Category: News

A Tipperary man who verbally abused gardaí in Shannon after a vodka drinking spree has been sentenced to two months in prison.

Luke Gray (24), with an address at 128 Ciamaltha Meadows, Nenagh, pleaded guilty at Ennis District Court on Tuesday to charges of intoxication and provoking a breach of the peace.

The charges arose out of a public order incident in Shannon town centre on October 13. Another man, Daniel Harty (32), of 73 Rossbracken, Shannon, also pleaded guilty to two charges of intoxication and provoking a breach of the peace. The court heard both men had been drinking to celebrate a christening.

Gardaí encountered Mr Gray at 1.25am in Shannon Town Centre, where he was roaring and shouting. Inspector John O’Sulivan said when asked to leave the area, Mr Gray told gardaí to “f*** off” “I’ll kill ye all”. Insp O’Sullivan said the father of five was “highly intoxicated.” Mr Gray has nine previous convictions.

The court heard that Mr Harty was also highly intoxicated but didn’t direct offensive language at the gardaí. Defence solicitor Jenny Fitzgibbon said Mr Gray had been drinking vodka prior to the incident. She said her client had a poor memory of what happened and that he was very repentant. Judge Patrick Durcan noted that Mr Gray had committed the offence three months after he had received a community service order. He said Mr Gray should be “ashamed of himself ”.

He added, “He decided to go a on a spree of alcohol consumption, consuming vodka which clearly doesn’t agree with him.” Judge Durcan said he had no time for people who interfere with the work of State agencies.

He imposed a two month prison sentence and fined Mr Gray € 250. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal. Judge Durcan said he considered a community service order but that would have a made a “mockery” of the community service regime.

Mr Harty, a father of four, said he was ashamed of his actions on the night. He apologised to gardaí and to the court. He received a 100-hour community service order. A VICTIMof domestic abuse last week questioned why her husband received a suspended sentence at Ennis District Court. Eddie Sherlock (32), with an address at 70 Dun na hInse, Ennis pleaded guilty onWednesday to a breach of a court imposed safety order. The court heard that Mr Sherlock struck his wife with a walking stick and told her that he would cut her face with a Stanley knife during the incident on October 19. The court heard that Ms Sherlock ran to a garda checkpoint that was near the couple’ s house to get help. Defence solicitor John Casey told the court that his client would say that the event wasn’ t as dramatic as the version outlined in court. He said Mr Sherlock “aplogised unreservedly” for what happened to his wife. “The relationship would appear to be pretty toxic,” he added. Mr Casey said alcohol was not a factor in the incident and that Mr Sherlock would be better of staying away formhis wife. Judge Patrick Durcan said the facts of the case are appalling.Addressing Mr Sherlock he said,“You should be ashamed of yourself, terribly ashamed.” He noted Mr Sherlock’ s early guilty plea and decided not to activate three month suspended sentence previously imposed a court. For the breach of the safety order, Judge Durcan imposed a three month suspended sentence. He also ordered Mr Sherlock to stay away fromhis wife. “If I meet you again, you’ ll br incarcerated for the longest period possible,” he added. At the end of the case, Ms Sherlock asked why her husband received another suspended sentence. “What does that mean?”, she added. Judge Durcan said Ms Sherlock could raise the matter with gardaí.

AN IRAQ war veteran from Clarecastle who admitted forging a doctor’s prescription has escaped a prison sentence.

Ross Culligan (25) was told by Judge Patrick Durcan that he was getting ‘the chance he deserves’ at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Mr Culligan, with an address at 41 Church Drive, Clarecastle, pleaded guilty to forging a prescription contrary to the misuse of drugs act on dates unknown between February 14 and February 22 (2012) at 41 Church Drive, Clarecastle.

He pleaded guilty to using the forged prescription at Mary Jo Duffy’s Pharmacy, Tesco, Ennis on February 22.

Mr Culligan also pleaded guilty to an offence under the firearms act at Ennis Garda Station on February 23.

The court previously heard that after being brought to Ennis Garda Station, Mr Culligan was found in possession of a .22 calibre bullet. The State accepted that Mr Culligan did not have the bullet for any sinister reason.

The case had been adjourned for the preparation of a report from the Probation and Welfare Services af- ter Judge Patrick Durcan said that he was considering a five-month prison sentence.

Mr Culligan served in the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army.

The court heard he was discharged for medical reasons. Judge Durcan noted that Mr Culligan had previously committed a similar offence and was on probation when he committed the current offence.

He said that Mr Culligan had experienced a lot of difficulties in the past.

Judge Durcan said as a result of his military service overseas, “he (Mr Culligan) saw and was probably involved in terrible things that will be with him for the rest of his life.”

He told the court that he was very impressed by what defence solicitor Shiofra Hassett had said on her client’s behalf.

Judge Durcan remanded Mr Culligan on continuing bail to July 17 (2013), with liberty to the State to reenter at 24 hours notice.

He also requested an up to date report from the Probation services. He added, “I will give you the chance you deserve.”

Judge Durcan said, “Best of luck to you Mr Culligan, you’ll have good days and bad days.”

ELEVEN people, including three children, were injured in four separate single-vehicle accidents in Clare over the past seven days – in what has been the worst week on the county’s roads so far in 2012.

A mother and her young child were trapped in their car for almost half an hour on Thursday last, when the car they were travelling in left the road and overturned on the N85, close to Kilnamona.

The incident was reported to emergency services just after 12.30pm on Thursday afternoon but, due to some confusion regarding the exact location of the accident, emergency crews were dispatched to three different locations. Emergency crews from Ennistymon responded to a report of a crash on the R460 between Inagh and Miltown Malbay, while gardaí from Ennistymon responded to an incident, reported to have taken place closer to Ennistymon.

A fire crew from Ennis located the crash on the N85, in the townland of Shallee in Kilnamona. It later emerged that all the 999 calls were in relation to the same incident, but there had been some confusion as to the exact location of the accident.

The mother and child were treated at the scene and were described as being very distressed.

Gardaí in Shannon are investigating a single-vehicle road traffic accident at Ballycasey in Shannon on Saturday night, from which the driver of an overturned truck absconded.

A spokesperson form the Garda Press Office confirmed to The Clare People yesterday that they are still attempting to track down the driver of the vehicle, which was discovered overturned around the Shannon slip road on the M18 at 11.15pm on Saturday night last, October 17.

Gardaí and fire crews searched the area but were unable to find anyone who might have been involved in the incident. Gardaí are understood to be examining the possibility that the driver checked into a local hotel fol- lowing the accident.

A mother and her two young sons had a lucky escape last Monday, October 22, when their car left the road and hit a tree before turning over onto its roof, at Ballyline, on the old Ennis to Galway road.

The woman was driving her two sons, aged three and four, in the direction of Crusheen village, when the incident took place. The vehicle collided with a tree before overturning onto its roof.

Meanwhile, five men were also injured in Ennis on Sunday, October 28, when the car they were driving crashed into a stone wall close to Drumcliffe Cemetery on the outskirts of Ennis. Th e e a rly p a rt o f t h e we e k will b e t yp ic a l No ve m b e r fa re , we t a n d w in d y, b u t c le a rin g b y t h e we e ke n d .

ELDERLY people are terrified in their own homes this Halloween while it is expected that Clare County Council faces a clean-up bill of up to € 50,000 from the night’s activities.

While the majority of people enjoy the fun and festivities of the season, Clare Fire Chief Adrian Kelly said he has come across numerous examples of older people being forced to stay in their home, all the time fearing it will catch fire.

“We literally had old people in tears last year because they were afraid to go out and they were afraid in their homes because they could see burning embers coming towards their houses and they were afraid their homes would catch fire. The fires often go on late into the night and create other anti-social problems, he added.” A spokesperson for Clare County Council put the conservative cost of Halloween at € 50,000. The estimate takes into account the cost of fire servwice call-outs, removal and disposal of stockpiled material, removal and disposal of burnt material, and clean-up and restoration after the night.

A MAN described by senior gardaí as one of the most “prolific burglars” in Clare has been expelled from the country.

Chief Supt John Kerin said that the number of thefts locally have de- creased by 10 per cent since the man was arrested.

He was a non-national living in the county and as such gardaí were able to petition to have him excluded from the country.

“This is something we intend to use more of in the future,” said Supt Kerin.

According to the Central Statistic Office, burglary and related offences had decreased by 3 per cent so far this year when compared to the same time last year.

Likewise robbery, extortion and hijacking were also down by 8 per cent, while theft and related offences stayed the same at 780.

A closer look at the figures reveal that theft from the person has increased by 220 per cent from five incidence in 2011, to 16 cases in 2012.

Superintendent Kerin said the majority of these incidents were in the Ennis area and mostly took place in supermarkets.

People who are doing a large grocery shop often leave their handbags or purses in the trolley and discover when they go to the check out that the purse has been robbed from the bag, the superintendent explained.

The number of car and vehicle thefts also increased during the first nine months of the year from 113 to 130 and theft from shops went up by 25 incidents when compared to the first nine months of last year.

General burglary was down 3 per cent however although aggravated burglary had increased by three incidents to five.

Robbery from premises was up from two cases to five also, while robbery from the person had decreased by one third.

Other thefts had decreased by 10 per cent.

Chief Supt Kerin said that the Gardaí have a detection rate of 65 per cent when it comes to these crimes, a figures that is considered high when compared nationally.

“While one crime is one too many, when compared to other Garda figures around the country we have managed to reduce the number of overall crime,” he said.

ENNIS rate defaulters can expect to see their name in Stubbs Gazette .

Ennis Town Council confirmed to The Clare People that, following court rulings, it will publish “outstanding uncollected rates prior to 2012” in the magazine recognised as the reliable and comprehensive source of information on companies and businesses.

The town authority is currently struggling to collect the payment of the rates, with just 57 per cent of the town’s businesses paying last year.

As businesses feel the full impact of the recession, that figure is understood to be even lower this year, putting pressure on the council’s coffers.

A total of € 34.5 million was collected from Commercial Rates in 2011 by the Clare local authority, with arrears of € 9 million at the end of 2011.

It is expected that € 2m of that arrears is uncollectable as it relates to businesses that have closed down or gone into receivership owing rate payments.

Ennis Town Clerk Leonard Cleary said; “Every effort is being made to ensure collection of arrears in order to continue to fund the delivery of services to the public. Ennis Town Council has expressed concern about collection levels generally in 2012.

“It is the council’s intention to follow through with court proceedings and subsequently to ensure collection of all debts due.

“Ennis Town Council is encouraging businesses in financial difficulty to make contact with its Finance Department in order to discuss a payment plan,” he added.

Meanwhile, Clare County Council and Kilrush Town Council are faring better than the county town when it comes to collecting commercial rates.

At the end of last year, the county authority had collected as much as 80 per cent of its rate, while just over three-quarters of Kilrush’s businesses had paid their commercial rates (76 per cent) as against the figure of 57 per cent for Ennis.

EVERY cloud has a silver lining and while Hurricane Sandy could mean devastation for parts of the American east coast, it could mean a miniboost for hotels in Shannon and Ennis.

Hundreds of tourists have already been stranded on both sides of the Atlantic as the hurricane has shut down airports all over the American east coast.

Aer Lingus cancelled all their Monday EI-111 and EI-110 services between Shannon and New York and it looks likely that further cancellations will take place this week.

The airline will announce later today if they will be in a position to operate the service this Wednesday and customers are asked to check their flights before coming to Shannon.

The centre of the hurricane is predicted to hit Philadelphia some time later today and is expected to move north to New York over Wednesday. This could bring about a lengthy closure of airports in New York, strand- ing American visitors in the Clare area for an extended period of time.

The airline has also offered to accommodate anyone affected by the cancellations on a subsequent service between Shannon and New York, at no extra cost.

A spokesperson from Aer Lingus said yesterday that they will continue to keep a close eye on the situation in New York and other American airports in the days ahead.

“Customers who wish to cancel their travel plans will receive a full refund,” said a spokesperson.

“Aer Lingus apologises to all customers affected by these cancellations.”

While there are no official figures for the numbers of tourists who have been forced to spend an unplanned, extended vacation in the Clare area, the effects of the hurricane could leave hundreds of Americans stranded in the Banner.

As many as 1,000 Aer Lingus customers are currently weathering the storm in New York, waiting for the city’s public transport and airports to reopen.

AS the fall-out from Saturday’s altercations during the Clare Minor A hurling final in Sixmilebridge continued on Monday, GAA chiefs in the county were remaining tight lipped about the events until they have time to receive and discuss the referees report from the game.

Pictures from the incident, which occurred thirteen minutes into the second half, flooded the internet on Saturday night and were featured in many national newspapers on Monday morning with much of the focus centering on Clare’s 1995 and ’97 winning captain Anthony Daly, who was prominent in some of the pictures.

THIS Wednesday is D-Day for the Doolin Pier development as An Bord Pleanála come to Ennistymon for the final oral hearings on the much disputed development.

The planning authority will hear comments concerning the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the € 5 million development, which was completed in May of this year.

The development has been delayed for more than two years following objections raised by the local West Coast Surf Club and the Irish Surfing Association (ISA), who say that the development will damage the waves at Doolin and create a dangerous environment for surfing.

The ISA will be afforded the opportunity to address their board and give their opinion on the EIS.

An Bord Pleanála are likely to base the decision on two sections of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) – one which deals with the impact that the pier will have on the limestone paving at Doolin Pier, and a second which uses hydrodynamic modeling and bathymetric data to determine what impact the pier will have on local currents and wave formations.

Local businesses believe that the planned pier could generate as many as 20,000 extra bed-nights for North Clare each year. This would result in a major boost to the local tourist trade and would likely create a number of new jobs in the area.

If the pier development is given the thumbs-up, construction work will likely not begin until the spring of 2013 with a completion date of early 2014 the most likely.

The West Coast Surf Club have stated on a number of occasions that they are not against the development of a pier in Doolin, but they do feel that the location of the current development will damage local surfing.

Surfing is the fastest growing recreational sports activity in Ireland and thousands of young people take surf lessons in the Clare resorts of Lahinch, Spanish Point, Fanore and Kilkee each year.

SOME well-known male personalities in Clare are getting in touch with their feminine side as they aim to awareness for Rape Crisis Midwest.

The Dainty Daisy competition was launched in Ennis on Friday. The event takes place at the Auburn Lodge Hotel on Saturday, November 24 and involves 12 men from across County Clare taking part in a beauty competition with a difference. Rivalry between the competitors continues in a light-hearted fashion, with many remaining tightlipped about their party piece and evening gown for the event.

The MC on the night will be Ciana Campbell and the judges include Clare Rose Orla McDonagh, and Tess Purcell, fashion stylist.

Verena Tarpey, Director of Fundraising with Rape Crisis Midwest, said the organisation have received a fantastic response to the event so far.

She explained, “Miss Read, Seamus Ryan, is our youngest contestant and works at Ennis Town Li- brary. We also have Miss Cast, Ken O’Shaughnessy – when she isn’t acting in her local panto, she likes to get down and dirty with a Hotpoint and Whirlpool every now and then. When she isn’t running lines, she is running around Ennis fixing washing machines.”

In addition to raising awareness for Rape Crisis Midwest, organisers hope to challenge the stereotype that Rape Crisis Centres are just for women. Rape Crisis Midwest provides free, professional counselling for male and female survivors of all forms of sexual abuse.

Ms Tarpey stated, “It can be extremely difficult for men to come forward and look for help. Men frequently feel isolated and alone as there is little talk or understanding of the sexual abuse of boys and, particularly, of the sexual assault of adult men. Rape Crisis Midwest, however, does provide a safe environment where the survivor comes first.”

Tickets are on sale and are available to purchase from the contestants, Auburn Lodge Hotel and Rowan Tree Café Bar. The Rape Crisis Cen- tre can be contacted at 1800 311511, online at www.rapecrisis.ie or on the centre’s Facebook page. The centre is based at Tracklands Business Park, Clonroadmore, Ennis.