Category: News

A CHARITY worker who verbally abused gardaí as they dealt with a f ght in Scariff has avoided an imme diate jail sentence. At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Darren Steele (44), originally from Cork but with a former address at Bohatch, Mountshannon, pleaded guilty to public order and drugs offences.

He pleaded guilty to public intoxication and engaging in behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace at the Square, Scariff on May 16, 2014.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of a small quantity of cannabis at Killaloe Garda Station on May 16.

Mr Steele further admitted an intoxication charge on June 4.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court gardaí were called to deal with a row outside a pub in Scariff on May 16.

He said they found a number of people in the area including Mr Steele.

The court heard the accused was drunk and proceeded to remonstrate with gardaí.

Insp Kennedy said Mr Steele told the gardaí to f*** off and called them a waste of space.

He was arrested and brought to Killaloe Garda Station where a small amount of cannabis was found on his person.

Insp Kennedy said Mr Steele has 124 previous convictions, mainly for public order offences.

Mr Steele told the court he was drunk and did not even know he had cannabis in his pocket.

Defence solicitor Daragh Hassett said his client was out for a night in East Clare and found himself on the edge of a f ght. “He was watching this and he tried to tell gardaí what he saw”, Mr Hassett said.

“He didn’t need to do that. The gardaí saw plenty”, Mr Hassett added.

The court heard Mr Steele, a father of three, “battled the drink for years” and was homeless for a period in Cork.

Mr Hassett said his client has secured accommodation and volunteers with the Simon Community in Cork, often serving meals to the homeless.

He asked the court to consider a suspended sentence.

Judge Durcan imposed a 10-week sentence on the breach of the peace charge.

He suspended the sentence on condition Mr Steele enters into a bond to be law abiding.

Mr Steele entered into the bond.

A WEST Clare teenager has pleaded guilty to assaulting a garda sergeant in Kilrush earlier this month.

Michael Linnane (19) was in a highly intoxicated state when he punched Sgt John Moloney, Ennis District Court heard.

Sgt Moloney was giving chase to Mr Linnane who f ed after gardaí were called to an incident at Hector Street, Kilrush on October 7.

Insp Tom Kennedy told the court gardaí received a call from the accused’s mother at around 11.20pm.

The court heard Mr Linnane was trying to force his way into his mother’s house. When gardaí arrived, Mr Linnane left the premises attempted to f ee the scene. Insp Kennedy said the accused threw an item at Sgt Moloney and threw punches at him. Insp Kennedy said Mr Linnane was eventually restrained and arrested. The court heard Mr Linnane was in an intoxicated state at the time. On Wednesday, Mr Linnane, with an address at Hector Street, Kilrush, pleaded guilty to the assault of Sgt Moloney at O’Gorman Street, and an offence of engaging in behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace. Mr Linnane, who was on bail when the offences were committed, has previous convictions for criminal damage, assault and a f rearms offence. Defence solicitor Gearoid Williams told the court he had been instructed to apologise to Sgt Molo- ney on his client’s behalf.

The court heard Mr Linnane attended a residential treatment course in the week’s prior to the incidents in the Kilrush. Mr Williams said his client relapsed into the “bad old ways and the drink”.

“He had been drinking all day and doesn’t remember what happened”, Mr Williams said, “Sober, he’s f ne. Drink does not agree with him. He does terrible things when he has too much to drink”, he added. Mr Williams said his client has lived a “most disturbed life” and developed addiction problems at an early age. Judge Patrick Durcan said, “What you outline Mr Williams is truly horrif c”. However Judge Durcan said the other side of the coin is that Mr Linnane resisted arrest, attacked and abused a member of the gardaí.

He said such treatment of the police force could not be let pass without ju dicial action. Judge Durcan told Mr Linnane he struck him as a f ne, in telligent, young man. “But I will not have any member of the garda suíochana insulted, abused or demeaned in this manner”, he added.

He imposed a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months on condition Mr Linnane enters into a bond to be of good behaviour and obeys the directions of the probation services.

Mr Linnane was also ordered to complete 120 hours of community service.

A CLARE family expect to be homeless this Christmas as they do not expect to have a house for at least another two and a half months.

Mother of seven Caroline Sherlock who is living in a seven-foot caravan on the side of the road with her young family says she now fears the winter ahead. She said she met with off cials from Clare County Council on Friday last who said there may be a suitable house available in a couple of months. There has been no reply to a query in relation to this meeting from the local authority at time of print. Caroline and her husband John have raised their children aged two to 12 years old in the Ennistymon area and lived in private accommodation before the lease expired last June. They received a good reference from the landlady.

Prior to that, the family lived in a house in special traveller accommodation but were forced to leave as the couple feared for the safety of their children.

Since then, they have lived on the side of the road in areas such as Cregg beach, Lahinch and even in an alley way in the town of Ennistymon.

The family have been moved on and have now set up camp on the side of the road between the local mart and graveyard. Ms Sherlock said she has requested a disposable toilet and bins from the council but has also been turned down.

“We have no electricity, not toilets, no bins or running water. The children are doing their homework by candle light or battery lamp,” she said, adding that she fears her children who attend local schools every day will fall behind if they cannot complete their homework.

Ms Sherlock said the family has lived in this area for 18 years and don’t want to upset people by parking in places that are inconvenient. She said the family parked in a f eld beside the mart last week as they thought it was public ground. “Once we were told it was private property we moved,” she said. The family now live nearby on the side of the road. “I don’t want to be near the gate of the graveyard. We have dead in there ourselves. We don’t want to be impose on anyone,” she said. “We are just looking for the bare basic ways of living.” “If they can’t give me a home, and they can’t if they don’t have one, then can they give me a mobile home somewhere safe?” pleaded the mother.

“The trailer won’t be able to withstand the winter. It already has holes in it from moving it around and we can’t afford a new one,” she said.

“I am trying to protect my children and keep them from harms way. We have to go somewhere. We can’t disappear off the face of the earth.”

MORE than 100 local people are involved in an organised, round-theclock, blockades to prevent water meters from being installed in part of East and South Clare.

So called ‘meter-watch’ groups have been established in six Clare towns and villages including Shan non, Newmarket on Fergus, Killaloe, Westbury, Meelick and Parteen, to prevent Irish Water and sub-contrac tors from installing meters outside people’s homes. The groups, which are all operat ed on a voluntary basis, schedule a number of volunteers to be present in each area from 7am to 6pm each day, to workers from installing meters. According to Meter Watch member David Houlihan, the six Clare groups are becoming more organised and even starting to coordinate and organise their activities together.

“There has been big opposition, people have come out and told them [the Irish Water subcontractors] that they don’t want the meters and when people come back from work they have installed them anyway. That’s when people started getting annoyed. That’s when we started gathering together and blocking them from installing the meters,” said Parteen man David Houlihan. “People have started organising group to be there all time to stop them from installing the meters. Someone has to be present all the time. They keep coming back trying to put them in and someone has to be physically there to stop them each time. We have group set up in each area and they have the numbers of other residents who will come out and help. We have numbers for peo ple in other areas as well, who can come over and show support if need ed. There are a lot of people involved now, but we need it, people need to go to work and see to their children. According to Mr Houlihan, meter watch will continue until the Gov ernment rows back on the introduc tion of water charges. “We are all paying charges and this is a tax too far. People just haven’t got it. People are outraged with this,” he said. “All the groups help each other out now. It has become a massive amount of organisation – phoning people and making sure that someone will be there all the time. The contractors started coming earlier and they don’t give out notices anymore, so it’s be come a cat and mouse game between us.”

YOUNG Clare farmers will continue to be forced from the land in the year ahead as Budget 2014 does little solve the growing problem of an aging farmers population in the county.

North Clare farmers Michael Davoren says the budget will be cash-neutral on his farm, but expressed his disappointment that no funding has been made available to reintroduce the Farm Retirement Scheme.

The budget will see the reopening of a number of environmental schemes on farms as well as a new scheme to encourage landowners into leasing unused land.

“Farmers would see this as being a fairly good budget.

“There was nothing negative in it, except for the water charges and sure farmers have always paid water rates.

“The leasing of land is good, the opening of some new schemes is also positive, but on the downside there is still a big issue with farmers retiring and that has not been tackled. “The age prof le of farmers in Clare is old, something has to be done in future budgets to encourage farmers to retire earlier and to keep young farmers on the land,” said Mr Davoren.

“The change to the taxation system around land leasing might help get some more land active, but it won’t tackle the big issue.

“Where does a farmer go at 60? There is only a living for one family on a farm, so if he gives his farm over to his son, what does he live on for the next six years?

“So farmers have to stay in business until they are 66. A proper farmer retirement scheme is something that will be needed over the year.

“I think, for me, this budget will be cash neutral.

“The fact that agricultural diesel hasn’t gone on, or customs and excise hasn’t gone up on any of the materials is a good thing.

“But this budget won’t have a signif cant effect on me or on many farmers.”

CLARE businessman, Brian O’Neill believes he will be in a position to take on more staff over the next 12 months as a result of last week’s budget.

With the county’s business community giving the budget a guarded welcome last week, the Ennis hostel and cafe owners believes that the budget will help restore customer spending in Clare and help small business right across the county.

“We have 35 employees here at the Rowan Tree and each of them are waiting to see exactly what benef t they will have in the budget. But it seems that most people will have a few more euro to spend in their pocket each week. From an employee perspective it seems like this is the beginning of turn in the economy. It’s all about getting people spending money again,” he said.

“The 9 per cent tax rate for tourism will help to retain jobs right around the country. It’s been a very successful policy, creating 23,000 jobs directly and indirectly since it was introduced. when it was introduced we cut our prices straight away in the cafe bar and that led directly to the creation of two new jobs in out company in Ennis.”

With tourism number coming through Shannon Airport continuing to rise, Brian O’Neill believes that increase activity in the tourism sector will drive employment in related areas in the months ahead.

“If you look at Shannon Airport and what has happened down there, there has been a sea-change down there since independence and everyone in Ennis will have seen more tourists around the town during the summer. That has brought a sense of positivity to people, that has lifted people spirits,” he said.

“The vast majority of money spent in the tourism and hospitality trade goes straight back into the local economy – whether that is more sausages bought from the local butch- er or more staff taken on. So more Clare families are back in work, more revenue comes back into local households and more local people with money to spend. That is where the big win will be for County Clare.

“There has been a little lift in the restaurant side, people are starting to eat out a little more, and there has been a big lift in the accommodation side of it. I think that is going to continue next year so my outlook is very positive for addition jobs being created in the next 12 months.”

A MAN convicted of carrying out an unauthorised charity collection in Ennis has received two-month prison sentence. Judge Patrick Durcan imposed the sentence on father of three, Michael Ward (42), for an offence he called “thievery and roguery at its worst”. “It f ies completely in the face of the generosity of people in this county. It is a complete abuse,” the Judge said.

At Ennis District Court on Friday, Mr Ward, with an address at 12 Gilmartin Road, Tuam, Galway, pleaded guilty to holding an unauthorised collection contrary to Section 3 of the Street to House Collections Act, 1962.

Garda Brian Jackman of Ennis Garda Station told the court he observed Mr Ward at a stand set up on Parnell Street on September 14, 2013. He was selling scratch cards for the Hanly Centre – a Dun Laoghaire based alcohol addiction charity.

The court heard the permit for the collection had expired on September 6.Garda Jackman said the name on the permit was covered with brown sticky tape.

Garda Jackman said when he removed the tape, the name was of a John Ward. Garda Jackman conf scated all property including the collection bucket, which contained € 4.34.

Garda Jackman said he attempted to make contact with a representative of the Hanly Centre in Dun Laoghaire but was unable to do so.

He said from having spoken to the other gardaí in connection with similar incidents, the person was described as “evasive” and hard to contact.

Judge Patrick Durcan noted the permit had been issued by a Judge in the Dublin District Court.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said it is possible for charities to obtain permits in Dublin and use them around the country.

Mr Ward, an unemployed man, has eight previous convictions, mainly for public order offences.

He told the court he was asked by a friend named John Ward to carry out the collection.

“When I found out I was dealt with underhanded, I said I wanted out”, Mr Ward said.

“He was a friend. He’s no longer a friend,” he said of John Ward.

Under cross-examination from Garda Jackman, Michael Ward said he came to Ennis with John Ward.

Garda Jackman told the court he encountered John Ward on the same day a few feet away on Market Street selling lottery tickets for the Animal Ark charity.

Addressing Michael Ward’s solici- tor Tara Godfrey, Judge Patrick Durcan said, “I’m not at all impressed…. Ms Godfrey, I don’t like this case.”

Ms Godfrey told the court her client had instructed her to enter and early plea.

Urging the court to be lenient, Ms Godfrey said Mr Ward had come under the inf uence of another person. Judge Durcan said people in Ireland are very generous when it comes to supporting local, national and international causes and charities.

“I do not like this type of offence. It has to be stamped out”, he added.

Imposing a two month prison sentence, Judge Durcan said;“

This type of behaviour is something that is bubbling beneath the surface and is much more serious than appears”. Recognizance’s were f xed at Mr Ward’s own bond of € 500 and independent surety of € 1000 to be lodged in court, in the event of an appeal.

AN Ennis man who grabbed a handbag during an “opportunistic” burglary at a health shop in Ennis has been sentenced to four months in detention.

Thomas McCarthy (20) reached through a door of Open Sesame and grabbed a ladies handbag before f ee ing the scene, Ennis District Court heard on Wednesday. A 52-year-old woman who was working in the shop at the time gave chase but was unable to catch the accused, the court heard.

Mr McCarthy, with an address at 12 Pearse Avenue, Cloughleigh, Ennis, pleaded guilty to entering Open Sesame, Parnell Street, Ennis as a trespasser on August 8 and committing theft therein.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court the woman left her bag in a storeroom at the rear of the store.He said a door leading onto a lane was left open. The court heard the woman saw a hand reach through the door and grab the bag.

Insp Kennedy said the accused made his escape through car-parks and over a footbridge in the Abbey Street car-park. Mr McCarthy was identif ed through a follow up inves tigation. The bag was recovered with all the items inside.

Mr McCarthy has 21 previous convictions for public order, criminal damage and robbery.

Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey said, “My client is a single man with no child who comes to court knowing he is going to prison”.

Ms Godfrey said her client was asking the court to extend whatever leniency it can in sentencing.

She said Mr McCarthy returned all items and his plea of guilty is substantial in the case. She said her client instructed her to apologise to the victim.

Ms Godfrey said her client was pre- viously a substance abuser but is now clean and intends to work with addiction treatment services in prison.

Judge Durcan adjourned the case for a period to consider sentencing.

When the case resumed, Judge Durcan said burglary is a serious offence but this incident does not fall into the upper category.

The Judge said he took into account the accused’s guilty plea and the fact the property was recovered.

However Judge Durcan said he had to balance all that against the effect this crime had on the victim, “a 52 year old woman who took f ight after the defendant unsuccessfully”.

UP TO 1,000 people protested against water charges in Clare on Saturday. Supporters of the group ‘Clare Says No to Water Charges’ gathered in O’Connell Square Ennis at 1pm and marched through the county town chatting slogans: “ From the r iver to the sea, Ir ish wa ter will be free, ” and “ Enda Kenny not a penny ”.

‘Clare Says No To Water Charges’ organised another public meeting in Ennis on Monday night pledging to take a more militant approach.

Meanwhile more than 100 local people are now involved in an organised, round-the-clock, blockades to prevent water metres from being installed in part of East and South Clare.

So called ‘metre-watch’ groups have been established in six Clare towns and villages to prevent Irish Water and sub-contractors from installing metres outside people’s homes.

PEOPLE using the M18 can expect extended delays this week as a section of the motorway between Crusheen and Gor t are closed to accommodate road improvement works.

Thousands of Clare commuters are becoming reacquainted with the town of Gor t, with large delays in the village as all nor th