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The Courts Service has released documents that show how the Su- perintendent for the Killaloe area expressed considerable opposition to the move. Supt Tony Kennelly’s view prevailed and the Tulla sittings will now be held in Killaloe.

The Courts Service board recently ratified the re-organisation of the Clare Courts Service, which involves the the abolition of a number of sit- tings in the county.

The moves will see sittings taking place in three venues from the New

Year: Ennis, Kilrush and Killaloe. When additional courthouses are provided in Ennistymon and Shan- non, the number of venues will in- crease to five.

The plan — which will be effective from January | — will see Kilkee sittings take place in Kilrush and Lisdoonvarna and Miltown Malbay being relocated to Ennistymon. The re-organisation will also see Scariff sittings being relocated to Killaloe.

Ennistymon sittings are currently being held at Kilrush pending the provision of a new courthouse in the north Clare town.

A spokesman for the Courts Serv- ice said that it may be one more year before courts are held once more in Ennistymon. Negotiations are ongo- ing in relation to a proposed site in the north Clare town.

The spokesman said that next on the priority is a new courthouse for Killaloe.

An internal Courts Service memo stated that the former courthouse building in Killaloe was being used by the county council “as a store for everything from straw to wheelbar- rows. The courthouse is in a ter- ribe state. However, there is at least room there to constitute a proper court venue, preferable with a local partnership input to best utilise this building”.

A spokesman for the Courts Serv- ice said that it’s hoped that the court- house will be shared with the Family Support Centre in Killaloe and that the two would share maintenance costs.

The spokesman couldn’t put a time- frame in relation to the provision of a new courthouse in Killaloe or Shan- non. The Shannon sittings are cur- rently held in Ennis.

An internal memo anticipated that there would be resistance to the move from Kilkee to Kilrush. The memo stated that “conditions are very poor at Kilkee and Kilrush has good fa- cilities eight miles away”.

However, no opposition to the Kil- kee move materialised.

THE family of a Polish man who died as a result of a road accident three years ago – while working in Shannon – has secured €500,000 in damages in the High Court.

Damian Zimowski (27), an alarm technician with Active Technology in Shannon, died as aresult of an incident on September 10, 2005. He lost his life

hours after the accident in which steel rods protruding from the back of a lorry pierced into his van. He became impaled in the upper body.

The case was taken by his widow Agnieszka against Foley Contract- ing of Milltown, Askeaton, Limerick – owners of the lorry – and Brian Mc- Mahon, Ballynoe, Castlemahon, Lim- erick, who was the lorry driver.

The offer was made to the plaintiff

on the third day of the hearing before Mr Justice John Quirke at the High Court last Thursday.

Liability had been fully contested, until an engineer for the plaintiff gave evidence in court. A satisfactory offer was then made by the defendants.

Solicitor for Ms Zimowski, Gear- oid Howard – partner with Crimmins Howard solicitors in Shannon – said the case was tragic and his client was

relieved it was all over.

“Tt is a huge relief that the case has fi- nally been settled. It was a tragic acci- dent. He had come to Ireland to make a new life for himself and his family,’ he said.

Mr Howard paid tribute to the late Mr Zimowski’s employer Ultan McAvinue at Active Technology in Shannon.

“Damian sold his family car to fi-

nance his trip to Ireland. At the time he was killed, his family didn’t have the money to pay for his funeral or fly his body back to Poland. Mr McAv- inue paid for the funeral and for his body to be flown home,” said Mr Howard.

‘His employers were hugely support- ive of his widow and his child. They did everything they possibly could to help at this difficult time,” he said.

A MAN WHO snatched a ‘defence- less’ 81-year-old woman’s handbag and knocked her to the ground has been handed a five-year jail term. However the sentence will not come into effect 1f the accused succeeds in staying away from heroin, to which he had been addicted at the time of the attack.

Jonathon O’Donoghue (28), of Beech Grove Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, pleaded guilty to robbing the woman of her handbag and €450, at Avoca handweavers, Bunratty, on October 31, 2005. He also admitted assaulting her.

Ennis Circuit Court heard that the woman was confined to bed for al- most two months after the ordeal she endured.

In imposing sentence, Judge Ger- ard Griffin told the defendant he chose a “defenceless elderly woman” to rob, to feed his heroin habit.

“The weakest victim you could find,” remarked the judge. “You de- prived her, by your actions, of her independence, as she was confined to bed for two months after,’ he AYO Ce(oxen

However he said he had taken into account the very positive report from Slainte and the fact that O’ Donoghue had inspired other young adults on

the road to recovery.

He said the appropriate sentence was five years, which he suspended in its entirety, on condition that the accused remain drug-free for five years.

“You have made great progress in your rehabilitation and I wish you oN DOME HO TAL

“T want to warn you if you are tried and convicted from this day on, or if you don’t remain drug free, I will impose a five year sentence,” he con- Wb OLeCoee

“You are getting a chance. You de- serve a chance in the circumstances. Don’t let it slip,’ Judge Griffin add- ek

A DEFENDANT who had 113 pre- vious convictions told a judge he thought he was allowed to take off- cuts of steel from a Shannon factory.

Darren Mason of Oliver Plunkett Street, St Mary’s Park in Limer- ick, pleaded guilty at Ennis District Court to taking the off-cuts from the Lasercut premises at Smithstown In- dustrial Estate.

Judge Leo Malone heard that when gardai arrived, the accused was load- ing some lengths of steel on to his truck. He had not been given permis- sion to take to steel, the court heard.

His solicitor, Ted McCarthy, told the court that Mason’s father works collecting scrap and he had been asked by his father to go to Shannon to collect a scrapped car.

“When he arrived, the person he needed to see about the car wasn’t there but members of the household suggested to him that if he was look- ing for scrap, he might find some at this premises in Smithstown”’.

He added that when the gardai ar- rived, he explained that he thought the metal was just being scrapped.

“These were not full lengths of steel, they were off-cuts,’ Mr Mc- Carthy said.

The judge heard that all of Mason’s previous convictions were Road Traffic offences and none were for theft. The solicitor said his client 1s not working and has five children to Support.

The judge imposed a fine of €350 for the theft charge and took a charge under the Public Order act into con- sideration.

A WEST Clare man suffered sub- stantial hearing loss after being at- tacked on a street by his brother-in- law, a court heard yesterday.

Ennis Circuit Court was told that there had been bad blood between the two men, after their wives had fallen out previously.

Father-of-four Michael McInerney (36), of Ballard Road, Miltown Mal- bay, admitted assaulting his brother- in-law Gerard Sexton, causing him harm, at Main Street, Leagard, Mil- town Malbay, on February 24, 2007.

Sergeant Joe Hehir told the court that Mr Sexton (43) went to a public house in Miltown Malbay to watch a rugby match between Ireland and England.

He met his brother-in-law, the ac- cused, in one of the pubs.

Words were exchanged between the two and there was a subsequent scuffle. Mr Sexton was forced to the ground, he said.

However, while a number of people

saw the incident, no-one present had remembered what had been said.

The court heard that an independ- ent witness who was standing close by on the street told gardai he saw “a big guy wearing a Munster rugby jer- sey” (the accused) having a hold of the injured party.

He said Mr Sexton had fallen back- wards on to the road and his head was banged off the road. “There was a bang as his head hit the ground,’ the witness told gardai.

Sgt Hehir said that at the scene, the accused accepted responsibility for what had happened.

He said Mr Sexton, a carpenter, now suffers from a severe imbalance and his work has been affected by the incident.

He said the relationship between the two men had deteriorated due to a dispute between their wives. He said he believed it emanated from a row at a chip shop.

Mr Sexton told the court that his balance was “completely gone” while the hearing in his right ear was

“nearly gone’, as a result of the in- cident.

Asked how he felt about the ac- cused, he said, “I wouldn’t look at the ground he’s on.”

Defence barrister Brian McInerney said it was tragic that the case had developed in such a manner.

He said his client had put together €7,000 in compensation for the in- jured party.

Judge Carroll Moran said while he appreciated the accused did not have any previous convictions, “he did in- flict very serious injuries on the in- jured party”.

He said the sum of money offered was inadequate and adjourned the case until January. He said the sum of money he had in mind was €15,000.

“I do not want to send him to prison,’ he said. However, he said he would have to impose a jail term if adequate compensation was not Or nCee

CLARE ICMSA 1s set to take legal action on behalf of as many as 100 Clare farmers whose payments have been compromised as a result of the backdated closure of the Farm In- vestment Schemes.

The organisation has obtained legal advice from barrister Gerard Hog- an and are preparing to take a case should the situation not be rectified. The action concerns the decision of the Department of Agriculture to

back date the closure of applications for the Farm Investment Schemes to October 21 of this year.

The closing date for the scheme had been advertised widely as October 31, and an estimated 100 Clare farm- ers who made applications in good faith between October 21 and Oc- tober 31 of this year have now been disqualified.

“The Department of Agriculture has been consistently telling Clare farmers that we could apply for this scheme right up until the end of Oc-

tober and now, after the fact, they have decided that this is no longer the case,’ said Martin McMahon, Clare President of the ICMSA.

“This means that anyone who has applied for this scheme between Oc- tober 21 and the end of the month is in a total limbo land. Every meeting that we attended we were told that the scheme was still open but it ap- pears that that was not the case.

‘There are a good number of people caught by this, it’s human to apply for things at the last minute so an awful

lot of people applying for the scheme are now caught really badly.”

The scheme was put in place in or- der to allow farmers to modernise their farms and many farmers can- not now afford to complete building projects because of it’s scrapping.

‘“T know more than one farmer here in Clare who is half way through a building project on his farm is wait- ing for this funding to come through in order to let him finish,’ continued Mr McMahon.

“They are totally locked into this

situation and now they don’t know if they are coming or going. This whole budget has been very damag- ing for farmers. Besides the Invest- ment Scheme, we have also lost the Disadvantages Areas Payments, the Installation grants and the Early Re- tirement Scheme. It’s been very bad news for Clare farmers.”

The ICMSA held a special National Council meeting in Dublin last week to brief TDs, including Clare TD Joe Carey (FG), on the situation follow- ing the budget cuts.

THE company at the centre of con- tentious plans to construct a €10 million explosives plant on the Shan- non estuary is under threat of being struck off and dissolved because it has not filed returns since 2003.

At the first day of the oral hearing into proposal in Ennis last month, so- licitor for one of the opponents to the proposal, Michael Nolan for Cairde Cill an Disirt said that Shannon Ex-

plosives was due to be struck off at the end of October.

On the final day, counsel for Shan- non Explosives Ltd, Esmonde Keane rejected the claim made by Mr No- lan, stating that the company is oper- ZLObToas NOwneT-N OKA

However, yesterday, the Companies Office confirmed that Shannon Ex- plosives Ltd – which is a subsidiary of the Whelan Group – was put on the strike-off list on November 2.

A spokeswoman for the Companies

Office said if no returns are filed in the next number of weeks, Shannon Explosives Ltd will appear in the Government publication, Iris Ofigu- ue

The company will then be further given a number of weeks to file docu- ments before the company is struck off and dissolved.

The company is also one of a number of notice parties in a High Court action being taken by Cairde Chill an Disirt Teo (CCDT) seeking

a High Court injunction preventing An Bord Pleanala from taking any further steps in determining the ap- peal on the plan.

CCDT along with a number of other objectors withdrew from the oral hearing on the first day after the Board refused to state as to whether the hearing was being held under Irish law or a review under an EU Directive.

Solicitor for CCDT, Michael Nolan has confirmed that the High Court

case being brought by his clients has been adjourned until Novem- ber 21 to allow the other sides lodge responding affidavits. Papers have been served on An Bord Pleandala, Shannon Explosives Ltd and Clare County Council.

Mr Nolan confirmed that CCDT are seeking an injunction preventing

An Bord Pleanala from taking any steps in determining the appeal and an order requiring the reconvening of the oral hearing.

TUAMGRANEY has received na- tional recognition after being named one of the winners in Cooperation Ireland’s Pride of Place Competi- tion.

At a weekend award ceremony held in Cappoquin in Waterford, the east Clare village was named overall win- ner of Category 2, catering for popu- lation centres of 200-500 people for which the Tuamgraney Development Association received a Waterford Crystal trophy and €2,000.

Four other Clare groups – Gleann an Oir, Shannon; The Burren Cen- tre, Kilfenora; Obair Afterschool Project, Newmarket on Fergus and the West Clare Resource Centre, Miltown Malbay – were shortlisted in the All Ireland competition, which aims to recognise contributions that community groups make to society.

Mayor of Clare, Cllr. Madeleine Taylor Quinn described ‘Tuam- graney’s success as a wonderful ex- ample of what could be achieved by adopting a partnership approach to improving community life.

“This competition focuses on local communities, both north and south of the border, coming together to shape, change and enjoy all that is good about their area’, she said.

According to Tuamgraney Devel- opment Association Secretary, Mary Cassidy, the award is a tribute to eve- ryone who contributed to the group’s success, including those who helped out during the Pride of Place pres- entation, Clare County Council and the local engineer in Scarriff. She also paid special tribute to the fifteen local community organisations who

pledged their support along with res- idents associations and schools.

Ms. Cassidy explained that the im- mense civic pride in Tuamgraney resurfaced with the formation of the Development Association twelve years ago.

“The Association was formed in re- sponse to concern about the decline of the area. Its goal is to make Tua- megraney a better place to live, work, play and visit. The challenge now is to build on this success’, she added.

The village and the Association have won numerous awards in recent

years, including Clare In Bloom and a Regional landscape award in the Tidy Towns competition, as well as increasing substantially year on year marks and performance in the Tidy Towns competition.

Since its inception in 2003, Clare communities that have participated in the Pride of Place competition in- clude Kilrush, Kilkee, Newmarket on Fergus, Ennis, Labasheeda, Shan- non, Tuamgraney, Miltown Malbay, Sixmulebridge, Ballynacally, Scar- iff, Kilfenora and O’Briensbridge/ Montpelier.

DERBY winning trainer Pat Curtin was on the scoresheet in the tenth race at the Galway Track on Satur- day night contest as his runner Ban Diamond(T2) made all the running to defeat the Paddy Darcy of Ennis owned Bypass My Way (T1) by six lengths in 29.10.

The Michael and Claire Meaney of Kilush owned son of Smoking Ban and Droopys Diamond led by two lengths at the opening bend and by halfway he had the race in safe keep- ing as Bypass My Way gave vain chase behind but the winner was gone beyond recall Race five.

Kilrush handler TJ McMahon was in the winners enclosure after race five in this A3 graded 525 as his run- ner Bodyshop Legend (Larkhill Jo- Bodyshop Flight) made all the run- ning to defeat Mine Direct (T2) by two lengths in 29.64.

The winner was away well from

his trap four berth and led by two lengths from Begarra Bomber at the opening bend.

He extended his advantage down the far side and was home for all money turning for home on his way to his seventh career success.

The feature contest of the night was race number nine the Titans Basket- ball Club Open Buster Final worth €1,000 to the winner.

Favourite for the 525 yard contest was the PJ Fahy owned verteren Tyrur Lee (T1) who although well away was led to the bend by Have Some Cop (T5) who turned down the back a length to the good.

Racing past halfway though Tyrur Lee opened up and the son of Breet Lee and Tyrur Dee swept to the front and he bounded clear of his toiling rivals as he streaked clear for the 29th of his career from Have Some Cop in a brilliant 28.80 .

The opening contest at the College Road venue on Friday night was an

AY graded 525 in which the Gone At Three Syndicate from Fanore owned Last Ace Pot (T4) made all the run- ning to defeat the fast finishing Greg Rover (T4) in 29.86.

The winner led by just over a length from Smithstown Jack (T3) when rounding the opening bend before extending his advantage racing down the back which proved vital as the son of Digital and Dalcash Relief was running out of diesel close to home.

Cable Kiowa (14) was best away in race five which was an A5 graded contest and she led by a length from Go Forit Judy (T5) rounding the Opening two bends.

Racing past halfway Go Forit Judy mowed through on the inside to take over in front and the Wiliam Shannon of Lisheen owned daughter of Come On Lleyton and Sheehans Cottage was always in command from this point as she came home two lengths clear of Cable Kiowa 1n 29.76 .

WHEN the Saw Doctors waxed lyri- cal about the rain “splish-splashing”’ on the streets of Galway, surely they weren’t talking about days like this. Yet despite driving wind and a rain Storm that threatened, on more than one occasion, to turn into hail, a mas- sive crowd turned out in Galway City on Saturday for the first in a series of regional education protests.

The Irish National Teachers Organ- isation (INTO) had set out a target of 5,000 men, women and children

for this rally. But when the morn- ing opened in a cloud of grey and cold, this target was quickly revised down.

They shouldn’t have worried how- ever, such is the anger of the people of Clare and the west of Ireland that a massive troupe, somewhere in the re- gion of 8,000, turned out to vent their annoyance and frustration.

With signs like “As Blind As A Batt” and “Leave Our Kids Alone Brian’, the Minister for Education, Batt O’Keeffe, and Taoiseach Brian Cowen can have been left with little

doubt about the seriousness of these cuts.

The anger was real, these people are desperate and are becoming in- creasingly doubtful that “the Batt- man” will somehow come in and save the day.

There were many voices joining the march from Eyre Square to the Galway Cathedral, and even more joined once the brigade had stopped for their main rally at the Galway GT itereree

Among those to speak were INTO General Secretary John Carr and

Sean Holian of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network while Corofin’s Declan Kelleher also addressed the crowd.

Of the many threads which ran through each speech – the increase in class sizes, the end to substitute cover and the loss of more than 1,000 teachers in the primary sector – the most common one was the equating of money to education and the notion of selling out future generations.

The potential for creating econom- ic troubles for the next generation as a result of these cuts was lost on no-

oy iter

Like Dublin, Christmas decora- tions (and the hope of Christmas shoppers) has come early to Galway this year. And after the protest Shop Street had it’s busiest day since the CFE Na e-leroe

The downturn is cutting everyone deep.

Further demonstrations are expect- ed to take in Offaly, Cork and Don- egal, finishing with a mass rally in Dublin on December 6.

The “Batt signal” is clearly lit, but is anybody watching?