Month: April 2008

PEOPLE with drug addictions, includ- ing crack cocaine, last year accounted for 63 per cent of those attending Bushy Park ‘Treatment Centre.

Those with cocaine and heroin problems are also on the rise, with 23 cocaine addicts and 19 heroin ad- dicts receiving treatment at the cen- tre last year. And the centre provided residential treatment to 27 addicts who saw cannabis as their main drug of choice.

The largest group attending the centre are those with alcohol and drug addictions, who number 54. The number of people whose only addiction was alcohol numbered 49, while those with only an illicit drug addiction was 14.

Statistics provided by the centre show that 18 people were addicted to alcohol, illegal drugs and prescrip- tion drugs.

The centre was opened in 1991 and its director, Margaret Nash, said yes- terday that it was four years before an illicit drug addict attended the centre. She said, “Now, those pre- senting with poly-drug addictions are becoming more and more com- aXe OF

‘Alcohol is the main drug of choice in Ireland by a long way. It is the gateway drug and there is a Govern-

ment recognition that this is the case and there is a realisation that this is the case.”

Now, residents whose sole addic- tion is alcohol account for less than one-third of attendants at the centre near Ennis.

In relation to heroin addicts, Ms Nash said that they tend to smoke the drug and not inject it.

Ms Nash said that there is only one treatment centre in the country that deals with the detox of heroin addicts and the next date for assessment for people waiting for that service is in August.

‘When people present with figures to say that there are so many heroin or cannabis users, that is not really factual because people will use any- thing that they can get their hands on at the time,” she said.

Ms Nash said that there is a big gap in detox facilities for drug users in Wd eLompa en KOGAN (orci

“You are left with only home detox where a GP gives medication and you administer it yourself. It 1s quite tricky and very scary for families to see them go through detox,” she Said.

Heroin addicts seeking detox in a residential setting have to go through psychiatric services and _ declare themselves suicidal to gain admis- sion.

A DISTRICT Court judge has spo- ken out against at a challenge taken in relation to the alcolyser.

A case 1s being stated in relation to the validity of the alcohol-testing ap- paratus and is due to come before the High Court in the coming months.

The case relates to the availabil- ity of source codes on the machines

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In the interim, dozens of drink- driving cases are being adjourned in the district court.

At Ennis District Court on Friday, Judge Tim Lucey was asked to ad- journ a drink-driving case, pending the conclusion of the challenge.

He said, “I think it’s nonsense my- self. It’s not a matter of life or death.

“Anyone getting on an aeroplane

relies on codes. It’s the same with cars. You press the brake, you are perfectly happy to rely on it, but it 1s different when it comes to alcohol in the system.

“It’s nonsense. The sooner people cop on, the better. I think we are losing the run of ourselves when it comes to that kind of thing,’ he Sr HLG

““T think the law is the law as it 1s,

until it’s changed,” he said.

However, he noted that Judge Joseph Mangan, who regularly sits in the district, has granted adjourn- ments and said he would do the same.

“IT wouldn’t grant it if it were me,” he said.

He adjourned the case until June, by which the outcome of the High Court case should be available.

THE bravery of a young man, who jumped into the Fergus river in an effort to save a drowning man, was praised last week.

The tributes were paid during an inquest into the cause of death of a young mechanic. Dermot Molloy (21), of Cahercalla Estate, Ennis, lost his life due to drowning last December.

Ennis Coroner’s Court heard last Wednesday that his body was recov- ered from the river in Ennis on De- cember 12, three days after he was

seen entering the water, in the early hours of the morning.

Colman Tubridy recalled being in Ennis, picking up a group of people, on the night of December 9 last. He had arranged to collect the group at the carpark across from the Queen’s Hotel at 2.15am.

He said he got to the carpark at 2.05am. He saw three young men to his right-hand side.

He said the three of them were talk- ing, before one of them backed away from the other two. That young man then placed his hand on the wall and

jumped and went straight into the river. The other two young men ran OD(o ma Kom eb beee

The inquest heard that Patrick Harding left the Queen’s nightclub rare b

In his deposition to the inquest, Mr Harding said he saw a lot of people running towards the Club Bridge. His sister told him that Dermot Mol- loy had jumped into the river.

‘“T went up to Club Bridge and could see him under the trees. I ran back to Abbey Street carpark. I climbed over the wall at the Bagel Factory

and waded through the water towards Dermot.

“When I got to him, I grabbed hold of him and | grabbed a tree with my right hand. We were there for a short period and then I started to panic. He was moving around a good bit. That’s when I lost grip of the tree,’ he recalled.

“We flowed down the river un- derwater, passing under the Club Bridge,” he said.

However he then lost grip of Mr Molloy. Members of Ennis fire serv- ice then got Mr Harding out of the

river, on the garda station side of the river. Mr Molloy’s body was taken from the water on December 12.

Pathologist Dr Vouneen Healy car- ried out an autopsy on Mr Molloy’s body on December 13. She conclud- ed that death was due to drowning.

Coroner Isobel O’Dea said Mr SE Tiebbetoacmese Cova nme (e)00 (eM lowe. @rle sce edged, along with those of the fire Service.

“T think the appropriate verdict is death by misadventure. It’s very sad that a young man’s life was lost in such tragic circumstances,” she said.

ALLEGATIONS that a man was missing part of his ear as a result of a row in Ennistymon on New Year’s Eve have been heard in court.

According to gardai, the man’s ear was bitten during an alleged assault. Martin Mongans (19), of The Prom- enade, Lahinch, was before Ennisty- mon District Court last Wednesday charged with assaulting a man, caus-

ing him harm. Mr Mongans is also accused of the lesser charge of assaulting two men. He is further charged with being intoxicated in public and with engag- ing in threatening, abusive or insult-

ing behaviour. It is alleged that the incident occurred at Main Street, En- nistymon, on December 31, 2007.

Garda Ian Kelly told the court that he arrested the accused prior to the court sitting, last Wednesday morn- ing. He said he did not make any re- ply, in response to the charges.

Judge Joseph Mangan asked how serious was the allegation of assault. Garda Kelly said the assault causing harm charge related to an alleged incident in which a man sustained a Serious ear injury.

‘‘He’s missing part of his ear,” said the garda.

“There was a row involving a number of individuals. It’s alleged Martin Mongans assaulted the in- jured party and bit his ear and also assaulted two others… minor as- saults, punches,’ said the garda.

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey applied for free legal aid for her cli- ent, who is unemployed. She pointed out that the accused had been inter- viewed “some time ago in relation to denne

Supt Gabriel O’Gara said he would not be objecting to bail, on condition that the accused have no contact with the injured parties.

Judge Joseph Mangan declined ju- risdiction and adjourned the case for two months, for preparation of the Book of Evidence, for hearing in the circuit court.

Garda Kelly said there will be 21 statements, some of which are very elena laren

“We are awaiting medical reports also. It will be a period of time be- fore we get all this, given the number of witnesses,” said the garda.

AN ILLNESS that has been de- scribed as causing suicidal tenden- cies in patients affects an estimated 3,000 people in Clare.

The number is only an estimate, however, as the majority of people with psoriasis suffer in silence.

A survey of those afflicted with the lifelong skin condition showed that as many as 81 per cent felt it had affected their self-confidence; 81 per cent felt embarrassed undertak-

ing activities such as undressing in front of others; and 85 per cent felt that psoriasis limited their choice in clothing and lifestyle.

When asked how the ailment made them feel, replies ranged from “fed up, angry, frustrated and embar- rassed” to “helpless and self-con- SC10US’.

This week is National Psoriasis In- formation Week and Clare patients are being encouraged to visit their doctor rather than endure the cond1- tion in silence.

One local person, who like many more 1s embarrassed by her condi- tion, recalled how devastated she felt when a hairdresser reached for rub- ber gloves before treating her hair.

Like others, this person did not understand the condition or how emotionally painful it can be for the Us tce

Dr Trevor Markham, Consultant Dermatologist at University College Hospital, Galway, said, “Psoriasis patients have a reduction in their quality of life similar to or worse

than patients with other chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. While there is no ideal treatment for the condition, there are many different treatments available. “Although psoriasis generally does not affect survival, it certainly has a number of major negative effects on patients, demonstrable by a signifi- cant detriment to quality of life. “Patients feel stigmatised by the condition leading to depression and suicidal ideation in more than five per cent of patients,’ he continued.

‘Patients may not realise the treat- ment options that are available, due to the poor access to dermatology services. In addition, the lack of ad- equate phototherapy services, espe- cially in the west of Ireland, contrib- utes to this.”

An information meeting will be held in the South Court hotel, Lim- erick, tomorrow for psoriasis suf- ferers and will be addressed by der- matology nurse, Carol Collins, who will talk about various creams and their application.

THE growth of Clare-based poker schools and online gambling has led to people losing their businesses in high-stakes gaming sessions.

And according to the Bushy Park Treatment Centre in Ennis, the num- bers presenting for gambling addic- tion more than doubled last year.

Centre Director, Margaret Nash said that there is anecdotal evidence of people who have lost businesses to other players in local poker schools.

“You have well-run businesses transferring over. You could be a business owner today and working for the person you gave the business to next week.”

In all, the centre admitted 14 peo- ple with gambling addictions — an increase on the six admitted in 2006. Ms Nash said that online gambling is now huge and that online companies have strategies to lure players back by forwarding them advances.

On the rise in gambling addictions, she said the primary causes were online gambling, horses and poker schools which “were quite big in the

Ennis and Clare area”.

‘The debts are quite big. People es- cape their debts by getting into fur- ther problems with gambling. They have no choice but to go for treat- ment. It is a serious problem.

“Gambling isn’t about winning, it is about the buzz of trying your odds and having a formula that you believe gives you better information — a better formula than the next per- son. It is not about the winning. The buzz is about putting €100,000 on the nose of number seven.

“The hard part of gambling is that there are no symptoms or signs for the family until it gets serious but in hindsight, the family may real- ise that the symptoms are similar to other addictions and these are black- outs, loss of memory, affecting your eating, lack of sleep and agitation.

“Online gambling is huge and banks are beginning to realise that people have problems. There have been cases where banks have called people and there has been no obvi- ous expenditure and big withdraw- als of three and four thousand euro,” said Ms Nash.

A FATHER-OF-FOUR was. last night found guilty of killing his brother during a drink-fuelled row at a house on the outskirts of Ennis last year.

Patrick McDonagh (27), of Bridge Court, Roslevan, Ennis, had denied murdering his brother Charlie (30),

at Bridge Court, on January 28, 2007. He had also denied the alter- native charge of manslaughter and a further charge of producing a knife in the course of a fight.

A nolle prosecui was entered by the State on the knife charge, after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

It was the State’s case that after an evening of drinking in their neigh-

bouring homes, a row between the brothers developed into a “serious, almost gladiatorial fight” that led to elaas he: ou(enler-U ms @UUbnitcam

After a fight involving a knife and a hatchet, Charlie McDonagh, a fa- ther of four, was stabbed 12 times, including the fatal wound to his Sikeyeet-eee

The jury reached its majority ver-

dict shortly after 7pm last night, af- ter almost six hours deliberating, at the Central Criminal Court in Dub- lin. It found him not guilty of mur- der, but guilty of manslaughter.

Patrick McDonagh was remanded on continuing bail and will be sen- tenced on May 6.

WITH only two games remaining in the National League, the make-up of the Clare football panel has been re- structured and streamlined over the past number of weeks with manager Frank Doherty now targeting the Munster championship opener with Waterford in Dungarvan on May 25, less than eight weeks away.

Last Sunday, Clare played with purpose and persistence and record- ed their first victory of significance

in the league campaign, heralding an upswing in their fortunes.

Prior to the beginning of the Cu- sack Cup, Doherty made it clear that players could still play their way into the panel and though that maxim re- mains true, the panel has continued to evolve with Waterford in mind.

Shortly after Clare’s win over Kil- kenny, Kevin Dilleen, who had been expected to have a role to play for the footballers, informed the county football management he was leav- ing the set-up to concentrate on club

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Fintan Conway and Kevin Larkin, who both featured prominently in the McGrath Cup, are no longer part of the panel and Kevin’s brother, Jim- my, who had also featured at the start of the year, has moved abroad.

Dara Blake was also recently re- leased from the panel, as Doherty continues to shape his squad.

Neither Dara Kelly nor Laurence Healy were available for selection on Sunday due to injury and with both backs likely to push hard for a start-

ing place, it’s becoming clear that Clare will have sufficient defensive cover for the Waterford trip. In terms of the forwards,though, it’s still un- clear if management have made their minds up on the most effective six.

Speaking after the win on Sunday, Doherty was looking to the visit of league leaders Offaly to provide an opporunity for Clare to build on the Wicklow victory.

“If we can get a good result then it’s just a couple of weeks to the Water- ford championship game,” he said.

AT LAST, the script changes. It’s been a tough old time not only for Frank Doherty, but also for the small knot of hacks who follow his team around. So far, the posse has been looking for new ways to ask the same old post-game question. “Where did it go wrong, Frank?’ has been our opener for the last two months.

On Sunday, things were different. It was time to address the positives.

“Wicklow are a nice county team, probably on a par with ourselves,” Doherty says from under the Cusack Park stand. “Forget about London and Kilkenny — no disrespect to ei- ther of them — but this was a solid county team today and we had to step up to the mark. So I’m happy, delighted to get the win to be honest because I knew we had to score well and we had to up the intensity.

“I’m tired of saying it but we have a young team and there were a couple of lads out injured again today. But it was great to see the likes of David Russell coming back. He gives that bit of experience and is a help to

those young lads. At the start of the league I looked at Wicklow and said this was a game that we had to win if we had any aspirations at all. It was a game I targeted.

“We had David [Russell] back which was a boost – he’s been a great asset to Clare football down through the years and looking forward, we’ll need the likes of him to help the young lads progress. And Niall [Considine — also back from suspen- sion] had a good first half as well.”

Already, there are other targets on the horizon and there are stepping stones to get Clare there. The first arrives, Doherty says, with Offaly’s visit in a fortnight.

“Offaly will be another challenge, that’s for sure. They’re the serious team in this group, along with An- trim.

“The two of those will be battling it out to win the division. Offaly is a step up, but today’s win was im- portant because winning becomes a habit. As does losing.

“But against Offaly we have to stand up and be counted. If we can get a good result it brings us into the

London game and then it’s just a cou- ple of weeks to the Waterford cham- pionship match.”

For afew minutes, it looked like this win could have been placed in doubt as a result of Ger Quinlan’s sending off, but according to the manager, the mental strength of Clare to come through what could have been a diffi- cult quarter of an hour was pleasing.

“I didn’t see the sending off, I was doing something else at the time, but once Ger [Quinlan] was gone, we worked damn hard and showed some good initiative. There was a lot of determination there to win the ball and that possibly wasn’t there a few weeks ago.

“IT definitely think this win 1s a shot in the arm for the lads and hopefully it’s going to put them in a positive frame of mind. We’ve worked hard in training over the past two weeks, something we couldn’t do with the seven games we had before this one and we stayed the full 70-minutes to- day, which was great.”

He walks off into the dressing room, out of the rain. A smile on his face for the first time in some while.

THE idea of a ground up approach to hurling among kids about to enter the game took off last year with the launch of Go Games in Clare, and this weekend, the second season of the initiative was launched.

The idea is simple, but effective. Allow kids the opportunity to de- velop their basic skills before they’re

put into a match situation. Give them the chance to play, to have time on the ball.

There’s a maximum of eight play- ers per team for the Under 8 games, a maximun of ten per team for the Under 10s and four games can take place at any one time on a standard pitch. The other stipulation is that every player — back or forward — must remain in their zone, with the excep-

tion of the midfielders. Players swap positions at regular intervals and the the emphasis is on inclusion: each player will play at least two quarters in every Go Game.

The blitz schedule for the upcom- ing Go Games season has just been drawn up and the project is now se- cure in the landscape of the Clare GAA. It’s obvious that those who participate stand to significantly ben- efit so clubs, really, should embrace the concept. They should ensure eve- ry parent with a kid who 1s interested in game is aware of Go Hurling’s ex- istence.

The initial kick off takes place on Saturday April 19 at a number of venues across Clare. It continues throughout May, June and July.

For further information on_tak- ing part, contact Peter Casey on O86 6000027, Joe Gleeson on 087 1333430, Sean Chaplin on 086 3613779 or John Culligan 085 1744342.