theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Exploring a hands-on approach to engaging with science

Congratulations , you recently won a Science Foundation Ireland award for outstanding contribution to Stem communication .
Tell us about Cell Explorers .
Cell Explorers is an outreach programme , where volunteers who are scientists go to primary schools and festivals and do hands-on experiments with children .
The volunteers come from universities and institutes of technology around Ireland , and the idea is for them to build their communication skills and share their passion for science with young people .
We tend to work with schoolchildren who are between age 10 and 12 .
Research shows this is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ science – including whether they like it or not , and if it is for them – so an important aspect of the programme is to provide a positive hands-on experience of engaging with science , with facilitators who might act as science role models and don ’ t look like the stereotypical scientist .
How did you get the idea ?
I was a researcher at NUI Galway , working on how cells can detect damage in DNA , and activate ways to repair the DNA .
Part of my job was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did some training to become a better lecturer .
I saw how you can encourage people to learn by co-creating with them , and I got the idea to work with undergraduates to design molecular biology workshops for school students , where they could do experiments themselves and learn more about it .
And that was the start of Cell Explorers ?
Yes .
I got some funding from NUIG to start a staff-student collaborative project .
I asked biotechnology students would they like to join the project and work with my son @ @ @ @ @ @ @ volunteered and designed four workshops , including Fantastic DNA , which we are still running now .
Everyone really enjoyed it and from this Cell Explorers was started .
We got successive funding from the RDS , the Wellcome Trust and Science Foundation Ireland for going into more schools and taking part in science festivals .
In eight years we built a network of 13 Cell Explorers teams across 15 institutions around Ireland .
How do you assess its impact ?
I have taken a scientific approach with the evaluation of Cell Explorers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the very beginning .
This is to the point that it has become my research and I don ’ t do molecular genetics in the lab any more .
Between 2012 and the end of 2019 we reached about 40,000 people .
Throughout that time we have been reflective , documenting and improving our practice and sharing our findings with others .
In addition to our evaluation , one PhD student and one postdoctoral researcher are looking at the potential impact of our programme on how children perceive science and scientists .
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find it very rewarding to see the responses of the children in the classroom , of the teacher and of our young volunteer scientists .
I can ’ t put numbers on this part , it is a feeling that you are making a connection and it is worth it .
It is why I do this .
How do you take a break ?
At home , I like to spend time with my family .
I am French and I love to cook , especially with my children .
We love @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number that are turning up in our garden !
We are also a family of readers , we enjoy reading books and discussing them .
And what was the last book you read ?
In English ?
That would be Normal People by Sally Rooney .
I also recently read and enjoyed Notes to Self by Emilie Pine .
Over Christmas , I read a lot of books in French , including books that my children read too , and we had fun talking about them .

Congratulations, you recently won a Science Foundation Ireland award for outstanding contribution to Stem communication. Tell us about Cell Explorers.
Cell Explorers is an outreach programme, where volunteers who are scientists go to primary schools and festivals and do hands-on experiments with children. The volunteers come from universities and institutes of technology around Ireland, and the idea is for them to build their communication skills and share their passion for science with young people.
We tend to work with schoolchildren who are between age 10 and 12. Research shows this is the age around which they form opinions about science – including whether they like it or not, and if it is for them – so an important aspect of the programme is to provide a positive hands-on experience of engaging with science, with facilitators who might act as science role models and don’t look like the stereotypical scientist.
How did you get the idea?
READ MORE
I was a researcher at NUI Galway, working on how cells can detect damage in DNA, and activate ways to repair the DNA. Part of my job was to teach undergraduate students, and I did some training to become a better lecturer.
I saw how you can encourage people to learn by co-creating with them, and I got the idea to work with undergraduates to design molecular biology workshops for school students, where they could do experiments themselves and learn more about it.
And that was the start of Cell Explorers?
Yes. I got some funding from NUIG to start a staff-student collaborative project. I asked biotechnology students would they like to join the project and work with my son’s school. Ten of them volunteered and designed four workshops, including Fantastic DNA, which we are still running now.
Everyone really enjoyed it and from this Cell Explorers was started. We got successive funding from the RDS, the Wellcome Trust and Science Foundation Ireland for going into more schools and taking part in science festivals. In eight years we built a network of 13 Cell Explorers teams across 15 institutions around Ireland.
How do you assess its impact?
I have taken a scientific approach with the evaluation of Cell Explorers, gathering the evidence about it from the very beginning. This is to the point that it has become my research and I don’t do molecular genetics in the lab any more. Between 2012 and the end of 2019 we reached about 40,000 people.
Throughout that time we have been reflective, documenting and improving our practice and sharing our findings with others. In addition to our evaluation, one PhD student and one postdoctoral researcher are looking at the potential impact of our programme on how children perceive science and scientists.
What keeps you going with it?
I find it very rewarding to see the responses of the children in the classroom, of the teacher and of our young volunteer scientists. I can’t put numbers on this part, it is a feeling that you are making a connection and it is worth it. It is why I do this.
How do you take a break?
At home, I like to spend time with my family. I am French and I love to cook, especially with my children. We love cats – my husband is counting the number that are turning up in our garden! We are also a family of readers, we enjoy reading books and discussing them.
And what was the last book you read?
In English? That would be Normal People by Sally Rooney. I also recently read and enjoyed Notes to Self by Emilie Pine. Over Christmas, I read a lot of books in French, including books that my children read too, and we had fun talking about them.


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--The new normal: ‘Future coronavirus outbreaks are inevitable’

The world has to face up to the reality that the current coronavirus epidemic is not a once-off .
What ’ s more , scientists who study these viruses have repeatedly warned for some time coronaviruses originating in bats in China were poised to cause another Sars-like outbreak in people .
Legions of strains are living inside wild bats , and some are already capable of infecting human lung cells .
Almost unnoticed to the rest of the world , this has been happening regularly in China , with heightened risk of an epidemic breaking there among the human population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is peppered with caves , and bats live in all of them , ” says virologist Dr Peter Daszak , president of EcoHealth Alliance based in New York who has searched China for new coronavirus strains .
“ There ’ s an abundance of bats and people get exposed to them.
” He has led virus hunts that turned up more than 500 new coronaviruses in bats in China in the past 10 years .
And when they tested 400 people in southwest China , six had antibodies against bat coronaviruses , suggesting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When scientists exposed human lung cells in a lab to some coronaviruses from wild bats , the cells got infected .
The viruses live close to people .
For five years Chinese scientists visited the one limestone cave outside Kumming city in Yunnan province , close to the Burmese and Vietnamese border .
They brought back 600 swabs , and identified 64 bat coronaviruses that were remarkably similar to the Sars virus that infected 8,000 people in 2002-2003 , reporting their findings in November 2017 .
The novel coronavirus virus first isolated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ RNA sequence match with the Sars virus , and a 96 per cent match with some viruses from wild bats .
The higher the percentage , the more closely related they are .
“ The one that spilled over to people did not need to change in any way to infect people , ” Dr Daszak adds .
People do not necessarily have to eat the bats ( though bats are eaten ) .
The viruses are in the intestinal tracts of bats and are present in the faeces .
Coronaviruses are troublemakers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went from bats to civet cats to people .
Coronaviruses are also poor proof-readers of their RNA after they replicate , which generates lots of mutations .
They swap genes between themselves and have large genomes , which allow for redundancies – that is , have multiple genes that perform the same function .
Dr Cillian De Gascun , head of the National Virus Reference Lab in UCD , notes that RNA viruses are able to recombine their genomes .
“ RNA viruses make more mistakes during replication and that facilitates evolution , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for them to adapt to their new host once they cross into a new species .
“ Coronaviruses recombine bits of gene from one another and evolve very quickly , ” adds UCD bat biologist Dr Emma Teeling , who studied a coronavirus outbreak in cheetahs earlier in her career .
Bats are ideal hosts .
They roost in colonies , jammed wing to wing , where viruses spread with ease .
They fly , moving their viruses from one location to another .
But there is also something special about bat biology @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inside them without succumbing to illness .
“ Bats have a unique tolerance , ” adds Dr Teeling .
This is a spin-off to them being flying mammals , she contends .
Flight requires extreme metabolism and burns up oxygen incredibly fast .
This damages DNA and could provoke an immune response .
“ Bats evolved mechanisms to dampen down their response to this damage ; to suppress inflammation , ” she says .
When people suffer severe illness from Sars or Ebola , it is usually because of their own immune response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effort to defeat the virus .
Ebola also originated in bats .
As apparently did Mers .
Perhaps we need to learn from the bats .
“ We need to look at the bats and see how they live with these viruses , ” says Dr Teeling .
This could help us develop new anti-viral drugs .
In 2018 Dr Daszak and his colleagues pinpointed the culprit of an outbreak in China that killed 25,000 piglets across four farms .
This was a new coronavirus that originated in bats , causing an outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warned in the journal Nature .
“ It could go into human cells in the lab .
We don ’ t know if it was a risk to human health , ” says Dr Daszak .
“ We don ’ t know if it is completely gone .
It may be still there.
” The point is that there is an abundance of coronaviruses in bats that are , or close to , being able to infect other animals and people .
“ The warning is simple , ” Dr Daszak warns .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemics.
” He ’ s not alone in that view , as a separate group of scientists in the US warned in 2018 about a Sars-like virus they identified in Chinese bats – reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
The measures to ward off pandemics will partly be about tracking and reducing wildlife trade and consumption .
“ We know bats have a huge number of coronaviruses , ” says Dr De Gascun .
“ Deforestation and live wildlife food markets means our exposure to these animals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more proactive in identifying likely strains that will jump to humans , and start developing drugs against them now , instead of during a crisis , he stresses .
The name “ coronavirus ” stems from crown-like protrusions , which are crucial spike-shaped proteins on their surface .
The novel Wuhan virus uses these spikes to latch on to a hook , called the ACE2 receptor , which is abundant on cells in the lower reaches of our lungs .
This is why people suffer bronchitis or pneumonia , signs of deep lung @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this spike protein can allow a coronavirus to infect a new species .
Before the Sars outbreak , coronaviruses were a scientific backwater .
The group was of some interest to veterinary scientists , known to easily switch between farm animals and cause diarrhoeal diseases .
The big change that is driving new coronavirus outbreaks , says Dr Daszak , is burgeoning human populations encroaching and disturbing bat habitat .
Live wildlife markets that bring wild animals close together increase the chances of viruses jumping from one species to the other .
Unfortunately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ zoonotic viruses .
“ Nobody has seen this virus before .
So everyone is susceptible .
We have to wait and see what happens , ” Dr De Gascun says .
Future outbreaks are inevitable , he expects .
“ It is not surprising that it has happened again .
You could argue that what is surprising is that it doesn ’ t happen more readily .
”

The world has to face up to the reality that the current coronavirus epidemic is not a once-off.
What's more, scientists who study these viruses have repeatedly warned for some time coronaviruses originating in bats in China were poised to cause another Sars-like outbreak in people.
Legions of strains are living inside wild bats, and some are already capable of infecting human lung cells. Almost unnoticed to the rest of the world, this has been happening regularly in China, with heightened risk of an epidemic breaking there among the human population.
"The whole of southern China is peppered with caves, and bats live in all of them," says virologist Dr Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance based in New York who has searched China for new coronavirus strains. "There's an abundance of bats and people get exposed to them."
READ MORE
He has led virus hunts that turned up more than 500 new coronaviruses in bats in China in the past 10 years. And when they tested 400 people in southwest China, six had antibodies against bat coronaviruses, suggesting that they regularly spill over to people. When scientists exposed human lung cells in a lab to some coronaviruses from wild bats, the cells got infected.
The viruses live close to people. For five years Chinese scientists visited the one limestone cave outside Kumming city in Yunnan province, close to the Burmese and Vietnamese border. They brought back 600 swabs, and identified 64 bat coronaviruses that were remarkably similar to the Sars virus that infected 8,000 people in 2002-2003, reporting their findings in November 2017.
The novel coronavirus virus first isolated in Wuhan has an 80 per cent RNA sequence match with the Sars virus, and a 96 per cent match with some viruses from wild bats. The higher the percentage, the more closely related they are. "The one that spilled over to people did not need to change in any way to infect people," Dr Daszak adds. People do not necessarily have to eat the bats (though bats are eaten). The viruses are in the intestinal tracts of bats and are present in the faeces.
Jumping species
Coronaviruses are troublemakers because they jump species easily. Sars went from bats to civet cats to people. Coronaviruses are also poor proof-readers of their RNA after they replicate, which generates lots of mutations. They swap genes between themselves and have large genomes, which allow for redundancies – that is, have multiple genes that perform the same function.
Dr Cillian De Gascun, head of the National Virus Reference Lab in UCD, notes that RNA viruses are able to recombine their genomes. "RNA viruses make more mistakes during replication and that facilitates evolution," she notes, making it easier for them to adapt to their new host once they cross into a new species.
Coronavirus contained within the endoplasmatic reticulum of a Vero E6 cell. Photograph: BSIP/UIG Via Getty
"Coronaviruses recombine bits of gene from one another and evolve very quickly," adds UCD bat biologist Dr Emma Teeling, who studied a coronavirus outbreak in cheetahs earlier in her career.
Bats are ideal hosts. They roost in colonies, jammed wing to wing, where viruses spread with ease. They fly, moving their viruses from one location to another. But there is also something special about bat biology. Bats allow lots of viruses live inside them without succumbing to illness.
“Bats have a unique tolerance,” adds Dr Teeling. This is a spin-off to them being flying mammals, she contends. Flight requires extreme metabolism and burns up oxygen incredibly fast. This damages DNA and could provoke an immune response. “Bats evolved mechanisms to dampen down their response to this damage; to suppress inflammation,” she says.
When people suffer severe illness from Sars or Ebola, it is usually because of their own immune response, which revs into overdrive in an effort to defeat the virus. Ebola also originated in bats. As apparently did Mers. Perhaps we need to learn from the bats. “We need to look at the bats and see how they live with these viruses,” says Dr Teeling. This could help us develop new anti-viral drugs.
Piglet purge
In 2018 Dr Daszak and his colleagues pinpointed the culprit of an outbreak in China that killed 25,000 piglets across four farms. This was a new coronavirus that originated in bats, causing an outbreak strikingly similar to Sars, the scientists warned in the journal Nature.
“It could go into human cells in the lab. We don’t know if it was a risk to human health,” says Dr Daszak. “We don’t know if it is completely gone. It may be still there.”
‘Nobody has seen this virus before. So everyone is susceptible.’ Above, two women in Hong Kong. Photograph: Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty
The point is that there is an abundance of coronaviruses in bats that are, or close to, being able to infect other animals and people. “The warning is simple,” Dr Daszak warns. “Get ready for more of these pandemics.”
He’s not alone in that view, as a separate group of scientists in the US warned in 2018 about a Sars-like virus they identified in Chinese bats – reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The measures to ward off pandemics will partly be about tracking and reducing wildlife trade and consumption. “We know bats have a huge number of coronaviruses,” says Dr De Gascun. “Deforestation and live wildlife food markets means our exposure to these animals has been increasing.”
We should be more proactive in identifying likely strains that will jump to humans, and start developing drugs against them now, instead of during a crisis, he stresses.
The crown
The name “coronavirus” stems from crown-like protrusions, which are crucial spike-shaped proteins on their surface. The novel Wuhan virus uses these spikes to latch on to a hook, called the ACE2 receptor, which is abundant on cells in the lower reaches of our lungs. This is why people suffer bronchitis or pneumonia, signs of deep lung infection. A few minor changes to this spike protein can allow a coronavirus to infect a new species.
Before the Sars outbreak, coronaviruses were a scientific backwater. The group was of some interest to veterinary scientists, known to easily switch between farm animals and cause diarrhoeal diseases.
The big change that is driving new coronavirus outbreaks, says Dr Daszak, is burgeoning human populations encroaching and disturbing bat habitat. Live wildlife markets that bring wild animals close together increase the chances of viruses jumping from one species to the other.
Unfortunately, we are especially susceptible to new zoonotic viruses. “Nobody has seen this virus before. So everyone is susceptible. We have to wait and see what happens,” Dr De Gascun says. Future outbreaks are inevitable, he expects. “It is not surprising that it has happened again. You could argue that what is surprising is that it doesn’t happen more readily.”


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Investigation into how son of bankrupt came to own father’s property

An investigation into how the son of a Co Donegal bankrupt came to own property that had formerly been owned by his father , is being conducted by the official assignee , Chris Lehane .
In December last , Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington extended the bankruptcy of PJ Sweeney , of High Cairn , Ramelton , Co Donegal , to July 2025 .
Mr Lehane told the judge that Mr Sweeney , who was adjudicated a bankrupt in July 2017 because of his debts to the Bank of Ireland , was not engaging with his office and had failed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sweeney was not represented at the hearing .
Court papers from Mr Sweeney ’ s bankruptcy file show that Mr Lehane is investigating how Mr Sweeney ’ s son , Ciaran , came to be the owner of property formerly owned by his father .
In December , Ms Justice Pilkington granted an order to Mr Lehane that solicitor Dominic Brennan , of Gallagher and Brennan Solicitors , Kilmacrenan , Co Donegal , should produce files relating to the sale of four property portfolios in Co Donegal , and the details of any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which had been owned by Mr Sweeney , were sold in 2017 by a receiver appointed by the Bank of Ireland .
They were bought by Woodside Properties Ire Ltd , a Northern Ireland company with a registered address in Portadown , Co Armagh .
A year later , Mr Sweeney ’ s son , Ciaran , also of High Cairn , Ramelton , was registered as the owner of the properties , all of which , Mr Lehane noted in court documents , were not mortgaged .
When he wrote to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ official that it was not in a position to disclose information about the sales .
In May 2019 , Mr Brennan , in a response to Mr Lehane , said he would have to seek instructions from his client , Ciaran Sweeney , before responding to Mr Lehane ’ s request for information .
Mr Lehane later received a response from the law firm from which , Mr Lehane said in a court document , it appeared that Ciaran Sweeney had acquired three of the four Donegal properties from Woodside in return for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sole name .
His own inquiries , Mr Lehane said , indicated that this unidentified property may be a property in Co Donegal that Ciaran Sweeney acquired in April 2016 , at a time when he was 19 years old .
It appeared that Ciaran Sweeney had sold one of the three properties he had acquired from Woodside , and used the proceeds to buy the fourth property formerly owned by his father .
Mr Lehane , in seeking an extension to Mr Sweeney ’ s period of bankruptcy , told Ms Justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ valued at €300,000 and that he wanted time to further investigate the matter .

In December last, Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington extended the bankruptcy of PJ Sweeney, of High Cairn, Ramelton, Co Donegal, to July 2025. Photograph: Alan Betson
An investigation into how the son of a Co Donegal bankrupt came to own property that had formerly been owned by his father, is being conducted by the official assignee, Chris Lehane.
In December last, Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington extended the bankruptcy of PJ Sweeney, of High Cairn, Ramelton, Co Donegal, to July 2025.
Mr Lehane told the judge that Mr Sweeney, who was adjudicated a bankrupt in July 2017 because of his debts to the Bank of Ireland, was not engaging with his office and had failed to produce a statement of affairs. Mr Sweeney was not represented at the hearing.
Court papers from Mr Sweeney’s bankruptcy file show that Mr Lehane is investigating how Mr Sweeney’s son, Ciaran, came to be the owner of property formerly owned by his father.
READ MORE
In December, Ms Justice Pilkington granted an order to Mr Lehane that solicitor Dominic Brennan, of Gallagher and Brennan Solicitors, Kilmacrenan, Co Donegal, should produce files relating to the sale of four property portfolios in Co Donegal, and the details of any related bank accounts.
The four properties, which had been owned by Mr Sweeney, were sold in 2017 by a receiver appointed by the Bank of Ireland.
Not mortgaged
They were bought by Woodside Properties Ire Ltd, a Northern Ireland company with a registered address in Portadown, Co Armagh.
A year later, Mr Sweeney’s son, Ciaran, also of High Cairn, Ramelton, was registered as the owner of the properties, all of which, Mr Lehane noted in court documents, were not mortgaged.
When he wrote to Woodside, the company told the bankruptcy official that it was not in a position to disclose information about the sales.
In May 2019, Mr Brennan, in a response to Mr Lehane, said he would have to seek instructions from his client, Ciaran Sweeney, before responding to Mr Lehane’s request for information.
Mr Lehane later received a response from the law firm from which, Mr Lehane said in a court document, it appeared that Ciaran Sweeney had acquired three of the four Donegal properties from Woodside in return for an unidentified property that was in his sole name.
His own inquiries, Mr Lehane said, indicated that this unidentified property may be a property in Co Donegal that Ciaran Sweeney acquired in April 2016, at a time when he was 19 years old.
It appeared that Ciaran Sweeney had sold one of the three properties he had acquired from Woodside, and used the proceeds to buy the fourth property formerly owned by his father.
Mr Lehane, in seeking an extension to Mr Sweeney’s period of bankruptcy, told Ms Justice Pilkington that the four properties had been valued at €300,000 and that he wanted time to further investigate the matter.


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Dún Laoghaire council proposes fines of €500 for single-use plastics

Take-aways , supermarkets and other food businesses across Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in south Dublin could face fines of up to €500 for supplying single-use plastics to customers .
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is set to become the first local authority to ban the supply or sale of take-away plastic containers , utensils , bottles and other packaging , under draft bylaws that will shortly be available for public consultation .
The plastics ban was proposed by Fine Gael councillor Barry Ward , who said he wanted to take a stand against the “ wilful proliferation ” of single-use plastics .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem environmentally – anybody involved in Tidy Towns will have picked up their share of discarded single-use plastics.
” Under the bylaws “ plastic straws , trays , lids , packaging , even bottles , will all be banned and have to be replaced by biodegradable alternatives ” , he said .
Jaime Jambrina , who runs Food Fiesta in the People ’ s Park market , has already switched to compostable containers and glass bottles .
“ Glass is more expensive , but when you see the amount of plastic left behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need for these policies.
” Domenico Rea , who owns the Miami Cafe in Dún Laoghaire town centre , said he uses some plastic take-away containers , but is already considering changing .
“ I have been thinking about moving to fully biodegradable products , so in the long run I think this is a positive move from the council.
” However , he said businesses in Dún Laoghaire were struggling , so the costs needed to be considered by the council .
Restaurants Association of Ireland chief executive Adrian Cummins said it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be fully plastics-free .
“ It is not feasible at the moment to introduce a blanket ban until there are substitute products that are affordable .
For example , I have yet to see a substitute for plastic lids on coffee cups.
” He said he was concerned about the prospect of fines for businesses , which may encourage them to leave the area .
“ Our industry wants to be proactive on this , so don ’ t take out the big stick , talk to us instead.
” Businesses and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make submissions on the bylaws in the next few weeks , before they come into force .

Take-aways, supermarkets and other food businesses across Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in south Dublin could face fines of up to €500 for supplying single-use plastics to customers.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is set to become the first local authority to ban the supply or sale of take-away plastic containers, utensils, bottles and other packaging, under draft bylaws that will shortly be available for public consultation.
The plastics ban was proposed by Fine Gael councillor Barry Ward, who said he wanted to take a stand against the “wilful proliferation” of single-use plastics. “We know that plastics are a major problem environmentally – anybody involved in Tidy Towns will have picked up their share of discarded single-use plastics.”
Under the bylaws “plastic straws, trays, lids, packaging, even bottles, will all be banned and have to be replaced by biodegradable alternatives”, he said.
READ MORE
Jaime Jambrina, who runs Food Fiesta in the People's Park market, has already switched to compostable containers and glass bottles.
“Glass is more expensive, but when you see the amount of plastic left behind at the market, you realise the need for these policies.”
Domenico Rea, who owns the Miami Cafe in Dún Laoghaire town centre, said he uses some plastic take-away containers, but is already considering changing.
“I have been thinking about moving to fully biodegradable products, so in the long run I think this is a positive move from the council.” However, he said businesses in Dún Laoghaire were struggling, so the costs needed to be considered by the council.
Substitute products
Restaurants Association of Ireland chief executive Adrian Cummins said it was not yet possible for food businesses to be fully plastics-free.
“It is not feasible at the moment to introduce a blanket ban until there are substitute products that are affordable. For example, I have yet to see a substitute for plastic lids on coffee cups.”
He said he was concerned about the prospect of fines for businesses, which may encourage them to leave the area.
“Our industry wants to be proactive on this, so don’t take out the big stick, talk to us instead.”
Businesses and the public will have an opportunity to make submissions on the bylaws in the next few weeks, before they come into force.


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--British property firm sought tax break of up to €65m on Irish deal

A British property company sought a concession from the Government to avoid a tax bill of up to €65 million on a significant deal it had struck in Ireland .
The company , Henderson Park , was hit with the tax bill on its €1.34 billion purchase of an Irish company , Green Reit .
Changes introduced during the budget last October gave rise to the charge , arising from stamp duty and capital gains tax incurred during the transaction .
In a letter sent in early November to high-ranking officials in the Department of Finance , the company indicated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Government .
It told officials of its “ extreme concern ” at the changes , which it warned would impact on Ireland ’ s “ reputation as a stable , predictable and attractive place to do business ” .
It said it was already legally committed to the deal at the time the tax changes emerged , and was “ very surprised and concerned that changes of this nature would be introduced by the Government without notice or transitional provisions ” .
The letter was released under the Freedom of Information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Government “ in the interesting [ sic ] of fairness and equity ” to amend two key sections of the Finance Act “ insofar as they impact Henderson Park ” .
“ Henderson Park would hope that a solution can be found .
.
.
to ensure that our constitutional and European law rights are protected , and that Henderson Park does not have to act on the legal advice which it has obtained from Senior Counsel.
” Sources indicated that there was still a possibility the company could take a case .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ duty changes introduced in the budget were in accordance with European Union law .
A meeting took place between officials and the company in the days following the letter .
A record of it was not released under freedom-of-information laws as its disclosure was covered by legal professional privilege and “ its disclosure would constitute contempt of court ” .
In the budget Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe targeted the structure of the takeover deal , known as a scheme of arrangement , which involves the cancellation of existing shares and the issuing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ publicly-listed companies – such as that being acquired – with extra capital gains tax if they exited the market within 15 years of first floating .
In a statement , Henderson Park said it was committed to the Irish real-estate market in the long term and was establishing a permanent presence in Dublin .
It is selling some €400 million of Irish property at the moment , which it said was always part of its long-term strategy .

A British property company sought a concession from the Government to avoid a tax bill of up to €65 million on a significant deal it had struck in Ireland.
The company, Henderson Park, was hit with the tax bill on its €1.34 billion purchase of an Irish company, Green Reit. Changes introduced during the budget last October gave rise to the charge, arising from stamp duty and capital gains tax incurred during the transaction.
In a letter sent in early November to high-ranking officials in the Department of Finance, the company indicated that it was considering a legal challenge to the Government. It told officials of its "extreme concern" at the changes, which it warned would impact on Ireland's "reputation as a stable, predictable and attractive place to do business".
It said it was already legally committed to the deal at the time the tax changes emerged, and was “very surprised and concerned that changes of this nature would be introduced by the Government without notice or transitional provisions”.
READ MORE
The letter was released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The company called on the Government “in the interesting [sic] of fairness and equity” to amend two key sections of the Finance Act “insofar as they impact Henderson Park”.
“Henderson Park would hope that a solution can be found . . . to ensure that our constitutional and European law rights are protected, and that Henderson Park does not have to act on the legal advice which it has obtained from Senior Counsel.”
European Union law
Sources indicated that there was still a possibility the company could take a case. A challenge could rest on whether stamp duty changes introduced in the budget were in accordance with European Union law.
A meeting took place between officials and the company in the days following the letter. A record of it was not released under freedom-of-information laws as its disclosure was covered by legal professional privilege and “its disclosure would constitute contempt of court”.
In the budget Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe targeted the structure of the takeover deal, known as a scheme of arrangement, which involves the cancellation of existing shares and the issuing of fresh stock. Additional reforms targeted publicly-listed companies – such as that being acquired – with extra capital gains tax if they exited the market within 15 years of first floating.
In a statement, Henderson Park said it was committed to the Irish real-estate market in the long term and was establishing a permanent presence in Dublin. It is selling some €400 million of Irish property at the moment, which it said was always part of its long-term strategy.


theirishtimes--2020-02-14--Hundreds of community employment scheme supervisors to strike

Hundreds of community employment ( CE ) scheme supervisors are to hold a one-day strike on Friday over access to a pension scheme .
The supervisors will join with staff working in organisations providing health and social care services that receive State grant-aid ( known as section 39 bodies ) at a protest to be held in Dublin on Friday .
In addition , section 39 workers are scheduled to take industrial action on February 21st in a dispute over pay restoration .
The rally is being organised under the auspices of the Irish Congress of Trade Union ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ pay and pension justice ” .
Unions representing the CE scheme supervisors said the strike by about 500 staff was over the Government ’ s failure to implement a 2008 Labour Court recommendation to give them access to an occupational pension scheme .
Siptu official Eddie Mullins said the outgoing Fine Gael administration had invited unions into a talks process last year .
However he said “ nobody in Government managed to present any proposals to resolve this long-running dispute ” .
“ This is despite union efforts to present constructive solutions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to fester for far too long , and despite a commitment included in the 2015 Lansdowne Road agreement that progress would be made on this issue during the lifetime of that agreement , which expired in 2018.
” “ The incoming administration , however it is composed , needs to recognise that there are a group of workers here who need to have the right to an occupational pension , upheld by the Labour Court 12 years ago , fully implemented.
” Ian McDonnell , an official from Fórsa , the country ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said : “ It would reflect well on the new administration to quickly deal with the unfinished business of community employment scheme supervisors .
The cost of implementing the terms of the Labour Court ’ s 2008 recommendation from 2008-2019 , to cover the implementation of agreeable pension compensation , is €31 million , and €3.5 million per annum is the cost of introducing a 6 per cent weekly employer pension contribution.
” In April 2018 , the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure Michael D ’ Arcy said community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and not of the State .
He said it could cost the State up to €188 million a year to pay for pensions for staff in exchequer funded community and voluntary organisations , as well as a further €318 million for ex gratia lump sums .
Unions also said while they had been successful in achieving the restoration of the pay cuts imposed during the economic crisis for significant numbers of staff in various section 39 bodies , this had not yet happened in many of the smaller organisations .
Fórsa official Catherine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smaller employments were now ready to take industrial action next week .
Paul Bell of Siptu said : “ Our members in these organisations , all low-paid workers , are falling further behind , having endured cuts in pay of approximately 6 per cent and also suffering a cut in their hours which has had a knock-on effect on service users and their families .
“ Gillian Byrne is a community employment supervisor with a drug rehabilitation project in Dublin city where she has worked for 18 years .
She says the project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about 15 – all in recovery – at any given time .
The scheme has the capacity to retain participants for up to four years before moving on to treatment , employment , or further education and training .
Ms Byrne says she is taking part in the strike on Friday “ because we ’ ve been left with little option but to advise the incoming government that this is a very significant issue that three previous administrations have failed to address ” .
She is aware of the 2008 Labour Court recommendation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like her should be put in place .
“ It was a milestone for us and a reflection of the value placed on our public service work .
“ As we emerged from the economic crisis I thought this was an issue that could ’ ve been addressed in the context of pay restoration , but it has since become a piece of business the last Government seemed unwilling to even engage with in any meaningful way , until we took strike action last year .
“ There was some progress when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , but there was little progress beyond that .
I ’ m particularly conscious of my supervisor colleagues who ’ ve retired in the intervening years without this being resolved .
“ It ’ s one of the many challenges the new government will face , but one I hope they address as a matter of urgency .
Twelve years on , and with more of my colleagues retired or near retirement , they need to get this done once and for all , and that ’ s why I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ”

Hundreds of community employment (CE) scheme supervisors are to hold a one-day strike on Friday over access to a pension scheme.
The supervisors will join with staff working in organisations providing health and social care services that receive State grant-aid (known as section 39 bodies) at a protest to be held in Dublin on Friday. In addition, section 39 workers are scheduled to take industrial action on February 21st in a dispute over pay restoration.
The rally is being organised under the auspices of the Irish Congress of Trade Union’s community sector committee to highlight demands for “pay and pension justice”.
Unions representing the CE scheme supervisors said the strike by about 500 staff was over the Government's failure to implement a 2008 Labour Court recommendation to give them access to an occupational pension scheme.
READ MORE
Siptu official Eddie Mullins said the outgoing Fine Gael administration had invited unions into a talks process last year. However he said "nobody in Government managed to present any proposals to resolve this long-running dispute".
“This is despite union efforts to present constructive solutions to a problem that has been allowed to fester for far too long, and despite a commitment included in the 2015 Lansdowne Road agreement that progress would be made on this issue during the lifetime of that agreement, which expired in 2018.”
“The incoming administration, however it is composed, needs to recognise that there are a group of workers here who need to have the right to an occupational pension, upheld by the Labour Court 12 years ago, fully implemented.”
Ian McDonnell, an official from Fórsa, the country's largest public service trade union, said: "It would reflect well on the new administration to quickly deal with the unfinished business of community employment scheme supervisors. The cost of implementing the terms of the Labour Court's 2008 recommendation from 2008-2019, to cover the implementation of agreeable pension compensation, is €31 million, and €3.5 million per annum is the cost of introducing a 6 per cent weekly employer pension contribution."
In April 2018, the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure Michael D’Arcy said community employment supervisors were employees of private companies and not of the State. He said it could cost the State up to €188 million a year to pay for pensions for staff in exchequer funded community and voluntary organisations, as well as a further €318 million for ex gratia lump sums.
Unions also said while they had been successful in achieving the restoration of the pay cuts imposed during the economic crisis for significant numbers of staff in various section 39 bodies, this had not yet happened in many of the smaller organisations.
Fórsa official Catherine Keogh said members in a number of smaller employments were now ready to take industrial action next week.
Paul Bell of Siptu said: "Our members in these organisations, all low-paid workers, are falling further behind, having endured cuts in pay of approximately 6 per cent and also suffering a cut in their hours which has had a knock-on effect on service users and their families. "
Case study: Gillian Byrne
Gillian Byrne is a community employment supervisor with a drug rehabilitation project in Dublin city where she has worked for 18 years. She says the project has a continuous intake of participants with about 15 – all in recovery – at any given time. The scheme has the capacity to retain participants for up to four years before moving on to treatment, employment, or further education and training.
Ms Byrne says she is taking part in the strike on Friday “because we’ve been left with little option but to advise the incoming government that this is a very significant issue that three previous administrations have failed to address”.
She is aware of the 2008 Labour Court recommendation that an agreed pension scheme for workers like her should be put in place .
“It was a milestone for us and a reflection of the value placed on our public service work.
“As we emerged from the economic crisis I thought this was an issue that could’ve been addressed in the context of pay restoration, but it has since become a piece of business the last Government seemed unwilling to even engage with in any meaningful way, until we took strike action last year.
“There was some progress when the unions met the social protection Minister last year, but there was little progress beyond that. I’m particularly conscious of my supervisor colleagues who’ve retired in the intervening years without this being resolved.
“It’s one of the many challenges the new government will face, but one I hope they address as a matter of urgency. Twelve years on, and with more of my colleagues retired or near retirement, they need to get this done once and for all, and that’s why I’m taking part in this action today.”


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Having 10 or more sex partners linked to heightened cancer risk

People who have had 10 or more sexual partners during their lifetime are at a heightened risk of being diagnosed with cancer , according to new research .
And women with a higher number of sexual partners have heightened odds of reporting a limiting long-term health condition , the study by English researchers found .
Women who had 10 or more sexual partners were almost twice as likely as women with no or one sexual partner to have been diagnosed with cancer , they found .
Among men , those with a higher number of sexual partners were 69 per @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The study , published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health , draws on information from almost 6,000 respondents to an English longitudinal study on ageing .
The average age of participants was 64 , and almost three out of four were married .
Some 28.5 per cent of men said they had had 0-1 sexual partners to date ; 29 per cent said they had had 2-4 ; one in five ( 20 per cent ) reported 5-9 ; while 22 per cent reported 10 or more .
The equivalent figures for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cent ; 35.5 per cent ; just under 16 per cent ; and just under 8 per cent .
In both sexes , a higher number of sexual partners was associated with younger age , single status and being in the highest or lowest brackets of household wealth .
Those who reported a higher tally of sexual partners were also more likely to smoke , drink frequently and do more vigorous physical activity on a weekly basis .
Although the number of sexual partners was not associated with reported long-standing conditions among the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Women who reported 5-9 or 10-plus lifetime sexual partners were 64 per cent more likely to have a limiting chronic condition than those who said they had had 0-1 .
As an observational study , it can not establish cause .
Nevertheless , the authors say their findings chime with those of previous studies implicating sexually transmitted infections in the development of several types of cancer and hepatitis .

As an observational study, it cannot establish cause. Photograph: iStock
People who have had 10 or more sexual partners during their lifetime are at a heightened risk of being diagnosed with cancer, according to new research.
And women with a higher number of sexual partners have heightened odds of reporting a limiting long-term health condition, the study by English researchers found.
Women who had 10 or more sexual partners were almost twice as likely as women with no or one sexual partner to have been diagnosed with cancer, they found. Among men, those with a higher number of sexual partners were 69 per cent more likely to have the disease.
The study, published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, draws on information from almost 6,000 respondents to an English longitudinal study on ageing.
READ MORE
The average age of participants was 64, and almost three out of four were married. Some 28.5 per cent of men said they had had 0-1 sexual partners to date; 29 per cent said they had had 2-4; one in five (20 per cent) reported 5-9; while 22 per cent reported 10 or more.
The equivalent figures for women were: just under 41 per cent; 35.5 per cent; just under 16 per cent; and just under 8 per cent.
Correlations
In both sexes, a higher number of sexual partners was associated with younger age, single status and being in the highest or lowest brackets of household wealth.
Those who reported a higher tally of sexual partners were also more likely to smoke, drink frequently and do more vigorous physical activity on a weekly basis.
Although the number of sexual partners was not associated with reported long-standing conditions among the men, it was among the women.
Women who reported 5-9 or 10-plus lifetime sexual partners were 64 per cent more likely to have a limiting chronic condition than those who said they had had 0-1.
As an observational study, it cannot establish cause. Nevertheless, the authors say their findings chime with those of previous studies implicating sexually transmitted infections in the development of several types of cancer and hepatitis.


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Biker gets on his blue velomobile for 600km charity cycle

A biking enthusiast is set to turn heads as he attempts to cycle in a novel way from Ireland ’ s top to toe to raise money to help those with sight loss .
Duane Phillips has given himself 48 hours to complete the journey from Malin Head to Mizen Head in his colourful velomobile .
The trip , to be undertaken from Good Friday to Easter Sunday , seeks to raise funds for NCBI , a charity close to his heart after a friend went blind .
Mr Phillips , who is originally from Manchester in the UK , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years , at the height of the recession .
“ I ’ ve 48 hours to do the trip but aiming to just start and just keep going .
In theory I should be able to finish in less than 24 hours but if I come in in under 36 hours I ’ ll be happy .
“ My friend Dave , who was also a workmate , went blind a couple of years ago , his eyesight wasn ’ t the best to begin with ; then , after a gardening accident @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you can imagine this seriously impacted on his life.
” Mr Phillips said NCBI , Ireland ’ s national charity for those who deal with sight loss , helped his friend “ come to terms with his disability .
So as payback for looking after my friend I ’ m trying to raise a few quid for them during the 600km trip.
” Never one to shirk a challenge , he has taken part in many novel challenges , including travelling on a scooter along the Wild Atlantic Way to fundraise for Aoibheann @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this trip , he is using his blue WAW velomobile .
He said the contraption – named after its creator , Frederik Van De Walle – “ arrived in late August and I ’ ve been out training in it every weekend ” , causing some amusement on the roads of Kilkenny , Laois and Tipperary .
He believes the velomobile is “ an ideal short-range commuting vehicle ” for Ireland ’ s congested cities .
“ Put it in electric assist mode , which requires the minimal effort to crank the velomobile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have in reality is a single-seater electric car.
” While he is hoping to raise up to €5,000 for the NCBI during the trip , it ’ s clear this won ’ t be his last .
“ My father is 74 years old , an engineer , and still rides round on a Kawasaki 1440 motorbike , and it ’ s from him that I ’ ve inherited his adventurous spirit .
”

Duane Phillips in his velomobile, training for his fundraising cycle in aid of NCBI over the Easter weekend. Photograph: Dylan Vaughan
A biking enthusiast is set to turn heads as he attempts to cycle in a novel way from Ireland’s top to toe to raise money to help those with sight loss.
Duane Phillips has given himself 48 hours to complete the journey from Malin Head to Mizen Head in his colourful velomobile. The trip, to be undertaken from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, seeks to raise funds for NCBI, a charity close to his heart after a friend went blind.
Mr Phillips, who is originally from Manchester in the UK, moved to Rathlogin, Co Kilkenny 10 years, at the height of the recession.
“I’ve 48 hours to do the trip but aiming to just start and just keep going. In theory I should be able to finish in less than 24 hours but if I come in in under 36 hours I’ll be happy.
READ MORE
“My friend Dave, who was also a workmate, went blind a couple of years ago, his eyesight wasn’t the best to begin with; then, after a gardening accident, he went completely blind which as you can imagine this seriously impacted on his life.”
‘Payback’
Mr Phillips said NCBI, Ireland’s national charity for those who deal with sight loss, helped his friend “come to terms with his disability. So as payback for looking after my friend I’m trying to raise a few quid for them during the 600km trip.”
Put it in electric assist mode, and what you have in reality is a single-seater electric car
Never one to shirk a challenge, he has taken part in many novel challenges, including travelling on a scooter along the Wild Atlantic Way to fundraise for Aoibheann’s Pink Tie charity. For this trip, he is using his blue WAW velomobile.
He said the contraption – named after its creator, Frederik Van De Walle – “arrived in late August and I’ve been out training in it every weekend”, causing some amusement on the roads of Kilkenny, Laois and Tipperary.
He believes the velomobile is “an ideal short-range commuting vehicle” for Ireland’s congested cities. “Put it in electric assist mode, which requires the minimal effort to crank the velomobile up to 25 km/h, and what you have in reality is a single-seater electric car.”
While he is hoping to raise up to €5,000 for the NCBI during the trip, it’s clear this won’t be his last. “My father is 74 years old, an engineer, and still rides round on a Kawasaki 1440 motorbike, and it’s from him that I’ve inherited his adventurous spirit.”


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Snakes and lizards found in cannabis grow house in Co Sligo

Gardaí who raided a grow house in a rural part of Co Sligo found 250 cannabis plants , a quantity of harvested cannabis worth over €32,000 and a “ menagerie ” of exotic pets including a large number of snakes as well as lizards “ of all shapes and sizes , ” Sligo Circuit Court heard on Thursday .
Three Polish nationals , all aged 35 , pleaded guilty to two charges , possession of cannabis valued at €13,000 for supply , and cultivation of cannabis plants , at Seefin Cloonloo on March 9th , 2019 .
Dara Foynes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kowalska and Marcin Florczak who were living in the house in Cloonloo at the time , said they were “ not the Pablo Escobar ” of the operation .
She said they were “ low-level operatives ” who had no control over the operation .
Det Sergeant Cathal Duffy told Judge Francis Comerford that when gardaí with a search warrant arrived at a house on the outskirts of Boyle , they found two containers of harvested cannabis , worth over €32,000 and 250 cannabis plants at various stages of growth .
The court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tomiczeck with an address in Athlone , had accepted responsibility for the cannabis plants .
He had bought the equipment in Dublin , Galway and online .
Ms Foynes said Ms Kowalska had got involved because of a bank debt she incurred in Poland after a third party let her down .
Counsel told the court that Ms Kawalska who had not a word of English was there to tend the plants .
Her father was a farmer in Poland and she was a “ Daddy ’ s girl ” who had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prosecution because of the shame involved .
The court heard that while it was “ not Dublin zoo ” , gardaí found a large number of snakes , lizards “ of various shapes and sizes ” as well as tropical spiders , including a tarantula at the scene .
Sgt Duffy said they were all contained in elaborate containers with a special lighting and heating system .
He said Mr Florczak was very distressed about the pets and anxious about who would look after them when he was arrested .
Judge Comerford was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to three years and three months in custody for offences in Poland and will be deported on foot of a European arrest warrant on completion of any sentence imposed in this case .
Mr Tomiczeck had given gardaí a false name and has been in custody since his arrest , the court was told .
Sgt Duffy told Eileen O ’ Leary counsel for Mr Tomiczeck that he had no trappings of wealth and was driving “ an extremely modest vehicle ” .
Counsel said her client was a landscape gardener who developed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ran up a debt .
He was drugs free for two years but still had debts , she said .
The judge adjourned the case until February 21st when he will impose sentence .

Gardaí found two containers of harvested cannabis, worth over €32,000 and 250 cannabis plants at various stages of growth, the court heard. File image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire
Gardaí who raided a grow house in a rural part of Co Sligo found 250 cannabis plants, a quantity of harvested cannabis worth over €32,000 and a “menagerie” of exotic pets including a large number of snakes as well as lizards “of all shapes and sizes,” Sligo Circuit Court heard on Thursday.
Three Polish nationals, all aged 35, pleaded guilty to two charges, possession of cannabis valued at €13,000 for supply, and cultivation of cannabis plants, at Seefin Cloonloo on March 9th, 2019.
Dara Foynes, counsel for two of the defendants Magda Kowalska and Marcin Florczak who were living in the house in Cloonloo at the time, said they were “not the Pablo Escobar” of the operation.
She said they were “low-level operatives” who had no control over the operation.
READ MORE
Det Sergeant Cathal Duffy told Judge Francis Comerford that when gardaí with a search warrant arrived at a house on the outskirts of Boyle, they found two containers of harvested cannabis, worth over €32,000 and 250 cannabis plants at various stages of growth.
The court heard that the third accused, Marek Tomiczeck with an address in Athlone, had accepted responsibility for the cannabis plants.
He had bought the equipment in Dublin, Galway and online.
Ms Foynes said Ms Kowalska had got involved because of a bank debt she incurred in Poland after a third party let her down.
Counsel told the court that Ms Kawalska who had not a word of English was there to tend the plants.
Her father was a farmer in Poland and she was a “Daddy’s girl” who had been unable to tell her family about the prosecution because of the shame involved.
The court heard that while it was “not Dublin zoo”, gardaí found a large number of snakes, lizards “of various shapes and sizes” as well as tropical spiders, including a tarantula at the scene.
Sgt Duffy said they were all contained in elaborate containers with a special lighting and heating system.
He said Mr Florczak was very distressed about the pets and anxious about who would look after them when he was arrested.
Judge Comerford was told that Mr Tomiczeck has been sentenced to three years and three months in custody for offences in Poland and will be deported on foot of a European arrest warrant on completion of any sentence imposed in this case.
Mr Tomiczeck had given gardaí a false name and has been in custody since his arrest, the court was told.
Sgt Duffy told Eileen O’Leary counsel for Mr Tomiczeck that he had no trappings of wealth and was driving “an extremely modest vehicle”.
Counsel said her client was a landscape gardener who developed a cocaine habit and as a result ran up a debt.
He was drugs free for two years but still had debts, she said.
The judge adjourned the case until February 21st when he will impose sentence.


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--‘I lost my childhood’, says man sexually assaulted by adoptive father

A man who was sexually assaulted by his adoptive father has said he lost his childhood because of the attacks .
The 57-year-old Co Donegal man , who can not be named to protect the identity of the victim , was convicted after a trial at the Central Criminal Court last December .
He has no previous convictions .
The victim was aged between 13 and 15 years of age when the man molested him .
The man had pleaded not guilty to seven charges of oral rape of the boy at the then family home in Co Donegal in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him of these but were given the option to convict him of alternative counts of the lesser offence of sexual assault .
The sexual assaults amounted to molestation and fondling of the child ’ s genitals .
The victim had believed the man was his biological father until after the offending came to light .
In his impact statement the victim , now aged in his 20s , said the continual abuse had ruined his life .
“ I was just an innocent child .
I lost my childhood .
I struggle every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trauma he caused me , ” he said .
Passing sentence on Thursday , Ms Justice Carmel Stewart said the convictions for sexual assault effectively arose from concessions made by defence counsel during the trial on behalf of the accused man .
Ms Justice Stewart sentenced the man to two years imprisonment , but suspended the final six months of the sentence on strict conditions .
At an earlier sentencing hearing , Micheal Bowman SC , defending , said that the circumstances of the abuse were well known in the local area and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pariah ” .
He said that his client was abused by his own older brother when he himself was a teenager .
Counsel said his client had written a letter of apology in which he hoped that someday his adopted son would take him back into his life .

The victim was aged between 13 and 15 years of age when the man molested him.
A man who was sexually assaulted by his adoptive father has said he lost his childhood because of the attacks.
The 57-year-old Co Donegal man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, was convicted after a trial at the Central Criminal Court last December. He has no previous convictions.
The victim was aged between 13 and 15 years of age when the man molested him.
The man had pleaded not guilty to seven charges of oral rape of the boy at the then family home in Co Donegal in 2003 and 2004. The jury acquitted him of these but were given the option to convict him of alternative counts of the lesser offence of sexual assault.
READ MORE
The sexual assaults amounted to molestation and fondling of the child’s genitals. The victim had believed the man was his biological father until after the offending came to light.
In his impact statement the victim, now aged in his 20s, said the continual abuse had ruined his life.
“I was just an innocent child. I lost my childhood. I struggle every day of my life because of the trauma he caused me,” he said.
Passing sentence on Thursday, Ms Justice Carmel Stewart said the convictions for sexual assault effectively arose from concessions made by defence counsel during the trial on behalf of the accused man.
Ms Justice Stewart sentenced the man to two years imprisonment, but suspended the final six months of the sentence on strict conditions.
At an earlier sentencing hearing, Micheal Bowman SC, defending, said that the circumstances of the abuse were well known in the local area and his client had become “a social pariah”.
He said that his client was abused by his own older brother when he himself was a teenager.
Counsel said his client had written a letter of apology in which he hoped that someday his adopted son would take him back into his life.


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Murder accused gave ‘untrue’ account of movements, court told

The man accused of murdering Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe gave gardaí an untrue account of where he had been when questioned the day after the shooting , his barrister has told the Central Criminal Court .
The trial of Aaron Brady also heard that a garda inspector noticed a “ conflict ” between what Mr Brady told him and an account given by the man he said he had spent much of that day with .
Inspector John Moroney said the times the two men gave “ didn ’ t marry ” and he also found it “ strange ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t know about the previous night ’ s shooting until he got up that morning .
Counsel for the defence Michael O ’ Higgins SC said his client told gardaí that the initial account he gave was “ untrue ” and that when asked why , Mr Brady said he didn ’ t think gardaí would “ look into it much ” .
Aaron Brady ( 28 ) from New Road , Crossmaglen , Co Armagh has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder of Det Gda Donohoe ( 41 ) who was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on active duty on January 25 , 2013 at Lordship Credit Union , Bellurgan , Co Louth .
Mr Brady has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of robbing approximately €7,000 in cash and assorted cheques on the same date and at the same location .
Inspector Moroney told prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC that on January 26th , 2013 he was coordinating search teams along the road near Lordship Credit Union .
At about 12.35pm he saw a silver BMW 5-series with a W registration approaching the Ballymascanlon roundabout coming from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pull in .
Aaron Brady was in the front passenger seat .
The witness recognised him because he was prosecuting a matter before Dundalk Circuit Court which concerned Mr Brady .
The driver of the vehicle , who can ’ t be named for legal reasons , told him his name and gave him an address in the United States .
He said he was home visiting his mother who lived nearby .
Mr Brady gave him an address at New Road , Co Armagh .
When the garda asked for an account @ @ @ @ @ @ @ previous night the accused said he had been with the BMW driver and they spent the early part of the day driving around the area .
At between 4pm and 5pm they went to a local restaurant named Superbites .
At 7pm the driver took him to his girlfriend ’ s house on Concession Road in Crossmaglen , Co Armagh where he stayed until 3am when he was again collected by the driver of the car .
They went to the driver ’ s house and played a Fifa computer game , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he wasn ’ t aware of the previous night ’ s incident at Lordship Credit Union until that morning when he got up .
When the inspector asked Mr Brady to contact him if he had any information , the inspector said Mr Brady responded : “ It might help me with my Circuit Court case.
” Inspector Moroney said Mr Brady was “ very relaxed ” and they spoke to one another sitting on a barrier between the footpath and the grass verge .
When Inspector Moroney spoke to the driver @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the accused the previous day and dropped him off at Mr Brady ’ s house at about 8pm or 9pm and then went to a friend ’ s house in Lismore , Crossmaglen for about one hour .
He said he then collected the accused and brought him to his girlfriend ’ s house .
Inspector Moroney told Mr Grehan that the driver was “ more nervous and said he wasn ’ t great with times ” .
The witness said he also noticed a “ conflict in the times ” given by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strange ” that Mr Brady said he didn ’ t know about what happened at Lordship Credit Union until that morning considering he told him he was staying in a house that was inside the garda cordon set up following the shooting .
Under cross examination , Inspector Moroney agreed that the shooting was on “ every bulletin ” that morning and the area around Lordship was “ saturated with guards ” .
The trial continues in front of Mr Justice Michael White and a jury of eight men and seven women .

The trial continues in front of Mr Justice Michael White and a jury of eight men and seven women. Photograph: Collins Courts.
The man accused of murdering Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe gave gardaí an untrue account of where he had been when questioned the day after the shooting, his barrister has told the Central Criminal Court.
The trial of Aaron Brady also heard that a garda inspector noticed a "conflict" between what Mr Brady told him and an account given by the man he said he had spent much of that day with.
Inspector John Moroney said the times the two men gave “didn’t marry” and he also found it “strange” that Mr Brady said he didn’t know about the previous night’s shooting until he got up that morning.
Counsel for the defence Michael O’Higgins SC said his client told gardaí that the initial account he gave was “untrue” and that when asked why, Mr Brady said he didn’t think gardaí would “look into it much”.
READ MORE
Aaron Brady (28) from New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder of Det Gda Donohoe (41) who was then a member of An Garda Síochána on active duty on January 25, 2013 at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth.
Mr Brady has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of robbing approximately €7,000 in cash and assorted cheques on the same date and at the same location.
Inspector Moroney told prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC that on January 26th, 2013 he was coordinating search teams along the road near Lordship Credit Union. At about 12.35pm he saw a silver BMW 5-series with a W registration approaching the Ballymascanlon roundabout coming from Lordship.
He asked the driver to pull in. Aaron Brady was in the front passenger seat.
The witness recognised him because he was prosecuting a matter before Dundalk Circuit Court which concerned Mr Brady. The driver of the vehicle, who can't be named for legal reasons, told him his name and gave him an address in the United States. He said he was home visiting his mother who lived nearby.
Mr Brady gave him an address at New Road, Co Armagh.
Account of movements
When the garda asked for an account of Mr Brady’s whereabouts the previous night the accused said he had been with the BMW driver and they spent the early part of the day driving around the area. At between 4pm and 5pm they went to a local restaurant named Superbites. At 7pm the driver took him to his girlfriend’s house on Concession Road in Crossmaglen, Co Armagh where he stayed until 3am when he was again collected by the driver of the car. They went to the driver’s house and played a Fifa computer game, he said.
Mr Brady told Insp Moroney that he wasn’t aware of the previous night’s incident at Lordship Credit Union until that morning when he got up.
When the inspector asked Mr Brady to contact him if he had any information, the inspector said Mr Brady responded: “It might help me with my Circuit Court case.”
Inspector Moroney said Mr Brady was “very relaxed” and they spoke to one another sitting on a barrier between the footpath and the grass verge.
When Inspector Moroney spoke to the driver he told him he had been with the accused the previous day and dropped him off at Mr Brady’s house at about 8pm or 9pm and then went to a friend’s house in Lismore, Crossmaglen for about one hour. He said he then collected the accused and brought him to his girlfriend’s house.
Inspector Moroney told Mr Grehan that the driver was “more nervous and said he wasn’t great with times”. The witness said he also noticed a “conflict in the times” given by each man and he thought it “strange” that Mr Brady said he didn’t know about what happened at Lordship Credit Union until that morning considering he told him he was staying in a house that was inside the garda cordon set up following the shooting.
Under cross examination, Inspector Moroney agreed that the shooting was on “every bulletin” that morning and the area around Lordship was “saturated with guards”.
The trial continues in front of Mr Justice Michael White and a jury of eight men and seven women.


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Gardaí appeal for witnesses after shots fired at house in Longford

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses after a shooting incident at a house in Longford .
The attack , in which @ @ @ @ @ fired at an address in Anally Gardens , Longford , is believed to be connected @ @ @ @ @ .
It took place shortly before 9pm on Wednesday , February 12th .
Three people @ @ @ @ @ at the time but no injuries were sustained , gardaí said .
Damage was caused @ @ @ @ @ the house .
It is believed the person or persons responsible may have escaped in @ @ @ @ @ of Garda units attended the incident and the scene was technically examined .
Anyone with @ @ @ @ @ Longford Garda Station at ( 043 ) 335 0570 , the Garda Confidential Line on @ @ @ @ @ station .

Three people were present in the house, but no injuries were sustained. File photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses after a shooting incident at a house in Longford.
The attack, in which a number of shots were fired at an address in Anally Gardens, Longford, is believed to be connected to an ongoing local feud.
It took place shortly before 9pm on Wednesday, February 12th.
Three people were present in the house at the time but no injuries were sustained, gardaí said.
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Damage was caused to the front door of the house.
It is believed the person or persons responsible may have escaped in a vehicle.
A number of Garda units attended the incident and the scene was technically examined.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Longford Garda Station at (043) 335 0570, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any station.


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Elements of the health service are ‘scandalous’, says Archbishop of Dublin

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has described aspects of Ireland ’ s health service as “ scandalous ” and asked people to hold politicians to account for promises made during the general election campaign .
In a sermon to mark World Day of the Sick this week he said “ we live in an Ireland marked by a strange incongruence .
We live in an era of astonishing progress in medical science.
” He continued “ we have among us doctors , nurses and carers with extraordinary human qualities and dedication .
Yet many aspects of our health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extraordinary doctors , nurses , and carers feel let down .
Sick children and the elderly are left waiting and exasperated .
Hopefully , the many commentaries and the many promises we have heard in these election days will not remain empty words .
We have an obligation to keep our leaders to their words , ” he said .
“ In our time despite the great progress of medical science , many of those who are sick suffer from a deep loneliness or abandonment or a sense of being rejected and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and leaves them on their own , ” he said .
“ The faith of the sick challenges us to see where our hearts truly lie.
” As Christians “ we have to see those who are poor , naked , and hungry ” , he said .

In a sermon to mark World Day of the Sick this week Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said ‘we live in an Ireland marked by a strange incongruence’. File photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has described aspects of Ireland’s health service as “scandalous” and asked people to hold politicians to account for promises made during the general election campaign.
In a sermon to mark World Day of the Sick this week he said "we live in an Ireland marked by a strange incongruence. We live in an era of astonishing progress in medical science."
He continued “we have among us doctors, nurses and carers with extraordinary human qualities and dedication. Yet many aspects of our health care system are scandalous.
“Our extraordinary doctors, nurses, and carers feel let down. Sick children and the elderly are left waiting and exasperated. Hopefully, the many commentaries and the many promises we have heard in these election days will not remain empty words. We have an obligation to keep our leaders to their words,” he said.
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“In our time despite the great progress of medical science, many of those who are sick suffer from a deep loneliness or abandonment or a sense of being rejected and the feeling that society simply passes them by and leaves them on their own,” he said.
“The faith of the sick challenges us to see where our hearts truly lie.”
As Christians “we have to see those who are poor, naked, and hungry”, he said.


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Valentine’s Day campaign seeks to highlight ‘darker side of relationships’

Women ’ s Aid is marking Valentine ’ s Day 2020 by launching a campaign to raise awareness of the “ darker side of relationships ” and urging women in abusive partnerships to seek help .
The # TooIntoYou national campaign , which runs from Thursday for three weeks until International Women ’ s Day on March 8th , seeks to provide information on how to combat online stalking and digital abuse and will also see the launch of a new Women ’ s Aid instant messaging service to provide online support for those in need .
The campaign is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their eyes open for the “ ten key danger signs of dating abuse ” which include controlling and possessive behaviour , accusations of cheating and erratic behaviour over texting or disagreements .
Women ’ s Aid is also hoping to raise awareness of the new domestic violence legislation that makes coercive control – a pattern of intimidation or humiliation involving psychological or emotional abuse – an offence .
The charity said it had found many young women were still unaware of the legislative change or how to go about getting protection and support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 39 per cent of women aged 18-29 in Ireland have experienced abuse by a boyfriend or partner , while one in four women in Ireland experience physical and sexual abuse .
It also underlines that one in every two women aged between 18-25 and killed in Ireland since 1996 were murdered by their boyfriend or exes .
Women ’ s Aid has also expressed concern at the slow pace of political action around the harmful use of technology in intimate relationships and is calling on the next Government to immediately address image-based sexual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is more commonly known .
Chief executive of the charity Sarah Benson said that launching on Valentine ’ s Day , the campaign hoped to highlight the “ hidden reality of many young women ’ s relationships at a time traditionally associated with love , romance and celebration ” .
“ In contrast to typically ‘ softer ’ Valentine ’ s messages , our hope is that in calling attention to the darker side of relationships at this time that the campaign will have a high impact , ” said Ms Benson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of love is abuse ?
” Ms Benson called on women who feel that “ something isn ’ t right ” with their relationship to seek help .
“ Your partner does not have the right to control and abuse you .
You should not have to worry about how he will react to what you do .
Dating abuse is wrong and no one deserves to be threatened , beaten or be in fear for their safety.
” Any person seeking advice on this issue can access the Women ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Wednesday and Friday at www.toointoyou.ie or contact the Women ’ s Aid 24hr National Freephone Helpline 1800 341 900 which is available 7 days a week

Thirty-nine per cent of women aged 18-29 in Ireland have experienced abuse by a boyfriend or partner. Photograph: iStock
Women’s Aid is marking Valentine’s Day 2020 by launching a campaign to raise awareness of the “darker side of relationships” and urging women in abusive partnerships to seek help.
The #TooIntoYou national campaign, which runs from Thursday for three weeks until International Women’s Day on March 8th, seeks to provide information on how to combat online stalking and digital abuse and will also see the launch of a new Women’s Aid instant messaging service to provide online support for those in need.
The campaign is also calling on younger women to keep their eyes open for the “ten key danger signs of dating abuse” which include controlling and possessive behaviour, accusations of cheating and erratic behaviour over texting or disagreements.
Women’s Aid is also hoping to raise awareness of the new domestic violence legislation that makes coercive control – a pattern of intimidation or humiliation involving psychological or emotional abuse – an offence.
READ MORE
The charity said it had found many young women were still unaware of the legislative change or how to go about getting protection and support.
Political action
Research highlighted by the campaign reveals 39 per cent of women aged 18-29 in Ireland have experienced abuse by a boyfriend or partner, while one in four women in Ireland experience physical and sexual abuse.
It also underlines that one in every two women aged between 18-25 and killed in Ireland since 1996 were murdered by their boyfriend or exes.
Women’s Aid has also expressed concern at the slow pace of political action around the harmful use of technology in intimate relationships and is calling on the next Government to immediately address image-based sexual abuse or “revenge porn” as it is more commonly known.
Chief executive of the charity Sarah Benson said that launching on Valentine’s Day, the campaign hoped to highlight the “hidden reality of many young women’s relationships at a time traditionally associated with love, romance and celebration”.
“In contrast to typically ‘softer’ Valentine’s messages, our hope is that in calling attention to the darker side of relationships at this time that the campaign will have a high impact,” said Ms Benson. “We are asking – what part of love is abuse?”
Ms Benson called on women who feel that “something isn’t right” with their relationship to seek help.
“Your partner does not have the right to control and abuse you. You should not have to worry about how he will react to what you do. Dating abuse is wrong and no one deserves to be threatened, beaten or be in fear for their safety.”
[ www.toointoyou.ie ]


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Economist magazine: A united Ireland is a ‘real and growing possibility’

The Economist magazine has suggested that a united Ireland could “ come to seem unstoppable ” following Sinn Féin ’ s success in the general election .
The influential magazine features an image of Ireland on its cover this week with the caption : “ A united Ireland - could it really happen ?
” In its editorial it suggests that Irish unity was never more “ than a Republican fantasy ” until this general election in which Sinn Féin emerged as the biggest party in the Republic .
“ Sinn Féin ’ s success at the election is just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ united Ireland within a decade or so is a real and growing possibility , ” it said .
Among the reasons it gave for increasing confidence about a united Ireland is Brexit and changing demographics .
Its own analysis of the North ’ s demographics , based on the censuses of 2001 and 2011 along with results of Britain ’ s quarterly labour-force survey , suggests there are now more Catholics than Protestants combined , and that the change happened last year .
It believes that the 2021 Northern Ireland census may well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Catholics outnumbering Protestants for the first time .
If a referendum on Scottish independence passes , many Northern Protestants would have no ancestral link left to Great Britain , the magazine states .
It concluded that the island of Ireland “ needs a plan ” which would involve making unionists feel wanted in a “ new Ireland ” .
“ Work is needed on the nuts and bolts of unification – including how to , and indeed whether to , merge two health systems ( one of which is free ) , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what to do about the north ’ s devolved assembly .
It helps that the republic has a fine record for the sort of citizen-led constitutional consultations that might help sort things out .
“ Politicians from Britain and Ireland need to start talking , too .
The price of ending violence two decades ago was for Northern Ireland , the republic and Britain to jointly set out a political route to a united Ireland .
If the people of the north and the republic choose that path , the politicians must follow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a longer article about the prospect of a united Ireland , it quotes president Donald Trump ’ s Irish-American chief of staff Mick Mulvaney who said that he would “ expect philanthropists and the private sector in America to stand ready to help Northern Ireland in the event of reunification ” .
Unionists quoted in the magazine piece are sceptical that the Republic could afford unification .
“ You ’ re given Scandinavian rates of taxation with southern European standards of health care and services , ” said Ulster Unionist Party leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t know why people in the Irish Republic put up with it.
” The magazine also acknowledges that even nationalists who are used to the National Health Service would baulk at the two-tier health system in the Republic .

In its editorial The Economist suggests that Irish unity was never more ‘than a Republican fantasy’ until this general election in which Sinn Féin emerged as the biggest party in the Republic.
The Economist magazine has suggested a united Ireland could "come to seem unstoppable" following Sinn Féin's success in the general election.
The influential magazine features an image of Ireland on its cover this week with the caption: “A united Ireland - could it really happen?”
In its editorial it suggests Irish unity was never more “than a Republican fantasy” until this general election in which Sinn Féin emerged as the biggest party in the Republic.
“Sinn Féin’s success at the election is just the latest reason to think that a united Ireland within a decade or so is a real and growing possibility,” it said.
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Among the reasons it gave for increasing confidence about a united Ireland is Brexit and changing demographics.
Its own analysis of the North’s demographics, based on the censuses of 2001 and 2011 along with results of Britain’s quarterly labour-force survey, suggests there are now more Catholics than Protestants combined, and that the change happened last year.
It believes that the 2021 Northern Ireland census may well confirm what the magazine has suggested about Catholics outnumbering Protestants for the first time.
If a referendum on Scottish independence passes, many Northern Protestants would have no ancestral link left to Great Britain, the magazine states.
Joanna Cherry, the Scottish National Party's Westminster justice and home affairs spokeswoman, told the BBC Question Time programme on Thursday night she believed within a decade there would be a united Ireland and an independent Scotland because the demographics and the youth vote were moving that way "and we will both be in the European Union".
The Economist concluded the island of Ireland “needs a plan” that would involve making unionists feel wanted in a “new Ireland”.
“ Work is needed on the nuts and bolts of unification – including how to, and indeed whether to, merge two health systems (one of which is free), the armed forces and police services, and what to do about the north’s devolved assembly. It helps that the republic has a fine record for the sort of citizen-led constitutional consultations that might help sort things out.
“Politicians from Britain and Ireland need to start talking, too. The price of ending violence two decades ago was for Northern Ireland, the republic and Britain to jointly set out a political route to a united Ireland. If the people of the north and the republic choose that path, the politicians must follow it.”
In its briefing section, which is a longer article about the prospect of a united Ireland, it quotes President Donald Trump's Irish-American chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, who said he would "expect philanthropists and the private sector in America to stand ready to help Northern Ireland in the event of reunification".
Fianna Fáil Senator Mark Daly said he had been told by Mr Mulvaney that Irish unification could be helped by both private and public American money. Mr Daly said his Oireachtas reports on unification emphasised the need for any unification process to be respectful of unionist sensibilities and culture.
However, Unionists quoted in the magazine piece are sceptical the Republic could afford unification.
"You're given Scandinavian rates of taxation with southern European standards of health care and services," said Ulster Unionist Party leader Steve Aiken. "I just don't know why people in the Irish Republic put up with it."
The magazine also acknowledges that even nationalists who are used to the National Health Service would baulk at the two-tier health system in the Republic.


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Man dies following collision between car and truck in Co Sligo

A man has died following a road traffic collision involving a car and a truck in Co Sligo .
The @ @ @ @ @ on the N4 road between Castlebaldwin and Collooney .
Gardaí and emergency services attended the @ @ @ @ @ only occupant of the car , a man in his 40s , was pronounced dead @ @ @ @ @ His body has since been removed to the mortuary at Sligo University Hospital .
The @ @ @ @ @ was preserved for examination by Garda forensic collision investigators and the local Coroner has been @ @ @ @ @ currently closed to traffic and diversions will be in place until further notice .
Gardaí @ @ @ @ @ witnesses and have asked anyone with information to contact Ballymote Garda station on 071 9189500 @ @ @ @ @ 1800 666 111 or any Garda station .

Gardaí in Ballymote are appealing for witnesses to the fatal crash in Sligo on the N4. File photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
A man has died following a road traffic collision involving a car and a truck in Co Sligo.
The crash happened at about noon on the N4 road between Castlebaldwin and Collooney.
Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene and the driver and only occupant of the car, a man in his 40s, was pronounced dead a short time later. His body has since been removed to the mortuary at Sligo University Hospital.
The scene of the crash site was preserved for examination by Garda forensic collision investigators and the local Coroner has been notified. The road is currently closed to traffic and diversions will be in place until further notice.
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Gardaí in Ballymote are appealing for witnesses and have asked anyone with information to contact Ballymote Garda station on 071 9189500, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.


theirishtimes--2020-02-13--Welder who made ‘remarkable’ recovery from addiction avoids jail for knife attack

A welder who has made a “ remarkable ” recovery from a chronic drug addiction has received a suspended sentence for a knife attack on two teenage girls six years ago .
In April 2014 Darren Byrne ( 29 ) was stealing to feed a drug habit when he went up to the two 17-year-old girls and told them : “ this is what ’ s going to happen , give me all your stuff or I ’ ll slit your throat ” .
He pointed a knife at them and then pressed the knife up against the throat of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-accused then made off with a handbag with cash and and iPod .
The attack took place around midnight after the teenagers had failed to get into a pub and were walking along Trinity Street in Dublin city centre .
The pair were picked up nearby by gardaí a short time later .
Byrne admitted carrying out the mugging and said he was under the influence of tablets at the time .
The victims described him as “ a bit stupid ” and said the woman seemed to be in charge and “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and aggressive than Byrne .
The attack left them both more fearful of being in the city centre and of going out after dark .
Byrne of Shackleton Hall , Lucan , Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery on April 17th , 2014 .
The court heard that after his arrest he fled to the UK where he got a job working in a relative ’ s “ bouncy castle ” business .
He returned to Dublin in July 2014 and got a job which he has held down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said he was aware he was living a life “ on the run ” from the charges and decided last year to hand himself in .
Garda Sergeant Bernard Maguire agreed that Byrne had made a remarkable turnaround from someone who was in 2014 at the peak of a chronic drug addiction .
Ms Cox said her client began taking cocaine at the age of 14 and had amassed drug debts by the age of 15 .
Ms Cox said since the 2014 robbery her client has spent the time rehabilitating himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pauline Codd noted that Byrne had a difficult background and said he must be commended for his “ very significant ” efforts to rehabilitate .
She noted a report from a childcare organisation which described his presence in his son ’ s life as positive .
Finally she noted his remorse at victimising the teenagers .
She suspended a sentence of three and a half years on condition he keep the peace .
He has previous convictions for a robbery and for thefts , all carried out before this offence .
Gda Sgt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not have used the knife and that he was carrying it on him “ for protection ” on the streets .
During his arrest Byrne told gardaí : “ I would never have used the knife .
I ’ m sorry , I was on drugs at the time ” .
He also became upset when gardaí told him the age of the victims and expressed shock and remorse at his actions , the court heard .
Ms Cox said that since 2014 he has held down a job in the same company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operative and trained as a welder .
She said a recent reference from the company described him as a hard-working , honest and valued employee .
She said that her client had a difficult upbringing and his older brother became a drug addict and went to prison as a teenager .
She said Byrne then believed this was the path for him and he began using drugs too .
She handed in to the court a number of character references as well as a letter from Byrne in which he apologised to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given a suspended two-year prison sentence .

Judge Pauline Codd noted that Darren Byrne had a difficult background and said he must be commended for his ‘very significant’ efforts to rehabilitate.
A welder who has made a “remarkable” recovery from a chronic drug addiction has received a suspended sentence for a knife attack on two teenage girls six years ago.
In April 2014 Darren Byrne (29) was stealing to feed a drug habit when he went up to the two 17-year-old girls and told them: "this is what's going to happen, give me all your stuff or I'll slit your throat".
He pointed a knife at them and then pressed the knife up against the throat of one girl. Byrne and a female co-accused then made off with a handbag with cash and and iPod.
The attack took place around midnight after the teenagers had failed to get into a pub and were walking along Trinity Street in Dublin city centre. The pair were picked up nearby by gardaí a short time later.
READ MORE
Byrne admitted carrying out the mugging and said he was under the influence of tablets at the time.
The victims described him as “a bit stupid” and said the woman seemed to be in charge and “seemed smarter” and was more threatening and aggressive than Byrne.
The attack left them both more fearful of being in the city centre and of going out after dark.
Byrne of Shackleton Hall, Lucan, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery on April 17th, 2014.
The court heard that after his arrest he fled to the UK where he got a job working in a relative’s “bouncy castle” business.
He returned to Dublin in July 2014 and got a job which he has held down since. Nicola Cox BL, defending, said he was aware he was living a life “on the run” from the charges and decided last year to hand himself in.
Turnaround
Garda Sergeant Bernard Maguire agreed that Byrne had made a remarkable turnaround from someone who was in 2014 at the peak of a chronic drug addiction.
Ms Cox said her client began taking cocaine at the age of 14 and had amassed drug debts by the age of 15.
Ms Cox said since the 2014 robbery her client has spent the time rehabilitating himself and building his employment skills.
Judge Pauline Codd noted that Byrne had a difficult background and said he must be commended for his “very significant” efforts to rehabilitate.
She noted a report from a childcare organisation which described his presence in his son’s life as positive.
Finally she noted his remorse at victimising the teenagers. She suspended a sentence of three and a half years on condition he keep the peace.
He has previous convictions for a robbery and for thefts, all carried out before this offence.
Gda Sgt Maguire said he accepted that Byrne would not have used the knife and that he was carrying it on him “for protection” on the streets.
During his arrest Byrne told gardaí: “I would never have used the knife. I’m sorry, I was on drugs at the time”.
He also became upset when gardaí told him the age of the victims and expressed shock and remorse at his actions, the court heard.
Ms Cox said that since 2014 he has held down a job in the same company where he has worked as a warehouse operative and trained as a welder.
She said a recent reference from the company described him as a hard-working, honest and valued employee.
She said that her client had a difficult upbringing and his older brother became a drug addict and went to prison as a teenager.
She said Byrne then believed this was the path for him and he began using drugs too.
She handed in to the court a number of character references as well as a letter from Byrne in which he apologised to the two victims.
The co-accused was previously given a suspended two-year prison sentence.