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THE trial of a man accused of mur- dering Ennis hackney driver Liam Moloney two years ago 1s due to get underway tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Central Criminal Court.

Anthony Kelly (54) of Emlagh na Muck, Emlagh More, Waterville, County Kerry, yesterday pleaded not guilty to the murder of father-of-four Mr Moloney (56), in Portlecka, Ruan, Ennis, on February 11, 2005.

Mr Moloney’s body was discov- ered on farmland at Portlecka, near the village of Ruan, on February 11, PAU Oey

A jury of seven women and five

men was sworn in yesterday and the trial will get underway tomorrow neleusuperee

Mr Kelly yesterday pleaded guilty to six other charges. These include robbing Mr Moloney (56) of car and house keys, a pocket knife, a wallet and €10 in cash.

He also admitted taking a motor vehicle belonging to Mr Moloney and damaging it by fire on the same CF Kes

Mr Kelly also pleaded guilty to a charge of entering an address at Bar- rack Close, Barrack Street, Ennis, with intent to commit theft.

He also admitted possession of a knife and other articles with blades,

namely an axe and machete, in a pub- lic place, also on the same date.

He also pleaded guilty to the pos- session of a sawn-off shotgun in County Kerry on February 24, 2005, giving rise to the inference that he did not have it in his possession for a lawful purpose.

Senior counsel for the defence, Brendan Grehan told Mr Justice Paul OTe Nee Coker A VMO OFLU ON KIRW ie: Foie- Ore kts in which the matter of diminished re- sponsibility would be raised.

The case is expected to last up to two weeks.

THE first series of afternoon tea dances in west Clare has been a huge success so far with a fourth dance planned for the month of May.

The dances, organised by the Kil- rush Family Resource Centre and funded by the HSE, give people an opportunity to travel to other parish- es for fun and entertainment.

Viv Rooney, community worker with the resource centre, said that all ages are welcome at the events.

“We have had up to 50 people at- tending the dances and they are open to everyone. Anybody who wants

to dance a set or enjoys a waltz can come along. We hold them on the third Sunday of the month and they move from parish to parish so we can get around to every community, ” she said.

She added that the idea to stage the dances came from a conference cel- ebrating active senior citizenship in mauers

“A lot of people said what they would enjoy doing at weekends. Sunday can be a long and lonely day and one of the things suggested was a dance in the afternoon. We applied to the HSE for funding and that will cover six dances. We are hoping that

it will eventually sustain itself,”

Ms Rooney said that the dances are more than a single event because they promote community activity and involvement.

“People at a loose end are getting out and meeting each other. Mostly women attend and you’ll hear them asking now ‘Are you going? Can I give you a lift?’ They can meet old friends and neighbours or people they went to school with.”

Dances have already been held in Kilrush, Moyasta and Kilkee and the next event will be on May 20 in Downes’ Pub, Bealaha. There will be a bus provided for the first time

on that day.

“We are hoping for good weather. There is a small cover charge and we provide tea and scones. Anyone who comes along really enjoys it. It 1s im- portant to keep this facility running and supported,’ she said.

The tea dances are part of just one local service provided by the Kilrush Family Resource Centre. There are various projects, classes and group meetings on in the centre every week.

For more information on the sun- day afternoon tea dances you can contact the centre on 065 9052173 or email to vivrooney @kilrushfrc.ie.

ENNIS native Selina Moylan is studying Sports and Business Man- agement in University of New Haven Connecticut. Moylan led Munster under 18’s in the 2003 Gaynor Cup, the same year she picked up the Irish Under 19 player of the year award and was named Irish Under 19 cap- tain. Two years later she started her first season on a soccer scholarship with New Haven.

It can be gruelling combining stud- ies and soccer, but Moylan is loving 1

“A week during the season is pret- ty long. Last year on Monday and Tuesday alone we would have done

three hours training by three o’clock on Tuesday. On Monday I’d go to my classes from 8am to lpm, get an hour break then we have training at 2.30 for 90 mins. On Tuesday I go to class from 8.30am to lpm and then we have training again at 2.30pm. We get one day off a week and that is usually Sunday and we have a mini- mum of two games per week.

“Last season at one point we had seven games over a two week span. Those two weeks were pretty hard because we had to go to class and then travel, then come back and do homework.

“It didn’t take me too long to adjust to playing with American players, but I will say that there are very few

of them that know the game.

“The facilities vary at every school as well. You could go to one school that had state of the art facilities and then you could to another one that barely have a field.

“My coach is Brendan Faherty. He is only in his 20’s so he 1s still pretty young and he is still learning, he is a very good coach though. He went over to England to college so he knows the game really well. Soccer is his life, that’s all that needs to be said about him.

“T don’t really keep that much of an eye on the game back home when I’m away. Brendan will tell me about it because he keeps an eye on it. But other than that not really.

“IT would like to see Noel King (Irish ladies manager) give some of the younger players a chance to make it and not just call them in just to make up numbers.

‘I do know that he has given a few of the girls a chance, but there are a lot of us that know we are good enough to play in the team. That is SOMO MUNI OeLBUNToaae

Moylan has certainly made her mark in the US. She has been named on the NSCAA adidas Women’s soc- cer All-America team, which basi- cally means the league picked her in their top 11 players last season. An- other honour for the girl from Ennis who is sure to pick up more as her career progresses.

CLARE County Council will meet with gardai in the next number of days in a bid to prevent the “very unsafe practice” of coach operators dropping passengers off at the road- side at the Cliffs of Moher visitors’ Cosi

Several coach operators are refus- ing to use the car-park in response to a council parking charge increase from €5 to €60. Instead, they are dropping off and picking up passen- gers at the roadside.

Project Leader Ger Dollard said that

the council is “extremely concerned” at the practice because it puts visitors at risk and causes traffic problems. ‘The traffic implications were also evident, especially on the busy Easter weekend when tailbacks to St Brig- id’s Well were caused by coach op- erators stopping on the road and con- sequently impeding the direct flow of traffic on what is a very heavily trafficked tourist route,’ he added. “Currently between 12 and 30 coaches a day are using the new coach-parking facilities and paying the appropriate facilities charge for the number of passengers onboard

and are very Satisfied with the overall service and facilities on offer.”

In relation to what he called the “small” number of coach operators continuing to drop tourists off at the roadside, Mr Dollard said, ““On some occasions, some of the coach opera- tors continue to drop visitors on the road, even when the facilities charge is paid directly by the visitor group – for example, school groups or as- sociations that have booked directly with the Cliffs of Moher and are pay- ing all charges themselves.”

Director of the centre, Katherine Webster, said that there are “oc-

casional comments on the price of parking but when staff explain that the facilities charge covers the ac- cess to all public facilities on site, as well as a contribution towards visitor management and conservation at the Cliffs of Moher, most visitors con- sider this reasonable.”

She said that Easter weekend was their biggest test to date in terms of managing the number of visitors and all went well.

“Despite record numbers the cen- tre, cliff edge and car park all oper- ated smoothly. Visitors are respond- ing positively to the on-the-ground

staff presence especially the Cliffs of Moher Rangers,” she added.

“The rangers conduct guided tours at off-peak times to encourage visit- ing the cliffs when we are quieter. These are extremely popular espe- cially since the arrival of the puffins on Goat Island on April 1.”

Mr Dollard predicted that the “vast improvement” of facilities would continue to boost visitor numbers, which are up three per cent on last year.

He said it is still “early days” as the peak tourist season would run from May to September.

A GROUP of 16 Australian high school students will say “G’Day”’ to Spanish Point today (Tuesday) at the end of their visit to St Joseph’s Sec- ondary School to celebrate 21 years of the county’s twinning with Clare Valley down under.

School Principal, Mary Crawford said that the 11 day visit was a mas- sive success after seven years of let- ters and emails with Clare Valley High School.

‘The sixteen students and five staff got on wonderfully on their stay in Ireland. The weather was so good and they had a fabulous time meet- ing everyone and travelling around.”

The students stayed with local host families and attended some classes at the school as well as visiting re- gional attractions.

“They did a lot of activities. We ran some classes on Irish history and culture. They did t-shirt print- ing and celtic design with our own art students. We held a set dancing

workshop too. Clare County Coun- cil organised a banquet in Bunratty Folk Park and the Ennis Lions’ Club gave them a tour of Ennis. Minister Tony Killeen welcomed them offi- cially. Everyone was very involved,” said Ms Crawford.

St Joseph’s also helped some of the Australian students to trace their Irish roots and one student found Clare relatives back to the early nineteenth century.

The group, which included five high school staff, travelled to Gal-

way, Connemara National Park, Kylemore Abbey, the Burren, Ailwee Caves and the Cliffs of Moher.

Most of the students were aged from 14 to 16 years old and Ms Crawford said that some of St Joseph’s second and third year students hope to visit Clare Valley in the next two years.

“They think it’s great. We hope to send some of our students in the fu- ture if they want to go.

‘The Australians are already plan- ning to come back in two years time,” she added.

RIGHT after the game, they were dancing like they’d just won the lot- tery. Inagh/Kilnamona upset the odds and Paddy McGuane was lost in a sea of celebrations. Just after the cup was lifted, he threw his mind back over a rip-roaring game.

“The goal scored by Brendan Long straight after Newmarket’s goal was vital as we were giving a message that we would not lie down against them. Our defence was tremendous to a man with our fast forwards com- ing into the game in the second half. A huge factor in our win was the training of the two squads together all year displaying the unity between the clubs.”He said the plans on how to tackle the final were made well in advance and the unity in the squad was a Springboard to Sunday’s suc- cess.

“On Wednesday night the two panels were training and Donal Ca- hir and I asked the Kilnamona lads to stay on for a few minutes to dis- cuss the Under 21C final on Friday evening and every Inagh man stayed to listen and offer support. The fact that Fergal Keane congratulated the Inagh mentors Noel Hehir and Tom Hogan after we won the C title on Friday showed the respect that now exists between the two clubs and the fantastic work that is being carried out by all mentors in the two clubs”.

Even though they had their eyes firmly set on capturing the title last week, they were taking it just one game at a time all season. It was an approach that worked.

“We took every game in the two erades as the next game to win. No talk ever took place about winning titles. The smaller clubs have players of the highest standards and when

they can join together, they can dis- play this quality. Just because a club is low on numbers does not mean they do not have players as good as those from the strongly populated clubs.”

He also paid tribute to the team they had just beaten.

‘Newmarket played their part in what I hope and feel was a great game to view and we applaud them for their brilliance as champions over the last three years. We modeled our- selves on their high standards and applied our own requirements to achieve the ultimate success. We still won’t get carried away bit I have to say well done to a fantastic bunch of men from the parish”.

THE lid has been lifted on what should be the private lives of mem- bers of the O’ Dwyer family.

Over four days’ evidence, very per- sonal details of a north Clare fami- ly’s everyday life has been aired.

Each day, Patrick O’Dwyer sat alongside his mother, father and sis- ter. His mother’s support for her son was patently obvious. She regularly patted his knee or held his hand, told the jury there wasn’t “a bad bone in his body”.

This case is unique. The defend- ant, victim and chief mourners are all members of the same family. The pressure on Patrick O’Dwyer’s mother Claire was all too obvious throughout the trial, particularly as the harrowing details of how her youngest daughter met her death were aired publicly in court.

Claire O’Dwyer left the court as State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy gave evidence of Marguerite’s death, last Tuesday morning.

Her husband Paddy sat firmly through the evidence, mainly staring towards the ground, but sometimes looking ahead.

Their daughter Louise (22) sat alongside them throughout the trial. Claire and Paddy’s only liv- ing daughter remained eagle-eyed throughout the trial, but the strain on her face showed as the jury finally brought in its verdict.

The accused man sat hunched for-

ward and staring at the ground for the most part. Throughout the evidence, he remained focused on the floor and rarely raised his head.

He did wipe his eyes with a tissue on a number of occasions, notably when details of his interviews with

gardai were recalled.

He also shed tears when his fa- ther recalled him helping out on the family farm as a child and showed emotion when his mother sat in the witness box and told the jury what a wonderful son he was.

Patrick’s focus on the ground was cast aside during one particular part of the trial. As Mr Justice Paul Car- ney was delivering his charge to the jury, Patrick O’ Dwyer sat up straight and looked up at the judge. He also raised his head and looked at the jury

as it announced its verdict, just min- utes after 8pm last night.

Courtroom Number One was a flurry of activity during the trial. The front of the room was filled with so- licitors and barristers involved in the case. Behind them, several journal- ists noted the facts of the case.

Further back, in the public gallery, several gardai involved in the case sat close to family relatives and friends of the O’Dwyers, while a number of onlookers wandered in and out of the courtroom, intrigued by the harrow- ing details of a family tragedy.

Sitting to the right of the courtroom Sat six men and six women, whose job was crucial — it was the jury’s re- sponsibility to decide the outcome.

The trial judge pointed out that the jury was a bit older than the average LUMA CBE: CeB RBIS lonKM(OKmOleNot in age to the accused’s parents than to the accused man.

“You are a little bit older than the average jury … more common sense and more experience to draw on,’ was the opening remark made by the trial judge in his charge to the jury.

Ultimately, the jury used this com- mon sense and experience to find Patrick O’Dwyer not guilty of the murder of his sister, but guilty of manslaughter by reason of dimin- ished responsibility.

THE West Clare Kidney Support Group is hoping to improve on the €33,000 it raised last year with its eighth annual fundraising walk in Kilrush on May 6.

All of this year’s proceeds will go to the Dialysis Unit in the Mid West- ern Regional Hospital.

Committee member and transplant patient, Fran Carmody, said that his own experiences and the death of his

brother in law from renal failure in- spired the fundraiser.

“Myself, Tom Prendeville and my niece, Michelle Gallery, had the idea and it was only going to be a one off at first. We have since done the walk every year for the Irish Kidney As- sociation and this time we decided to donate the money to the regional hospital. They are working really hard. Four out of seven days a week, the unit is running 24 hours a day. This is our way of giving something

back.”

Mr Carmody said that he has “nev- er looked back” since his kidney transplant in 1998 but that dialysis was still a daily struggle for many people.

He added that local support has been excellent.

“Local people help out with water stations on the day and we always get a great turnout. Everyone seems to know someone affected by it and people are always willing to help.”

The walk, which attracted 500 walkers last year, has gone from strength to strength since its first out- ing raised £3,500 (punts).

This year’s walk will start at 3pm from the square in Kilrush and will go as far as Cooraclare where there will be music and refreshments.

For sponsorship cards you can con- tact Michelle on 085 1617617 or Fran on 086 8638847 but anyone can turn up on the day to walk and make a donation.

IT WAS a big strike for the small man. Inagh and Kilnamona joined forces once more on Sunday and took the catapult to Newmarket-on- Fergus.

David and Goliath stuff. Hard work and belief won through in the end and when the game was done with, the amalgamation had their first ever Under-21 A title.

Newmarket were striving to be- come only the second club ever to secure four titles on the trot — Feakle

did it back in the *80s — but in the end their firepower ran out.

The second half of this game had everything. The champions surging ahead, the underdogs fighting back. Another surge by Newmarket before Inagh/Kilnamona finally got their teeth around the game and rattled off six points in the last ten minutes. Newmarket had only a point to show for the closing stages of the final, before Bernard Gaffney whipped in a bullet from 21-yards. It was saved by Inagh/Kilnamona captain Patrick Kelly in the goal, but David Barrett

flicked the return into the net.

It was a one point game and injury time had just begun. In truth, Inagh/ Kilnamona never looked like leaving it behind them once they flourished in the final quarter but it was breath- less stuff all around.

As a crowd was gathering on the field to see Kelly collect the trophy, County Board chairman Michael McDonagh gushed, “this must be the best game of hurling we’ve seen all season.”

He was right. Out on the field, with the crowd spilling all around him,

Paddy McGuane — who had a major hand in Kilnamona winning the C ti- tle earlier in the weekend — said the day should be seen as a shot in the arm for the smaller clubs of Clare.

“They [smaller clubs] have play- ers of the highest standard and when they can join together, they can put in displays of this quality. Just because a club is low on numbers doesn’t mean they don’t have players as good as those from the strongly populated clubs.”

It should point the way forward for the senior championship to come.

Nothing was taken for granted by the amalgamation as they marched through the season. Step by step until the annexed the big gun on Sunday.

Crusheen were the other big win- ners of the weekend. After a strong start, Broadford died away in the Under 21B final and Crusheen took it easily in the end.

MEDICAL experts who assessed Patrick O’Dwyer in the months following the killing of his sister, reached conflicting conclusions.

The Director of the Central Men- tal Hospital, Dr Harry Kennedy — a forensic psychiatrist — who gave evi- dence on behalf of the prosecution, said the accused did not suffer from a mental disorder at the time of the killing.

In contrast, three medical experts, tendered by the defence, concluded

that he did suffer from a mental dis- order at the time.

Dr Joan Moroney, a _ consultant neurologist, said Patrick reported a history of blackouts, some of which were related to alcohol consumption.

Dr Moroney, who gave evidence on behalf of the defence last Tuesday, said the accused would experience “spinning in his head and everything would go dark. He also reported staring episodes when he wouldn’t be fully aware of his surroundings, which would last 30 to 40 seconds.”

She said that for two days after the

party at his parents’ home, he felt depressed and began to think of su1- cide. “If there was a rope in the ga- rage he would have hanged himself. He wanted to go and bash his brains out. He thought his sister was going to stop him. He wanted to stop her before she stopped him.”

“The overall consensus would be that Patrick probably did have an epilepsy syndrome, emanating from the left hand side of his brain,’ she concluded.

She said he would be “less likely to have a fit during alcohol consump-

tion, but more likely to have a seizure in the 24 to 48 hours after.” Consultant psychiatrist Dr Cleo Van Velsen told the trial she concluded that the accused suffered from “de- personalisation disorder.” She said this disorder could be linked to his premature birth. She expressed the view that if Patrick had been on his own on the night of the killing, he “might have killed himself.” Another consultant psychiatrist, Dr Paul O’Connell agreed with Dr Van Velsen’s conclusions. “I think that depersonalisation disorder nearly

entirely captures the symptoms,” he SrHLOe

However, Dr Harry Kennedy told the trial he believed the accused suf- fered from a “severe alcohol prob- lem.” He said that on the day of the killing, he was overcome with “pro- found feelings of shame and embar- rassment” as a result of a drunken episode the previous Saturday night.

Dr Kennedy said he did not find any evidence of a “depersonalisation disorder” or epilepsy, as had been described by the other medical ex- ea Re