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Ireland's Eye

Priest Abused at Funeral

A PARISH Priest was subjected to obscene verbal abuse during an altercation with mourners at a Gorey graveyard.

Monsignor Lory Kehoe was jostled and abused during the dispute that began when an out-of-town family insisted on digging their own grave for a loved one after objecting to the location of the grave which had already been dug.

St. Michael’s parish committee said the abuse was so bad during the altercation that the priest had to leave the graveyard on several occasions.

Kehoe said he was reluctant to speak about what had happened, referring questions to a parish committee statement directed at the people who are blatantly’ ignoring the rules of the graveyard.

“Where lies the future for St. Michael’s Cemetery when the best efforts of a group of dedicated volunteers are undermined by the actions of those who will not obey the rules?” they asked.

“St. Michael’s Cemetery is widely regarded as one of the best kept anywhere. Large amounts of money have been spent on paths and surrounding walls. Is this all to be lost because people, largely from outside Gorey, insist on their own way?”

The committee said the unpleasantness occurred when the family of a recently deceased person refused to have him buried in the grave which had been opened, insisting instead that he be interred in another part of the cemetery.

“A mechanical digger was hired by the undertaker from a local hire company and they proceeded to open a new grave at a site of their choosing,” the statement read.

When the parish priest became aware of what was happening, he went to the cemetery and pointed out what they were doing contravened the rules on display at the gate. Not only was he refused a hearing, he was jostled and hectored so much that he had to leave.

Accompanied by a member of the committee, the parish priest went to the Garda (police) station. They were told that when the police car returned from its present assignment, someone would come to the cemetery. The pair then returned to the graveyard.

They were subjected to vile verbal abuse from many of the approximate 200 people present, and when attempts were made to backfill the officially opened grave, they stood between the mechanical digger and the grave.

They were physically manhandled, and for their own safety, had to leave the cemetery.

The statement went on to say: “Some time later, three members of An Garda Siochana arrived. The position was explained to them and the parish priest and the committee member left to the sound of verbal abuse and name calling of the most obscene kind, which, as throughout this episode, was directed entirely at the parish priest.”

Enniscorthy Guardian

Missing Soldier Found?

DNA tests may be requested to identify a New Ross native who was killed during World War II in Holland.

The Dutch authorities may request DNA tests to identify, 19-year-old gunner, Jack Kehoe, who was killed during World War II in Holland, following the discovery of human remains at the crash site where his RAF Hampden bomber was shot down by a German fighter plane in 1941.

Excavations began earlier this month outside the village of Berkhout as part of an effort to recover the remains of Kehoe.

His sister Peggy Walsh, from Tullamore, Co. Offaly, and her family campaigned for years to find her brother’s crash site and to take his remains home as it was Jack’s mother’s deathbed wish to have the remains of her beloved son returned to Ireland to rest in peace.

Helped by DARE, a Dutch foundation dedicated to examining the history of air battles, and the Irish Embassy, they convinced authorities to go ahead with the excavation and earlier this month a specialist team began raising the wreckage of the bomber as part of a ?1 million excavation project.

However, repatriation could take many months, as Dutch army specialists have requested DNA reports to be sure that the remains are those of the missing Irishman.

New Ross Standard

No Discrimination Here

FOUR residents of Co. Wexford took a case against publican Flor O’Sullivan in Kenmare after they claimed they were discriminated against purely on the grounds of where they were from.

The three men and one woman from Wexford, who were on holidays in Kerry in July 2003, claimed they were discriminated against in Florry Batts bar in Kenmare on July 19, 2003 because they were not locals.

The group said they were in the bar having a drink and playing pool on the day in question. They had two drinks, and when one of the group, Tommy Murphy, went to order another round, he was refused “on the grounds that none of the group was from the locality.”

O’Sullivan’s solicitor Conor Murphy argued his client could not have discriminated against the Wexford group as he is of the same race as the plaintiffs.

O’Sullivan denied all allegations of discrimination and is his submission said on the day in question Wexford were playing Waterford in a hurling match. The Wexford group came into his pub and were served two rounds of drink, but as the evening progressed the group started to behave in a “louder and more aggressive manner.”

They were asked by the barman to calm down on at least two occasions and were advised they were upsetting the other customers. After customers left the bar because of the behavior of the party, O’Sullivan instructed the barman Fergal Favier not to serve the group anymore.

Favier refused to serve the group, but became concerned that one of the party who became very agitated would strike him.

O’Sullivan claimed in his submission he made his decision to “preserve order in the premises and to keep his other customers happy.”

Equality officer Bernadette Treanor dismissed the Wexford group’s allegation that they were treated less favorably then the locals.

“Since the complaints have failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination this decision is in favor of the respondent. This decision should not be seen to condone the practice of refusing those who are not local,” she added.

The Kerryman

All Ages of Students

FIVE children aged just three years old and two as old as seven were among those starting national school in Co. Wicklow last year.

Figures for 2006 released by the Department of Education show the ages of close to 2,000 children who commenced their education at the county’s 87 primary schools, revealing worrying gaps of three and possibly even four years between the ages of children in the same classrooms.

The overwhelming majority of those starting school were aged four (770) and five (1,097), but concerns have been raised about the age difference between some children starting school in the county.

Wicklow was one of a number of areas where children aged three have started junior infants. Five children aged three started school in Wicklow, compared to one in Galway, two in Wexford and seven in Cork.

Thirty-five children aged six entered school in Wicklow for the first time, and Wicklow is of the few counties with seven year olds starting, two pupils in all.

Fine Gael TD (member of Parliament) Billy Timmins believes that many parents are starting their children early in school for fear there will be a lack of places available.

“I have never been a advocate of sending your children to school too early or young. However, I understand that plenty of parents out there are fearful that due to overcrowding their child mightn’t get a place in school. As a result they end up sending them earlier than they would like as well,” he said.

Fianna Fail TD Joe Behan, himself a primary school teacher, said that the age differences between children starting school can pose problems for their teachers as well as affecting the overall development of the younger children.

“I can see major problems for children under the age of four in terms of their maturity and their ability to benefit from school. I would also ask questions about what children of six and seven have been doing for two or three years before starting school,” he said.

The Department of Education also states that the pupil-teacher ratio in the 87 schools in Wicklow is 21.9, which is a much lower figure than has been previously released through other sources.

Bray People

Senior Exercise

IRELAND’S first outdoor gym for older people has been officially opened by President Mary McAleese.

The Tone Zone, in Dunshaughlin Park, Co. Meath, came about following a visit by McAleese to China in 2003.

During her visit McAleese was so impressed with the concept of outdoor gyms for older people that she took the idea home with her.

The gym has nine pieces of specialist equipment with energetic names that include the riser, the pusher and the strider.

Each piece is designed to improve joint mobility, muscle strength and to increase the overall activity levels of older people.

Already there are plans for similar facilities in other parts of Meath Kildare and Wicklow.

RTE News

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