Category: News

A MAN charged in connection with an attempted robbery at a shop in Shannon has appeared before the Circuit Criminal Court.

Gerard Delaney (28) made a brief appearance before the Circuit Criminal Court in Ennis when his case was called on Wednesday.

A day earlier, Mr Delaney appeared before Ennis District Court where he was served with the book of evidence.

Mr Delaney, with an address at Inis Eagla, Shannon, is facing two charges arising from his alleged involvement in an attempted robbery at Mace Stores, Ballycasey Crescent, Shannon on June 24, 2014.

It is alleged Mr Delaney attempted to rob from a woman at the shop on the day in question.

He is further charged with the production of a knife during the course of attempted robbery, contrary to the f rearms and offensive weapons act. At Ennis District Court on Tuesday, Sgt Tim Ryan of Ennis Garda Station gave evidence of serving the book of evidence on the accused.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) consented to Mr Delaney being returned for trial, in custody.

Legal aid was approved for solicitor John Casey and one junior counsel. Judge Patrick Durcan delivered the alibi warning and made the order returning the accused for trial.

The case was called before Judge Gerald Keys in the circuit court on Wednesday.

Defence solicitor John Casey said he was seeking to have the matter adjourned to the call-over of cases on January 12, 2015.

Judge Keys remanded Mr Delaney in custody to appear again in court on January 12, when a date for trial will be f xed.

rity staff member Aidan O’Connor and Mr Cooper.

“I was taken from behind and put out the door for no reason”, he said.

Mr Sherlock said he repeatedly asked to see the manager but was pushed back by Mr Cooper.

“Kevin Cooper kept pushing me till I fell to the ground and when I was on the ground, I received a kick to the head”, he added. The court heard Mr Sherlock was taken to Limerick hospital where he received four sta

IS IT a bird? It is a plane? No, it actually is Superman. The hunt is on to discover the true identity of a mystery man who has taken to running along the dual-carriageway from Bunratty to Shannon dressed in a full Superman outf t. The Clare man-of-steel, who is believed to be a student in the Shannon College of Hotel Management, caused a big stir last week when he was spotted by motorists running the wrong way along the N-18 between and Bunratty and Shannon.

A large number of people reported spotting the runner early last Wednesday morning, October 29, with a number of motorists also reporting the bizarre incident. A picture, reported to by the mystery man himself, was posted online last week but, just like Superman himself, The Clare People has as yet not been to discover his true identity.

A spokesperson from the National Roads Authority (NRA) yesterday warned against people running on the N18, describing the practice as dangerous and a potential hazard.

All runners, cyclist and people using low powered or slow vehicles are prohibited from travelling on motorways, with runners only allowed on National Primary Roads with the permission of the Gardaí.

“The NRA would not recommend that anyone would run on this stretch of road,” said Sean O’Neil from the NRA.

“Runners are not permitted on the motorway under any circumstances. They are considered to be putting both themselves and motorists at risk.”

It would have taken the mystery runner more then half an hour to run the 8 kilometre roadway between Bunratty and Shannon – with the runner most likely turning off the main road just before it became a motorway.

THERE were unruly scenes at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin last week after Michael Maughan of Stone Court, Ennis, was convicted of murdering Piotr Nowakowski (peter nova kovskee) in Ennis last year.

Supporters of the accused man shouted abuse at the jury and overturned a bench in the court room.

It took the jury under 2 and a half hours to unanimously convict Michael Maughan (40) of the murder of Piotr Nowakowski at Sandf eld Mews in Ennis in July last year.

He had admitted manslaughter. The jury heard he stabbed the Polish man twice after they’d spent the day and night drinking together.

In a victim impact statement relatives said his loss is like ‘a big sadness taking our soul’.

Maughan’s lawyers offered his apologies and said he really regrets what he’s done. Justice Paul Carney imposed the mandatory life sentence for murder and the court rose.

After that there was uproar as a couple of Michael Maughan’s supporters overturned a bench and hurled verbal abuse at the jury before gardaí intervened to restore order.

Michael Maughan, had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Piotr Nowakowski, aged 31, at Sandf eld Mews, Ennis, on July 23, 2013.

The Central Criminal Court was told that the manslaughter plea was not acceptable to the prosecution and a jury was sworn in for the one-week trial. Maughan had also pleaded not guilty to assaulting Declan O’Dea at the same address on the same date. The jury of seven men and f ve women found him guilty on both counts by unanimous decision after two hours and 23 minutes.

Mr Justice Paul Carney handed down the mandatory life sentence for the murder to run concurrently with four years for the assault. He backdated both sentences to July 24, 2013, for time spent in custody.

Mr Nowakowski was stabbed twice and died in an ambulance on the way to Shannon Airport, from where he was to be airlifted to hospital in Cork. The court heard that Maughan and his brother had been drinking with the men in the apartment in the Sandf eld complex earlier that day and returned there that night.

He told gardaí he was angry when he was not allowed in.

He said he lifted his brother in through a window so he could let him in the front door.

Maughan told gardaí that he went into the bedroom where Mr O’Dea and Mr Nowakowski were asleep.

After Mr Nowakowski followed him into to the kitchen, he got paranoid and grabbed a carving knife from the counter.

He told gardaí he “just went berserk” and he stabbed him twice in the side. The court heard the deceased received several blows and was stabbed before receiving a further kick to the head.

A JUDGE is considering imposing a two-year prison term on a woman for what he called a “vicious assault on a completely innocent person”.

The 20-year-old woman pleaded guilty at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Friday to robbery of a handbag and items with a total value of € 1780 from a woman on O’Connell Street, Ennis on September 2, 2014.

After hearing details of the drink fuelled robbery where the female victim was punched, kicked and pulled to the ground, Judge Gerald Keys said he had in mind a two-year prison sentence.

“This type of carry on has to stop”, the Judge said.

Judge Keys also noted the victim was too intimidated to come to court.

Garda Darren Lynch told the court gardaí met the female victim in a “quite distressed state” after responding to reports of a robbery outside the Old Ground Hotel at around 11.50pm on the night in question.

He said swelling was visible on the woman’s face.

The court heard the victim was walking on O’Connell Street when she noticed someone walking behind her.

As the woman neared the entrance of the hotel, her attacker ran in front of her and asked her for a cigarette.

The woman said she did not smoke and at this point the accused made an attempt to cover her face. Garda Lynch said at this point, the victim became afraid.

He told the court the accused then punched the woman twice, knocking her to the ground.

After attempting to grab the woman’s bag, the accused then kicked her a number of times.

“At that moment she described herself as screaming for help”, Garda Lynch said.

Asked if the woman had been informed of her right to make a victim impact statement, Garda Lynch said she had.

However Garda Lynch said the woman has not been herself since the attack.

He said the victim was afraid to come to court because she knows her attacker.

“She would feel intimidated by coming here,, he added.

The attack was witnessed by a taxi driver.

“He witnessed the attack and the ferociousness of the attack”, Garda Lynch said.

The accused was arrested half a mile away approximately 70 minutes after the robbery.

The accused also discarded the handbag on O’Connell Street and all items were recovered.

The accused was arrested and told gardaí she consumed a f agon of ci der, two bottles of wine and a few cans prior to the robbery.

However Garda Lynch said the woman later minimised the amount she had drunk.

He agreed with Prosecuting Counsel Stephen Coughlan’s view the attack was the product of the accused’s “bad temper and the consumption of liquor”.

Defence Counsel Pat Whyms said his client is “very sorry for what she did”.

Judge Keys said, “I regard this as a vicious assault on a completely innocent person”.

He said he had in mind a two-year sentence. However Judge Keys adjourned f nal sentencing after requesting further clarif cation of issues raised by the defence in relation to the personal circumstances of the accused.

The woman was remanded in custody to appear again in court on November 7.

the onset of winter.

It is unclear if the dolphin was alive when it was initially washed ashore at Fanore, but the body was badly damaged when it was discover by a member of the public on Monday.

“It looks like a striped dolphin, a species that is frequently stranded, often alive, but rarely observed in Irish waters. They are an offshore pelagic species occurring in deep water,” said Simon Berrow of the Clare based Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG).

“They typically occur in warmer waters than Ireland and the increase in stranding records could be due to a warming of our waters associated with climate change.”

The IWDG co-ordinate the cetacean stranding scheme in Ireland and ask that all sightings of stranded dolphins, whales and porpoises are reported to them by email on strandings@iwdg.e or online on www. iwdg.ie.

The group have a network of recorders who visit stranded animals to record species, length and gender for long term monitoring.

IRISH WATER has doubled the charge for treated water in Clare since taking over the utility provision from Clare County Council.

The charge of € 2.44 per cubic metre of water set by Irish Water is a massive 49.1 per cent higher than the € 1.20 charged by the local authority for the same water, which runs through the same pipes and from the same source. A close examination of the water charge f gures also shows that Clare County Council proved better value for money when it came to disposing of waste water with its cost set at € 1.65 per cubic metre, as opposed to Irish Water’s charge of € 2.44. On Saturday, as water fell freely from the sky, almost 2,000 people marched against the water charges in Shannon and Ennis.

A 25-YEAR-old woman has rejected a Judge’s offer to cut her prison sentence by seven months.

At Ennis Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Gerald Keys said he was willing not to extend Bernadette Marrinan’s time in prison beyond January 2015, when the term of a prison sentence she received from the district court is due to expire.

Ms Marrinan, with a former address at Flat 3, Francis Street, Kilrush, was before the circuit court having pleaded guilty last month to possession of a 13-inch lump ham- mer at Hermitage, Ennis on March 14, 2014.

Judge Keys proposed a 10 month sentence with the f nal seven months suspended after saying the offence could have been dealt with in the district court had the facts been fully outlined to the district court Judge.

He said the balance of the sentence would be suspended on condition Ms Marrinan enter into a bond to be of good behaviour and commit to working with the Probation Services to deal with her drug addiction.

“I don’t agree”, Ms Marrinan replied after hearing the Judge’s offer. Ms Marrinan held a brief consultation with her legal team after which defence counsel, Pat Whyms, told the court his client did not want to enter into the bond.

“I really cannot understand why not, but that is her choice”, Judge Keys said.

Imposing a full 10-month sentence, the Judge said;

“If she has a change of mind I’m open to being persuaded to suspend the balance of the sentence”.

In the case, Garda Trevor Shannon of Ennis Garda Station said he and a colleague were on patrol when they met Ms Marrinan in Hermitage at around 4.50pm on March 14.

He said it was noticeable the accused was concealing an item. When gardaí asked her to produce the concealed item, Ms Marrinan took out the lump hammer.

Garda Shannon said Ms Marrinan told gardaí she had the weapon for her own protection.

Asked to outline the accused’s circumstances, Garda Shannon said Ms Marrinan had a “hard enough upbringing”, was homeless for a period and had developed an addiction to heroin.

She is currently serving a ninemonth sentence for theft imposed at Ennis District Court in June. Ms Marrinan has previous convictions for theft and criminal damage.

Garda Shannon said the thefts were mainly committed for food and to feed Ms Marrinan’s addiction.

After being told the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had recommended the case be dealt with in the district court, Judge Keys asked why jurisdiction had been refused by the district Judge.

Garda Shannon said the district court judge has an issue with weapons offences and believes they should be dealt with in the circuit court.

Judge Keys said that if the circumstances were fully outlined to the Judge, he would have accepted jurisdiction.

He imposed a 10-month sentence after Ms Marrinan rejected the offer to suspend seven months.

THE development of parking facilities at the Cliffs of Moher is still a live project according to Clare County Council, despite delays in gaining planning permission.

The world famous tourist attractions was granted more than half a million euro earlier this year to upgrade facilities in the coach and public parking facility at the cliffs. An application for planning permission for the works was lodged in March with a decision due on May 19 – but no decision has yet been announced.

This planning application is complicated by the original planning permission granted for the construction of the Cliffs of Moher Experience in 2007. Under the 2007 permission granted by Bord Pleanála, the public car park was to be a temporary facility, pending the development of a park and ride facility from Liscannor or Doolin – however, no park and ride has ever been developed.

A spokesperson from Clare County Council yesterday said that the application represented a “tidy up” of the temporary car park, rather than the development of a permanent facility.

“The Part VIII [planning permission] process is very much alive. Observations received from the NPWS required some further assessment work to be undertaken as the site is beside a Special Protection Area for certain species of bird. A specialised environmental consultant is preparing the further detailed data that is required,” said a spokesperson.

“The overall proposal for Part VIII is primarily a ‘tidy up’ of the car park to improve its presentation. Its proximity to an EU designated site requires the detailed analysis which encompasses the potential in combination effects of the recent development of the Cliffs Coastal Walk.”

The cliffs, which attracted in excess of 1 million visitors to Clare last year, has been operating using a gravel public car park for more than seven years now.

A grant of € 550,000 was made available to the facility earlier this year for the development of both the coach car park and the public car park as well the development of a new exhibition in the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience.

A FORMER student convicted of threatening to kill an Ennis based dentist last week sought to take up an offer to reduce his three-year prison sentence.

But at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday, Judge Gerald Keys told solicitor for Eoin Hannan (41) that his hands were tied with respect to the application. Judge Keys said he did not have jurisdiction to deal with Mr Hannan’s application after being told Mr Hannan has lodged an appeal with the Court of Criminal Appeal.

In March a jury unanimously found Eoin Hannan guilty of threatening to kill a dentist at his practice in Merchant Square, Ennis on May 11, 2012

Mr Hannan, with former addresses at Kilrush Road, Ennis and Shear Street, Kilmallock, Ennis was also found guilty of two counts of engaging in behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.

The jury at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court acquitted the accused of making a threat to burn down the practice. Mr Hannan had denied all charges. At his sentencing hearing in March, Mr Hannan received a threeyear prison term but Judge Keys said he would suspend 15 months of the sentence if Mr Hannan agreed to enter a bond to be of good behaviour, abide by the directions of the Probation Services, abstain from alcohol and take his medication.

Mr Hannan asked to leave the court to consider the offer and when the case resumed, barrister Michael Collins, who acted for Mr Hannan at his trial, told the court Mr Hannan continued to protest his innocence and did not want to enter into a bond.

At Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday, Mr Hannan sought to enter the bond to have the sentence reduced. Mr Hannan was represented in court by solicitor Daragh Hassett. Judge Keys told Mr Hassett he did not have jurisdiction to deal with the application as Mr Hannan had already lodged an appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal.

“As far as I am concerned, my hands are tied “, The judge said.

Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Stephen Coughlan, told Judge Keys that in relation to this matter the only order he could make was no order.