Month: June 2008

CLARE will play host to the All-Ire- land Currach Championships for the first time ever.

Kilbaha Curragh Club secretary, Eugene Costelloe, announced this week that the championship will be held in the picturesque west Clare village.

The event, will take place on July 12 and July 13 during the Loop Head Gathering Festival.

“It’s the first time ever (the compe- tition 1s to) be held in Clare and it has taken four years of hard work and a

lot of money to achieve this. Crews from Donegal, Aran Islands, Con- nemara, Clare, Kerry and Limerick will take part,” said Mr Costelloe.

“T look forward to two great days racing. I would like to thank the fes- tival committee for giving me the opportunity to hold the All-Ireland Championships in Kilbaha,” he said.

The people from Kilbaha are al- ready preparing for the prestigious event with local crews training for the competition.

The host village hopes to enter a crew in every category.

The tradition of currach racing has

received a new lease of life in the last number of years in west Clare.

Next Sunday, June 8, a currach re- gatta will be held in Kilrush, with another regatta in Carrigaholt the following week on Sunday, June 15.

This year the All-Ireland Champi- onship will be the highlight of the curragh racing year in Clare and fea- tures as part of the successful Loop Head Gathering Festival.

Inspired by the Scattering emigra- tion project, the Loop Head Gather- ing Festival 1s now doing the oppo- site, as it encourages former residents to return to their west Clare home-

land for a week of celebrations.

In its fifth year, the Loop Head fes- tival is a follow on from a smaller event; The weekend festival, Eannach an Clar, which was held on alternate years between Cross and Kilbaha.

Now both communities have joined forces with their peninsula col- leagues to hold the Loop Head festi- val, which is going from strength to strength.

This year’s festival will begin on Friday, July 11 with a céili.

The highlight of the festival this year will be the cultural parade and the currach racing.

A HOUSEMATE of the Howard brothers told the trial that she would not recognise a man she saw talking to Robert outside their house on Sep- tember 26, 2006.

Claire Cahir told the trial last Wednesday that she was living at Ballaghboy, Ennis, on September 26, 2006, with her partner and the Howard brothers, Robert and Niall.

She said that she arrived home shortly after 10.30pm and drove in

the drive.

Asked by Stephen Coughlan, BL, for the Prosecution, did she notice anything, she replied, “There was a gentleman sitting at the door area. He was talking to Robert. Robert was sitting with him.”

She said the gentleman “had his legs out and I said, “God, I nearly drove over your toes’ and I walked into the house.”

Some 10 minutes later, she said Robert went into the house and asked Niall for a cigarette. “He stayed about

a minute. He just went back outside,” she said.

“TI didn’t see anything when I went into the house,” said Ms Cahir.

“I didn’t take much notice. He didn’t look Irish. He had quite sallow skin. That was it,’ she said.

Asked by Mr Coughlan would she recognise the man again, she said, aa fo es

PJ HOWARD did not marry Sharon Collins after he was advised by his solicitor that pre nuptial agreements were not recognised in Ireland, he told the trial.

Mr Howard said that he and Sha- ron had discussed marriage, but he decided against it on advice from his solicitor, Michael Houlihan.

Asked by Prosecuting Counsel Tom O’Connell was he married to Ms Collins, PJ Howard replied, “No.”

He said after his wife died marriage had been discussed but he decided, on legal advice, not to go ahead with i

“We discussed it and I took some legal advice from Michael Houlihan,

a local solicitor. I was advised a pren- uptial wasn’t accepted and wouldn’t be recognised in Ireland . . stating what would happen to my assets if I died,” he said.

‘IT was informed if we had any type of a marriage, legal or church, it would affect my assets. Sharon and I discussed it. I told her the situation. We came to an agreement. I think it was 2005. We signed an agreement, the two of us, to say we weren’t mar- ried and we weren’t getting married,” he said.

Asked who drew up the agreement, he said, “I think it was Sharon. It was between the two of us and we both signed it.”

“We went to Sorrento after we signed it, just for a holiday. We

agreed we’d go to a church, just the two of us, and say a few prayers,’ he added.

He said there was no ceremony, “none whatsoever.”

“Sharon said to friends we had got married and I didn’t have any objec- tions to this,” he said.

He said there was a party “I think about two nights later.”

Opening Mr Howard’s evidence to the jury last Tuesday, Prosecutor Tom O’Connell put it to him, “You are a comparatively wealthy man’, to which he replied, “You’d wonder.”

Mr O’Connell then put it to him that he was financially well off and he replied, “Yes.”

Asked did he have a mortgage on either his Ennis home or his apart-

ment in Spain, he replied, “No.”

He told Mr O’Connell he spent “ap- proximately” half the year in Spain, where he owned a boat.

He said he married Teresa Con- boy in 1974 and the couple parted company in 1992. They were legally separated. He then had a relationship with Bernie Lyons who died from cancer in 1998.

He said that his wife continued to live in the family home on the Kil- rush Road in Ennis and their sons lived with her. Mr Howard said he met Sharon Collins in 1998 and they started going out together. She and her two sons moved in to Ballybeg House for Christmas 1998 and effec- OAM RCINOT-NDNSOMO)Om Nels Ken

Asked by Mr O’Connell did Sha-

ron Collins have a furniture business which closed down in 2002, he re- plied, “I think so, yes.”

PJ Howard agreed with counsel that he had medical problems over the years and had decided to take a “back seat” in the business and spend more time in Spain.

Mr O’Connell asked Mr Howard whether Ms Collins was good at computers. He replied, “She was reasonably good at computers and her skills were self-taught.”

Mr O’Connell put it to Mr Howard that he took a lot of medication as a result of his medical problems and asked whether Ms Collins played a role in this. “Yes, she did,’ he re- plied. Asked for how long this went on, he replied, “For years.”

ENNIS businessman PJ Howard found it difficult to understand why €100,000 had been demanded from his son to cancel contracts on his life and those of this two sons.

SCM Ke) (eM tomOUrU MOOT dsCNMONKIO eG est son Robert phoned him in Spain to notify him of the situation, he told him not to pay up.

“T found it very hard to understand. I told him to notify the guards and not to pay a thing,” he said.

Prosecutor Tom O’Connell asked the witness when was the first time he heard of Maria Marconi, who Ms Collins has claimed was tutoring her to become a novelist. He replied, “I

heard it from Sharon maybe a day or two after the office was broken helenae

“I was on the phone to Robert (about the break-in). Sharon prob- ably overheard me. She told me she had something to tell me. She said she’d answered a pop-up on the com- puter. She said she had contact with Maria Marconi over the past eight or nine months. She thought it might have something to do with the break- in,’ said Mr Howard.

He said that Ms Collins told him the contact was frequent and via Heer nee

“She said Maria Marconi had come to Ireland that year (2006) and she met her in the office. They were in

the office together for about three- quarters of an hour to an hour,” he said.

“During that time they spoke and Maria Marconi made use of the of- fice computer at the reception desk and that they then left after about three-quarters of an hour to an hour. She took her for a drive to Lahinch and Kilkee and around Ennis as well,” he said.

He said Ms Collins told him that they visited “our house and also that she used a computer there”’.

He said he had never heard of Ms Marconi previously and had never met her.

He said that his own email, pj@downesandhoward.com, did not

require a password.

Mr O’Connell read out de- tails of an email sent’ to leonard @ proxymarriages.com from an eircom email address in PJ Howard’s name in 2005.

The email stated, “We have tried several times over the past couple of weeks to ring you, but the calls were diverted to an answering machine. Sharon left a message over a week ago and again last night. I have to be honest, I am very worried and get- ting more sceptical as each day goes laa

However PJ Howard told the court he did not send that email. He said that an eircom email address had been set up in his name, but he did

not think he ever used it.

Mr Howard told the court that there was a Safe in his apartment in Spain and Ms Collins was aware of the combination.

On one occasion, in 2004, he said the safe contained a lot of cash for up to two weeks after a friend had sold a boat. He said there was also a safe on the boat and Ms Collins knew where the key was kept.

Asked how long she would spend in Spain, he replied, “Approximately half or three-quarters of the time I was there.”

Asked did she use internet cafes in Spain, he replied, “She did, yes.” Asked did she use the internet very much, he replied, “She did, yes.”

SHARON Collins sometimes re- ferred to herself as “Howard’’, her partner’s eldest son told the trial.

Robert Howard told the court that AYES Gro) UT arm er KeMEAVcCeMY alee mONKweElselon PJ for eight years and had looked af- ter him through illnesses.

Paul O’ Higgins SC, for Ms Collins, put it to him that the relationship was unusual.

“It was an unusual relationship. You’ll probably think it’s fair to say it’s unusual to get a letter to say they wouldn’t be getting married and even more unusual that there was a wed- ding reception with invitations sent out,” said Mr O’ Higgins.

Two invitation cards were handed to Mr Howard in the witness box, but he replied, “I don’t remember see- ing these before. I never saw them before.”

Mr O’Higgins said, “Sharon Col-

lins wouldn’t deny this for a moment, she was very keen to get married,’ and Robert Howard accepted this.

Asked how often he would see Ms Collins, the witness said, “When Sharon was around, I’d see her.” Asked did he and his brother social- ise with her he replied, “Yes.”

Referring to the computer at PJ Howard’s house, Mr O’Higgins said that Ms Collins was “effectively leaving an open book for yourself and possibly for your father and for Niall. Not only was that book open from August on, but all these events came to light in late September 2007. If Sharon Collins was responsible for all these events, the Eridium com- puter was sitting in Ballybeg House through all this time.”

Mr Howard replied, “I don’t know. I can’t remember seeing the compu- ter at Ballybeg House.”

Under cross-examination from David Sutton SC, for Essam Eid,

Robert Howard admitted that he and his brother Niall were more active in running the business than their father.

Asked was he proficient in tech- nology, he smiled and replied, “Not very’, but accepted he had sufficient knowledge for the day-to-day run- ning of the business.

Mr Sutton asked Robert Howard whether he found the visit by “Tony” to his home an “unusual event”’.

He replied, “Very weird, very strange.”

Mr Sutton said, “He shook your hand, very strange,’ to which Mr Howard replied, “Very strange al- Toa

The barrister put it to Mr Howard that he didn’t slam the door on the man’s face. He replied, “I wanted to find out what he wanted.”

PJ HOWARD’S youngest son told the trial that he had a close relationship with Sharon Collins, who supported him when his mother died.

Niall Howard (24) said that Ms Col- lins had helped him to choose items for rebuilding the house in which he had lived with his mother, after her lero

Ms Collins’ barrister, Paul O’ Higgins, SC, in cross-examination of the witness, said, “She was 1n most respects in the position of someone who appeared married to him.” Niall Howard replied, “Yes.”

Asked did he have a close relation- ship with Ms Collins, he replied, “Yes, I did.”

Mr O’Higgins put it to him that he had endured a difficult time when his mother had died and Ms Collins had offered him support through this time. He replied, “Yes, she did”.

Mr O’Higgins pointed out that Ni- all had lived with his mother prior to moving in with his brother Robert. After his mother had died Niall went about rebuilding the house. Ms Col- lins was closely involved in this and helped him pick out tiles. Mr Howard accepted this.

“Sharon Collins would have liked to marry your father but he didn’t want to,” said Mr O’Higgins and the witness accepted this.

Mr Howard told the court that he and his brother Robert were watch- ing television in a room at the back of the house on September 27, 2006, when Robert received a call on his mobile phone.

‘Robert told me someone was call- ing to the house and he had the com- puters,” he said.

He said that when the man called to the house, he was looking out the window while his brother talked to the man at the door.

‘Robert told me to call the police. I called them on Robert’s phone. Rob- ert went back out.

“IT went into the side bedroom. They were standing at the side door,” he said.

He said that after the man left the house, he and Robert got into Rob- ert’s jeep and attempted to follow him but they lost sight of him and returned home.

“We were sitting in the jeep. Rob- ert rang PJ. He was in Spain. He was still talking to PJ when the guards came,” he said.

“We went back inside. We were very shocked over it all,” he said.

Asked did he set up the “lyingeyes”’ email, he replied, “No, I did not.”

He told Una Ni Raifeartaigh, BL, prosecuting that he had all his own emails on his own computer, but did not have passwords to other emails.

“Emails are the essence of this case,’ said Ms Ni Raifeartaigh.

Asked was the office computer pro- tected by a password, Mr Howard said, “I don’t believe it was.”

“If she had placed emails on this computer they were there potentially for you to see or for Robert to see,” said Mr O’Higgins, to which he re- plied, “If they were in the Downes and Howard accounts, yes.”

Mark Nicholas, BL, for Essam Eid, put it to Niall Howard that on the night of the man’s visit to their home at Ballaghboy, he was “looking out through a window.”

He accepted this. Mr Nicholas said, “Tm suggesting the man you thought it was is not the man.”

THE Industrial Development Au- thority organised only three visits to Clare last year for investors seeking to establish new businesses. According to figures provided by Tanaiste Mary Coughlan, the number of IDA visits is the same as 2006 and compares unfavourably to the number of itineraries in Limerick where 35 visits were organised and Galway which hosted 15 IDA visits. The complete picture in relation to Clare is not available as Shannon De- velopment — which is responsible for promoting the Shannon Free Zone

— 1s refusing to release the number of visits to the Free Zone last year.

A spokesman said, “We don’t nor- mally give that type of information out.”

The low number of IDA visits to En- nis is no surprise as Clare came near the bottom of the ladder in a survey of the number of IDA jobs created last year. The survey confirmed that Clare came 19th of the 26 counties in IDA jobs created last year. The figures show that only 22 jobs were created in Clare by IDA-supported companies last year although more IDA jobs were created in Clare than Carlow, Laois, Longford, Monaghan,

Roscommon and north Tipperary.

Only nine IDA jobs were created in north Tippeary. However, Clare lags behind its other two neighbours, Limerick and Galway.

The figures show that 264 IDA jobs were created in Limerick and 383 IDA jobs were generated in Galway.

Clare Fine Gael Deputy Joe Carey said that based on current statistics, the IDA had a conversion rate of about one in four companies that visit and then subsequently set up operation somewhere in Ireland.

“If the reports are correct that only three visits to the region took place, then it would seem highly unlikely to

have a positive yield for us. As with anything, attracting inward invest- ment is a numbers game, and the more people we can get to come here and view what we have to offer, the better chance we have of securing actual commitments.

‘We need to ensure that there is ab- solute clarity between Shannon De- velopment and the IDA as to who is promoting industry locally and how they are both to operate.

“We need the minister to give clear direction in this regard and to ensure that responsibility for industrial pro- motion is clearly defined in this re- gion.”

THE Department of Agriculture said yesterday that the act of handling stolen cattle was “reprehensible” and the sentence imposed on a Clare farmer last week was “significant” and would act as a deterrent.

At Ennis Circuit Court last week, Gerard O’Doherty of Moymore, La- hinch pleaded guilty to the handling of three stolen cattle in 2003/04.

In response yesterday, a spokesman for the department said, “Clearly the offence of handling stolen cattle is reprehensible and the department does everything in its power to pre- vent it or as in this case assist the gardai in investigating it.”

“The department does from time to time receive reports of stolen ani- mals. However, this is not that com- mon. These cases are difficult to in- vestigate. However, in this case the farmers could identify their animals and the animals had been correctly and accurately registered on the de- partment’s database. This made it possible for the investigating offic- ers to establish the proper identity of the animals and return them to their rightful owners.”

In response to Mr O’Doherty’s plea of guilt, a spokesman said, “The de- partment is pleased with the outcome of the investigation and acknowledge the co-operation between the gardai

and the department in bringing this complex investigation to a successful prosecution.

“The department is satisfied that the sentence imposed is significant and would act as a deterrent,’ he added.

“The department is well aware that the vast majority of farmers com- ply with the department’s rules and regulations and the department takes a proactive approach in dealing with those who do not. The department will invest whatever resources are necessary to carry out investigations and the local District Vetinerary Of- ficer did invest significant staff re- sources in terms of staff time spent on this particular investigation.

“The department takes a proactive approach in ensuring that farmers comply with the law. The department views any breaches of the legislation as serious particularly in the area of illegal movement/identification and disease control of livestock,” he added.

“The department hopes that suc- cessful prosecutions would deter the minority of non-compliant farm- ers from perpetrating any further breaches of the legislation.

“The correct tagging and registra- tion of animals does act as a barrier and does, as in this case, assist in investigating when breaches are sus- pected,” he said.

A VICTIM of cattle rustling in north Clare claimed yesterday that the farmer convicted of handling stolen cattle “has got off scot-free”’.

Last week at Ennis Circuit Court, Gerard O’ Doherty (46) of Moymore, Lahinch, pleaded guilty to handling three stolen cattle from two farmers in the north Clare area in 2003/4.

Mr O’Doherty escaped a prison term and was ordered to perform 200 hours community service and pay €10,000 towards the investigation.

Mr O’Doherty was convicted of handling two stolen cattle that were the property of Doolin farmer, Michael Danagher.

An angry Mr Danagher said yester- day that the imposition of the com- munity service on Mr O’Doherty was “ridiculous. He got off scot- free”.

“It was made out in court that they were the victims. What about us? We were the victims. There was nothing about us in court.

‘“[ have a young family. At the time, I had only five animals in my herd

and I spent three weeks looking round all of north Clare for my ani- mals,” he said.

“Having to pay €10,000 is only a drop in the ocean to that farmer with all the land that he has,” he said.

Mr Danagher said that he went to the farmyard of Mr O’Doherty. One of the animals that Mr Danagher spotted at Mr O’Doherty’s yard was his 15-year-old cow.

He said, “She was staggering around she was so thin. I had to feed her a tonne of nuts to get her back on her feet.”

A 19 YEAR old Bristol man has been remanded until August after he reap- peared in court on Friday on charges in connection with an assault which left a 20 year old rugby fan from County Clare fighting for his life.

James “Jamie” Egan (19) from Kilmihil is now reported to be in a “stable condition” at Frenchay North Bristol Hospital after being attacked in a pub there on May 23 last.

He had been on the critical list for a number of days before that.

James had been staying in the city and was due to travel to Cardiff to see Munster play in the Heineken Cup Final the following day. However,

the Limerick Institute of Technology engineering student was rushed to hospital with life threatening injuries following an incident in a bar.

Darren O’Neill from Bristol was arrested soon after the attack and was later charged with causing griev- ous bodily harm (GBH).

He first appeared at Bristol Mag- istrates Court on Monday, May 26, where he was remanded to the Bris- tol Crown Court where he appeared on Friday last.

According to a _ spokesperson for Bristol Crown Court, “Darren O’Neill appeared at Bristol Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on May 30. He was remanded to appear at this court on August 29 next.”

Police were called to the scene at the Chicago Rock bar, Bristol Wa- terfront, at around midnight on Fri- day May 23 where they found James Egan seriously injured.

It is understood that Mr Egan had returned to his hotel following an earlier incident, but left the hotel again at around midnight. He was subsequently assaulted by aman ina bar on Bristol’s waterfront.

A short time later in a nearby pub, Darren O’Neill, with an address in Bristol, was arrested and taken into custody.

The injured man’s mother Carmel flew to Bristol from Clare to be at her son’s bedside the morning after the AAA EANOL