Category: News

THE mother of one of the Kilkee teenage girls killed in a car driven by a 15-year-old has called on the Director of Public Prosecutions to appeal the length of sentence handed to David Naughton.

At Ennis Circuit Court last Thursday, Naughton – now aged 19 – was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of friends and neighbours, Stacey Haugh (16) and Lorna Mahoney (13) on October 17, 2003.

After the three-year term was imposed, Lorna’s mother, Geraldine broke down in tears, shaking her head from side to side.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the outcome of the case, Ms Mahoney told The Clare People , “I believe that the sentence is not long enough and doesn’t deter anyone from doing the same thing.

“The message seems to be ‘take two lives, you get three years, you’ll be out in two and the State will pay your costs’. The State is saying ‘boyracers, keep doing what you are doing because you are not going to pay’.”

At her home in Kilkee yesterday, Ms Mahoney said the families had been let down by the State in the prosecution of the case.

“There has been a catalogue of blunders. First he was granted bail after absconding from the unit in Galway. He absconds in February 2004 and it takes until June of this year to find his whereabouts, even though he first came before the English courts in September 2004.

“Then the European Arrest Warrant used to extradite him contained only one charge so the charge of driving without a licence, no insurance and no tax, had to be dropped.

“The maximum sentence for dangerous driving causing death is ten years but on the European arrest warrant, it said a maximum sentence of five years. So the judge had to start from five and give time off for a guilty plea and other mitigating factors.

“We would like answers as to who cocked-up, because there is no other description for it. My fear is that the State won’t appeal because it will be embarrassed having its blunders highlighted again. But we need answers and the only way to get those is through an appeal.”

The decision not to impose a driving ban on Naughton was described as by Ms Mahoney as “a joke”.

She also expressed anger that he was not punished for absconding and said he had been rewarded for it.

SENIOR members of Clare County Council yesterday defended overseas trips by councillors, claiming that they represented value for money to the taxpayer.

In recent weeks, local authority delegations from Clare have visited Barcelona, Norwich, Sweden and Scotland with the cost to the taxpayer approaching an estimated €35,000.

However, the council’s use of Ryanair on all the trips has cutback costs. Chairman of the council’s Transport Special Policy Committee (SPC), PJ Kelly stated that the trip to Prestwick in Scotland cost €13 each way along with taxes for each member.

Cllr Kelly was leading a delegation into coastal protection and coastal erosion in Scotland, while the 11strong group also investigated piers and harbours and sewerage plants in Scotland.

Cllr Kelly said, “The trip was unbelievable value for money. The trip was for five days, but I know that by day two, some of the lads would have loved to have come home, as we came across some atrocious weather.

“It was worthwhile and very strenuous. It was hard work. We could learn a lot from the way the Scots do things and they could learn a lot from us.”

Cllr Kelly said each member of the delegation was given £160 “pocket money”. He said, “You wouldn’t have been going home with money in your pocket.”

A separate council delegation headed for Sweden to investigate a town’s plans to become fossil-free by 2030.

Leader of that delegation, chairperson of the council’s Special Policy Committee for the Environment, Cllr Patricia McCarthy, said that the trip offered good value for money.

“You get out what you put into it and we were well prepared and the trip was beneficial.

“It is important that these trips do take place and I am very grateful for the people that did go along as it means time away from their families,” she said.

The trip to Sweden was Cllr Brian Meaney’s first trip overseas with the council in his two years in office. He is a regular critic of council’s overseas trips.

“I have always maintained that if a trip had educational value, I would consider it and the trip to Sweden was beneficial in the extreme . . .

“We saw what can be done and this area has shown the area the way forward in becoming fossil fuel free and a we also saw model whereby we could recover heat lost in the chimney stacks at Moneypoint and provide hot water for the town of Kilrush.”

A LEADING member of the Shell-to-Sea campaign will speak at a specially organised public meeting in Ennis later this month.

Sean Harrington, who is a brother of Mayo school teacher Maura Harrington, will address the public meeting at the second stage in Glór at 8.30pm on November 23.

Mr Harrington is himself a prominent member of the Shell-to-Sea organisation.

His sister gained national recognition earlier this month when she was hospitalised following an altercation with gardaí at the site of the proposed gas refinery at Bellanaboy in Mayo.

Meanwhile, the award winning Channel 4 documentary “The Drilling Fields” will be shown as part of a Clare Shell-to-Sea fundraising evening, which will take place at the Astor Cinema in Scariff this Saturday from 8pm.

The documentary tells the story of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a Nigerian man who was hanged along with 8 other men for his opposition to a Shell project in the Ogoni region of the Niger Delta.

“The main purpose of this evening is to get bums on seats for the international day of protest against Shell on November 10,” said Niall Harnett of Clare Shell-to-Sea.

“There will be busses from all over the country travelling to Mayo for the day and we would be expecting a good turnout in Clare.”

A large number of Nigerians are expected to travel to Mayo for the international day of protest on November 10.

All proceeds from the film evening will go towards funding busses from Clare to Bellanaboy for the day of protest.

GARDAÍ are treating as suspicious

a fire that destroyed the community

hall in Drumgeely, Shannon, on Fri-

day morning.

The blaze at the disused hall broke

out shortly before 9am and despite

efforts by two fire units to salvage the

building, it was totally destroyed.

While gardaí are awaiting the re-

sults of forensics’ findings, they be-

lieve the fire was started malicious-

ly.

“We believe it was deliberate and

we are following certain lines of en-

quiry in relation to it. We have not

yet established the cause of the fire,”

said a Garda spokesman. SHE also expressed anger that he was not punished for absconding and said he had been rewarded for it.

Ms Mahoney said that the threeyear ordeal since the girls’ deaths had left her angry with the legal system.

“It has been three years of frustration. We are angry too that as families of victims, we don’t have a voice. That someone can do this to your family and create this much havoc and the sentence is three years, says to you ‘what was the value of your child’s life?’”

The court was told last Thursday that Naughton didn’t have the social skills to face the families to say sorry and instead apologised to the families

This was the second time the build-

ing was damaged by fire – in August

2001 the annex was burnt but, most

of the hall remained intact.

Friday’s fire has marked the end of

a long and sometimes controversial

history of the building. It has been in

private ownership since 1992 when it

was sold by Shannon Development.

It had steadily fallen into decay un-

til renovations were undertaken over

the past three months.

Locals were concerned that the

hall – which was located between the

blocks of flats and the houses nearby

– had not been used in recent years

and they are now saddened that it has

been lost to the community.

Chairperson of the Drumgeely Resthrough his counsel.

Ms Mahoney said, “I don’t believe youth? Why aren’t his parents or the he is sincere. There is no remorse. We Western Health Board answerable?” are told he had no social skills, but he had plenty of social skills to buy a car the case was very hard to explain to and get two girls into a car who didn’t her other children. want to get into it.

“How much social skill do you need it is hard passing it everyday where to say ‘I’m sorry?’ He could’ve had she should be now sitting the Leaving access to us anytime over the three Certificate. Lorna’s class will be havyears. ing their debs this year and she won’t

“I have an intolerance of him. It be there. would be easier if he had shown remorse, because nobody goes out to do would she be like now? Would she something like that. still be the tomboy she always was or

“There are penalties for people who would she have refined. I know one sell alcohol and cigarettes to people thing that would never have changed under 18, but what about people who and that is her love of animals.” sell cars to minors? Are they not liable for prosecution? idents Association, Beatrice Keville, said the fire marked “another episode in a very long, sad saga. It has been going on for so long now.

“It was originally a hall where everything in Shannon happened, but that changed 14 or 15 years ago,” she said.

Local resident Derek Barrett said Drumgeely residents were sorry to have lost the hall.

“Drumgeely hall was the first thing that was built for the community in Shannon. It was a notable entity. It was a church for some people, others went there to set dance or to discos, while some people played tennis or badminton there. I had my First Communion after-tea there. That was all “Who was responsible for this Ms Mahoney said the outcome of “We live near the local school and “You wonder, three years on, what Shannon had at the time. It was the town centre at one point in time. It is such a shame that it is gone,” said Mr Barrett.

Work on clearing the site got underway yesterday (Monday). Mr Barrett said locals now wanted the area to be cleaned up and made safe.

Local Councillor Tony Mulcahy (FG) has called for the site to be converted into a play area for children.

“It certainly was an eyesore. It would be best for all if it was covered over and grass put in its place now,” he said.

ENNIS-BASED Mangans’ Wholesale has acquired McCambridge’s, the Galway-based food and wine specialists, in a deal that will broaden the Clare firm’s operational base in Connacht.

McCambridge’s is a long-established and well-known supplier of food and beverages to a wide variety of catering outlets including restaurants, pubs, hotels and coffee shops in the west. McCambridge’s staff will remain with the business, which will operate from Mangans’ premises at Monivea Road in Galway.

Head of Mangans’ Foodservice, Niall Mangan, said the two businesses will be combined before the busy Christmas period.

“We have admired the McCambridge business for some time. It is a perfect fit with ours and will broaden our geographic spread within Connacht. The resources of the two businesses will be combined within Galway City to serve the needs of foodservice professionals in the region.”

McCambridge’s Managing Director, Eoin McCambridge, said that the acquisition would mean increased buying strength and capability for the combined business and a substantially enhanced product range. He added that he planned to leave the wholesale business and concentrate on development plans for the McCambridge retail store in Shop Street, Galway. The retail shop will be unaffected by this transaction.

Mangans’ is a family-owned company with 74 years’ experience of food wholesaling and is the largest member of Stonehouse, a €1 billion Irish-owned buying group. Mangans’ operate in eight locations throughout Ireland.

THE father of a murdered Kilrush woman has been warned he may face a jail term if he fails to pay compensation for damage he caused to a neighbour’s house.

Stephen Walsh (56), of Pella Road, Kilrush, admitted damaging a door panel at a house in the early hours of July 17, 2004.

Garda Seamus Gleeson told Ennis Circuit Court the cost of repairing the damage to Raymond Conway’s house was €1,300.

Mr Conway had installed a video camera in the house, which was been renovated, and it showed the accused – and his co-accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons – throwing blocks at the house.

“The two pushed in the gate. Both had a concrete block and a bar in each hand. You could see them throwing the blocks and running out the gate,” said the garda.

Mr Walsh’s barrister Pat Whyms said there has been considerable history between the Walsh and Conway families. The court was told there were allegations of threats on both sides of the dispute.

Judge Con Murphy said the case was very difficult. He said Stephen Walsh went out “deliberately” in the dark hours to a neighbouring house. “This was a vigilante type act with intimidation and gangsterism written all over it,” he said.

He said he was taking into account the accused’s guilty plea and that his daughter was murdered since the offence took place. However he said the accused did not pay compensation and this indicated there was no real remorse.

“This type of act has to be severely frowned upon. I have no option but to sentence him to one year in jail. It would have been higher but for the relatively small amount of repairs,” said the judge.

Mr Whyms then pointed out to the judge that there was “severe provocation,” and asked him to suspend the sentence.

Judge Murphy said, “You cannot, in any town in Ireland, have people taking the law into their own hands. The way to show people are gone past that is to pay compensation.”

Mr Whyms said his client took out a €6,000 loan to pay for his daughter Ann’s funeral last year and he would seek to increase that loan.

The judge said he would adjourn the case and said “if compensation is here, I might well take a slightly more lenient view. I have given a very, very clear indication of the way I am going. This carry-on has to stop.”

THE search for the body of a 35year-old Polish fisherman who was washed out to sea by a freak wave will resume today off the Clare coast.

The man was fishing with a work colleague on Sunday at Tullig, north of Cross village, when a five-foot swell swept them into the sea.

His colleague was subsequently washed back on to the rocks and raised the alarm.

Both men worked in Limerick but did not know each other very well.

Kilrush Superintendent Joe McKeon said that gardaí used their contacts in the Polish community to help identify the man now presumed drowned.

It is believe he was married with four children, and was due to return to his Poland for a visit next week.

Gardaí were yesterday using his passport for identification purposes, but he cannot be named until the Polish embassy opens today.

A day-long search yesterday in dangerous conditions failed to recover the body. The search began early in the morning, but had to be abandoned as darkness fell at 4.55pm.

A pair of waders was found close to the scene of the accident last evening, but they have not yet been identified as belonging to the deceased.

The Kilkee Marine Rescue Service, Kilkee and Doolin Coastguard and the Shannon Coastguard Helicopter were assisted in the search by members of the Kilkee Diving Club from all over Ireland who had been spending the weekend in the Clare resort.

Members of the accident victim’s family are also believed to be planning to come to Clare to assist in the search.

Local people said that while the area would be known for mackerel, Tullig was not regarded as a fishing area.

Member of the Kilkee Marine Rescue Service Manuel di Lucia said the two Polish men would not be aware of the dangers of fishing in the area.

He said that a swell like that, which washed them out to sea, would look smaller from the top of the cliff.

Last July, a 35-year-old father of two from Latvia was taking scenic photographs close to the lighthouse at Loop Head when he lost his footing and fell 80 feet to his death off the cliff’s edge landing on the ledge below.

It is also one year this weekend since three young men lost their lives off the cliffs in Doolin.

LABOUR Affairs Minister, Tony Killeen, officially opened an information and education event for Survivors of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), their families and carers, healthcare workers and professionals in Limerick last week.

The day was a collaboration spearheaded by The Peter Bradley Foundation, the ABI specific service provider, in partnership with BRÍ, the national ABI advocacy association.

The aim of the event was to give those affected by brain injury an opportunity to listen to a range of ABI specialists and to share their personal experiences of living with an ABI.

Minister Killeen said that, “every year about 10,000 people in Ireland are admitted to hospital with a head injury. Sadly, many of these suffer long-term ill-effects. Advances in medical science have dramatically improved survival rates. However, brain injured people and their families face huge challenges when they are discharged from hospital. Today, we seek to ensure that the gaps in the service are pinpointed and addressed”.

Mick Clavin, Chairman of BRÍ, highlighted that “brain injured people and their families can reach their fullest potential by pooling their experience in living with brain injury, and by seeking and advocating for and influencing the development of specialist rehabilitation services.

“If you want to know what a brain injured person wants, you ask a brain injured person”.

THOUSANDS of counterfeit DVDs and €3,000 worth of fireworks were seized by gardaí in Ennis in separate operations over the weekend.

An assortment of fireworks were confiscated, during a planned search of a house on the outskirts of Ennis on Sunday morning. A man in his 20s was questioned at the scene and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Gardaí say they believe the variety of fireworks were for sale in the Ennis market for Halloween and are warning that people found in possession of fireworks will be prosecuted.

“Some of these will be sent for analysis to the forensic science laboratory, while the rest will be destroyed,” said a Garda source.

This seizure followed a seizure of €150 worth of fireworks, along with three forged drivers’ licences, at a house in Miltown Malbay last Thursday.

A man was questioned in relation to those fireworks.

Last month, €800 worth of fireworks was seized when a van was stopped and searched in Inagh. Two men, from the Ennis area, were questioned by gardaí. Gardai believe these fireworks were intended for sale in various parts of the county, in the run-up to Halloween.

The existence of fireworks throughout the county in recent weeks has prompted gardaí to reiterate their warnings that fireworks are illegal and dangerous.

“We are warning about the dangers of fireworks. Several children have been taken to hospital with injuries in other parts of the country. We cannot stress this enough,” added the source.

Separately, gardaí swooped on a house in Ennis on Saturday morning and seized thousands of counterfeit DVDs, which they said were to be sold on the Internet, all over the world. Computer records were also seized. A man in his 40s from the Ennis area was questioned at the scene.

The DVDs will be analysed and a file will then be prepared for the DPP.

“We believe a lot of the DVDs were genuine, but many of them were being copied and the copies were intended for sale, via the internet, all over the world. Many of the DVDs are not new releases. We believe collectors were being targeted and they believed they were buying original dvds, when that was not the case,” said a Garda source.

“We will have to examine the DVDs that were seized. This operation was part of an ongoing investigation. All sales were Internet-based,” he added.

THE National Roads Authority will not use the controversial cable wire crash barrier system on the Ennis bypass, but has instead opted for a concrete wall which will run the entire 14-kilometre length of the new N18 dual carriageway.

The NRA has come in for severe criticism in recent years for its use of the cable system which motorcyclists have described as “lethal” and nothing short of “human cheese wire.”

Earlier this year, a 10km stretch of the N18 Shannon to Limerick dualcarriageway was fitted with the cable crash barrier. MAG Ireland, the Motorcyclists Action Group which represents 40,000 motorcyclists, slated the system as a “potentially life-threatening hazard to motorcyclists.”

The NRA has confirmed, however, that it has opted for a concrete barrier system, also known as the Jersey Barrier, for the new section of the N18 eastern bypass of Ennis, which will run from Dromoland to just north of Crusheen.

MAG Ireland spokesman Jimmy Kenny has said, “The crash barrier installed on the new Ennis Bypass is certainly an improvement on the cable system and is more motorcyclefriendly. It is definitely a move in the right direction that the Government didn’t opt for the cheap option this time and go with the cable system.

“We are still calling on the Government to remove all cable crash barriers and replace them with motorcycle-friendly barriers. The Government here went for the cheap option when it decided to use the cable system on other routes including in another part of the N18 in Clare. They didn’t consider the consequences for motorcyclists who collide with the barrier.”

The NRA has confirmed that the entire N18 Ennis Bypass mainline will have a continuous one-metre high concrete median barrier.