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Gardai concerned over drug use

RESIDENTS in the Francis Street area of Ennis are forced to contend with mayhem, due to the actions of late-night revellers who are urinating and vomiting all over the place.

The comments from a member of the residents association were made at Ennis District Court on Friday, during an application for a dance li- cence for The Queen’s Hotel.

While the speaker did not raise an objection to the licence being grant-

ed, grave concerns were expressed about the behaviour of patrons leav- ing late-night premises.

“We are not objecting to the l- cence. We have a problem with anti- social behaviour that takes place on our street between 3 and 4am. The majority of the people have been liv- ing there for 70 or 80 years,” said the resident. She said that some people urinate and vomit all over the place. ‘We take pride in our street and we look after each other. We want it con- trolled,’ she said.

She said that litter is thrown through boxes, cables are damaged and trees are vandalised. “There is ongoing mayhem. We shouldn’t have to toler- ate this,” she said.

Asked by Judge Joseph Mangan had gardai been informed about this, she said they had. Inspector John Galvin then told the court that the area is po- liced daily and nightly by gardai and issues are dealt with as they arise.

The judge asked him was there an inordinate amount of anti-social be- haviour. Inspector Galvin said that

when there are in the region of 1,500 people on the streets in a small area, there is going to be some level of anti-social behaviour. The judge said, ‘Maybe there would be less problems so if the number was smaller.” Solicitor for the Queen’s Hotel, Ma- rina Keane, pointed out that the res1- dents were not lodging an objection to the licence being granted. She said that the manager of the premises has met with residents and has undertak- en to meet them again. She said her clients would consider proposals put

forward by residents.

Ms Keane said that her clients would make every effort to ensure residents were inconvenienced as lit- tle as possible. She said there are four other licensed premises in the vicin- ity and it would be unfair to say that all the problems were generated from one premises.

Judge Mangan adjourned the appli- cation until next month and told the residents spokeswoman she would have to make up her mind whether she was objecting to the licence.

A BRAZILIAN national who en- gaged in crime in Ennis has been handed a jail sentence — but he will not serve it if he undertakes to leave Ireland.

Wilker Faria Silva (20), with an ad- dress of Marlborough Street Hostel, Dublin 1, admitted entering a build- ing as a trespasser and committing theft, on August 12, 2008.

Ennis Circuit Court heard that En- nis gardai received a report from a Brazilian national indicating that a burglary had taken place at a house in the Drumbiggle Drive area of the town, in August of last year.

On arrival at the house, gardai dis- covered that a rear kitchen window

had been broken and entry had been EEN NNO m

Several items had been taken from the house.

These included laptops, digital cameras, a camcorder, jewellery and more than €9,000 in cash. The total value of the items stolen amounted to more than €12,000, some of which was recovered.

The accused came to Ireland to work in October 2007. He lived in various parts of Clare and moved to Gort, where he joined a large Brazil- ian community.

The court was told that another Brazilian national was also charged in connection with this incident. His case was dealt with in court in May, where he was handed a six-month

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This was suspended for three years on his undertaking to leave the coun- (ry.

Counsel for the state Stephen Coughlan, BL, told the court that the other man told the accused there was a lot of cash at the house in Drumbig- gle and they both travelled to Ennis. He said the accused told gardai he received €400 for his role in the in- cident.

Garda Michelle Holian said gardai eX bCoaVoxe mM MOT-I MN OCoMOlAeCoomBneCeUAya(elbr-DENys-ks the more culpable.

Mr Coughlan said the case involved “one Brazilian stealing from another. It’s happening regularly.” However, Gda Holian said she could not com- ment on that.

The court was told that the accused is currently serving a jail term for armed robbery in Laois.

Defence barrister Mark Nicholas BL said that his client and many oth- er people came over to Ireland from Brazil full of optimism. However, they weren’t all fortunate enough to secure employment.

“This was driven in many ways by the fact there was no work. This man was not the main mover. It’s an aw- ful shame that they preyed on their own,” he said.

Mr Nicholas pointed out that the sentence handed down for the in- cident in Laois was suspended on condition that his client undertake to leave the country.

He said that while he was not seek-

ing to “export our problems’, it may be appropriate to impose a sentence and suspend it on condition that his client leave the country.

Judge Rory McCabe commended the “swift and professional ap- proach” of gardai who investigated and solved the crime. “I don’t pro- pose to treat him any differently to the way his co-accused was dealt with,” he said.

He said the “proper tariff” would probably be in the range of 12 months, but he would take into ac- count that the accused is young and that a significant amount of the prop- erty has been recovered.

He imposed a six-month term and suspended it on condition that the ac- cused leave the jurisdiction.

O’KELLY MOYLAN

Local FF TDs will vote with the Government

THE Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh has expressed “a great sense of pain and shame” about clerical abuse and said, “I do believe it is right that it should be exposed”’.

The outspoken Catholic bishop of more than 15 years was awarded with the Reality Lifetime Achieve- ment Award on Friday last ahead of his retirement next year.

As the Redemptorist Community paid tribute to the man they described as a “Bishop and social justice cam- paigner”’, the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh was only too aware that “these are the best of times and the worst of times” for the Catholic Church in Ireland.

As the Church braces itself for the release of the report into clerical child sex abuse allegations involving a sample of 46 priests in the Archdi- oces of Dublin, and in the wake of the Ryan Report, Bishop Walsh said these were part of a process that was

badly needed in the Church.

“I think that this is a whole proc- ess which the Church needed – and needed badly. We had gone through a period where we were overconfident. We thought that we were the best Catholics in the world – the island of saints and scholars.

“I thought when I was growing up that we were reliving that and I think that sadly it has taken something like this to bring a bit of reality to the Church.

“It makes us humble and reminds us of our fragility. I think that our position will be much closer to what Christ was about – weak, humble and a servant. And if the Church is about anything, it is about serving people. It is not about dominating people’s lives. So while it is tough going and it is painful for those of us, certainly for the clergy and bishops – I know that I certainly have a great sense of pain and shame about the whole thing, I do believe it is right that it should be exposed.”

He added that the “forthcoming report isn’t just about Dublin. It is called the Dublin Report but it is a report about all of us and our Church about how far in some areas we moved away from gospel values.

“Of course the Ryan Report has been devastating and the Dublin Re- port will be devastating,’ he said.

‘Having been a bishop for over the past 15 years, in some sense I have talked to a lot of victims and indeed I’ve talked to some abusers as well. There is no doubt, it is a devastating story. Yet I’ve always felt privileged when someone who is broken and has been abused tells their story. It is a privilege to listen to them, even when it is heart-breaking.”

But all is not lost, according to Bishop Walsh.

“These are the best of times and the worst of times. I think there are lots of wonderful things like Sha- ron Commins and the concern that has been shown for Columban Fr Michael Sinnott. And they simply

represent a fraction of the wonderful work being done all over the world by missionaries, priests, religious and lay and the wonderful work that people are doing every day of their lives – parents raising their children in love,” he said.

“T think sometimes we divide and talk about the secular and spiritual. Whatever is good is spiritual, that’s the reality of life and it is unwise to make these sorts of distinctions.”

Bishop Walsh was presented with the reality Lifetime Achievement Award for “his outstanding service and contribution to the Diocese of Killaloe and the Irish Church as a bishop and a pastor.”

There were six awards in total pre- sented in a number of different cat- egories in recognition of “individual and collective contributions to the Church and Irish society”.

The other winners of the Reality awards were Fr Peter McVerry who was named Person of the Year for his “consistently insightful analysis of the

Celtic Tiger and the impact the reces- sion has had on Irish society as well as his championing of the rights of the most disadvantaged in society”, and the Catholic Guides of Ireland re- ceived the Youth Organisation of the Year on this, its 80th anniversary.

Rev Ruth Patterson, OBE, was hon- oured for her book

THE BOOK of evidence in the case of a man accused of murder in Kil- rush during the summer is expected to be served in a month, a court has been told.

Kilrush District Court has been told that 87 statements are included in a file on the case which was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

In response to a query from the defence solicitor Eugene O’Kelly as to why the book of evidence was not ready last week, Superintendent Michael Comyns, who is leading the

investigation, pointed out that the accused was charged on July 31. He said that a file was prepared and sent to the DPP on August 5. “That file contained 87 statements,” he said in court, last Wednesday.

He said that the state pathologist’s report was not received until October 12 and the ballistic report on the gun was not received until October 15.

‘These matters were all then sent to the DPP and the DPP has directed to proceed with the charge. The matter is now with the state solicitor, who is preparing the book of evidence,” said Slee] moves hsrtse

He said the matter was dealt with

by gardai “expeditiously.”

Ma LOCE WMC EW MOPAR EN COMO NRO ST DEonm | spoke to the state solicitor this morn- ing. He has confidence the book of evidence will be ready in four weeks,’ said Supt Comyns.

Asked by Mr O’Kelly was he confident it would be ready in four weeks, the garda superintendent re- plied, “I’m not preparing the book. The state solicitor 1s preparing the book.”

Mr O’Kelly said that the time limit for preparation of a book of evidence is 42 days.

“It’s 82 days. It’s double the time. The state knew that this applied as

much to a murder charge as to a public order charge. The legislation should not be ignored,” he said.

He said that while the matter was “complex,” it was not “unduly com- jy ts.aae

“We are being hampered by not having the photographs,” he said.

However, Supt Comyns said the legislation was not being ignored. ‘There 1s no murder charge that is not complex,” he said and asked for an adjournment. This was granted by Judge Mangan, who granted an ex- tension of time to produce the book of evidence. The accused will re-ap- pear in court in a month.

THE solicitor representing a man ac- cused of murder in Kilrush in July has expressed concern that photo- graphs taken by the state patholo- gist at the scene have not been made available to the defence.

Father-of-two Brendan O’Sullivan (25), of 10 O’Gorman Street, Kil- rush, is accused of murdering Leslie Kenny at O’Gorman Street, Kilrush, on July 29 last.

Mr Kenny was shot dead at around 10.30am on Wednesday, July 29, in

the front garden of 10 O’Gorman Sistem

Mr O’Sullivan appeared before Kilrush District Court last Wednes- day, where the book of evidence was due to be served.

Superintendent Michael Comyns told the court that the book of evi- dence was not ready and applied to the court for the accused to be remanded on continuing bail for a month.

Defence solicitor Eugene O’Kelly said he was objecting to that applica- tion. He said that the permitted time

for preparing a book of evidence is 42 days and this was being treated by the state as “aspirational” more than “obligatory.”

He said he was not objecting for the sake of being awkward, but there were practical difficulties.

He pointed out that the deputy state pathologist in Northern Ireland, Dr Alistair Bentley, carried out an inde- pendent autopsy.

Mr O’Kelly said Dr Bentley re- quired sight of photographs taken by the state pathologist, when the body was in situ.

“The state, for whatever reason, won’t accede to Dr Bentley’s request. He is most surprised to hear that gardai refused to release the photo- graphs,” said the solicitor.

He said he did not see how releas- ing the photographs would hamper the garda investigation and said the PSNI is very helpful in investigations it carries out.

However, Judge Joseph Mangan said, ““That’s a matter for the trial.”

Mr O’Kelly then said, “The book of evidence is not ready and we are not being told why.”

THE Ford Focus continues to lead the way in new car sales in what is a declining Irish car market. Yet it’s the Managing Director of Ford Ire- land who is always first in to bat for a new scrappage scheme.

While other car bosses may com- plain in private, Ford’s Irish MD Eddie Murphy is regularly issuing press releases urging the Govern- ment to save the car industry from melt down.

Apart from helping the struggling car industry Eddie always points out that a new scrappage scheme would bring millions of euro in much need- ed VAT to the exchequer, provided you can get a loan from your bank.

Earlier this year to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their best-selling Focus, Ford introduced a special edi- tion Style 1.6 diesel. This new model emits only 118g¢/km of CO2 and that equates to only £104 per year road tax. Already Ford has sold over 400 diesel models and the feedback from Ford dealers is that the 1.6 diesel is definitely the car of choice for new ey Kelsay

Back in 1999 a Focus with what are now standard features such as ESP and ABS, would have cost you over €24,000. Now the price has now been reduced to €20,715 which is definitely good value in these reces- sionary times.

It was only when I sat behind the wheel of this sturdy, comfortable mo- tor that I realised just how good a car it is. I owned two different Focus but sadly traded in my last model prema- turely when my daughter wanted a smaller car so that she could pass her driving test.

Thankfully she passed first time, but I think by now we are all sorry to have switched from a Focus to a Nissan Micra. But then the things fa- thers do for their daughters knows no boundaries.

I love the smell of new cars and this one was no different when I picked it up the Focus from Rialto Motors on Herberton Road, Dublin.

The seats are so comfortable and

you will find your back fit snugly into the driver or passenger seat. There are white and grey lines on all the seats which brightens up the inte- rior décor. In the back there is ample room for three adults and the boot is a decent size.

Ford has excellent controls for radio and air conditioning. In most family cars you can store approximately six

radio stations, but in the Focus you can pre-select eight stations on each wavelength. And with two FM chan- nels you get to pre-select 16 different FM stations. You also get Am and Tete eer

I really liked the slave controls to the left of the steering wheel; they are so discreet. The front end got an upgrade in recent years and the new

headlamps are very attractive. The front end has been described as a ‘scaled down’ Mondeo look.

On the road the drive is very impres- sive and you really feel safe and in control. If you haven’t tried a Focus, it’s really worth having a test drive, especially in this diesel model.

I used to work with a man who wasn’t a big Ford fan; he preferred

Japanese cars instead. It’s hard to convince the non-believers, but in my case Ford are preaching to the converted.

Ford has sold over 90,000 units of their Focus in Ireland over the past ten years. They would have been heading for the magic 100k mark long before now but for the current slow down.

THE bigger the challenge, the more it seems that this Clonlara side thrive on the occasion as this latest battling performance will testify to. If last year’s county final was a fairytale ride of momentum and an unique team spirit, Sunday’s display cer- tainly surpassed that achievement and proved to their doubters that Clonlara are now a major force in Clare hurling.

Still, there were significant corre- lations to last year’s decider. Again, Clonlara’s big names all stepped up to the plate when it mattered most Whereas Newmarket’s were again conspicuous by their absense and that belly for the battle or indeed lack of was ultimately the difference, despite the south east Clare side being a man down for 35 minutes of this game af- ter John Barry’s first-half dismissal.

More than that though, Newmarket simply demonstrated that they had learned very little from last year. The first sign of fear came with their po- sitional choice of James McInerney to curb John Conlon on the wing, instead of at centre-back where he had been instrumental all year. In addition, the Blues never appeared settled, magnified by the fact that almost every outfield player was switched from his original position by the end of the hour. Their choice of free-takers at times looked un- planned while the use of the extra man was never utilised to the fullest, especially from puck-outs.

Instead, they continued to pum- mel high balls into their non-func- tioning half-forward line that Clon- lara’s huge performers Domhnall O’Donovan, Tomas O’Donovan and Nicky O’Connell lapped up with welcoming ease.

However, Newmarket’s §frailities should not deflect from an outstand- ing, gritty display from the defending champions in what was undoubtedly their most satisfying game to date. A motivated Newmarket came out with all guns blazing in an attempt to ruffle their feathers but Clonlara stood firm and weathered the early storm with little fuss through Cor- mac O’Donovan (2), John Conlon, Nicky O’Connell and Tommy Lynch to open up a O-5 to 0-1 advantage.

This was shaping up to be a fero- cious battle with neither side wilting in the tackle and while the hurling wasn’t of the highest standard early on, it was still utterly compelling SAUUee

Misfiring Newmarket took 27 minutes to add to Colin Ryan’s first minute free but they got a signifi- cant boost when John Barry received his second yellow for a wild pull on Enda Barrett and they soon added their first point from play through David Barrett in the 31st minute.

There was still more drama to come before the sides would retire for the interval as Darach Honan got his first real opportunity to take on the New- market defence but was taken down as he was about to unload for goal, only to eventually claim his first score right on the stroke of half-time

to leave the score 0-6 to O-3.

Having had time to regroup and plan how to effectively use the spare man (James McInerney moved to midfield while Eoin Hayes was the extra man behind the half-back line), Newmarket re-emerged with renewed vigour and in fact, dismantled Clon- lara’s advantage within 90 seconds through Gaffney, Shane O’Brien and Sean Arthur.

In what was their most assertive period of the game, Newmarket then cancelled out a Nicky O’Connell free through substitute Michael MclIn- erney and with only three minutes

gone and the advantage of an extra man, the momentum was now with the Blues.

However, Clonlara have proved throughout their three year succes- sion of highs that they are not ones to back down from a challenge. They duly replied like champions, grab- bing three points in as many minutes, two from substitute William Slattery to reopen a three point advantage.

The decisive score came five min- utes later. It was a goal worthy of winning any game as a quick free from Ger O’Connell picked out brother Nicky who produced a mo-

ment of magic to dummy Martin Murphy before launching a long clearance into Donal Madden who blasted to the net.

Clonlara were now firmly back on top and hit home that advan- tage through Madden (2), Nicky O’Connell and the inspirational Cor- mac O’Donovan to push them 1-14 to O-8 ahead by the 55th minute.

Newmarket’s total collapse was alarming but they simply had no reply to Clonlara’s drive. With the champions half-back line dominat- ing, led by ball magnet Domhnall O’Donovan, it was only a matter of

seeing out the remaining minutes.

Newmarket did produce a late rally, with a Colin Ryan free followed by a scrappy goal from substitute Enda Kelly, but instead of lying down, Clonlara almost secured a goal of their own. Successive shots from John Conlon and Donal Madden were somehow scrambled away by the Newmarket rearguard at the ex- pense of a red card for Padraig Kil- nerVM BOE

The crowd numbers may have not been the same but there was still sig- nificant celebrations from the Clon- lara contingent once the final whistle eventually blew. Not only had they seen off chief rivals Newmarket to reach their second successive senior final but the sheer character of the performance will now surely give them the plaudits they so richly de- serve. Nothing has been won yet of course but this was certainly the most significant day of the 2009 championship to date. A day that this young Clonlara side proved to everyone that they are still the side to beat in the championship and are not about to let their title go without an almighty battle.