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Bad driving

Bad driving

Irish Times8 hours ago

Sir. – I endorse what Emer Mc Lysaght says (
'Shout out to the woman who trapped me in my car in Tesco car park
', June 6th). Twice in the last week, in two different car parks, access to my car was blocked by inconsiderate drivers.
In the first case I had to wait for the driver's return. When he did eventually appear, I accosted him – I confess not too politely – about his lack of consideration.
He became very aggressive and in no way was apologetic.
In the second case, I had the car number paged in the shop adjacent to the car park.
READ MORE
After the second paging, the driver did appear, but again he was not apologetic.
Also, while waiting for the driver to appear, a second car arrived and blocked in another car's access to its driver's door.
Inconsiderate parking is a perennial problem. This is not just blocking access to another driver's car, but generally not properly parking – for example. not parking in the centre of a bay, in some cases taking up two bays.
In general, a bit more thoughtfulness and common courtesy by road users – car drivers, cyclists, motorcyclists - would not go astray. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN MURPHY,
Co Dublin.

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‘It's much bigger than football': Sligo Rovers launches coaching programme with prisoners at Loughan House
‘It's much bigger than football': Sligo Rovers launches coaching programme with prisoners at Loughan House

Irish Times

time7 hours ago

  • Irish Times

‘It's much bigger than football': Sligo Rovers launches coaching programme with prisoners at Loughan House

'Football brings everyone together,' says Conor O'Grady, the head of academy at Sligo Rovers Football Club and part-time coach at one of Ireland's two open prisons. Over the past month, on an AstroTurf pitch overlooking Cavan's share of Lough MacNean, O'Grady has been putting on weekly training sessions for prisoners at Loughan House. It is building up to a showpiece finale: a match played at Rovers' home stadium, the Showgrounds. 'No matter what your background is or where you are, everyone who plays football has that genuine love,' O'Grady adds. 'The majority of these lads have a real affection for football. You come down here and you're back to being an 11 or 12-year-old or whatever again.' There are no security checks as you drive into Co Cavan's Loughan House, an open prison holding up to 153 men who face minimal restrictions on movement and activities. READ MORE Lee, a prisoner at Loughan House Open Centre in Blacklion, Co Cavan, where Sligo Rovers are running coaching sessions. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Visitors, often locals from the nearby village of Blacklion, are welcome to use the coffee shop, car wash and polytunnels, all of which are manned by prisoners. Many of the men in the centre have spent time in closed prisons and are coming to the end of their sentences. This is a place to readjust and regain some independence. 'Anyone can make a mistake and end up in prison,' says governor Mark Lydon. 'I could have a 19 or 20-year-old. Our job is to try to give people the skills, the ability, the knowledge and the confidence that when they're released, they can go into their community, get a job and start to live their life again. Hopefully, people leave here and they've got a chance.' Lee*, a prisoner, has always been involved in football – at schoolboys' level with Shelbourne and Bohemians, and as a coach with local sides as the years went on. He was one of the representatives for Loughan House at Sligo Rovers' integration tournament a few weeks ago, which featured a host of teams from marginalised communities. The prisoners won out handily, sparking this series of training sessions. Conor O'Grady (centre), head of academy at Sligo Rovers, with prisoners of Loughan House Open Centre in Blacklion, Co Cavan. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Prisoners of Loughan House Open Centre with (from left) Conor O'Grady and Jamie Murphy of Sligo Rovers and prison officer Michael Slator. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien 'Some days in here can be long,' Lee says. 'Some days can be good and on your good days, it's all right. When you have something to look forward to each week, it makes things a lot easier. When things are competitive and they're done in the right way, it's really good football-wise. There's people going to the gym that normally wouldn't go to the gym because they want to get fit for games that are coming up. 'There's no tension in an open jail,' he adds. 'Everybody is getting ready to either get out or they're going to work. There's a lot of positivity. In a main jail, it's a lot different to that.' David*, a team-mate of Lee's in that integration tournament, also has a history of being involved with team sports and coaching. He describes himself as the elder statesman in a very strong squad. The coaches from Sligo Rovers agree that the standard of football among the prisoners is very high. Sport and exercise are central to a more autonomous lifestyle in Loughan House, but so too are the many opportunities prisoners are afforded to re-socialise and reskill in advance of release. There are accredited courses and workshops in construction, motor mechanics, cleaning and laundry. Educational units teach soft skills such as art, languages and maths. 'You can see it even when the guys land here,' David says. 'It takes a few weeks to adjust to that bit of extra freedom. Having that responsibility for yourself. To be back in when you need to be and you're not in behind the door which is the hardest part, as you can imagine, of prison.' David, a prisoner at Loughan House Open Centre. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Loughan House in Blacklion, Co Cavan, where Sligo Rovers are running coaching sessions and disability in sport workshops with some of the prisoners. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Jamie Murphy has been Sligo Rovers' football and social responsibility officer for about a year. As one of only two fully fan-owned clubs in the top tier of the League of Ireland, community programmes are central to its model. Murphy has been crucial in establishing refugee football, disability teams, a Down syndrome (DS) team and walking football for older people. A women's social football programme has just begun and is already at full capacity. 'A big part of the work we do is trying to make sure we create as many playing and non-playing opportunities for as many communities as we can, with a particular focus on groups that might be marginalised or have experienced exclusion of some type,' Murphy says. 'This is right in with what we're trying to do.' Attendances and interest around the League of Ireland have skyrocketed in recent years and a number of people are engaging with domestic club football here for the first time. Social inclusion initiatives can act as catalysts for communities to rally around their local clubs, both for those that are directly involved and for people who hear about positive work being done. 'The first thing Jamie set up was the DS team,' Conor O'Grady says. 'I spoke to a couple of parents [of players on the team], and they had never been inside the Showgrounds. They had no reason really for going to the Showgrounds, and now they don't miss a game. As well as all these things being community-based, we're actually bringing in new supporters to the club and we're engaging with a lot of different people from different backgrounds.' Conor O'Grady, Head of Academy at Sligo Rovers, with prisoners of Loughan House Open Centre in Blacklion, Co Cavan. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Prisoners at Loughan House Open Centre in Blacklion, Co Cavan. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien There is an educational element to the project at Loughan House, with the programme also featuring a workshop on sport and disability. Murphy's work tends to take a long-term view, offering placements or work experience beyond participation in an initial course. Players from Rovers' refugee groups have regularly gone on to become volunteers or stewards at the club. 'Football sometimes is the hook that we use,' Murphy says. 'It's much bigger than football ... We're chatting to the players the last few weeks and we're finding out a bit about their background and what they've done in life. How much they have to contribute to society when they leave Loughan House. 'They've played at good levels in different sports. They've done coaching. They've achieved in different areas, and they have something positive to contribute once they leave. That's what this programme is about as well – trying to encourage them to do that.' *The identity of the prisoners has been protected

Gardaí dangle '$15m reward' to turn Kinahan's cartel lieutenants
Gardaí dangle '$15m reward' to turn Kinahan's cartel lieutenants

Irish Examiner

time7 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Gardaí dangle '$15m reward' to turn Kinahan's cartel lieutenants

The garda hierarchy is dangling the US $15m reward, and a new life in the US federal witness programme, to coax Kinahan cartel lieutenants to give information leading to the prosecution of its leaders. On Monday, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and deputy commissioner Justin Kelly called on cartel associates to have a 'really good think' about their future lives as further extraditions from the UAE increase in likelihood. The warning follows the first extradition from the Middle-Eastern state of an Irish national back to Ireland when senior cartel lieutenant Sean McGovern was sent back home to face gangland charges. At a joint US-Ireland launch in Dublin in April 2022, American authorities offered a combined $15m reward for information leading to the prosecution of Daniel Kinahan, his brother Christopher, and their dad and cartel founder, Christy. Mr Harris said: 'I'd like to point out [to] the other senior lieutenants in the Kinahan organised crime group who are now facing justice or who are now imprisoned, the sanctions and the rewards still stand. "There's $15m there of reward money through the federal law enforcement authorities of the US, so that is still in play. "I just want to remind other members of the gang the perilous position they are now in, that ourselves and other law enforcement are fixed on them and are fixed on bringing them, all of them, to justice.' He said the leaders should be afraid. 'Serious life choices' "They should be worried now for a number of years," Mr Harris said. "All of them should be worried and thinking about the choices, the serious life choices that are now ahead of them in respect of what to do over the coming months.' Mr Kelly said that a couple of years ago, when he was assistant commissioner of operations and security, both he and the Garda Commissioner said gardaí would be 'relentless', adding that the extradition of Mr McGovern was 'absolute evidence' of that. He said that, at one point, there were 47 members of the cartel in jail. He called on Kinahan lieutenants to have a 'really good think' about what choices they make in the coming months. One experienced security source said that Mr McGovern's extradition "has spooked" some of the cartel figures. Separately, the Garda Commissioner said suggestions that gardaí should have used a cadaver dog capable of detecting human remains at the home of Tina Satchwell when she went missing in 2017 would form part of a review he had ordered. Richard Satchwell was given a life sentence for the murder of his wife in 2017. Her remains were found in a deep grave under the stairs in October 2023. Last weekend, justice minister Jim O'Callaghan indicated that probably a cadaver dog should have been used in 2017. Reacting, Mr Harris said: 'We want to review all those decisions back in 2017, but what I know from the reporting that I've seen is that the suspicion was that harm had been caused to Tina Satchwell but there was no suspicion that her body was actually there.'

Bad driving
Bad driving

Irish Times

time8 hours ago

  • Irish Times

Bad driving

Sir. – I endorse what Emer Mc Lysaght says ( 'Shout out to the woman who trapped me in my car in Tesco car park ', June 6th). Twice in the last week, in two different car parks, access to my car was blocked by inconsiderate drivers. In the first case I had to wait for the driver's return. When he did eventually appear, I accosted him – I confess not too politely – about his lack of consideration. He became very aggressive and in no way was apologetic. In the second case, I had the car number paged in the shop adjacent to the car park. READ MORE After the second paging, the driver did appear, but again he was not apologetic. Also, while waiting for the driver to appear, a second car arrived and blocked in another car's access to its driver's door. Inconsiderate parking is a perennial problem. This is not just blocking access to another driver's car, but generally not properly parking – for example. not parking in the centre of a bay, in some cases taking up two bays. In general, a bit more thoughtfulness and common courtesy by road users – car drivers, cyclists, motorcyclists - would not go astray. – Yours, etc, BRENDAN MURPHY, Co Dublin.

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