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A RUAN publican in his late fifties, who was beaten repeatedly with his walking stick in a frenzied random at- tack, has told how he feared he would be beaten to a pulp.

Michael Moloney was giving evi- dence in the case of Fergus Casey (23), of Ruan, who pleaded guilty to assault- ing the publican and also assaulting Donal Brohan, in Ruan on September 7, 2004.

Gda Brian O’Donnell said Mr Molo- ney was going for a walk, shortly after closing his pub, when he heard a noise.

He went to see where the noise came from and saw the accused, Fergus Ca- Seas

Casey took his stick from him and struck him up to 30 times. Some of the blows were to the head and he was still being beaten while he bled.

Fr Pat O’Neill went to the assistance of the man being beaten as did another man, Donal Brohan, who was hit with a rock to the head.

The accused said to the publican: “you think that you own the village,” the court heard.

“There was no obvious cause to it. It was a frenzied attack that happened when he was out waking his dog,” said Gda O’Donnell.

Casey’s barrister said his client was involved in two altercations with Mr Moloney prior to this incident, but Gda O’Donnell said he had no knowledge of that.

Casey, who has four previous convic-

tions, including two for burglary and one for assault causing harm, took his victim by surprise.

“I know Fergus Casey since he was a child and I wouldn’t expect he would do this,” said Mr Moloney, adding that the accused was in his pub earlier that night.

“He was in a frenzied mood. It was very frightening.

“From that day to this, I get night- mares. Only for Fr O’Neill I wouldn’t be here.

‘He would have beaten me to a pulp.”

When the accused’s barrister apolo- gised to Mr Moloney, he replied, “‘apol- ogies aren’t much good to me if I was found dead in Ruan, part of the stats. This man needs to get help.”

Casey’s sister told the court he has en- dured considerable difficulties through- out his life.

‘Fergus needs help. It’s been a con- tinuous cry for help,” said his sister, who accepted that Mr Moloney could have been killed.

Judge Carroll Moran said, “Mr Molo- ney got a dreadful hiding and whether or not there was something behind it, there was certainly no need for it.

“It was a cowardly, mean thing to do … nasty.”

He said a lengthy prison sentence might go nowhere towards solving the accused’s problems.

He adjourned the case for a year to see how he behaves and said he would not rule out a prison term of three to four years.

THE family and friends of Martin Griffin celebrated a life full of wit and personal- ity at his funeral in Ennis on SY TAI Ker NYA

Martin’s father John Joe, brothers Michael, Denis and sisters Maureen and Mairead, along with mem- bers of his extended family and friends, attended the funeral, which took place at the St Peter and Paul’s Ca- thedral.

The body of Martin (24) was recovered on the shore- line near Doolin last Tues- day after the Suzuki Vitara in which it is thought he had slept plunged into the sea. Chief celebrant, Fr Gerry Carey told mourners that “accidents such as this leave us numb and in many ways, speechless.” Fr Carey said that Martin had “a face full of light” and that he had enriched the lives of all those who had known him. He added that Martin was an extremely talented car- penter His “wood turning had become legendary and his father John Joe, spoke a

lot about that in the past few days.” Fr Carey also recalled how Martin was always los- ing pencils while at work and told how his friends and workmates commented “with his big bushy head of hair he probably lost half of them behind his ear. His brother, Michael had to keep a constant supply of pencils on hand.”

Mourners also heard of Martin’s devotion to his family and in particular his younger brother Denis.

Fr Carey recalled how Martin had arrived late into town one night after work and pleaded with a shop- keeper to stay open so that he might buy his brother and godson, Denis a birth- day present. In a poignant tribute to the memory of his brother Denis laid the present, a baseball cap, on the altar.

After the funeral Mar- tin’s friends fondly recalled his personality and love for Tate

“TI remember one time when he called down while we were at college. He was looking for a place to stay

and he stayed with us for a few days. For dinner he used to eat ten of everything whether it was sausages, eggs or toast. He was a great man and a great friend.” Earlier in the week a fam- ily friend spoke of the dev- astating impact Martin’s on his family. “When their

mother Ann died six years ago, the family was devas- tated and John Joe made a great job of rearing the family. Martin was just 18 then and Denis was just 4. The entire family lives at home. They cannot believe that the eldest, Martin, has now died. Himself and his

brother Michael were due to go to Australia later this year. Martin had a brilliant pair of hands and anything he put his mind to, he would do it. He lived his life to the full. If we was working he was working and if he was out, he would have a great time,’ he said.

THE major new book commemorating the life of Gort’s most celebrated daughter, Lady Augusta Gregory, was launched last week in the Limerick City Library.

‘Lady Gregory: an Irish Life’ is written by Limerick scholar Judith Hill and is an attempt to look beyond the great name of Lady Augusta Gregory, and examine the woman in the context of her time and what surrounded her.

Although she gained her reputation as a patron, playwright and campaigner, behind the fame Lady Gregory was a wife, moth- er, lover, friend, confidante, ally and the chatelaine of Coole Park.

Long overshadowed by the writers she influenced and with whom she collaborated Lady Gregory was also the co-founder of

the Abbey Theatre and a key figure of the Irish Literary Revival.

She herself wrote 42 plays, a well as a bi- ography and countless essays, poems and journals. She was also a celebrated transla- tor of Irish legends.

In this book Judith Hill attempts to get behind the image of a stiff and unapproach- able aristocrat and reveal a woman whose qualities would mark her out in any age; a woman of intelligence, carefully concealed ambition, great passion and vulnerability.

Judith Hill is an architectural historian and writer.

She has written two previous books; “The Building of Limerick’ and ‘Irish Public Sculpture: A History.’

‘Lady Gregory: an Irish Life’ is available in hardback from Sutton Books at a cost of €30.

CALLS have been made to An Post to re-es- tablish its regional sorting office in Ennis, amid claims that the service is descending into chaos.

Business leaders have backed a call from Deputy Pat Breen (FG) for An Post to revert to sorting Clare post in Ennis.

“It is costing businesses in terms of time and money,’ said Ennis Chamber of Commerce, CEO, Rita McInerney.

‘Business people have to follow up on letters when they once could have taken it for granted

that there would be delivery the following day. And there is the expense of having to register or Swiftpost documents on tight deadlines.”

Ms McInerney said that while it is “under- standable from an economic viewpoint that An Post would want to send as much post as possi- ble to Cork, because of the expense involved in the machines they have installed there, it could have been done gradually.

“If we at least had the Clare post sorted in En- nis, it would ensure local post would arrive on time. Then later, when the problems have been sorted out, we could send Clare post down.”

Deputy Pat Breen this week called on An Post

to move the sorting operation back to Ennis.

“With Christmas postings just around the corner, it 1s difficult to see how the current, chaotic system could be expected to cope with the increased volumes,” said the Fine Gael Drea

“It 1s quite clear to me that the new sorting arrangement has failed and is failing the people of Clare. Businesses and homeowners across the county can no longer rely on their postal service, with some letters arriving more than 48 hours after being posted.

On many days in recent weeks, 10,000 let- ters have been left undelivered the next day, be-

cause they could not be taken to Cork in time for sorting.”

Deputy Breen said there had been a tried and trusted local sorting arrangement in place that worked efficiently, but that now doctors could no longer trust the system for sending blood samples, business people could no longer rely on it when making tax returns close to deadline and holidaymakers were “entering a lottery if booking online close to their travel date.

“That system served the region well and if it has to be dismantled in the name of efficiency, the least we can expect is delivery rates remain- ing the same, not a disimprovement.”

THE trial of five anti-war protesters accused of causing over $US 2.5 million damage to a US naval plane at Shannon airport over two-and- a-half years ago will enter its second week this (Tuesday) morning.

The accused — Ciaron O’Reilly (45), an Aus- tralian living in Rialto, Dublin; Damien Moran (25), of South Circular Road, Rialto, Dublin; US citizen Nuin Dunlop (34), of Walkinstown Road, Dublin; Karen Fallon (34), a Scottish native liv- ing in Rialto, Dublin; and Deirdre Clancy (35), of Castle Avenue, Clontarf – are pleading not guilty to causing damage without lawful excuse to a na- val plane, the property of the US Government and to glass door panels, the property of Aer Rianta at Shannon Airport, on February 3, 2003.

Prosecuting barrister Conor Devally said, in opening the case, there was “no huge issue” on the facts of the case but rather whether the five felt they had “lawful excuse.”

The implements used to damage the C40 plane – which had earlier arrived from Fort Worth in Texas – were engraved with Celtic symbols and slogans such as, “the war ends here”.

Sergeant Michael O’Connell said he was on se- curity duty at Shannon Airport. At around 3.45 am, he heard glass breaking and saw five people entering the hangar.

He was “terrorised by their appearance” and heard them say words which might have included “God.”

He said Ciaron O’Reilly was “belting an axe into the front nose cone of the plane” and Damien Moran hit the side engine cover with a hammer.

The women were at the back of the plane hitting the exhaust pipe.

Sgt O’Connell took the weapons from the men and they offered no further resistance. All five knelt in a circle to recite the rosary.

Det Sgt Michael Houlihan was asked if he or his colleagues considered interviewing any of the 90,000 US troops who travelled through Shannon

Airport between May 2002 and March 2003, in relation to breaches of the articles of the Geneva Convention which related to attacks on civilians. Det Sgt Houlihan replied that no specific com- plaint of breaches of law outside the State, which could breach Irish law, had been passed to him. He agreed that a complaint regarding the move- ment of troops through Shannon had been made.

TWENTY-eight per cent of all planning decisions in Clare were reversed by An Bord Pleanala in 2004, four per cent less than the national average.

More than two thirds of Clare planning decisions appealed to the planning authority last year were for residential properties.

The board varied a further 27.3 per cent of the Clare planning au- thorities decisions, according to

An Bord Pleanala’s annual report.

Planning authorities in Clare made more than two and a half thousand planning decisions last year.

Clare County Council, Kilrush Town Council and Ennis Town Council – the three planning au- thorities in the county- made a de- cision on 2,564 planning applica- tions throughout 2004.

Five per cent, or 130, of those were appealed to An Bord Plean- Ee

The board upheld 44.4 per cent of the council’s decisions.

Almost eight per cent of the ap- peals were in relation to retail; with five per cent of appeals for utilities and a further five against mixed planning applications.

Ninety residential units were granted permission on appeal.

Chairperson of An Bord Pleanala, John O’Connor, said that the strong increase in the intake of planning appeals in 2004, was continuing in the current year and that this was

putting severe strain on the Board’s resources. It is now proving diffi- cult to maintain the performance achieved in 2004 in terms of the time taken to determine appeals.

Up to the end of September 2005, the intake of appeals and infra- structure cases was up 13 per cent on last year.

It is showing an increase of 27.5 per cent over two years. On present trends, the 2005 intake is set to ex- ceed 6,000 cases. This would be an all-time record.

FAVOURITE Tyrur Ted owned by PJ Fahy of Galway landed the Irish Lau- rels, which is the last classic of the Season, at Curraheen Park Cork on Sat- urday. Trained by Paul Hennessy the dog was undefeated in the classic and recorded a winning time of 28.33. Student Pass was back in the win- ning enclosure at the Cork venue af- ter winning race 8 for owners Cathal O’Doherty and Vincent Meaney of West Clare. The dog recorded his best

time to date at 28.35 for the 525 trip and has now won prize money in excess of A OL OOF

Thurles track is proving to be a happy hunting ground for Ennis owner Fia- chra Hennessy and Noel Coote with Drimeen Rumble, who has recorded a number of successes over the past number of months, obliged again on Saturday night.

Burnpark Fortune, owned by Mrs Mary Browne of Cree, was a winner in the first round heats of the Galwegians AO sweepstakes at the Galway Track on

Thursday night.

The dog, who was having his first out- ing, had a winning time of 29.60 and is expected to show further improvement in next weekends second round.

The Carrolls of Cratloe continued their winning run in the Marsh Insur- ance A3 Stake at Limerick on Saturday pub Rea a

Jet Wash was a winner in a time of 29.37 for Liam Carroll while Scratch it Mac followed up on last weeks vic- tory for Aaron Carroll taking race 9 in a time of 29.25.

ENNIS golfer ‘Tricia Mangan has crossed a major hurdle in her bid to fulfill her dream of play- ing in next year’s Curtis Cup.

The Irish champion and European number nine has been included in the training squad of 16 from which the Brit- ish and Irish team to take on the Americans will be selected.

The Ladies Golfing Union selected the train- ing squad last week and Mangan is one of eight players included who were part of the British and Irish team that won the Vaglano ‘Trophy against Europe in July.

Mangan’s selection comes as no surprise as he had an outstanding year in both individual and team play. She won her first Irish champion- ship in Port Salon, while she led the Irish team in the European Team Championship and _ the Home Internationals.

On the club front, Tri- cia was the inspiration behind Ennis’ march through the All-Ire- land Senior Cup series, when they reached the final only to succumb to championship specialists Royal Portrush.

This impressive run of form throughout the season has put her on the cusp of winning that first Curtis Cup cap against America in Bandon Dunes, Oregon, next July. Other Irish players on the squad are Martina Gillen and Claire Coughlan.

“IT am both delighted and excited to be work- ing with a squad of this strength. It has a fantas- tic blend of successful mature players and new talented youths. The new members will be eager to make their mark thus creating competitiveness amongst the squad,” said captain Ada O’Sullivan.

“The Training Commit- tee has set action packed weekends throughout the winter and spring at spectacular venues, bear-

ing in mind the terrain of the links course at Ban- don Dunes, a truly mag- nificent host venue for the Curtis Cup.

‘The selectors have had a difficult job in keeping the squad to 16, such is the talent in Britain and Ireland, and while it will be tough work for all in- volved, the desire to be in the winning 2006 Curtis Cup team will have just reward,” she added.

Meanwhile, Mangan has also been named on the Irish Ladies Golfing Union panel of players who will attend coach- ing and training over the winter months.

She will attend sessions from November through to February at St Mar- garet’s Golf and Country Club in Dublin. This will be followed by a week of warm weather training at the La Cala Resort in Spain in early March.

Shannon’s Heather No- lan wasn’t available for selection on this panel due to overseas engage- ments.

AT a consultation meeting held at stately Carnelly House last Thursday, Ray Kelliher, Managing Director of Dublin-based developers Master Group, outlined his company’s €50m proposal for the development of Ire- land’s first retirement village, on the 75 acre grounds of Carnelly House, just outside Clarecastle.

The planning application to develop the village, replete with 120 houses of various sizes, 35 apartments and a 64 bed retirement home, will be lodged

imminently with Clare County Coun- cil. Plans include the restoration of the existing, stunning Georgian prop- erty, as well as the build of additional accommodation. The ambition is to house 300 residents within the ‘vil- lage’. If planning is granted by early 2006, Master Group will have the vil- lage up and running in 2007, with the creation of 100 jobs.

The retirement village will include facilities such as a leisure centre with 12 metre pool and a specially equipped gym. The restored mid- 18th century Carnelly House, which was designed

by the Irish Palladian architect, Francis Bindon, will be used as a country club for the enjoyment of village residents with library, meeting rooms, snooker rooms, card rooms and other facilities, while a club bar and restaurant will be sited in the restored stables.

Ray Kelliher, Managing Director of Master Group, said, “the retirement vil- lage concept has long been established in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Scandinavia and more recently in the UK. “The proposal at Carnelly envisages houses and apart- ments in a mature wooded setting, us-

ing the main house and courtyard as the pivotal hub”.

Kelliher further stated, ““our ethos will be governed by the safety, comfort, dignity and medical welfare of all our residents. This retirement village will be operated to the highest standards with 24-hour nurse on call, alarms fit- ted to each home, on-site cardiac am- bulance and 24-hour security”.

Carnelly House, the former home of the late Dermot and Rosemary Glee- son was snapped up by Master Group, when it went on the market earlier this year, after a nation-wide trawl seeking

an ideal location for this innovative project.

“Carnelly Hall the perfect location for a retirement village. It’s close to hospital facilities at Ennis and Limer- ick, to provide the necessary back-up, to the on site medical support facilities and it is easily accessed from Shannon Airport, Ennis, Limerick and Galway. The grounds are spacious and mature with woodlands and walkways, pro- viding a tranquil setting for a relaxed and healthy lifestyle for your future residents”.

SCARIFF people campaigning for 24-hour am- bulance cover for their area are bitterly disap- pointed that Health Minister, Mary Harney, has refused to meet them.

The group had planned to send a deputation to present the Tanaiste with a petition containing thousands of signatures, calling for 24-hour am- bulance cover for Scariff and surrounding areas.

But when asked in the Dail whether she would meet members of the newly-formed group, Min- ister Harney said that in her view, “any request for a meeting in relation to this matter would be appropriately addressed to the Executive.”

Group members have vowed not to give up, and are now planning the next move in their campaign to provide cover between 7pm and midnight, the time when the ambulance is without a crew.

‘We are very disappointed but we are not going to stop now,” said Cora Long, one of the founder members of the group.

“At the first meeting we had, it was said that everyone deserves the same quality of health care, whether they live in a city or in a rural area and that is true. We had bargained on being able to put our case to the Minister, but if she won’t meet us we will just find another way to progress,” said Ms Long.

The group is now calling another meeting for this Thursday to decide what the next move should be.

“We will open it up for ideas and we will have to put our thinking caps on but we won’t go away. Accidents happen between 7pm and midnight, and that is the reality,’ said Ms Long.

The group was formed after locals experienced difficulties in getting an ambulance to come to a

fatal house fire in June while last month, a seri- ously injured motorcyclist lay in pain for almost an hour waiting for an ambulance after a crash. Meanwhile, Fine Gael TD, Pat Breen, has called for the Minister “to stop ducking her re-

sponsibilities. Increasingly, the Minister is pass- ing the buck to the Health Service Executive when questioned on health issues. Every time a parliamentary question is submitted, she replies that the responsibility lies with the HSE.”