONS said: "In comparison to many other countries, the UK has relatively high numbers of centenarians."
It said Western Europe had higher rates of centenarians than countries in Eastern Europe, with Russia having four per 100,000 of its population.
The ONS said this reflected Russia's "relatively low life expectancy".
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: "Nearly one in five people in our country will live to see their 100th birthday. The increase demonstrates the true worth of advances in medicine and the increasing effectiveness of preventative treatments."
Ms Abrahams said despite the ageing population there was a "real crisis in care" as the number of older people receiving social care support had fallen by "more than a quarter since 2005".
She added: "It is time for politicians in all parties to act to make sure services can meet the needs of an ageing population."


A man has died after falling from the roof of a multi-storey car park in Inverness.

Police were called to Rose Street car park at about 08:55 following a call from a member of the public.
Roads near the site - Railway Terrace, Rose Street and Longman Road - which were closed during the incident, have now been reopened.
Police Scotland said there did not appear to be any suspicious circumstances.


A former police officer has been found guilty of a £1m fraud.

Ben Staff, 35 used his reputation as an ex-policeman to gain the trust of victims before using money intended for business accounts to fund his lavish lifestyle.
He was convicted of six charges in March and found guilty of two charges on Monday at Norwich Crown Court.
Det Insp Liz Fernandes said it was a "highly complex" investigation and Staff was "nothing but a conman".
His wife Catriona Staff, 33, a police officer, was cleared on all counts.
Live: Latest updates on this story
Staff, of Lucas Court, Norwich, had resigned from Norfolk Constabulary in 2008.
The force launched an investigation into his conduct in 2012 after it received a complaint about his business practices and Staff was arrested in 2014.
The court was told payments relating to his building and development companies went into his own personal accounts instead of business accounts which meant creditors and associates were not paid.
Staff used the money to buy executive cars and pay for holidays, home renovations and his wedding.
In March he was convicted of two counts of fraud, two counts of false accounting, one count of converting criminal property and one count of fraudulent trading in relation to businesses including MR Trades Ltd, SES East Anglia and Morpheus Homes at King's Lynn Crown Court in March.
In a second trial at Norwich Crown Court, Staff was found guilty of fraud by false representation and converting criminal property.
Deputy Chief Constable Nick Dean said the offences were very serious and the fact Staff "traded on the reputation of the police is absolutely unforgivable".
Staff is expected to be sentenced at Norwich Crown Court in January.
Norfolk Police said Catriona Staff was suspended from duty in 2014 pending the outcome of legal proceedings and now faces internal disciplinary procedures.


It is often said that if you enjoy your job, you will never do a day's work in your life, but if your every action is scrutinised and critiqued by millions, enjoyment can soon turn to misery and misery to paranoia.

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It is something Rob Howley is keenly aware of.
Rugby in Wales is public property and when you're in charge of the national side you have to withstand the brickbats as readily as you accept the plaudits.
With the 2017 Six Nations kicking off next weekend - Wales face Italy in Rome on Sunday - the head coach is steeling himself for another emotional rollercoaster.
He presided over Wales's most successful autumn for 14 years, yet faced a barrage of criticism and abuse from supporters and the press. He's learned, in his words, to cultivate a "double rhino skin".
"I've learned a lot in the last nine years under the guidance and tutelage of Warren Gatland. There's a bit of Kiwi in me somewhere. You have to be tough," Howley says.
"The hardest part of the role is probably the influence it has on your family, and your children in particular. I try to stay away from social media. I'm not on it.
"Ultimately we like to think that we can make our own more informed decisions with the information that we have."
The rise of social media has led to a more abrasive, pernicious form of public discourse. From the bunker of a social media account, criticism becomes more stinging, pronouncements more vitriolic and while Howley gives it a wide berth, he's witnessed the effect of its darker side on his charges.
"I'm not going to mention the players' names, but it certainly has affected players who played for Wales over the last four to five years and it's not nice, is it?" he continues.
"It's very critical and when you see statements in black and white, it hurts."
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Human nature dictates that one negative comment will resonate longer and louder than 10 positive ones, but Howley accepts that you have to take the rough with the smooth.
"If you are going to go on Twitter and Facebook when you're playing well, you have to be able to take it when you're not playing well," he adds.
"That's a decision and it's about making better decisions by the players because ultimately [social media criticism] has an influence when you don't pay well, particularly in a country like Wales."
That is the crux of it. Gareth Edwards once marvelled at the fact David Duckham, an England contemporary during Wales' 1970s golden era, could walk down an English high street unrecognised - a rugby superstar, but a relative stranger in his own land.
Welsh players have never had that luxury. A winning try can turn you into a national hero. A missed tackle can turn you into a pariah.
And in a culture where mobile phones are ubiquitous, where lives are lived through our screens, confidence can be shattered, and careers destroyed.
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Modern rugby is no place for sensitive souls - neither on the pitch nor off - but what it does show is that people care. Whether they express themselves politely or not, they are moved to comment because Wales is their team and the team is the embodiment of their national pride.
The criticism aimed at Howley's players during the autumn was that they lacked enterprise, urgency and creativity, that they were humbled by Australia and pushed to the verge of humiliation by Japan.
Victories over Argentina and a neutered Springbok side offered scant consolation to a rugby public with soaring expectations.
While Howley accepts that Wales have some distance to travel to match the level of performance produced by England and Ireland during the same period, he maintains that winning ugly still trumps losing valiantly.
"I can see that and I can also see the other side of the coin where we've come up short and we've lost those games and then we've been criticised for not winning those games. So sometimes you're damned if you do and damned if you don't," he says.
The Six Nations, he argues, is a different tournament with a different set of pressures, and the fact that people are already talking about Ireland v England as a Grand Slam decider does not bother him in the slightest.
"We'll come in under the radar and back ourselves. We've got a captain who backs himself and I know all of our players will follow," he adds.
"He [Wales skipper Alun Wyn Jones] has high expectations, and the supporters do, as do we as coaches.
"And sometimes there are 15 players trying to stop you, and ultimately, sometimes they do."
That is sport in a nutshell. No one has a divine right to win. But do not tell Howley and his players they are not trying.
Unless you are willing to say it to their face.


US health officials have proposed a ban on tanning beds for minors to help address the risk of skin cancer.

The Food and Drug Administration said the ban would prevent under-18s from using sunlamp tanning beds, which have been linked to increased rates of skin cancer including of melanoma.
Tanning beds typically expose the users to 12 times more UV rays then the sun.
Market research firm IBIS World estimates the US tanning market to be a $3bn industry.
According to a 2013 study, 1.6 million minors used tanning beds in America.
"Today's action is intended to help protect young people from a known and preventable cause of skin cancer and other harms," said FDA acting commissioner Stephen Ostroff in a statement on Friday. He added that under-18s were at "greatest risk" for these adverse effects.
A study by the American Academy of Dermatology found that people who use tanning beds are 59% more likely to develop melanoma than those who have never used them.
The FDA also proposed requiring new safety standards including requiring emergency shut-off switches, making warning labels easier to read and improving protective eyewear.


Voters are going to the polls in two Westminster by-elections.

New MPs for Witney, in Oxfordshire, and Batley and Spen, in West Yorkshire, will be chosen on Thursday.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron, who stood down as an MP after quitting Downing Street, is being replaced in Witney.
The by-election in Batley and Spen was prompted by the death of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed in Birstall in June.
Mrs Cox won the seat with a majority of 6,057 in 2015, while in Witney, the Conservatives are defending a majority of 25,155.
Polls in both constituencies opened at 07:00 BST and will close at 22:00 BST.
The BBC weather forecast for both constituencies is largely the same, with no rain predicted and a top temperature of 13C.
Here is a full list of the candidates standing, in alphabetical order by surname:
Corbyn Anti - By Election Protest
Tracy Lynn Brabin - Labour Party
Jack Buckby - No to terrorism, yes to Britain
Richard Charles Edmonds - National Front
David Furness - British National Party Local People First
Therese Hirst - English Democrats: 'Putting England First!'
Waqas Ali Khan - Independent
Garry Mervyn Kitchin - Independent
Ankit Love - One Love Party
Henry Edmund Burke Mayhew - Independent
(The Conservatives, Green Party, Liberal Democrats and UKIP are not fielding a candidate)
Emilia Arno - One Love Party
Dickie Bird - UKIP
David Bishop - Bus-Pass Elvis Party
Robert Courts - Conservative Party
Duncan Enright - Labour Party
Mad Hatter - Official Monster Raving Loony Party
Lord Toby Jug - The Eccentric Party of Great Britain
Adam Knight - Independent
Elizabeth Leffman - Liberal Democrat
Winston McKenzie - English Democrats
Helen Salisbury - National Health Action Party
Larry Sanders - Green Party
Daniel Skidmore - Independent
Nicholas Ward - Independent


Police are treating the death of a man in Cambuslang as suspicious.

The body of the 45-year-old was found inside a house in Kyle Court at about 02:00.
A police spokeswoman said: "A post mortem examination will take place in due course to establish the exact cause of death, however, police are treating the death as suspicious meantime.
"A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal."


A car bomb in Iraq has struck a market in eastern Baghdad, killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens more.

Interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan was quoted as saying a security guard fired on a suspicious vehicle and the driver then blew it up.
It is not yet clear who was behind the blast, but so-called Islamic State (IS) has claimed recent attacks targeting Shia Muslims in the city.
IS is under pressure from an Iraqi government offensive in the north.
Iraqi special forces and their Shia militia allies have been trying to drive IS from its stronghold in the northern city of Mosul. They entered eastern districts in November but IS have since slowed their advance towards the centre.
The Baghdad explosion happened at the main vegetable market, Jumila, in the primarily Shia Sadr City district.
A similar attack took place on 2 January. A suicide car bomb hit a busy square in Sadr City, killing 35 people.


A court has heard how a child abuser was forced to go to police by his own relatives after it emerged he had attacked a young girl.

Paul McWhir, 51, of Castle Douglas, admitted four charges including rape and acting in a lewd and libidinous manner.
The abuse mainly took place at a farm in Dumfriesshire in the early to mid-1990s.
Sentence was deferred until next month at the High Court in Glasgow.
McWhir preyed on the child for more than three years starting when she was just 10, the court was told.
However, it was only last year that the victim disclosed her ordeal to police.
McWhir was then confronted by his own relatives who demanded he hand himself in.
The court was told the abuse had had a "significant impact" on his victim.


The UN wants to set up an intervention force to fight rebels fuelling conflict in DR Congo, says a UN official.

Meanwhile, eight African presidents are set to sign a UN-brokered accord aimed at bringing stability to the region.
As many as 800,000 people have been displaced since the M23 rebel group took up arms against the Kinshasa government last May.
It accuses President Joseph Kabila of failing to honour an earlier peace deal to integrate rebels into the army.
The M23 rebels say they want to improve living conditions for the people of eastern DR Congo, but the UN says they are supported by Rwanda, which has been heavily involved in its eastern neighbour since those responsible for the country's genocide fled there en masse in 1994.
The UN official said the plan for a 2,500-strong intervention force was at an advanced stage, although it has yet to be approved by the Security Council.
The troops would be added to Monusco, the UN's existing DRC peacekeeping mission, mandated to protect civilians.
The new brigades would be tasked with preventing rebels from seizing territory, and weakening them through targeted operations.
Alongside this rapid reaction force, said a UN official, a broad political plan to bring stability to the region is set to be signed on the side-lines of the AU summit in Addis Ababa by the leaders of the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Angola, the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Tanzania and South Africa.
All of these measures were triggered late last year when M23 rebels seized the eastern city of Goma.
UN peacekeepers chose not to confront the well-armed insurgents, and suffered a blow to their image.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has been pushing for a comprehensive approach to dealing with the seemingly continuous conflict in the eastern DRC, fuelled by interference from neighbouring states and facilitated by the weakness of the Congolese government and army.
UN experts have cited evidence that Rwanda and Uganda are backing M23, although both countries strongly deny the charges.
"Following the Goma crisis there was a realization here that after more than 10 years of UN engagement in the DRC there was a need to look at things differently to break the cycle of violence in the east," said the UN official.
"So we tried to go for the heart of the problem and see why these cycles are on-going."
The framework agreement involves a commitment from Kinshasa to strengthen the Congolese army and pledges of non-interference from its neighbours.
It also seeks to address the legitimate concerns of all countries concerned, says the UN official, "meaning there are legitimate concerns for all countries involved, including Rwanda and Uganda".
The UN intervention force would not be a substitute for the Congolese army, said the peacekeeping official. Rather it would "create a specific space and time for the political process, and for the army to build at least some capacity."
The idea would be to recruit African soldiers. Only Tanzania has offered troops so far.
The combat brigades would be aided by surveillance drones recently authorised by the Security Council, which are also meant to monitor the borders.
The Secretary General will present detailed plans for the "peace-making force" at the beginning of February and, pending Security Council approval, the aim is to get troops on the ground within three months.


Firefighters have been tackling a large blaze at an abattoir in the Angus town of Brechin.

The emergency services were called to Matheson Jess abattoir on Montrose Road at about 04:05.
The premises has been extensively damaged but police said no one was injured in the fire.
They added that the fire was being treated as "unexplained" and an investigation was under way to establish the circumstances.
Det Insp Scott Fotheringham appealed for for information about the blaze.
He said: "This has been an extensive fire but thankfully, as the premises was shut, no one has been injured.
"Our inquiries will continue throughout the day and I would ask that if anyone has information about the incident, they call police with any details they have."


Parents who lost a teenager to meningitis are warning other parents to ensure their children are vaccinated against the disease.

The Men ACWY vaccine is offered free to all 17- and 18-year-olds and first-time university entrants under 25 because students are particularly at risk.
But only a third of young people get the life-saving vaccine, and cases of Men W are on the rise.
Meningitis Now said it was "deeply concerned" about low vaccine uptake.
Julia Styles lost her daughter Emily at 19 as she was preparing to go to Winchester University.
She had been working as a teaching assistant and had plans to become a special needs teacher.
When she started feeling unwell, a few days after Christmas 2013, she was at her boyfriend's house. The following day when she tried to get up, she collapsed.
"There was no rash at any point. Even when Emily was unconscious, I still didn't think it was meningitis," Julia says.
Julia has decided to talk about the pain of her daughter's death, on New Year's Day 2014, to prevent similar tragedies happening to other families.
Emily died before the Men ACWY vaccine was introduced in the UK, in August 2015, which protects against the four groups of meningococcal bacteria: A, C, W and Y.
She wants parents to imagine exactly what she has gone through.
"There wasn't a vaccine then. I didn't have choice.
"I would say to parents now, 'Just imagine for a moment if your child walked out the door and the next time you saw then they were unconscious and then you were burying them,'" Julia says.
She says the single most important thing parents can do is to make sure they get their children vaccinated.
"Do it while you're buying them the pots and pans and things they need for university."
Meningitis can be difficult to spot because the symptoms are similar to common illnesses such as the flu or a hangover - but it can kill within hours and requires urgent medical treatment.
Teenagers are the second most at-risk group for contracting meningitis, after babies and toddlers.
Up to a quarter of students carry the bacteria, and they tend to pass it on easily.
Living in close contact with other young people in university halls means students are far more likely to be infected if not protected by the vaccine.
Meningococcal bacteria are passed from person to person by coughing, sneezing and intimate kissing.
Dr Tom Nutt, chief executive at Meningitis Now, said: "We remain deeply concerned about the low level of vaccine uptake - just 33% last year, which remains disappointingly below the 2015 uptake rate of 38%.
"It's vital that young people and their parents are not complacent about the threat of meningitis - we urge them to take up this lifesaving vaccine."
Cases of meningococcal group W have been rising every year in the UK since 2009, with 210 in 2015-16 compared with 30 in 2011-12.
Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said the Men ACWY vaccination programme would "save lives and prevent lifelong and devastating disability".
"We have seen a rapid increase in Men W cases across England in recent years, and vaccination is the most effective way of protecting against infection."
She urged teenagers and young people to get vaccinated as soon as possible and seek urgent medical help if they were concerned about their friends' health or their own.
Those who are due to leave school this summer, or who are aged 17 to 18 and not in school, are now eligible for the Men ACWY vaccine and should contact their GP practice.


Ill-health or disability is forcing one in eight people to stop working before they reach the state pension age, the TUC says.

It found almost half a million people have had to leave work for medical reasons within five years before they were due to retire.
In March the government announced an independent review into the state pension age.
Research by the TUC research points to a significant north/south divide.
In the south west of England, just one in 13 people blamed sickness or disability for leaving work. However, that figure rises to one in seven in the north of England, Scotland and Wales and one in four in Northern Ireland.
Those in the lowest-paid jobs or in manual work are also twice as likely to stop working for health reasons than managers or professionals.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "These figures show that we must hold off on any further rises in the pension age until we have worked out how to support the one in eight workers who are too ill to work before they even get to state pension age.
"People should be able to retire in dignity with a decent pension when the time is right. Older workers have a crucial role to play in the labour market but we can't expect the sick to wait longer to get a pension when they may need financial support more than ever."
A government review of the state pension age is being led by ex-CBI chief John Cridland. Its findings are due to be published in May.
The state pension age is set to rise to 65 for both men and women by November 2018 and 67 by 2028.
Tom McPhail, head of retirement policy at financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said earlier this year: "Those joining the workforce today are likely to find themselves waiting until their mid-seventies to get a pay-out from the state system."


Hughie Fury has called promoter Eddie Hearn a "cockroach" and said he will unify boxing's heavyweight division with cousin Tyson Fury.

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The 22-year-old fights Joseph Parker for the WBO title on 23 September.
He feels Parker's team are "looking past" him, having held meetings with Hearn, who promotes fellow Briton and WBA and IBF champion Anthony Joshua.
"I would take me completely seriously because I am coming for that belt," said Fury.
"Eddie Hearn, a cockroach, that's what you are, with your big stiff fighter, I'm coming for you next.
"When I get that belt, me and Tyson are unifying this full division together. Full stop."
Tyson Fury could compete on the undercard of the bout if boxing authorities reinstate his licence, according to Peter Fury, who trains the cousins.
He has not fought since overcoming Wladimir Klitshcko in 2015 to take the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles.
Tyson Fury vacated his titles in October 2016 to concentrate on his "medical treatment and recovery" after admitting taking cocaine to deal with depression.
The self-proclaimed 'Gypsy King' refused to be drawn on his own future at Tuesday's news conference in Manchester.
Peter Fury - father of Hughie - believes the meeting with Parker at the Manchester Arena is a "50-50 fight".
He added: "It's a massive opportunity for Hughie. A big step up to world level. Parker is no mug, a serious contender."
Both Parker and his trainer Kevin Barry stated they respected Hughie Fury and said meetings with Hearn were lined up purely because they were in the UK.
Parker, who has defended the WBO title once since winning it in 2016, has only competed outside his native New Zealand in four of his 23 fights.
"I'm not taking him lightly or looking past him," said Parker, 25. "Since becoming champion it's just motivated me to train even harder."
Hughie Fury and Parker were due to meet in Auckland on 6 May but the Briton withdrew with a back injury.
He boasts a record of 20 wins from as many fights, while Parker has won all of his 23 contests.


Surfers have been riding some massive waves at Half Moon Bay in northern California in America.

13 February 2016 Last updated at 08:21 GMT
It's a part of a surfing competition where contestants have to be invited to take part.
The waves are huge, some of the swells they create are more than nine metres high.


Sunderland boss David Moyes says it is "hard to take" that Jermain Defoe has a relegation release clause in his contract that will allow the England striker to leave for free this summer.

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Bottom side Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League last month.
Defoe, 34, joined Sunderland in January 2015 and signed a contract extension in June under former boss Sam Allardyce.
"I wouldn't have allowed a clause to be in there but it is and we have to honour the contract," said Moyes.
"We hope he stays, the supporters hope he says, but it has to be Jermain's decision."
Defoe has scored 15 goals in 35 Premier League appearances this season for the Black Cats.
His excellent form earned him a recall to the England squad in March, after a four-year absence from the national side.
"He has got himself back in the England team, and will want to push to get into the World Cup squad," Moyes added.
"I would imagine he will be thinking that would be hard to do as a Championship player."


Our politicians are embroiled in discussions about the implications of Brexit on both sides of the Irish Sea, but so far not a lot of concrete ideas have emerged.

Both the SDLP and Sinn Fein have suggested creating an all Ireland national forum to consider the implications of Brexit.
On Saturday, Sinn FÃ©in deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Irish government had confirmed such a forum would be set up.
Maybe it would lead to something, but unionists would probably shy away and, at first glance, it looks like a talking shop.
Stormont and Dublin ministers are discussing Brexit in their North South Council and an early meeting of the East West British Irish Council has been promised. Neither of these spin-offs from the Good Friday Agreement have proved especially dynamic.
But if the UK does sever its EU links then their role could become much more important.
As Professor Brendan O'Leary recently pointed out in a lecture at Queen's University, the BIC already straddles islands like Jersey Guernsey and the Isle of Man which are not EU members.
The Remain camp will no doubt continue to press for Northern Ireland to retain its EU status.
However the opposition Nicola Sturgeon ran into in Brussels shows this is likely to prove an uphill struggle, assuming the next UK prime minister doesn't perform a U turn.
So how might what Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan described as the "unique circumstances" of the island of Ireland be recognised?
Both the Irish and British governments have already made it clear they want to preserve the free movement of goods and people - this will require some first class diplomacy if it is to amount to an Irish "opt-out" from barriers erected elsewhere.
On the ground, perhaps the remainers could turn to the old Europhile John Hume's dictum that "it's people that have rights not territory"?
Alongside all the various talking shops, might Dublin consider, for example,  setting up an agency to liaise with Irish passport holders resident outside its borders?
That could ensure these EU citizens still have access to European programmes like the Erasmus educational exchanges or the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
Whilst the DUP would no doubt oppose any initiative they believe might be aimed at watering down Northern Ireland's constitutional status within the UK, there seems agreement around the executive table about ensuring Northern Ireland gets a "good deal".
Stormont's leavers and remainers can at least make common cause by lobbying a future prime minister for extra cash funds to replace any European peace or cross border funding which local groups stand to lose.
The challenge in the months ahead will be to ensure the big picture divide between the parties over both the future of the EU and the UK doesn't paralyse the task of trying to alleviate the practical impact of Brexit on ordinary citizens.


The number of people seeking asylum in industrialised countries rose by 20% in 2011, according to the UNHCR.

The United Nations' refugee agency says 441,300 asylum claims were made last year, compared with 368,000 in 2010.
The report covers 44 countries in Europe, north America, Australasia and north east Asia.
The largest increase was in southern Europe where asylum claims rose 87% to almost 67,000.
Source: UNHCR website
The agency says most of these claims were from people who arrived by boat in Italy and Malta from north Africa.
Only the Scandinavian countries and Australasia saw a decline in the number of people seeking asylum.
The UN's High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, says 2011 was "a year of great difficulty for many people".
The main troublespots were in west Africa and the Arab world, and the numbers of people seeking asylum from Libya, Syria and from Ivory Coast all reached record levels.
The largest number of claimants originated from Afghanistan, with a 34% increase to 35,700.
China remained the second largest source country, with 24,400 claimants, followed by Iraq with more than 23,000.
Mr Guterres says the international system for dealing with refugees has "held firm", despite the pressures it has experienced.
And he points out that the number of asylum claims across all industrialised countries is smaller than the population of Dabaab, a singe refugee camp in north eastern Kenya.


Platypus venom could pave the way for new treatments for type 2 diabetes, say Australian researchers.

The males of the extraordinary semi-aquatic mammal - one of the only kind to lay eggs - have venomous spurs on the heels of their hind feet.
The poison is used to ward off adversaries.
But scientists at the University of Adelaide and Flinders University have discovered it contains a hormone that could help treat diabetes.
Known as GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), it is also found in humans and other animals, where it promotes insulin release, lowering blood glucose levels. But it normally degrades very quickly.
Not for the duck-billed bottom feeders though. Or for echidnas, also known as spiny anteaters - another iconic Australian species found to carry the unusual hormone.
Both produce a long-lasting form of it, offering the tantalising prospect of creating something similar for human diabetes sufferers.
Lead researcher Prof Frank Grutzer told the BBC's Greg Dunlop why the researchers had decided to look at the platypus and its insulin mechanisms: "We knew from genome analysis that there was something weird about the platypus's metabolic control system because they basically lack a functional stomach."
They are not the only animals to use insulin against enemies. The gila monster, a venomous lizard native to the US and Mexico, and the geographer cone, a dangerous sea snail which can kill entire schools of fish by releasing insulin into the sea, both also weaponise the chemical.
"That's obviously something that can be powerful in venom," Prof Grutzer said, though he stressed it was not what had led them to the discovery. "It was really coincidental," he said.
He emphasised that much more research was needed before the discovery could, if ever, lead to a human treatment: "An important experiment is going to be putting this it into mice and see how it affects blood glucose levels. That's certainly very high on our priority list.
"But to get to a drug is a very long journey. We still have to learn a lot more about how this platypus hormone actually works."


Freddie Burns scored 17 points as Leicester ended Saracens' Anglo-Welsh Cup title defence to reach the final.

Burns kicked a penalty and converted George Worth and Luke Hamilton tries to put Tigers 17-5 up at the break, with Henry Taylor going over for Saracens.
Ellis Genge crossed and Burns kicked a penalty and converted his own try to seal victory, with Matt Gallagher grabbing Sarries' only other points.
Leicester face either Exeter or Harlequins in the final on 19 March.
Quins travel to Chiefs' Sandy Park on Sunday for the second semi-final looking to reach the decider at their Twickenham Stoop home seven days later.
Leicester's victory, their first in four meetings against Saracens in all competitions this season, ends the London club's cup defence, with Sarries holding the trophy for 720 days after the competition did not take place in 2015-16 because of the delayed start to the domestic campaign brought about by the World Cup.
Sarries' 16-12 win over Leicester at Welford Road on 1 January was a result which promoted Tigers to sack director of rugby Richard Cockerill the next day.
The East Midland club's first final appearance in any competition since winning the 2012-13 Premiership title comes just three months after head coach Aaron Mauger took charge on an interim basis.
Both sides made a number of changes, with Saracens fielding an entirely different starting line-up to the team which beat Newcastle in their previous game.
South Africa winger JP Pietersen and try-scorer Hamilton were two of just three to retain their spots following Tigers' defeat by Exeter a week earlier, while first-choice fly-half Burns marked his return to the starting XV with a 67th-minute try.
Saracens academy coach Ian Vass: "It's our first loss at Allianz Park in over a year but it wasn't all about winning or losing.
"It was important for this group to have the experience of playing in a semi-final as they are a whole new group from the one that won this competition two years ago.
"We are frustrated as we never really got into the match for the breakdown area was a mess and it didn't help the flow of the game."
Leicester assistant coach Geordan Murphy: "We had a lot of experience out there and the boys got stuck in and played for each other.
"It was important that we got the first score as Saracens can put you under a lot of pressure if they go ahead as it proved in the league fixture here.
"So we focused on that and our forwards deserve a lot of credit by controlling things as some of them have been out for a considerable period and badly needed game time."
Saracens: Gallagher; Ellery, Streather (capt.), Tompkins, Earle; Whiteley, Taylor; Barrington, Saunders, Koch, Lemalu, Flanagan, Brown, Conlon, Vunisa.
Replacements: Lindsay, Stringer, Lamositele, Isiekwe, Burger, De Kock, Lozowski, Perkins.
Leicester: Worth; Brady, Tait (capt.), Roberts, Pietersen; Burns, Kitto; Genge, McGuigan, Balmain, Wells, Kitchener, Hamilton, Thacker, McCaffrey.
Replacements: Croft, Rizzo, Bateman, Maksymiw, Owen, White, Williams, Thacker.
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.


Prime Minister Theresa May is to continue former chancellor George Osborne's plans to create a Northern Powerhouse.

The claim: The government is announcing a cash boost for the North of England.
Reality Check verdict: The money has already been announced twice.
On Monday, she held a cabinet meeting in Daresbury in Cheshire, where she unveiled her new, more interventionist industrial strategy.
Details on where exactly the Northern Powerhouse cash will be spent are new, but the £556m total is not.
Last March, George Osborne said a total of £1.8bn would be awarded in a round of "growth deal" funding to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) across England.
LEPs combine businesses, councils and other bodies to decide regional spending priorities, on things like city centre regeneration projects and innovation funds for businesses.
It is part of a wider scheme aimed at boosting the post-Brexit UK economy and creating jobs, with a particular focus on investment in science, research and innovation.
Mr Osborne's replacement, Philip Hammond, announced in November that £556m of this pot would go to the North of England. It was announced again in the Autumn Statement later that month.
As well as the North's share, Mr Hammond allocated £492m to London and the South East, £392m to the Midlands, and smaller amounts to other regions.
Northern leaders say their cities are stuck with weak economies because of underinvestment, while the South East takes the lion's share of public cash.
The government says the Northern Powerhouse will go some way to rectifying the imbalance. In this case the North of England is getting 13% more than London and the South East.
But other areas of government spending favour London over the North.
The capital will receive six times more money on transport spending per person over the next five years, according to research by the Institute for Public Policy Research.
Read more from Reality Check


The number of women reporting instances of female genital mutilation (FGM) is on the rise, according to West Midlands Police.

The referrals rate, which stood at 41 in 2013, has more than doubled in 2014 to 118.
West Midlands Police said the rise was down to an increase in women coming forward, rather than an increase in the practice.
Campaigners said the figures were "heartening".
The practice is cultural rather than religious and has no health benefits.
Police said they were working to raise awareness of FGM among communities and professionals.
"This will not be tolerated in this country - it is illegal," said Det Con Gillian Squires from West Midlands Police.
"It's important for us to protect children from this and stop it happening in the first place."
Virginia, who now lives in the West Midlands, was adopted by an aunt in South Africa as a child.
At the age of eight, she says she was subjected to regular, repeated abuse.
"It did hurt and it was very degrading," she said.
"It was systematic and there would be times when I wasn't given any food because I refused to open my legs."
Her 12-year-old daughter Hannah now campaigns for FGM to be discussed in schools.
2012 - 25 referrals
2013 - 41 referrals
2014 - (to November) 118 referrals.
Prior to this, the figures were in single numbers.
Source: West Midlands Police
Fadel Takrouri, chairman of the British Arab Foundation, which has campaigned against FGM, said heightened publicity had led to the rise in reports.
"It's not the practice that's increasing - it's the reporting," he said.
"It's because of the courageous decision of women to speak out at great risk to themselves."


Liam Henderson and John McGinn scored their first Hibernian goals as Alloa were brushed aside at Easter Road.

Henderson followed up after a Jason Cummings shot was saved as half-time approached in a one-sided contest.
Cummings finished well from a David Gray pass early in the second half to help the Edinburgh side move up to third in the Championship.
And McGinn completed the scoring, picking up a short corner before drilling in a low strike.
Match ends, Hibernian 3, Alloa Athletic 0.
Second Half ends, Hibernian 3, Alloa Athletic 0.
Martin Boyle (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Colin Hamilton (Alloa Athletic).
Corner,  Hibernian. Conceded by David Crawford.
Attempt saved. Marvyn Bartley (Hibernian) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Dominique Malonga (Hibernian) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left.
Foul by Paul Hanlon (Hibernian).
(Alloa Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner,  Hibernian. Conceded by Robbie Crawford.
Attempt missed. Dougie Hill (Alloa Athletic) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left.
Corner,  Alloa Athletic. Conceded by Paul Hanlon.
Martin Boyle (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Colin Hamilton (Alloa Athletic).
Attempt missed. David Gray (Hibernian) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left.
Corner,  Hibernian. Conceded by David Crawford.
Attempt saved. Dominique Malonga (Hibernian) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Corner,  Hibernian. Conceded by Colin Hamilton.
Corner,  Hibernian. Conceded by Kyle McAusland.
Dylan McGeouch (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Connor McManus (Alloa Athletic).
Substitution, Hibernian. Dominique Malonga replaces Jason Cummings.
Substitution, Alloa Athletic. Iain Flannigan replaces Burton O'Brien.
Substitution, Alloa Athletic. Edward Ferns replaces Graeme Holmes.
Substitution, Hibernian. Islam Feruz replaces Liam Henderson.
Corner,  Hibernian. Conceded by Dougie Hill.
Attempt saved. John McGinn (Hibernian) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Substitution, Hibernian. Martin Boyle replaces James Keatings because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Jason Cummings (Hibernian) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Goal!  Hibernian 3, Alloa Athletic 0. John McGinn (Hibernian) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Liam Henderson.
Corner,  Hibernian. Conceded by Burton O'Brien.
Corner,  Hibernian. Conceded by Colin Hamilton.
Substitution, Alloa Athletic. Michael Duffy replaces Steven Hetherington.
Attempt missed. Liam Henderson (Hibernian) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Attempt saved. Lewis Stevenson (Hibernian) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Colin Hamilton (Alloa Athletic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Liam Henderson (Hibernian).
Jason Cummings (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Dougie Hill (Alloa Athletic).
Attempt missed. James Keatings (Hibernian) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.


His name will mean nothing to you but, exactly 20 years ago, Manchester United fan Michael Lavender entered footballing folklore by playing his part in his club's glittering history - and he has the letter from Sir Alex Ferguson to prove it.

The date was 2 May, 1993. There were two games of the inaugural Premier League season remaining and the title race was about to be decided.
However, the scene of victory would not be Old Trafford but Mottram Hall, a golf course in Cheshire.
Ferguson was desperate to secure his first English league title and United's first since 1967, but to escape the tension the day before United played Blackburn, he had gone to play golf rather than watch their only remaining challengers, Aston Villa, play Oldham live on TV.
As Ferguson describes it, he was on the 17th green when a car screeched to a halt nearby and he heard footsteps on a gravel path. "A man I didn't know came over the hill with a huge smile on his face and said: 'Excuse me Mr Ferguson, you are the champions. Oldham have won at Villa.'"
That man was Lavender and he would become the most famous 'stranger' in football.
During the next two decades of United success after United success, his tale has been repeatedly referred to by newspapers and broadcasters when they recall how that first Ferguson title was 'won on the golf course'.
He was also mentioned in various publications, including United's official illustrated history and the legendary Scot's autobiography.
Many thanks for your letter and indeed you are obviously that famous stranger that made my day! As I never saw you again, you are part of the folklore of that great day
Nobody knew Lavender's name, but Ferguson never forgot him. Which is why, when Lavender got in touch in 2007 to disclose his identity as the "man he didn't know" on that decisive day, Ferguson sent him a warm letter of appreciation in reply.
That letter now takes pride of place on the wall in the bistro at the hotel that Lavender, aged 66 and a lifelong Red, runs in Poitou-Charentes, France.
It read: "Many thanks for your letter and indeed you are obviously that famous stranger that made my day! As I never saw you again, you are part of the folklore of that great day."
Lavender remembers clearly how events unfolded and told BBC Sport: "I'd finished my round and came into the bar to have a beer. The Villa game was on a TV in there and the commentator said something like 'Alex Ferguson does not even know he has just won his first title'.
"The guy sitting next to me was one of the junior professionals at the club and he said 'yeah, because he's out here playing golf'.
"So I asked him what time Ferguson had started his round and made a mental note because I was then leaving. Mottram Hall has got this long driveway in and out and, as I was driving out,  I thought to myself that he might be around there somewhere.
"I looked up to the 17th green and saw him. So I stopped the car and climbed up to the raised green and, apparently in a very polite manner, told him the good news.
"First of all, he did a double take because he wanted to make sure I wasn't taking the mickey. As soon as he was satisfied with that, he just went absolutely crazy. He was so happy, he started shouting and dancing around with his playing partner, who I later found out was his son Mark.
"I just thought well, this is his moment, not mine, so I left them to it. The rest is history."
Lavender, a former United season ticket holder and "massive fan" who lived in the Manchester area before moving to France in 2005, shared his story with friends and family but it was many years later when somebody told him that he was mentioned in Ferguson's autobiography.
"The next shot was abandoned and as we made our way back down the 18th fairway, my thoughts went back to 1962 when Arnold Palmer won the Open at Troon.
"I'll never forget the sight of him marching between the massed ranks of his fans towards the last green. That's how I felt, like a real champion, as I strode up that fairway."
Extract from Sir Alex Ferguson's autobiography
"I decided to reveal myself," Lavender said. "So I wrote to him, half thinking I might get a ticket for a game or something, and I got that really nice letter back which was a nice surprise.
"I identified myself by describing things I thought he might remember about the details of the scene on that famous day and where and how I approached him.
"When I got back in my car to drive home that day, another guy arrived and went up to Ferguson as well. I remember the talk at the golf club was that he was the first to tell him, but he wasn't - it was me."
Since 1993, Ferguson has seen his side seal titles while watching snooker (1994) or at the gym (1997) as well as on the pitch. No matter how he has triumphed, though, it has not compared with the elation of that first success.
"Every time you win the title it is special," Ferguson said immediately after beating Villa 3-0 on 22 April to clinch his latest crown. "But the first one was the best one because it took away all the pressure at the club for us for many years and really opened the door for us."
Did Lavender expect Ferguson to still be at the top, 20 years on? "It's amazing," he said. "That first title is a long time ago now but he is clearly an amazing man. He just keeps on winning and he knows how to take his teams to the pinnacle.
"It was a shock that he remembered me. So many things happen to people like him in all his successes down the years and it is hard to imagine how or why he would recall that incident so well.
"But it is great that he did remember and even better that he responded about it."


Canada should permit the sale of recreational marijuana to people over age 18, and tax pot products based on potency, a government panel recommends.

The more than 80 recommendations come from an expert panel tasked by Ottawa  with guiding the federal government as it moves towards legalising the drug.
The federal government is expected to introduce a measure to legalise pot.
If the law is passed, Canada will be the largest developed country to end recreational marijuana prohibition.
Uruguay is the only other country to have a fully regulated, legal market for recreational marijuana.
A number of US states, including Colorado and Washington, also have legal pot.
Task force chair Anne McLellan, a former deputy prime minister, said the panel learned a lot from consulting with representatives from those jurisdictions and feels the government "should proceed with caution".
"We've been told by those who've gone before to expect surprises," she said.
The non-binding report, made public on Tuesday, will serve as a blueprint for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government as it crafts the new laws to regulate the industry.
Mr Trudeau says his government will "legalise, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana" in order to reduce access of the drug to youth and to displace the illegal cannabis market.
Experts say the Trudeau administration could push to have the drug legalised by as early as spring of 2017.
Canadians, especially younger Canadians, are among the biggest consumers of marijuana in the world.
The more than 80 recommendations for the government include:
Medical marijuana, grown by 36 federally licensed producers, is currently legal in Canada.
Stocks of Canadian marijuana companies surged in anticipation of the report.
The report recommends that the federal government continue to regulate production while the provinces oversee the distribution and retail sales.
Ms McLellan said that the industry should also be opened up to more than the currently licensed producers, including some of those who are now growing cannabis illegally.
"The government need to understand the value of a diverse market of growers of different sizes," she said.
She also said it is important the government create a flexible framework that lets it adapt prices, taxes, rules, and policy in the future.


Two men have been seriously injured in a crash in Aberdeenshire.

A black Vauxhall Corsa and a blue Toyota truck were involved in the collision on the A947 just north of Fyvie at about 07:20.
The 17-year-old driver of the Corsa was airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary while the 27-year-old Toyota driver was taken to the same hospital by road.
Police Scotland want to trace witnesses including the driver of a blue BMW who was travelling southwards.
Sgt Rob Warnock, from the Inverurie Road Policing Unit, said: "Enquiries into the circumstances of the incident are at an early stage and I am appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident or saw either the black Vauxhall Corsa or blue Toyota Hilux crew cab prior to the incident to contact police.
"In particular we would like to speak to the driver of a blue BMW vehicle which had been travelling southwards at the time of the collision. This vehicle was seen overtaking just prior to Fyvie.
"The occupant may have information which could help the investigation and I would appeal for them or anyone who saw this vehicle to contact us."


Search teams have entered the fifth day of looking for a Swansea man who went missing after a night out in the city.

Jordan Miers went out on Saturday evening and was reported missing on Sunday afternoon after failing to return home.
The 21-year-old was last seen on a footpath by the River Tawe and he may have planned to walk home to Bonymaen.
Divers have been searching a stretch of the river while coastguards, police and fire crews have also been involved.
Police say a witness followed Mr Miers through the nearby Parc Tawe retail park at about 22:30 GMT because they were concerned about his "intoxicated" state.
They then saw him cross a river bridge and walk down a footpath leading to the river.
The search has also been widened to areas where Mr Miers was known to go, particularly when coming home from a night out.
South Wales Police Ch Insp Chris Truscott appealed for anyone who may have seen the children's football coach to come forward.


A project to restore saltmarsh on the Ribble estuary in Lancashire has received a grant of nearly £50,000 from the Landfill Communities Fund.

The scheme, at Hesketh Out Marsh, has created habitats for estuary dwelling species including lapwing and avocet.
Jaye Rogers from the RSPB said the money would "result in the best for the estuary's ecology".
Hesketh Out Marsh, once an area of farmland, was flooded in 2008 to return it to wildlife-friendly saltmarshes.
The project has improved the local sea defences and created 150 hectares of new saltmarsh, creeks and lagoons.
Saline lagoons can be created to hold pools of water at low tide, creating elevated ridges to provide high tide refuges for many species.
Avocets and redshanks are among the birds that have already nested on the site and large numbers of lapwings, golden plovers, shelducks, wigeons and teals are expected to use the site in the winter months.


A father has paid almost £1,000 for his daughter's milk tooth to be frozen to preserve stem cells which he believes could save her life.

Laurence Delamaar, from Chulmleigh, Devon, has been paying almost £100 a year for the tooth to be stored at -195 C over the past 10 years.
He said it was a "good medical insurance policy" for his daughter.
Stem cells have been used in trials aimed at curing blindness and in cases linked to diabetes.
Stem cells are still at an early stage of development, and retain the potential to turn into many different types of cell.
Mr Delamaar said: "Who knows when you will use this facility and medical science has obviously progressed so much since 2006.
He said it could be used for wear and tear on knees, cartilage problems or something much more serious.
"She probably thought I was nuts when it was first frozen when she was 12 years old, but is now thinking laterally," he said.
Tony Veverka, from company BioEden, said: "The concept of storing the material is well established.
"Human tissue is stored at -195 C and sperm banks are a good example of material that has been stored for many years."
Among the conditions which scientists believe may eventually be treated by stem cell therapy are Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, diabetes, burns and spinal cord damage.


You may not have heard of a company called Taboola, but what it does may annoy you greatly.

"Controversial slimming pill sweeps the UK", "15 inconveniences of being a woman", "Nine people you won't actually believe exist", "Danger! Don't watch this with your wife" - if you've ever seen any of these headlines screaming out at you, then you'll be familiar with the company's work.
Taboola is one of the main providers of sponsored stories on news and gossip websites.
When you scroll to the bottom of the page, there are picture and caption links to three, six or eight external stories, typically under the headings "More stories from around the web" or "You may like".
More often than not the captions hoping to tempt you to click on them are just a little lowbrow, and the photos accompanying them typically show celebrities or women in bikinis (or both).
Critics have described Taboola's (and its rivals') content as "spam", "click-bait", "degrading", "representing a race to the bottom" and many other derogatory terms.
Yet 400 million of us around the world click on Taboola's links every month, and the business - which was only founded in 2007 - now enjoys revenues of $250m (£154m) a year.
Taboola, which is essentially a hi-tech digital advertising company, was established in Israel by Adam Singolda, who had previously spent almost seven years as an officer in an elite encryption unit of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
While the technology the company uses is sophisticated, Taboola's business model is straightforward. News websites don't have to pay to carry its links, and instead they get a share of the advertising revenue that Taboola receives from the advertiser behind each promoted story.
For many newspaper groups who are continuing to see sales of physical newspapers plummet, Taboola provides them with a much appreciated new digital revenue stream, helping them to better monetise their websites.
Yet why is Taboola's content often so annoying?
A charming Mr Singolda, 32, who is the company's chief executive, jokes that we only have ourselves to blame.
"The problem is that for everyone who hates one piece of content, many others love it, and click on it," he says.
"So we register it as a popular story, and leave it up, so more people can see it. If no-one clicked on it, or tweeted about it, then we would remove it."
He adds: "A journalist once complained that he was always seeing stories about [reality TV star] Kim Kardashian on Taboola. So I asked him if he ever clicked on them, and he said yes. So I replied, 'What are you calling me for then?'"
Yet Taboola does seem to have taken the criticism on board, as a year ago it introduced a tool to enable people simply to click to remove stories they don't like.
And as long as a reader of a particular news website doesn't remove the cookies that recognise who they are, Taboola's software will remember their preferences.
So if someone clicks once to remove a link to a story on Kim Kardashian, that should be the last time they ever see her via Taboola.
And Mr Singolda insists that the company's software is getting ever more sophisticated in how it aims to provide people with the additional content they may want.
So to use one simple example, if someone often reads stories about wine, Taboola will aim to provide wine-related sponsored story links.
While Mr Singolda came up with the idea for Taboola after he left the army, he says his military service played a vital role, as it gave him a wealth of training and managerial experience.
A keen computer programmer, and maths whizz kid since he was a young child, upon starting his compulsory national service, he was chosen for the IDF's computer science training programme, before graduating first in his officers' training class.
At the age of just 20, he was leading a team of soldiers doing encryption work, such as allowing an Israeli general to use his mobile phone securely.
"There was no money in the world you could pay to get that experience," he says.
"I learned firsthand how to lead a team, and get everyone to work together. And being the army I couldn't give anyone any financial reward - the only way to get people to do stuff was to inspire them."
The army also enabled Mr Singolda to meet and get to know many people who would go on to join him at Taboola.
After leaving the army, he came up with the idea for Taboola while living back at home with his parents.
He managed to secure the backing of an angel investor, and with a handful of staff and no turnover for four years, developed the software before Taboola was eventually launched to customers.
Today it has 200 employees, and the news websites that use it include USA Today and the Huffington Post.
While Taboola's headquarters is now in New York, it maintains a large office in Tel Aviv, and is just one of a great many hi-tech firms based in Israel.
Mr Singolda says Israel is so strong in the technology field for a number of reasons, including the training that military service provides, and the fact the country has always had an entrepreneurial culture.
And while some Taboola employees are IDF reservists who were called up to serve during the recent conflict in Gaza, Mr Singolda says the company was otherwise unaffected.
Instead, Taboola is now looking to secure a fresh multi-million dollar injection of investment, as it plans to expand around the world - both with and without Kim Kardashian.


Three towns in East Yorkshire could lose their minor injuries units under plans being considered by the area's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Units in Hornsea, Withernsea and Driffield could close with patients going to either two or three centres in Beverley, Bridlington or Goole.
Jane Hawkard , of the East Riding CCG, said it had a "limited budget" and the move was aimed at improving services.
Jean Barton, from Hornsea, said she was "absolutely appalled and disgusted".
More on this story and others in East Yorkshire and Humber
She added that the unit was "going to be so missed in such a rural area".
Bridlington - for example - is about 15 miles (24km) from Hornsea and 32 miles (51km) from Withernsea.
Graham Stuart, Conservative MP for Beverley and Holderness, said, "We will not put up with these proposals.
"I believe that the right thing is for Hornsea and Withernsea to have a local minor injuries unit."
The CCG said about 13,500 patients a year - which it described as "small numbers" - attended the three units earmarked for closure.
The other three minor injuries units at Beverley, Bridlington and Goole received about 48,000 attendances annually, it added.
The proposed Urgent Care units would be open 16 hours a day, 365 days a year, and there are no plans to close any hospitals, it added.
Minor injuries units deal with patients who do not need to go to A&E and the proposed changes are part of the CCG's larger review of services.
The CCG covers about 1,000 sq miles (2,600 sq km) had has about 310,000 residents, according to a 2012 estimate.
A 12-week consultation on the plans is to start from 25 October and a decision is expected in March 2017.


Five people have been shot dead and at least 20 injured in a cafe in north-eastern Serbia.

Police say the gunman killed his wife and another woman, before randomly shooting at other customers at the cafe.
Three children were among those injured in the attack near the city of Zrenjanin, the interior ministry said.
The gunman was arrested and police are investigating his motive, which is believed to be jealousy.
Witnesses told Serbia's state TV that the attacker came to the Makijato cafe and saw his wife there with a group of friends, the AP news agency reports. He apparently went home and came back with a gun.
"He just pulled out a gun and started shooting, first into the air," one of the witnesses, Svetozar Manojlovic, said.
"It sounded like firecrackers at first," he said. "Then the guy next to me fell down and others started falling down. It was total chaos."
Serbia's Interior Minister, Nebojsa Stefanovic, said the cafe guests eventually managed to grab the weapon from the man's hands.
Mr Stefanovic said the automatic weapon was illegal, and he appealed to people to hand over any illegal weapons, which proliferated after the war in the Balkans in the 1990s.


US telecoms giant Verizon says it will buy AOL in a deal worth $4.4bn

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The UK's last flying Vulcan has flown over the East Midlands for a final flypast as part of its farewell tour.

The XH558 bomber appeared over RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, and Rutland Water after taking off from Robin Hood Airport near Doncaster.
It will make one final flight later this month before it is grounded for exhibitions.
The bomber is due to be grounded after engineering backers, including Rolls-Royce, withdrew support.
The plane also flew over Bruntingthorpe Airfield and East Midlands Airport, both in Leicestershire, and Newark in Nottinghamshire.
Bruntingthorpe was the Vulcan's first home after its RAF career and where the aircraft was restored over 14 years.
Paul Johnson, who was involved with the events at the airfield for the flypast, said: "The Victor bomber, the Vulcan's sister, was on the runway - so when the Vulcan flew over it there was a good photo opportunity for people."
Vulcans, which once operated from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, saw action during the 1982 Falklands War.
The Leicestershire-based charity Vulcan to the Sky Trust, which helps maintain and operate the aircraft, said the last remaining model left service in 1993.