Latest news with #ProbationAct
Irish Examiner
7 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Judge to consider prison sentence for Cork man who tried to choke his wife
A woman tearfully described on Thursday how her husband tried to choke her in the family home and made highly personally insults to her. Judge Philip O'Leary said that after hearing of one incident when the woman was in fear the day after she was granted a protection order, he might have dealt with the matter under the Probation Act, but he said it was made much more serious by this second incident where the man assaulted his wife. 'This second matter may merit a prison sentence. I will put it back for a probation report and maybe an assessment for his suitability for a community service order,' Judge O'Leary said. The judge told the defendant's solicitor Pat Mullins that he should impress on the 37-year-old man the seriousness of the situation and the importance of co-operating with the probation service. The two cases against the same defendant were heard at an in-camera hearing of Cork District Court to deal with matters under the Domestic Violence Act. Two incidents Garda Clare Sheehan agreed under cross-examination that the first incident on September 10, 2024, was verbal but that it was serious enough that the complainant felt it necessary to lock herself into her bedroom. The victim said that her husband reacted when he became aware that she had obtained a protection order, saying: 'How dare you take out a protection order… My life is over. So is yours. You are a whore.' He denied saying this and said that his wife had anger management issues and that he had a protection order against her too. Garda David Ahern said of the second more recent incident that he responded to a 999 call about an alleged breach of a protection order. The injured party said that after an argument: 'He grabbed my neck and tried to choke me. He pushed me and I hit my head on the radiator. He sat on to me and said something really bad about my private area.' The defendant denied all of this and said she was the one who slapped him in the face and that previously he was hospitalised after an incident at home. He said of her evidence: 'It is all a fabricated story. It is all made up. It is not genuine.' Judge O'Leary convicted him on both breaches of the protection order. Sentencing was adjourned until September 11 to allow time for a probation report.
Irish Examiner
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner view: It's Catastrophicto be going backwards on climate targets
The figures from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are grounds for concern for anyone worried by the climate crisis. The agency says that Ireland has 'moved backwards' when it comes to our goal of reducing carbon emissions by 51% by 2030, as the latest statistics show the country is on course for a maximum reduction of 23%. That percentage makes a stark comparison with a predicted reduction of 29% made just 12 months ago. This is a terrible indictment of our performance. It is bad enough not to reach targets, which were set to help us combat the greatest existential threat which faces humanity, but to go backwards — as stated by the EPA — is catastrophic. The best that can be said about these figures is that they expose our lack of commitment and bring some reality to this situation. We may be making all the right noises and gestures, but clearly substantive progress is not being achieved: Going by these figures, the situation is getting worse. If 'lack of commitment' sounds excessive, readers should consider the contribution of environment minister Darragh O'Brien. He said the EPA figures 'are a clear signal that, while we've made real progress, we need to move faster to meet our 2030 climate targets'. It beggars belief that any politician would attempt to describe the EPA figures as a sign of progress, yet here we are. The bad news does not end there: We are also set to miss EU-mandated carbon targets for 2030 by a massive margin. That could result in fines of tens of billions of euro for failing to match the EU's Effort Sharing Regulation, which penalises member states not doing their fair share in terms of climate action. It is long past time we treated this crisis with the urgency it deserves before it is too late. However, if missing our emissions targets and owing billions in fines doesn't motivate us to act, what will? State bodies hid and deflected Earlier this week, justice minister Jim O'Callaghan apologised to the O'Farrell family in the Dáil. It was a long-awaited day of vindication for the O'Farrell family, who have spent almost 15 years fighting for justice for their son and brother Shane — who was knocked down and killed near Carrickmacross, Monaghan, in August 2011. Shane O'Farrell was struck in a hit-and-run incident by a car driven by Zigimantas Gridziuska. Lithuanian Gridziuska was a repeat criminal who had committed a series of offences while on bail. A year before the hit-and-run incident, he was given a prison sentence which he did not serve. When the O'Farrells started investigating, they found that Gridziuska appeared to be committing crimes all over Ireland with apparent impunity. In the 18 months before the hit-and-run incident, he committed approximately 30 offences, with Lucia O'Farrell, Shane's mother, saying: 'He seemed to be in every court walking in and out ... He seemed to get fines, get the benefit of the Probation Act, community service, and then he'd get full temporary release, and re-offend. He could do what he liked, bail had no legal meaning for him.' The failure of the legal system to deal with this offender is a shocking indictment of that system, but there is a lesson here which goes beyond criminals ignoring the courts. In their years fighting for Shane, the O'Farrell family were treated shamefully by the State. The family requested information from bodies as various as the Department of Justice, the Courts Service, the Prison Service, and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, but they described their treatment as 'abusive and disrespectful ... What followed was stonewalling by State agencies who adopted deflection, evasiveness, and most importantly, a deliberate lack of completeness and transparency. We learned of Gridziuska's criminal past from our own efforts, not from the State'. It is disgraceful that State bodies would treat citizens in this manner. Those responsible for protecting their institutions rather than aiding fellow citizens should face disciplinary action for their treatment of the O'Farrell family. Unfair play It may be a week and a half away but the excitement is building for the Munster hurling final, one of the highlights of the Irish sporting summer. This year, Cork take on Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds, a mouthwatering clash expected to sell out when tickets go on sale. However, supporters are swallowing hard at the ticket prices — €50 for stand, €40 for terrace, and €10 for U16s, with €5 concession for students and OAPs. That is a €5 increase on stand, terrace, and juvenile prices from last year's final. In 2023, stand admission was €40 and terrace €30 for that year's provincial final. That means a 25% hike in ticket prices in just two years, a staggering leap in cost. Given the huge following both Cork and Limerick have, and the near-guarantee that the venue will sell out, those supporters are entitled to feel their loyalty is being penalised here. As a comparison, stand tickets for the Munster football final between Kerry and Clare this year were €20 cheaper than their hurling equivalents. If the authorities were to reconsider and even freeze prices at the 2024 level, it would be a welcome gesture and an indication that the supporters' loyalty is something to be appreciated and not exploited. Read More Irish Examiner view: Our support for the people of Liverpool
Sunday World
11-05-2025
- Sunday World
Ex-soldier convicted of murdering mum-of-one had been violent to three former partners
Keith Byrne choked previous partner, cops told In his evidence, 34-year-old Keith Byrne, from Duleek, sickeningly claimed the 36-year-old mum-of-one took her own life at their four-star Magnolia Hotel in the popular Costa Daurada resort of Salou. The truth was he strangled Kirsty to death with a hair-straightener power cord on July 2, 2023 after she told him she was leaving him. The liar also described himself to jurors as a 'respectful and intelligent' father-of-three who would never commit an act of domestic violence. However, the Sunday World understands Spanish prosecutors already knew that this was a lie and were armed with evidence from a former girlfriend of Byrne's that he was in fact a serial woman abuser. This woman had previously told of her ordeal at Byrne's hands in an interview with the Sunday World following Kirsty's murder. In the interview, the woman said she was speaking out as she didn't want Byrne to be tried as someone who had been violent as a one-off 'as if it is the first time he has hurt someone'. Murder victim Kirsty Ward The woman, who is aged in her 30s, said she had been in a relationship with Byrne for several years and that she 'went into shock' and had been unable to work after hearing news of Kirsty's murder. 'I felt it could have been me and I am very grateful to the help of my family and friends to get me out of the situation after he attacked me,' she said. Recalling her ordeal at the hands of the murderer, the woman said that after a night out, he threw her onto the floor of a bedroom they were in and then 'grabbed me by the throat put his hands on my throat and he held it until I blacked out'. She said the incident came to an end when other people walked into the room and the woman ended her relationship with him in the following days. 'I thought I was going to die. It all felt very surreal after that, I knew I had to leave him,' she explained. Following Kirsty's murder, the woman said she had informed gardaí in Ashbourne of the attack on her as well as incidents of violence involving Byrne and two other former partners. Gardaí then made this information available to Interpol who informed the Spanish authorities and the Spanish prosecutors probing Kirsty's murder. The Sunday World has also learned that disgraced former soldier Byrne has been abusing alcohol for over a decade. We have established that he was convicted of drink-driving at the Bullring in Drogheda in January of 2013 and disqualified from driving for two years. Byrne was in trouble with gardaí on just one other occasion in this country but on that occasion he was arrested alongside a future Kinahan Cartel soldier who would go on to become a top target for gardaí. The same month he and Caolan Smyth were arrested after they were caught trying to siphon diesel from a car to put in Smyth's petrol car. Both were given the Probation Act on that occasion but Smyth is currently serving a 20-year jail term for the attempted murder of Hutch associate James 'Mago' Gately. Former soldier Keith Byrne was found guilty of murdering mum-of-one Kirsty Ward News in 90 seconds - 12th May 2025 In the wake of these brushes with the law, sources say Byrne spent a lot of time in the UK where he was a soldier with the British Army based with the Irish Guards and Parachute Regimen. Byrne went absent without leave in 2017 and had been sought by the British Army's Royal Military Police ever since. During Byrne's trial in Tarragona, Spanish prosecutor Javier Goimil rubbished Byrne's claims that Kirsty had taken her own life. He said the truth was when Kirsty has told him she was going to leave him he had decided: 'You're mine or you're nobody's' and strangled her to death. He said the 34-year-old had concocting the suicide story after being told he could spend most of the next three decades behind bars. He told the court: 'Byrne has adapted his version of events of what happened in that time-frame nearly two years on in accordance with the evidence he's learnt there is against him. 'He's saying Kirsty tied a cable round her neck and attached it to the door knob but in the state she was in it would have been impossible for her to do that and there's nothing showing there was a knot in the cable. 'What's occurred is a violent and painful death, a strangulation from behind... This was not a suicide.' He added: 'She didn't leave a note for her son or her siblings or her mum and what's more she had bought a plane ticket back to Dublin for July 4. 'Kirsty's relationship with Byrne was very toxic, very intense and very emotional. She decided to end it during the week they stayed at the hotel in Salou and her partner couldn't accept that. 'His mindset at that moment was: 'You're mine or you're nobody's. You, woman, are no-one to say you're going to detach yourself from me the man and have your own independent life. That was why he killed her the way he did.' On Thursday, the jury returned a guilty verdict in the case. The trial judge said he was retiring to consider his sentence. Byrne is not expected to find out for nearly a month how long he will have to serve.
Irish Independent
07-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Tippeary gardaí who stopped man for speeding found he was using fake Belgian driver's licence
Garda Felim Canty told Judge Brian O'Shea that he stopped a vehicle at the M8, Clonmore, North Tipperary, on November 2, 2024, for speeding. The driver was Emmanuel Idegu, who gave an address of Glenvera Accommodation Centre, Wellington Road, Cork. Garda Canty took a photo of Mr Idegu's ID and sent it to Interpol. The serial number on the ID showed it was a false Belgian document. Mr Idegu was charged with having in his custody, on under his control, an instrument to wit, a Belgian driver's licence which was and which he knew or believed to be a false instrument. He was also charged with driving without a valid driving licence. Judge O'Shea said he 'obviously made a foolish mistake.' Mr Idegu was ordered to pay €750 to the court poor box, and if he did so the matter would be dealt with by way of the Probation Act, meaning he would not receive a criminal conviction. If this was not paid, Mr Idegu would receive a €500 fine and a conviction. The case was adjourned to October 2 next.
Irish Independent
07-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Waterford artist became abusive to staff at Co Tipperary hotel
Sgt Carol O'Leary told Judge Brian O'Shea that gardaí were contacted by Cahir House Hotel in relation to a man who was intoxicated, and abusive to staff, on April 4 this year. Michael Mulcahy, who gave an address of Aughnacurraveel, Ballycurrane, Clashmore, Waterford, pleaded guilty to a public order offence at the Square, Cahir, Tipperary. He has 10 previous convictions, including three for public order offences. Mr Mulcahy told Judge O'Shea that he is an artist and had an exhibition in Cahir. He said he drank 'too much white wine' on the day. He must have had a good exhibition, commented the judge. It was nearly a sell-out, but there are a couple still left, replied Mr Mulcahy. Judge O'Shea said that if Mr Mulcahy paid €200 to the court poor box, he would deal with the matter by way of the Probation Act, meaning that a criminal conviction would not be recorded.
