The Clare People Archive

THE trial of three people charged with the manslaughter of Kildysart father of five Vincent Hehir last year 1s set to go ahead at Ennis Cir- cuit Criminal Court in June. Inspector Michael Gallagher in- formed Ennis District Court on Friday that the relevant books of

evidence had been served on each of the three accused and that the Director of Public Prosecutions had ordered that all three stand trial for the alleged offences in the Circuit Court.

The three men, Michael Bryan Finn (33), of Ennis Road, Kildysart, Noel Murphy (22), of Crovraghan, Kildysart, and Mark O’Connor (18)

of Rosscliffe, Ballynacally, Ennis are each facing a charge of man- slaughter, arising out of the death of the Mr Hehir on September 6 Tie

Mr Hehir died in hospital three days after being found unconscious outside a pub in Kildysart. He had travelled to Kildysart from Ilford in London to visit his family and

collect his five children, who had been on holiday with his parents for the summer. Mr Hehir managed the popular Black Horse Pub in [I- OKC

Judge Aeneas McCarthy remand- ed all three men on continuing bail and sent them forward for trial to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on June 19.

GRAVE concerns about Crusheen Garda Station lying idle have been aired at a national Garda conference. The Crusheen station was closed due to damage in January 2005 and has since been refurbished.

However, a dispute between the owner of the building and the Office of Public Works (OPW) has prevent- ed gardai from gaining access to it, for work.

As a result, Garda Declan Keavey, who is based in Crusheen, is forced to work from Ennis, or from a car.

Clare representatives attending the annual Garda Representative Asso- ciation (GRA) conference last week in Westport, Co. Mayo raised the 1s- sue and received support from their counterparts across the country.

Clare delegate, Garda Tom Keane said the people of Crusheen were forced to suffer because of a dispute which they had no control over.

‘The Garda station has been ready for the past 12 months. It is disgrace- ful that the people of Crusheen do not have a station, an area where the population has increased substantial- ly,” said Garda Keane.

The conference heard calls for the OPW to be removed from all in- volvement in the Garda buildings programme.

The Clare delegates attending the conference raised a number of other

issues Of concern to them.

One of those was the procedure which is currently in place to deal with bullying and harassment. Under the existing procedure, grievances and problems are dealt with inter- nally. Rank and file gardai want this to be an external process.

“It is an internal grievance proce- dure and we feel it is not working,” said Gda Keane, who is the chair- man of the GRA’s Health and Safety sub-committee, which is currently compiling proposals for changes in this area.

He said that gardai were particu- larly concerned that complainants were victimised. Once a complaint had been dealt with, they were often subjected to disciplinary action.

“We are looking for an outside in- dependent body to investigate issues like that. There are a lot of issues. People should be entitled to make complaints and have them treated in- dependently,” he said.

The four Clare gardai attending the conference also called for an inde- pendent review on pay.

“The last commission on pay was back in 1979. We feel that the current system, which is based on concilia- tion and arbitration, does not work as it is too bureaucratic,” said Garda WO aler

He said that gardai will receive a pay increase of two per cent this year, which “isn’t good enough.”

RESIDENTS in the Ardnacrusha area have told Clare County Coun- cil that it is necessary to restrain children in their back gardens due to truck traffic passing their homes from a local quarry.

Bobby O’Connell and Sons Ltd has lodged plans for the continuation of quarrying at Ballycar South, Ard- nacrusha.

At present, O’Connell’s quarry is the main supplier of quarry material to the southern section of the Limer- ick ring road scheme, together with other major projects in the city.

The existing quarry consists of an area of 42 acres which has a rock re- serve of seven million cubic metres. This will ensure that the site will continue in excess of 25 years.

However, residents from Quinpool, Ballyfinnan, Ballycannon and Bally- car have come together to object to

the continuation of quarrying activi- ties at the site.

The residents claim that the vibra- tion caused by heavily loaded trucks and speeding empty trucks is dis- turbing to the occupants of the many houses along the road and the dust, dirt and stray rocks from the trucks make the road unpleasant for all.

The residents claim that Bus Eire- ann won’t operate a regular bus serv- ice on the road because of frequency of trucks and it is essential to restrain children in the back gardens for fear that they would ever venture out onto the road.

They open windows in houses at night time because the noise of the trucks early in the morning will wake you up.

They can’t open the windows in houses during the day because of the dust coming from the trucks.

A decision is due on the application later this year.

PLANS have been lodged with Clare County Council to extend a major quarrying operation in east Clare by 45 acres.

As part of its expansion plans, McGrath (O’Callaghan Mills) Ltd is seeking permission to extend its business for another 30 years with a rock reserve of seven million cubic metres in the planned extension site.

The move to extend the operation Loy eaTeAMa Usd 0 MMO eComereye el orcDeh Van oles Orca NO me)

very strong financial position as the most recent accounts to the Compa- nies Office by McGrath (O’Callaghan Mills) Ltd show that retained profits at the end of March 2006 stood at €5.4 million.

The accounts also show that the company more than doubled its pre- tax profits in 2005-06 going up from €322,000 at the end of March 2005 to €792,000 at the end of March paul ees

There are 30 people employed at the facility and underlining the im-

portance of the operation to the east Clare economy, the accounts show that €721,000 was paid to staff in 2005-06.

The accounts also show that the remuneration to the company’s two directors, Thomas and Joseph Mc- Grath stood at €217,488 for ‘man- agement services’ in 2005-06.

In the Environmental Impact State- ment (EIS) lodged with the planning application, it outlines the need for the extension, stating that there is a market demand for aggregate rock,

that there is a history and an estab- lished industry 1n the area for the ex- traction of rock.

It points out that the existing quarry area of 48 acres is nearly exhausted, while the company was founded in 1952 and has been in the quarrying business since then.

“Since its establishment, the com- pany has maintained a good relation- ship with the local community and the local authority,” the EIS states. “The company has made a contribu- tion to the development of the region

through the supply of construction materials and providing employment in the east Clare area.”

It states that the operation of the quarry will have a minimal addition- al impact on neighbouring activities.

“The quarry is a major employer in the local community as it employs 30 people directly with another 30 people working in ancillary depend- ent services and industries,’ the EIS adds.

A decision is due on the application later this year.

ANTHONY Kelly never knew anything about his father and was brought up in an atmosphere of se- crecy, the trial has heard.

Mr Kelly was brought up by his maternal grandparents and he in1- tially believed that his birth mother was his sister. His family was very secretive about his father.

His grandmother told him the story about who his mother was when he was aged seven.

The Director of the Central Mental Hospital, Professor Harry Kennedy, who gave evidence for the prosecu- tion on Thursday, provided a history of Mr Kelly.

“I note a history of Mr Kelly’s up- bringing in an atmosphere of secre- cy,’ said Professor Kennedy.

He said that Mr Kelly’s mater- nal grandfather was a cobbler, who worked in Ennis, and the family lived in Ruan.

His birth mother moved to the UK after Mr Kelly was born and she

married there and had two sons, who are half-brothers of the accused.

Mr Kelly fell out with an aunt who lives in Ennis, as she refused to give him the keys of the family home in Ruan, when he returned from the US a number of years ago. He has con- tact with another aunt, who lives in Ore

The trial was told that Mr Kelly went to school in Ruan, where he got on well with teachers and class- mates, with the exception of the headmaster, who he described as as orbs ae

He worked in the United States during summers and moved there after sitting his Leaving Certificate.

He was a superintendent in charge of buildings.

He married a woman from Para- guay and they had two children. They later separated.

While in America, he developed a problem with crack cocaine.

In 1994, he faked his own kidnap- ping, in the hope he would extort money from his aunt’s husband, the

court heard.

He was convicted of fraud and was sentenced to 20 months in jail.

While in prison, he got treatment for his cocaine addiction and he was later deported back to Ireland.

In October 2004, his former wife informed him that his daughter was pregnant. This shocked and devas- tated him and he began to drink very heavily.

‘He would fall into a stupor in the afternoon,’ said Professor Kennedy.

“After October 2004, he felt he was not the same person. He was in a period of depression. He has a lot of blanks in his memory around this time because of his heavy drinking,” he added.

He moved his mattress in front of his television in his Kerry home and continued drinking a bottle of alco- hol every day…“the biggest bottle I could get”’.

He drank a bottle of Bacardi eve- ry day, but did not drink the night before he drove to Clare and killed Liam Moloney.

THE jury in the trial of a man, accused of murdering hackney driver Liam Moloney, will retire to consider its verdict today.

Anthony Kelly (54), a native of Ruan, has denied murdering the father-of-four, at Portlecka, Ruan, on February 11,

2005.

Mr Moloney, who was sepa- rated, died af- ter sustaining 17 blows to the head, while his throat was cut from side to side.

The accused has admitted the killing, but says he was of dimin- ished responsibility at the time.

A judge and jury of seven women and five men has heard evidence in

the case over seven days.

According to the Prosecution, the accused carefully planned the killing and lured Mr Moloney to his death.

It claims that the accused’s mo- tive was robbery, as he went straight from the scene of the killing to Mr Moloney’s flat and stole money.

The defence, how- ever, has claimed that Mr _ Kelly suffered from a mental disorder at the time and this diminished his re- sponsibility.

At the outset of the trial, Kelly pleaded guilty to six other charges, including rob- bing Mr Moloney and taking his car, on the same date.

THE killing of Liam Moloney was “meticulously planned and_ ruth- lessly executed and was followed by a cover-up”.

That was according to the Prosecu- tion Counsel Tom O’Connell, SC, in his closing speech to the jury on Friday.

He said he was “inviting” the jury to bring in a verdict of guilty of mur- der.

“The Prosecution has established beyond all reasonable doubt that An-

thony Kelly killed Liam Moloney, with the intention of killing him.

‘He lured him to his place of death by telling him a lie, that Liam Molo- ney would be introduced to the fic- tional Swedish woman, Anna Fred- erickson,” said Mr O’Connell.

He said the accused believed that Mr Moloney kept money in his flat. After he had killed him, he went straight to the flat and took around €600, before returning to his Kerry home.

“The motive, beyond any doubt, was to enrich himself, by stealing

Mr Moloney’s money after he had killed him,” he said.

He said that the accused later “‘dis- posed of every single item that might connect him with the killing’. These included Mr Moloney’s mobile phone and keys, Mr Kelly’s own clothing, along with an axe head, padlock and meat cleaver.

He said that the burglary was “cen- tral to the case”. He told the jury it was demonstrated during the trial that the accused was “unreliable” and had a history of lying but that he did not have a history of mental

illness.

Defence Counsel Brendan Grehan, SC, in his closing speech, said “there is no other issue in this, other than the issue of diminished responsibil- Aa

He said that if the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act — introduced for the first time last year — had not been in place, his client “would have no op- tion but to plead guilty to murder”.

He said in reality the killing was “brutal” and “a frenzied attack” which were the actions of “some- body out of control”.

He said the jury could conclude that the accused was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the killing and that substantially im- paired his judgement.

“The appropriate verdict is man- slaughter. I invite you to return a ver- dict of manslaughter,” he said.

Mr Justice Paul Carney told the jury that the defendant does not chal- lenge he did what is alleged.

However, he said the question, was he suffering from a mental disorder at the time, is “where the battle- ground is”.

has learned.

Their action could include day-long work stoppages, if a resolution can- not be reached by this Friday, May ay

In a joint statement released late

last night, the Irish Nurses Organi- sation (INO) and the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) ex- pressed their “deep disappointment and frustration” at the progress be- ing made at talks between the un- ions and the National Implementa- tion Body (NIB).

“In view of this lack of progress… we have decided to advise all local co-ordinating committees that in the absence of meaningful propos-

als capable of resolving this dispute, to prepare for escalation of the cam- paign before the end of this week,” read the joint statement.

It was also agreed that executive committees of both unions would meet at 11 am on Thursday morning next to review the existing situation.

An INO spokesperson confirmed that this review would involve con- sidering daily work stoppages na- tionwide.

A CLARE motorcyclist is threat- ening to take the county council to court over what he describes as “wil- fully dangerous roadworks”.

Mountshannon resident Ciaran Ma- cAodh came close to serious injury at the weekend when his motorbike skidded out of control after he drove across gravel which had been thrown up on the road surface from road- works on the opposite side.

The accident happened at Cloon- tymweenagh on the road between Scariff and Mountshannon.

“I saw the roadwork warning signs and slowed right down but the gravel dressing that the council put on the other side where the works are go- ing on wasn’t rolled into the road. Cars driving over it threw up stones, which went all over the road on the side I was driving. There was noth- ing for the bike to grip on — it was just sliding,” he said.

MacAodh was thrown from his bike and the bike went spiralling away.

He was treated in the accident and emergency department for injuries to his wrist and said that he was still unsure what damage was done to the bike.

“There was a car coming in the other direction and it was just as well that I wasn’t going any faster because

I could have ended up under that car. This happens all the time with road- works. The council never considers what happens to a bike when it hits loose gravel.

“Cars can cope but not bikes. I’m sick of it and I’m going to court this time,’ he added.

A spokesman for Clare County Council’s roadworks section said that surface dressings like this were “always rolled”’.

He added that there was “always signs imposing a temporary speed limit and warning about roadworks. Nowadays, health and safety issues are all important and every precau- tion is taken to warn motorists and prevent accidents”.

A spokesman for the Tulla area of- fice of the local authority confirmed that the work at Cloontymweenagh are part of a major roadworks pro- gramme, which will be ongoing in the favourable weather conditions.

The spokesman said that the council tooks certain measures when putting down the temporary surface.

The procedure was a “normal part of the construction process.

“The stones are there to form a base for the final surface. There’s not much can be done, aS some stones are thrown up by car wheels as the temporary surface is driven on,’ he explained.

CLARE fire services have advised people carrying out controlled burn- ing to always notify the service.

This follows a spate of gorse fires in the county, including ones which occurred in the Connolly-Lissycasey area.

Fire services were called out to at- tend two gorse fires in the area on April 19. Five units of the Fire Bri- gade — two from Ennis, two from Ennistymon and one from Kilrush — were called to the scene.

A large area of open ground was on fire but was brought under control by the fire brigade, who were assisted by members of Coullte along with a number of local volunteers. The long spell of dry weather meant the fire spread quickly and this, combined with changing wind directions, made working conditions extremely dif- ficult.

“If people are carrying out con- trolled burning, then it should be in a controlled manner and the Fire Control Centre (999/112) should be notified with the details,” said Tom Burke, Senior Assistant Chief Fire Officer, adding that just a few items could be burnt.

“While Coillte personnel and our- selves generally work in groups, both to be more effective and also for safety, especially during dusk hours,

members of the public that assist may yao lms KO) UCOdWAB OBESE

“If members of the public and land- owners are assisting Coillte and the fire service, they should be accom- panying these personnel at all times to ensure proper co-ordination of re- sources to deal with these incidents,” he said.

Meanwhile, environmentalists are counting the costs of more than 20 bog fires that broke out in Gort and Surrounding areas last week. The fires, which fire services described as the most serious in memory, are be- lieved to have been started by land- owners burning gorse on their land.

The worst of the fires took place in Peterswell, between Gort and Loughrea, with every available unit from Gort, Loughrea, Portumna, Athenry and Tuam called in to battle the blaze.

Ecologists are this week begin- ning to assess the level of damage sustained by the bogland areas as a result of the fire. Depending on the severity of the blaze, fire can have a mixed effect on a bogland habitat.

A sustained heavy blaze can cause irreversible damage to the living peat layer of a bog, essentially destroying the entire bog ecosystem.

However, a less serious fire can ac- tually promote new growth on bog land and prevent trees from encroach- ing and taking over bog areas.