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A WITNESS who gave evidence in the trial over three weeks ago has claimed he was intimidated by a garda, after he left the courtroom in the Four Courts.

John Keating, a builder from Lim- erick, told the court yesterday that Detective Garda Terese Flannery said to him, “We’ll be getting hand- cuffs for you here John.”

He said this shocked him. “TI felt intimidated that day, what was said to me outside that door,” he told the ore) bam

He said that after giving evidence in the trial on June 5, he was ques- tioned by gardai for over three hours and was scared.

“*T didn’t know whether I was going to be arrested, after what was said to me. I didn’t know. It was scary,” he Ke) (eM MatoMOUT-DEA on iKosRer-Ne

However, Senior Counsel for the Prosecution, Tom O’Connell said it was Said in a joke.

Detective Garda Terese Flannery refuted the allegation. She told the court yesterday that her role in the trial was to liaise with the witnesses.

She said that she gestured — by putting her hands up — to a number of witnesses, including Mr Keating, that they were being rounded up, at lunchtime, that day.

“T didn’t mention handcuffs. I want- ed to bring them across the road,’ she told the trial.

Asked by Una Ni Raifeartaigh, BL for the Prosecution, was there “some kind of threat arising out of the evi- dence he gave that day’, the garda replied, “Not at all.”

“TI did make that gesture, but I didn’t mention John,’ she said.

When Mr Keating gave evidence on June 5, he told the court that he was with Sharon Collins between 10.30am and 12.40pm or 12.50pm on August 16, 2006.

He said the two had visited a number of properties during that time, including Ms Collins’ mother’s home and Sharon’s former home at Maiville.

Sharon had wanted to extend the Maiville home, in the shape of two self-contained apartments and she had asked him to have a look at it.

The two also went to a tile shop before going to Ballybeg House. Mr Keating returned to Limerick, arriv- ing at around 1.30pm.

Yesterday, his evidence was revis- ited and he was asked by Prosecutor Tom O’Connell did he know Ms Col- Treo 0

‘You refer to her as Sharon. Did you know her?” asked Mr O’Connell.

The witness replied that he had “known them since 1995”. He

said she had introduced him to the Howards and he done a lot of work for them over the years.

Mr O’Connell asked him when did he make a record, in his diary, of events of August 16, 2006.

“You made them up, the entries in the diary,’ said Mr O’Connell, to which he replied, “Excuse me, I didn’t make them up.”

Mr Keating said that Sharon Col- lins’ son Gary contacted him a few weeks before the trial and asked him if he could recall the events of Au- gust 16.

He said he found his diary in his

van and said he remembered the date clearly as he had returned home from the UK, on a ferry, on August 14, having been to his niece’s wedding.

Mr O’Connell put it to him that a statement from the ferry company would say there was no record of him on the dates he had mentioned.

Mr Keating replied that he himself had phoned Stena last Sunday and was told that a new computer system had been installed and records for the past three years could not be ac- ee

Mr O’Connell put it to Mr Keating that his diary entries for August 16

were written in three different inks.

“You used three different pens,’ he said, to which the witness replied, ““T’ve loads of biros, loads of biros at home and in my van.”

He said he could use several biros at any one time.

Detective Inspector Michael Moore said he forensically examined the d1- ary and said, “The only conclusion I could make was that at least three different types of ink were used for the entries of the 16th of August, 2006.”

GLOR is the busiest venue in Ireland in terms of the number of perform- ances it stages.

According to a internal study of activities at 45 venues from April to June, Glor has staged the most per- formances and have submitted this information to the Arts Council who, according to Acting Director David Collopy, were both interested and

surprised.

Glor Director, Katie Verling is cur- rently recovering from illness and Mr Collopy is due to step down in the autumn after a year in charge.

Mr Collopy said that the centre is aiming to increase its revenue streams by opening a retail centre, seeking more conference business and the holding of a farmers market every Tuesday.

‘The amount of subsidy it takes to

support Glor is an issue locally and there have been questions as to why Glor should receive any public mon- ey at all. The brief I understand it is to be a cultural, entertainment and community resource for the county with the traditional arts forming an important part.

“We have revisited our rental rates to make it as attractive as possible for community groups to come in here” he said.

“?M GOING to give politics back to the community”. That’s the vow of the newly-elected mayor of Shannon, Councillor Gerry Flynn (Ind).

Mr Flynn (54) assumed the new role last week, after serving on the town council for the past nine years. He has also been a county councillor for the past four years.

The outspoken councillor said he was thrilled to take up his new role.

“I’m excited. It’s fantastic. I’m very pleased more than anything that I got unanimous backing from my fellow councillors,” he said.

‘“T see the role for me as mayor to facilitate debate. I will try to do my best to be fair and impartial. I am go- ing to meet the community and make myself available to the community in

Shannon,” said Cllr Flynn, who is a full-time public representative.

The Miltown Malbay native moved to Shannon over 30 years ago, hav- ing spent two years in London and a period in Limerick. The lure of a good job and decent home attracted himself and his wife Phil (nee Col- lins, from the Burren) to Shannon and they never left. The couple have two daughters, Irene (26) and Jac- queline (24).

‘Shannon has been good to us. You feel the sense of achievement. Little do you think when you come into a town that you will achieve so much,” said the former Fine Gael councillor.

Issues such as the local airport, the development of the town centre in Shannon, estate management and the provision of services for the elderly will be among his priorities over the

next 12 months, while he will also be preparing to mount his challenge to retain his seat on both the county council and town council.

“If I have my health I am to run again for both. Pll put my best foot forward next year,” he said.

“Tt is an exciting time for the town, with the development of the master plan. However the fact that our air- port is suffering 1s worrying, while funding has dried up for the elderly. We are now refusing housing aid for the elderly. I am big into that. My own mother spent several years in a wheelchair before she died,’ he pointed out.

“We need to tighten up on estate management. Joint policing will be rolled out to all local authorities in Ireland. It will mean local elected representatives will enter into a part-

nership with gardai and we need that,’ he said.

Given the developments relating to Shannon Airport in recent years, Cllr Flynn is acutely aware of the importance of its future, to the local area. He firmly believes that Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports should not have been split up.

“Treland is too small an island to have three airports competing with each other. I think it’s not good news for Shannon (the split). I fear the fu- ture will be privatisation of Shannon Airport and that could spell trouble for all of us,” he said.

A ROMANIAN man and woman who admitted their role in an ATM bank skimming scam that ripped off several Bank of Ireland customers, have been ordered to leave Ireland.

Last February, Pavel Cirpaci (24) and Gabriela Lupu (20) were in- volved in what was described as an elaborate scam. It started by damag- ing an ATM machine at SkyCourt, Shannon, before access was gained to customers’ accounts, via a pass machine in Killarney.

Cirpaci, of Carrig Court, Fortunes- town Lane, Tallaght, and Lupu, of Triogue Manor, Portlaoise, admitted damaging the machine, to the value of €300, and possession of a Sony Ericsson mobile phone, with intent to use it in connection with a theft.

At Ennis Circuit Court, they also pleaded guilty to unlawfully with- drawing money, totaling <€4,860, from nine Bank of Ireland accounts, in Killarney, on February 11 last. The two were arrested the following day and were later charged. Cirpaci also admitted escaping from custody at Shannon Garda Sta- tion, on February 12. Sergeant Seamus Mulligan told the court that at 4.30am on February 12, gardai were alerted to two people behaving suspiciously at the ATM machine at the Bank of Ireland in Shannon. According to witnesses, they were “coming and going” for the previous hour or so. The ATM machine had been dam- aged and the front panel was slightly loose on the machine. Further exam- ination showed it had been taken off and attempts made to replace it. ‘There was other damage. A small hole had been drilled behind the face of the machine and a mobile phone was inserted. The camera from the phone was looking down at the key- pay and was recording from the ma- chine. If someone put in their PIN, it would be recorded on the mobile phone,” he said. The phone was bought by the de- fendants at the Crescent shopping centre in Limerick, on January 31. “They specifically looked for longer memory time so it could record PIN numbers for six to eight hours. They probably would have returned the following night and have PIN num- bers from the whole day. “At stage two, the front was fitted on the machine, so when someone puts an ATM card into the machine, it would record details from the strip of the ATM card and reproduce someone’s ATM card, without them knowing, and access their bank ac- counts,” said Sgt Mulligan. They initially told gardai they were living locally, but this proved to be false. They were searched at Shannon Garda Station, where two Dunnes Stores gift cards. were found. “On each of the cards, there was a little white sticker on the front, with a four-digit PIN number on them. On the back of one card, there was a se- ries of numbers. That was a bank sort code and bank account number of an injured party and the number on the white sticker was her PIN number. Several withdrawals had been made from her account,’ he said. €4.780 had been withdrawn from that particular Ennis woman’s ac- count, but of that, there was just one charge before the court, relating to a €700 withdrawal in Killarney. Neither of the accused co-operated and Cirpaci initially produced ident- fication for another man. Cirpaci, a father-of-two, has lived in Ireland for at least six years and has 39 previous convictions. 10 of those were for theft and were appealed at Mullingar Circuit Court, which ruled that the sentence would be suspended if he agreed to leave the jurisdiction. His co-accused, Lupu, did not have any previous convictions. Asked was any of the money recov- ered, the garda said that €4,500 was recovered on the persons that night, while €4,950 was recovered in a subsequent search. Cirpaci’s barrister Michael Fitzgib- bon said his client didn’t co-operate as he was “fearful for the safety of his wife and children”. Sgt Mulligan replied, “It hardly ne- gates the fact he undertook to take part in those crimes. I have to think of the injured parties who had money taken from their accounts.” Mr Fitzgibbon said his client would undertake to leave Ireland forever. Sgt Mulligan said he had no prob- lem seeing him leave the country if there was a lengthy sentence waiting for him if he returned. Mr Fitzgibbon said that while the figure €190,000 had been men- tioned, the charges before the court, referred to only a fraction of this. Lupu’s barrister Michael Hourigan said the guilty pleas saved the State the trouble of having to give evidence in court. He said his client would also undertake to leave Ireland. Sgt Mulligan replied, “The inves- tigation was more complicated than the evidence we'd have to give. We had a number of people working on this full-time over the past three to four months. It was a significant in- vestigation. I think the hard work is done at this stage.” Judge Rory McCabe said it was a well-executed operation. “This has all the hallmarks of a well-planned operation. It doesn’t seem to be opportunistic in any way. I’m suspending the sentences on the undertaking that they leave the juris- diction and never to return,” he said. He imposed an 18-month term on Cirpaci and a six month sentence on Lupu, suspended for 10 years, on con- dition that they leave the country. Counsel for the State, Stephen Coughlan BL, said Cirpaci is due to be released from custody on July 16 and on that date the State will pay for his removal from the jurisdiction. Lupu had sufficient funds to arrange for her own departure forthwith.

SHARON Collins was at “breaking- point” and had contemplated suicide, after she was questioned by gardai in relation to an alleged conspiracy to murder her partner and his two sons.

She said that “charging me with this would only serve to feed a me- dia frenzy”.

In her second letter to the DPP, Sha- ron Collins said she felt “compelled” to write again, having seen an article in the Daily Star newspaper that day, April 28, 2007.

She said the article had stated that a rich wife had hired a man to pot- son her husband. She said that PJ had received a call from a garda regard- ing the article, indicating that it was related to their investigation.

She said that PJ met gardai and she went to Spain that evening, from where she wrote the letter.

She said she was blackmailed and “perhaps someone had been hired to frame me. I have very, very strong suspicions regarding it, but am not sure So can’t accuse anyone.”

“I think now I should have gone to the gardai earlier. I read in the paper that it was thrown away. Thankfully no-one was harmed,” she added.

“PJ’s solicitor and his sons have put him under enormous pressure to end his relationship with me,” she

added.

“PJ and I have waited for this time for my boys to be independent so we can spend time together. We were as happy as Larry. We never got on as well as before this,” he said.

“What am I to do Mr Hamilton? You are the only person who can de- cide if our lives are to be destroyed.

“My life is very much in your hands. I’m quite desperate for all this to stop. . .Please do not have me charged, please let us get on with our lives. I’ve told the truth about every- den betee

“If I am charged, my relationship with PJ will be over,” she said.

She stated that PJ “knows I wouldn’t do that. I’m not a bad person. I’m not a dangerous person. We are a good team. We practically finish each oth- er’s sentences.”

‘“T noticed PJ when I was nine or 10. He was a grown businessman. When he came into my shop eight or nine years ago, it was like a premonition that he was coming to get me.”

She said she was family-oriented, maternal, domesticated according to her husband, outspoken, direct and abrasive, yet “very soft” behind it rae

She said she had opinions on crime and that the death penalty should have its place in certain situations. However she said she was not quite

as opinionated on that these days.

She said her youngest son David was crying on the phone. “He loves PJ like a father. He was sent home from work today. He kept breaking elena 0F

“If I’m charged or in the papers, he’d hear it immediately. I’m afraid one or both of them would take their own lives. I have considered suicide myself,” she said.

She said if she was to be charged, every aspect of their lives would be reported.

She said she would do anything she could to help gardai to find the truth “as I feel strongly a poisonous sub- stance like this should not be found HIM Ne tomereL UNO M Yan

“I’m being wronged with the accu- sations gardai are making, I’m very much at breaking point.”

In a PS added to the letter, the fol- lowing day, she said, “I paid €15,000 to stop someone damaging our re- lationship beyond repair. That was practically all I had. This hiring a killer theory doesn’t make any sense to me, at any level.”

A STUNNING and colourful specta- cle is planned for Ennis this coming Saturday, when the town will echo to the tunes of world-class pipers.

The 63rd Annual All-Ireland Pipe Band Championships, which are held alternately North and South of the border every second year, are being held in the town in the Showgrounds, Drumbiggle.

Irish Pipe Band Association Vice- President Michael Egan, said, “This year we are indeed very proud to be hosting the All-Ireland in Ennis – the first time back in Munster in almost 30 years and the first time ever in

OE Tome

The competition, run by the Irish Pipe Band Association, 1s an inter- national competition; open world- BCG Com

This is the premier event in the IPBA calendar and more than 60 Pipe Bands will travel to Ennis from all over the island of Ireland, Scot- land, England, France, the USA and Canada for the weekend.

“Virtually all the 6 competition grades possess reigning or former world champions, therefore the standard will be extremely high. All competitions will be held in the open, in the main horse jumping are- na of the Showgrounds, so everyone

is invited to avail of this opportunity to see some of the best pipe bands in the world in action here in Ennis,” Michael said.

Starting at llam, competitions take place throughout the day in all grades. Spectators will enjoy per- formances from the reigning World Champions, FM Montgomery Me- morial Pipe Band from Lisburn. Also competing with be the reign- ing All-Ireland and 2008 Scottish Champions, St Laurence O’Toole’s Pipe Band from Dublin.

In a stunning finale, the festival will culminate in a march past of all competitors and Massed Bands Salute to the Chieftain at 5.30pm.

This display will see over 1,000 pip- ers playing “Let Erin Remember” in honour of the Chieftain, who on the day will be the Mayor of Ennis.

Immediately following the display there will be a Parade of Winning Bands through the streets of Ennis at about 6.30pm

“This competition is a major under- taking, which could not have been organised without a great effort at national and in particular local level.

“I would like to take this opportu- nity to wholeheartedly thank all our main sponsors, Ennis Town Council and Failte Ireland, without whose generosity it would not have been possible,’ Michael said.

THE Shannon Musical Society has once again achieved national recog- nition, through two Association of Irish Musical Society (AIMS) awards in Killarney last week.

The awards were for their most re- cent production of “Seussical”’.

Aodan Fox won best comedian for his role as “Cat in the Hat’. Aodan 1s no stranger to the AIMS stage, hav-

ing taken this award twice before.

Dave Halliday received runner-up for best house management. Dave has been part of the front of house team for many years and has been front of house manager for the last two.

Shannon Musical Society has re- ceived this award several times in the past.

As the society’s members celebrate the prestigious accolades, prepara- tions are underway for next season’s

production “All Shook up” which will take to the stage next February.

This Broadway musical is written by Joe Di Pietro and is based on the music by Elvis Presley.

For the fourth consecutive year, the society has retained the services of Oliver Hurley as director and chore- Oyaeese

The committee for the coming year has been elected as follows: Dara Gough (chairperson), Kevin He-

hir (vice-chairperson), Maria Kelly (secretary), Richard Stapleton (treas- urer), Deirdre McNelis (patrons and sponsors) Mary O’Loughlin (PRO), Siobhan Linton (membership) and David Halliday.

Anyone interested in joining the Shannon Musical Society should browse through the website on www. shannonmusical.com or telephone Siobhan on 086 2142554 for details on membership.

THE trial of an 18-year-old student, accused of murdering an Ennis schoolboy a year ago is expected to take place in Ennis in February.

John McGovern, of Ballyduff, Barefield, Ennis, is charged with murdering Michael Doherty (14), on June 23 last year.

Mr Doherty, a settled Traveller,

died as a result of an altercation on O’Connell Street, having sustained Stab wounds to the chest.

The case was listed for mention at the Central Criminal Court in Dub- lin yesterday, with a view to fixing a CHK KOU CembUEADE

Mr McGovern’s barrister Mark Nicholas, BL, said the Senior Coun- sel in the case, Patrick Gageby, was seeking that the case be heard on the

week beginning February 2 or Feb- UE aaezer

Mr Nicholas said the case is likely to last between five and seven days.

The court registrar said he wasn’t in a position to fix a date at this stage.

Mr Justice Liam McKechnie told Mr Nicholas, “We will take a note of that. We will communicate with you.”

In May, Mr Justice Paul Carney

ruled that the trial will go ahead in Ennis, despite objections from gardai, who asked that it take place in Dublin.

On that date, Mr Gageby applied for the trial to be heard in Ennis.

He noted that the objection to the trial going ahead in Ennis was “on the grounds of safety”.

“If there is any real apprehension that attendance of numbers of the

Travelling community would have any adverse effect, the gardai in En- nis would be well qualified to deal with it,” he pointed out.

However, Caroline Biggs, BL, for the prosecution, said, “There are fears for security, based on knowl- edge and intelligence. If it is in Dub- lin, a large number of individuals would not come to Dublin. The con- cerns are genuine.”

SHARON Collins was concerned about her youngest son’s frame of mind, as news of the Garda investi- gation began to spread around Ennis last year.

That was her message to the Di- rector of Public Prosecutions, in her third letter last May.

In the letter, dated May 25, she said, “I’m writing what now appears to be

my monthly letter to you. Hopefully it won’t be as long this time.”

‘We had hoped for good news this week, so we could get on with our lives,” she said.

She said her youngest son David was “more of a casualty than any- body”.

“It would appear that news of the investigation has got around town,’ she stated, adding that her mother had not heard about it but “it’s out

Woke

She said she had tried to put herself in a murderous frame of mind and had asked herself several questions:

“T certainly know it would be traced. .. The question of timing, why then, why the rush, why not wait until I have inheritance rights?”

She said that PJ had just helped David to buy a house and had assisted her to buy an apartment in Limerick.

“T don’t see why I’d want anybody

to get into the office. I think a five- year-old would have covered their tracks better. I’m not stupid enough to leave a trail like that,’ she added.

She said that herself and PJ had of- ten debated the execution of Saddam Hussein. While PJ thought it was wrong, she believed it could have been done more humanely, she said.

In a PS added to that letter, Ms Collins said that her son David had phoned her, upset.

“He told me if he didn’t tell his boss what was wrong, he would be fired. He wanted to confide in him. For the first time in my life, I told him not to tell the truth. I told him to lie. Is it fair that a young man should suffer like this?” she asked.

“Do I tell him to go ahead and re- veal what’s tearing our family apart? I’ve a very bad feeling about him and his frame of mind right now,’ she concluded.

THE Clare Education Centre has teamed up with NUI, Galway to of- fer Clare people a range of diploma classes hosted from it’s Ennis Cam- pus. The diploma series is being of- fered by the universities Arts, Social Science and Celtic Studies depart- ments in conjunction with the it’s Adult and Continuing Education Of- neon

Programmes will be offered in French, German, the Irish language most interestingly in Irish Music SANG ene

The music course aims to provide insights from music, dance, poetry, television and film into the ways in

which Irish performers and writers have been actively involved in imag- ining and re-imagining Ireland over the last 250 years.

Crusheen musician, Tim Collins, is one of the course directors. “Musical ability is not a requirement for stu- dents entering this course as the pro- gramme is mainly centred around the debate and discussion of the identity of Irish traditional music,” he said.

‘Up to now our classes have includ- ed a diverse mix of students from doctors in Galway to musicians in Ennis so it really is a course that has broad appeal to a wide cross section of society.”

No previous knowledge of any of the subjects is required for the four

diplomas which have proven to be a popular choice among adult learners over a long tradition of part-time pro- grammes at NUI Galway.

“Previously some students found the diploma tough going and many dropped out but now we are offering three levels of diploma, catering to those non-Irish students interested in the language, right up to competent Irish speakers who wish to strength- en their written and grammar skills,” said Brid Seoige of Acadamh na hOllscolaiochta, which delivers the Diploma in Irish.

“We have had a lot of students who have taken up the diploma as a way of fulfilling the Irish requirement for primary school teaching,” said Brid.

“There has also been a lot of inter- est in the course in the aftermath of the comedian Des Bishop’s recent television series which has helped to enhance the Irish language’s reputa- tion especially among young adults.”

The French and German courses aim to give students the ability both to converse and comprehend a vari- ety of everyday topics and situations in the languages, both courses also equip students with an introduction to the civilisations, cultures and so- cieties of both countries.

For further information on the Ennis Diploma _ Series contact the Adult and Continuing Educa- tion Office at 091 492062 or email adulteducation @nuigalway.ie.