Month: July 2008

A JURY is expected to decide today if an Ennis woman conspired with a Las Vegas poker dealer to murder her partner and his two sons.

The trial, before Mr Justice Ro- derick Murphy and a jury of eight men and four women at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, will enter its 31st day today.

Over the seven weeks of the trial, 95 witnesses have given evidence, while the legal teams for both the prosecution and defence have made lengthy closing statements.

Mr Justice Roderick Murphy com-

pleted his summary of the evidence yesterday and the jury commenced its deliberations. Having been sent to a hotel for the night at 7pm yesterday, the jury will resume deliberating this morning.

Sharon Collins (45), of Ballybeg House, Kildysart Road, Ennis, and Essam Eid (52), an Egyptian na- tional with an address in Las Vegas, deny conspiring together to murder businessmen PJ, Robert and Niall Howard, between August | and Sep- tember 26, 2006.

Ms Collins also denies soliciting Mr Eid to murder the three men on August 15, 2006.

Mr Eid has also pleaded not guilty to demanding €100,000 from Robert Howard, in exchange for not killing the three men, at Ballaghboy, Doora, Ennis on September 26, 2006.

He has also denied entering Downes and Howard Limited, Unit 7A West- gate Business Park, Kilrush Road, Ennis as a trespasser and stealing a computer, a laptop, computer cables, a digital clock and a poster of old Irish money on September 25, 2006.

He has also pleaded not guilty to handling the stolen items.

THE jury was advised to concentrate on the ‘technical’ and ‘complex’ evidence presented over the seven weeks of the trial.

Mr Justice Roderick Murphy spent over six hours summarising the evi- dence, between last Friday afternoon and throughout yesterday.

He then directed the jury to begin deliberating, at 3.44pm yesterday.

Last Friday, the jury raised a query on the conspiracy to murder charge and yesterday the judge said he wished to clarify this, im- mediately prior to sending the jury to Cl) lelore-lnes

“The matter is simple at one level and a little bit more complex when you get down to it.

“It takes at least two to conspire.

One would have

thought it followed

logic. If there is

a failure to prove

against one, auto-

matically there is

a failure to prove against the other. Be careful in some cases that there is Some evidence against one and not evidence against the other.

“T don’t want to complicate the matter a little bit more than is neces- sary,’ said the judge.

He told the jury of eight men and four women that where there is a doubt, the benefit of that doubt must be given to the accused.

The judge made reference to the evidence given to the court by John Keating, who said he spent the morn- ing of August 16, 2006, with Sharon Collins, in Ennis.

Mr Keating told the trial he was sure of the date, having just returned

from a relative’s wedding in the UK.

Last week the trial heard from a witness from the ferry company who Mr Keating said he had travelled with. That witness said there were no records of anyone of that name. However, a search of records later established that he, in fact, had trav- elled on the dates he had said.

“You should take into account Mr (John) Keating’s very clear evidence and the concession by the prosecu- tion that he had in fact travelled. It is

a matter for you the diary (belonging to Mr Keating) on the 16th of August,” he told the jury.

He urged the jury to focus on _ the evidence heard in orelveam “however complex that was, however technical iW etAlmaY ein

“Tt’s your decision, not the counsel’s, not the court’s,’ he

nem After spending over three-and-a-

half hours deliber-

ating, at 7pm the

jury was sent to a

hotel for the night and will resume deliberating this morning.

Mr Justice Murphy told the jury he would recharge it this morning, on “one item undated, in email traffic’.

“We will give updated versions to- morrow and we will deal with requi- sitions from counsel then,” he said.

“Relax this evening. Don’t bother deliberating. Relax this evening and have a drink as well. You are entitled to that at this stage,” he told the jury.

The jury will return to court this morning at 10am to resume delibera- tions.

SHARON Collins has been pilloried in the community and ridiculed in the media as a result of the allega- tions she has faced, according to her legal team.

Michael Bowman, BL, in his clos- ing speech to the jury said that she had “been to hell and back” and her family had been “torn asunder”.

‘“There’s a momentum in this case almost freewheeling to a conviction, which you cannot allow to happen. .. Put the brakes on,” he said.

He urged the jury not to “slavishly accept” computer evidence and to “look at the inconsistencies found in the prosecution case. Nobody paid any attention to Sharon Collins’ story.”

He said that Sharon Collins “plead- ed not guilty and stood firm with that

plea. She maintains her plea from be- ginning to end.”

“Bearing that in mind, I’d ask you to consider she took the witness box. She is not blind, she 1s not deaf, she is not dumb. She saw witness after wit- ness taking the stand. She knew what was coming,” he said.

He said that Ms Ni Raifeartaigh had used colourful language to describe Ms Collins, adding, “but PJ Howard knows Sharon Collins for far longer than that. That is at variance to PJ’s description of her.”

Mr Bowman said that witness John Keating, who told the court he spent the morning of August 16 with Ms Collins — when key emails were sent by ‘lyingeyes’ — was a “microcosm” or “snapshot” of the case as a whole.

He said that while he was a pros- ecution witness, when he said some- thing that could be advantageous to

the defence, “no expense was spared to tear the man asunder”.

“John Keating is a man who you can believe, a man who you can trust. It puts a question mark over the in- tegrity of all the other evidence,’ he ene

“If John Keating is an honest man, and I believe he 1s, he has been treat- ed appallingly,” he said.

He said that on August 23, 2006, an incoming US call, from Essam Eid’s mobile number, was made to the Downes and Howard business at Westgate Business Park in Ennis, lasting seven minutes, at a time Sha- ron Collins was out of the country. He said there was no explanation for this call.

“If there was an explanation con- sistent with the prosecution, it would have been introduced,” he said.

He said that gardai took several

trips to the US, Spain and the UK and “expense has not been spared in this case’, yet, in the face of this, E1r- com had not been required to provide evidence as they were “not prepared to provide resources”.

He said that ‘lyingeyes’ appeared to have a lot of detail, but in reality “not everything is adding up with regards the content of those emails”.

He said the investigation team was ‘like a dog with a bone, picked up the idea and ran with it” and maybe they were delighted to be going back and forth to the US, hanging out with the ja syR

“Nobody considered the alterna- tive. They declined the opportunity to make a liar out of Sharon Col- lins with regards the Maria Marconi Story.

““T thought we were going to get cell site analysis (relating to the tour of

Clare which Sharon Collins said she brought Maria Marconi on). Nobody took the time to go through the phone records with a ruler and highlighter,” he said.

He said that when Limerick prison was searched for ricin, everybody was “dressed to the nines in space- suits”. Yet, when the army officer was handed it, he was only wearing “rubber gloves, and no mask”’.

“You and I wear Marigold gloves washing the dishes. The third most dangerous substance known to man- kind!…”

Mr Bowman said that the chief prosecution witness Teresa Engle “took the oath and proceeded to tell lie after lie after lie”.

He said she had no regard for the truth and was self-interested, self- serving and a “convicted fraudster”’.

‘“She’s a bare-faced liar,” he said.

SHARON Collins’s two sisters brief- ly gave evidence on behalf of the de- fence to the trial last Tuesday. Introducing themselves to the court in Irish, Maire Ui Liduihigh and Cait Ui Donnachan, between them,

spent less than ten minutes giving evidence.

Maire Ui Liduihigh explained how she was married to Sean and lived in Galway since 1994 or 1995. Asked by Sharon Collins’s barrister Paul O’Higgins had she stayed with her in Ennis in August 2006, she replied,

“No, absolutely not.”

She explained she was older than the accused. She said Sharon went to school in Ennis and left at age 18 or 19, having passed her Leaving Cer- tificate. She said Sharon got married at age 19 and had two sons. Asked when the marriage had come to an

end, she replied, “I’m not sure.”

She said her mother’s maiden name was Cronin and her father, Charles Coote, was deceased.

‘My parents were separated for a long number of years. I’d have been an adult when they separated. I think She would have been an adult as well,

possibly a teenager,” she said.

Cait Ui Donnachan spent two min- utes in the witness box, during which she said she was married to Conail. Asked did she stay with Sharon in Clare in 2006, she replied, “No, I did not. . . | wasn’t there in July or Au- gust 2006. I’m certain about that.”

SHARON Collins denied at all times that she set up the email lyingeyes98@yahoo.ie but the pros- ecution claimed there was ample evi- dence that she had, and alleged she wrote ‘vicious’ emails.

Addressing the jury in her closing speech, Una Ni Raifeartaigh, BL for the prosecution, said there were 14 points which proved that Sharon Collins was ‘Lying Eyes.’

1.The person who sent the emails

from the lyingeyes account must have had access to all three computers used — the Advent computer at the Downes and Howard family business, the Iridium laptop which was located at PJ Howard and Sharon Collins’s home (Ballybeg House) and the Toshiba laptop stolen from Downes and elec tuer

2. Because of the times of usage of the three computers.

3.The content of the emails sent by someone calling herself ‘Sharon’. 4. The knowledge shown in

the emails. According to the prosecution, the sender had indepth knowledge of the personal lives and movements of the Howards.

5. The language of the emails was similar to the letters Sharon Collins wrote to the DPP and her letter to the Gerry Ryan show. For example, the use of the words ‘unbearable’ and ‘vulnerable.’

6. The consistency between the emails and the plan being carried out. For example the ricin, getting rid of the computers and references to keys and photographs.

7. The general user activity on the computer.

Searches for weight loss, inheritance rights and kitchens were interwoven with searches for hitmen and assassins.

8. Because of the times of the user activity.

9. The consistency between Sharon Collins’s movements and her emails. 10. The consistency between email activity and phone calls, particularly on August 15 and 16, when the deal was being closed on the ‘hit’.

11. The fact that there has been

no sign of Maria Marconi on the computers indicates that Ms Collins was lyingeyes.

12. Sharon Collins’ mother’s maiden name, Cronin, was used, particularly on the application form on hitman. 13. The fact that she made certain admissions in relation to the FedEx tracking number, for the €15,000 package she sent to Las Vegas, was the “smoking gun”.

14. The user went in and out of

the sharoncollins@eircom.net

and lyingeyes98 @yahoo.ie email rererere) enslave

THE progress goes on. Great credit to everybody. Slightly dodgy at times in Semple Stadium where Limer- ick failed miserably to come up to expectations. The real successes there were Pat Vaughan, Jonath- an Clancy, and the midfield pair- ing of Brian O’Connell and Colin Lynch with Gerry O’Grady keeping O’Shaughnessy in check. Now the stakes get bigger, the barriers higher. How good in reality is this Clare team? Who can honestly say with certainty? Tipp will be a true test for everybody. Coming within five or six points of them at this stage will be undisputed progress.

Defeating them will in fact mean that Clare are up with the best. For-

get about the bruhaha about the lo- cal set-up. There is no responsibility there for Mike McNamara and Co. Their duty is to get the best out of the county team. There will be hard choices before the Munster final. Both in placings and personnel. The first is to whether to carry on with the team building or go all-out for a ante

Winning this final will demand a combination of cuteness and courage from the sideline. Beating Tipp 1s not beyond the Banner. We have a good track record in this area. This is the championship and anything can hap- pen. At this point I will set out my stall. The loss of Brendan Bugler will be keenly felt. Bugler is a very flexi- ble player with good pace and hands. Yet on reflection Niall Moran scored

five points from play in Thurles.

I will take it that O’Grady will be able to field out. Having marshaled O’Shaughnessy I would assign the Crusheen man to mark Kelly. Cor- bett makes much more play than Kelly nowadays, however, and his lightning pace will create problems unless counteracted. The aim should be to limit the supply to the Tipp dangermen, space to indulge their skills must be denied them. Their forwards must be crowded out. Any forward can be frustrated. How to do it without fouling holds the key.

My plan would envisage the Banner fielding the strongest halfback line possible and withdrawing the mid- fielders into it for the set pieces such as puckouts, frees, sidelines etc. In the fullback line I would move Frank

Lohan to No. 2 and bring back Brian O’Connell to run with Lar Corbett when he goes roaming.

A crowded half line should help Conor Plunkett. Playing Pat Vaughan at midfield will facilitate this. Vaughan is good at tidying up in broken play. Up front the hard decision will pertain to the No. 14 slot. Barry Nugent put himself in the frame again when he came on against Limerick. All through the League Paul Curran was one of the stars of the Tipp defence. Who gave him his toughest hour? Fergal Lynch. Clare should not spurn this obvious opportunity now. The time has come to start the Clooney-Quin man again. There is no room for both Lynch and Nugent. This time I would give the start to Lynch.

Keep it simple. Crowd the defence to deny Tipp the space. Play the Clare’s half forward line deep towards mid- field. Put the ball inside them for Clancy and Griffin to exploit it. Vary it by putting the high ball down on Lynch. And the team to do tt:

THE Wolfe Tones’ under 14 foot- ballers had a marvellous campaign in the Feile Peil na nGael in Cavan last weekend in reaching the final in their division in the cradle of Ulster football that 1s Breffni Park.

The team can be very proud of their achievements as they to a man played to their full potential and only lost in the final to a very strong North Lon- don team that comprised of 16 dif- OKs Me Ll ahe

Based for the weekend in Ballyma- chugh, they played the host club on the Friday afternoon despite the long journey north. It took them a while to find their feet and the host club Bal- lymachugh put up a good perform- ance before goals from Jack Carrig and William Flynn gave the side some breathing space in winning 3-9 to 1-4.

In what was a hectic schedule for all teams, they then went on to Cavan town for the Feile parade in- volved at least 4000 participants.

Saturday morning came and next up were Denn, another Cavan side and again their better footballing skills and teamwork told in the second half with Wolfe Tones racked up their second on a scoreline of 1-9 to 1-1.

Then after a break of less than two hours later the Tones put champions of the last two years, Lancashire, to the sword on a scoreline of 4-11 to O- 1 to advance to a semi-final meeting against Tourlistrane of Sligo.

Under no illusions, Wolfe Tones tore into their opponents in the open- ing half and with a great goal from danien brennan gave the Shannon side a fighting chance at the break, leading 1-2 to 0-2.

A Trojan display by Tino Nzvaura and Dylan Birchall and great points from Jason McNally gave Wolfe Tones a brilliant victory by 1-10 to Q-3 to advance to a final meeting against North London. This was by far their best performance given by the team over the past two years they’ve been together.

It brought the Shannon bandwagon

to Kingspan Breffni Park for the fi- nal. North London went into an early 1-1 to O-O lead before then Daniel Brennan hit 1-1 in two minutes to put the Tones back in contention. At the break, they only trailed by a point but they were playing well.

In the second half the sheer physical presence of the North London team told as they retained possession and gave the Shannon side little oppor- tunity. William Flynn excellent with his athletic ability and helped out the defence no end. Damien Casey in the goals pulled off three excellent saves to keep his side involved, however at the end of the day, the large Wolfe Tones contingent acknowledge that the better team had won.

In all, the Shannon boys performed excellently and to the best of their ability.

Their football was of the highest standard and they were well coached by Mick Riordan and his team of mentors. They were worthy ambas- sasdors for Shannon and Clare in exo ieeel B

RTE 2FM presenter Gerry Ryan was called to give evidence to feed Sha- ron Collins’ ego, according to the prosecution, who said his testimony wasn’t relevant.

Mr Ryan gave evidence at the trial, on behalf of the defence, last Tues- day, in relation to an email Sharon Collins wrote to his show in April, PAU ey

During an eight-minute spell in the witness box, Mr Ryan said to the best of his recollection, he personally did not come into contact with a letter emailed by Sharon Collins.

“To the best of my recollection, no Such document was received, not to me,” he said.

He said that gardai never made any enquiries with him in relation to the letter.

He explained that he received up to 2,000 emails a month for his show and a filtering system operated whereby some letters were broadcast and others were not.

The producer of the Gerry Ryan show, Siobhan Hough, told the court she did not recollect receiving Sha- ron Collins’ letter.

In her closing speech to the jury on Thursday, Ms Ni Raifeartaigh noted that Sharon Collins admitted composing the email, but wasn’t sure if she had sent it to the Gerry Ryan show. “Why on earth was Gerry Ryan brought into the court to say he didn’t see it? Does it matter whether it made it to Gerry Ryan or not? What matters is she wrote it,’ she said.

“In any event, we got the confirma- tion from RTE. Gardai spoke to the IT person, but no, the defence had to pull in Mr Gerry Ryan, who said, ‘I get so many emails but I didn’t see DOD IOMO) soma) OLoMNCT- BIER

“That is feeding the ego of Sharon Collins. She likes to be centre of at- tention. She wants Gerry Ryan in there, giving evidence, even though it bears no relevance,” she said.

However, Michael Bowman, BL, for Sharon Collins, disputed this.

He said, “Much play has been made and unfairly so about Gerry Ryan coming in to give evidence. It has been painted as an unnecessary stunt. I can’t see why it’s fair to say it’s feeding the ego of Sharon Col- Thakseae

ESSAM Eid was merely a prop in the operation because the State wanted to ‘get’ Sharon Collins, according to lawyers for the Egyptian.

David Sutton, SC, for Essam Eid, said the conspiracy to murder charge was a bridge too far when in reality it was a fraud operation.

“Tt wasn’t “Dial M for murder’. It was ‘Dial M for money’. The State overegged the pudding for Mr Eid, because they wanted to get Ms Col- lins and what patsy are they carrying along? Mr Eid,” he shouted.

“Clearly it was nonsense, because they were trying to get Ms Collins. That’s who they are after. We’re only a prop in this operation,” he added.

He said the case had been “dressed

up to look like the most important case on earth. Yesterday (Thursday), who was brought in to the back of the court? The Howard brothers, here to eyeball you, two live exhibits. .. be- cause no-one was killed here.”

Mr Sutton said the evidence was in- consistent and the State was seeking to rely on an accomplice, Teresa En- gle, who presented “a tissue of lies” to the court.

He said that after she was released from custody at Ennis Garda Station, she “went home on a plane.”

‘Her only purpose for coming back was to give evidence against Mr Eid and Ms Collins. Only for that, we would never have seen this woman again,” he said, in his closing speech to the jury last Friday morning.

“In Las Vegas, Ms Engle comes

to the attention of the law again. In- stead of blagging her way out of it, or scamming her way out of it, she is caught again, using the same website. Another woman was shaken down for money. Who was at it again, but Ms Engle,” he said.

‘That was the reason why we were graced with her presence,” he added.

He said she produced “one of the most self-serving and conniving pieces of perjury I’ve heard in an Irish court. A liar and conniver here to serve her own interests, when she was caught like a rat in a trap,” he SrnCee

“She sat here giving evidence like the stone face of a liar. That is what the State was relying on to tie togeth- er their case,” he added.

He said that in her closing speech,

Ms Ni Raifeartaigh claimed there was nobody else apart from Sha- ron Collins who could have sent the emails, “but the State has never said there was anybody other than Tony Luciano who sent those messages.”

He said in the US, Teresa Engle was involved in the same thing, but there were no conspiracy to murder charges there. “Maybe the FBI take a more hard-nosed approach and they don’t get carried away,” he said.

“The evidence produced by the State is one only that points to fraud. I say it was a fraud operation from Start to finish,’ he said.

Referring to the ricin element of the case, he said, “There is no evidence OVME-TON Arc DeOOLUDel MO) MNMLesUOMMst-nmeCOltOCOM @ND anybody and if there was, I’m sure we’d hear all about that.”

He said that gardai “know in their heart of hearts that what was go- ing on here was a shakedown. They know that the conspiracy to murder charge is a bridge too far.”

He said that Ms Engle claimed the intention was murder, but she hadn’t a notion as to how that was going to happen. “Was she going to follow the Howard brothers around Kilkee with a bottle in the hope that they would get thirsty? It’s at that ridiculous lev- el,” he said.

“You have to be satisfied Mr Eid was there at all and that he was Tony Luciano. I say that evidence is not there and it cannot be welded togeth- er by self-serving perjury,’ he said.

He said the hitman website was a “clownish operation run by clowns in the hope of hooking fools.”

CLUBS may have been without the services of their county players at the weekend but with most games going according to form, a clearer picture of both the promotion and relegation candidates emerged as the leagues approach the latter stages.

With only two rounds remaining in the Clare Cup, there are still 16 teams vying for four semi-final spots in the three divisions but that list will significantly decrease after tonight’s remaining fixtures in Division 2B.

In Division 1, Cratloe and Sixm1- lebridge both continued their recent good form to move alongside New- market-on-Fergus at the summit while Crusheen’s one point victory over Eire Og gives them an outside chance of claiming one of the two semi-final places. Crusheen’s re- maining fixtures however, are against Clarecastle and Sixmilebridge and they will need other results to also go their way as well so the odds are certainly stacked against them.

The biggest losers in the top divi- sion at the weekend were last year’s champions St Joseph’s Doora/Bare- field, and Clarecastle who played

out a draw at Gurteen on Thursday evening. The result didn’t suit either side really and it means that both are SISUD sya La nestle eCere BPMN slow us) (ose-tmlO)I me (Oye fight along with Kilmaley, Clooney- Quin and Eire Og with the bottom two to drop down.

In Division 2A, both Inagh/Kilna- mona and Tubber still lead the way but the north Clare side have now completed their fixtures while In- agh/Kilnamona only have one game remaining which gives the chasing pack of Tulla and Wolfe Tones a slim chance of catching them. The county champions from the last two years play in the final game to decide who has a chance of bouncing straight back to the top flight. Leaders Inagh/ Kilnamona play Scariff in their last game which will have implications at both ends of the table and the Combo will secure the title and a place in the penultimate stage of the Clare Cup if they win and more than likely rel- egate Scariff in the process.

Scariff’s ten point victory over Ballyea at the weekend gives them a fighting chance of survival but the bottom club will have to beat both Killanena and leaders Inagh/Kilna- mona if they are to avoid the drop.

Last year’s Division 2B champions Whitegate are also amongst the rele- gation favourites after going down to Tubber at the weekend and they will need to beat fellow strugglers Kil- lanena in their final outing and hope other results go their way if they are to survive. Killanena, Ballyea and possibly even O’Callaghan’s Mills could be dragged into it if Whitegate do pull off the much needed victory.

Division 2B is still far from de- cided with three matches down for decision this evening. Clonlara lead the way in the division but Broadford can leagfrog over them if they can beat Smith O’Briens tonight. Eight sides are still 1n contention for the two promotion places but the relega- tion places are all but decided after the bottom two Ruan and Kilmaley both lost at the weekend. Kilmaley are the first team to be relegated in the Clare Cup without a win in seven outings while Ruan need to beat both Ogonnelloe and Broadford if they are even to force a play-off and even so, they need either Sixmilebridge, Ogonnelloe or Feakle not to gain an- other point.

In the intermediate league, En- nistymon were the big winners at

the weekend as they saw off fellow promotion rivals Inagh/Kilnamona to jump to the top of the table. With only one round remaining, the top two, Meelick and Ennistymon meet in the final game with the loser likely to be caught if third place Clarecastle can overcome bottom side St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield. Along with promo- tion, the top two sides will also con- test the intermediate league final. Down the bottom, Cratloe secured lifeline after seeing off Clarecastle at home to push them ahead of Wolfe Tones with the Shannon side to play St Joseph’s in a relegation battle this evening.

In Division 4, Newmarket-on-Fer- gus and Eire Og topped their respec- tive groups to earn a place in the fi- nal with the winner to go up while in Division 5, Inagh/Kilnamona and Clonlara qualified for the semi-finals of the Junior B league along with Ballyea and Eire Og. Following a motion passed at convention in De- cember, the make up of the Junior B and C championships are based on a team’s performance in the league and the draw for these champion- ships will be made tonight at the July meeting of the county board