Former Donegal councillor to be sentenced for assault and attack on van during family dispute
A former Donegal County Councillor is to be sentenced after admitting assaulting a man and damaging his van.
Gareth Reid appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court, where he pleaded guilty to the charges which arose out of a family dispute over land.
Advertisement
The former Fine Gael councillor admitted the charges which occurred following an incident at Knockfair, Stranorlar, in May 2021.
The 42-year-old was charged with assaulting Paul McCool and causing him harm, the charge being contrary to section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997.
Reid, of Lawnsdale, Stranorlar, was also charged with an act of criminal damage.
He was charged that he did, without lawful exact, damage property, namely the driver's side of a Peugeot Partner van belonging to Paul McCool, a charge contrary to section 2 (1) of the Criminal Damage Act, 1991.
Advertisement
He spoke only to plead guilty to the charges when he appeared before Judge John Aylmer.
His barrister, Mr Peter Nolan BL, told the court that Reid has previous convictions 'going back some time'.
Mr Nolan said that there is a 'very involved family history in this matter'.
He told Judge Aylmer that the matter is also before the High Court over 'lands, wills et cetera' and the court should be informed about these matters.
Judge Aylmer requested a probation report and asked that it include an assessment on Reid's suitability for community service.
In September 2008, Reid was co-opted onto Donegal County Council, taking the seat of his grandfather, JJ Reid, following his retirement from politics but failed to be re-elected to the Council the following year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Where are Ireland's Crown Jewels? New Mail podcast delves into one of history's greatest unsolved mysteries
Podcast All episodes Play on Apple Spotify On the latest episode of the Mail's Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things podcast, historian Kate Williams and Royal biographer Robert Hardman investigate one of Ireland's greatest unsolved mysteries. In 1907, Ireland was part of the British Empire and followed the customs of the British monarchy. One such custom was the use of Crown Jewels, important ceremonial treasures, to bestow Knighthoods upon members of the Irish aristocracy. Ireland's Crown Jewels were kept safe in Dublin Castle by The Order of St Patrick on behalf of Edward VII, the King of Britain at the time. The collection comprised a diamond pendant and badge, five gold collars, and nearly 400 precious stones. The Order of St Patrick's jewels, as they are known, have an estimated value today of nearly $20 million. Despite the castle being under constant surveillance, the treasures went missing on July 6, sending Edward VII into a fury and creating an Empire-wide manhunt. Even though financial rewards were offered for information on their whereabouts, the Crown Jewels remain missing to this day. Search for 'Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things' now, wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released every Thursday. The Vanishing of the Irish Crown Jewels Edward VII was scheduled to visit Ireland in July 1907 to bestow a knighthood upon Lord Castletown. The jewels would have been used in the ceremony. Historian Kate Williams told the podcast how the jewels were kept secure for the upcoming Royal visit. 'They were kept very carefully', Williams said. 'A man called Sir Arthur Vickers, The Ulster King of Arms oversees them. They are held at Bedford Tower in Dublin Castle. 'They seem very secure – they're in a strong room, alongside Ireland's Sword of State. There are only seven keys to get into the tower and two keys to enter the strong room. Everyone thinks the security is foolproof.' Williams then explained how the theft was discovered and the accusations surrounding the character of Sir Arthur Vickers, the treasure's protector. 'The jewels are found to be missing on July 6 – they haven't been seen since the 11th of June. 'Vickers was accused of being careless. Many people began to claim that he had given them access to the tower and that there were various security lapses. 'On one occasion, Vickers had gotten drunk, and a young man had taken the keys to the safe. He then stole the jewels and sent them back to Vickers by post as a joke.' The heist was carried out completely undetected. Due to the King's public anger and huge media speculation, a strange cast of characters began offering to help locate the stolen treasure. 'Psychics say they know where they are, and people begin hunting fruitlessly around graveyards. 'Arthur Conan Doyle, the Sherlock Holmes author, offers to help. He's a distant cousin of Vickers.' The police launched a nationwide investigation to find the jewels. A reward of £1000 was offered for information, worth around £80,000 today. The authorities' prime suspect was Francis Richard Shackleton, the brother of famous Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Williams told the podcast why suspicions centered around him. 'Apparently, he was in great financial difficulty', the historian said. 'As Dublin Herald of Arms, he had gotten hold of a key to the safe and had made a copy. The problem for the police was, he had a good alibi. 'He wasn't actually in the country at the time of the robbery.' Shackleton later defrauded an aristocrat, Lord Ronald Gower, of his fortune in 1910 and was sentenced to fifteen months' hard labour for the crime. One theory states that the reason why the heist was never solved was that Shackleton, a known homosexual at a time when it was illegal, had used Dublin Castle for liaisons with high-profile figures in Irish society. Further investigations into his character were abandoned because pursuing that line of inquiry could have implicated members of the aristocracy in illegal sex acts at a time when British rule over Ireland was fiercely challenged. The mystery of the jewels of St Patrick's remains unsolved.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Ireland's top university cuts all ties with Israel after major student protest
Ireland's prestigious Trinity College Dublin said on Wednesday that it would cut all links with Israel in protest at 'ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law'. The university's board informed students by email that it had accepted the recommendations of a taskforce to sever 'institutional links with the State of Israel, Israeli universities and companies headquartered in Israel'. The recommendations would be 'enacted for the duration of the ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law', said the email sent by the board's chairman Paul Farrell. The taskforce was set up after part of the university's campus in central Dublin was blockaded by students for five days last year in protest at Israel's actions in Gaza. Among the taskforce's recommendations approved by the board were pledges to divest 'from all companies headquartered in Israel' and to 'enter into no future supply contracts with Israeli firms' and 'no new commercial relationships with Israeli entities'. The university also said that it would 'enter into no further mobility agreements with Israeli universities'. Trinity has two current Erasmus+ exchange agreements with Israeli universities: Bar Ilan University, an agreement that ends in July 2026, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which ends in July 2025, the university told AFP in an email. The board also said that the university 'should not submit for approval or agree to participate in any new institutional research agreements involving Israeli participation'. It 'should seek to align itself with like-minded universities and bodies in an effort to influence EU policy concerning Israel's participation in such collaborations,' it added. Ireland has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel's response to the October 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas militants that sparked the war in Gaza. Polls since the start of the war have shown overwhelming pro-Palestinian sympathy in Ireland. In May 2024, Dublin joined several other European countries in recognising Palestine as a 'sovereign and independent state'. It then joined South Africa in bringing a case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza - charges angrily denied by Israeli leaders. In December, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered the closure of the country's embassy in Dublin, blaming Ireland's 'extreme anti-Israel policies'. The University of Geneva also announced Wednesday that it has ended its partnership with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem following student protests, saying it no longer reflected the institution's 'strategic priorities'.
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Scottish musician's wife assaulted by 'bagpipe Karen' in shocking outburst in Texas park
The wife of a Scottish musician was allegedly assaulted in a Texas park after a woman became enraged by the sound of bagpipes. Scott Gibb was playing in a secluded area at Terry Hershey Park in Houston on May 26, when he was confronted by Eunice Isgur, 76. 'She said I had no right to play here in this public park,' Gibb told KTRK. Isgur began recording Gibb and yelling at him for playing his instrument, Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Terry Allbritton said. 'She said, "I'm gonna call my husband. He's a federal judge and he's gonna make you stop",' Gibb told the outlet, referring to Isgur's husband US District Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur of the Southern District of Texas. As the situation escalated, Gibb's wife witnessed the argument unfold and decided to begin recording the pair herself. Gibb, a Scottish native, said that Isgur's husband did arrive on the scene but hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing. But Isgur reportedly became further angered that she was being recorded, which is when she allegedly hit the victim's arm while swiping at her phone. 'She was very aggressive, yelling and screaming,' Gibb told the outlet. 'She basically swiped at my wife's face.' Gibb said that Isgur has previously confronted him about the noise, but this was the first violent encounter they had. 'You can't have people so disrespectful and attacking for no reason at all,' Gibb told the outlet. Isgur, according to authorities, suffered a black eye after she tripped in an attempt to grab the victim's backpack. Isgur was arrested for Assault-Bodily Injury and posted an $100 bond, according to online records.
