Latest news with #Liberties
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Irish Times
Man jailed for role in murder of David Douglas in Dublin shoe shop appeals conviction
A Dublin man jailed for life for his role in the murder of David 'Daithí' Douglas who was 'executed' at a city centre shoe shop in Dublin nine years ago, has appealed his conviction arguing the court was wrong to find that a 'general association' with others linked to the crime was indicative of guilt. Mr Douglas (55) was shot six times in broad daylight as he took a meal break at the counter in his partner's shop, Shoestown in Dublin's Liberties. The semi-automatic pistol used in the murder had its serial number removed and was 'brazenly' left at the scene next to the deceased's head, the court heard. Lee Canavan (36) was jailed for life by Special Criminal Court on June 3rd, 2021. Canavan was the fourth man to be jailed in relation to the murder and his conviction was described by gardaí as 'significant'. READ MORE In 2018, gangster Frederick 'Fat Freddie' Thompson (45) was jailed for life by the Special Criminal Court for the murder of Mr Douglas. In 2019, Nathan Foley (26) of Maryland, Dublin 8, was jailed for six years after he pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal organisation by driving one of four cars and buying mobile phones used in the offence. Canavan's half-brother Gareth Brophy (30) was jailed in February 2020 for ten years also by the Special Criminal Court for his role as getaway driver. David 'Daithí' Douglas was shot dead in Dublin in 2016. In passing judgment, the non-jury court ruled that Canavan was part of a joint enterprise or shared intention to murder Mr Douglas in what was described as a 'meticulously planned execution'. However, the three-judge court did not agree with the State's contention that Canavan was 'the person who literally pulled the trigger', owing to a lack of forensic or identification evidence. Delivering judgment, Mr Justice Michael MacGrath said that four different vehicles had been used in the murder in a 'carefully planned assassination'. A Mercedes car used in the killing was found burned out near the shooting and a stolen Suzuki Swift was then used to ferry those in the Mercedes away from the burn site. Canavan, with an address at Edenbrook, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Douglas, who died after sustaining injuries to his chest, neck, back, torso, elbow and jaw at Shoestown, Bridgefoot Street, Dublin 1, on July 1st, 2016. Launching an Appeal against his conviction on Friday, Canavan's senior counsel Michael Bowman argued the court had made an error by convicting Canavan of murder in circumstances where the prosecution opened the case on the basis that his client was the individual who 'literally pulled the trigger'. He also submitted the three-judge court was wrong to find that a general association with others was indicative of guilt. Mr Bowman said Canavan was 'habitually' seen with Freddie Thompson and Gareth Brophy, who was his half-brother. 'There is nothing unusual about that. His presence in their company is not of tremendous relevance,' counsel said. He went on to say that Canavan had been stopped 22 times in cars he was not entitled to drive and on 11 of those occasions he had been in the company of Freddie Thompson. 'The presence or absence of him in the company of these people in the vehicles is not extraordinary,' said Mr Bowman. Mr Bowman said the court ultimately took the view that there was enough to convict on the basis of joint enterprise/common design. However, the barrister said there was 'no reference' during the prosecution's opening to joint enterprise/common design. Mr Bowman said there was insufficient evidence of joint enterprise to convict of murder and the case was defended on the basis that the prosecution's case was that Canavan was the shooter. Mr Bowman also argued the court was wrong not to accede to a defence application for a direction of no case to answer. He said the court also erred in allowing the admission of identification evidence from two members of the gardaí. He submitted the purported identification by the two members of the force were not subject to oversight, processes or safeguards and that neither garda possessed notebooks or contemporaneous notes detailing the manner in which they made their identification, nor could they point out features causing them to identify Canavan in the CCTV. He also said statements from witness James Maughan should not have been admissible during the trial in circumstances where the case was opened on the basis that Canavan was the shooter and 'Mr Maughan was central to that'. In response, Tony McGillicuddy SC, for the DPP, said this case had involved 'planned execution of a man in his own shoe shop'. 'It was planned carefully to secrete certain vehicles in certain places, planned to ensure they were out of the radar,' said the barrister. He said these vehicles then became 'live' later in the afternoon – one as 'the murder vehicle' and the other as the 'getaway' car – for the team involved in the killing. Mr McGillicuddy said the court found Canavan was 'an integral part' of that team on the basis of joint enterprise. He said the court found Canavan was 'centrally involved' in the placement of vehicles in areas not covered by CCTV and fed the meters to ensure they would be available later on. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said the court would reserve judgment. A father of one, Canavan was concurrently jailed for five years for the criminal damage to the getaway vehicle, a stolen Suzuki Swift, in Sandymount three days after the shooting. After the guilty verdict was delivered in May 2021, Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Cleary told media outside of court that Canavan's conviction was 'very significant' and that gardaí had now convictions for the 'whole murder cell'.
Irish Daily Mirror
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Imelda May backed to be next President of Ireland but has no plans to run
Singer Imelda May has revealed the widow of The Pogues singer Shane MacGowan has backed her to be the next President of Ireland. The Liberties singer is a self-confessed proud Irish woman, and regularly promotes the country through her poetry and songs. But when asked about whether or not she would consider running for the Presidency, she said her pal Victoria Mary Clarke endorsed her in her house last week. She told Anna Geary, who is filling in for Ray D'Arcy on RTE Radio 1, that Victoria Mary Clarke suggested she should throw her name in the hat for the Irish Presidency. Imelda said: "I had my friend Victoria Mary Clarke, she was up at my house saying 'you have to run for president'. "I'm not going to do it. I'm madly in love with this place and the people." Shane McGowan and Victoria Mary Clarke pictured on The Late Late Show (Image: Andres Poveda) Pressed again about running for the Presidency by Geary, Imelda said jokingly: "Oh will you stop?" It comes after Imelda revealed she was hospitalised earlier this month for an unknown illness. Briefly updating fans at the beginning of her radio interview, she told Anna she was "fine" and was given the "all clear". Earlier this week, she posted pictures on her Instagram from hospital bed, praising the staff at St Vincent's Hospital for taking such good care of her. She wrote at the time: "So I ended up in St Vincent's University Hospital last week for a few days. "I'm fine now and healing well but I must say a huge thanks you to all the amazing people that took the best care of me. Absolute legends. Pictures are a few of those legends. Forever grateful. Imelda X." It is the second time Imelda has found herself in hospital in recent years. In 2022, Imelda was forced to postpone a gig after her doctor ordered her to take a break after she suffered from exhaustion. In a snap, she said at the time: "I'm getting a flood of well wishes. Thank you so much. I'm not seriously ill. "It's what I call 'road rot' lots of bits going wrong. "Too often have tests and treatments while going full pace. "Physically exhausted. Just following Drs advice and taking time to heal. I won't be long. Imelda." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
RTÉ News
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Celebrating the sounds, sights and smells of Dublin's Liberties
Liberties Festival Director Michael McDermott celebrates this year's edition of beloved inner-city Dublin community gathering The Liberties Festival, which runs July 21st - 28th. The Liberties Festival, which starts next week, is the culmination of a stream of notes on my iPhone marked 'Festival 2025' which I have been compiling over the last year. Some ideas weren't realised last year. Some are random thoughts from scrolling Instagram, others from walking around the Liberties or Open Call submissions. Here's how a few of the 65 events we have on came into existence... Holding Space, which will take place in Bridgefoot Street Park, started off with me bumping into artist Erin Quinn in IMMA last autumn. She had debuted her idea at the fantastic Another Love Story festival. I was there but missed it. The concept of creating a scent unique to the area felt special and this became my first 2025 commission. We received a Dublin City Arts Office Neighbourhood grant which enabled us to undertake spring workshops with locals and Ukranian Integration participants who participate in Liberties Community Project programmes as well as 5th year students from Warrenmount. The power of scent and its interplay with memory became the foundation for this fragrance, the 'Scent of the Liberties', which will be revealed in a unique experience (July 22nd - 24th). We've also had Claire Campion and students from NCAD work on a fantastic design and are enlisting tapestries from the local Liberties Weavers. One of the scents will be 'Rose' in honour of the late Kathleen Farrell, who was an iconic figure selling flowers on Meath Street over the years. Talking Shop is an idea I had about stepping into local businesses to hear their stories. Making personal connections is crucial to the survival of unique owner-run spaces. Talking to owners, knowing a bit of their backstory and getting a steer on the street is a community glue. I pitched the idea to Night-Time Economy Advisor Ray O'Donoghue, who immediately saw the value of it and supported it. I enlisted the brilliant Dublin Inquirer who are based in the Digital Hub here to have their reporters undertake the interviews and Mr & Mrs Stevens created a poster which nails the concept. It takes place from July 23rd - 25th, with Noel's Deli, The Little Flower Penny Dinners, the Model Shop on James's Street, Straffan Antiques, Assisi in the Liberty Market and Fusco's chipper all on board. I've been asked if we have a theme for the festival a few times. I have shied away from saying one as I feared it might strait-jacket considerations but I guess originality with a nod to heritage is the one which emerges. There's the scent and brew projects, but also the likes of a soundwalk to record the 'sounds of the Liberties', which will then be workshopped and played at a concert in St Catherine's Church (Friday July 26th), the premiere of an original composition by Sebastian Adams for the organ in St Audoen's (Wednesday, July 23rd) and A Matter of Time Vol. 2, an exhibition which looks at labour, locality and time with photography by Ishmael Claxton, print-making by Maria Baez and a sound installation by Jye O'Sullivan (Tailor's Hall, Thursday July 25th - Sunday July 28th). These new explorations of the identity of the Liberties will mix with classics such as the Blue Rinse Ball and Gardaí vs Traders match. The essence of one of Ireland's oldest community festivals, which dates back to the early 1970s, is connectivity and celebration, as significant now as ever before. I already have an extensive list of ideas in the folder marked 'Festival 2026'...
Irish Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Glass half empty for whiskey industry
Irish whiskey started the year with more distilleries than anyone could put a number to, but following the impact of tariffs it might be the lost distilleries that are uncountable. The industry collectively raised a glass to two more distilleries which received bad news over the weekend. Powerscourt Distillery announced that it has entered receivership, with Interpath Advisory being appointed at the end of last week – the same firm as was appointed to Waterford Distillery in November 2024. The Wicklow-based company behind the Fercullen whiskey label, is one of many brands whose stills went cold this year, initially with plans to restart production in June. But that was not to be. READ MORE [ Is Irish whiskey on the rocks? Opens in new window ] As of September 2024, the company stood in breach of its agreement with lenders PNC Bank – with which it agreed a €25 million debt deal in June 2023 – and its accounts noted it was dependent on the lender's support and a round of fundraising of €4.6 million by the end of March 2025. Amid turbulent market conditions caused by US import tariffs, the brand was unable to secure the necessary funding. However, the fact that the process has already begun is understood to be positive for the business and the prospect of new investors. The business was struggling with working capital constraints but is thought to be viable long-term. In the Liberties, it emerged that Diageo-owned distillery Roe & Co put an 'extended pause on distillation'. In a statement to The Irish Times, a Diageo spokeswoman said the decision was made 'in order to optimise resources and support the sustainable future growth of our business'. IATA Director General Willie Walsh on airline profits, air fares and why the Dublin Airport passenger cap makes Ireland a laughing stock Listen | 35:56 It is understood that five employees due to be affected by Diageo's decision are in consultation with the company to be redeployed across the company where possible. Where does that leave the Irish whiskey industry? There has been a lot of talk of industry resilience and riding out turbulent market conditions, but fundamentally, it seems that the glass-half-full view around the country is not well received by some of its lenders.
Irish Times
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Fontaines DC's Grian Chatten: ‘Romance took a lot out of us. It was like a bomb went off, and then that silence'
In a room high above the Dublin city skyline, to rehash an early song title of theirs, Grian Chatten and Conor Deegan are surveying their kingdom. These days a Fontaines DC hometown gig feels like something of a victory lap. We're on the top floor of the Guinness Storehouse, where later tonight the group's frontman and bassist will join their bandmates on a double bill with Lankum as part of the Lovely Days Live gig series. The proceeds will go towards the Guinness Dublin 8 Community Fund, which has pledged to donate €1 million over the next five years to local community projects. 'I suppose,' Deegan says, 'at a certain point you kind of look at yourself and say, 'Am I purely an entertainer? Is that all that we're going to do? Are we going to be something for people to escape from the things in life, or [are we going to] deny them?'' He nods. 'We just wanted to use the platform that we have for some worthwhile things.' We're also just down the road from Fontaines' alma mater, Bimm Music Institute Dublin , where the five members of the band first met in 2014 and where they subsequently established a scholarship for students looking to follow in their globe-conquering footsteps. READ MORE [ Fontaines DC: Romance – Incredibly compelling indie rock that takes the Dublin band to the next level Opens in new window ] Chatten smiles as he remembers the band getting a horse-and-cart tour of the Liberties during their student days by a local self-proclaimed tour guide called Marius. 'And the horse was called Ringo,' Deegan says , which delights Chatten. 'Marius and Ringo,' he says with a sombre nod. 'Sounds like a Tolstoy novel, doesn't it?' The offhand literary reference is befitting for Chatten, who has become one of the finest lyricists and most compelling rock frontmen in recent memory. His band, meanwhile, are routinely referred to as one of the best in the world right now, or certainly the pre-eminent Irish band of their generation. 'My reaction to that is, 'Have you not heard Lankum ?'' Chatten protests as notes from that band's soundcheck drift through the open window. 'Lankum, to me, are one of the most concise versions of Ireland that I would like to believe in and live in. 'I've seen them a few times, but their set at Glastonbury [last year], and the crowd that they drew, that's a pride I never thought I'd feel.' He shakes his head. 'So I totally brush off the whole 'best band' thing, to be honest.' Like Lankum, Fontaines DC have been unafraid to use their platform for bigger issues. They are vocal supporters of Palestine , and later, at the gig, they will tell the crowd, 'No matter how scary it gets out there, don't stop talking about Palestine.' [ Grian Chatten of Fontaines DC: 'We were speeding off the edge of a cliff' Opens in new window ] We speak a few days after Mo Chara , of Kneecap , has been charged with a terror offence in the UK. Chatten, who collaborated with the Belfast trio on their album (which the Fontaines drummer, Tom Coll, also played on), is unequivocal in his support of the hip-hop group. 'It's a categorical witch hunt, and that's fairly plain to see to anyone who has a discerning eye,' he says. 'I stand by their side, and I'm totally unafraid to do so. I think all of us are. 'If Sinéad O'Connor was still around she'd be speaking up and [would] probably have another media storm raged against her, as well. So, yeah, that's what I think about it.' He shrugs. 'I just think when you become aware of the facts, how many people are dying' in Gaza , 'I don't really want to live in a world where people turn a blind eye to those things. And I think the best thing for us to do, as people with platforms, is to lead by example.' Fontaines DC. Photograph: Peter Joseph Smith The past year or so has been the busiest of the band's career. Since the release of their fourth album, Romance , last August, their profile has rocketed, winning them new fans globally, breaking new territories and scoring huge radio hits with songs such as Favourite and Starburster. Chatten, who says he had struggled with the fame that can come with being in a band, agrees that they are 'probably acclimatising to it on a deeper level now', allowing him to live in the moment more. Yet the band's ascent has been an undeniably steady one, which has helped in terms of keeping their feet on the ground and their egos in check – although Chatten sheepishly points to the sunglasses he's wearing. 'I'm just jet-lagged, and my eye bags are massive,' he says. Deegan likens Fontaines' rise to 'kind of like boiling a frog. I think if the band had blown up quickly on the first record to this level, then it probably might have hopped out,' he says. 'On a deeper point, it's reflective of the friendships that we have with each other. That's what's kept us going as a band, both literally and musically.' The past eight months have been the most hectic of the band's career, as Romance, an album that added new depth, scope, texture and colour to their sound, went global. Having mined their Irish upbringings on much of their previous material – from the famous opening line of Fontaines DC's debut album, Dogrel ('Dublin in the rain is mine/ A pregnant city with a Catholic mind') to sneering references to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael on I Love You, from Skinty Fia , their 2022 album – it also arguably brought a newfound universality to their lyrics. 'I feel like on [Romance] we pushed each song to where it wanted to be, more than we have on any other album. On Here's the Thing, for example, we really committed to that sound,' Chatten says. 'Whereas I think maybe, in the past, we've slightly compromised by trying to make songs fit in with the rest of the album. 'I wouldn't want to put its universal appeal down to its un-Irishness, necessarily; sometimes making a culture a massive thing on an album probably doesn't resonate too much with people. But I do think that there's a lot on the album that can be a canvas for people to project their own emotions on to.' Fontaines DC's Grian Chatten and Conor Deegan. Photogroahg: Tom Honan The way that they write has inevitably changed as they have spent more time on the road. None of the band members now live in Dublin, and they don't necessarily write in a room together any more. 'That was what dictated the music a lot: what could be played together in a room,' Deegan says. 'But moving away from Ireland and going on the road, we weren't able to play with each other as much as we would have wanted to. 'There was a lot of writing going on with laptops in hotel rooms. And we got into the extra instruments that suddenly you're able to utilise when you're using software or things like that – the sound of the mellotron, for example – and it opened up our sound. We basically started making music and then following up how to play it [live] afterwards. Just letting ourselves be free from that restriction.' Where might the band go next? They've jammed some new material during soundchecks on their recent tour. 'We're starting to get that curiosity back again,' Deegan says. 'But it's the beginning stages, and we're still wrapped up in this tour, and [we need to be] present in the moment with this album.' 'Yeah,' Chatten says, nodding. 'I feel like Romance took a lot out of us, personally and creatively. It was kind of like a bomb went off, and there was just that postbomb silence, a ringing of the ears. So I think we're still being that album a little bit, if that makes sense. It demands a lot of us. And [in terms of] moving on, it seems like I'm not necessarily ready to say goodbye to this version of ourselves yet.' The song ideas that they have been tentatively jamming, he says, are difficult to pin to a genre or style. 'There's an awful lot of variety, which isn't necessarily helpful in figuring out what our next album is going to sound like,' he says. 'But, again, we're just letting the songs be themselves, and giving them the time of day. With Romance it felt like there was a very conscious choice behind where we went with it, aesthetically and sonically, compared to the first three. I want the next album to be the same.' Fontaines DC on stage at the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin. Photograph: Tom Honan They aren't convinced by the idea of writing something overtly political but will continue to speak up when necessary. 'It needs to not feel too blunt, and still have a sense of art and self-expression,' Chatten says. 'Lankum draw on a reservoir of tradition, so that kind of blesses everything that they do that's political with a sense of artistry. 'In terms of songwriting, it's difficult for me to justify shouting blunt orders into a microphone and not feel like I've lost something creatively, you know? There is a lot to be said for creating art that stirs people's emotions in a certain direction without doing that.' There are still some personal ambitions to be fulfilled, too. Deegan has plans for a solo album at some point. The other members of Fontaines DC – Coll and the guitarists Conor Curley and Carlos O'Connell – have all had side projects, including producing and even acting, in O'Connell's case. Chatten, who has already released a solo album, Chaos for the Fly , has spoken about wanting to publish a book of poetry by the time he turns 30 – which is in July. 'Let's say by the time I'm 32 now,' he says, jokingly. The band has been shifting, 'with people having children and stuff', Deegan says, referring to O'Connell's two-year-old daughter. 'Grian's not 30 yet, but the rest of us are in our 30s now, and there's a kind of a shift mentally for some of us, and what our priorities might be. 'And I think that's beautiful, to be honest. We've been working hard for our 20s to build this thing, and maybe the ambitions don't need to always be music, you know? Maybe they can be something else.' It all seems a long way from the days of Marius and Ringo, of snatched moments of jams between soul-corroding day jobs, of the heady days when they could only dream about being a band that mattered to so many. What's the biggest difference between the Fontaines who released Dogrel, in 2019, and the Fontaines of today? 'About 10 kilos for me,' Chatten deadpans. 'No, I'm only messing – it's probably a lot more.' He smiles, then sighs. 'I don't know. I think that it was inevitable for the sound to change, for us to do away a little bit with the minimalism that we made a virtue of in the early days. I think we've become a little bit like maximalist in our approach now, a bit more cinematic, I suppose.' They look a mixture of bemused and horrified at the thought of Fontaines DC being around for another 20 or 30 years. Do they see themselves as a legacy band? Chatten mulls it over for a moment. 'I don't know.' He shrugs again. 'I'm sure there's going to come a point where we don't really understand what's hip and trendy and all that kind of craic any more, you know? 'And we won't be parading around in a school uniform, like Angus Young.' He allows himself a smile. 'I'd rather put my faith in kind of accepting ourselves. As Deego says, priorities are changing. I think as long as we don't miscast ourselves in the future, we'll be all right.' Fontaines DC play the All Together Now festival, at Curraghmore Estate in Co Waterford, on Friday, August 1st. A bonus turquoise-vinyl edition of Romance , including a 7in of the new songs It's Amazing to Be Young and Before You I Just Forget, is out on Friday, July 18th
