Month: October 2009

THE BOOK of evidence in the case of a man accused of murder in Kil- rush during the summer is expected to be served in a month, a court has been told.

Kilrush District Court has been told that 87 statements are included in a file on the case which was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

In response to a query from the defence solicitor Eugene O’Kelly as to why the book of evidence was not ready last week, Superintendent Michael Comyns, who is leading the

investigation, pointed out that the accused was charged on July 31. He said that a file was prepared and sent to the DPP on August 5. “That file contained 87 statements,” he said in court, last Wednesday.

He said that the state pathologist’s report was not received until October 12 and the ballistic report on the gun was not received until October 15.

‘These matters were all then sent to the DPP and the DPP has directed to proceed with the charge. The matter is now with the state solicitor, who is preparing the book of evidence,” said Slee] moves hsrtse

He said the matter was dealt with

by gardai “expeditiously.”

Ma LOCE WMC EW MOPAR EN COMO NRO ST DEonm | spoke to the state solicitor this morn- ing. He has confidence the book of evidence will be ready in four weeks,’ said Supt Comyns.

Asked by Mr O’Kelly was he confident it would be ready in four weeks, the garda superintendent re- plied, “I’m not preparing the book. The state solicitor 1s preparing the book.”

Mr O’Kelly said that the time limit for preparation of a book of evidence is 42 days.

“It’s 82 days. It’s double the time. The state knew that this applied as

much to a murder charge as to a public order charge. The legislation should not be ignored,” he said.

He said that while the matter was “complex,” it was not “unduly com- jy ts.aae

“We are being hampered by not having the photographs,” he said.

However, Supt Comyns said the legislation was not being ignored. ‘There 1s no murder charge that is not complex,” he said and asked for an adjournment. This was granted by Judge Mangan, who granted an ex- tension of time to produce the book of evidence. The accused will re-ap- pear in court in a month.

THE Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh has expressed “a great sense of pain and shame” about clerical abuse and said, “I do believe it is right that it should be exposed”’.

The outspoken Catholic bishop of more than 15 years was awarded with the Reality Lifetime Achieve- ment Award on Friday last ahead of his retirement next year.

As the Redemptorist Community paid tribute to the man they described as a “Bishop and social justice cam- paigner”’, the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh was only too aware that “these are the best of times and the worst of times” for the Catholic Church in Ireland.

As the Church braces itself for the release of the report into clerical child sex abuse allegations involving a sample of 46 priests in the Archdi- oces of Dublin, and in the wake of the Ryan Report, Bishop Walsh said these were part of a process that was

badly needed in the Church.

“I think that this is a whole proc- ess which the Church needed – and needed badly. We had gone through a period where we were overconfident. We thought that we were the best Catholics in the world – the island of saints and scholars.

“I thought when I was growing up that we were reliving that and I think that sadly it has taken something like this to bring a bit of reality to the Church.

“It makes us humble and reminds us of our fragility. I think that our position will be much closer to what Christ was about – weak, humble and a servant. And if the Church is about anything, it is about serving people. It is not about dominating people’s lives. So while it is tough going and it is painful for those of us, certainly for the clergy and bishops – I know that I certainly have a great sense of pain and shame about the whole thing, I do believe it is right that it should be exposed.”

He added that the “forthcoming report isn’t just about Dublin. It is called the Dublin Report but it is a report about all of us and our Church about how far in some areas we moved away from gospel values.

“Of course the Ryan Report has been devastating and the Dublin Re- port will be devastating,’ he said.

‘Having been a bishop for over the past 15 years, in some sense I have talked to a lot of victims and indeed I’ve talked to some abusers as well. There is no doubt, it is a devastating story. Yet I’ve always felt privileged when someone who is broken and has been abused tells their story. It is a privilege to listen to them, even when it is heart-breaking.”

But all is not lost, according to Bishop Walsh.

“These are the best of times and the worst of times. I think there are lots of wonderful things like Sha- ron Commins and the concern that has been shown for Columban Fr Michael Sinnott. And they simply

represent a fraction of the wonderful work being done all over the world by missionaries, priests, religious and lay and the wonderful work that people are doing every day of their lives – parents raising their children in love,” he said.

“T think sometimes we divide and talk about the secular and spiritual. Whatever is good is spiritual, that’s the reality of life and it is unwise to make these sorts of distinctions.”

Bishop Walsh was presented with the reality Lifetime Achievement Award for “his outstanding service and contribution to the Diocese of Killaloe and the Irish Church as a bishop and a pastor.”

There were six awards in total pre- sented in a number of different cat- egories in recognition of “individual and collective contributions to the Church and Irish society”.

The other winners of the Reality awards were Fr Peter McVerry who was named Person of the Year for his “consistently insightful analysis of the

Celtic Tiger and the impact the reces- sion has had on Irish society as well as his championing of the rights of the most disadvantaged in society”, and the Catholic Guides of Ireland re- ceived the Youth Organisation of the Year on this, its 80th anniversary.

Rev Ruth Patterson, OBE, was hon- oured for her book

Local FF TDs will vote with the Government

O’KELLY MOYLAN

A BRAZILIAN national who en- gaged in crime in Ennis has been handed a jail sentence — but he will not serve it if he undertakes to leave Ireland.

Wilker Faria Silva (20), with an ad- dress of Marlborough Street Hostel, Dublin 1, admitted entering a build- ing as a trespasser and committing theft, on August 12, 2008.

Ennis Circuit Court heard that En- nis gardai received a report from a Brazilian national indicating that a burglary had taken place at a house in the Drumbiggle Drive area of the town, in August of last year.

On arrival at the house, gardai dis- covered that a rear kitchen window

had been broken and entry had been EEN NNO m

Several items had been taken from the house.

These included laptops, digital cameras, a camcorder, jewellery and more than €9,000 in cash. The total value of the items stolen amounted to more than €12,000, some of which was recovered.

The accused came to Ireland to work in October 2007. He lived in various parts of Clare and moved to Gort, where he joined a large Brazil- ian community.

The court was told that another Brazilian national was also charged in connection with this incident. His case was dealt with in court in May, where he was handed a six-month

[PMeKoer

This was suspended for three years on his undertaking to leave the coun- (ry.

Counsel for the state Stephen Coughlan, BL, told the court that the other man told the accused there was a lot of cash at the house in Drumbig- gle and they both travelled to Ennis. He said the accused told gardai he received €400 for his role in the in- cident.

Garda Michelle Holian said gardai eX bCoaVoxe mM MOT-I MN OCoMOlAeCoomBneCeUAya(elbr-DENys-ks the more culpable.

Mr Coughlan said the case involved “one Brazilian stealing from another. It’s happening regularly.” However, Gda Holian said she could not com- ment on that.

The court was told that the accused is currently serving a jail term for armed robbery in Laois.

Defence barrister Mark Nicholas BL said that his client and many oth- er people came over to Ireland from Brazil full of optimism. However, they weren’t all fortunate enough to secure employment.

“This was driven in many ways by the fact there was no work. This man was not the main mover. It’s an aw- ful shame that they preyed on their own,” he said.

Mr Nicholas pointed out that the sentence handed down for the in- cident in Laois was suspended on condition that his client undertake to leave the country.

He said that while he was not seek-

ing to “export our problems’, it may be appropriate to impose a sentence and suspend it on condition that his client leave the country.

Judge Rory McCabe commended the “swift and professional ap- proach” of gardai who investigated and solved the crime. “I don’t pro- pose to treat him any differently to the way his co-accused was dealt with,” he said.

He said the “proper tariff” would probably be in the range of 12 months, but he would take into ac- count that the accused is young and that a significant amount of the prop- erty has been recovered.

He imposed a six-month term and suspended it on condition that the ac- cused leave the jurisdiction.

RESIDENTS in the Francis Street area of Ennis are forced to contend with mayhem, due to the actions of late-night revellers who are urinating and vomiting all over the place.

The comments from a member of the residents association were made at Ennis District Court on Friday, during an application for a dance li- cence for The Queen’s Hotel.

While the speaker did not raise an objection to the licence being grant-

ed, grave concerns were expressed about the behaviour of patrons leav- ing late-night premises.

“We are not objecting to the l- cence. We have a problem with anti- social behaviour that takes place on our street between 3 and 4am. The majority of the people have been liv- ing there for 70 or 80 years,” said the resident. She said that some people urinate and vomit all over the place. ‘We take pride in our street and we look after each other. We want it con- trolled,’ she said.

She said that litter is thrown through boxes, cables are damaged and trees are vandalised. “There is ongoing mayhem. We shouldn’t have to toler- ate this,” she said.

Asked by Judge Joseph Mangan had gardai been informed about this, she said they had. Inspector John Galvin then told the court that the area is po- liced daily and nightly by gardai and issues are dealt with as they arise.

The judge asked him was there an inordinate amount of anti-social be- haviour. Inspector Galvin said that

when there are in the region of 1,500 people on the streets in a small area, there is going to be some level of anti-social behaviour. The judge said, ‘Maybe there would be less problems so if the number was smaller.” Solicitor for the Queen’s Hotel, Ma- rina Keane, pointed out that the res1- dents were not lodging an objection to the licence being granted. She said that the manager of the premises has met with residents and has undertak- en to meet them again. She said her clients would consider proposals put

forward by residents.

Ms Keane said that her clients would make every effort to ensure residents were inconvenienced as lit- tle as possible. She said there are four other licensed premises in the vicin- ity and it would be unfair to say that all the problems were generated from one premises.

Judge Mangan adjourned the appli- cation until next month and told the residents spokeswoman she would have to make up her mind whether she was objecting to the licence.

ARGUABLY the biggest talking point of the championship draw for 2010 that was broadcast live on RTE last Thursday night is the meeting of Clare and Waterford at the semi-final stage of next season’s Munster cham- eyCoyeh ony oy

The game will see Davy Fitzger- ald manage a Waterford side against Clare with the prize on offer a place in the Munster final. The draw pitted Cold ae: Blo) oloe-Daran eo som be mmnels Opening round with the winners set to play Limerick.

For Clare, it represents a decent chance to make the Munster final and considering the rumblings that are currently on-going, it could pro-

vide the required incentive to ensure things are sorted out sooner rather Wer vOm Eee

The draw has also been kind to the footballers with Waterford also on the cards. The winner of that Clare/ Waterford tie will meet Limerick in a Munster semi-final.

In 2007, though, Clare football hit one of its lowest ebbs when the county went down by two points to Waterford in Fraher Field, Dun- garvan. Paidi O Sé was over the team at that stage but Clare failed to hit the heights they would have expected to reach under the Kerryman.

With no manager in place in Clare at the moment following the depar- ture of Galway native Frank Doherty, the draw against Waterford should

also provide an incentive for play- ers and the incoming management to work together to ensure Clare get past the first championship hurdle. Anthony Daly’s Dublin will also be relatively pleased with their draw for 2010. Having reached the Leinster Final this year, Daly will be confi-

dent of getting off to as positive start again in 2010.

His side will line out in the Leinster Quarter-Final against the winners of Carlow and Laois in a game they would expect to win. If they over- come that challenge, though, they will have the difficult task of taking

on Kilkenny in the Leinster semi fi- nal.

NO-ONE needs to tell Whitegate how difficult it is to win an Inter- mediate championship. Thwarted in their two previous attempts in the latter stages of the competition since their relegation from senior in 2006, the added frustration of watching the eventual champions Clonlara and Broadford settle so well at the sen- ior grade made them even more de- termined to finally succeed this time around. It made Sunday’s victory all the sweeter, safe in the knowledge that they had finally regained their senior status.

“We are delighted,’ admitted man- ager Matthew Quirke. “It’s a very hard championship to win, there is no doubt about it. We came down from senior three years ago and we fought hard every year, but Broadford beat us last year and Killanena beat us the previous year so after being there or thereabouts in that time, it’s great to finally get up.”

Captain Patrick ‘Magoo’ Minogue echoed those sentiments of a long road to victory.

“When you drop down from senior, it’s very hard to regroup and get back going again. We found it very hard again this year and there was a big effort put in by the three lads and thankfully it paid off today.

“We have had three hard years now and have put a huge effort into winning this championship. Today. Feakle threw everything at us in the

first-half and we were fierce lucky to go in at half-time ahead, but thank- fully in the second-half, our big lads stood up, Brendan [Bugler] and Tho- mas [Holland] in the half-back line and luckily enough, we got there in the end.”

Similar to every team’s struggle for success, there is always a turning

point in the season, a nadir that forces a side to refocus their challenge and for Quirke, it was the reality check of their opening round defeat to En- nistymon.

“We have put in a huge effort this year. We got beaten in the first round by Ennistymon and that was definite- ly the turning point of the season for

us. It really shook up the players and the management. Up until that point, we though we were better than we were and it helped us to refocus. That is not to downgrade Ennistymon in any way but that defeat definitely turned us around.”

From that point on, Whitegate were a totally transformed side, achiev-

ing promotion to the top tier of the Clare Cup before storming through the remainder of the group stages of the championship. Further obstacles were put in their path when they were drawn in the same side as Eire Og and Killanena for the business end of the championship but while they were impressive against the Townies, they found Killanena a much bigger stumbling block.

“We were fierce lucky” explained Minogue, “especially in the semi-fi- nal against Killanena. In the last 15 minutes, we were staring defeat in the face but we got the breaks and came back and it was the same today. We got the breaks in the second-half and took them.”

The celebrations may have to be cut short in the village this week though as Whitegate’s Munster adventure begins against Tipperary champions Carrick Davins. Following on from Clooney/Quin, Clonlara and Broad- ford’s impressive runs in the com- petition, Minogue is optimistic that Whitegate can follow suit.

“We haven’t looked past today but hopefully now we can go on and represent Clare as well as the other teams over the last few years.”

Now that they have finally got the intermediate monkey off the backs, anything else will be a bonus.

TO say that the weather was inclem- ent is the understatment of the hurl- ing year — this was a dog of an after- noon for hurling with wind and rain that made hurling a lottery. Harsh on both sides when you consider what was at stake.

But, even in the adversity of the weather and the prospect of relega- tion to the intermediate ranks that faced both, there was some humour to proceedings that will be talked about long after the result 1s forgot- coon

Tom Stackpool has issued plenty of yellow and red cards in his day, but

this was the day when the players struck back. When his yellow card flew out of hand and flew 30 yards on the wind, it was eventually picked up by Scariff’s Michael Moroney who raced towards Stackpool and lifted the yellow in mock fashion.

It lifted the gloom somewhat, for this was a depressing enough en- counter. Scariff could have lost it in the end because the force was most with Ogonnelloe in the end as they drew level with a Peter O’Brien 65 in the 58th minute.

However, had Scariff lost this one and endured the ignominy of relega- tion, it would have been totally self- inflicted. They hit 16 wides over the

hour to Ogonelloe’s seven — a statis- tic that tells its own story.

The rot set in the first-half when Scariff put 11 shots astray when playing with the breeze. It meant they had to be content with going in at the break only 0-4 to O-3 ahead. Three John McKenna frees had Ogonnel- loe in a great position with the wind to come, while Scariff’s pionts form Ross Horan (2), Michael Scanlan and the lead point from Kenny McNama- ra in the 25th minute barely seemed enough for the second-half.

However, the game’s complexion changed totally a minute after half- time when a low a cross-field pull from Kenny McNamara was added

to brilliantly by Alfie Rodgers for a Scariff goal.

It was the cushion the needed to butress themselves for the inevitable Ogonnelloe onslaught. Two pointed frees from Peter O’Brien by the 38th minute and a point from play by Eoin Sheedy in the 41st reduced the gap to a point, before Ross Horan put Scar- iff two clear once more in the 45th minute.

The last ten minutes belonged to Ogonnelloe as they knuckled down to try and save their the senior sta- tus they’ve enjoyed since 1995. They did that for one day at least thanks two more Peter O’Brien points that AN rer

In the end both were thankful to live another day.

THAT goals win matches is an over- used cliché when it comes to sport, but there isn’t a better phrase to describe the influence of Clooney/ Quin’s hat-trick of goals on the end result of this Junior A football final.

Clooney/Quin last won this title in 2004 and five years later they were certainly up for capturing it again. From the thrown-in controlled ag- gression and determination could be seen in the 15 players sporting the green and red jerseys.

It would be unfair to claim Kilfeno- ra were not psyched up for this game but the extra sense of self-belief the mid-Clare men had, dragged them over the line in a winning position.

As always in finals a certain number of players come to the fore. That was the case for both sides.

For Clooney man of the match Cil- lian Duggan was one of their heroes on the day. This year has seen Dug- gan shine as the hero on a number of occasions with his club’s senior hurl- ing team but also in his role on the All-Ireland winning U2] Clare team. After this game one could clearly see he is equally effective in the large ball game.

Duggan lined out at centre-forward

but he played almost in centre-back. He covered huge spaces and was key to some of the strength shown by the Clooney defence. It was fitting it was he that caught the dangerous ball into the Clooney/Quin box as Kilfenora chased a goal in the final moments. His clearance at the end set up Fergal Lynch to knock over the final insur- ance point to leave four between the sides.

Kilfenora fought hard and their key player brought them to the edge of victory also. Killian Malone was their star forward and free taker. His total of seven frees kept his team in the game. Sometimes kickers of placed balls receive too much praise but some of his efforts with the out- side of his boot would be admired by any kicker in any sport.

Aidan Malone opened the scoring for Kilfenora after seven minutes. This score was quickly cancelled out by a superb kick by midfielder Fer- gal Lynch, but Kilfenora through Pat Connole retook the lead again from the resulting kick-out. A competitive game was certainly in the offing.

With just over 15 minutes elapsed, Clooney/Quin took their first goal. John Earls’ wayward effort for a point landed in the hands of Dug- gan. He burst past a few defenders

before hand passing over to the un- marked Ciaran Quinn who palmed the ball into the net. Momentum had switched again.

It took ten more minutes for Kil- fenora who were beginning to gain control to get back level on a score of 1-1 to O-4 with their points com- ing from Malone and full-forward Austin Kelly. Malone and John Earls then exchanged frees just before nor- mal time in the first-half concluded. Injury-time however allowed one more score in the half with an excel- lent point by centre-forward Connole giving his side a one-point margin at WDNR ASAI E

The start of the second-half in many ways ruined Kilfenora’s chances of a win. In the opening five minutes they did not convert their good start into scores. Four scoreable chances were sent wide and they lost by four points. Finals don’t allow for these margins ORONO r

Clooney/Quin then stole their second goal of the afternoon. Re- plcement Cathal Egan reacted first when a 45 was not properly cleared.

Kilfenora needed to fight again and they did. They grabbed the next two points without reply to get them- selves back into the game again.

Then Lynch woke up again and re- ally ended Kilfenora’s challenge with the third and final goal of the game. One on one with the keeper he was never going to miss and he drove the

ball into the top corner.

Surely it was over and they would definitely die now, but they still re- fused to give in. Malone showed great composure to convert four frees in a row to leave only a goal between the teams.

A tense finish arrived but Clooney Quin through Lynch got the final score on the counter.