Month: October 2012

A MAN who damaged an ambulance and insulted paramedics near Ennis General Hospital has received a suspended six-month prison sentence.

Paul Daly (50) was convicted of a breach of the peace and two counts of criminal damage in April.

The charges relate to an incident that occurred near Ennis General Hospital on Sandfield Road in Ennis on October 23 (2011). Mr Daly contested the charges.

The court previously heard that Mr Daly, with an address at 41 Sandfield Centre, Ennis kicked and banged an ambulance and another vehicle belonging to the Health Services Executive (HSE).

Medical personnel gave evidence of Mr Daly behaving in an aggressive manner towards a paramedic.

The disturbances occurred as emergency services responded to an urgent call of a person who was lying on Sandfield Road.

Mr Daly previously told the court that he had been frustrated by noise levels generated from construction work that had been ongoing at the hospital at the time.

A total of € 1100 worth of damage was caused to the HSE jeep while € 500 euros of damage was caused to the ambulance in the incident.

A report from the Probation Services was handed into Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Defence solicitor Daragh Hassett described Mr Daly as a “complex individual” who had problems with alcohol. Mr Hassett said he had concerns over his client’s mental health. He added, “I think this man needs assistance.”

Mr Hassett told the court that Mr Daly has not been in any further trouble since the incident.

During proceedings, Mr Daly attempted to address Judge Patrick Durcan directly, at one point saying, “You call people in here to justify their actions and you don’t justify yours. It’s a two way street.”

Mr Hassett said that Mr Daly, who is originally from Dublin, holds “certain views”.

He added, “I don’t think he’s suitable for prison.”

Judge Durcan imposed a fine of € 250 and two consecutive three month prison sentences.

By virtue of Mr Daly’s circumstances and Mr Hassett’s comments on his behalf, Judge Durcan said he was suspending the sentences for a period of 12 months.

A SHANNON student has been told to be on his best behaviour over the coming months or face a “lengthy stretch” behind bars.

Mark Hayes (23), with an address at 106 Aidan Park, Shannon, received the warning at Ennis District Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.

The court heard that Mr Hayes was involved in an altercation near Supermacs in Shannon town centre on November 21 (2011).

Inspector Michael Gallagher told the court that Mr Hayes called another man a “poof” and grunted at him in an aggressive manner.

Solicitor Daragh Hassett told the court that Mr Hayes and his brother had been set upon by another group of people.

He said Mr Hayes appreciates that the attendance of the gardaí on the night prevented the situation from getting worse.

Mr Hassett told the court that Mr Hayes is a full time student and has been accepted at Limerick Institute of Technology.

He said his client had endured a difficult upbringing.

The court heard that Mr Hayes has previous convictions for public order offences and violent disorder.

Judge Patrick Durcan said, “Your client in terms of previous convic- tions deserves a lengthy stretch.”

However, he said that Mr Hayes also deserved a chance to show he can “mend his ways.”

Judge Durcan adjourned the case until November 14 for review.

He ordered that a full report regarding Mr Hayes’ attendance and progress be provided on that date by his school.

Addressing Mr Hayes, Judge Durcan said;

“When you leave this court, buy a mirror, look at yourself and ponder where you are going.

“Its up to you whether you want to go to prison.”

Judge Durcan said the report should issue from the school after November 7.

AN Ennis teenager found to have been selling cannabis to his friends was fortunate to have been caught by the gardaí, a court has heard.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Anthony McNamara (18), with an address at 14 Sean Dun, Tulla Road, Ennis pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and having the drug for sale or supply on February 13 (2012).

The court heard that members of the Clare divisional drugs squad found cannabis valued at € 940 during a search, under warrant, of 14 Sean Dún, Tulla Road, Ennis on February 13. The court heard that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the matter.

Judge Patrick Durcan accepted jurisdiction. Inspector Michael Gallagher explained that quantities of cannabis were found in tinfoil wraps and small plastic bags.

Insp Gallagher said the accused admitted selling the cannabis. He said gardaí accepted that this was the first time Mr McNamara had engaged in drug dealing.

Defence solicitor Joe Chambers told the court that his client had sold the drugs to his friends and not “Joe Public”. He said Mr McNamara was rarely paid by his friends.

Mr Chambers added, “This was a tight knit matter in which he was the mule.” Mr McNamara had never come to garda attention before this incident, the court heard.

Mr Chambers said his client was fortunate to have been caught so early. He added, “There was a certain innocence to what he was about.”

Mr Chambers told the court that Mr McNamara no longer smokes cannabis.

“He needed a sharp reminder of what he is doing is wrong”, he said. Insp Gallagher said Mr McNamara “wouldn’t be a typical drug dealer.”

Judge Patrick Durcan ordered that Mr McNamara engage with the Probation services. He adjourned the case until November 14.

A Kilrush man has been sentenced to five months in prison for offences committed on the premises of a shop in the West Clare town earlier this year.

Patrick Hall (26), with an address at 3 Chapel Street, Kilrush, appeared before Ennis District Court on Tuesday.

Mr Hall pleaded guilty charges of theft, trespassing and criminal damage.

The charges arose out of an incident at Patrick Burke Menswear in Kilrush on March 26.

After hearing a brief outline of the facts of the case, Judge Patrick Durcan accepted jurisdiction.

Garda Conor Flaherty of Kilrush Garda Station told the court that gardaí responded to a call of a man on the roof of Patrick Burke Menswear.

Garda Flaherty said that he observed Mr Hall damaging an air con- ditioning unit.

He said the accused took a copper pipe from the unit. Mr Hall was arrested but gave no explanation for taking the pipe.

The court heard that € 200 worth of damage was caused.

No compensation has been paid. Inspector Tom Kennedy said Mr Hall has 43 previous convictions.

Solicitor William Cahir said his client has suffered from serious alcohol and drug problems.

He said Mr Hall is a “gentlemen who is easily led.”

Mr Cahir said that Mr Hall is apologetic for his “mindless beahviour.”

Inspector Kennedy said Mr Hall’s activity had “caused an awful lot of difficulty” to gardaí in Kilrush.

Judge Durcan imposed a five-month sentence for criminal damage and a three-month concurrent sentence. The sentence was made retrospec tive to July.

A DEAL to purchase Tinarana House in East Clare looks set to be complete before the end of the month as three separate offers have been made for the property.

The property, which was bought for an estimated € 14 million less than a decade ago, is likely to be sold for € 2 million.

The property is being sold by GVM Auctioneers in Limerick, who yesterday confirmed that a deal was imminent.

“We have had a lot of interest in the property and a lot of viewings. At the moment, we are looking at three different offers which I would describe as being substantial,” said Tom Crosse of GVM.

“While I can’t give any more detail about the offers, I can say that they are in the region of the € 2 million guide price. Things are moving quickly and we would expect a deal to be finalised before the end of the month.”

Located in Ogonnelloe, Tinarana House boasts 16 bedrooms and 222 acres of grassland and woodland.

Plans had been approved by Clare County Council to convert the property into a major tourism, sports and leisure centre but planning permission for a € 100 million development at the site were turned down by An Bord Pleanála.

One of the reasons for overturning the local authority planning permission was that it was in an area designated as visually vulnerable in the 2005. The latest version of the Clare County Development Plan sites the development of a tourism facility at Tinerana House as one of its desired outcomes.

Meanwhile, the Merriman Hotel in Kinvara was purchased last week for an undisclosed fee, understood to be in the region of € 400,000. The 32bedroom hotel was due to go up for auction on Saturday but an agreement was reached before the auction could take place.

Auctioneer for the sale, Colm O’Donnellan could not give any detail of the final sale price of the property but did confirm that the property was sold as a going concern and will be relaunched as a hotel.

GARDAÍ have launched an investigation after a man was stabbed at his home in Shannon.

The serious assault occurred at around 6.30am on Sunday morning in Cluain Airne, Shannon.

The occupier of the house opened his front door and was then stabbed in the stomach by a man who was standing outside. The man then fled the scene.

The injured man called the emergency services and was treated at the scene before being taken to Limerick Regional Hospital for treatment but his condition isn’t believed to be life threatening.

Gardaí have released details of the person they believe is responsible for the attack. He is described as being 5’8” in height and approximately 2021 years of age. He was wearing a navy jacket with an Eircom logo on the back.

Gardaí say he may have had a black eye. The injured man is currently recovering in hospital.

Gardaí in Shannon are appealing for anyone with information on the incident or anyone who may have seen anything to contact them.

STRIKE action will take place at Shannon Airport later this month if “meaningful” progress on the issue of pensions is not made in the coming week. That was the SIPTU warning after the union announced it was to temporarily suspend planning rolling strikes at Shannon, Cork and Dublin airports.

Strike action was due to begin at Shannon Airport yesterday, October 1, but this has been put on ice to allow for further negotiations to take place.

Union bosses say they will “reluctantly” re-enter talks at Labour Relations Commission (LRC) with the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and Aer Lingus this week.

This comes following warnings from the Aer Lingus top brass that they would sue the union officials personally for any revenue lost as a result of the strike.

Despite the mini breakthrough in the dispute, SIPTU officials warned that they have merely removed the strike notice temporarily and still have a mandate to strike at Shannon if progress is not made.

The dispute centres on a € 170 million shortfall in Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme, a pension jointly operated by DAA, Aer Lingus and SR Technics. The dispute involves a large number of SIPTU members but Impact, Unite, Mandate and the TEEU members are also involved.

Meanwhile, new figures released by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) show that number of flights using Shannon Airport continued to fall in August, despite an overall increase nationally.

An average of 56 flights used Shannon Airport each day in August, a 4.7 per cent drop on the previous year. There was also a 1.7 per cent drop at Cork Airport, but these figures were offset by a 2.7 per cent increase in the number of flights using Dublin Airport.

Nationally, the August figures are encouraging for Ireland as it was the first time this year that en-route traffic movements, North Atlantic communications flights and international arrivals and departures have all shown an increase.

PRELIMINARY discussions have taken place between Ennis Town Council and landowners about the future development of the current site of Ennis National School.

It is understood that the council met with representatives of Eircom and other stakeholders located near the Kilrush Road site last month.

The site is zoned for commercial purposes under the current Ennis and Environs Development Plan. The land is owned by Ennis Parish.

Council officials, landowners and representatives of Ennis Parish have held preliminary discussions with the aim of developing an integrated plan for the overall development of the site. It is thought that individual planning applications would not receive approval.

A spokesperson for Killaloe Diocese said that these discussions would also involve the Department of Education and Skills, who own the school buildings.

Ennis parish administrator Fr Tom Hogan said the discussions between all parties are at a “very preliminary stage”.

Local councillor Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said he would be concerned about the impact any development would have on the Kilrush Road area.

He said, “I know myself from parents trying to drop off kids at the school, it’s impossible to get back out onto the road with the traffic. You have a lot of residents too living on that road and they would have to be consulted as well. The residents there have expressed concerns over traffic.”

Ennis National School has been located at its current site since 1971. The school is expected to move to a new building at Ashline within the next two years.

The new site is a 2.34 hectare, fully-serviced, green-field site. The works project involves the construction of a new 32-classroom school including ancillary accommodation in an 18-month building programme. An extended school hall, dressing rooms, shower facilities and a pitch have also been incorporated into the plans.

These extra facilities will not be funded by the department so the school has set up a fundraising committee. Construction work has started at the site and is expected to be completed by September 2013.

ENNIS Courthouse was witness to some chaotic scenes last week as fighting broke out on several occasions in the foyer of the building as cases were being heard inside the courtroom.

An eyewitness described the scenes as “something out of the wild west” as people attacked each other as court cases were being heard just yards away on the other side of the courtroom door.

The noise and screaming from the incidents required the court to be stopped as gardaí rushed outside to intervene.

The court was interrupted on three separate occasions as a result and 29 gardaí were forced to deal with con- frontations between various families in the foyer of the courthouse. Three people appeared in court on Tuesday charged in connection with the events. Insp Kennedy told the court subsequently that there were indications that more people could be charged in connection with the disturbances.

Judge Patrick Durcan said the business of the court had been greatly disturbed on Tuesday.

He said, “Twenty nine members of the gardaí on three occasions had to leave at speed and stop a melee that was audibly evident.”

He added; “This kind of behaviour around courthouses will not be tolerated.”