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A 37-YEAR-OLD German man was dead in his Ennis apartment for a fortnight before his body was discov- ered, an inquest heard last week.

Christian Sonntag’s body was found in a one-bed apartment on O’Connell Street, on July 12, 2005. He had not been seen for over two weeks.

Ennis Coroner’s Court heard last week that Mr Sonntag had not col- lected his mail since June 24.

Jens Gottloeber, another German national, said he had worked with Mr Sonntag in Shannon.

He said Mr Sonntag had asked him to give his “sick papers” to his boss, as he had been ill.

He said he knew Mr Sonntag had been in hospital and he last saw him in the Diamond pub, three weeks be- fore his body was found.

He had tried to phone him a number of times in the interim, but could not get through.

William Justin said he last saw his friend Mr Sonntag in the Diamond pub, on June 24.

Detective Garda Brendan Rouine told Ennis Coroner’s Court that he saw the body on a bed in the apart- ment on July 12.

“The body was in a state of semi- decomposition and had obviously been there for a period of time,” he

said. He said there had been no sign of “anything untoward” in the apart- ment.

State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy carried out a post mortem examination on the body on July 13, 2005. She said there was “advanced decomposition of the body”, which suggested he had been dead for up to two weeks.

‘There were no marks or injuries to the head or body and his death was not related to trauma,” she said.

Professor Cassidy noted that Mr Sonntag’s heart was grossly enlarged and that this could cause sudden col- lapse and death at any time. At the time of death, he was intoxicated by alcohol and had also been taking amphetamines, which could cause the heart to beat irregularly. She concluded that his death was princi- pally due to the enlarged heart, with alcohol and amphetamines possible contributory factors.

Coroner Isobel O’Dea suggested than an open verdict be brought in and the jury agreed.

“It is a very sad situation for some- one to die in such circumstances,” said Ms O’Dea.

Inspector Tom Kennedy – said, “Quite a bit of thorough investigat- ing went into the case and there were communications between gardai and his family in Germany at the time.”

LIAM Moloney suffered “pretty horrendous” injuries in a “planned and executed killing’, after he was “lured” to the countryside, the trial has heard.

Prosecution Set SKoyee] O’Connell told the jury last Wednes- day that the accused, Ruan native Anthony Kelly (54) with an address at Emlagh na Muck, Emlaghmore, Waterville, Kerry, intended to kill Mr Moloney (56).

Mr Kelly has pleaded not guilty to the murder of the separated father of four, at Portlecka, Ruan, Ennis, on February 11, 2005.

Mr Kelly has admitted unlawfully killing Mr Moloney, but claims he

was suffering from a mental disorder at the time and was of diminished responsibility.

Outlining the prosecution case to the jury, Mr O’Connell said, “I think you can infer from the injuries sus- tained by Liam Moloney that Antho- ny Kelly intended to kill him.”

“There were 17 major blows around the skull area…many fractures to the skull and face and the throat was cut from side to side,’ he said.

‘The motive which he had for kill- ing Mr Moloney was to enrich him- self…to steal money. He went to Mr Moloney’s flat after, but only got €500 to €600,” he said.

‘He (the deceased) was working on the evening of the killing. Anthony Kelly lured him to the place where

he killed him,” said Mr O’Connell. He said Mr Kelly “selected and

sharpened” his weapons in Water-

ville and then brought them to the

scene of the killing.

He said Mr Kelly had arranged to meet Mr Moloney at Considine’s pub in Barefield and Mr Moloney would drive him to Ruan.

After he had killed him, Mr Kelly took Mr Moloney’s cab and drove back to Barefield. He abandoned the cab there and it was found 24 hours Fitoe

He told the jury that Mr Kelly emi- erated to the US around 1970 and re- turned to Ireland in April 2001.

He worked in security in Shannon and moved to Waterville in 2003.

Liam Moloney, from Ennis, worked with Aer Lingus in Shannon after leaving school.

He retired in January 2002 and received a severance package of

€71,000. He then began working as a driver with Ennis Cabs.

Mr O’Connell said that Anthony Kelly told John Butler, a mutual friend, that he was to marry a Swed- ish woman in Stockholm in Decem- ber 2004. He had asked Mr Butler to be his best man and Mr Moloney to be his groomsman. The wedding was later cancelled and it was believed the story had been “fiction”, said Mr O’Connell.

At the outset of the trial, Mr Kelly pleaded guilty to six other charges, including robbing Mr Moloney and taking his car, on the same date. The trial is expected to conclude later WT Lete)

LAHINCH’S reputation as Clare’s Mecca for new and original music continues to grow with the news of a band who are taking an original slant at performing and making music.

The Navigators are a local four- piece who have taken up residence in Flanaghan’s Bar in Lahinch on Wednesday evenings. The band fea- tures a mountain of musical talent in- cluding famed uilleann piper, Davy Spillane, who plays electric guitar, Ogi Doyle on drums, Mark Farrelly on keys and synth and Blendi Kras- niqi on precession.

They play a mixture of jazz, blues and funk with the inclusion of a few contemporary electronic sounds.

The original thing about them, how- ever, 1s that they do not write songs; instead, they improvise their music each night.

“We are friends and neighbours who live here. We’re not here just for the summer, we are here for a long time. We’re almost like a social club. We love playing the kind of music that we play. We’re not doing it to impress people, we are doing it to impress ourselves. It’s unrehearsed but it’s deliberately unrehearsed,” said Davy Spillane.

“There is a real thrill 1n it. There 1s a great journey to go into a night of three hours of music when you don’t know what you are going to do. There is a real fear, it’s fantastic. Really challenging. The crowd are looking

at us and we are looking back, not re- ally knowing what to do.”

While the music is unscripted, a great deal of work goes into mak- ing the three-hour gigs happen each week. Every performance is record- ed, listened to and discussed by the band who strive to make each night better than the previous one.

This process of making music al- lows the audience the chance to wit- ness, and even effect, original music as it is being made.

“We try to avoid learning music but instead navigate ourselves through the music. That’s why we are the navigators,” said Mark Farrelly.

“We have a theme as a band. We have bits and pieces of music that we like and they develop naturally, but

we don’t rehearse. We are trying to get away from the structured, framed music.

“We respond to the crowd. When the crowd start cheering and are into it, we do tend to push it farther. As the people start getting into it and the energy rises, the music starts to get aul elome

The Navigators play in Flanaghan’s Bar in Lahinch each Wednesday aneeaal

JOHN Vaughan Auctioneers, En- nistymon, have a lovely three bed- room bungalow on their books, guiding at €385,000. The house is set in a mature, spacious site off the Ennistymon/Lahinch Road, within

a mile of Lahinch beach, golf links and all other amenities in the resort, while also being close to the vibrant town of Ennistymon.

This house has large sash windows and is a bright house with beautiful timber floors in each of the three bedrooms and in the sitting room.

The accommodation comprises a kitchen, dining room with an open fire, sitting room with open fire, three bedrooms, and a family bathroom. The attic is floored and can be ac- cessed via a Stira stairs. The attic of- fers good conversion potential. For full details contact 065 7071477.

ANTHONY Kelly felt “possessed” When he hit Liam Moloney to the head with an axe, then dragged his body out of the car, before cutting his throat from side to side.

The thought of killing his victim had entered his mind several times and as the two travelled from Ennis to Ruan, a feeling of “rage” came over him and voices told him “do it, elon ia

The trial was told that Mr Kelly

had owed Mr Moloney about €150 at the time.

Mr Moloney’s taxi was seen parked at the entrance to Port House, an un- occupied building, at around 8pm on the evening of February 11, 2005.

According to the prosecution, Mr Kelly opened the gates after he killed Mr Moloney and dragged the body 15 to 20 yards inside.

‘The pockets of the deceased had been turned out,’ said prosecution barrister Tom O’Connell SC.

Less than an hour later, Mr Kelly

entered Mr Moloney’s apartment on Barrack Street, Ennis, where he stole money. He later picked up a 14-year- old boy in Shannon, on arrangement with the boy’s mother, and drove to Waterville.

The following morning, the boy saw the accused throwing clothes he had been wearing the previous evening into a fire in the back garden of his house. That day, he threw the head of a hatchet and other items in the direction of a lake in Kerry.

‘He was purposefully seeking to

cover his tracks and dispose of things which might connect him with the killing,” said Mr O’Connell.

Initially, Mr Kelly denied any knowledge of the killing. He later ad- mitted involvement. He said he had been depressed and angry in the run- up to the incident. “I had been down in my house in Waterville and had nightmares for months,” he said.

He said that Liam Moloney had “pissed” him off and used to ring him, telling him sick jokes.

On the night in question, Mr Kelly

was carrying a knife and a small axe. In Ruan, he got in and out of the taxi a few times and Mr Moloney asked him what he was “up to”.

He reached into his bag and had his hand on the axe. He felt a burn- ing sensation and something said to him, “do it, do it”, and he struck him a number of times to the head.

“| felt like I was possessed. I used a knife to cut his throat and said *F*** You’. It was only when I was driving back to Kerry that there was pain in my heart,” he said.

which has been compiled by Gerald Kennedy to mark the 40th anniver- sary of the club.

Superstars of Irish football such as Ronnie Whelan and Packie Bon- nar were in north Clare earlier this month to help mark the historic day for the club.

“We started off about five years ago with the idea of putting this book together. An awful lot of work

was done back then in gathering old match reports, photos and any kind of memorabilia together. As the 40th anniversary began to come closer, we decided that we really should get moving and put the book together,’ said Gerry Kennedy.

“We didn’t realise how much work would be involved in doing it. The collection is fairly comprehensive, but there were one or two things that were difficult to find. I remember taking some photographs myself in the early days but the quality was so poor in those days that not a lot of them survived. Older photographs were one of the hardest things to

track down.

“We were getting lots of bits and pieces all the time and while there was some few things that we weren’t able to include, I’m not sure we could have made it any bigger or more comprehensive. We were lucky in the early days that soccer was treated as a bit of a novelty sport and, because of that, it got a lot of coverage in the media at that time.”

The books track the evolution of the club since its foundation at New- town United in 1967 up until its latest incarnation as Corofin Harps.

“We have got great feedback from old members of the club. It brings

back great memories for them. But equally for the young people, they get to look back and see where the club has come from and how it has developed into what it is today,” con- tinued Gerry.

“In fact, there is really something in the book for anyone who has an interest in sport in Clare. The club has had a lot of ups and downs over the years and it has not always been smooth sailing.”

The book is available at a cost of €15 from O’Callaghan’s Newsa- gents in Corofin. Alternatively, you can contact Gerry Kennedy at 086 3478050 for more details.

ERA Leyden Auctioneers, Lahinch, has just taken on a four bedroom de- tached bungalow with sunroom and attached garage, at Poulawillin, Mil- town Malbay, with an asking price of €317,500.

This property occupies a half acre site and is situated on the Mullagh Road, only l1km from the centre of Miltown Malbay and all of its ameni- ties. The house enjoys sea views and is less than two miles from Spanish Point Beach.

The bungalow extends to 1,570 sq ft of floor space, plus the attached

garage offers scope for conversion to additional living space, if required.

This property has the added benefit of a recent extension to the rear to include a bright, spacious sun room and kitchen cum dining room over- looking the rolling countryside and the coastline.

Other features include a second reception room, double glazed win- dows, oil fired central heating, stone feature facade to the front of the property and tarmacadam driveway. And the grounds have been neatly maintained

For full details contact 065 7081088.

A YOUNG man had his ear bitten in a row on a Street in the early hours of the morning, a court has heard.

John Paul Keane (27), of Scan- lan Park, Castleconnell, Limerick, pleaded guilty to assault, arising out of an incident outside Molly’s bar, Ballina, Killaloe, in the early hours

of the morning in August 2005.

Sergeant Deborah Marsh told En- nis Circuit Court yesterday that the accused and another man, Niall Col- lins, were involved in a row. They were fighting on the ground.

“The accused was on top of the other man. He had the other man’s ear between his teeth and was biting down on it. There was blood gushing

from the ear,” she said.

She said she warned the accused to desist but he “continued with the as- ele

After he was arrested, the accused continued to be violent and lashed Oo) iar limee Heer N

The assault has “left a permanent scar down the centre of the ear’, she Said.

Counsel for the accused, Michael Collins, said that a large number of people were involved in various rows outside the bar.

He said the accused told gardai that he feared he was going to die as he was been kicked.

Judge Carroll Moran adjourned sentencing, to allow the injured par- ty to attend court.

THE Kilrush Parish Finance Com- mittee is hoping to tee off the next stage in fundraising for the refur- bishment of St Senan’s Church with a golf classic on May 4.

It 1s hoped that the tournament, which will be held at Kilrush Golf Club, will raise £10,000 towards the massive €5.2 million renovation of the church.

Pat Shannon, chairman of the fi- nance committee, listed out the extensive work that must be done before the church is finished in late Summer.

“A new roof is needed, the stained glass windows have been removed for repair and storm glazing and

the stone around the Rose Window has been re-cut. New central heat- ing is needed, the altar has been re- positioned and there is a new front entrance, boiler house and toilet fa- cilities. It is a complete upgrade,” he Sr AKOe

Mr Shannon added that the project has been several years in the making with a two year planning delay and appeals to An Bord Pleanala slowing down the building but not the fund- enh b Ores

He said that the continuing local contribution to the project has been excellent.

“We have raised nearly €2 million in the last few years. The house to house collections and general appeal raised €200,000 alone. We have a

parish draw and lotto as well. Dif- ferent organisations in the parish have also had their own money-rais- ing activities. We got some private donations and bequests in wills too. There has been a big drive in the lo- cal community.”

The committee has borrowed the remaining €3 million and has ap- pealed to the Government for fund- ing to make up the shortfall.

“We applied to the Department of the Environment for grants. We met with the Taoiseach and Ministers Cowen and O Cuiv. We already re- ceived verbal support from them but as yet there has been no financial as- sistance,’ he added.

Parish services have been held in the community hall since Septem-

ber, but Mr Shannon said that the church’s structure already shows an rboah ey en{er0 slo 01

‘The interior has dried out tremen- dously. From what we’ve seen so far St Senan’s will be one of the finest church buildings in the diocese, if not in the country.”

It costs €500 to enter a team in the golf classic and anyone interested can contact Denis Nagle on 065 9051138. Donations can also be sent to Father Michael Sheedy, The Paro- chial House, Toler Street in Kilrush.

CLARE fire services have advised people carrying out controlled burn- ing to always notify the service.

This follows a spate of gorse fires in the county, including ones which occurred in the Connolly-Lissycasey area.

Fire services were called out to at- tend two gorse fires in the area on April 19. Five units of the Fire Bri- gade — two from Ennis, two from Ennistymon and one from Kilrush — were called to the scene.

A large area of open ground was on fire but was brought under control by the fire brigade, who were assisted by members of Coullte along with a number of local volunteers. The long spell of dry weather meant the fire spread quickly and this, combined with changing wind directions, made working conditions extremely dif- ficult.

“If people are carrying out con- trolled burning, then it should be in a controlled manner and the Fire Control Centre (999/112) should be notified with the details,” said Tom Burke, Senior Assistant Chief Fire Officer, adding that just a few items could be burnt.

“While Coillte personnel and our- selves generally work in groups, both to be more effective and also for safety, especially during dusk hours,

members of the public that assist may yao lms KO) UCOdWAB OBESE

“If members of the public and land- owners are assisting Coillte and the fire service, they should be accom- panying these personnel at all times to ensure proper co-ordination of re- sources to deal with these incidents,” he said.

Meanwhile, environmentalists are counting the costs of more than 20 bog fires that broke out in Gort and Surrounding areas last week. The fires, which fire services described as the most serious in memory, are be- lieved to have been started by land- owners burning gorse on their land.

The worst of the fires took place in Peterswell, between Gort and Loughrea, with every available unit from Gort, Loughrea, Portumna, Athenry and Tuam called in to battle the blaze.

Ecologists are this week begin- ning to assess the level of damage sustained by the bogland areas as a result of the fire. Depending on the severity of the blaze, fire can have a mixed effect on a bogland habitat.

A sustained heavy blaze can cause irreversible damage to the living peat layer of a bog, essentially destroying the entire bog ecosystem.

However, a less serious fire can ac- tually promote new growth on bog land and prevent trees from encroach- ing and taking over bog areas.