Category: News

AN 18-year-old woman involved in what gardaí described as a “nasty assault” at Ennis courthouse last year has been told by a judge to stay out of trouble.

Rosanne Joyce (18) with an address at Dún na hInse, Ennis, appeared at a sitting of Ennis District Court on Wednesday on charges of assault and shoplifting.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that the assault had occurred just outside the courtroom when the defendant attacked a woman who had just given evidence against her brother.

Inspector Kennedy said Gardaí were forced to intervene, adding, “It was quite a nasty incident.”

Solicitor for the accused, Tara Godfrey said her client was very young and impressionable and had reacted to an allegation about her family.

Referring to the charge of shoplifting, Ms Godfrey said her client had been in the company of two other people at Dunnes Stores when clothes to the value of € 46 were taken.

Ms Godfrey said her client had pleaded guilty to shoplifting and that the probation services had previously highlighted the difficulties facing her client and her family.

The court was told that the woman had a number of previous convictions, including several for theft.

Judge Timothy Lucey said that the woman “seems full of good intentions but the facts contradict this”.

Responding to Judge Lucey’s question about whether she understood that she faced going to jail if she continued her current pattern of behaviour, the woman replied “yeah”.

Judge Lucey said he was enforcing the probation act “primarily because of her age”.

He told the woman that she was “starting with a clean slate” and advised her to stay out of trouble.

THE Doonbeg Drama Group secured a massive seven nominations at this weekend’s All Ireland Drama Finals in Wexford but sadly were unable to bring any awards home to the Banner County.

Their production of the comedy ‘Say Cheese’ attracted 600 people to the Wexford Opera House and was described by the organisers as the audiences’ favourite. To gain seven nomination was a triumph for the group – considering that comedies rarely feature in the All Ireland Final and receive very few nominations and overall awards.

“The crowds loved it – they said that it was the only laugh that they had all week long. We managed to attract 600 people into the Opera House to watch the show which was second highest number for any show throughout the All Ireland,” said John Igoe of the Doonbeg Drama Group.

“We had a lot of nominations, which was a achievement in itself, but unfortunately we didn’t win any overall awards. To get to the final at all was an achievement but then to go down so well with the audience was great – we were definitely the people’s favourite.

“Very few drama groups will take on a comedy and fewer still will get as far as the All Ireland Final with a comedy. There is a feeling out there that adjudicators don’t really vote for comedies – but the audience certainly do love it.

“But it was great to see people laughing down there this week. We got a great response to the show and that is the main thing.”

Nominated from the Doonbeg Drama Group were Mary J Egan for best actress, Ann-Marie Doyle for best supporting actress and the scholarship award, Helena Keane for best supporting actress, Mark May for best actor, Michael McInerney and Peter Smith for best lighting and the backstage team for the best set award.

This achievement comes just weeks after the Doonbeg Drama Festival celebrated its 50th year entertaining the people of Clare.

A FATHER-OF-TWO, charged with the murder of a woman in North Clare last month, has made his second appearance in court.

Colm Deely (39), of School Road, Ballyvaughan, appeared before Ennistymon District Court, sitting in Kilrush, on Wednesday. He is charged with the murder of Deirdre McCarthy (43), whose body was found on Fanore beach on March 31 last.

She was last seen alive on Sunday, March 27, and was reported missing the following day after she failed to turn up to meet a friend.

Mr Deely was brought before Ennis District Court last Thursday week, charged with murdering Ms McCarthy on March 28 last. He was remanded in custody to reappear in court last Wednesday.

Inspector John Galvin applied to Wednesday’s court to have the accused remanded in custody for a further fortnight. Defence solicitor Gearóid Geraghty did not object. Judge Joseph Mangan granted the application and remanded Mr Deely in custody to appear again in court on April 27.

The court heard previously that when charged, Mr Deely said, “I’m very sorry for what happened”.

The court was told the accused is a part-time Fás worker employed three days a week. Free legal aid was granted at the initial court hearing.

EFFORTS to reintroduce the Golden Eagle into Ireland will be supported by two days of dedicated fundraising at the Burren Birds of Prey Centre in Ballyvaughan later this week.

The fundraising and awareness campaign will take place at the centre, which is located at the Aillwee Caves, with the organisers hoping to raise more than € 3,500 to help fund the ongoing efforts to reintroduce the spectacular bird into Ireland.

The centre is hoping to raise the money to fund the purchase of a satellite pack, which provides much needed data on the movements of the Golden Eagles which have been reintroduced into Ireland.

All money raised will be donated to the Golden Eagle Trust, who will use the satellite pack to monitor the movements of White Tailed Sea Eagles, which they have just reintroduced into the Kerry National Park.

“We were very privileged last year at the centre to welcome one of the released white tails to join our own resident Sea Eagle, Sika, during her flying display,” said Barbara Faulkner of the Aillwee Cave.

“Albeit a coincidence, this is exactly what the aims of the reintroduction programme are and the satellite packs will enhance these aims even further. It is hoped, by raising awareness about the effectiveness of these satellite packs, that we can reach our target over the coming months.”

The two days of activity will take place from noon to 5pm this Thursday and Friday, April 21 and 22. Activities over the two days will include informative talks given on the Golden Eagle Trust Reintroduction Programme and the Raptor Tracking Efforts, while the Irish Hawking Club will be on hand with information on the history of falconry in Ireland.

There will also be a number of activities for children, including face painting, parrot peg and nest box making. There will be two artisan woodland workers in residence to help and guide visitors through the intricacies of woodwork while flying displays will be at 12 noon, 2pm and 4pm.

A JUDGE has described the theft of heating oil from homes and businesses as a “particularly mean crime” and one that is on the rise.

Judge Timothy Lucey made the comments at Ennis District Court last Wednesday where he imposed a three-month suspended sentence on a 19-year-old man.

Stefan Coustrain, with an address at Ashline, Shanaway Road, Ennis, pleaded guilty to his involvement in the taking of € 872 worth of heating oil from a crèche near French Court, Clon Road, on February 14 (2011).

The oil was recovered by Gardaí at the scene. Garda Ross Garvey told the court that at around 2am on the night in question, Gardaí received a report of two men acting suspiciously in French Court.

He said that when Gardaí arrived, they observed two men hiding in bushes. He added that there was a “very strong smell of kerosene” off the men’s clothes. Gardaí subsequent- ly discovered six five-gallon drums of oil concealed in the bushes. The court also heard that a pipe leading from the tank had been damaged.

Detective Garda Paul Crowley, who examined the tank, told the court that the process of removing the oil “would’ve happened several times”.

The court heard that the accused, who has two previous convictions but none for theft, made a full admission to taking the oil.

Inspector Tom Kennedy explained that the other man involved in the incident had yet to appear before the court.

Solicitor for Mr Coustrain, Tara Godfrey, told the court that her client, a trainee chef, had been led to the location by another man. She said her client had not profited from the incident and that all drums have been recovered.

Ms Godfrey added that the man had received quite a “bad shock” from his run in with the law.

“Having had a brush with the dark side, he doesn’t want to go down that road,” she said.

Judge Lucey said that if oil had been spilled on the ground as it was being taken from the tank, then the defendant could have been liable for thousands of euros worth of damage.

Garda Crowley told the court that there had been “little or no spillage on the ground”. He added that the tank had been filled on the previous Friday.

Referring to the involvement of another man, Judge Lucey said that Mr Coustrain “knows what is going and should be coming cleaner”.

He said the theft of home heating oil is a “particularly mean crime” and one that is on the increase. He said people who commit this type of crime must understand that they face a potential jail sentence for doing so. He added, “This is something that must stop. It is a popular crime.”

He imposed a three-month suspended sentence and ordered Mr Coustrain to pay € 500 in compensation to the injured party.

A COURT has heard concern expressed over the “chronic” levels of absenteeism of two children going to schools in the Ennis area.

One of the children was absent for 69 per cent of the current school term while his brother was absent 68 per cent of the term, Ennis District Court heard on Wednesday.

Their parents appeared in court after a case was brought against them by the National Education Welfare Board. If convicted, the couple faced a fine of € 635 or one month in prison.

The court was told that the parents have been separated since 2001 and that the children live with their mother. Mary Kirsty Dallas, education welfare officer, told the court that notices had been served to the father in January 2011 and to the mother in February 2010.

Ms Dallas said that despite repeated attempts to arrange meetings between the parents and teachers, “I rarely had any response.” Ms Dallas said the difficulties associated with trying to make contact with the mother had been a “hallmark of the case”.

Solicitor for the father told the court that his client started work before his sons were up for school. He said the man worked for a small company that had suffered recent job losses.

He added that in recent months his client had made more of an effort to call to his former partner’s house to get the children up for school.

The court heard that the mother often found it difficult to get the children up for school because they stayed up late playing computer games.

The father told the court that he accepted that his children had developed bad habits and that he would make more of an effort to ensure his children were up in time for school.

The mother told the court that her eldest son did not like going to school because his friend had moved away and he found school boring. The mother added that since the couple were ordered to appear in court, her sons are “scared”. She said she was willing to go on a parenting programme.

Judge Timothy Lucey told the court that the basis of the problem is the relationship between the parents. A problem, he said, was compounded by the fact that the father does not want to lose his job.

He adjourned the case for a year and said that if there wasn’t a “substantial improvement” in the children’s attendance record, the parents would be convicted and fined.

THE number of Clare people suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia is set to double over the next two decades, unless a major medical breakthrough is made in the treatment or prevention of the conditions.

At present, more than 1,400 people in the county suffer from dementia, with hundreds receiving regular assistance from the Clare branch of Alzheimer Ireland.

However, as a result of increasing numbers and diminishing funding, maintaining the high level of support is becoming increasingly difficult.

“The fundraising is massively important to the organisation; we couldn’t survive without it. The HSE are very good to us but there are cutbacks in every area now and it is more and more important that we are able to get funding from other sources,” said Ann Bedder of the Clare branch of Alzheimer Ireland.

“There are a lot of good causes out there. We realise that times are tough for everyone but people are still being very generous.”

The organisation is calling on Clare people to support their national tea day which takes place on Thursday, May 5.

“This is our main fundraiser nationally throughout the year. We ask people to hold tea parties in their own home and their friends and people from the locality come into their house for tea and give a donation,” explained Marissa Butler, chairper- son of the Clare branch of Alzheimer Ireland.

“A tea morning will also take place in St Anthony’s Hall beside the Friary in Ennis on April 30. We will have tea and pastries and face painting for children – it is always a great day.”

The local branch of the Alzheimer Society provides a drop-in centre, day care, a home care service, a support network for the care-givers and an information point for anyone who needs it in Clare.

“We receive around 60 per cent of our overall funding from the HSE so the rest of the work undertaken by the group is dependent on charitable donations,” said Kay Flynn, vice chairperson of the society.

“There is still time for anyone who wants to get involved to put on a tea day themselves or come along to one of the events already organised. All the money raised in Clare stays within the organisation in Clare.”

The Alzheimer’s National Tea Day 2011 takes place across Clare on May 5 with a special tea day event taking place from 10am to 4pm in St Anthony’s Hall in Ennis on April 30. A 10k run will take place in Broad ford on Easter Monday from 2pm.

For more information, contact 065 6868621.

ONE Clare home has been broken into each day so far in 2011, according to figures released at yesterday’s meeting of Clare’s Joint Policing Committee.

The figures, which represent the first three months of 2011, show that the crime rate in the county is generally lower than for the first three months of 2010.

The largest increases were seen in the area of assaults causing harm, which increased by 21 per cent, and non-violent thefts, which showed a 19 per cent increase.

The number of burglaries in the county is marginally on the 2010 levels, with 90 break-ins taking place in January, February and March – or roughly one each day.

The number of sexual offences was down by 19 per cent year on year from 21 in the first three months of 2010 to 17 so far this year. However, according to Clare’s Chief Superintendent, John Kerin, the majority of sexual offences reported to Clare gardaí so far this year relate to his- toric rather than current incidents.

Ten of the 17 offences reported so far this year relate to incidents from the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, with the oldest case dating back to 1964.

The increase in non-violent thefts has been put down to a market increase in thefts involving scrap metal and heating oil from both commercial and residential premises.

“There has been no let up on the problem. It has not been decreased but there has been no let up and there have been a number before the court,” said the Chief Superintendent.

“The price of copper has trebled in the past few years. There are now gangs at this [stealing metal for scrap] in Ireland.

“We have made recommendations that legislation is looked at to force scrap dealers to record details of the person who sold the copper to them and the registration of their car. This has happened in other countries and we think that the invoking of new legislation is the only way to tackle this.”

The issue of home heating oil theft was raised by Cllr Pascal Fitzger- ald (Lab) who said that a number of houses in his area have been targeted in recent weeks.

“The theft of home heating oil has been a problem but a lot of the home heating oil being taken from houses is not being taken by trucks.

“In one incident here in Ennis, we had two lads with five-gallon drums on them,” said Chief Superintendent Kerin.

“People need to be more alert and need to put locks on their tanks they are hitting tanks at random all over the county.”

A GROUP illegally parking beside a graveyard in East Clare were described as “disgraceful” at yesterday’s Joint Policing Committee meeting at the offices of Clare County Council.

According to one East Clare councillor, a group of three illegally parked caravans have been causing distress and embarrassment to local people wishing to access the grave- yard.

“I know at the moment in one village in East Clare there are three caravans parked illegally outside a graveyard who are causing a great disturbance,” said Cllr Joe Cooney (FG).

“It is embarrassing for people using this graveyard and it is also embarrassing for the local people who have people using their backyard as a toilet. Can anything be done to move these people on or what can we do to resolve this situation?”

The matter was raised as part of a discussion on issues related to 24hour parking in a number of Clare venues throughout the summer.

Addressing the meeting, a Clare Garda spokesperson said that the local gardaí can issue on-the-spot fines for all parking offences but stressed that the force does not “target any particular groups”.

In response to a question about large-scale illegal parking and fes- tivals and events in North and West Clare, Clare chief superintendent John Kerin said that the local force did not have the storage facilities or manpower to impound 60 or 70 caravans at the same time.

He said that the legislation as it currently stands is difficult and stressed that the same rules must apply to holiday-makers who park illegally as to serial parking offenders.

“This legislation is not the easiest in the world to enforce. If the illegal parking is taking place on private property, we must get a statement from the landowner saying that it is preventing them from using their property and then give 48 hours for them to remove themselves from the location,” he said.

“The issue of nomads travelling around the county during the summer is a different entity. We do try and enforce the legislation that is there but it is not always easy legislation to enforce.”

ILLEGAL parking on cycleways is forcing cyclists onto the carriageway and blocking visibility at junctions.

That’s according to Shannon Town Council, in response to concerns over public parking and traffic congestion in the vicinity of Bothar Linn in Shannon.

At a meeting of Shannon Town Council last week, Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn asked for the issue to be debated.

In a written response from senior executive engineer Eugene O’Shea, it was stated, “Traffic congestion in this area is not an issue. However, illegal parking of vehicles on cycleways is forcing cyclists onto the carriageway and blocking visibility at junctions.

“Much of this illegal parking oc- curs during school drop-off and pickup as well as patrons of the leisure centre puling up on the cycleway.

“The solution to this problem is for motorists to utilise the drop-off area at the school, the parking facilities provided at the leisure centre or those beside the Gaelscoil as appropriate,” added the council’s statement.

In response, Cllr Flynn said, “I would have to agree with the response from the senior executive en- gineer. For people to park on a cycle lane, we have already established that is illegal.

“This is an overall problem. It is about solutions,” he said.

“There is a potential danger for health and safety,” he said.

Fine Gael Councillor Seán McLoughlin said, “I’d like to see some kind of a plan brought forward.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Cathy Mc- Cafferty said, “Public safety is paramount. This is one of the busiest roads in the town.”

Labour Councillor Greg Duff said that the best should be achieved from cycle lanes in the town, given that efforts were made to obtain them in the first place.

“Cycle lanes . . . We campaigned for them, we got them, we should monitor them in some way that people get the best out of them,” he said.