theirishtimes--2020-10-02--Rainfall totals below average in nearly all Irish weather stations last month

Rainfall totals were below average in nearly all of the country ’ s weather stations last month , according to Met Éireann ’ s weather summary for September .
The highest temperature reported last month was at the Phoenix Park in Dublin on the 14th with 24.7 degrees .
The lowest temperature was recorded on the 26th at Markree , Co Sligo with minus 2.1 degrees .
Three stations in Cork ( Moore Park , Cork Airport and Roches Point ) had dry spells between the 3rd and 21st .
Monthly rainfall totals ranged from 41.6mm at Shannon Airport to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The month ’ s wettest day was also recorded at Newport with 43.7mm on the 2nd .
The majority of station ’ s mean temperatures were either slightly above or slightly below their long-term average for the month .
More than half of the stations reported ground frost .
Sunshine totals were above average for the month , ranging from 109.8 hours at Belmullet , Co Mayo to 157.1 hours at Johnstown Castle , Co Wexford .
The highest number of daily sunshine hours recorded in September was 11.2 hours at both Gurteen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20th and 19th .
Three stations reported gales during September - Belmullet , Sherkin Island , Co Cork and Valentia Observatory , Co Kerry .
Both the month ’ s highest gust and 10-minute mean wind speed were reported on the 24th .
The highest gust was 111km/h at Valentia Observatory while the month ’ s highest 10-minute mean wind speed was 82km/h at Sherkin Island .
September 2020 started with low pressure to the northwest , bringing “ active weather fronts ” across the country on the 2nd with widespread heavy rain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the weather summary states .
“ High pressure , which began to develop to the south of Ireland during the rest of the first week , gradually pushed the jet stream and low pressure systems further north , while keeping Ireland in a mild southwesterly airflow .
“ This setup , which continued into the second week , brought a lot of dry weather , especially in the southern half of the country , but active weather fronts brought some heavy falls of rain to the north and north west during this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Europe and to the north of Ireland during the third week of September , which brought a “ warm and sunnier continental airflow ” over the country from the southeast and the dry conditions spread countrywide .
The settled weather broke down at the beginning of the fourth week as a cold front brought a change of air mass with cooler conditions that continued for the rest of the month .

Walkers and their dogs on Sandymount Stand in late September. Sunshine totals were above average for the month. Photograph Nick Bradshaw/The Irish Times
Rainfall totals were below average in nearly all of the country’s weather stations last month, according to Met Éireann’s weather summary for September.
The highest temperature reported last month was at the Phoenix Park in Dublin on the 14th with 24.7 degrees. The lowest temperature was recorded on the 26th at Markree, Co Sligo with minus 2.1 degrees.
Three stations in Cork (Moore Park, Cork Airport and Roches Point) had dry spells between the 3rd and 21st. Monthly rainfall totals ranged from 41.6mm at Shannon Airport to 153.4mm at Newport, Co Mayo.
The month’s wettest day was also recorded at Newport with 43.7mm on the 2nd. The majority of station’s mean temperatures were either slightly above or slightly below their long-term average for the month. More than half of the stations reported ground frost.
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Sunshine totals were above average for the month, ranging from 109.8 hours at Belmullet, Co Mayo to 157.1 hours at Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford.
The highest number of daily sunshine hours recorded in September was 11.2 hours at both Gurteen, Co Tipperary and Belmullet on the 20th and 19th.
Three stations reported gales during September - Belmullet, Sherkin Island, Co Cork and Valentia Observatory, Co Kerry.
Both the month’s highest gust and 10-minute mean wind speed were reported on the 24th. The highest gust was 111km/h at Valentia Observatory while the month’s highest 10-minute mean wind speed was 82km/h at Sherkin Island.
September 2020 started with low pressure to the northwest, bringing “active weather fronts” across the country on the 2nd with widespread heavy rain and some flooding in the north west, the weather summary states.
"High pressure, which began to develop to the south of Ireland during the rest of the first week, gradually pushed the jet stream and low pressure systems further north, while keeping Ireland in a mild southwesterly airflow.
“This setup, which continued into the second week, brought a lot of dry weather, especially in the southern half of the country, but active weather fronts brought some heavy falls of rain to the north and north west during this period.”
High pressure developed over mainland Europe and to the north of Ireland during the third week of September, which brought a "warm and sunnier continental airflow" over the country from the southeast and the dry conditions spread countrywide.
The settled weather broke down at the beginning of the fourth week as a cold front brought a change of air mass with cooler conditions that continued for the rest of the month.


theirishtimes--2020-10-02--Cars, cash and cocaine seized in operation focused on Kerry drugs gang

The Criminal Assets Bureau has targeted a suspected drugs gang in Listowel , Co Kerry , and seized cars , cash , cocaine and expensive jewellery during a series of searches on houses in the town .
One of the four houses searched on Friday has been extensively renovated at a cost , according to sources , of several hundred thousand euros .
Those renovations are believed to have been paid for with the proceeds of the drugs trade .
The operation is the latest in a series of raids on medium-sized drugs gangs operating in rural Ireland .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cab Assistant Commissioner Pat Clavin and is now continuing under its new lead officer Det Chief Supt Michael Gubbins .
Senior officers say the value of the drugs trade across the Republic grew strongly in the years before Covid-19 and , with drugs now widely available across the State , drugs gangs are established in all parts of the country .
While some drugs gangs are relatively small , the profits from selling drugs were very significant for those who controlled even part of the market in regional towns .
While the Cab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 48 hours after some €4 million was found during searches in counties Kerry and Laois , there is no connection between the two .
The millions found on Wednesday - at a house in Lisselton , between Listowel and Ballybunnion , and in another property in Mountmellick - is linked to a Dublin-based drugs gang and was seized by members of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau .
The Cab raid on Friday targeted a group in Listowel that has been dealing drugs mainly in north Kerry and west Limerick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the group and also the offices of one professional services company that members of the group were believed to have used .
During the searches on Friday gardaí found and seized €12,600 in cash , a 141 Mercedes car , two Rolex watches , a stolen caravan , suspected cocaine valued at about €2,000 along with mobile phones and documents .
Cab investigators were due to examine telephones records and financial documents in a bid to establish if the gang members had other assets that could be investigated and possibly seized .
Gardaí @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gang under surveillance and gathered intelligence over a period of time after observing the trappings of wealth the gang members were displaying .
A report was compiled by a Garda member trained to profile wealth and this was sent to Cab .
Garda sources said the searches were a major part of the investigation , adding it would continue and that valuable evidence and intelligence had been gathered during the operation .

The 141 Mercedes car which was seized during searches of four properties in Listowel, Co Kerry.
The Criminal Assets Bureau has targeted a suspected drugs gang in Listowel, Co Kerry, and seized cars, cash, cocaine and expensive jewellery during a series of searches on houses in the town.
One of the four houses searched on Friday has been extensively renovated at a cost, according to sources, of several hundred thousand euros.
Those renovations are believed to have been paid for with the proceeds of the drugs trade.
Some of the €12,600 in cash that was seized during searches of four properties in Listowel, Co Kerry.
The operation is the latest in a series of raids on medium-sized drugs gangs operating in rural Ireland.
READ MORE
The operation began under the former head of Cab Assistant Commissioner Pat Clavin and is now continuing under its new lead officer Det Chief Supt Michael Gubbins.
Senior officers say the value of the drugs trade across the Republic grew strongly in the years before Covid-19 and, with drugs now widely available across the State, drugs gangs are established in all parts of the country.
While some drugs gangs are relatively small, the profits from selling drugs were very significant for those who controlled even part of the market in regional towns.
While the Cab searches in Listowel on Friday came less than 48 hours after some €4 million was found during searches in counties Kerry and Laois, there is no connection between the two.
The millions found on Wednesday - at a house in Lisselton, between Listowel and Ballybunnion, and in another property in Mountmellick - is linked to a Dublin-based drugs gang and was seized by members of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.
The Cab raid on Friday targeted a group in Listowel that has been dealing drugs mainly in north Kerry and west Limerick.
Gardaí searched four houses linked to the group and also the offices of one professional services company that members of the group were believed to have used.
During the searches on Friday gardaí found and seized €12,600 in cash, a 141 Mercedes car, two Rolex watches, a stolen caravan, suspected cocaine valued at about €2,000 along with mobile phones and documents.
Cab investigators were due to examine telephones records and financial documents in a bid to establish if the gang members had other assets that could be investigated and possibly seized.
Gardaí working in the Kerry division placed the gang under surveillance and gathered intelligence over a period of time after observing the trappings of wealth the gang members were displaying.
A report was compiled by a Garda member trained to profile wealth and this was sent to Cab.
Garda sources said the searches were a major part of the investigation, adding it would continue and that valuable evidence and intelligence had been gathered during the operation.


theirishtimes--2020-10-02--What can I see in the October skies? Mars draws close, a blue moon and the space station

Arrakis , the desert world at the centre of Herbert ’ s Dune saga , has similar conditions to what astronomers in the late-19th and early 20th centuries thought existed on the Red Planet : Life and difficult to extract sources of water .
Mars is about a third of the size of the Earth and has an eccentric orbit around the Sun that takes 687 days .
Its axis is tilted a little more than 25 degrees so the planet experiences seasons like Earth , only twice as long , while a day on Mars , known as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Every 15 years we get a good opposition of Mars when it lies around 55 million kilometres from Earth , but a poor opposition sees the planet nearly twice as far away .
Those times when closest allow us to scrutinise the planet in detail through a telescope , revealing polar ice caps and markings that change as they are covered or uncovered by shifting sands .
Mars outshines Jupiter all month and is quite striking amongst the dim stars of Pisces in the eastern sky from 8pm The construction of large refractor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ map Mars and the other planets as best they could from afar .
A number speculated the markings on the Martian surface could be seas or even vegetation .
Italian observers in the late 1800s also charted straight slender features they named canali , or channels , which had the unfortunate consequence of being misinterpreted as “ canals ” by English publications .
This implied they were artificial in nature and dug by intelligent beings .
Percival Lowell , who instigated the search for Pluto from his observatory in Flagstaff , Arizona at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ championed the canals through popular books and lectures .
Mars was painted as a dying world whose engineers were attempting to draw water from the polar caps to the more arid equatorial regions .
But not all astronomers were convinced .
Many could not find evidence of waterways criss-crossing the planet and believed Lowell and his contemporaries were deceived by instrument issues or poor atmospheric seeing .
Lowell died in 1916 but the interest in Martians did not wane .
Authors like Wells and Burroughs kept alive the idea of an inhabited world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1924 to listen for radio messages from the Red Planet .
Mariner IV made the first flyby in 1964 and numerous robotic vehicles have been since , including three missions that will reach Mars next spring .
At some point a crewed landing will take place - perhaps later this century - and the dream is to eventually settle Mars , though there will be many challenges beforehand .
But humankind is destined to travel outward and explore , so that someday people will stand on the Martian surface and say , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full moon on the 1st and another is due on the 31st .
The earlier is this year ’ s harvest moon while that on Halloween night is a blue moon going by the popular meaning of it being the second full moon in the same calendar month .
The more correct almanac definition of a blue moon though is when it is the third of four full moons in a season .
Last quarter moon is on the 10th , new moon is the 16th , and first quarter falls on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ horizon a little after 6am the last couple of days of the month .
Binoculars will tease out the planet ’ s faint spark in the approaching dawn .
Venus rises at 3:30am , or four hours before the Sun , at the beginning of October and about a half an hour later at the end of the month .
It passes a moon-width from the bright star Regulus in Leo on the morning of the 3rd and the slender crescent moon is two days from new when nearby on the 14th .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ announcement that whiffs of phosphine in its atmosphere may indicate microbial life .
It is important to note that life has not been found , just that it is one potential source for replenishing the gas after geophysical and chemical causes have been eliminated .
Scientists are therefore keen to send an exploration mission soon .
Pumpkin-coloured Mars has a favourable opposition on October 13th when it is just over 62 million kilometres distant .
The planet outshines Jupiter all month and is quite striking amongst the dim stars of Pisces in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a telescope is required to resolve any detail on its surface .
You will see the Moon near Mars on the evenings of the 2nd - it is even closer the next morning - and the 29th .
Jupiter and Saturn are now setting around midnight but are still well placed in the southern sky as darkness falls .
The Jovian moons are a delight follow with standard binoculars from evening to evening as they circle their parent , while Saturn ’ s largest moon Titan is a mote of light close to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s globe is presently casting its shadow on the rings , giving a three-dimensional appearance to the view through a telescope .
Uranus reaches opposition in Aries on October 31st .
It hovers at the limit of visibility with the unaided eye but can be easily seen in binoculars , so now is an ideal opportunity spot this distant world .
When Uranus was discovered in 1781 it doubled the size of the then known solar system .
The story - and a suitable chart to find it during 2020 - can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ article .
The Orionid meteor shower is at maximum during the early hours of October 22nd .
Specks of dust shed by Halley ’ s comet as it orbits the sun give rise to the shower and the meteors are rather swift .
The rates from the Orionids are moderate , with maybe 10 per hour seen during a normal maximum .
The International Space Station is making a series of evening passes up to the end of the first week of October and will then be seen in the morning sky from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the next Crew Dragon mission when four astronauts head for the station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket .
Their flight is currently scheduled for October 23rd but sightings of the capsule from Ireland as it closes in on the orbiting outpost depend on the Falcon ’ s exact launch time .
The next official Expedition crew of three will launch to the ISS on a Soyuz spacecraft on October 14th while the current station residents return to Earth on the 21st .
Nasa ’ s OSIRIS-REx mission to the near-Earth asteroid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sample from the 500m-wide object on October 20th .
The spacecraft was launched in 2016 and reached Bennu in December 2018 .
OSIRIS-REx will depart for Earth in 2021 to return its precious cargo two years later .
John Flannery is a long-time amateur astronomer with an interest in the history and lore of the sky along with astronomical phenomena observable with the unaided eye .
He is a member of the Irish Astronomical Society .

Arrakis, the desert world at the centre of Herbert’s Dune saga, has similar conditions to what astronomers in the late-19th and early 20th centuries thought existed on the Red Planet: Life and difficult to extract sources of water.
Mars is about a third of the size of the Earth and has an eccentric orbit around the Sun that takes 687 days. Its axis is tilted a little more than 25 degrees so the planet experiences seasons like Earth, only twice as long, while a day on Mars, known as a sol, is 24.5 hours long.
Every 15 years we get a good opposition of Mars when it lies around 55 million kilometres from Earth, but a poor opposition sees the planet nearly twice as far away. Those times when closest allow us to scrutinise the planet in detail through a telescope, revealing polar ice caps and markings that change as they are covered or uncovered by shifting sands.
Mars outshines Jupiter all month and is quite striking amongst the dim stars of Pisces in the eastern sky from 8pm
READ MORE
The construction of large refractor telescopes in the 19th century allowed astronomers map Mars and the other planets as best they could from afar. A number speculated the markings on the Martian surface could be seas or even vegetation.
Italian observers in the late 1800s also charted straight slender features they named canali, or channels, which had the unfortunate consequence of being misinterpreted as “canals” by English publications. This implied they were artificial in nature and dug by intelligent beings.
Percival Lowell, who instigated the search for Pluto from his observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona at the turn of the 20th century, championed the canals through popular books and lectures. Mars was painted as a dying world whose engineers were attempting to draw water from the polar caps to the more arid equatorial regions.
Mars outshines Jupiter all month and is quite striking amongst the dim stars of Pisces in the eastern sky from 8pm
But not all astronomers were convinced. Many could not find evidence of waterways criss-crossing the planet and believed Lowell and his contemporaries were deceived by instrument issues or poor atmospheric seeing. Lowell died in 1916 but the interest in Martians did not wane. Authors like Wells and Burroughs kept alive the idea of an inhabited world, and attempts were even made in 1924 to listen for radio messages from the Red Planet.
Mariner IV made the first flyby in 1964 and numerous robotic vehicles have been since, including three missions that will reach Mars next spring.
At some point a crewed landing will take place - perhaps later this century - and the dream is to eventually settle Mars, though there will be many challenges beforehand. But humankind is destined to travel outward and explore, so that someday people will stand on the Martian surface and say, “this is home.”
The Moon
October had a full moon on the 1st and another is due on the 31st. The earlier is this year’s harvest moon while that on Halloween night is a blue moon going by the popular meaning of it being the second full moon in the same calendar month. The more correct almanac definition of a blue moon though is when it is the third of four full moons in a season. Last quarter moon is on the 10th, new moon is the 16th, and first quarter falls on the 23rd.
The planets
Mercury struggles above the eastern horizon a little after 6am the last couple of days of the month. Binoculars will tease out the planet’s faint spark in the approaching dawn.
Venus rises at 3:30am, or four hours before the Sun, at the beginning of October and about a half an hour later at the end of the month. It passes a moon-width from the bright star Regulus in Leo on the morning of the 3rd and the slender crescent moon is two days from new when nearby on the 14th.
Venus made headlines during September with the announcement that whiffs of phosphine in its atmosphere may indicate microbial life. It is important to note that life has not been found, just that it is one potential source for replenishing the gas after geophysical and chemical causes have been eliminated. Scientists are therefore keen to send an exploration mission soon.
Pumpkin-coloured Mars has a favourable opposition on October 13th when it is just over 62 million kilometres distant. The planet outshines Jupiter all month and is quite striking amongst the dim stars of Pisces in the eastern sky from 8pm. However, a telescope is required to resolve any detail on its surface. You will see the Moon near Mars on the evenings of the 2nd - it is even closer the next morning - and the 29th.
Jupiter and Saturn are now setting around midnight but are still well placed in the southern sky as darkness falls. The Jovian moons are a delight follow with standard binoculars from evening to evening as they circle their parent, while Saturn's largest moon Titan is a mote of light close to the planet in larger instruments. Saturn's globe is presently casting its shadow on the rings, giving a three-dimensional appearance to the view through a telescope.
Uranus reaches opposition in Aries on October 31st. It hovers at the limit of visibility with the unaided eye but can be easily seen in binoculars, so now is an ideal opportunity spot this distant world. When Uranus was discovered in 1781 it doubled the size of the then known solar system. The story - and a suitable chart to find it during 2020 - can be read in this Sky & Telescope article.
The Orionid meteor shower is at maximum during the early hours of October 22nd. Specks of dust shed by Halley’s comet as it orbits the sun give rise to the shower and the meteors are rather swift. The rates from the Orionids are moderate, with maybe 10 per hour seen during a normal maximum.
Spaceflight
The International Space Station is making a series of evening passes up to the end of the first week of October and will then be seen in the morning sky from the 23rd. That tees up nicely with the next Crew Dragon mission when four astronauts head for the station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Their flight is currently scheduled for October 23rd but sightings of the capsule from Ireland as it closes in on the orbiting outpost depend on the Falcon's exact launch time.
The next official Expedition crew of three will launch to the ISS on a Soyuz spacecraft on October 14th while the current station residents return to Earth on the 21st.
Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx mission to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu is due to collect an initial sample from the 500m-wide object on October 20th. The spacecraft was launched in 2016 and reached Bennu in December 2018. OSIRIS-REx will depart for Earth in 2021 to return its precious cargo two years later.
John Flannery is a long-time amateur astronomer with an interest in the history and lore of the sky along with astronomical phenomena observable with the unaided eye. He is a member of the Irish Astronomical Society.


theirishtimes--2020-10-02--Man gets life sentence for murder at Limerick pub in cocaine row

People carrying knives while drinking and taking drugs are an “ affliction in Irish society ” that results in far too many deaths , a Central Criminal Court judge has said as she passed sentence on a man convicted of a cocaine-fuelled murder in a quiet Limerick pub .
Ms Justice Tara Burns on Friday sentenced Mark Crawford ( 43 ) for the murder of Patrick ‘ Pa ’ O ’ Connor ( 24 ) , saying that she has “ no hesitation ” in passing the mandatory life sentence for what she described as an act of “ madness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She said that something has to be done about people carrying knives , adding : “ A mixture of alcohol , cocaine and knives results in far too many deaths in this country ” .
Crawford , of Quarry Road , Thomondgate , Co Limerick , was convicted last month by a unanimous jury verdict of the murder of Mr O ’ Connor at Fitzgerald ’ s Bar on Sexton Street in Limerick City on July 7th or 8th , 2018 .
Crawford stabbed Mr O ’ Connor six times with two wounds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death .
It emerged during the trial that the men had met for the first time the previous day and had been taking cocaine together on July 7th .
Tensions rose between the two men out of an argument over the drugs and Crawford claimed he was acting in self-defence , a claim that was rejected by the jury .
CCTV from minutes before the fatal stabbing showed the deceased dancing and laughing and joking with others in the bar where he was a popular regular .
Ms Justice Burns said that this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ acting as always , full of banter and chat , ” must have been the most difficult thing for the O ’ Connor family to watch .
She described Fitzgerald ’ s as a quiet local pub where everybody seemed to know everybody and said the stabbing was a shocking thing for the regulars to have witnessed .
Mr O ’ Connor ’ s sister Deborah O ’ Connor on Friday told the court that it is 818 days since her family last saw Patrick ’ s face , “ the last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we laughed together.
” She described her brother as the kind of person everyone wanted to be friends with .
“ He knew everyone and everyone who knew him loved him , ” she said .
He got his jokes , kindness and love of banter from his mum and dad , she said , who are heartbroken at having buried their only son .
She added : “ It was his welcoming , trusting and kindhearted nature that led to his murder , by a man he met less than 48 hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Outside court Ms O ’ Connor told the media : “ Little did we know on the morning of Saturday 7 July 2018 it would be the last time we saw Patrick alive , the last time he would walk out the front door to never return .
During the trial to learn of the horrific way Patrick died has been an incredibly distressing and difficult time for the family .
To watch him on CCTV footage in the moments before he was murdered , acting his usual fun-loving self , has left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they will not get Patrick back the sentence gives some comfort .
She described her brother as a really good person who loved life and was full of banter .
Every day he came home from work he had a story to tell and was “ always up for the craic ” .
She said her brother met Crawford less than 48 hours earlier and they weren ’ t friends .
Her brother , she said , would talk to anyone who came to have a chat with him .
Crawford ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the court in which his client said he is sorry for what he has put the O ’ Connor family through and that he “ never meant to kill him ” .
He added : “ I regret it every single day .
I know they wake up every day knowing Patrick is not here and I am so sorry for what I have done.
” Gda Declan O ’ Donovan told the court that Crawford has previous convictions mostly in the District Court .
He has one conviction for assault causing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Circuit Criminal Court for a Section 15A drugs offence for possession of €24,500 worth of heroin .
During the trial , Terence Roche testified that he was stocktaking in Fitzgerald ’ s Bar on the morning of July 7th , when Mr O ’ Connor came into the pub on his own around 11.30am .
Mr Roche said that Mr O ’ Connor came up to him later that day and said he had given somebody €100 .
He said Mr O ’ Connor was upset over the €100 and he told him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into the bar around 4.30pm that day , he added .
Jack McGrath testified that he was chatting to his friend Mr O ’ Connor on the night as he knew him from primary school .
The witness said Mr O ’ Connor told him that he had been drinking for the day and backing horses in Paddy Power .
Mr McGrath said Mr O ’ Connor told him that he was “ after getting burnt for €100 for cocaine ” .
“ He was inquisitive if he was going to get the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result would be , ” explained Mr McGrath .
Mr McGrath said Mr O ’ Connor told him later on in the night that he had not received the cocaine and he was wondering what was going to happen .
“ I told him to relax and it would all sort itself out , ” he added .
Mr McGrath said that Mr O ’ Connor and the accused were sitting together by the door when he left the bar shortly before midnight .
Barman Cyril O ’ Connor gave evidence that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accused “ arguing but in a whispered tone ” during his shift at the bar and he heard €50 being mentioned .
He noted that the atmosphere was “ edgy ” in the bar that evening .
Describing the incident , he said : “ All I heard was a chair move , there wasn ’ t a word , a shout or a scream .
As I looked to the left I could see the accused striking Patrick in the neck area.
” The barman testified that he saw the accused “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four or five times and thought he was stopping a fight when he ran over to the men ’ s table .
He said the defendant was leaning into Mr O ’ Connor and used his right hand to hit him as he [ MR O ’ CONNOR ] sat in the chair .
The accused was making his move to leave the premises when he gave chase , he added .
The witness said he locked the front door of the pub after the accused left and then saw Mr O ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blood flowing away from him ” .
The witness said the deceased had two marks to his neck and was unconscious .
Defence counsel Patrick McGrath SC put it to the barman that he was mistaken about Mr O ’ Connor sitting in the chair and suggested that both men had “ stood up to each other ” before his client had stabbed the deceased a number of times as he had felt under threat .
The witness denied this was the case saying : “ It ’ s a photograph in my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ Connor and striking him.
” Furthermore , Mr O ’ Connor told Mr McGrath “ all I have is that photo in my head of Mark striking Mr O ’ Connor .
It wasn ’ t until after that I saw the horror that was done.
” Barmaid Pamela Stokes gave evidence that she heard a chair move behind her and turned around to see one person standing up and another individual sitting .
“ It just looked like an argument , like there was a fight .
It looked like punching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was punching as I just saw the backs of two people , ” she said .
Ms Stokes said she called the ambulance as Mr O ’ Connor was injured on the ground and there was blood coming from his neck .
The wife of the accused , Karen Crawford , testified that she got a phone call from her husband on the night of July 7th , asking her to collect him from Fitzgerald ’ s Bar .
She said he “ sounded frightened , as if something was going to happen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a laneway beside Fitzgerald ’ s Bar and her husband “ staggered ” down the lane with his hands out in front of him and “ blood dripping ” from them .
He had nothing in his hands , she said , adding that he was crying and kept saying “ Karen , Karen ” .
“ I kept asking what happened and he said something bad , ” she added .
Mrs Crawford testified that she asked her husband where they were going and he replied : “ drive , drive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a cut on one hand and she drove him to his sister ’ s house at O ’ Brien ’ s Bridge in Clare .
The witness said she drove back home after bringing him to his sister ’ s house that night .
The following day , Mrs Crawford said that she went to look for her partner in Birdhill in Co Tipperary .
“ He was really upset and said ‘ what am I after doing to that boy as he was my friend ’ , ” she said .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hand himself in ” but he said he “ needed to get his head straight ” .
Mrs Crawford said she brought the accused to the Abbey Court Hotel in Nenagh and he handed himself into gardai the next day .
Paramedic David Hurley testified that he was notified of a stabbing at Fitzgerald ’ s Bar on July 7th around 11.55pm .
Mr Hurley said he saw a male lying on his back surrounded by a large amount of blood when he arrived at the pub .
He was unconscious and there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and chest , he said .
The witness said he carried out some resuscitation to Mr O ’ Connor but to no avail .
In his interviews with gardaí , the accused said he had met Mr O ’ Connor in the bookies on July 6th and again the following day in Fitzgerald ’ s Bar , where they took cocaine together .
“ We got cocaine , I got the first one , we were having it between the four of us .
I then gave him ( Mr O ’ Connor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we were getting it for €70 , ” he said .
The defendant said that Mr O ’ Connor told him later on that evening that he owed him a “ oner ” ( €100 ) .
“ I said I don ’ t .
A fight started between us and he said I took his coke and I have to pay him a oner , ” the accused told gardai .
The defendant said a knife was given to him by someone in the bar over not “ being from that side @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worst thing I done was took it [ SIC ] .
The two of us got up to fight and whatever happened I took out the knife and stabbed him and ran out the door , ” he added .
The accused told gardai that he felt like he was going to be beaten up and it had all happened so fast .
“ I just took it out and stabbed him .
I didn ’ t realise what I ’ d done .
We got up to fight over the coke .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stabbed and beat up .
I knew I ’ d done wrong ” he added .
Crawford said he called a member of his family and told them there had been a fight in the pub and he had stabbed someone .
The defendant said he wanted “ the ground to open up and swallow ” him when he later found out that Mr O ’ Connor had died .
“ I didn ’ t know what to do , I could not believe it , ” he said .
Crawford told gardai @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of cocaine for €70 and when it was gone Mr O ’ Connor bought some more .
“ I gave him €20 for it .
Pa started going on that I owed him a oner like , ” said the accused .
The accused said he and Mr O ’ Connor had both stood up and “ went for each other ” .
He said Mr O ’ Connor was standing in front of him and fell after he stuck the knife into him .
“ I just thought I ’ d give @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kept going and when he fell I just ran , ” he said .
Crawford told detectives that he thought he was going “ to get jumped ” and he “ got the fear ” when the argument started .
He said he will never know why he took the knife from the “ young lad ” and had aimed for Mr O ’ Connor ’ s stomach .
“ I didn ’ t think I ’ d kill him .
I did it more so he wouldn ’ t come back on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was going to kill me , beat me or stab me .
”

People carrying knives while drinking and taking drugs are an "affliction in Irish society" that results in far too many deaths, a Central Criminal Court judge has said as she passed sentence on a man convicted of a cocaine-fuelled murder in a quiet Limerick pub.
Ms Justice Tara Burns on Friday sentenced Mark Crawford (43) for the murder of Patrick 'Pa' O'Connor (24), saying that she has "no hesitation" in passing the mandatory life sentence for what she described as an act of "madness fuelled by drink and drugs".
She said that something has to be done about people carrying knives, adding: “A mixture of alcohol, cocaine and knives results in far too many deaths in this country”.
Crawford stabbed Patrick ‘Pa’ O’Connor six times with two wounds to the heart and neck causing his death
Crawford, of Quarry Road, Thomondgate, Co Limerick, was convicted last month by a unanimous jury verdict of the murder of Mr O’Connor at Fitzgerald’s Bar on Sexton Street in Limerick City on July 7th or 8th, 2018.
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Crawford stabbed Mr O’Connor six times with two wounds to the heart and neck causing his death. It emerged during the trial that the men had met for the first time the previous day and had been taking cocaine together on July 7th. Tensions rose between the two men out of an argument over the drugs and Crawford claimed he was acting in self-defence, a claim that was rejected by the jury.
CCTV from minutes before the fatal stabbing showed the deceased dancing and laughing and joking with others in the bar where he was a popular regular. Ms Justice Burns said that this footage, showing Mr O’Connor “acting as always, full of banter and chat,” must have been the most difficult thing for the O’Connor family to watch. She described Fitzgerald’s as a quiet local pub where everybody seemed to know everybody and said the stabbing was a shocking thing for the regulars to have witnessed.
Mr O’Connor’s sister Deborah O’Connor on Friday told the court that it is 818 days since her family last saw Patrick’s face, “the last time we spoke, the last time we laughed together.” She described her brother as the kind of person everyone wanted to be friends with. “He knew everyone and everyone who knew him loved him,” she said. He got his jokes, kindness and love of banter from his mum and dad, she said, who are heartbroken at having buried their only son.
She added: “It was his welcoming, trusting and kindhearted nature that led to his murder, by a man he met less than 48 hours earlier. They were not friends.”
Outside court Ms O’Connor told the media: “Little did we know on the morning of Saturday 7 July 2018 it would be the last time we saw Patrick alive, the last time he would walk out the front door to never return. During the trial to learn of the horrific way Patrick died has been an incredibly distressing and difficult time for the family. To watch him on CCTV footage in the moments before he was murdered, acting his usual fun-loving self, has left us heartbroken.”
She said that while they will not get Patrick back the sentence gives some comfort. She described her brother as a really good person who loved life and was full of banter. Every day he came home from work he had a story to tell and was “always up for the craic”. She said her brother met Crawford less than 48 hours earlier and they weren’t friends. Her brother, she said, would talk to anyone who came to have a chat with him.
Crawford’s barrister Patrick McGrath SC read a letter to the court in which his client said he is sorry for what he has put the O’Connor family through and that he “never meant to kill him”. He added: “I regret it every single day. I know they wake up every day knowing Patrick is not here and I am so sorry for what I have done.”
Gda Declan O’Donovan told the court that Crawford has previous convictions mostly in the District Court. He has one conviction for assault causing harm and is awaiting sentence at the Circuit Criminal Court for a Section 15A drugs offence for possession of €24,500 worth of heroin.
‘Burnt for €100 Cocaine’
During the trial, Terence Roche testified that he was stocktaking in Fitzgerald’s Bar on the morning of July 7th, when Mr O’Connor came into the pub on his own around 11.30am.
Mr Roche said that Mr O’Connor came up to him later that day and said he had given somebody €100. He said Mr O’Connor was upset over the €100 and he told him to relax. The accused man arrived into the bar around 4.30pm that day, he added.
Jack McGrath testified that he was chatting to his friend Mr O’Connor on the night as he knew him from primary school. The witness said Mr O’Connor told him that he had been drinking for the day and backing horses in Paddy Power.
Mr McGrath said Mr O’Connor told him that he was “after getting burnt for €100 for cocaine”. “He was inquisitive if he was going to get the €100 or cocaine and what the end result would be,” explained Mr McGrath.
Mr McGrath said Mr O’Connor told him later on in the night that he had not received the cocaine and he was wondering what was going to happen. “I told him to relax and it would all sort itself out,” he added. Mr McGrath said that Mr O’Connor and the accused were sitting together by the door when he left the bar shortly before midnight.
Barman Cyril O’Connor gave evidence that he saw Mr O’Connor and the accused “arguing but in a whispered tone” during his shift at the bar and he heard €50 being mentioned. He noted that the atmosphere was “edgy” in the bar that evening. Describing the incident, he said: “All I heard was a chair move, there wasn’t a word, a shout or a scream. As I looked to the left I could see the accused striking Patrick in the neck area.”
Blood flowing
The barman testified that he saw the accused “rapidly” hitting Mr O’Connor four or five times and thought he was stopping a fight when he ran over to the men’s table. He said the defendant was leaning into Mr O’Connor and used his right hand to hit him as he [MR O’CONNOR]sat in the chair. The accused was making his move to leave the premises when he gave chase, he added. The witness said he locked the front door of the pub after the accused left and then saw Mr O’Connor lying on his side with “blood flowing away from him”. The witness said the deceased had two marks to his neck and was unconscious.
Defence counsel Patrick McGrath SC put it to the barman that he was mistaken about Mr O’Connor sitting in the chair and suggested that both men had “stood up to each other” before his client had stabbed the deceased a number of times as he had felt under threat. The witness denied this was the case saying: “It’s a photograph in my head of the accused holding Mr O’Connor and striking him.”
Furthermore, Mr O’Connor told Mr McGrath “all I have is that photo in my head of Mark striking Mr O’Connor. It wasn’t until after that I saw the horror that was done.”
Crawford stabbed Patrick ‘Pa’ O’Connor six times with two wounds to the heart and neck causing his death
Barmaid Pamela Stokes gave evidence that she heard a chair move behind her and turned around to see one person standing up and another individual sitting. “It just looked like an argument, like there was a fight. It looked like punching. I couldn’t say who was punching as I just saw the backs of two people,” she said. Ms Stokes said she called the ambulance as Mr O’Connor was injured on the ground and there was blood coming from his neck.
The wife of the accused, Karen Crawford, testified that she got a phone call from her husband on the night of July 7th, asking her to collect him from Fitzgerald’s Bar. She said he “sounded frightened, as if something was going to happen”.
Mrs Crawford said she drove to a laneway beside Fitzgerald’s Bar and her husband “staggered” down the lane with his hands out in front of him and “blood dripping” from them. He had nothing in his hands, she said, adding that he was crying and kept saying “Karen, Karen”. “I kept asking what happened and he said something bad,” she added.
Mrs Crawford testified that she asked her husband where they were going and he replied: “drive, drive”. The witness said he had a cut on one hand and she drove him to his sister’s house at O’Brien’s Bridge in Clare. The witness said she drove back home after bringing him to his sister’s house that night.
The following day, Mrs Crawford said that she went to look for her partner in Birdhill in Co Tipperary. “He was really upset and said ‘what am I after doing to that boy as he was my friend’,” she said. She told him that he needed “to hand himself in” but he said he “needed to get his head straight”. Mrs Crawford said she brought the accused to the Abbey Court Hotel in Nenagh and he handed himself into gardai the next day.
Paramedic David Hurley testified that he was notified of a stabbing at Fitzgerald’s Bar on July 7th around 11.55pm. Mr Hurley said he saw a male lying on his back surrounded by a large amount of blood when he arrived at the pub. He was unconscious and there were wounds to his neck, arm and chest, he said. The witness said he carried out some resuscitation to Mr O’Connor but to no avail.
Knife
In his interviews with gardaí, the accused said he had met Mr O’Connor in the bookies on July 6th and again the following day in Fitzgerald’s Bar, where they took cocaine together. “We got cocaine, I got the first one, we were having it between the four of us. I then gave him (Mr O’Connor) €20, he gave €50, we were getting it for €70,” he said.
The defendant said that Mr O’Connor told him later on that evening that he owed him a “oner” (€100). “I said I don’t. A fight started between us and he said I took his coke and I have to pay him a oner,” the accused told gardai.
The defendant said a knife was given to him by someone in the bar over not “being from that side” of the city. “The worst thing I done was took it [SIC]. The two of us got up to fight and whatever happened I took out the knife and stabbed him and ran out the door,” he added.
The accused told gardai that he felt like he was going to be beaten up and it had all happened so fast. “I just took it out and stabbed him. I didn’t realise what I’d done. We got up to fight over the coke. I thought I was going to get stabbed and beat up. I knew I’d done wrong” he added.
Crawford said he called a member of his family and told them there had been a fight in the pub and he had stabbed someone. The defendant said he wanted “the ground to open up and swallow” him when he later found out that Mr O’Connor had died. “I didn’t know what to do, I could not believe it,” he said.
Crawford told gardai that he had initially bought a gram of cocaine for €70 and when it was gone Mr O’Connor bought some more. “I gave him €20 for it. Pa started going on that I owed him a oner like,” said the accused.
The accused said he and Mr O’Connor had both stood up and “went for each other”. He said Mr O’Connor was standing in front of him and fell after he stuck the knife into him. “I just thought I’d give him a stab wound. I just kept going and when he fell I just ran,” he said.
Crawford told detectives that he thought he was going “to get jumped” and he “got the fear” when the argument started. He said he will never know why he took the knife from the “young lad” and had aimed for Mr O’Connor’s stomach. “I didn’t think I’d kill him. I did it more so he wouldn’t come back on top of me. I thought he was going to kill me, beat me or stab me.”


theirishtimes--2020-10-02--Driving test applicants to face eight month wait for appointment, says RSA

Anyone applying for a driving test this week will likely have to wait eight months for an appointment , with the situation worsening in the run up to Christmas and it will be the second quarter of next year before significant inroads will be made in the backlog .
That is according to the Road Safety Authority ( RSA ) which said 43,192 people are now waiting for an appointment .
When the service was suspended in March due to coronavirus , the average waiting time for a driving test was less than six weeks .
Testing centres across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 29th and have only recently reached 75 per cent capacity and are unlikely to rise much above that while working amid Covid-19 restrictions .
A total of 15,111 people are scheduled to take a test over the next five weeks , .
However , these are not part of the 43,192 waiting for an appointment and the RSA said lists are expected to lengthen in the run up to Christmas .
“ From now on , given the high number of people already waiting to be scheduled for a driving test , anyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 30-week delay in getting an appointment ” the authority said in a statement .
Candidates whose test appointments were cancelled when the service was suspended due to Covid-19 have all been offered a test date .
These appointments were offered to people in order of application date and for cases of essential workers .
Testing centres are also operating a cancellation list .
There are a further 43,192 people who are waiting to be scheduled a test appointment .
From now on , given the high number of people already waiting to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anyone applying for a test will probably face a 30-week delay in getting an appointment .
The RSA said it was taking a number of steps including : * Increasing the number of tests , a driver tester can perform each day , from five to six from September 14th .
* Re-hiring up to 19 driver testers who were previously employed on temporary contracts .
This could bring the number of testers up from 118 to more than 130 testers * The authority is examining the recruitment and training of new driver @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it “ will be the second quarter of 2021 before these new recruits begin to make an impact on waiting times ” .
The authority said another way of increasing the number of test appointments is if candidates showed up for their driving test .
Currently , about 10 per cent of all test candidates don ’ t show for test .
A further 6 per cent of tests are also not conducted because customers have incorrect documentation ie NCT , tax and insurance out of date .
The RSA appealed to any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to contact them so the slot can be allocated to another candidate on the cancellation list .

The RSA has appealed to any candidate who cannot attend for their test appointment to contact them so the test slot can be allocated to a candidate on the cancellation list
Candidates applying for a driving test this week will likely have to wait eight months for an appointment due to Covid-19 delays.
With the situation worsening in the run-up to Christmas, it will be the second quarter of next year before new testers can make significant inroads in the backlog.
That is according to the Road Safety Authority (RSA) which said 43,192 people are now waiting for an appointment. When the service was suspended in March due to coronavirus, the average waiting time for a driving test was less than six weeks.
Testing centres reopened to car testing on July 29th and have only recently reached 75 per cent capacity and are unlikely to rise much above that while working amid Covid-19 restrictions.
READ MORE
A total of 15,111 people are scheduled to take a test over the next five weeks. However, these are not part of the 43,192 waiting for an appointment and the RSA said lists are expected to lengthen in the run-up to Christmas.
“From now on, given the high number of people already waiting to be scheduled for a driving test, anyone applying for a test will probably face a 30-week delay in getting an appointment,” the authority said.
Candidates whose test appointments were cancelled when the service was suspended, have all been offered a test date. Appointments were offered in order of application date and for cases of essential workers.
Cancellation list
Testing centres are also operating a cancellation list. The RSA said it was taking a number of steps including: increasing the number of tests a driver tester can perform each day, from five to six; scheduling additional overtime tests, including testing on Saturdays; rehiring up to 19 driver testers who were previously employed; recruitment and training of new driver testers.
However, the authority said it “will be the second quarter of 2021 before these new recruits begin to make an impact on waiting times”.
The authority appealed to any candidate who cannot attend their test to contact them so the slot can be allocated to another candidate on the cancellation list.
Backlog
Details of the backlog came as RSA approved driving instructors protested at testing centres in Finglas and Sligo at Covid-19 restrictions which deny them access to facilities in test centres. The instructors, members of the Unite trade union, also want to engage with the safety authority on the design of the mandatory 12 lessons that candidates must take. They also want an end to the use of paper log books while the Covid-19 crisis continues.
Separately there are also delays in car testing. On Friday the National Car Testing Service website was offering next available appointments in January 2021 for a number of centres. However a spokeswoman for the service said it was possible to secure a place on a “priority list” for appointments sooner. The spokeswoman said not all available appointments were put online at the same time, and anyone who needed appointments sooner than ones offered online could be put on a the priority list.
The priority list is not a cancellation list, but is designed to offer customers priority scheduling when more appointments are released, she said.
The reason the appointments are released in this way was to assist the operators with staff scheduling, she added.


theirishtimes--2020-10-02--Three men arrested on suspicion of dissident terrorist activity released without charge

Three men arrested on suspicion of dissident Republican terrorist activity have been released without charge , although the investigation into them is continuing .
Documents and electronic devices found during the operation , involving more than 40 Garda members in Limerick , that led their arrest were being analysed .
The three men , two in their 20s and on in his 40s , were arrested on Wednesday during six searches at properties in Limerick City and county .
They were detained under Section 30 Offences Against the Station Act and held for questioning in Garda stations in Limerick City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday .
Criminal files on their alleged involved in dissident terrorism were being completed by detectives for the Director of Public Prosecutions .
On Wednesday gardaí from Limerick and a number of specialist units mounted a major operation in Limerick City and county and searched the six properties and arrested the suspects .
The operation involved the Special Detective Unit , which investigates terrorist crime , backed by the Regional Armed Support Unit .
The three men were arrested and questioned on suspicion of being part of a dissident unlawful organisation allegedly active @ @ @ @

An operation involving more than 40 Garda members took place in Limerick. File photograph: The Irish Times
Three men arrested on suspicion of dissident Republican terrorist activity have been released without charge, although the investigation into them is continuing.
Documents and electronic devices found during the operation, involving more than 40 Garda members in Limerick, that led their arrest were being analysed.
The three men, two in their 20s and on in his 40s, were arrested on Wednesday during six searches at properties in Limerick City and county.
They were detained under Section 30 Offences Against the Station Act and held for questioning in Garda stations in Limerick City before being released without charge early on Friday.
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Criminal files on their alleged involved in dissident terrorism were being completed by detectives for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
On Wednesday gardaí from Limerick and a number of specialist units mounted a major operation in Limerick City and county and searched the six properties and arrested the suspects.
The operation involved the Special Detective Unit, which investigates terrorist crime, backed by the Regional Armed Support Unit.
The three men were arrested and questioned on suspicion of being part of a dissident unlawful organisation allegedly active in Limerick City.


theirishtimes--2020-10-02--Tipperary campaign aims to persuade Bus Éireann to reverse service cut decision

A campaign by people in Tipperary to persuade Bus Éireann to reverse its decision to axe its Dublin-Cork Expressway service has already received the support of almost 600 people who have signed a petition against the move .
The campaign by people in Cashel and Cahir , who often use the service to commute between the two towns , was launched on Tuesday and is gaining support among business people and residents in both towns .
Bus Éireann announced on Monday that its Expressway services between Dublin and Cork , Dublin and Galway and Dublin and Limerick are to cease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be suspended indefinitely .
The move is in response to significant medium-term challenges posed by Covid-19 in order to safeguard Expressway ’ s remaining 14 national routes and meet demand required on other city and commuter services , said Bus Éireann .
According to Bus Éireann , no cessation dates have been determined as yet but changes are likely early next year when the current commercial bus operator emergency supports to the Cork , Limerick and Galway routes expire .
But now campaigners in Cashel and Cahir have launched an online petition to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bus Éireann to reverse what they say is a vital service for the people of Tipperary .
Cashel Chamber of Commerce president Martin Lynch said the removal of the X8 Expressway service from Dublin to Cork was “ short sighted , flawed and a kick in the teeth for Cashel and Cahir ” .
“ We need the public ’ s support on this and I ’ m asking everyone to sign this petition calling on Bus Éireann to urgently review and reverse this nonsensical decision , ” he said .
“ As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Cahir will no longer have a link to Dublin and Cork from the current X8 bus services .
We need your support to fight for the X8 bus services through Cashel and Cahir to be maintained.
” Independent Cllr Andy Moloney from Cahir has also urged people to sign the petition , saying the loss of the service would be a huge blow to Cahir which is centrally located in Munster and needs maximum connectivity .
“ Cahir is the crossroads of Munster and the X8 is an essential link for connecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Dublin and Cork .
We can not allow this service to be removed , ” he said .
Meanwhile , Cllr Ted Tynan , a member of Cork City Council , said the decision to axe the Expressway services was a result of the National Transport Authority over -issuing licenses to private operators on these routes .
“ These licenses do not require the private operators to stop at intermediate towns and villages as Bus Éireann does .
Therefore they are more attractive to passengers who just want to travel between say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the intermediate towns and villages will be left without a service when Bus Éireann ends the Expressway route , ” said Cllr Tynan , a member of the Workers Party .
Cllr Tynan pointed out that Bus Éireann operated throughout the coronavirus lockdown where as private operators did not and this showed that they were not interested in providing a public service , only making a profit .
And he suggested that the Bus Éireann Expressway routes could be saved by converting them to Public Service Obligation ( PSO ) routes , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This would enable them to be publicly funded .
Cllr Tynan also accused the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan of “ washing his hand of the issue and despite all the bleating by the Greens about the need for public transport , he is prepared to toe the Fine Gael line when a crisis arises ” .
Earlier this week , Mr Ryan said the Government would offer its full support to ensure the public service would be able to continue and said Bus Éireann ’ s decision to axe the services was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on RTÉ Radio One , Mr Ryan said the decision by Bus Éireann to axe the Dublin-Cork , Dublin-Galway , Dublin-Limerick and Dublin-Belfast services was “ a decision by Bus Éireann in managing its own resources ” .
“ They ’ ve 18 national commercial expressway routes , and yes they are pulling out of four , but actually it ’ s to consolidate the other 14 and to introduce new bus services in Limerick , Cork , Galway and to introduce new services in Navan .
“ Bus Éireann feel they would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ growing and bus services are lacking , such as Louth and Meath where you have growing populations .
It was a commercial decision and one they ’ re entitled to make .
“ It ’ s very much a company decision for them to strengthen and protect their network .
They ’ re going to employ additional drivers for the new services that they ’ re adding , ” he added .

Bus Éireann announced on Monday that some of its Expressway services are to cease. File photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
A campaign by people in Tipperary to persuade Bus Éireann to reverse its decision to axe its Dublin-Cork Expressway service has already received the support of almost 600 people who have signed a petition against the move.
The campaign by people in Cashel and Cahir, who often use the service to commute between the two towns, was launched on Tuesday and is gaining support among business people and residents in both towns.
Bus Éireann announced on Monday that its Expressway services between Dublin and Cork, Dublin and Galway and Dublin and Limerick are to cease, and the Dublin-Belfast service is to be suspended indefinitely.
The move is in response to significant medium-term challenges posed by Covid-19 in order to safeguard Expressway’s remaining 14 national routes and meet demand required on other city and commuter services, said Bus Éireann.
READ MORE
According to Bus Éireann, no cessation dates have been determined as yet but changes are likely early next year when the current commercial bus operator emergency supports to the Cork, Limerick and Galway routes expire.
But now campaigners in Cashel and Cahir have launched an online petition to garner support in an effort to persuade Bus Éireann to reverse what they say is a vital service for the people of Tipperary.
Cashel Chamber of Commerce president Martin Lynch said the removal of the X8 Expressway service from Dublin to Cork was "short sighted, flawed and a kick in the teeth for Cashel and Cahir".
“We need the public’s support on this and I’m asking everyone to sign this petition calling on Bus Éireann to urgently review and reverse this nonsensical decision,” he said.
“As a result of this decision, Cashel and Cahir will no longer have a link to Dublin and Cork from the current X8 bus services. We need your support to fight for the X8 bus services through Cashel and Cahir to be maintained.”
Independent Cllr Andy Moloney from Cahir has also urged people to sign the petition, saying the loss of the service would be a huge blow to Cahir which is centrally located in Munster and needs maximum connectivity.
"Cahir is the crossroads of Munster and the X8 is an essential link for connecting buses from Limerick to Waterford with those from Dublin and Cork. We cannot allow this service to be removed," he said.
Meanwhile, Cllr Ted Tynan, a member of Cork City Council, said the decision to axe the Expressway services was a result of the National Transport Authority over -issuing licenses to private operators on these routes.
“These licenses do not require the private operators to stop at intermediate towns and villages as Bus Éireann does. Therefore they are more attractive to passengers who just want to travel between say Cork and Dublin.
"However, the intermediate towns and villages will be left without a service when Bus Éireann ends the Expressway route," said Cllr Tynan, a member of the Workers Party.
Cllr Tynan pointed out that Bus Éireann operated throughout the coronavirus lockdown where as private operators did not and this showed that they were not interested in providing a public service, only making a profit.
And he suggested that the Bus Éireann Expressway routes could be saved by converting them to Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes, as they provide an important social service. This would enable them to be publicly funded.
Cllr Tynan also accused the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan of "washing his hand of the issue and despite all the bleating by the Greens about the need for public transport, he is prepared to toe the Fine Gael line when a crisis arises".
Earlier this week, Mr Ryan said the Government would offer its full support to ensure the public service would be able to continue and said Bus Éireann’s decision to axe the services was to consolidate the remaining services.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio One, Mr Ryan said the decision by Bus Éireann to axe the Dublin-Cork, Dublin-Galway, Dublin-Limerick and Dublin-Belfast services was "a decision by Bus Éireann in managing its own resources".
“They’ve 18 national commercial expressway routes, and yes they are pulling out of four, but actually it’s to consolidate the other 14 and to introduce new bus services in Limerick, Cork, Galway and to introduce new services in Navan.
"Bus Éireann feel they would be better off focusing where demand is growing and bus services are lacking, such as Louth and Meath where you have growing populations. It was a commercial decision and one they're entitled to make.
“It’s very much a company decision for them to strengthen and protect their network. They’re going to employ additional drivers for the new services that they’re adding,” he added.


theirishtimes--2020-10-02--Gardaí call in forensic experts in Skibbereen convent fire inquiry

Gardaí in West Cork have requested the assistance of the Garda Technical Bureau in Dublin to try and establish the cause of a fire which destroyed a former convent in Skibbereen on Tuesday .
Officers believe the fire that gutted the former Sisters of Mercy convent and adjacent chapel on Cork Road in the town was started by people on the site either accidentally or intentionally .
They are satisfied that there was human involvement in the fire as there has been no electricity supply to the building for some time so the blaze could not have started as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they are keeping an open mind as to whether the fire was started accidentally by people who may have been sleeping rough or drinking there and lit a fire , or maliciously by someone with a more sinister intention .
They have requested the services of the Garda Technical Bureau in Dublin to see if they can find any trace of accelerant such as petrol on the site but the task has been made difficult by the extent of the damage and size of the site .
A Garda source confirmed that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convent building had collapsed and fallen on to the ground made the examination of the ground floor to find the exact point where the fire may have started very difficult .
“ There ’ s such much debris there with charred timbers from the roof after collapsing that actually finding the source or seat of the fire is a challenge in itself , let alone establish whether it was started accidentally or maliciously.
” Gardaí have found a large number of beer cans strewn about the site suggesting it was used by people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be able to establish as of yet how recent these gatherings may have been .
They have also found sleeping bags in the former Mercy Heights School building , which was undamaged in the fire , at the rear of the campus , suggesting that the area may have been used by people sleeping rough .
Gardaí say they are keeping an open mind as to whether a fire may have been lit by those visiting the site and that it may have been left smouldering after they left the area and accidentally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have appealed to anyone who may have any information on the fire or anyone who may have camera footage or who may have been in the Cork Road between 3.15pm and 4.45pm on Tuesday to contact them on 023-8821570 .
Meanwhile , developer Paul Collins told The Southern Star newspaper that he was sending a team to Skibbereen to ensure that parts of the building left structurally vulnerable by the fire could be made safe and secure with supports .
CEO of Remcoll Capital , Mr Collins said the company was planning a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convent and chapel and would honour a deal to buy the complex from existing owner , Bernard Hennessy .
He told the paper that Remcoll had agreed to buy the complex from Mr Hennessy subject to planning but that Remcoll would complete the development , notwithstanding the damage caused by the fire .
Just last week , Cork County Council granted planning permission for the former chapel to be redeveloped as a commercial hub , including hot desks for use by the community and the convent to be converted into apartments .
Cork @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the construction of 52 new apartments as part of a four-storey apartment block on the site which has been vacant for a number of years .

The blaze broke out at the former Sisters of Mercy convent on Cork Road in Skibbereen around 4pm and units of Cork County Fire Service from Skibbereen, Schull and Bantry were sent to tackle the blaze. Video: Barry Roche
Gardaí in West Cork have requested the assistance of the Garda Technical Bureau in Dublin to try and establish the cause of a fire which destroyed a former convent in Skibbereen on Tuesday.
Officers believe the fire that gutted the former Sisters of Mercy convent and adjacent chapel on Cork Road in the town was started by people on the site either accidentally or intentionally.
They are satisfied that there was human involvement in the fire as there has been no electricity supply to the building for some time so the blaze could not have started as a result of an electrical fault.
However, they are keeping an open mind as to whether the fire was started accidentally by people who may have been sleeping rough or drinking there and lit a fire, or maliciously by someone with a more sinister intention.
READ MORE
They have requested the services of the Garda Technical Bureau in Dublin to see if they can find any trace of accelerant such as petrol on the site but the task has been made difficult by the extent of the damage and size of the site.
A Garda source confirmed that the fact that the roof of the convent building had collapsed and fallen on to the ground made the examination of the ground floor to find the exact point where the fire may have started very difficult.
“There’s such much debris there with charred timbers from the roof after collapsing that actually finding the source or seat of the fire is a challenge in itself, let alone establish whether it was started accidentally or maliciously.”
Gardaí have found a large number of beer cans strewn about the site suggesting it was used by people holding drinking parties but gardaí have not be able to establish as of yet how recent these gatherings may have been.
They have also found sleeping bags in the former Mercy Heights School building, which was undamaged in the fire, at the rear of the campus, suggesting that the area may have been used by people sleeping rough.
Gardaí say they are keeping an open mind as to whether a fire may have been lit by those visiting the site and that it may have been left smouldering after they left the area and accidentally spread to the convent building.
They have appealed to anyone who may have any information on the fire or anyone who may have camera footage or who may have been in the Cork Road between 3.15pm and 4.45pm on Tuesday to contact them on 023-8821570.
Meanwhile, developer Paul Collins told The Southern Star newspaper that he was sending a team to Skibbereen to ensure that parts of the building left structurally vulnerable by the fire could be made safe and secure with supports.
CEO of Remcoll Capital, Mr Collins said the company was planning a €10 million redevelopment of the now gutted convent and chapel and would honour a deal to buy the complex from existing owner, Bernard Hennessy.
He told the paper that Remcoll had agreed to buy the complex from Mr Hennessy subject to planning but that Remcoll would complete the development, notwithstanding the damage caused by the fire.
Just last week, Cork County Council granted planning permission for the former chapel to be redeveloped as a commercial hub, including hot desks for use by the community and the convent to be converted into apartments.
Cork County Council also granted planning permission for the construction of 52 new apartments as part of a four-storey apartment block on the site which has been vacant for a number of years.


theirishtimes--2020-10-02--Universities should hold mini-beer festivals to regulate drinking, says medic

Authorities should look at organising mini-beer festivals on university campuses while at the same time controlling off-licence sales as a means of controlling student parties during Covid-19 , a leading medic has said .
Emergency Medicine Consultant Dr Chris Luke said he was a firm believer in allowing students to mark their arrival in university in a controlled , regulated environment rather than what happened earlier this week in Galway and Cork .
Stressing he was speaking in a personal capacity , Dr Luke said that he firmly believed that the Irish authorities should try to avoid what is happening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at 10pm and everyone congregates on the street .
“ Having fun is important to general wellbeing so we ’ ve had youngsters who have been locked away for six months and have had the obvious cabin fever which in turns leads to what we call ‘ the irrational exuberance ’ of the party .
“ What they have done in the UK is that they are allowing people go to the pub , enjoy their drinks and then just as what sociologist , Emile Durkheim identified as ‘ collective effervescence ’ is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the street .
“ And that ’ s happening in all the pubs and hostelries and if you are going to try and curtail public disorder in a busy student town and limit people congregating , you stagger your openings and your closings.
” Dr Luke said that some UK universities opted to lock students in their halls of residence as happened in Manchester and Glasgow and he believed that this was far too draconian a response from college authorities .
Similarly , he dismissed suggestions from some public representatives that the Army @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cities after hundreds of students gathered at Spanish Arch and Shop Street in Galway during Freshers ’ Week .
“ We have known for months that the youngsters are going back to college and we know what happens in Freshers Week for the last 20 , 30 , 40 years and it ’ s becoming more intense in recent years , ” said Dr Luke who is based in Cork .
“ I would have thought what the universities and higher institutes should do is have what I call ‘ mini Munich Beer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their Electric Picnic style tents with tables and have waiters and waitresses serve students .
“ So rather than allow the young people roam around the streets of the various universities cities , there should be on campus festivities to mark the rite of passage that is the first week in college and allow people left off steam .
Universities could learn from music festivals such as Electric Picnic where such beer tents are very well marshalled by stewards and it would ensure that student socialising takes place in a controlled and regulated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to limit house parties and uncontrolled events by reducing the off-licence opening hours or introducing a minimum price initiative which had worked in Scotland in reducing alcohol consumption .
“ So the twin approach I would advocate is promoting on-license regulated mini-beer festivals with pre-booked table service and on the other hand a really strict off licence sales regime for the duration of the pandemic , ” he said .
Dr Luke said that he believed it would be relatively easy for the universities and Institutes of Education to organise such events as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sector who would welcome such a business opportunity .
Earlier this week , scenes of hundreds of students congregating at Spanish Arch and on Shop Street in Galway prompted strong condemnation from public representatives , saying it would lead to a surge in Covid-19 cases in the city .
In Cork , local residents around University College Cork have campaigned for an end to what they described as “ Covid-19 lockdown parties ” which took place during the summer in privately rented houses in the vicinity of the university .
And they obtained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cut noise levels at two of his properties where tenants were holding lockdown parties after they brought a private prosecution for noise pollution under environmental laws .
UCC authorities issued a warning to all UCC students last week that anyone found to be in breach of Government guidelines on Covid-19 when organising or hosting a house party could face sanction including possible expulsion .
Interim UCC President , Prof John O ’ Halloran said it was a measure of the seriousness of the threat posed by Covid-19 that UCC was committed to treating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very seriously .
“ In particular , students found to be organising , hosting or attending gatherings which are in breach of guidelines will be subject to sanction up to and including expulsion from the University where warranted , ” he said .

Large gatherings of young people in Galway city centre and at house parties have been condemned as an “insanity” by local representatives. Video: @ShifiStarkid/Twitter
Authorities should look at organising mini-beer festivals on university campuses while at the same time controlling off-licence sales as a means of controlling student parties during Covid-19, a leading medic has said.
Emergency Medicine Consultant Dr Chris Luke said he was a firm believer in allowing students to mark their arrival in university in a controlled, regulated environment rather than what happened earlier this week in Galway and Cork.
Stressing he was speaking in a personal capacity, Dr Luke said that he firmly believed that the Irish authorities should try to avoid what is happening in the UK where pubs are closing at 10pm and everyone congregates on the street.
Hospital Report
“Having fun is important to general wellbeing so we’ve had youngsters who have been locked away for six months and have had the obvious cabin fever which in turns leads to what we call ‘the irrational exuberance’ of the party.
READ MORE
"What they have done in the UK is that they are allowing people go to the pub, enjoy their drinks and then just as what sociologist, Emile Durkheim identified as 'collective effervescence' is peaking, they chuck them out on the street.
“And that’s happening in all the pubs and hostelries and if you are going to try and curtail public disorder in a busy student town and limit people congregating, you stagger your openings and your closings.”
Dr Luke said that some UK universities opted to lock students in their halls of residence as happened in Manchester and Glasgow and he believed that this was far too draconian a response from college authorities.
Similarly, he dismissed suggestions from some public representatives that the Army should be brought in to patrol Irish cities after hundreds of students gathered at Spanish Arch and Shop Street in Galway during Freshers’ Week.
“We have known for months that the youngsters are going back to college and we know what happens in Freshers Week for the last 20, 30, 40 years and it’s becoming more intense in recent years,” said Dr Luke who is based in Cork.
"I would have thought what the universities and higher institutes should do is have what I call 'mini Munich Beer Fests' on campus - they get their Electric Picnic style tents with tables and have waiters and waitresses serve students.
“So rather than allow the young people roam around the streets of the various universities cities, there should be on campus festivities to mark the rite of passage that is the first week in college and allow people left off steam.
Universities could learn from music festivals such as Electric Picnic where such beer tents are very well marshalled by stewards and it would ensure that student socialising takes place in a controlled and regulated environment.
Off-licences
Conversely, authorities could move to limit house parties and uncontrolled events by reducing the off-licence opening hours or introducing a minimum price initiative which had worked in Scotland in reducing alcohol consumption.
“So the twin approach I would advocate is promoting on-license regulated mini-beer festivals with pre-booked table service and on the other hand a really strict off licence sales regime for the duration of the pandemic,” he said.
Dr Luke said that he believed it would be relatively easy for the universities and Institutes of Education to organise such events as there are many currently idle in hospitality sector who would welcome such a business opportunity.
Earlier this week, scenes of hundreds of students congregating at Spanish Arch and on Shop Street in Galway prompted strong condemnation from public representatives, saying it would lead to a surge in Covid-19 cases in the city.
In Cork, local residents around University College Cork have campaigned for an end to what they described as "Covid-19 lockdown parties" which took place during the summer in privately rented houses in the vicinity of the university.
And they obtained a court order obliging a landlord to cut noise levels at two of his properties where tenants were holding lockdown parties after they brought a private prosecution for noise pollution under environmental laws.
UCC authorities issued a warning to all UCC students last week that anyone found to be in breach of Government guidelines on Covid-19 when organising or hosting a house party could face sanction including possible expulsion.
Interim UCC President, Prof John O’Halloran said it was a measure of the seriousness of the threat posed by Covid-19 that UCC was committed to treating breaches of government guidelines on the infection very seriously.
“In particular, students found to be organising, hosting or attending gatherings which are in breach of guidelines will be subject to sanction up to and including expulsion from the University where warranted,” he said.


theirishtimes--2020-10-02--Focus on daily Covid-19 cases causing ‘fear, anxiety and despair’, says Varadkar

Covid-19 case numbers in the State could reach record levels in the coming weeks , Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has predicted .
The record one day number of 936 cases of Covid-19 was recorded in the Republic on April 23rd .
Mr Varadkar stated that the Republic could go the way of other countries in Europe which have experienced record numbers of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks .
The UK recorded a one-day high of 7,143 infections on Tuesday while Northern Ireland recording a record high on Wednesday of 424 cases .
The Netherlands , the Czech Republic , Latvia , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of daily infections this week while France had a record daily figure last week .
Doctors have cautioned , however , that numbers of Covid-19 infections were most likely much higher in the spring than were recorded because then only people with symptoms were tested for the disease .
Speaking on RTÉ ’ s Prime Time programme , Mr Varadkar said numbers are rising “ exponentially ” in the country and are on course for record case numbers .
However , he criticised the media for what he saw was the “ over-concentration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr Varadkar said the daily cases were one of eight metrics used by the Government to ascertain how the pandemic is progressing .
The others included deaths , hospitalisations , numbers in intensive care units ( ICUs ) , the R ( Reproduction ) rate and the rate of infection .
He said the daily case number was not even the most important metric and the daily announcement was causing unnecessary “ fear and anxiety ” to the public .
“ Watching the news today and most days , you would think that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only one , or the main one .
It is not , ” he said .
“ The over-concentration particularly on the daily case number can create the wrong impression .
It can cause people to despair sometimes.
” However , he said the picture when you look at other indicators is much better with deaths and hospitalisations “ nowhere near where they were back in April ” .
He stressed , though , that rates of infection ( the percentage of those who test positive ) and rates of hospitalisations have increased @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ That ’ s why we are having to issue new restrictions , ” he explained .
“ It ’ s a different picture that what you get from the case loads alone.
” When asked who was putting too much emphasis on the case numbers , he said the media put the emphasis first on the case numbers and not the other indicators .
He stressed that restrictions are no longer being decided by case numbers alone anymore , but by positivity rates and hospitalisations .
“ We need to always bear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of a number of metrics .
They are not the first and they are not the most important .
Case numbers only give us part of the picture.
” The Department of Health releases data on coronavirus every evening at approximately 5.30pm .
The statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team includes the number of new cases , the number of new deaths , the total number of cases and the total number of deaths .
It also provides a breakdown on the daily cases including gender , age profile , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ close contacts , whether they were as a result of community spread as well as a breakdown by county where the new cases were detected .
The latest 14-day incidence rates of Covid-19 in Lifford-Stranorlar Co Donegal is 602.5 per 100,000 , more than seven times the national average of 88.2 .
The second highest area in the country is Celbridge , Co Kildare at 305.3 per 100,000 followed by Kimmage-Rathmines at 282.8 .
Ballymun-Finglas has the fourth highest with 270.9 cases per 100,000 , followed by Monaghan town ( 202.7 ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 198 ) , Boyle , Co Roscommon ( 197 ) , Bray West in Wicklow ( 190.2 ) and Dublin ’ s South West Inner City ( 188.9 ) .
They make up the 10 worst affected areas .
Nine of the next 10 local electoral areas are in Dublin with the exception of Leixlip in Co Kildare which is on the Dublin-Kildare border and it has a rate of 163.9 per 100,000 .
The worst affected part of Co Cork is the Cork city south west area which has a rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 24th .
In an interview with The Currency on Wednesday , the Fine Gael leader said that there are increasing coronavirus cases across Europe and Ireland but there is “ only a modest increase in the number of people who are in hospital , and also thankfully , the amount of people who are passing away.
” “ Any death is regrettable , and our sympathies go to the families affected , but this second wave which is happening across Europe and Ireland is very different .
As we speak now , only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have Covid patients in them and maybe 10 or 15 per cent of ICU .
If it got three or four times worse , it would still be only using up a relatively small amount of our health service capacity.
” Mr Varadkar said that other countries such as Belgium are no longer using case numbers to make their decisions on restrictions and on policy .
“ They are looking at hospitalisations , ICU capacity and on deaths .
It is a job for us as politicians to say to the public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on that .
The objective was to make sure our health service did not get overwhelmed , not to lock down the country and the economy until there was no Covid at all .
That is not realistic .
”

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar: “The over-concentration particulary on the daily case number can create the wrong impression. It can cause people to despair sometimes”. File photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Covid-19 case numbers in the State could reach record levels in the coming weeks, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has predicted.
The record one day number of 936 cases of Covid-19 was recorded in the Republic on April 23rd.
Mr Varadkar stated that the Republic could go the way of other countries in Europe which have experienced record numbers of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks.
Hospital Report
The UK recorded a one-day high of 7,143 infections on Tuesday while Northern Ireland recording a record high on Wednesday of 424 cases.
READ MORE
The Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovakia and Romania all saw record numbers of daily infections this week while France had a record daily figure last week.
Doctors have cautioned, however, that numbers of Covid-19 infections were most likely much higher in the spring than were recorded because then only people with symptoms were tested for the disease.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Prime Time programme, Mr Varadkar said numbers are rising “exponentially” in the country and are on course for record case numbers. However, he criticised the media for what he saw was the “over-concentration on the daily case numbers”.
Mr Varadkar said the daily cases were one of eight metrics used by the Government to ascertain how the pandemic is progressing. The others included deaths, hospitalisations, numbers in intensive care units (ICUs), the R (Reproduction) rate and the rate of infection.
He said the daily case number was not even the most important metric and the daily announcement was causing unnecessary “fear and anxiety” to the public.
“Watching the news today and most days, you would think that it (case numbers) was the only one, or the main one. It is not,” he said.
“The over-concentration particularly on the daily case number can create the wrong impression. It can cause people to despair sometimes.”
However, he said the picture when you look at other indicators is much better with deaths and hospitalisations “nowhere near where they were back in April”.
He stressed, though, that rates of infection (the percentage of those who test positive) and rates of hospitalisations have increased tenfold since the start of July.
“That’s why we are having to issue new restrictions,” he explained. “It’s a different picture that what you get from the case loads alone.”
When asked who was putting too much emphasis on the case numbers, he said the media put the emphasis first on the case numbers and not the other indicators.
He stressed that restrictions are no longer being decided by case numbers alone anymore, but by positivity rates and hospitalisations.
“We need to always bear in mind that case numbers are only one of a number of metrics. They are not the first and they are not the most important. Case numbers only give us part of the picture.”
The Department of Health releases data on coronavirus every evening at approximately 5.30pm. The statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team includes the number of new cases, the number of new deaths, the total number of cases and the total number of deaths. It also provides a breakdown on the daily cases including gender, age profile, if they were associated with outbreaks or close contacts, whether they were as a result of community spread as well as a breakdown by county where the new cases were detected.
The latest 14-day incidence rates of Covid-19 in Lifford-Stranorlar Co Donegal is 602.5 per 100,000, more than seven times the national average of 88.2.
The second highest area in the country is Celbridge, Co Kildare at 305.3 per 100,000 followed by Kimmage-Rathmines at 282.8.
Ballymun-Finglas has the fourth highest with 270.9 cases per 100,000, followed by Monaghan town (202.7), Dublin Clondalkin (199.9), Letterkenny (198), Boyle, Co Roscommon (197), Bray West in Wicklow (190.2) and Dublin’s South West Inner City (188.9). They make up the 10 worst affected areas.
Nine of the next 10 local electoral areas are in Dublin with the exception of Leixlip in Co Kildare which is on the Dublin-Kildare border and it has a rate of 163.9 per 100,000.
The worst affected part of Co Cork is the Cork city south west area which has a rate of 146.7 per 100,000 and is ranked 24th.
Modest increase
In an interview with The Currency on Wednesday, the Fine Gael leader said that there are increasing coronavirus cases across Europe and Ireland but there is "only a modest increase in the number of people who are in hospital, and also thankfully, the amount of people who are passing away."
“Any death is regrettable, and our sympathies go to the families affected, but this second wave which is happening across Europe and Ireland is very different. As we speak now, only 1 per cent of our hospital beds have Covid patients in them and maybe 10 or 15 per cent of ICU. If it got three or four times worse, it would still be only using up a relatively small amount of our health service capacity.”
Mr Varadkar said that other countries such as Belgium are no longer using case numbers to make their decisions on restrictions and on policy.
“They are looking at hospitalisations, ICU capacity and on deaths. It is a job for us as politicians to say to the public health people that maybe we should be focusing on that. The objective was to make sure our health service did not get overwhelmed, not to lock down the country and the economy until there was no Covid at all. That is not realistic.”