Ireland's Eye

County news from Ireland

Ireland's Eye

April 23, 2008

Police innocent

A NENAGH man has claimed he was beaten up and had his jaw broken in two places while in custody in Nenagh Garda (police) Station.

But a Garda chief has dismissed the claim, saying the matter had been investigated by the Garda Complaints Board which found that the Gardai were involved in no such incident.

Glen Morrissey, 34, and a father of four, made the allegation when he appeared before a special sitting of Nenagh District Court on charges of being intoxicated as well as being threatening and abusive and failing to comply with the directions of a Garda.

The accused said he was pulled into Nenagh Garda Station by two members of the force and assaulted inside the building in the early hours of December 27, 2006.

He told the court that he had gone to the station to inquire about his sister who had been taken into custody earlier on the same date following an altercation in Nenagh.

Morrissey said he had fallen on the ground in that incident when he and a friend had stepped in to stop his sister being assaulted. His sister was taken away in a patrol car and he claimed that when he went to the Garda station to inquire about her he was pushed by a Garda at the main door and told to “f*** off.”

When he accused a Garda of committing an assault on him he claimed that the officer then got angry and pulled him into the station with the help of another Garda.

Morrissey went on to claim that he was punched in the stomach and kicked in the face three to four times in the station. He said his sneakers were pulled off and he was then dragged to a cell.

He said his face was bloodied and began to swell up. He rang the buzzer in his cell to tell the Gardai that he wanted to see a doctor but got no answer. He then decided to ring his father on his mobile phone and told him that he was sure his jaw had been broken.

Morrissey, in reply to his solicitor John Spencer, said he had sustained no injuries in the incident earlier that night in Pearse Street.

A doctor who was eventually brought to see him at the station asked him to wipe the blood off his face so he could examine him. The doctor was of the view that he had sustained a serious injury to his face and should be taken to hospital.

Morrissey said he had only a couple of drinks on the night and admitted to being “a bit angry” because of the fact that his sister had been arrested. He admitted calling a Garda names, but only after he had been pushed by a member of the force.

Garda Marie O’ Connor said the defendant asked to see a doctor three hours after he had been taken into custody. She said she then contacted ShannonDoc and a doctor arrived at the station.

The judge said he had to bear in mind that Morrissey “conceivably” received his injuries in the altercation in Pearse Street before going to the Garda station.

He said the defendant had “a litany” of previous convictions and fined him ?400.

Nenagh Guardian

Nowhere to Party

BOXER John Joe Nevin was back in training this week despite his “sore head” after he celebrated his Olympic qualification — but not in his home town.

The Nevinses, members of the traveling community, were forced to travel to Monaghan for their family party after finding that all the hotels and bars in Mullingar, the surrounding areas and as far away as Cavan were “booked out” for the foreseeable future. “Everywhere we tried was fully booked,” said Nevin. “We tried everywhere in Mullingar and for 10 miles around in all directions and no one would take our booking.

“Then we got the Smithsborough Inn in Monaghan who have invited us back after I come home from the Olympics.”

Nevin also said that he felt that the refusal was discrimination and that even if he returns to Ireland this summer with an Olympic medal the situation would not change and he would still not be able to have a family celebration in his home town.

“Everyone should be treated the same no matter who they are and where they are from,” said Nevin.

His predicament was heard nationwide last week after he spoke out on RTE Radio when he was asked about the current furor over China and Tibet.

Nevin said that there were in fact problems a lot closer to home given that he was unable to get anywhere to hold his family party.

Council Chairman Mick Dollard said that the issue was one for the Vintners’ Association and the individual bars and hotels involved, “Can we really prove that this was a case of discrimination?” he said.

“I would say that every human being must be treated equally, and as chairman of Travelers Accommodation I would say that from my involvement with that and with Westmeath County Council that we are light years ahead in our relations with the traveling community.”

Westmeath Examiner

Sad Wedding

INSTEAD of marrying the love of her life as planned on Friday, April 18, Kilcormac native Brenda O’Neill is remembering the good times they and their six children had together before 45-year-old Sonny’s life was cut short by cancer.

Diagnosed with cancer after Christmas, Tullamore man Joseph — or Sonny as he was known — only got three of the six to nine months he was given to live.

After his illness was diagnosed, the couple decided to marry and were due to do so on the 18th, but with his condition deteriorating, Sonny and longtime love Brenda got married in Tullamore hospital just seven hours before he passed away on Monday, April 7.

Having undergone four rounds of chemotherapy, Sonny’s final days came when pneumonia hit both lungs.

“He had three wishes,” sister Martina says of her older brother Sonny. “The major one was to get married. The second was to see Tristan make his first communion in May, and the third was to go on a family holiday the first week in June.”

Now Brenda and her six children have to come to terms with the fact that Sonny won’t get to see his other two wishes come true. Together for 14 years, Brenda says that now she is just living each day as it comes.

“I reckon if I hadn’t the kids I’d be lost,” she says. “We were never apart from one another, only when I was in having the kids. It was his first time away from me when he was admitted to hospital.”

Having not wanted to leave his children to go to hospital for Christmas or New Year, Sonny was eventually admitted on New Year’s Day. “I don’t think he expected to have cancer in the lung, but when he saw the x-ray he knew,” Brenda says.

Rallying at first, a cancerous lump on Sonny’s shoulder almost halved in size after his first bout of chemotherapy. In late March, however, infection hit and he was hospitalized full-time soon after.

Knowing what was coming, Sonny and Brenda decided to organize their wedding. The day itself involved a mad dash to Tullamore courthouse to get everything in order, as Sonny had previously been married and divorced.

“It was his wish, so I was happy,” Brenda says of her bittersweet wedding day.

Offaly Independent

Leave Limerick Alone

CLAIMS in a Sunday newspaper that Limerick is now officially Europe’s “murder capital” have been criticized as unhelpful and damaging to the city’s image.

An article in the Sunday Independent said that Limerick now has a higher murder rate per 100,000 population than any other city in Western Europe, overtaking Glasgow.

However Sean Lally, president of the Limerick Chamber of Commerce, said that the article highlights an imbalance in some national newspapers: “It’s unfortunate, because there are a lot of people doing a lot of good work in Limerick, but that doesn’t make headlines. I think that recent events might have skewed the figures a little. It’s not helpful and doesn’t do anyone any good. It engrains the stereotypes of the city’s image,” he said.

Mayor of Limerick Ger Fahy said that the figures “made bad reading,” but emphasized the gravity of the situation the city now finds itself in.

“Limerick is being put in the headlines for the wrong reason, but there is an overall trend of violent crime across Ireland today, and that’s reflected in Limerick,” he said.

However, the article has been criticized as misrepresenting the local problem. The Limerick Blogger site accused the newspaper of imbalance and bias against the city. Comments on the website were also critical of the nature of the report.

“While there is no doubt that these are dark days in the city, it is important to stress the need for accurate reporting. Some of it is blatantly inaccurate, but no one can take it on because you are accused of refusing to see the big picture” read one comment.

Limerick Leader

West’s Asleep

THERE are fears for the construction industry in the west of Ireland following a near total collapse in the number of new houses being built.

Latest national house building registration statistics expose how shocking the downturn in building activity has been. In the west, the number of new houses being started is down a massive 57%.

In Mayo there were just 41 house starts in the month of March. In Sligo, a paltry one house was started. Roscommon had 16 and Galway 57.

In the first three months of 2008, work has begun on just 89 new houses in Mayo, compared to 266 during the same period last year, a 66% decrease in building activity.

In the past year there were 899 new house builds in the county, compared to 1,460 for the previous 12 months, a 38% drop.

Mayo auctioneer Kevin Beirne said that the figures tally with what he is seeing right across the county.

“It’s the same all over. If you look at Castlebar at the moment there is only one major housing development going on. That’s one development in a town with a population of 15,000 people and it’s slowing down everywhere,” he said.

Western People

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