This article is from page 12 of the 2005-09-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
CLARE County Council has secured an exclusion order against a couple living in a housing estate in Ruan, after a court heard their neighbours were subjected to hardship and ‘serious threats” as a result of their behaviour.
Mark and Louise Woodbridge had resided at Toormore Es- tate in Ruan, prior to their eviction by the Council over a week ago.
Brendan Murphy told Ennis District Court that he lived with his wife and family directly across from the home the Woodbridges had resided in. He is a tenant of Clare County Council.
He said he moved in at the end of July and became aware of the Woodbridges at the beginning of August. He said the
couple were fighting amongst themselves in their garden on one occasion and were ‘loud and vulgar.’ He said there was an instance where they hit their own car and shouted abuse at each other.
He was awakened one night to hear a lady screaming for help and she then “turned her anger towards us,’ Mr Murphy told the court.
He said his family received death threats, threats that the windows on his house would be broken and that his car would be damaged, while his children were called “vulgar” names.
“We couldn’t leave our house. There were serious threats that gangs would come down from Dublin with guns and kill us,’ he said.
The troubles continued on a daily basis, he said. Louise Woodbridge would lean out of the window of her house and
make threats to her neighbours.
He said he did not know the Woodbridges and this type of activity could take place at any time of the day or night. “We were terrified of them. We don’t know the people. We didn’t know how serious their threats were,” he said.
Clare County Council estates manager Dan Keane told the court that he notified the Woodbridges about the court hear- ing. However the couple did not appear.
Barrister Pat Quinn said he was applying for the interim or- der made a week previously to be confirmed as an exclusion order, to remain in place for three years. He pointed out that the couple had obeyed the interim order.
Judge Joseph Mangan said he was acceding to the applica- nto