Latest news with #Lifford
BBC News
25-05-2025
- BBC News
A5: Elderly woman dies after two-vehicle crash
An 82-year-old woman has died after a crash on the A5 in County was Bernadette Cranley, known as Bernie, from Lifford in County car she was driving was in collision with a SUV on the Mellon Road between Omagh and Newtownstewart at about 12:30 BST on Saturday. The driver of the other vehicle, a woman in her 70s, was seriously injured and was taken to hospital by ambulance. The crash happened close to the entrance to the Ulster American Folk Park outside which were due to take place at the park on Saturday night as part of the Bluegrass Omagh Festival were called off. Throw-in for the GAA match between Donegal and Tyrone in Ballybofey was also postponed until 19:15 local time due to the road, which was closed for a number of hours, has since reopened, police have said. West Tyrone assembly member (MLA) Daniel McCrossan said tragedies resulting from the A5 are "never ending"."Can I ask our community to keep all those affected in their thoughts and prayers," he than 50 people have died on Northern Ireland's A5 road - which runs between Londonderry and Aughnacloy - since 2006. In the Republic of Ireland, three women have been killed in separate incidents on pedestrians - one in her late 20s in County Wexford and another in her 60s in County Meath - and a cyclist in her 70s in County Clare died in the crashes. What is the A5? The road, which is more than 58 miles (94km) long, is single carriageway for most of its length, with overtaking lanes in some A5 is a vital artery of the Northern Ireland road is also the main north-south route in the west of Northern Ireland, providing a link between County Donegal and Dublin, via the N2 in County Monaghan.A £1.2bn upgrade to the road was announced last year by then Infrastructure Minister John O'Dowd, but is now the subject of a judicial review.
Sunday World
20-05-2025
- Sunday World
Arrest warrant issued for jockey ‘in hiding' over drug debt
Oran Brown was convicted in court after being caught with over €11,000 worth of drugs A Judge has ordered an arrest warrant to be issued for a Co Donegal horse-racing jockey who is 'in hiding' over a drug debt after he failed to complete a community service order. Oran Brown was convicted in court after being caught with over €11,000 worth of drugs at his home in June, 2020. In 2023, the Lifford sportsman was ordered to do 240 hours of community service after Gardai raided his home and found drugs and cash. Last month, Donegal Circuit Court heard that he has been unable to undertake that part of his sentence. The case was adjourned to today to see if Brown could be contacted to explain why he had not undertaken the community service in lieu of the prison sentence. Brown's barrister, Mr Peter Nolan explained that his client has been in hiding over a drug debt. 'Oran Brown has an individual looking for him to pay a drug debt. 'He is in hiding. He can't comply with the community service order as he is in fear of third parties,' he said. The case was brought back before the court by the Probation Service due to Brown's non-compliance with the order. The case was mentioned again today but the Probation Service told the court that they had made 'numerous efforts' to contact Brown but had still not heard back from him. A spokesperson for the service said they had tried to reach the accused by phone and had sent him letters since last November but had still not heard back from him. They also confirmed that Brown had not completed ANY of the 240 community service hours imposed in lieu of time in jail. Judge John Aylmer said he was satisfied that Brown was aware of the order and issued a warrant. Previously, Brown was sentenced to a three-and-half-year term in prison, which was suspended for three and a half years, for the possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling or supplying to others. He was also ordered to complete 240 hours of community service in lieu of 6 months in prison on a charge of the unlawful possession of cocaine. Gardai, armed with a search warrant, swooped on Brown's home at Collate, Lifford on June 25, 2020. Detectives seized €8,668 worth of cannabis and cocaine with a street value of €2,504.81. Some of the cannabis was found in deal bags. A Zopiclone tablet, valued at €2, was also located in the raid. A grinder, weighing scales and a quantity of Ziploc bags were also found. Quantities of Diazepam and Xanax were found in a Tommy Hilfiger bag in the property while gardai observed a line of suspected cocaine on top of a dresser. A quantity of cocaine was found inside a safe, which also contained €7,225 and £2,480 sterling in cash. Brown was searched and a cylinder containing cannabis and a grinder was located on his person. Almost £9,000 in cash was found inside a safe and, after being arrested, Brown told Gardai he 'smoked a lot of weed and sniffed cocaine'. He added: "I won't lie, I sold a few bags of weed too." Brown said the cash was given to him by his parents and grandparents for his birthday the month before. He refused to give gardai the PIN for his mobile phone as he said there was 'stuff on the phone' that he didn't want them to see. Detective Garda Michelle Kelly said gardai were unable to access data from the phone as the PIN was not provided. In court in 2023, Mr Nolan said his client, who he said was a 'conditional apprentice' at the time, began taking cocaine 'to keep the weight stabilised'. 'Stupidity led him to these circumstances,' Mr Nolan said. At the time of sentencing Judge Aylmer said 'It was clear from all the paraphernalia found on the premises that there was a significant amount of dealing going on. 'This is an unusual case where he deserves a second chance. It is with some hesitation, but it is a case that it may be dealt with better on a non-custodial basis given all of the features."
BreakingNews.ie
20-05-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Judge issues warrant for 'in hiding' jockey after he fails to do community service for drugs charge
A Judge has ordered an arrest warrant to be issued for a Co Donegal horse-racing jockey who is 'in hiding' over a drug debt after he failed to complete a community service order. Oran Brown was convicted in court after being caught with over €11,000 worth of drugs at his home in June 2020. Advertisement In 2023, the Lifford sportsman was ordered to do 240 hours of community service after gardaí raided his home and found drugs and cash. Last month, Donegal Circuit Court heard that he has been unable to undertake that part of his sentence. The case was adjourned to today to see if Brown could be contacted to explain why he had not undertaken the community service in lieu of the prison sentence. Brown's barrister, Mr Peter Nolan, explained that his client has been in hiding over a drug debt. Advertisement 'Oran Brown has an individual looking for him to pay a drug debt. 'He is in hiding. He can't comply with the community service order as he is in fear of third parties,' he said. The case was brought back before the court by the Probation Service due to Brown's non-compliance with the order. The case was mentioned again on Tuesday, but the Probation Service told the court that they had made 'numerous efforts' to contact Brown but had still not heard back from him. Advertisement A spokesperson for the service said they had tried to reach the accused by phone and had sent him letters since last November, but had still not heard back from him. They also confirmed that Brown had not completed any of the 240 community service hours imposed in lieu of time in jail. Judge John Aylmer said he was satisfied that Brown was aware of the order and issued a warrant. Previously, Brown was sentenced to a three-and-a-half-year term in prison, which was suspended for three and a half years, for the possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling or supplying to others. Advertisement He was also ordered to complete 240 hours of community service in lieu of 6 months in prison on a charge of the unlawful possession of cocaine. Gardai, armed with a search warrant, swooped on Brown's home at Collate, Lifford on June 25th, 2020. Detectives seized €8,668 worth of cannabis and cocaine with a street value of €2,504.81. Some of the cannabis was found in deal bags. A Zopiclone tablet, valued at €2, was also located in the raid. Advertisement A grinder, weighing scales and a quantity of Ziploc bags were also found. Quantities of Diazepam and Xanax were found in a Tommy Hilfiger bag in the property, while gardaí observed a line of suspected cocaine on top of a dresser. A quantity of cocaine was found inside a safe, which also contained €7,225 and £2,480 sterling in cash. Brown was searched, and a cylinder containing cannabis and a grinder was located on his person. Almost £9,000 in cash was found inside a safe and, after being arrested, Brown told gardaí he 'smoked a lot of weed and sniffed cocaine'. He added, "I won't lie, I sold a few bags of weed too." Brown said the cash was given to him by his parents and grandparents for his birthday the month before. He refused to give gardaí the PIN for his mobile phone as he said there was 'stuff on the phone' that he didn't want them to see. Detective Garda Michelle Kelly said gardaí were unable to access data from the phone as the PIN was not provided. In court in 2023, Mr Nolan said his client, who he said was a 'conditional apprentice' at the time, began taking cocaine 'to keep the weight stabilised'. 'Stupidity led him to these circumstances,' Mr Nolan said. At the time of sentencing, Judge Aylmer said, 'It was clear from all the paraphernalia found on the premises that there was a significant amount of dealing going on. 'This is an unusual case where he deserves a second chance. It is with some hesitation, but it is a case that it may be dealt with better on a non-custodial basis given all of the features."
