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GARDAI in Ennis are believed to have intercepted a Dublin gang plan- ning to commit a serious crime in the heart of the town.

As part of a major operation, armed gardai swooped and arrested five members of a suspected criminal gang on Parnell Street in Ennis on Friday morning.

Pedestrians looked on in aston- ishment as the five were taken into custody, while a car and van were taken by gardai for technical exami- nations.

The five men were taken for ques- tioning at Ennis and Shannon Garda stations, where they were held throughout the day. All five were released without charge on Saturday and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecution’s of- fice, where a decision will be taken on whether to charge them.

According to sources, the move- ments of the gang had been under surveillance for a number of weeks and this led to Friday’s major op- eration. They are understood to have been monitoring their business target in Ennis for some weeks.

There was the most significant Garda operation mounted in the county capital for a considerable pe- riod of time.

The other, separate, most prolific Garda operation in the town this winter was last month’s success- ful recovery of a haul of more than

€100,000 worth of jewellery which had been stolen from people’s homes across the town.

The jewellery was stolen during 55 burglaries over a six-week period and was recovered in a garage in the town five weeks ago.

This was on foot of the establish- ment of Operation Ennis, which was set up after dozens of home own- ers reported that their premises had been broken into during the daytime. Jewellery and cash were taken by the intruders as burglaries hit an all-time high in the town.

A major surveillance operation was set up and this led to the arrest of an individual. One man has been charged in connection with the in- vestigation — he is facing four charg- es — and the probe is continuing.

Some of the victims were delighted to have their valuable items of jewel- lery returned to them by gardai in- volved in the extensive investigation.

FIVE students who returned to edu- cation in St. John Bosco Community College, Kildysart, have been award- ed Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) awards in business studies, computer applications and special needs assist- ant training.

The college offers the business studies course certified by the Fur- ther Education and Training Awards Council of Ireland (FETAC). Re- cipients of certificates were Patricia Kelly, Kildysart; Mary McMahon, Ballyea; Stephanie McNamara, Lis- sycasey; Karina Mescal, Cooraclare, and Lorna Wallace, Cranny.

The course is co-ordinated by Betty Culligan and her co-tutors are Marie O’Callaghan, Mona Garry and Mairéad Doohan.

FETAC is the statutory body set up in 2001 to create opportunities for all learners in further education to have their achievements recognised nationally and internationally.

Marion Coughlan Flynn, col- lege principal, said it was a huge achievement on everyone’s part. Being awarded a FETAC certificate indicated that one had reached the precise standard. She complimented the students on their hard work and co-operation despite also having responsibilities at home. She also thanked the four teachers for their commitment and dedication to the Fe) acter

The graduating students would be worthy ambassadors for the Kildysart

course in years to come, and she en- couraged them to encourage others to take on a PLC experience, since they themselves had enjoyed and benefited so much from one.

FETAC representative Donal Grif- fin presented the certificates and sug- gested that the mature students might consider as one option the setting up small business. Big business often started from small initiative. There was also the option of taking up modules in other FETAC opportuni- ties for further study and training.

FETAC awards were a relatively new element in Irish education and gave a framework to people to start back on a ladder and afforded step- ping stones to progress through education. It was a huge and very positive change for all involved and contrasted greatly with previous times when no way back into educa- tion was possible if one stopped at a particular point. He was delighted that the college had become involved in that change.

He also complimented the four teachers who managed and pro- gressed the course and said he hoped the students would have found an ap- petite for further learning, whether in St. John Bosco College or elsewhere, to build on what they had achieved.

THE sister of a man accused of rap- ing and threatening to kill his preg- nant ex-partner has told a jury that she spoke to her brother on the phone during the alleged incident and he told her he wanted to commit sui- cide.

She said the accused told her eve- rything was “ok” and she also talked to the complainant, after hearing that her brother had hit her and the wom- an confirmed that she was not hurt.

“She said she was fine and it was not serious,’ the witness told the jury.

She said she asked her brother to ei- ther put the gun down or throw it out the window and leave the house.

She said she asked him, “Do you realise that the police think this is a hostage situation?” as that was what their father had earlier told her.

When asked by counsel if her broth- er was obsessed with the complain- ant, the witness replied “He loved her very much but I am not qualified to say if he was obsessed with her”.

The accused’s brother told the court that he rang the man after his sister called him. He said that his brother told him he was going to kill him-

self.

The trial was also told that a cousin of the accused contacted gardai be- cause he was worried about the man’s welfare after he noticed that his own shotgun and cartridges were missing from his home.

The witness said he “thought of the accused” because the man was de- pressed and was going through his own troubles. He went to the garda station after he spoke to the accused on the phone and realised he was in the company of his ex-partner.

He later talked to his cousin, with the phone on loudspeaker so the

gardai could listen in on their con- versation, during which the accused admitted he had hit his ex-partner AUN eM Melomcae tee

Sergeant Brian Howard said he took over the phone from the accused’s cousin and reassured the man that his and his ex-partner’s welfare were priority for the gardai and confirmed that they would not storm the house.

He also told him that he would give him any assistance, medical or oth- erwise, that he required.

Sgt Howard said he made an agree- ment with the accused to leave the shotgun in the back of his cousin’s

car and the man later complied with Wek

He then met the accused and the complainant at the back of her home and arrested him under the Mental Health Act.

On the way to the station the ac- cused started to cry and the com- plainant, who had asked to travel in the patrol car with him, leaned over and held his hand for the rest of the journey.

Sgt Howard said the complainant was injured and appeared to be both frightened and shocked.

Buyers look to Internet for cars

A WOMAN has denied in court that she made love to her ex-partner after he hit her. She said, “I can categori- cally 100 percent say it was not love. It was rape.”

She was giving evidence in the trial of a man who has pleaded not guilty to seven charges arising out of an al- leged incident in the complainant’s Clare home on September 9, 2007.

He denies three charges of rape, anal rape and oral rape of a woman, one charge each of falsely imprison- ing and threatening to kill her, aggra- vated burglary using a single-action shotgun and unlawful possession of a firearm, all on the same occasion.

He has pleaded guilty to one charge of assaulting the woman on the same occasion, causing her harm.

The woman told the court that the

43-year-old accused had announced that he was going to rape her before he did so.

She was surprised he had said that because minutes earlier he had de- clared his love for her.

She didn’t accept a suggestion from defence lawyers that the accused had a gun with him that night because he was intending to shoot himself.

She also didn’t accept that she started to row with her ex-partner when she woke up to find him in her room.

“He had a gun with him and I was not going to argue with him,” she said.

She said the accused was lying if he had told his counsel that he had not touched her in the face with the gun.

The complainant agreed that she had a cigarette with the accused that night. “I asked him for a cigarette be-

cause I was shaking. It was a break from his anger and it was a connec- tion between us to share a cigarette,” she said.

She said during the rape she had thought about trying to escape by poking the accused in the eye with a set of keys on the bed but she re- alised to get out she would have to jump out of a window when it was pitch black outside.

The complainant agreed with John Phelan SC, defending, that there was a “series of ups and downs” in their relationship, that there was a pattern of “moving in and moving out” and that they had “their share of fero- os (o) brome: 0 yca 000 8(o) 81 RcMe

The hearing continues today (Tues- day) before Mr Justice Barry White and a jury of five women and seven men, at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.

AFTER much delay, this highly an- ticipated decider is finally down for decision this weekend. Newmarket and Kilmaley were both finished their group stages before the com- mencement of the championship but due to the involvement of girls on county teams, both Under 18 and Junior and then Kilmaley’s run of great results and the decision to play the Under 18 club championship, the league has waited until what is near- ly Christmas week to see the final I eNierem

Ironically, it is a repeat of the pair- ing which lined out against each oth-

er in the senior championship final, where Kilmaley emerged victorious. Kilmaley have since won the Mun- ster Junior Club final while losing the All-Ireland final and last week- end, the county U18 final as well. They will be hoping to win the dou- ble and have in doing so chose not to leave this final go until next year as they have a number of girls from the Under 18 panel in the senior team. It is yet to be seen whether or not they will have Claire McMahon available to them. Claire broke her wrist on the evening of the All-Ireland club final and has had it in cast since then. If missing she will be a big loss to the county champions.

Newmarket will be out to avenge that county final defeat and had a

narrow win over Kilnamona in the league semi-final where it took the game to extra time. They were also surprisingly beaten in the UI8A semi-final by eventual winners Sixmulebridge and they will not want to let the year go without adding to the UI4A title that was won in the parish during the year.

This should be a tight contest but with the recent run of games that Kilmaley have had if Claire Mc- Mahon is fit, they may just add the League title to the championship. A League title that they won just short of this time last season, and will not want to relinquish.

THERE has been a surge in applica- tions to reduce maintenance in the family law courts in Clare, as a di- rect result of the recession.

Family law solicitors in the county say more and more people are facing difficulty in paying maintenance and are applying to the district court to vary payments.

The free legal advice clinics in En- nis are also noticing a huge increase in queries related to family law and employment law issues, due to the downturn in the economy.

Solicitor and family law special- ist Mairead Doyle said many people have had reduced incomes or are on

social welfare and as a result are simply unable to meet maintenance payments.

‘There 1s a marked increase in the number of applications for decreas- ing maintenance before the courts. This is as a result of some people earning substantially less than they were, she said.

She pointed out that the threat of committal to jail is hanging over those who fail to meet their main- tenance commitments, pending the decision of a district court judge.

‘People are missing payments and are being brought back before the judge. The penalty is committal to prison and the judge has to consider each case on its own merits,” said Ms

Doyle.

Those who are not receiving their maintenance are going to court, to PYG COKoN MOO OMONTLAKOe

‘The other option is for an attach- ment of earnings order to be brought to the district court, where someone applies to have maintenance deduct- ed at source by the employer. Those applications are more common now,” added Ms Doyle, who is an associate partner at Michael Houlihan’s solici- tors in Ennis.

She said the family law courts — which sit twice a month in Clare — have been particularly busy in the run-up to Christmas, amid intense family pressures and the squeeze on incomes.

“The family law courts are ex- tremely busy, especially coming up to Christmas. There are access mat- ters and problems with maintenance. The downturn is taking effect. Peo- ple are really feeling the pinch,” she NCO

Ms Doyle is on the free legal ad- vice panel, which runs clinics in Ennis every week and has noticed a sizeable increase 1n queries in recent weeks.

“The clinics are inundated with family law and employment law que- ries. The way the economy is going, a lot more pressure is being put on relationships,’ she said.

The free legal advice clinics are regularly held at the Ennis Citizens

Information Centre on Bindon Lane every Thursday between 7pm and O00

THE Rally Ireland marshal recruit- ment drive was officially launched recently. With less than six weeks before the World Rally Champion- ship 2009 begins, more than 3,000 marshalls and volunteers will be enrolled to Rally Ireland. The event takes place from January 29th — Feb- ruary Ist 2009 and replaces Rally Monte Carlo as the opening round.

Speaking at the launch, Event D1- rector, John Naylor said: “The mar- shals and volunteers of Rally Ireland are vital to the success of our event. Their time and effort led to Rally Ireland 2007 being ranked as one of the best rallies in the Championship. For 2009 we want to raise our game again to be the best.”

Chief marshal, Paul Goodman and his team have already been busy con- tacting all motor around the country: “If people want to marshal at Rally Ireland 2009 they have two options. Firstly, if they are a member of a mo-

tor club they should contact the mar- shal coordinator in their club. Or secondly, if they are not a member of a motor club, they should contact their regional coordinators who will direct them to their nearest motor club.

“We have had a lot of interest in marshalling at Rally Ireland but there is still a need for more people.”

Anyone who marshals at the WRC’s opening event in January will receive a copy of the event programme, a Rally Ireland beanie hat and free en- try to the Service Park, a lunch pack and a hot meal following the running of the stage.

Paul Goodman will be assisted by Regional Coordinators. Each coord1- nator has been assigned a geographi- cal area, which includes the motor clubs in that region.

Clare motor club member Gerry O’Brien from Crusheen is the region- al coordinator for the South West which also includes the Clare area.

Gerry has been an active member

of the Clare Motor Club for many years. Acting as marshal coordina- tor, he has played an active role in re- cruiting marshals from many of his neighbouring clubs in the south west for the past number of years for the Clare Stages Rally. Gerry also acted as chairman of the club for a couple of years.

Gerry also worked as Marshal Co- ordinator for the South West region for Rally Ireland in 2007.

The Clare Motor Club have also launched their recruitment drive for marshals for Rally Ireland and any- body interested in getting involved should contact Gerry O’Brien (086- 2766267), club pro Dermot Kelleher, or club chairman Joe Baker.

THE owners of Shannon Town Cen- tre have claimed that a proposed €60 million retail park for the town is ‘opportunistic’ and contrary to the provisions of the South Clare Devel- opment Plan.

Last month, Greenband Investment Ltd lodged plans for bulky house- hold goods, discount food-store and neighbourhood centre to include a small convenience store, pharmacy, bookmakers and _ hairdressers at Smithstown, Shannon.

According to developer and one of the partners in the project, Sean Halpin, the development will create

250 direct jobs, 200 indirect jobs and 180 jobs during the construction phase. The retail warehouse park and neighbourhood centre is the first of two phases of this project, with the second phase to comprise of a resi- dential development and plans for de- velopment are to be shortly lodged.

However, the owners of Shannon Town Centre claim that the proposal in its current form “presents a direct challenge to the Shannon core town centre area”.

In a comprehensive submission to Clare County Council, Shannon Town Centre stated that “the pro- posed location for the discount food- store within the retail park 1s incon-

sistent with zoning”.

The submission stated: “In sum- mary, the proposed development is opportunistic in the contest of the draft local area plan and has cherry picked the matrix to maximise retail and commercial advantages.

“No element of the proposed de- velopment reflects the primary zon- ing objective for ‘residential’ on the lands…Effectively, the applicants have ignored the primary land use zoning indicated in the draft South Clare Development Plan.”

The submission claims that Green- band Ltd has “abandoned the resi- dential, open space and street struc- ture” and “cherry picked the matrix

to maximise retail and commercial advantage, as we predicted would happen and have not awaited the im- plementation and delivery protocols, which we were informed would be required before developments would be considered”.

In a separate submission, the Hick- ey family in Smithstown have voiced their opposition to the proposal, stat- ing: “We feel we would be squeezed into an industrial park for life and have no future in our current homes where we’ve lived for 40 plus years, it would hinder the privacy we are accustomed to.”

A decision is due on the plan next year.

CLARE players will be in the van- guard of the Limerick Garda’s chal- lenge for All-Ireland honours on Wednesday evening when they take on Donegal County Council in the national inter-firms decider.

And, the Clare involvement with the Limerick Garda team is both on and off the field, with Dominic Cur- tin from Kilmihil the key member of the backroom team, while there are nine Clare players on the panel.

The Clare players are: Joe Hayes (Lissycasey), Michael O’Shea (St Senan’s, Kilkee), Shane Hickey (Kil- murry Ibrickane), Keith King (Kil- murry Ibrickane), Evan Talty (Kil- murry I[brickane), Derek Deloughery (St Senan’s, Kilkee), Niall Donovan (O’Callaghan’s Mills), Noel Nash (O’Callaghan’s Mills) and Barry O’Donnell (Crusheen).

Limerick Garda contested the final unsuccessfully two years ago, but

back in 1999 won the competition out when amalgamating with Clare Garda. Nine years on an amalga- mation of a different kind — Clare provide the biggest single county representation on the panel — has helped bring Limerick to the cusp of national glory.

“Two years ago we were unlucky in the final,’ says Dominic Curtin, “‘los-

ing out by only a point to Armagh GAA Coaches. We’re hopeful this year that we can go one better and beat Donegal in the final.

‘“We’ve had a great run to get to the final, beating Analog in the Limerick final, before having three matches in the Munster Championship. We beat Clare Garda in the first round, then Merck Sharp and Dohme in the sec- ond round and Citco in the Munster final. We then beat Seamus Byrne Electrical of Carlow in the All-Ire- land semi-final by 1-13 to 1-8.

Four current county senior play- ers are on the Limerick panel. They are: Joe Hayes and Michael O’Shea of Clare, Kevin Mulryan and Niall Fitzgerald of Carlow, while the side is captained by Brian Kinsella from Carlow. The final has a start time of 6pm and will be played under lights at Sligo Institute of Technology.