theirishtimes--2020-01-27--Family of man killed in one punch assault says lives were ‘ripped apart’

The family of a man who died after a one punch assault by a nightclub doorman has told a court their lives were ripped apart by the fatal attack .
After a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last November Jonathan Dargan ( 49 ) was found guilty of killing Patrick Mullally ( 56 ) by knocking him to the ground with a single punch .
Mr Mullally and another man Shane Cunningham had approached Dargan on the Harold ’ s Cross Road , Dublin at about 4am on March 6th , 2016 to intervene in a row he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ men and others had been out celebrating Mr Mullally ’ s retirement from Guinness weeks earlier when they walked up to Dargan .
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Dargan threw a number of powerful punches at the men .
Mr Mullally put his hands up to shield himself but at least one punch connected with him , shattering his jaw and cheekbone and knocking him to the ground .
A witness told the trial last November that he heard Dargan shouting “ bang , bang ” as he punched the men .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ also said that when he had earlier stopped at the rowing couple , Dargan had told him he to “ f**k off and mind his own business ” and that “ he ’ d kill him or stamp on his head on the ground ” .
Mr Mullally suffered a subdural haemorrhage and brain trauma due to a blunt trauma to the face and head and died the next day .
The defendant , a Tae kwon do instructor who has worked as a doorman at Lillie ’ s Bordello nightclub for two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a punch .
He claimed that he was surrounded by the men and felt in fear and was acting in self-defence .
Vincent Heneghan SC , defending , told Judge Pauline Codd that his client accepts the jury verdict and that he indicated this to gardaí in court on the day the guilty verdict was delivered .
Dargan of Belfry Manor , Citywest , Dublin denied the unlawful killing of Mr Mullally .
He also denied assault causing harm to Mr Cunningham and to Mr Mullally ’ s niece , Lauren Mullally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Codd adjourned the case to Wednesday for sentencing after saying she needed time to read reports handed into court .
He has no previous conviction and the court heard his own mother was killed by a neighbour a few years earlier .
The killer was later found not guilty by reason of insanity .
Mr Heneghan said his client was not a person who drank regularly but on the night he was very intoxicated , having consumed cocktails and double vodka drinks .
Counsel said alcohol was not an excuse or a defence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ events .
Reading from her own victim impact statement Mr Mullaly ’ s widow Joan Shields repeatedly broke down in tears as she described the the effects of the “ brutal ” killing .
She said bringing their young daughter in the hospital to see her father one last time was the hardest thing she has had to do .
Ms Shields ’ described having to wait over three years for the case to come to trial .
When it did , her daughter asked “ why is there a trial , did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
Ms Shields described reading a newspaper interview a week after the killing in which Dargan begged for forgiveness .
She said Mr Mullaly will now miss watching their daughter grow up and said “ I ’ ll never be able to forgive him for that ” .
Courtney Mullaly told the court that the violent death of her uncle has left many of the family suffering from anxiety , depression and PTSD .
She described the gut-wrenching loss and sadness of the family grief and said some family members have experienced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a “ devoted Dad , caring brother , fun uncle ” and “ one of the happiest , friendliest persons you ’ d ever meet ” .
She said the night of his retirement party was meant to be the first day of a new life but instead it became a shattering nightmare .
“ He was killed trying to do the chivalrous thing .
One person ripped several lives apart with his bare hands , ” she said .
Mr Heneghan handed in a number of character references from family and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ role as a martial arts instructor .
He said his client accepts fully his responsibility for the death of the victim but did not intend to kill him .
When he heard of the death he immediately conveyed his apologies to the family .
Last November the jury took a little over four hours to return a unanimous guilty verdict on the manslaughter charge .
After deliberating for another hour the jury returned a majority verdict on the charge of assaulting Mr Cunningham .
The charge of assaulting Ms Mullally was withdrawn from @ @ @ @ @ @

A witness told the trial last November that he heard Jonathan Dargan shouting ’bang, bang’ as he punched the men. Photograph: Collins Courts
The family of a man who died after a one punch assault by a nightclub doorman has told a court their lives were ripped apart by the fatal attack.
After a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last November Jonathan Dargan (49) was found guilty of killing Patrick Mullally (56) by knocking him to the ground with a single punch. Mr Mullally and another man Shane Cunningham had approached Dargan on the Harold's Cross Road, Dublin at about 4am on March 6th, 2016 to intervene in a row he was having with his girlfriend.
The two men and others had been out celebrating Mr Mullally’s retirement from Guinness weeks earlier when they walked up to Dargan. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Dargan threw a number of powerful punches at the men.
Mr Mullally put his hands up to shield himself but at least one punch connected with him, shattering his jaw and cheekbone and knocking him to the ground. A witness told the trial last November that he heard Dargan shouting “bang, bang” as he punched the men.
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This witness, a passing cyclist, also said that when he had earlier stopped at the rowing couple, Dargan had told him he to “f**k off and mind his own business” and that “he’d kill him or stamp on his head on the ground”.
Mr Mullally suffered a subdural haemorrhage and brain trauma due to a blunt trauma to the face and head and died the next day.
Lashing out
The defendant, a Tae kwon do instructor who has worked as a doorman at Lillie’s Bordello nightclub for two decades, admitted “lashing out” with a punch. He claimed that he was surrounded by the men and felt in fear and was acting in self-defence.
Vincent Heneghan SC, defending, told Judge Pauline Codd that his client accepts the jury verdict and that he indicated this to gardaí in court on the day the guilty verdict was delivered.
Dargan of Belfry Manor, Citywest, Dublin denied the unlawful killing of Mr Mullally. He also denied assault causing harm to Mr Cunningham and to Mr Mullally's niece, Lauren Mullally, during the same incident.
Judge Codd adjourned the case to Wednesday for sentencing after saying she needed time to read reports handed into court.
He has no previous conviction and the court heard his own mother was killed by a neighbour a few years earlier. The killer was later found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Mr Heneghan said his client was not a person who drank regularly but on the night he was very intoxicated, having consumed cocktails and double vodka drinks. Counsel said alcohol was not an excuse or a defence but it was a factor in the events.
Never forgive
Reading from her own victim impact statement Mr Mullaly's widow Joan Shields repeatedly broke down in tears as she described the the effects of the "brutal" killing.
She said bringing their young daughter in the hospital to see her father one last time was the hardest thing she has had to do. Ms Shields’ described having to wait over three years for the case to come to trial.
When it did, her daughter asked “why is there a trial, did he not admit he hit Daddy?”. Ms Shields described reading a newspaper interview a week after the killing in which Dargan begged for forgiveness.
She said Mr Mullaly will now miss watching their daughter grow up and said "I'll never be able to forgive him for that".
Courtney Mullaly told the court that the violent death of her uncle has left many of the family suffering from anxiety, depression and PTSD.
She described the gut-wrenching loss and sadness of the family grief and said some family members have experienced suicidal thoughts.
She described the deceased as a “devoted Dad, caring brother, fun uncle” and “one of the happiest, friendliest persons you’d ever meet”.
She said the night of his retirement party was meant to be the first day of a new life but instead it became a shattering nightmare.
“He was killed trying to do the chivalrous thing. One person ripped several lives apart with his bare hands,” she said.
Mr Heneghan handed in a number of character references from family and employers and contacts from Dargan’s role as a martial arts instructor.
He said his client accepts fully his responsibility for the death of the victim but did not intend to kill him. When he heard of the death he immediately conveyed his apologies to the family.
Last November the jury took a little over four hours to return a unanimous guilty verdict on the manslaughter charge. After deliberating for another hour the jury returned a majority verdict on the charge of assaulting Mr Cunningham. The charge of assaulting Ms Mullally was withdrawn from the jury by Judge Codd.


theirishtimes--2020-01-28--Teacher recruitment, retention problems getting worse says union

The staff recruitment and retention problem in the education sector is getting worse with four out of five schools receiving no applications for advertised posts , the Teachers ’ Union of Ireland ( TUI ) has said .
The union said the findings of a new survey showed the damage being caused to the education system by the two-tier pay system for teachers in schools .
It said this was “ the single greatest cause of the teacher supply crisis ” .
TUI members in second level schools , institutes of technology and centres for further education are to stage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protest at what the union described as pay discrimination .
The stoppage is expected to lead to the closure of hundreds of schools across the country next Tuesday .
The TUI said a survey of over 130 second-level schools in December 2019 and January 2020 by the Principals ’ and Deputy Principals ’ Association of the union found 97per cent experienced teacher recruitment difficulties in the previous six months .
It said that 49 per cent of schools had experienced teacher retention difficulties in the previous six months .
The TUI said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools advertised positions in the previous six months for which no teacher applied .
It said this was up from 68 per cent in a previous survey carried out in April 2019 .
The union said 56 per cent of schools who took part in the survey had unfilled vacancies due to recruitment and retention difficulties – up from 47 per cent in the April 2019 survey .
The union said the subject areas which were experiencing the most severe recruitment/retention difficulties were Irish , home economics , French , mathematics and Spanish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issues in biology , physics , chemistry , German and PE .
TUI president Seamus Lahart said : “ Ahead of TUI ’ s national strike over pay discrimination next week , these findings make clear the severe damage that the injustice of the two-tier pay system is doing to the education system and the service to students .
“ Alarmingly , if predictably , the situation has worsened over the time period since the same survey was last carried out in April 2019 .
The two most damning findings show that almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positions to which no teacher applied , while over half of schools have unfilled vacancies due to recruitment and retention difficulties .
“ Graduates who might formerly have chosen teaching are now looking at different options , with schools in both urban and rural areas routinely struggling to attract applicants to fill vacant positions , ” he said .
The Government has undertaken a number of initiatives to deal with the two-tier pay issue , but the TUI said the largest pay discrimination still occurred in the early years of employment “ with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 14 per cent less on initial appointment and 10 per cent less in the first 10 years than they would have before the imposition of a two-tier pay system ” .
“ This means that within the first ten years of their career , at a time when key life choices are made , they earn over €50,000 less .
Over a 40-year career , they earn over €110,000 less , ” the union said .
The TUI said the only way to resolve this issue was “ to end the divisive , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different rates for carrying out the same work ” .
“ Irrespective of how the new Government is constituted , a commitment to an immediate ending of pay discrimination must form part of its programme.
” Minister for Education Joe McHugh said money to restore pay equality for teachers was factored into Fine Gael ’ s €2billion allocation for the next public sector pay agreement .
Last weekend another teaching union the ASTI decided it would ballot its members for strike action over the two-tier pay system in schools , although it will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday .
The ASTI issued instructions to members including principals and deputies not to provide cover for their striking colleagues during the fstoppage by TUI members on February 4th .
The ASTI told members they should turn up for work as normal on February 4th on the basis that if they refused to work on the day , they would be deemed to be engaging in unofficial industrial action .
Crucially , the union guidance states that “ no member of ASTI , including principal teachers , deputy principal teachers and/or other post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ normally done by colleagues who are members of TUI ” .
The union ’ s instruction to members also stated : “ No ASTI member can undertake the supervision/substitution duties of an absent TUI colleague on 4th February who will be engaged in industrial action .
Redesign of the roster with a view to having ASTI members cover supervision slots normally undertaken by TUI colleagues is not acceptable.
” The move means that most secondary schools will shut on health and safety grounds , even if only a small number of teachers are @ @ @

A teachers’ union has claimed a new survey shows the damage caused to the education system by the two-tier pay system for teachers. File photograph: Nick Bradshaw
The staff recruitment and retention problem in the education sector is getting worse with four out of five schools receiving no applications for advertised posts, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has said.
The union said the findings of a new survey showed the damage being caused to the education system by the two-tier pay system for teachers in schools. It said this was “the single greatest cause of the teacher supply crisis”.
TUI members in second level schools, institutes of technology and centres for further education are to stage a one-day strike on February 4th in protest at what the union described as pay discrimination.
The stoppage is expected to lead to the closure of hundreds of schools across the country next Tuesday.
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The TUI said a survey of over 130 second-level schools in December 2019 and January 2020 by the Principals’ and Deputy Principals’ Association of the union found 97per cent experienced teacher recruitment difficulties in the previous six months.
It said that 49 per cent of schools had experienced teacher retention difficulties in the previous six months.
The TUI said the survey had found 77 per cent of schools advertised positions in the previous six months for which no teacher applied.
It said this was up from 68 per cent in a previous survey carried out in April 2019.
The union said 56 per cent of schools who took part in the survey had unfilled vacancies due to recruitment and retention difficulties – up from 47 per cent in the April 2019 survey.
The union said the subject areas which were experiencing the most severe recruitment/retention difficulties were Irish, home economics, French, mathematics and Spanish. Following these, there were also issues in biology, physics, chemistry, German and PE.
TUI president Seamus Lahart said: "Ahead of TUI's national strike over pay discrimination next week, these findings make clear the severe damage that the injustice of the two-tier pay system is doing to the education system and the service to students.
“Alarmingly, if predictably, the situation has worsened over the time period since the same survey was last carried out in April 2019. The two most damning findings show that almost four out of every five schools advertised positions to which no teacher applied, while over half of schools have unfilled vacancies due to recruitment and retention difficulties.
“Graduates who might formerly have chosen teaching are now looking at different options, with schools in both urban and rural areas routinely struggling to attract applicants to fill vacant positions,” he said.
The Government has undertaken a number of initiatives to deal with the two-tier pay issue, but the TUI said the largest pay discrimination still occurred in the early years of employment “with new entrants to second level teaching earning 14 per cent less on initial appointment and 10 per cent less in the first 10 years than they would have before the imposition of a two-tier pay system”.
“This means that within the first ten years of their career, at a time when key life choices are made, they earn over €50,000 less. Over a 40-year career, they earn over €110,000 less,” the union said.
The TUI said the only way to resolve this issue was “to end the divisive, irresponsible and damaging practice of paying colleagues different rates for carrying out the same work”.
“Irrespective of how the new Government is constituted, a commitment to an immediate ending of pay discrimination must form part of its programme.”
Minister for Education Joe McHugh said money to restore pay equality for teachers was factored into Fine Gael’s €2billion allocation for the next public sector pay agreement.
Last weekend another teaching union the ASTI decided it would ballot its members for strike action over the two-tier pay system in schools ,although it will not be involved in the stoppage next Tuesday.
The ASTI issued instructions to members including principals and deputies not to provide cover for their striking colleagues during the fstoppage by TUI members on February 4th.
The ASTI told members they should turn up for work as normal on February 4th on the basis that if they refused to work on the day, they would be deemed to be engaging in unofficial industrial action.
Crucially, the union guidance states that “no member of ASTI, including principal teachers, deputy principal teachers and/or other post holders may undertake any duties that are normally done by colleagues who are members of TUI”.
The union’s instruction to members also stated: “No ASTI member can undertake the supervision/substitution duties of an absent TUI colleague on 4th February who will be engaged in industrial action. Redesign of the roster with a view to having ASTI members cover supervision slots normally undertaken by TUI colleagues is not acceptable.”
The move means that most secondary schools will shut on health and safety grounds, even if only a small number of teachers are TUI members.


theirishtimes--2020-01-28--Newcastle tragedy: Father says ‘every breath is a struggle’ after deaths of children

The father of three children who were found dead in their home in west Dublin on Friday night has said they had “ beautiful , bright futures ” ahead of them and that “ every breath is a struggle ” .
In a statement released by Andrew McGinley on Tuesday morning , he said : “ There are no words .
There is only devastation , grief and anguish .
Every breath is a struggle .
“ Conor , Darragh and Carla are adored .
They all had beautiful , bright futures ahead of them with family , friends and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ To all parents , cuddle your children whenever you get a chance , tell them how much you love them as often as you can , spend every spare minute with them reading , playing and enjoying their wonderfulness .
“ The future has now become our enemy but we will battle it every day to keep the memory of Conor , Darragh and Carla alive.
” The bodies of Conor ( 9 ) , Darragh ( 7 ) and Carla ( 3 ) were discovered in their home Parson ’ s Court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The children ’ s mother , Deirdre Morley , remains in Tallaght Hospital .
The nurse was found by a taxi-driver in a disorientated condition near her house on Friday evening .
Doctors have warned investigators they will not be able to interview Ms Morley until her condition improves significantly .
It is understood that , although the woman remains seriously ill , she is expected to survive .
A Garda source said the investigation is a murder inquiry “ in all but name ” but that it is unlikely to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Ms Morley .
Gardaí believe the children were drugged , possibly with a sedative , before being suffocated .
Investigations will centre on what medication was in the house at the time .
Ms Morley worked at Our Lady ’ s Children ’ s Hospital in Crumlin before going on stress related leave several months ago .
The children ’ s bodies were discovered by emergency workers along with a note stating “ don ’ t go upstairs ” and “ call 999 ” .
It is understood that another note was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s futures .

A handout family photograph of Andrew McGinley and Deirdre Morley and their children; Conor (9), Darragh (7) and Carla (3). The children were found dead at their home on Friday. Photograph: via An Garda
The mother of the three McGinley children found dead in Newcastle, Co Dublin last week has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
The bodies of Conor (9), Darragh (7) and Carla (3) McGinley were discovered in their home at Parson's Court in Newcastle just before 8pm on Friday.
Their mother Deirdre Morley was found by a taxi-driver in a disorientated condition near the house shortly before the children's bodies were discovered. She has been receiving treatment in hospital since.
Flowers are seen outside the McGinley family’s home in Newcastle, Co Dublin on Monday. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins.
"A woman in her 40s has been arrested on suspicion of murder in relation to the discovery of the bodies of three children at a property in Parson's Court, Newcastle, Co Dublin on 24/1/2020," the Garda said in a statement. "The woman arrested was found at the scene and has been receiving medical attention at Tallaght University Hospital following the incident. She is currently detained at Clondalkin Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984."
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The children’s father, Andrew McGinley earlier released a statement via the Garda saying the three siblings had “beautiful, bright futures” ahead of them and that since their deaths “every breath is a struggle”.
“There are no words. There is only devastation, grief and anguish. Every breath is a struggle,” he said.
“Conor, Darragh and Carla are adored. They all had beautiful, bright futures ahead of them with family, friends and a community who love them.
“To all parents, cuddle your children whenever you get a chance, tell them how much you love them as often as you can, spend every spare minute with them reading, playing and enjoying their wonderfulness.
“The future has now become our enemy but we will battle it every day to keep the memory of Conor, Darragh and Carla alive.”


theirishtimes--2020-01-28--Baby born on Dublin street in early hours of morning

A woman is understood to have given birth to a baby on a street in Dublin ’ s north inner @ @ @ @ @ of Monday morning .
It is believed the woman went into labour at around 1am @ @ @ @ @ Linenhall Street and North King Street .
Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene .
@ @ @ @ @ the Rotunda hospital by ambulance personnel and it is understood she and her baby are @ @ @ @ @ due to the sensitivity of the incident “ we will not be providing any further @ @ @

It is believed the woman went into labour at around 1am on on the corner of Linenhall Street and North King Street. Photograph: Google maps
A woman is understood to have given birth to a baby on a street in Dublin’s north inner city in the early hours of Monday morning.
It is believed the woman went into labour at around 1am on on the corner of Linenhall Street and North King Street. Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene.
The woman was brought to the Rotunda hospital by ambulance personnel and it is understood she and her baby are doing well.
Gardaí said due to the sensitivity of the incident “we will not be providing any further information”.


theirishtimes--2020-01-28--Irishman in Wuhan marks birthday alone as coronavirus locks down city

Psychology teacher Ben Kavanagh from Kilcullen in Co Kildare spent his birthday alone in the Chinese city of Wuhan which is under lockdown due to the coronavirus .
Mr Kavanagh , who has been living in Wuhan for almost two years , has also spoken of his concern that if he were to leave the city there was a risk he could be spreading the virus .
He said he “ did a big shop ” on Sunday morning so he now has enough supplies for 10 to 14 days .
Staying indoors is the safest way to avoid being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ When I went out on Sunday I wore a mask.
” It was difficult to describe the situation , he added , because there are no people around .
“ Everyone is keeping to themselves because there is such a long incubation period.
” Tuesday was Mr Kavanagh ’ s birthday , but he declined the offer of a friend to visit and help him celebrate .
“ I said no because there ’ s no way to tell if anyone is infected.
” He admitted that he is a little more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ There ’ s not much point in worrying , but if the situation gets worse then I might worry .
“ I ’ m trying my best not to get infected.
” Asked about possible measures by the Irish government to bring citizens home , Mr Kavanagh said he would feel like he was leaving his life behind .
“ What if leaving would spread the virus more ?
”

Psychology teacher Ben Kavanagh from Kilcullen in Co Kildare spent his birthday alone in the Chinese city of Wuhan which is under lockdown due to the coronavirus.
Mr Kavanagh, who has been living in Wuhan for almost two years, has also spoken of his concern that if he were to leave the city there was a risk he could be spreading the virus.
He said he “did a big shop” on Sunday morning so he now has enough supplies for 10 to 14 days.
Staying indoors is the safest way to avoid being infected, he told Newstalk Breakfast. “When I went out on Sunday I wore a mask.”
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It was difficult to describe the situation, he added, because there are no people around. “Everyone is keeping to themselves because there is such a long incubation period.”
Tuesday was Mr Kavanagh’s birthday, but he declined the offer of a friend to visit and help him celebrate. “I said no because there’s no way to tell if anyone is infected.”
He admitted that he is a little more worried now than he was last week. “There’s not much point in worrying, but if the situation gets worse then I might worry.
“I’m trying my best not to get infected.”
Asked about possible measures by the Irish government to bring citizens home, Mr Kavanagh said he would feel like he was leaving his life behind. “What if leaving would spread the virus more?”


theirishtimes--2020-01-28--Yellow snow warning lifted as Met Éireann warns of ‘hazardous conditions’

A status yellow snow and ice warning has been lifted for the entire country following a night of snowfall in the southwest , west and north .
Despite lifting the warning , Met Éireann has warned of “ hazardous conditions ” due to compacted snow and ice .
The yellow weather warning was issued on Monday and was in place until 11.30am on Tuesday .
AA Roadwatch said icy road conditions have been reported in many areas this morning , particularly in parts of the west and north of the country .
There are slippery road conditions around the Mayo/Roscommon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including the Claremorris and Castlerea areas .
Elsewhere in Mayo , there is snow on some roads around Castlebar .
Conor Pass in Co Kerry is closed until further notice due to treacherous conditions .
Met Éireann said conditions will be cold and frosty on Tuesday morning with ice and lying snow in places .
There will be a mix of sunshine and scattered wintry showers later in the day , with the showers frequent over the western half of the country , where there is also a risk of hail and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four and seven degrees in fresh and gusty westerly winds .
Scattered showers will continue on Tuesday night with lowest temperatures of between zero and two degrees overnight .
Conditions are due to turn milder from Wednesday with day time highs of between eight and 10 degrees .
There will be scattered showers , turning into longer spells of rain at times in the north and northwest .
Showers will become isolated elsewhere , with bright and sunny spells developing .
It will be mainly cloudy with isolated showers on Wednesday night , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ degrees , in light to moderate south to southwest breezes .
Thursday will be mostly cloudy with patchy outbreaks of rain , although some of south and southeast will stay dry .
Highest temperatures will be between 10 to 12 degrees .
Rain in the west will spread countrywide overnight and it will be breezy in fresh and gusty southwest winds .
Temperatures will drop to between six and eight degrees overnight .

A status yellow snow and ice warning has been lifted for the entire country following a night of snowfall in the southwest, west and north.
Despite lifting the warning, Met Éireann has warned of "hazardous conditions" due to compacted snow and ice.
The yellow weather warning was issued on Monday and was in place until 11.30am on Tuesday. AA Roadwatch said icy road conditions have been reported in many areas this morning, particularly in parts of the west and north of the country.
There are slippery road conditions around the Mayo/Roscommon county bounds, according to AA Roadwatch, including the Claremorris and Castlerea areas. Elsewhere in Mayo, there is snow on some roads around Castlebar. Conor Pass in Co Kerry is closed until further notice due to treacherous conditions.
READ MORE
Tuesday
Met Éireann said conditions will be cold and frosty on Tuesday morning with ice and lying snow in places. There will be a mix of sunshine and scattered wintry showers later in the day, with the showers frequent over the western half of the country, where there is also a risk of hail and thunder.
Highest temperatures will be between four and seven degrees in fresh and gusty westerly winds.
Scattered showers will continue on Tuesday night with lowest temperatures of between zero and two degrees overnight.
Wednesday
Conditions are due to turn milder from Wednesday with day time highs of between eight and 10 degrees. There will be scattered showers, turning into longer spells of rain at times in the north and northwest. Showers will become isolated elsewhere, with bright and sunny spells developing.
It will be mainly cloudy with isolated showers on Wednesday night, with lowest temperatures between four and six degrees, in light to moderate south to southwest breezes.
Thursday
Thursday will be mostly cloudy with patchy outbreaks of rain, although some of south and southeast will stay dry. Highest temperatures will be between 10 to 12 degrees. Rain in the west will spread countrywide overnight and it will be breezy in fresh and gusty southwest winds. Temperatures will drop to between six and eight degrees overnight.


theirishtimes--2020-01-28--Voice of youth: Meet the first-time voters

Last week , Lucy Rhodes , an 18-year-old student at Lucan Community College , registered to vote for the first time .
She is one of dozens at her school and about a quarter of a million young people nationally who will have their first chance to cast their ballot in a general election .
Young people are set to be a crucial demographic in determining the shape of the next government .
But what makes them tick ?
What political parties do they gravitate towards ?
And , more crucially , will they turn up to cast their ballot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first-time voters at Lucan Community College , a 900-pupil secondary school in west Dublin , the students are interested , engaged and hopeful for the future .
This screen-age generation is , in many ways , better informed and more politically engaged than others before them .
Civics and political education are now part of the curriculum .
School demonstrations over climate change and social issues such as the same-sex marriage and abortion referendums have made politics feel relevant for them .
But they are also deeply sceptical of the promises of political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government will be able to deliver meaningful change .
The first surprise is that climate change isn ’ t necessarily top of the agenda for these 18 year olds .
They cite local issues such as the scourge of drugs , poor public transport , the rental crisis and runaway cost of living as among the most important issues for them – as well as protecting the environment .
“ Public transport is a big issue , ” says Lia Stokes ( 18 ) .
“ Where I live , and for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to , it would be two buses and over an hour and a half journey to and from college.
” “ Drugs is a big issue – especially with young people , ” adds Sheik Bah , who wants to study dance in the UK when he finishes school .
“ You see young people either selling it or using it and it ’ s sad to see .
To be honest , it ’ s a big problem .
It ’ s quite shameful the way the people giving out drugs are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no repercussions for their actions.
” The housing crisis also feels very real for them .
The prospect of being able to afford to leave home seems very distant , while homelessness is all too visible on the streets .
“ The number of homeless people keeps increasing .
.
.
in the city it ’ s very prevalent and it ’ s sad to see , ” says Seán Egan , who ’ d like to go to college , but hasn ’ t made up his mind what to study yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that high .
.
.
” says Lucy Rhodes , who ’ d like to become a social worker .
“ When I grow up , I know I won ’ t be able to afford a house here unless I move abroad.
” For all the social problems they want to see addressed , they are , by and large , happy with growing up and living here .
Most say they appreciate the good standard of education they have received and are hopeful they will get good jobs .
“ In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ job opportunities , facilities for people to grow up well and colleges to study in , ” says Megan Miclea .
“ I think it is a good place to grow up in , ” says Seán Egan .
“ It ’ s a democracy , so we ’ ve freedom to do what we want , to an extent , though there is a lot of hardship with children living in poverty and homelessness.
” He sees immigration as a good thing which has helped enrich Irish culture .
“ We have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GAA and music .
.
.
and lots of other people are bringing their culture in and mixing it in .
It makes for a diverse society.
” As for what way they will vote on election day , most are still making up their minds .
Left-of-centre parties such as Sinn Féin , the Social Democrats and the Green Party get the most mentions .
But if there is one thing which unites them , it ’ s the lack of any support for either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to get out of government , ” says Lucy Rhodes .
“ Sinn Féin has never been in government to show what they can do.
” “ I feel like people just want to see a change , ” adds Sheik Bah .
“ You hear [ young ] people talking about the Green Party , Social Democrats and also Sinn Féin.
” Even though the Lucan constituency of Dublin Mid-West is a short distance from Leo Varadkar ’ s Dublin West constituency , there is little sign of support for him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like to see Leo Varadkar in charge , ” says Lia Stokes .
“ From what I ’ ve heard about all the stuff he ’ s done , I know many people aren ’ t a huge fan .
He doesn ’ t seem like the nicest man either.
” “ Micheál Martin would be a bit more appealing , but I only turned 18 a few months ago so am still looking into the parties.
” By and large , most see their long-term future here .
Some hope to stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all say they would like to settle here permanently .
“ I want to study dance , so I hope to go to the UK for a couple of years .
.
.
and work there for some time and maybe somewhere else in the world .
.
.
but I would definitely come back to Ireland , ” says Sheik Bah .
“ The people are the best things .
It ’ s a very safe country compared to many other places .
Nature – nature is amazing and culture as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ Yes , I do see my future here , ” says Megan Miclea .
“ I ’ d definitely like to stay here and work here and study here.
” There is also anticipation at being able to cast their vote in the election .
“ I want to be able to make a change – and it will be nice to have a say in how the country will go over the next four or five years.
” On the day : Will young people turn out to vote ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ long-standing belief that young people don ’ t turn out to vote .
The figures tell another story .
Turnout among the 18-25 age group has been rising over the past decade or so .
And in recent polls , such as the abortion and same-sex marriage referendums , young people played a significant role in shaping the final outcome .
The fact that the election is to be held on a Saturday for the first time in a century has been welcomed by youth groups , who expect a spike in younger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ireland says many young people who are studying at university , training or doing an apprenticeship in another part of the country are more likely to be back home .
One effect of this could be a bigger vote for parties who tap intoissues which are most popular among younger groups , such as climate action .
The Union of Students in Ireland , which has helped sign up about 2,000 students to vote in recent weeks , has also welcomed the move to a Saturday vote .
However , USI president Lorna @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to pay for college and may not be registered to vote where they work .

Last week, Lucy Rhodes, an 18-year-old student at Lucan Community College, registered to vote for the first time.
She is one of dozens at her school and about a quarter of a million young people nationally who will have their first chance to cast their ballot in a general election.
Young people are set to be a crucial demographic in determining the shape of the next government.
But what makes them tick? What political parties do they gravitate towards? And, more crucially, will they turn up to cast their ballot in the first place?
READ MORE
Among the first-time voters at Lucan Community College, a 900-pupil secondary school in west Dublin, the students are interested, engaged and hopeful for the future.
Students in Lucan Community College are voting for the first time in the general election on February 8th. Video: Enda O'Dowd
This screen-age generation is, in many ways, better informed and more politically engaged than others before them.
Civics and political education are now part of the curriculum. School demonstrations over climate change and social issues such as the same-sex marriage and abortion referendums have made politics feel relevant for them.
But they are also deeply sceptical of the promises of political parties and express doubt that the next government will be able to deliver meaningful change.
Burning issues
The first surprise is that climate change isn’t necessarily top of the agenda for these 18 year olds.
First time voter from Lucan Community College, Lucy Rhodes: “When I grow up, I know I won’t be able to afford a house here unless I move abroad.” Photograph: Enda O’Dowd
They cite local issues such as the scourge of drugs, poor public transport, the rental crisis and runaway cost of living as among the most important issues for them – as well as protecting the environment.
“Public transport is a big issue,” says Lia Stokes (18). “Where I live, and for the college I’m looking to go to, it would be two buses and over an hour and a half journey to and from college.”
"Drugs is a big issue – especially with young people," adds Sheik Bah, who wants to study dance in the UK when he finishes school.
“You see young people either selling it or using it and it’s sad to see. To be honest, it’s a big problem. It’s quite shameful the way the people giving out drugs are moving in society as if there are no repercussions for their actions.”
Sheik Bah: “The people are the best. It’s a very safe country compared to many other places. Nature – nature is amazing and culture as well.” Photograph: Enda O’Dowd
The housing crisis also feels very real for them. The prospect of being able to afford to leave home seems very distant, while homelessness is all too visible on the streets.
“The number of homeless people keeps increasing . . . in the city it’s very prevalent and it’s sad to see,” says Seán Egan, who’d like to go to college, but hasn’t made up his mind what to study yet.
“How they let rents rise that high . . .” says Lucy Rhodes, who’d like to become a social worker. “When I grow up, I know I won’t be able to afford a house here unless I move abroad.”
Positive experience
For all the social problems they want to see addressed, they are, by and large, happy with growing up and living here.
Most say they appreciate the good standard of education they have received and are hopeful they will get good jobs.
"In Ireland, there are a lot of job opportunities, facilities for people to grow up well and colleges to study in," says Megan Miclea.
“I think it is a good place to grow up in,” says Seán Egan. “It’s a democracy, so we’ve freedom to do what we want, to an extent, though there is a lot of hardship with children living in poverty and homelessness.”
Megan Miclea: “I’d definitely like to stay here and work here and study here.” Photograph: Enda O’Dowd
He sees immigration as a good thing which has helped enrich Irish culture.
“We have our own culture, such as the GAA and music . . . and lots of other people are bringing their culture in and mixing it in. It makes for a diverse society.”
Political parties
As for what way they will vote on election day, most are still making up their minds. Left-of-centre parties such as Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats and the Green Party get the most mentions.
But if there is one thing which unites them, it's the lack of any support for either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil.
“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – they need to get out of government,” says Lucy Rhodes. “Sinn Féin has never been in government to show what they can do.”
“I feel like people just want to see a change,” adds Sheik Bah. “You hear [young] people talking about the Green Party, Social Democrats and also Sinn Féin.”
Even though the Lucan constituency of Dublin Mid-West is a short distance from Leo Varadkar's Dublin West constituency, there is little sign of support for him.
"Personally I wouldn't like to see Leo Varadkar in charge," says Lia Stokes. "From what I've heard about all the stuff he's done, I know many people aren't a huge fan. He doesn't seem like the nicest man either."
“Micheál Martin would be a bit more appealing, but I only turned 18 a few months ago so am still looking into the parties.”
Future lives
By and large, most see their long-term future here.
Some hope to stay abroad or work outside Ireland – but all say they would like to settle here permanently.
Lia Stokes: “Public transport is a big issue. Where I live, it would be two buses and over an hour and a half journey to and from college.” Photograph: Enda O’Dowd
“I want to study dance, so I hope to go to the UK for a couple of years . . . and work there for some time and maybe somewhere else in the world . . . but I would definitely come back to Ireland,” says Sheik Bah.
“The people are the best things. It’s a very safe country compared to many other places. Nature – nature is amazing and culture as well: Irish music and even the languages.”
“Yes, I do see my future here,” says Megan Miclea. “I’d definitely like to stay here and work here and study here.”
There is also anticipation at being able to cast their vote in the election. “I want to be able to make a change – and it will be nice to have a say in how the country will go over the next four or five years.”
Seán Egan: “The number of homeless people keeps increasing . . . in the city it’s very prevalent and it’s sad to see.” Photograph: Enda O’Dowd
On the day: Will young people turn out to vote?
In politics, there’s a long-standing belief that young people don’t turn out to vote.
The figures tell another story. Turnout among the 18-25 age group has been rising over the past decade or so. And in recent polls, such as the abortion and same-sex marriage referendums, young people played a significant role in shaping the final outcome.
The fact that the election is to be held on a Saturday for the first time in a century has been welcomed by youth groups, who expect a spike in younger voters.
The National Youth Council of Ireland says many young people who are studying at university, training or doing an apprenticeship in another part of the country are more likely to be back home.
One effect of this could be a bigger vote for parties who tap intoissues which are most popular among younger groups, such as climate action.
The Union of Students in Ireland, which has helped sign up about 2,000 students to vote in recent weeks, has also welcomed the move to a Saturday vote.
However, USI president Lorna Fitzpatrick notes many are doing part-time jobs to pay for college and may not be registered to vote where they work.


theirishtimes--2020-01-28--Fianna Fáil plan set to freeze public service pay, Taoiseach claims

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has suggested to union leaders that Fianna Fáil proposals could see a pay freeze being introduced for more than 300,000 staff across the public service from next year .
In an email to head of the public service committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Kevin Callinan on Monday afternoon , Mr Varadkar maintained Fianna Fáil had not set out any money for a new public service pay accord .
He suggested this could result in a pay freeze from next year , leading to staff departing from the public service and widespread industrial relations conflict @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as “ nonsense ” .
Fianna Fáil finance spokesman Michael McGrath said it was deeply unwise of Fine Gael to be trying to prod other parties into a pre-election auction in relation to public service pay before negotiations with unions had even commenced .
He said Fine Gael should remember the comments of the party ’ s former minister for finance , Michael Noonan , before the 2016 election that no one in his position would reveal a negotiating position in advance by providing an upfront figure .
Mr Varadkar said Fine Gael @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 2025 for a new public service pay deal .
He asked Mr Callinan to bring this to the attention of members .
He also asked Mr Callinan , who is head of the largest public service trade union , Fórsa , to advise members that Fianna Fáil had not allocated “ a single cent ” for a new public service agreement over the coming five years in its manifesto .
Fórsa meanwhile said proposals put forward by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would “ spell real wage stagnation for public servants ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pay put forward by the two largest parties in the election campaign would suggest annual increases of , at most , between 1.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent .
The union said this was at a time when the Central Statistics Office had maintained that average private sector earnings rose by nearly 4 per cent in the year to September 2019 , and when experts , including the union-backed Nevin Economic Research Institute , were predicting annual wage growth of 3.5 per cent or more in the coming years .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ negotiation if both the main political parties are budgeting to hold back real public service wages for another half-decade.
” Labour Party sources said on Monday that it was “ bizarre that both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had put a figure on how much they would spend on a new public service pay deal deal before talks had even begun .
“ Priorities for the Labour Party will include ending both pay inequality for new entrants , and the two-tier pay system for school secretaries and caretakers , and allowing Defence Force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress of Trade Unions and a seat at the table in pay talks with a review of pay and allowances for serving members to ensure retention of skills .
”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has suggested to union leaders that Fianna Fáil proposals could see a pay freeze being introduced for more than 300,000 staff across the public service from next year.
In an email to head of the public service committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Kevin Callinan on Monday afternoon, Mr Varadkar maintained Fianna Fáil had not set out any money for a new public service pay accord. He suggested this could result in a pay freeze from next year, leading to staff departing from the public service and widespread industrial relations conflict.
Fianna Fáil has rejected the comments as “nonsense” .
Fianna Fáil finance spokesman Michael McGrath said it was deeply unwise of Fine Gael to be trying to prod other parties into a pre-election auction in relation to public service pay before negotiations with unions had even commenced.
READ MORE
He said Fine Gael should remember the comments of the party's former minister for finance, Michael Noonan, before the 2016 election that no one in his position would reveal a negotiating position in advance by providing an upfront figure.
Allocation of €2bn
Mr Varadkar said Fine Gael had allocated €2 billion over four years to 2025 for a new public service pay deal. He asked Mr Callinan to bring this to the attention of members.
He also asked Mr Callinan, who is head of the largest public service trade union, Fórsa, to advise members that Fianna Fáil had not allocated “a single cent” for a new public service agreement over the coming five years in its manifesto.
Fórsa meanwhile said proposals put forward by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would “spell real wage stagnation for public servants”.
Fórsa said allocation for public service pay put forward by the two largest parties in the election campaign would suggest annual increases of, at most, between 1.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent.
Annual wage growth
The union said this was at a time when the Central Statistics Office had maintained that average private sector earnings rose by nearly 4 per cent in the year to September 2019, and when experts, including the union-backed Nevin Economic Research Institute, were predicting annual wage growth of 3.5 per cent or more in the coming years. "We would be facing into a very difficult negotiation if both the main political parties are budgeting to hold back real public service wages for another half-decade."
Labour Party sources said on Monday that it was "bizarre that both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had put a figure on how much they would spend on a new public service pay deal deal before talks had even begun.
“Priorities for the Labour Party will include ending both pay inequality for new entrants, and the two-tier pay system for school secretaries and caretakers, and allowing Defence Force representative bodies to affiliate to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and a seat at the table in pay talks with a review of pay and allowances for serving members to ensure retention of skills.”


theirishtimes--2020-01-28--Coronavirus: Plans to evacuate Irish citizens from China

Preparations are under way to evacuate Irish citizens trapped in the Chinese region at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak .
As the death toll in China reached 82 , the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was exploring options , “ including commercial options ” , for assisting Irish citizens to leave Hubei province , “ if required ” .
However , the offer poses a dilemma for those in the stricken city as their Chinese partners would be left behind and anyone leaving would face another period under quarantine once they got out of the affected area .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Irish citizens in Hubei province regarding their intentions , ” a spokeswoman told The Irish Times .
It is estimated there are eight Irish citizens in the affected region , which has been in effective lockdown since the Chinese authorities imposed severe transport restrictions in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus .
On Monday , the mayor of Wuhan , in Hubei , acknowledged criticism of his handling of the crisis , and offered to resign .
There is growing anger among residents that they were not informed earlier about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which is thought to have begun in December .
The number of confirmed cases has reached almost 3,000 , with 400 of these critical .
The number of suspected cases now stands at more than 5,700 , but experts believe thousands more could eventually be infected .
Stocks markets tumbled worldwide yesterday following concerns about the possible economic impact of the coronavirus .
Members of the Chinese community in Ireland have expressed concern about the presence here of a tour party from the region of the country where the coronavirus originated .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on travel there , came to Britain and then travelled on to Ireland on the ferry from Holyhead at the weekend .
Chinese social media posts show a woman member of the group posing at various landmarks , including Trinity College in Dublin and the Titanic Centre in Belfast .
“ We are the only tour from Wubei that can travel in UK .
That ’ s not easy , ” the woman posted on Weibo , a social media site .
She also posted a picture from the Holyhead ferry , on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poker .
While there is no evidence the group posed any health threat , its presence in Ireland prompted criticism on Chinese social media .
One poster warned the community in Ireland , and in particularly Chinese restaurants , to “ be aware ” of their presence .
“ We have experienced Sars , but people in the Irish Government haven ’ t .
.
.
personal and household hygiene is so important , ” a member of the Chinese community in Ireland who expressed concern about the visit told The Irish Times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safe , [ but ] I doubt the hospital capacity.
” Medical suppliers are reporting a big jump in demand for surgical masks in response to the coronavirus outbreak in China , with some Dublin stores saying they have run out of stocks .
Demand has been particularly high among the Chinese community , especially from those who travelled home to mark the Chinese New Year at the weekend .
The Department of Health said its National Public Health Emergency Team met on Monday to review the ongoing preparedness of the Irish health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that occur in Ireland .
A statement gave no details of the group ’ s deliberations but pointed out that no confirmed cases had occurred here .
Waterford Institute of Technology said one of its students was in self-isolation after travelling from Wuhan at the weekend .
The man is not ill and has agreed not to attend college as a precaution .

Medical workers in protective gear talk with a woman suspected of being ill with the coronavirus at a health station in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, on Monday. Photograph: Chinatopix via AP
Preparations are under way to evacuate Irish citizens trapped in the Chinese region at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.
As the death toll in China reached 82, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was exploring options, "including commercial options", for assisting Irish citizens to leave Hubei province, "if required".
However, the offer poses a dilemma for those in the stricken city as their Chinese partners would be left behind and anyone leaving would face another period under quarantine once they got out of the affected area.
“The Embassy is in contact with Irish citizens in Hubei province regarding their intentions,” a spokeswoman told The Irish Times.
READ MORE
It is estimated there are eight Irish citizens in the affected region, which has been in effective lockdown since the Chinese authorities imposed severe transport restrictions in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus.
On Monday, the mayor of Wuhan, in Hubei, acknowledged criticism of his handling of the crisis, and offered to resign. There is growing anger among residents that they were not informed earlier about the risk posed by the outbreak, which is thought to have begun in December.
The number of confirmed cases has reached almost 3,000, with 400 of these critical. The number of suspected cases now stands at more than 5,700, but experts believe thousands more could eventually be infected.
Stocks markets tumbled worldwide yesterday following concerns about the possible economic impact of the coronavirus.
Concern
Members of the Chinese community in Ireland have expressed concern about the presence here of a tour party from the region of the country where the coronavirus originated.
The group left China before restrictions were imposed on travel there, came to Britain and then travelled on to Ireland on the ferry from Holyhead at the weekend.
Chinese social media posts show a woman member of the group posing at various landmarks, including Trinity College in Dublin and the Titanic Centre in Belfast.
“We are the only tour from Wubei that can travel in UK. That’s not easy,” the woman posted on Weibo, a social media site. She also posted a picture from the Holyhead ferry, on which members of her group had played poker.
While there is no evidence the group posed any health threat, its presence in Ireland prompted criticism on Chinese social media. One poster warned the community in Ireland, and in particularly Chinese restaurants, to “be aware” of their presence.
"We have experienced Sars, but people in the Irish Government haven't . . . personal and household hygiene is so important," a member of the Chinese community in Ireland who expressed concern about the visit told The Irish Times. "They think the Ireland is safe, [but] I doubt the hospital capacity."
Surgical masks
Medical suppliers are reporting a big jump in demand for surgical masks in response to the coronavirus outbreak in China, with some Dublin stores saying they have run out of stocks.
Demand has been particularly high among the Chinese community, especially from those who travelled home to mark the Chinese New Year at the weekend.
The Department of Health said its National Public Health Emergency Team met on Monday to review the ongoing preparedness of the Irish health system for any cases of the virus that occur in Ireland. A statement gave no details of the group's deliberations but pointed out that no confirmed cases had occurred here.
Waterford Institute of Technology said one of its students was in self-isolation after travelling from Wuhan at the weekend. The man is not ill and has agreed not to attend college as a precaution.


theirishtimes--2020-01-28--Andrew McGinley thanks public for messages of support

The father of three young children found dead at their family home in southwest Dublin last Friday has thanked people for the hundreds of messages of support and sympathy passed to his family .
Andrew McGinley addressed a candlelit vigil on Tuesday night in the housing estate where the family lived in Newcastle , Co Dublin .
In a statement released earlier he said there were “ no words ” to describe the loss of his children “ only devastation , grief and anguish ” .
Several hundred sympathisers gathered in freezing conditions on the small green in Parson ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ village where the bodies of Conor McGinley ( 9 ) , his brother , Darragh ( 7 ) and sister , Carla ( 3 ) were discovered on Friday evening .
Fighting back tears , Mr McGinley thanked everyone who had come along for their friendship , support and compassion and for the messages and cards received .
“ I will read every one of them , ” he told the crowd .
Visibly moved by the demonstration of support from the community , Mr McGinley said he took “ great comfort ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the many toys which people had left .
Dozens of soft toys , candles and bouquets of flowers several rows deep have been placed outside the terraced home of the McGinley family .
Also left outside the three-storey house was a jersey of Rathcoole Boys Football Club where Conor and Darragh had played with the message : “ Forever in our hearts , thoughts and memories.
” Mr McGinley spoke of how his two sons and daughter had had a “ big beautiful bright future ” ahead of them .
“ Make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adored by all , ” he added .
Fr Kevin Doherty , the parish priest of St Finian ’ s Church in Newcastle , said the lighting of candles was symbolic to show light in the darkness after what had happened to “ three beautiful children ” .
A short prayer was also read by the local Church of Ireland rector , the Reverend Stephen Neil who expressed condolences to the McGinley family at what he described as “ this awful tragedy ” .
After lighting three lanterns in memory of his children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sister , Michelle , stood for more than 20 minutes embracing family , friends and neighbours .
“ Thank you for coming , ” he said repeatedly .
Ollie McNally , chairman of the Newcastle Community Group , said the candlelit vigil was an opportunity for locals to show their support for Mr McGinley and his family .
A GoFund page set up on Monday to provide financial assistance to the McGinleys raised €6,500 in the first 24 hours .
Katy Janssens , a local resident who organised the candlelit vigil , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the weekend ’ s events .
“ They are a wonderful family .
We wanted to do something to show our support .
It is the only thing people have talked about over the last few days , ” she added .

Hundreds of people attended a vigil in memory of the McGinley children - Conor, Darragh and Carla - in Newcastle, Co Dublin on Tuesday night. Photograph: Tom Honan/The Irish Times.
The father of three young children found dead at their family home in southwest Dublin last Friday has thanked people for the hundreds of messages of support and sympathy passed to his family.
Andrew McGinley addressed a candlelit vigil on Tuesday night in the housing estate where the family lived in Newcastle, Co Dublin. In a statement released earlier he said there were "no words" to describe the loss of his children "only devastation, grief and anguish".
Several hundred sympathisers gathered in freezing conditions on the small green in Parson’s Court near the centre of the village where the bodies of Conor McGinley (9), his brother, Darragh (7) and sister, Carla (3) were discovered on Friday evening.
Deirdre Morley and Andrew McGinley with their three children Conor (9), Darragh (7) and Carla (3).
Fighting back tears, Mr McGinley thanked everyone who had come along for their friendship, support and compassion and for the messages and cards received.
READ MORE
“I will read every one of them,” he told the crowd.
Visibly moved by the demonstration of support from the community, Mr McGinley said he took “great comfort” from such expressions of sympathy as well as the many toys which people had left.
Dozens of soft toys, candles and bouquets of flowers several rows deep have been placed outside the terraced home of the McGinley family.
Also left outside the three-storey house was a jersey of Rathcoole Boys Football Club where Conor and Darragh had played with the message: “Forever in our hearts, thoughts and memories.”
Mr McGinley spoke of how his two sons and daughter had had a “big beautiful bright future” ahead of them.
“Make no mistake – they were loved and adored by all,” he added.
Fr Kevin Doherty, the parish priest of St Finian’s Church in Newcastle, said the lighting of candles was symbolic to show light in the darkness after what had happened to “three beautiful children”.
A short prayer was also read by the local Church of Ireland rector, the Reverend Stephen Neil who expressed condolences to the McGinley family at what he described as “this awful tragedy”.
After lighting three lanterns in memory of his children, Mr McGinley, accompanied by his sister, Michelle, stood for more than 20 minutes embracing family, friends and neighbours.
“Thank you for coming,” he said repeatedly.
Ollie McNally, chairman of the Newcastle Community Group, said the candlelit vigil was an opportunity for locals to show their support for Mr McGinley and his family.
A GoFund page set up on Monday to provide financial assistance to the McGinleys raised €6,500 in the first 24 hours.
Katy Janssens, a local resident who organised the candlelit vigil, said people in Newcastle were “heartbroken” by the weekend’s events.
“They are a wonderful family. We wanted to do something to show our support. It is the only thing people have talked about over the last few days,” she added.


theirishtimes--2020-01-28--Drunken driver sent to jail after suspended sentence deemed ‘too lenient’

A drunken driver who narrowly missed six oncoming cars before crashing into a nurse on Christmas Eve , has been sent to jail after his fully suspended sentence was deemed too lenient .
Alan Craughwell ( 35 ) , of Retreat Road , Athlone , Co Westmeath , pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Michelle Fallon at Taghmaconnell , Co Roscommon on December 24th 2017 .
He was given a wholly suspended two-and-a-half year sentence by Judge Francis Comerford on May 8th , 2019 , and banned from driving for 10 years .
Judge Comerford also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the injured party , or a charity of her choice .
The Court of Appeal found Craughwell ’ s sentence to have been “ unduly lenient ” on Tuesday , and he was immediately jailed for 15 months .
Giving judgment , President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham said it was not a case of “ isolated ill-judgment ” such as taking a bend at excessive speed or overtaking at the wrong place .
It was “ sustained , rank bad driving ” by Craughwell , against the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Christmas period .
Gardaí who came upon the scene noticed a strong smell of alcohol coming from Craughwell and he was subsequently found to have 105 mgs of alcohol per 100 ml of blood , just over twice the legal limit .
Before the collision , Mr Justice Birmingham said Craughwell narrowly missed six cars that were coming towards him .
His behaviour caused another road user , a Ms Selena Harte , to pull in and call 999 to report the “ erratic and dangerous ” driving she had witnessed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harte came upon the scene of the collision between Craughwell ’ s Toyota Avensis and Ms Fallon ’ s Toyota Corolla , which she had been driving with her husband and son as passengers .
Ms Fallon suffered “ very significant injuries ” including fractures to both her ankles and was hospitalised for one week over the Christmas period .
A nurse by profession , she had been a very active person , working full-time , raising a family and helping out on the family farm , Mr Justice Birmingham said .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to return to work on a phased basis and the incident affected her quality of life “ very gravely indeed ” .
Craughwell had been in contact with the probation service in 2003 for larceny , section 2 assault and public order offences , but the charges were dismissed under the Probation Act .
In 2004 he was in contact again with the probation services for public order offences , and for further public order matters in 2008 .
It seemed alcohol was a factor in these court appearances , Mr Justice Birmingham @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caught driving while under the influence of prescription medication in September 2017 , which he linked to a back injury , prior to the present case , although the conviction was recorded after the present case .
Mr Justice Birmingham said Craughwell had served as a member of the Defence Forces for 12 years .
His service was just coming to an end when he appeared before the Circuit Court in relation to the present offence , and he had secured alternative employment as a sales representative , which continues to this day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was “ hardworking and challenging ” , according to a local priest ’ s testimonial , and there had been tragedy in his family .
He had not driven a car since the date of the offence and he was actively addressing his problems with alcohol , attending AA meetings and a 12-week residential course in addiction treatment at Cuan Mhuire .
Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions , Cathal Ó Braonáin BL , submitted that the headline sentence of three years was too low , and too much credit was given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr Ó Braonáin said Craughwell made a deliberate decision to drive while having excessive alcohol in his system .
It was a wet , unmarked , rural road and serious risk was caused to a large number of other road users .
Mr Justice Birmingham said the sentencing judge fell into error in believing custody could be completely avoided .
He said two-and-a-half years imprisonment with the final nine months suspended could not have been seen as severe .
However , the Court of Appeal was conscious that sending Craughwell to prison now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court , would be a deep disappointment to him .
The court also considered his continued steps towards rehabilitation .
Mr Justice Birmingham , who sat with Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy , resentenced Craughwell to two-and-a-half years imprisonment with the final 15 months suspended .
Craughwell was required to enter into a good behaviour bond for the suspended period , and he undertook to be so bound .
His 10-year driving ban remained in place .

A drunken driver who narrowly missed six oncoming cars before crashing into a nurse on Christmas Eve, has been sent to jail after his fully suspended sentence was deemed too lenient.
Alan Craughwell (35), of Retreat Road, Athlone, Co Westmeath, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Michelle Fallon at Taghmaconnell, Co Roscommon on December 24th 2017.
He was given a wholly suspended two-and-a-half year sentence by Judge Francis Comerford on May 8th, 2019, and banned from driving for 10 years. Judge Comerford also directed that Craughwell pay €1,400 that day to the injured party, or a charity of her choice.
The Court of Appeal found Craughwell’s sentence to have been “unduly lenient” on Tuesday, and he was immediately jailed for 15 months.
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Giving judgment, President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham said it was not a case of “isolated ill-judgment” such as taking a bend at excessive speed or overtaking at the wrong place. It was “sustained, rank bad driving” by Craughwell, against the background of a heavy drinking session in the Christmas period.
Gardaí who came upon the scene noticed a strong smell of alcohol coming from Craughwell and he was subsequently found to have 105 mgs of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, just over twice the legal limit.
Before the collision, Mr Justice Birmingham said Craughwell narrowly missed six cars that were coming towards him.
His behaviour caused another road user, a Ms Selena Harte, to pull in and call 999 to report the “erratic and dangerous” driving she had witnessed.
A mile down the road, Ms Harte came upon the scene of the collision between Craughwell's Toyota Avensis and Ms Fallon's Toyota Corolla, which she had been driving with her husband and son as passengers.
Ms Fallon suffered “very significant injuries” including fractures to both her ankles and was hospitalised for one week over the Christmas period.
A nurse by profession, she had been a very active person, working full-time, raising a family and helping out on the family farm, Mr Justice Birmingham said. It took her a significant amount of time to return to work on a phased basis and the incident affected her quality of life “very gravely indeed”.
Craughwell had been in contact with the probation service in 2003 for larceny, section 2 assault and public order offences, but the charges were dismissed under the Probation Act.
In 2004 he was in contact again with the probation services for public order offences, and for further public order matters in 2008. It seemed alcohol was a factor in these court appearances, Mr Justice Birmingham said.
More significantly, Craughwell was caught driving while under the influence of prescription medication in September 2017, which he linked to a back injury, prior to the present case, although the conviction was recorded after the present case.
Mr Justice Birmingham said Craughwell had served as a member of the Defence Forces for 12 years. His service was just coming to an end when he appeared before the Circuit Court in relation to the present offence, and he had secured alternative employment as a sales representative, which continues to this day.
He said Craughwell’s background was “hardworking and challenging”, according to a local priest’s testimonial, and there had been tragedy in his family.
He had not driven a car since the date of the offence and he was actively addressing his problems with alcohol, attending AA meetings and a 12-week residential course in addiction treatment at Cuan Mhuire.
Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Cathal Ó Braonáin BL, submitted that the headline sentence of three years was too low, and too much credit was given to Craughwell for the mitigating factors.
Mr Ó Braonáin said Craughwell made a deliberate decision to drive while having excessive alcohol in his system. It was a wet, unmarked, rural road and serious risk was caused to a large number of other road users.
Mr Justice Birmingham said the sentencing judge fell into error in believing custody could be completely avoided.
He said two-and-a-half years imprisonment with the final nine months suspended could not have been seen as severe.
However, the Court of Appeal was conscious that sending Craughwell to prison now, having avoided custody in the Circuit Court, would be a deep disappointment to him. The court also considered his continued steps towards rehabilitation.
Mr Justice Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, resentenced Craughwell to two-and-a-half years imprisonment with the final 15 months suspended.
Craughwell was required to enter into a good behaviour bond for the suspended period, and he undertook to be so bound. His 10-year driving ban remained in place.


theirishtimes--2020-01-28--Daughter denied she left house to get ‘permanent peace’ from mother

A woman accused of impeding the investigation into her mother ’ s alleged murder denied to gardaí that she had left their house on the night of the killing to get “ permanent peace ” .
Asked by interviewing detectives why her then partner was seen on CCTV footage closing the curtains when she and her children left the house to go to the park , the mother-of-five replied : “ Why you asking me , maybe he is dancing around naked after the shower ” .
“ If you are saying we left so he could do something , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she told gardaí .
She denied that she had discussed killing her mother with members of her family .
The jury was on Tuesday listening to the two final interviews given by Louise O ’ Connor , who is the daughter of the deceased Patricia O ’ Connor , to gardaí on September 3rd , 2017 .
The deceased ’ s daughter Louise O ’ Connor ( 41 ) and granddaughter Stephanie O ’ Connor ( 22 ) , both of Millmount Court , Dundrum Road , Dublin 14 , and Louise O @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 43 ) , of Avonbeg Gardens , Tallaght , Dublin 24 are all charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Kieran Greene , knowing or believing him to have committed an arrestable offence , to wit the murder of Patricia O ’ Connor ( 61 ) on May 29th , 2017 .
They deny the charges .
It is the prosecution ’ s case that at no point in time in CCTV footage can Stephanie O ’ Connor be seen as herself leaving Mountainview Park on the night of May 29th @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the alleged murder she dressed up as her grandmother as “ a ruse ” to pretend that Mrs O ’ Connor had stormed out of the house carrying a suitcase .
It is the State ’ s contention that Mrs O ’ Connor was already dead in the house at the time .
Ms O ’ Connor denies the charge .
Evidence has been given that the body of Mrs O ’ Connor was dismembered into 15 separate parts that were found at nine different locations over a 30km range in the Dublin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 14 , 2017 .
Detective Garda David Connolly told prosecution counsel Roisin Lacey SC that he conducted the fourth interview with Louise O ’ Connor at Bray Garda station on the morning of September 3rd , 2017 , during which she was shown CCTV footage of people entering and leaving the house at Mountainview Park on May 29th and 30th .
The court has heard that Louise O ’ Connor was arrested the previous day on suspicion of murdering her mother Mrs O ’ Connor at her home on May 29th .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Connor told gardaí that the person seen closing the back door on May 29th at 10.06pm could have been herself or her daughter Stephanie O ’ Connor or Mr Greene .
“ I ’ m guessing it was one of us as we were the only ones in the house , ” she said , adding that all she could see in the CCTV footage was a white blur .
Gardaí asked the mother-of-five about the alleyway at the side of the house and she said she used it every single day .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ not know who had come in the back door of the house at 10.06pm that night and all she could see in CCTV footage was a “ big splodge ” .
“ It ’ s Houdini or someone , I don ’ t know who it is , ” she said .
Gardaí told Louise O ’ Connor that the person who came through the back door at 10.06pm was the same person who had left earlier in the evening with a suitcase .
Louise O ’ Connor was previously shown a clip @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on May 29th at 9.34pm , which she said looked like her mother walking out of the house and carrying a suitcase .
She previously told gardaí that she had followed her mother out of the house after hearing the door slam and saw her mother going down the road .
Gardaí showed Louise O ’ Connor a similar suitcase , which had been found in Augustine O ’ Connor ’ s bedroom during a search of Mountainview Park .
She agreed the suitcases were identical and said it could have been the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Gardaí put it to Louise O ’ Connor that the person seen leaving the house in CCTV footage at 9.34pm had their hood up .
“ I don ’ t know why , maybe they have sore ears , maybe they are self-conscious , ” she said .
A piece of fabric with a floral design on it was shown to Louise O ’ Connor and gardaí told the accused woman that it had been found in a shallow grave in Wexford , where her mother was buried .
Gardaí then put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the person seen leaving the house in CCTV footage was not wearing a dress .
“ They could be wearing it under their clothes , ” she replied , agreeing with gardaí that it looked like the design from her mother ’ s dress .
Asked by interviewing detectives why her then partner was seen on CCTV footage closing the curtains at 6.52pm , when she and her children left the house to go to the park , the mother-of-five replied : “ Why you asking me , maybe he is dancing around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Is closing curtains against the law ?
” she asked gardaí .
Detectives told her that it was “ not the norm ” .
“ If you are saying we left so he could do something , you ’ re sadly mistaken , ” she told gardaí .
The court has heard that Louise O ’ Connor and her children left Mountainview to go to the park and Tesco at 6.53pm on May 29th and returned to the house at 9.04pm that night .
Detectives put it to her that they believed Mrs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the children got back from Tesco .
“ How could she be , she walked out , ” she replied .
Gardaí also put it to Louise O ’ Connor that it was her daughter Stephanie walking out of the house at 9.34pm carrying the suitcase .
“ That ’ s my ma walking out , ” she replied , adding that if her mother had been dead when she got home , she would have “ punched Kieran ’ s lights out ” .
Detectives also put it to Louise O @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left the house at 9.34pm wearing Mrs O ’ Connor ’ s jacket .
“ She didn ’ t , that ’ s me ma ’ s , ” she said , adding that her daughter was not involved .
She agreed with gardaí that a figure in CCTV footage could have been Mr Greene picking up tools from the garden on May 30th at 00.39 .
CCTV footage showed a car reversing into the driveway on the morning of May 30th at 5.54am .
Louise O ’ Connor said she thought this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying : “ That ’ s obviously when he took my ma and came back .
That ’ s not a nice thing to see , that ’ s f**king horrible.
” She called Mr Greene “ a f**king nut ” , who she said had destroyed their family .
In cross-examination , Detective Garda Connolly agreed with Michael Bowman SC who is defending Louise O ’ Connor alongside John Griffin BL , that the CCTV footage did not show someone walking out the front door of Mountainview or someone walking up the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brian Hanley told Ms Lacey that he conducted the fifth interview on September 3rd , 2017 .
Gardaí asked Louise O ’ Connor why she had left the house to go to the park on May 29th at 6.53pm and she replied that she wanted “ to get peace from my mum ” .
Sgt Hanley asked Louise O ’ Connor if they had left the house to get “ permanent peace ” .
“ No , she [ Patricia O ’ Connor ] was freaking out over the cat , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ O ’ Connor that she knew the person who walked out the door was not her mother .
“ I know my mother was alive when I walked in that house , ” she replied .
She denied to gardaí that the person walking out the front door at 9.34pm was Stephanie O ’ Connor .
“ I know my mother left the house , I heard her shouting , ” she replied .
Gardaí put it to her that this was “ a web of lies ” .
“ I know what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ replied , adding that she did not find out what happened her mother until two weeks later .
She told gardaí that her daughter did not dress up as her mother and denied that she had discussed killing her mother with Mr Greene , her daughter Stephanie or her father Gus .
She also denied that Stephanie had spoken to her about dressing up as Mrs O ’ Connor .
“ If I had slept on the couch that night , I would have heard what had happened and things would be different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denied seeing her mother wrapped up in blankets in the house on the night of May 29th .
On Tuesday afternoon , the jury heard Stephanie O ’ Connor was arrested on September 2nd , also on suspicion of murdering her grandmother .
In her first interview that day , Stephanie O ’ Connor told gardaí that she had been trying to find a job since she left school and helped with the children around the house .
She said that her family never come in the back door of the house , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She said she did not know whose idea it was to go to the park on the evening of May 29th .
She said she assumed her grandmother would come back the following morning and it was a surprise to her when she was not in the house the following morning .
“ I knew she left before when I was a kid so I thought she would be ok , ” she told gardaí .
The “ truth came out ” two weeks later when Mr Greene “ broke down ” , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I found out , Kieran was telling my mam , that time was surreal , ” she said .
Stephanie O ’ Connor said she felt “ confused , shocked and angry ” , when she found out what had happened to her grandmother and had avoided the newspapers .
Stephanie said her mother told her that Mr Greene had said Mrs O ’ Connor attacked him with a hurley and he took it off her in self-defence and hit her .
She told detectives she heard Mr Greene had taken her grandmother @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up the Wicklow mountains .
“ I don ’ t know what happened , I don ’ t want to know but I heard she wasn ’ t in one piece , ” she said .
Her grandmother “ did get angry very easy ” , she said , but she was “ amazing too.
” In her third interview , Stephanie said she was aware her neighbour ’ s CCTV camera covered their front and back garden .
Stephanie identified her grandmother wearing a dress with a pattern on it in CCTV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she described as looking like “ peacock feathers ” .
She called her grandmother “ plump ” but explained that she had a lot of muscle saying : “ She does gardening so is well able ” .
Gardaí asked Stephanie if they would normally go to the park at that time in the evening .
“ No but it had been a bad day of fighting , we all needed to go out and cool our heads , ” she said , adding that they were not in a hurry to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grateful to be getting out of the atmosphere .
Louise O ’ Connor has pleaded not ) guilty to agreeing to or acquiescing in her daughter Stephanie O ’ Connor disguising herself as Patricia O ’ Connor at Mountainview Park , Rathfarnham , Dublin 14 on May 29th , 2017 in order to conceal the fact that Patricia O ’ Connor was dead .
Stephanie O ’ Connor has pleaded not ) guilty to disguising herself as Mrs O ’ Connor at Mountainview Park , Rathfarnham , Dublin 14 at a point in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 2017 in order to conceal the fact that she was already dead .
Mr Greene ( 34 ) has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mrs O ’ Connor at her home in Mountainview Park , Rathfarnham , Dublin 14 on May 29th , 2017 .
The Central Criminal Court trial has heard that while in custody , Mr Greene changed his account of killing and dismembering his partner ’ s mother , six months after he was charged with her murder .
Evidence has been given that Mr Greene walked into Rathfarnham @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and told a detective that he had done “ something terrible ” and dismembered the body of Mrs O ’ Connor on his own .
However , the accused man told gardaí on December 9th that he had taken “ the rap ” and felt he was being set-up , as his girlfriend Louise O ’ Connor subsequently started going back out with her ex-boyfriend Keith Johnston .
Mr Johnston has pleaded not guilty to assisting Mr Greene in the purchase of various implements at Woodie ’ s , Mr Price , B @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Dublin 24 on June 9 , 2017 , which were to be used in the concealment of the remains of Mrs O ’ Connor .
Mr Johnston also denies engaging in the refurbishment of a bathroom at Mountainview Park , Rathfarnham , Dublin 14 between May 31st , 2017 and June 9th , 2017 , in order to destroy or conceal any evidence relating to the murder of Mrs O ’ Connor .
The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of six men and six women .

A woman accused of impeding the investigation into her mother’s alleged murder denied to gardaí that she had left their house on the night of the killing to get “permanent peace”.
Asked by interviewing detectives why her then partner was seen on CCTV footage closing the curtains when she and her children left the house to go to the park, the mother-of-five replied: “Why you asking me, maybe he is dancing around naked after the shower”.
“If you are saying we left so he could do something, you’re sadly mistaken,” she told gardaí. She denied that she had discussed killing her mother with members of her family.
The jury was on Tuesday listening to the two final interviews given by Louise O’Connor, who is the daughter of the deceased Patricia O’Connor, to gardaí on September 3rd, 2017.
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The deceased's daughter Louise O'Connor (41) and granddaughter Stephanie O'Connor (22), both of Millmount Court, Dundrum Road, Dublin 14, and Louise O'Connor's ex-partner Keith Johnston (43), of Avonbeg Gardens, Tallaght, Dublin 24 are all charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Kieran Greene, knowing or believing him to have committed an arrestable offence, to wit the murder of Patricia O'Connor (61) on May 29th, 2017. They deny the charges.
It is the prosecution's case that at no point in time in CCTV footage can Stephanie O'Connor be seen as herself leaving Mountainview Park on the night of May 29th and that in order to cover up the alleged murder she dressed up as her grandmother as "a ruse" to pretend that Mrs O'Connor had stormed out of the house carrying a suitcase. It is the State's contention that Mrs O'Connor was already dead in the house at the time. Ms O'Connor denies the charge.
Evidence has been given that the body of Mrs O'Connor was dismembered into 15 separate parts that were found at nine different locations over a 30km range in the Dublin and Wicklow mountains between June 10 and 14, 2017.
CCTV footage
Detective Garda David Connolly told prosecution counsel Roisin Lacey SC that he conducted the fourth interview with Louise O'Connor at Bray Garda station on the morning of September 3rd, 2017, during which she was shown CCTV footage of people entering and leaving the house at Mountainview Park on May 29th and 30th.
The court has heard that Louise O’Connor was arrested the previous day on suspicion of murdering her mother Mrs O’Connor at her home on May 29th.
In her fourth interview, Louise O’Connor told gardaí that the person seen closing the back door on May 29th at 10.06pm could have been herself or her daughter Stephanie O’Connor or Mr Greene. “I’m guessing it was one of us as we were the only ones in the house,” she said, adding that all she could see in the CCTV footage was a white blur.
Gardaí asked the mother-of-five about the alleyway at the side of the house and she said she used it every single day.
Louise O’Connor said she did not know who had come in the back door of the house at 10.06pm that night and all she could see in CCTV footage was a “big splodge”. “It’s Houdini or someone, I don’t know who it is,” she said.
Gardaí told Louise O’Connor that the person who came through the back door at 10.06pm was the same person who had left earlier in the evening with a suitcase.
Louise O’Connor was previously shown a clip from her neighbour’s CCTV footage on May 29th at 9.34pm, which she said looked like her mother walking out of the house and carrying a suitcase. She previously told gardaí that she had followed her mother out of the house after hearing the door slam and saw her mother going down the road.
Gardaí showed Louise O’Connor a similar suitcase, which had been found in Augustine O’Connor’s bedroom during a search of Mountainview Park. She agreed the suitcases were identical and said it could have been the same suitcase seen in the CCTV footage.
Gardaí put it to Louise O’Connor that the person seen leaving the house in CCTV footage at 9.34pm had their hood up. “I don’t know why, maybe they have sore ears, maybe they are self-conscious,” she said.
A piece of fabric with a floral design on it was shown to Louise O’Connor and gardaí told the accused woman that it had been found in a shallow grave in Wexford, where her mother was buried. Gardaí then put it to Louise O’Connor that the person seen leaving the house in CCTV footage was not wearing a dress. “They could be wearing it under their clothes,” she replied, agreeing with gardaí that it looked like the design from her mother’s dress.
Asked by interviewing detectives why her then partner was seen on CCTV footage closing the curtains at 6.52pm, when she and her children left the house to go to the park, the mother-of-five replied: “Why you asking me, maybe he is dancing around naked after the shower”.
“Is closing curtains against the law?” she asked gardaí. Detectives told her that it was “not the norm”. “If you are saying we left so he could do something, you’re sadly mistaken,” she told gardaí.
The court has heard that Louise O'Connor and her children left Mountainview to go to the park and Tesco at 6.53pm on May 29th and returned to the house at 9.04pm that night.
Detectives put it to her that they believed Mrs O’Connor was dead when she and the children got back from Tesco. “How could she be, she walked out,” she replied.
Gardaí also put it to Louise O’Connor that it was her daughter Stephanie walking out of the house at 9.34pm carrying the suitcase. “That’s my ma walking out,” she replied, adding that if her mother had been dead when she got home, she would have “punched Kieran’s lights out”.
Destroyed family
Detectives also put it to Louise O’Connor that her daughter Stephanie had left the house at 9.34pm wearing Mrs O’Connor’s jacket. “She didn’t, that’s me ma’s,” she said, adding that her daughter was not involved.
She agreed with gardaí that a figure in CCTV footage could have been Mr Greene picking up tools from the garden on May 30th at 00.39.
CCTV footage showed a car reversing into the driveway on the morning of May 30th at 5.54am. Louise O’Connor said she thought this was Mr Greene in the CCTV footage saying: “That’s obviously when he took my ma and came back. That’s not a nice thing to see, that’s f**king horrible.”
She called Mr Greene “a f**king nut”, who she said had destroyed their family.
In cross-examination, Detective Garda Connolly agreed with Michael Bowman SC who is defending Louise O’Connor alongside John Griffin BL, that the CCTV footage did not show someone walking out the front door of Mountainview or someone walking up the side lane of the house.
Sergeant Brian Hanley told Ms Lacey that he conducted the fifth interview on September 3rd, 2017. Gardaí asked Louise O’Connor why she had left the house to go to the park on May 29th at 6.53pm and she replied that she wanted “to get peace from my mum”. Sgt Hanley asked Louise O’Connor if they had left the house to get “permanent peace”. “No, she [Patricia O’Connor] was freaking out over the cat,” she said.
Gardaí put it to Louise O’Connor that she knew the person who walked out the door was not her mother. “I know my mother was alive when I walked in that house,” she replied.
She denied to gardaí that the person walking out the front door at 9.34pm was Stephanie O’Connor. “I know my mother left the house, I heard her shouting,” she replied.
Gardaí put it to her that this was “a web of lies”. “I know what I saw and heard,” she replied, adding that she did not find out what happened her mother until two weeks later.
She told gardaí that her daughter did not dress up as her mother and denied that she had discussed killing her mother with Mr Greene, her daughter Stephanie or her father Gus.
Slept on the couch
She also denied that Stephanie had spoken to her about dressing up as Mrs O’Connor.
“If I had slept on the couch that night, I would have heard what had happened and things would be different,” she said. She also denied seeing her mother wrapped up in blankets in the house on the night of May 29th.
On Tuesday afternoon, the jury heard Stephanie O’Connor was arrested on September 2nd, also on suspicion of murdering her grandmother.
In her first interview that day, Stephanie O’Connor told gardaí that she had been trying to find a job since she left school and helped with the children around the house. She said that her family never come in the back door of the house, they always use the front door. She said she did not know whose idea it was to go to the park on the evening of May 29th.
She said she assumed her grandmother would come back the following morning and it was a surprise to her when she was not in the house the following morning. “I knew she left before when I was a kid so I thought she would be ok,” she told gardaí.
The “truth came out” two weeks later when Mr Greene “broke down”, she said. “That is when I found out, Kieran was telling my mam, that time was surreal,” she said. Stephanie O’Connor said she felt “confused, shocked and angry”, when she found out what had happened to her grandmother and had avoided the newspapers.
Stephanie said her mother told her that Mr Greene had said Mrs O’Connor attacked him with a hurley and he took it off her in self-defence and hit her. She told detectives she heard Mr Greene had taken her grandmother in a panic to Wexford and then up the Wicklow mountains. “I don’t know what happened, I don’t want to know but I heard she wasn’t in one piece,” she said. Her grandmother “did get angry very easy”, she said, but she was “amazing too.”
In her third interview, Stephanie said she was aware her neighbour’s CCTV camera covered their front and back garden. Stephanie identified her grandmother wearing a dress with a pattern on it in CCTV footage taken on May 29th, which she described as looking like “peacock feathers”. She called her grandmother “plump” but explained that she had a lot of muscle saying: “She does gardening so is well able”.
Bad day of fighting
Gardaí asked Stephanie if they would normally go to the park at that time in the evening. “No but it had been a bad day of fighting, we all needed to go out and cool our heads,” she said, adding that they were not in a hurry to get out of the house and they were grateful to be getting out of the atmosphere.
Louise O'Connor has pleaded not ) guilty to agreeing to or acquiescing in her daughter Stephanie O'Connor disguising herself as Patricia O'Connor at Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 on May 29th, 2017 in order to conceal the fact that Patricia O'Connor was dead.
Stephanie O’Connor has pleaded not ) guilty to disguising herself as Mrs O’Connor at Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 at a point in time after her murder on May 29th, 2017 in order to conceal the fact that she was already dead.
Mr Greene (34) has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mrs O’Connor at her home in Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 on May 29th, 2017.
The Central Criminal Court trial has heard that while in custody, Mr Greene changed his account of killing and dismembering his partner’s mother, six months after he was charged with her murder.
Evidence has been given that Mr Greene walked into Rathfarnham Garda Station on June 12th, 2017 and told a detective that he had done “something terrible” and dismembered the body of Mrs O’Connor on his own. However, the accused man told gardaí on December 9th that he had taken “the rap” and felt he was being set-up, as his girlfriend Louise O’Connor subsequently started going back out with her ex-boyfriend Keith Johnston.
Mr Johnston has pleaded not guilty to assisting Mr Greene in the purchase of various implements at Woodie’s, Mr Price, B&Q and Shoe Zone, Tallaght, Dublin 24 on June 9, 2017, which were to be used in the concealment of the remains of Mrs O’Connor.
Mr Johnston also denies engaging in the refurbishment of a bathroom at Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 between May 31st, 2017 and June 9th, 2017, in order to destroy or conceal any evidence relating to the murder of Mrs O’Connor.
The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of six men and six women.