Latest news with #PatrickO'Connell
Sunday World
06-08-2025
- Sunday World
Ex school principal harassed two teachers forcing them to leave their posts
The harassment consisted of Walsh sending anonymised letters and cards to the women Celia Walsh, Director of Waterford Education Support Centre, a former principal of Murrintown National School in Wexford and a part-time lecturer with the University of Limerick, targeted the women after they raised concerns over safety protocols in a school where her sister held a role. The harassment consisted of Walsh sending anonymised letters and cards to the women, forging documents from the Teaching Council to make them fear they were under investigation and making calls to and leaving voicemails on the phone of one of her victim's elderly mother-in-law. Walsh, who gives training courses for teachers in the area of Special Education Needs with the Waterford Education Support Centre, appeared before Wexford District Court earlier this month where she was convicted of two counts of harassment and one count of forgery. Walsh did not want to add to her court apology when she was approached by our reporter Patrick O'Connell A six-month sentence was imposed on each of the counts of harassment, she was ordered to pay €4,000 to each of her victims, and a 10-month sentence was handed down to her for the count of forging Teaching Council documents. Convictions Approached by the Sunday World at her home outside the village of Campile last week, Walsh, who holds a doctorate in education and lectured as a tutor in educational leadership at UL, declined to add to an apology she offered in court for her behaviour. Instead, she told our reporter she did 'not want journalists calling to her home'. When contacted, the University of Limerick, which was not aware of Walsh's convictions prior to our call, declined to comment. The Sunday World understands Walsh was not employed as a staff lecturer with the university but was instead part of a panel from which the college drew tutors when the module in educational leadership was running. A source said other universities and colleges also had access to this panel of lecturers. The Waterford Education Support Centre – which, on its website, describes Walsh as 'a good role model for all staff employed in the Centre' – did not answer queries as to whether it had taken steps to address her behaviour. Walsh talks with our reporter Patrick O'Connell At Walsh's sentencing hearing, Garda Donal Doyle told the court that he had received correspondence from Victim A in November 2020 that appeared to be a letter from the Teaching Council. 'I was extremely worried that I had been reported to The Teaching Council,' the victim told the court. 'I was so upset. I cried in work and at home that day. The evening I received it, at 7pm it was confirmed by the Teaching Council of Ireland that the letter did not originate from them.' After this incident, on February 14, 2022, Victim A received a Valentine's day card which was posted to her home address which read 'Happy Valentines Day, see you soon'. Victim A was in a long term relationship at this time. A month later a St Patrick's Day card was also sent to her home. In her victim impact statement, victim A said: 'These implied I was having an affair. This not only attempted to tarnish my reputation but also attacked my personal life. Celia Walsh attempted to cause huge suspicion in my relationship. 'It was mortifying and deeply upsetting to know that someone was trying to harm me so personally and vindictively.' Alarm The second complainant, Victim B, worked in the school alongside Victim A. Both women had raised concerns within the school and in June 2020 Victim B received a letter which again appeared to be from the Teaching Council which was sent to her home address. This letter seemed to accuse the injured party of harassing and bullying co-workers and referred to health and safety legislation. The defendant also phoned Victim B's mother-in-law. The court heard these calls were not threatening but deemed inappropriate, with Garda Doyle saying 'the tone was not great'. In her victim impact statement, Victim B said: 'The arrival of anonymous letters created suspicion, alarm, fear and disbelief. 'Nothing like this had ever happened to me in my career, before or since. I felt so hurt and so distressed at the loss of what had been a wonderful school atmosphere prior to September 2019. 'Each anonymous item that was sent by Celia Walsh had to be composed, typed, printed, folded, placed in an envelope, addressed, stamped, brought to a post office or letter box, and posted. At any one of these steps, Celia Walsh could have stopped herself, but she did not. 'When I was informed by Detective Garda Donal Doyle that the investigation confirmed that Celia Walsh was the author of the anonymous letters, I was shocked that as a former principal of two schools, director of a Teacher Centre and a recently-qualified Doctor of Education, Celia Walsh would threaten, intimidate and harass a fellow teacher. I felt that Celia Walsh's conduct was a betrayal of the teaching profession.' In relation to the St Patrick's Day card received by Victim A in March 2021, the stamp was traced to the post office in which it was bought as well as the date and time it was bought. This allowed gardai to locate CCTV and identify Celia Walsh as the person buying the stamp. As a result, Walsh was arrested and made admissions. She claimed she was trying to help her sister who held a position within the school at the time. Sentence Ross Pratt O'Brien BL, counsel for the defendant, said his client was the older sister to a woman who worked within the school and this woman would have kept the accused appraised of everything going on within the school. He described the incident as 'not a very sophisticated operation' which Garda Doyle confirmed, but stated there was a bit of thought in putting everything together. Walsh took to the witness stand to convey her apologies to the injured parties. Judge John Cheatle stated he could not see the benefit in imprisoning the accused and imposed a 10-month sentence suspended for 12 months, and also ordered €4,000 be paid to each of the injured parties as a gesture of remorse and in circumstances where the victims do not want the money they can nominate a charity for the funds to be paid to. Celia Walsh escaped with a suspended sentence for her actions News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, August 5th
Eater
02-07-2025
- Business
- Eater
What to Eat at D.C.'s Top Tennis Tournament
A record count of Michelin-starred restaurants — seven in all – will serve at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. The week-long event at Rock Creek Tennis Center (Saturday, July 19-Sunday, July 27) — the only combined men's and women's 500-level tennis tournament in the world — draws more than 70,000 fans each year to the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center (5220 16th Street NW). After debuting at the then-named Citi Open in 2023, three-Michelin-starred Inn at Little Washington returns with truffle popcorn from chef and proprietor Patrick O'Connell (still only available in the Citi Lounge and suites only, however). Nick Stefanelli of NoMa's Masseria plates Italian cuisine, and chefs Miguel Guerra and Tatiana Mora of newly starred Mita will serve polished vegetable dishes. Others offering off-court delights include Albi's James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Rafidi, Spanish celebrity chef José Andrés's cooling gazpacho for the hot tennis nights, and chef Jeremiah Langhorne of The Dabney, who plans to prep his mid-Atlantic catfish sandwiches on sweet potato rolls. Debuting this year is Ben's Chili Bowl, U Street's decades-old institution serving its iconic half-smokes. And Cava, the now-national chain born in the DMV, also brings its Mediterranean bowls to the tournament for the first time. Held every year since 1969, the pro tournament kicked off a partnership with Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investments in 2023 to create the newly named Mubadala Citi DC Open. This June, D.C. officials announced big plans to assume control of Rock Creek Tennis Center and modernize the area and facility, which is currently owned by the federal government. The city says it wants to work in partnership with the tournament's owner Mark Ein, who has goals of his own to continue to upgrade the annual event. This year's competitive roster features seven top-10 players across the ATP and WTA Tours, and five Grand Slam champions, including D.C.-area native and World No. 12-ranked Frances Tiafoe. Tickets, starting in the $30s, are still available. Green turf-lined Market Square remains where the majority of the food action takes place. Returning favorites around the DMV includes King Street Oyster Bar (lobster rolls), Roaming Rooster (hot Nashville fried chicken sandwiches), and Duke's Grocery (Proper Burger). There's also sweets from Dolcezza and Clayboy's Shaved Ice; and Ladurée will offer its macarons at a special stand outside the main stadium. Design Cuisine returns again as the tournament's concessionaire. The tourney isn't complete without its range of drinks, alcoholic and N/A. Over at the Tequila Lounge, sponsor Mi Campo Tequila teams up with D.C.-born Taco Bamba. Chef and owner Victor Albisu is a longstanding tennis fan, spotted in the stadium for several years. The rock-and-roll Mexican spot – there since 2022 – will offer a range of tacos, grilled guacamole, loaded nachos, and two types of churros. 'We're a big tennis family, and this is one of my favorite events,' says Albisu. Several returning places for tippling include: wine-centric Kim Crawford Summer Club, Aviation Gin Bar, Ketel One Terrace, and Heineken Beer Garden – all with dedicated drinks and some limited food options.
Perth Now
25-06-2025
- Perth Now
Washington D.C. restaurant sells $95 bottle of water sourced from a 15,000-year-old iceberg
A Michelin-starred restaurant in Washington D.C. sells a $95 bottle of water from a Greenland iceberg. The Inn at Little Washington has a "water menu" - which offers drinks that have been collected from glaciers and other water sources from around the world - and the Berg water is the melted remains of the 15,000-year-old iceberg. Speaking about the $95 bottle of water, Cameron Smith, a waiter at The Inn at Little Washington, told The Times newspaper: "It's very aromatic, for an actual water. "I should be getting snow. When you swirl this water, it's very light-bodied. You have a very mysterious, very ancient, earthly kind of quality.' The cheapest drink is free Virginia water. Waters on the menu are scored based on how salty, sweet or smooth they are. Vichy Catalan, from Spain, is considered the "saltiest", while waters sourced from Virginia, California and Romania were described as the "sweetest". Patrick O'Connell, the chef and proprietor of The Inn at Little Washington, told Eater: "We can now create a paired water menu with our menu. "These waters are so unique. Some are from underground glaciers that are 3,000 years old. They've never been in contact with the air. The varieties, tastes, and textures of these waters are absolutely fascinating,"
Associated Press
29-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
AllianceBernstein: Materiality Matters - The ESG Factors That Count
Patrick O'Connell, CFA | Director—Responsible Investing Portfolio Solutions and Research John Huang, CFA | Director of Responsible Investments, Data and Technology—Responsibility Erin Bigley, CFA | Chief Responsibility Officer The materiality of ESG factors differs across sectors and markets. Investors need to understand how. As environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors help contribute to—or detract from—security returns, it makes sense for active investors to integrate them into security selection. But there's a wide disparity in the materiality of ESG factors across investment sectors and markets. In our view, understanding this dynamic is the key to successfully incorporating ESG risks and opportunities into portfolio construction. For many investors, whether fixed income or equity, the process of integrating ESG factors into their strategies begins with correlating the relevance of each factor to individual industries. At a basic level this shows, for example, that greenhouse gas emissions are a particular risk for mining companies and electric utilities, while customer privacy is a key concern for the healthcare sector. This is a good starting point but offers an incomplete perspective. We believe a much deeper dive is necessary to fully dimension the materiality of ESG factors for portfolio performance. Investors need to know how a particular factor may affect investment returns for a given sector or market. Factors Can Have Wide or Narrow Impacts Factor attribution using historical returns can reveal how ESG factors have contributed to investment returns in the past, whether for a sector or an entire investment universe, in equities or in bonds. We've observed that some factors can be financially material for all companies in a market, regardless of sector. For example, we divided stocks in the MSCI All Country World Index into quintiles according to their total recordable incident rate (TRIR)—the number of workplace injuries or illnesses—then compared their returns relative to the parent index over 14 years. The results show that high TRIR consistently underperformed the market and that low TRIR consistently outperformed. Similarly, in the bond market, 'social fines' is a powerful, index-wide factor. Social fines are regulatory penalties imposed for nonenvironmental reasons, such as workplace health and safety and anticompetitive practices. Other ESG factors with broad relevance across investment sectors include CEOs' length of tenure and employee turnover. For investors wishing to integrate ESG factors into their portfolios, it's useful, in our view, to know which factors have index-wide applicability. Factor attribution can also reveal which ESG factors are particularly relevant to a specific sector and which have historically shown no financial materiality. Another advantage of factor attribution is that it can lead to observations that are unexpected and even counterintuitive. We found, for example, that companies with high ESG disclosures broadly performed better than those with low or no disclosures, regardless of whether their ESG practices were good, bad or indifferent. In the case of ESG metrics where there was no significant under- or overperformance relative to the market—CFO tenure and split roles for CEO and chair of the board—companies that disclosed data outperformed companies that didn't disclose, on average. Fundamental Research Enhances Insights from Factor Attribution But factor attribution alone is not enough, in our view; it should complement fundamental research. Understanding the effect of ESG factors on performance is most valuable in the context of broader research into how well a company is managed. For example, fundamental research can show that a high TRIR affects productivity directly, through lost working hours, and indirectly, by creating a culture in which workers are undermotivated because they don't feel safe. Additionally, factor attribution works best with long data series, which are not always available, stressing the importance of fundamental research. Another way fundamental research can help is in measuring ESG factors appropriately to a particular sector, instead of taking the generic approach typically used by many third-party ESG databases. This could mean, for example, measuring carbon emissions in terms of miles per gallon for automakers, per passenger mile for airliners and per ton of cement produced for building-material companies. And it can tease out the nuances underlying many ESG factors. In the case of the mining sector, for example, fundamental research can focus on tailings dam risk within the more broadly defined factors of water and hazardous materials management. As this small snapshot of an ESG materiality matrix shows, these insights can be mapped very simply. But it's the quality of the information behind it that gives the map its value: the understanding of how ESG factors can be financially material across investment sectors, industries and markets. By embedding such knowledge in their securities research and portfolio construction, investors, in our view, may significantly enhance the potential for outperformance. The authors wish to thank Peter Højsteen-Ljungbeck for his contribution. The views expressed herein do not constitute research, investment advice or trade recommendations and do not necessarily represent the views of all AB portfolio-management teams. Views are subject to revision over time. MSCI makes no express or implied warranties or representations, and shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to any MSCI data contained MSCI data may not be further redistributed or used as a basis for other indices or any securities or financial products. This report is not approved, reviewed or produced by MSCI. Learn more about AB's approach to responsibility here. Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from AllianceBernstein
Sunday World
07-05-2025
- Sunday World
‘Have money in two days, or you're dead' – Intruders threaten to kill couple and unborn child
Before the court were John English (37) and Patrick O'Connell (35) 'Have the money in two days, or you're dead.' That was the chilling message delivered to a couple in Campile when two men broke into their house. The incident at St James's Villas was the subject of a case dealt with at a sentencing hearing in the Circuit Court by Judge James McCourt. Before the court were John English (37) from Ramsgrange, now living in New Ross, and Patrick O'Connell (35) with an address of Abbey View, Campile. They admitted burglary, making threats to kill or cause serious harm, and criminal damage to the back door of a home in St James's Villas. Also in the dock was Dermot O'Connell who pleaded guilty when charged with trespass on July 21, 2021. That was the date on which English and Patrick O'Connell forced the door of the home of Matthew Cullen and his pregnant partner Shannon Power. They were armed with a crowbar and a small baseball bat and they came looking for payment of a debt. The court heard from plain clothes Garda Conor Walsh that a dispute over a van may have inspired the terrifying episode. Mr Cullen found himself struck repeatedly about the head, arm and chest with the crowbar and O'Connell also tried to bite his ear. The garda estimate that the household was hit about 20 times in all during this ordeal before he managed to wrestle the weapon from his attacker. Meanwhile English pushed Ms Power against a wall, telling her that he would kill her and her unborn baby. Wexford Courthouse The News in 90 Seconds - Wednesday, 7th of May The two intruders made off on foot with a dog and with Dermot O'Connell who was waiting outside. The third man told Mr Cullen and Ms Power that they had two days to pay before 'lads from Dublin' arrived to collect the sum claimed. A blue Berlingo van later found parked near an Aldi supermarket was believed to have been the trio's getaway vehicle. They had been recognised and were arrested for questioning in the weeks and months following the incident. The court was told that English was foreman on a building site while the younger O'Connell worked as a fisherman. In a victim impact statement, Sharon Power asked the judge to show no mercy to the defendants. She wrote that she feared for her life and described the lasting effect of the break-in: 'My safe place is no longer my safe place. I became scared of my own shadow.' She was checked out at the time in hospital and found to be physically unharmed while her partner sustained a large number of superficial injuries. The judge learned that English is a father of two, described by his barrister Ronan Kennedy as a well regarded tradesman. Counsel said that his client was suffering from addiction problems at the time of the offences and had since gone to rehab at Aisirí. English's memory of the night of the break in was limited. He remembered being asked to help collect some money and next he remembered waking up with blood on his hands. 'This offence is very much rooted in addiction,' suggested Mr Kennedy. Dermot O'Connell was given a suspended six month sentence. John English and Patrick O'Connell were handed two year terms, the final 18 months to be suspended.
