theirishtimes--2020-09-25--Irish haulier to be sentenced in UK for drug smuggling, money laundering

An Irish haulage contractor is facing a long jail term in the UK after admitting trafficking drugs and money laundering , a court heard .
Thomas Maher ( 39 ) , was told by Judge Brian Cummings he will likely be given a “ substantial ” prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to a number of offences at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday .
Maher , appearing via video-link from HMP Liverpool , had been arrested in October last year after the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people found in a shipping container in Essex .
His home in Warrington , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was not charged in connection with the deaths .
He was re-arrested by the National Crime Agency on June 30th , and charged with the other offences .
On Friday , the father of three pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to commit a crime abroad , spanning March 28th and May 11th this year .
They included two charges of conspiracy to import class A drugs into Ireland and two of transferring criminal property into Ireland - namely €300,000 in April and €600,000 in May .
Remanding Maher in custody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cummings told the defendant : “ Plainly on the face of it , you are facing a substantial custodial sentence , but the exact nature and extent of the sentence will be decided on the next occasion.
” The facts of the case were not opened during the brief hearing .
Maher is believed to have been co-ordinating a transport network to facilitate drug importations into the UK via Ireland , and the transport of money from Ireland to Holland using encrypted EncroChat phones .
EncroChat phones were used by major criminals across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by police .
But the secret communication system was hacked by law enforcement in June , leading to hundreds of arrests across Europe .
He pleaded not guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit a crime abroad , that of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm to Ronan Hughes in Ireland last April .
This charge will not be prosecuted , the court heard .
Hughes ( 40 ) from Co Armagh , pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey last month to 39 counts of manslaughter .
He also pleaded guilty @ @ @ @ @ @ @

An Irish haulage contractor is facing a long jail term in the UK after admitting trafficking drugs and money laundering, a court heard.
Thomas Maher (39), was told by Judge Brian Cummings he will likely be given a "substantial" prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to a number of offences at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday.
Maher, appearing via video-link from HMP Liverpool, had been arrested in October last year after the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people found in a shipping container in Essex. His home in Warrington, Cheshire, was raided by police but he was not charged in connection with the deaths.
He was re-arrested by the National Crime Agency on June 30th, and charged with the other offences.
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On Friday, the father of three pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to commit a crime abroad, spanning March 28th and May 11th this year.
They included two charges of conspiracy to import class A drugs into Ireland and two of transferring criminal property into Ireland - namely €300,000 in April and €600,000 in May.
Remanding Maher in custody until sentencing on December 1st, Judge Cummings told the defendant: “Plainly on the face of it, you are facing a substantial custodial sentence, but the exact nature and extent of the sentence will be decided on the next occasion.”
The facts of the case were not opened during the brief hearing.
Maher is believed to have been co-ordinating a transport network to facilitate drug importations into the UK via Ireland, and the transport of money from Ireland to Holland using encrypted EncroChat phones.
EncroChat phones were used by major criminals across Europe as they were regarded as uncrackable by police. But the secret communication system was hacked by law enforcement in June, leading to hundreds of arrests across Europe.
He pleaded not guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit a crime abroad, that of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm to Ronan Hughes in Ireland last April. This charge will not be prosecuted, the court heard.
Hughes (40) from Co Armagh, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey last month to 39 counts of manslaughter. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.


theirishtimes--2020-09-25--Ruling due on examinership for south Dublin care facility

The High Court will rule on Monday whether an examiner should be appointed to a south Dublin care facility for vulnerable adults .
The application concerns St Mary ’ s Centre ( Telford ) which operates a disability care facility for persons who are legally blind and a nursing home on a campus beside St Vincent ’ s Hospital on Merrion Road .
Last July , the court appointed provisional liquidators to the company .
Lawyers representing the care centre ’ s residents , some staff and former staff members , subsequently asked that the firm be put into examinership @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to see if the facility can be saved .
Those applicants , represented by John Kennedy SC , claim an independent expert ’ s report has stated the company can be saved if certain steps are taken , including examinership .
The company disputes the business could be saved through the examinership process .
The application to wind up the facility , which is owned by the Sisters of Charity , was brought on grounds it would be unable to meet redundancy payments of €950,000 arising from liquidation .
The firm cited regulatory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Health Service Executive ( HSE ) and an inability to comply with Health Information and Quality Authority ( Hiqa ) recommendations to modernise its facilities as reasons why it should be wound up .
On Friday , the second day of the application before Mr Justice Michael Quinn to appoint Anthony Wheldon as examiner , the court heard all of the residents at St Mary ’ s nursing home have been relocated .
Eighteen people remain at the care centre , some of whom have been there for 60 years .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SC , opposed the examinership application .
Counsel said the applicants had failed to put evidence before the court to address the centre ’ s significant funding gap .
No potential investor had been identified and there was no likelihood of an investor making a profitable return from the business , he said .
Other parties , including Hiqa and Revenue , are neutral on the examinership application .
Conor Dignam SC , for the HSE , told the court it is in talks about taking over the running of the disability centre @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of between 12 to 18 months .
During that time period , it is envisaged alternative accommodation could be located for the residents .
The Sisters of Charity , the court heard , were prepared to accommodate that scenario if the HSE and the liquidator ’ s talks yielded an agreement .
Following the conclusion of submissions on Friday afternoon , Mr Justice Quinn said he would give his decision on Monday whether to appoint an examiner .
Rossa Fanning SC , for the company , said , in the event of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the company will be asking it to confirm the appointment of the liquidators and make an order winding up the company .

Members of the Save St Mary’s Centre (Telford) campaign group protest earlier this week outside the Religious Sisters of Charity in Sandymount. Photograph: Tom Honan
The High Court will rule on Monday whether an examiner should be appointed to a south Dublin care facility for vulnerable adults.
The application concerns St Mary’s Centre (Telford) which operates a disability care facility for persons who are legally blind and a nursing home on a campus beside St Vincent’s Hospital on Merrion Road.
Last July, the court appointed provisional liquidators to the company.
Lawyers representing the care centre’s residents, some staff and former staff members, subsequently asked that the firm be put into examinership, even for a short period, to see if the facility can be saved.
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Those applicants, represented by John Kennedy SC, claim an independent expert’s report has stated the company can be saved if certain steps are taken, including examinership.
The company disputes the business could be saved through the examinership process.
The application to wind up the facility, which is owned by the Sisters of Charity, was brought on grounds it would be unable to meet redundancy payments of €950,000 arising from liquidation.
The firm cited regulatory difficulties, concerns over future funding from the Health Service Executive (HSE) and an inability to comply with Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) recommendations to modernise its facilities as reasons why it should be wound up.
On Friday, the second day of the application before Mr Justice Michael Quinn to appoint Anthony Wheldon as examiner, the court heard all of the residents at St Mary's nursing home have been relocated.
Eighteen people remain at the care centre, some of whom have been there for 60 years.
The provisional liquidators, represented by Andrew Fitzpatrick SC, opposed the examinership application.
Counsel said the applicants had failed to put evidence before the court to address the centre’s significant funding gap.
No potential investor had been identified and there was no likelihood of an investor making a profitable return from the business, he said.
Other parties, including Hiqa and Revenue, are neutral on the examinership application.
Conor Dignam SC, for the HSE, told the court it is in talks about taking over the running of the disability centre from the liquidators for a transitional period of between 12 to 18 months.
During that time period, it is envisaged alternative accommodation could be located for the residents.
The Sisters of Charity, the court heard, were prepared to accommodate that scenario if the HSE and the liquidator’s talks yielded an agreement.
Following the conclusion of submissions on Friday afternoon, Mr Justice Quinn said he would give his decision on Monday whether to appoint an examiner.
Rossa Fanning SC, for the company, said, in the event of the court refusing to appoint an examiner, the company will be asking it to confirm the appointment of the liquidators and make an order winding up the company.


theirishtimes--2020-09-25--An Post confirms restart of full postal service to US, Australia, New Zealand

People will be able to send post down under and across the Atlantic from early next week as An Post has confirmed that it will restart full services to several countries where deliveries have been suspended since early in the coronavirus crisis .
Covid-19 travel restrictions and a dramatic reduction in international flights meant Irish residents have been unable to send or receive mail from Australia and New Zealand in recent months while there has also been significant restrictions of deliveries to and from the US An Post said that letter and parcel services to the United States , Australia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fully from Tuesday , September 29th .
“ We ’ re also maintaining current international postage rates for customers , despite the actual cost of air freight increasing due to fewer flights and much reduced capacity in recent months , ” the An Post director of international mails Cyril McGrane said .
He also reminded people planning to send cards and parcels to the destinations ahead of Christmas of the need to act earlier than ever this year .
“ Much as we hate mentioning so early , the Post Early for Christmas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this year ” he said .
“ Postal services are operating in a complex global situation where transport and logistics networks have been seriously impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic .
Working with our postal peers across the globe , we are dealing with a constantly changing situation with some routes being restricted and others being restored , all the time , ” he added .
In recent weeks , service has been restored to some 14 countries including South Africa , South Korea and Croatia .
Customers are being advised to check anpost.com @ @ @ @

Covid-19 travel restrictions and a reduction in international flights meant Irish residents have been unable to send or receive mail from Australia and New Zealand in recent months. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien/The Irish Times
People will be able to send post down under and across the Atlantic from early next week as An Post has confirmed that it will restart full services to several countries where deliveries have been suspended since early in the coronavirus crisis.
Covid-19 travel restrictions and a dramatic reduction in international flights meant Irish residents have been unable to send or receive mail from Australia and New Zealand in recent months while there has also been significant restrictions of deliveries to and from the US
An Post said that letter and parcel services to the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore will resume fully from Tuesday, September 29th.
Christmas
“We’re also maintaining current international postage rates for customers, despite the actual cost of air freight increasing due to fewer flights and much reduced capacity in recent months,” the An Post director of international mails Cyril McGrane said.
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He also reminded people planning to send cards and parcels to the destinations ahead of Christmas of the need to act earlier than ever this year.
“Much as we hate mentioning so early, the Post Early for Christmas advice will be more important than ever this year” he said.
“Postal services are operating in a complex global situation where transport and logistics networks have been seriously impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Working with our postal peers across the globe, we are dealing with a constantly changing situation with some routes being restricted and others being restored, all the time,” he added.
In recent weeks, service has been restored to some 14 countries including South Africa, South Korea and Croatia. Customers are being advised to check anpost.com for live updates.


theirishtimes--2020-09-25--Court rules public bodies must justify refusals to disclose certain documents

The Supreme Court , in important judgments affecting application of the Freedom of Information Act , has ruled public bodies are required to justify refusals to disclose certain confidential or commercially sensitive documents .
A finding by a public body that records are exempt from disclosure under the Act does not automatically mean they can not be disclosed , Ms Justice Marie Baker held .
She said a decision that records are exempt must be explained and justified and the head of the public body must explain why the public interest does not justify release of the document .
However @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ unduly high bar ” by requiring evidence of “ exceptional ” justifying circumstances to establish a refusal to disclose was lawful , she held .
On foot of those and other findings , the five-judge Suprem Court allowed separate appeals by the commissioner against court rulings which had reversed decisions by the commissioner granting applications by journalist Gavin Sheridan and RTÉ for disclosure of certain records .
The commissioner will now hold fresh reviews , in line with the court ’ s findings , concerning both applications .
Both appeals concerned the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be engaged when records are commercially sensitive or confidential .
Mr Sheridan had sought a copy of a contract between the Department for Communications and a firm , e-Nasc Éireann Teoranta ( eNet ) , to manage the State ’ s fibre-optic broadband network .
The case concerning RTÉ arose from its efforts to obtain details of a €100 million loan given to University College Cork ( UCC ) by the European Investment Bank ( EIB ) .
Both the Department of Communications and UCC initially refused to release the records on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for under Section 36 of the Act .
The Department said it had a duty of confidence to the private interests of eNet .
UCC told RTÉ that disclosing details of its loan could have resulted in a financial loss to the EIB and have negative implications for the college ’ s ability to get future loans .
Both refusals were overturned by the commissioner on appeal and the commissioner ’ s decisions were ultimately subject to judgments , by the Court of Appeal in relation to Mr Sheridan ’ s case , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ RTÉ case .
Because both raised important issues regarding construction of provisions of the FOI Act , the Supreme Court agreed to hear further appeals in both matters .
On Friday , Ms Justice Baker delivered the court ’ s judgments on both appeals .
The judgment concerning the Sheridan request centred on section 22 of the FOI Act , concerning justification of a decision to refuse disclosure , and in the context of the public interest “ balancing test ” in section 36 .
The right of access to records under the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by exemptions , she said .
Disclosure remains the “ starting point ” and a departure from that must be justified by reason of the plain terms of sections 36.1.b and 22.12 .
The commissioner was correct in arguing sections 35.3 and 36.3 require the public body to justify a refusal , she said .
However , the commissioner imposed an “ unduly high ” bar by requiring evidence of justifying reasons amounting to “ exceptional circumstances ” to establish a lawful refusal to disclose .
On foot of those findings , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Sheridan decision .
She dismissed a cross-appeal by the Minister in that case concerning interpretation of section 35.2 of the Act .
She said confidentiality agreements between public bodies and third parties may come within the exemption from disclosure in section 35.1 , subject to the public interest override in section 35.3 .
Information may be excluded if its disclosure would constitute breach of a duty of confidence created by a contract , statute or statutory instrument and the public interest override in section 35.3 did not apply to such information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prevents a public body generating confidentiality by its own actions if there is no contractual or statutory basis for that , she held .
Section 35.2 was enacted to avoid a public body and a third party service provider relying on a confidentiality clause to prevent disclosure .
In a separate judgment allowing the commissioner ’ s appeal concerning the RTÉ request , the judge said the main issue of law in that appeal was the correct interpretation and application of section 36.1.b of the Act concerning the commercial sensitivity exemption from disclosure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the High Court of a number of failures in the commissioner ’ s approach in the RTÉ matter , Ms Justice Baker said the High Court had erred in one of its primary reasons for rejecting the commissioner ’ s approach .
That was its view , based on the earlier Couurt of Appeal judgment on the Sheridan decision , on the commissioner ’ s approach to the presumption in section 22.12 that a decision to refuse disclosure is unjustified unless the head of the public body concerned can prove to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On that basis , she allowed the appeal and remitted the matter to the ommissioner .

The case concerning RTÉ arose from its efforts to obtain details of a €100 million loan given to University College Cork by the European Investment Bank.
The Supreme Court, in important judgments affecting application of the Freedom of Information Act, has ruled public bodies are required to justify refusals to disclose certain confidential or commercially sensitive documents.
A finding by a public body that records are exempt from disclosure under the Act does not automatically mean they cannot be disclosed, Ms Justice Marie Baker held.
She said a decision that records are exempt must be explained and justified and the head of the public body must explain why the public interest does not justify release of the document.
However, the Information Commissioner had imposed an “unduly high bar” by requiring evidence of “exceptional” justifying circumstances to establish a refusal to disclose was lawful, she held.
READ MORE
On foot of those and other findings, the five-judge Suprem Court allowed separate appeals by the commissioner against court rulings which had reversed decisions by the commissioner granting applications by journalist Gavin Sheridan and RTÉ for disclosure of certain records.
The commissioner will now hold fresh reviews, in line with the court’s findings, concerning both applications.
Both appeals concerned the means by which public interest considerations are to be engaged when records are commercially sensitive or confidential.
Mr Sheridan had sought a copy of a contract between the Department for Communications and a firm, e-Nasc Éireann Teoranta (eNet), to manage the State’s fibre-optic broadband network.
The case concerning RTÉ arose from its efforts to obtain details of a €100 million loan given to University College Cork (UCC) by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Both the Department of Communications and UCC initially refused to release the records on grounds of commercial sensitivity, as provided for under Section 36 of the Act.
The Department said it had a duty of confidence to the private interests of eNet.
UCC told RTÉ that disclosing details of its loan could have resulted in a financial loss to the EIB and have negative implications for the college’s ability to get future loans.
Both refusals were overturned by the commissioner on appeal and the commissioner's decisions were ultimately subject to judgments, by the Court of Appeal in relation to Mr Sheridan's case, and by the High Court on the RTÉ case.
Because both raised important issues regarding construction of provisions of the FOI Act, the Supreme Court agreed to hear further appeals in both matters.
On Friday, Ms Justice Baker delivered the court’s judgments on both appeals. The judgment concerning the Sheridan request centred on section 22 of the FOI Act, concerning justification of a decision to refuse disclosure, and in the context of the public interest “balancing test” in section 36.
The right of access to records under the Act is not absolute and is tempered by exemptions, she said.
Disclosure remains the “starting point” and a departure from that must be justified by reason of the plain terms of sections 36.1.b and 22.12.
The commissioner was correct in arguing sections 35.3 and 36.3 require the public body to justify a refusal, she said.
However, the commissioner imposed an “unduly high” bar by requiring evidence of justifying reasons amounting to “exceptional circumstances” to establish a lawful refusal to disclose. On foot of those findings, she granted the commissioner’s appeal relating to the Sheridan decision.
She dismissed a cross-appeal by the Minister in that case concerning interpretation of section 35.2 of the Act.
She said confidentiality agreements between public bodies and third parties may come within the exemption from disclosure in section 35.1, subject to the public interest override in section 35.3.
Information may be excluded if its disclosure would constitute breach of a duty of confidence created by a contract, statute or statutory instrument and the public interest override in section 35.3 did not apply to such information.
She said Section 35. 2 prevents a public body generating confidentiality by its own actions if there is no contractual or statutory basis for that, she held. Section 35.2 was enacted to avoid a public body and a third party service provider relying on a confidentiality clause to prevent disclosure.
In a separate judgment allowing the commissioner’s appeal concerning the RTÉ request, the judge said the main issue of law in that appeal was the correct interpretation and application of section 36.1.b of the Act concerning the commercial sensitivity exemption from disclosure.
While she agreed with several findings of the High Court of a number of failures in the commissioner’s approach in the RTÉ matter, Ms Justice Baker said the High Court had erred in one of its primary reasons for rejecting the commissioner’s approach.
That was its view, based on the earlier Couurt of Appeal judgment on the Sheridan decision, on the commissioner’s approach to the presumption in section 22.12 that a decision to refuse disclosure is unjustified unless the head of the public body concerned can prove to the commissioner’s satisfaction it was justified. On that basis, she allowed the appeal and remitted the matter to the ommissioner.


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--Two men arrested following Garda chase in Balbriggan

Gardaí arrested two men and seized a gun following a chase in Balbriggan on Friday evening .
At about 6pm @ @ @ @ @ to stop a vehicle in the Pinewood area of Balbriggan , Co Dublin , as @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Drogheda Operation Stratus .
The driver of the vehicle reversed away from the @ @ @ @ @ He and another man then abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot .
Gardaí chased @ @ @ @ @ them in shrubs near Castleland Park View , Balbriggan .
The vehicle was seized and @ @ @ @ @ , a sawn-off Beretta shotgun and six shotgun cartridges were recovered .
These seized items @ @ @ @ @ Garda Ballistics Unit for analysis .
The two men ( aged in their 20s and @ @ @ @ @ Swords and Balbriggan Garda Stations under the provisions of the Offences Against the State Act @

The sawn-ff shotgun and cartridges seized by gardaí in Balbriggan.
Gardaí arrested two men and seized a gun following a chase in Balbriggan on Friday evening.
At about 6pm on Friday, gardaí attempted to stop a vehicle in the Pinewood area of Balbriggan, Co Dublin, as part of An Garda Síochána’s Drogheda Operation Stratus.
The driver of the vehicle reversed away from the gardaí at high speed. He and another man then abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.
Gardaí chased the two men and found them in shrubs near Castleland Park View, Balbriggan.
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The vehicle was seized and, during a technical examination, a sawn-off Beretta shotgun and six shotgun cartridges were recovered.
These seized items will be sent to the Garda Ballistics Unit for analysis.
The two men (aged in their 20s and 30s) were detained at Swords and Balbriggan Garda Stations under the provisions of the Offences Against the State Act.
Investigations are ongoing, gardaí said.


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--Co Donegal hotel offers €2 rooms to locals to circumvent Covid-19 outdoor dining rules

A Co Donegal hotel has invited locals to book a room for €2 per person sharing , in order to circumvent public health rules on restaurants and permit them to dine indoors .
The Government announced last Thursday that Donegal was moving to Level 3 of the Living with Covid roadmap , which means restaurants and pubs which serve food are only permitted to open for outdoor dining facilities or for takeaway services .
Hotels are also permitted to remain open under this level , but services are limited to residents only .
However , the Beach Hotel , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peninsula , has told local residents that if they book a room for €2 per person they can dine indoors as they would be considered residents of the venue .
The rooms will be booked for slots of one hour and 45 minutes , and would not be used by the individuals making the booking .
In a post on its Facebook page on Friday , the hotel said : “ Adhering to Government guidelines from Saturday 26th of September we are open for residents only and 15 non-residents outside.
” “ Why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Spoil yourself .
Dine indoors , rent one of our rooms and avail of our food and beverage services .
Our rooms are currently available to rent for an allotted time .
€2 per person sharing all weekend .
Don ’ t miss this one time only offer , when they ’ re gone , they ’ re gone.
” The hotel did not respond to requests for comment by The Irish Times at the time of publication .
However , in a comment responding to backlash from local residents underneath the post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ required to close under the guidelines and that the offer was “ aimed to local people in the area ” .
“ No one will be using the rooms .
It is merely a method to allow people to become a resident for a maximum period of 1 hour and 45 minutes so they can avail of our dining and beverage services , ” the comment said .
“ The Government allows residents to be serviced inside and 15 non-residents outside.
” The hotel added that it will be closed from Monday “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was merely a way to recoup our costs from stock ordered for the full house of residents that cancelled on Friday evening .
The usual controlled Covid-19 social distancing restrictions apply.
” Local councillor John O ’ Donnell said he “ thought it was a joke ” when he first heard the hotel was running the offer .
“ I can see the reasoning behind it , people want to keep businesses open for the next three weeks .
I agree with the outdoor venues .
There are other venues in Donegal that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t know about the €2 idea , ” Mr O ’ Donnell said .
“ It ’ s not fair on the other businesses .
I would welcome the outdoor basis only .
I wouldn ’ t be in favour of a packed residents ’ bar .
There are public health rules for a reason .
We have to do everything we can to stop the pandemic .
The numbers aren ’ t rising for no reason .
”

The hotel said the offer ‘was merely a way to recoup our costs from stock ordered for the full house of residents that cancelled on Friday evening’. Photograph: iStock
A Co Donegal hotel has invited locals to book a room for €2 per person sharing, in order to circumvent public health rules on restaurants and permit them to dine indoors.
The Government announced last Thursday that Donegal was moving to Level 3 of the Living with Covid roadmap, which means restaurants and pubs which serve food are only permitted to open for outdoor dining facilities or for takeaway services.
Hotels are also permitted to remain open under this level, but services are limited to residents only.
However, the Beach Hotel, in the village of Downings on the Rosguill peninsula, has told local residents that if they book a room for €2 per person they can dine indoors as they would be considered residents of the venue.
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The rooms will be booked for slots of one hour and 45 minutes, and would not be used by the individuals making the booking.
In a post on its Facebook page on Friday, the hotel said: "Adhering to Government guidelines from Saturday 26th of September we are open for residents only and 15 non-residents outside."
“Why stay out in the cold?? Spoil yourself. Dine indoors, rent one of our rooms and avail of our food and beverage services. Our rooms are currently available to rent for an allotted time. €2 per person sharing all weekend. Don’t miss this one time only offer, when they’re gone, they’re gone.”
Apology
In a statement to The Irish Times, the hotel apologised for “any unintentional offence caused by our local offer”.
“The offer was aimed at people locally in the Downings area. Our intention was that no one would be using the bedrooms; it was merely a method to allow customers to become residents for a maximum period of one hour and 45 minutes in line with Government regulations, so they could avail of our dining and beverage services indoors,” the statement said.
They said the offer was advertised based on their “interpretation of Government guidance”, which permits hotel residents to eat indoors.
"The offer was a way for us to remain in operation so that we could recoup our costs from stock ordered for the full house of residents that cancelled on Friday evening. It also allowed us to keep our staff employed and we believe this has highlighted the current stress facing the hospitality industry at present across Ireland. "
The hotel said that “while it was never our intention to cause offence”, they were “left in an impossible situation”.
It added that the guidelines permitted the facility to remain open, but they were “ told to operate under such strict restrictions, whereby it was not feasible to keep our doors open”.
The hotel said it will be closed from Monday “until further notice” and that all remaining stock will be donated to local charity from Monday morning.
It added that the health and safety of guests, staff and the local community is of the “utmost importance to us”.
Local councillor John O’Donnell said he “thought it was a joke” when he first heard the hotel was running the offer.
“I can see the reasoning behind it, people want to keep businesses open for the next three weeks. I agree with the outdoor venues. There are other venues in Donegal that have great outdoor space but I don’t know about the €2 idea,” Cllr O’Donnell said.
“It’s not fair on the other businesses. I would welcome the outdoor basis only. I wouldn’t be in favour of a packed residents’ bar. There are public health rules for a reason. We have to do everything we can to stop the pandemic. The numbers aren’t rising for no reason.”


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--Gardaí charge man (30s) in connection to €50,000 cash and drugs seizure

Gardaí have charged a man ( 30s ) who was arrested in connection with a seizure of cash and drugs @ @ @ @ @ city on Thursday .
As part of ongoing patrols targeting local drugs distribution networks , @ @ @ @ @ stopped and searched a car in the Fairhill area of Cork city on Thursday , @ @ @ @ @ and over €12,000 in cash .
A follow up search of an apartment in Passage @ @ @ @ @ of an additional € 35,000 worth of cannabis .
On Saturday , gardaí said they @ @ @ @ @ connection with this seizure .
He is due to appear before a special sitting of @ @ @ @ @ Saturday morning .

A follow up search of an apartment in Passage West led to the discovery of an additional € 35,000 worth of cannabis. File photograph: Getty Images
Gardaí have charged a man (30s) who was arrested in connection with a seizure of cash and drugs worth over €50,000 in Cork city on Thursday.
As part of ongoing patrols targeting local drugs distribution networks, gardaí from Gurranabraher Garda station stopped and searched a car in the Fairhill area of Cork city on Thursday, discovering cannabis herb worth €5,000 and over €12,000 in cash.
A follow up search of an apartment in Passage West led to the discovery of an additional € 35,000 worth of cannabis.
On Saturday, gardaí said they had charged a man in connection with this seizure. He is due to appear before a special sitting of Cork City District Court on Saturday morning.


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--Visitor restrictions remain in place at National Maternity Hospital and Coombe

Visitor restrictions for important pregnancy scans remain in place at the National Maternity Hospital ( NMH ) and the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital , despite another Dublin maternity hospital permitting attendance .
For the past month , partners of expectant mothers attending the Rotunda hospital have been permitted to attend the 20 week anomaly scan .
The scan is considered important as it is the first point at which foetal abnormalities or defects can usually be seen .
However , partners of pregnant women in the NMH and the Coombe are not permitted to attend these scans , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread of Covid-19 .
At the NMH , partners can attend labour and birth , can visit mothers after birth for two-hour periods , and “ in adverse situations ” can attend outpatient appointments or scans .
A spokesman for the hospital said they are “ very aware ” that the restrictions is “ adding to the distress of people in very difficult and sometimes tragic circumstances ” .
“ Hospitals must unfortunately impose these restrictions , to ensure we have specialist staff to treat our patients , and to ensure the safety @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Coombe said the restrictions were implemented for “ several reasons ” , particularly for limiting the spread of the virus .
“ But there are also very practical reasons , for instance we have infrastructural constraints in our buildings , particularly in the rooms where we carry out our scans and see women for their outpatient appointments , ” the spokeswoman said .
“ We must also protect our staff to ensure we have the appropriate numbers available to continue our outpatient and ultrasound services.
” Fergal Malone , master of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his hospital due to the layout of the building .
“ We have managed to construct our foetal assessment unit , where anomaly scans are done , in a separate part of the hospital from the general outpatients service .
There tends not to be quite as many numbers of patients and visitors around , ” he told RTÉ Radio One ’ s News at One .
“ Unfortunately not all hospitals have the same facilities so this is going to have to be something that is individualised.
” Meanwhile , a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue to manage restrictions at a local level and every maternity service will be asked to review their visitor arrangements on a weekly basis .
The clinical director of the women ’ s and infants ’ programme with the HSE Peter McKenna said the HSE will examine if it is “ possible to have a telelink with a partner via a smartphone or camera .
Although the partner may not be physically in the room it can be pointed out ‘ this is what we are looking at here , this looks good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is something which I think is certainly worth exploring and we will see if it is something which can be piloted .
”

Partners of pregnant women in the NMH and the Coombe are not permitted to attend the 20 week anomaly scan. Photograph: iStock
Visitor restrictions for important pregnancy scans remain in place at the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) and the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, despite another Dublin maternity hospital permitting attendance.
For the past month, partners of expectant mothers attending the Rotunda hospital have been permitted to attend the 20 week anomaly scan. The scan is considered important as it is the first point at which foetal abnormalities or defects can usually be seen.
However, partners of pregnant women in the NMH and the Coombe are not permitted to attend these scans, due to restrictions introduced to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
At the NMH, partners can attend labour and birth, can visit mothers after birth for two-hour periods, and “in adverse situations” can attend outpatient appointments or scans.
READ MORE
A spokesman for the hospital said they are “very aware” that the restrictions is “adding to the distress of people in very difficult and sometimes tragic circumstances”.
“Hospitals must unfortunately impose these restrictions, to ensure we have specialist staff to treat our patients, and to ensure the safety of patients themselves.”
A spokeswoman for the Coombe said the restrictions were implemented for “several reasons”, particularly for limiting the spread of the virus.
“But there are also very practical reasons, for instance we have infrastructural constraints in our buildings, particularly in the rooms where we carry out our scans and see women for their outpatient appointments,” the spokeswoman said.
“ We must also protect our staff to ensure we have the appropriate numbers available to continue our outpatient and ultrasound services.”
Fergal Malone, master of the Rotunda, said visitation is feasible in his hospital due to the layout of the building.
"We have managed to construct our foetal assessment unit, where anomaly scans are done, in a separate part of the hospital from the general outpatients service. There tends not to be quite as many numbers of patients and visitors around," he told RTÉ Radio One's News at One.
“Unfortunately not all hospitals have the same facilities so this is going to have to be something that is individualised.”
Meanwhile, a new HSE report states that maternity hospitals will continue to manage restrictions at a local level and every maternity service will be asked to review their visitor arrangements on a weekly basis.
The clinical director of the women’s and infants’ programme with the HSE Peter McKenna said the HSE will examine if it is “possible to have a telelink with a partner via a smartphone or camera. Although the partner may not be physically in the room it can be pointed out ‘this is what we are looking at here, this looks good, etc’.”
“It is something which I think is certainly worth exploring and we will see if it is something which can be piloted.”


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--People who fail to self-isolate should be fined for their ‘selfish behaviour’, says GP

A GP has suggested there should be fines for people who refuse to self-isolate if testing positive for Covid-19 or who are waiting for the results of a Covid-19 test .
Monaghan town-based GP Dr Illona Duffy said there is enough information in the public domain for people to know the importance of self-isolating , but many are refusing to do so .
She was aware of a business in Monaghan town which had to close its doors on Friday evening because a person involved with it had not self-isolated .
Dr Duffy suggested the fines could be similar to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people have been forced to pay £1,000 ( €,1,100 ) for not self-isolating while they were infected .
“ There should be fines for deliberately breaking the rules , ” she said .
“ When we are advising people to self-isolate , we find they are not doing it .
I rang somebody with their test results yesterday to tell them they were positive only to find they were not at home .
“ More people were ringing me this afternoon and evening upset .
They ’ ve been exposed to Covid because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were close contacts of a positive case did not do so .
This is selfish behaviour .
This is dangerous behaviour.
” Dr Duffy said many people in Monaghan have to wait five days between being tested and getting the results and they are not self-isolating .
“ The young people are just not staying at home .
They just don ’ t get it .
We are struggling to get the message across as to why they have to self-isolate.
” She said many are puzzled that somebody who is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their close contacts have to do so for 14 days .
“ We are trying to wait and see if they become infectious either symptomatically or asymptomatically .
The message still isn ’ t getting through .
People in their twenties are not doing what they are supposed to be doing and it is really worrying.
” She was aware of one person who had tested positive and turned up at the home of a very elderly person .
Dr Duffy said her surgery did not have a single Covid-19 positive case for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this week .
“ That ’ s seven in one practice and I am aware of colleagues who have multiples too and we are getting calls from people who are close contacts .
This is how it mushrooms and spreads out of control .
It is too disappointing that people will ignore the advice they are being given.
” Monaghan has seen a considerable spike in recent days with 30 new cases notified on Thursday although its 14 day average up to last Monday was 61.7 cases per 100,000 , lower than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Dr Illona Duffy said many people in Monaghan have to wait five days between being tested and getting the results and they are not self-isolating.
A GP has suggested there should be fines for people who refuse to self-isolate if testing positive for Covid-19 or who are waiting for the results of a Covid-19 test.
Monaghan town-based GP Dr Illona Duffy said there is enough information in the public domain for people to know the importance of self-isolating, but many are refusing to do so.
She was aware of a business in Monaghan town which had to close its doors on Friday evening because a person involved with it had not self-isolated.
Dr Duffy suggested the fines could be similar to those imposed in the North where some people have been forced to pay £1,000 (€,1,100) for not self-isolating while they were infected.
READ MORE
“There should be fines for deliberately breaking the rules,” she said.
“When we are advising people to self-isolate, we find they are not doing it. I rang somebody with their test results yesterday to tell them they were positive only to find they were not at home.
“More people were ringing me this afternoon and evening upset. They’ve been exposed to Covid because people who were advised to isolate because they were close contacts of a positive case did not do so. This is selfish behaviour. This is dangerous behaviour.”
Dr Duffy said many people in Monaghan have to wait five days between being tested and getting the results and they are not self-isolating.
“ The young people are just not staying at home. They just don’t get it. We are struggling to get the message across as to why they have to self-isolate.”
She said many are puzzled that somebody who is a positive case self-isolates for 10 days while their close contacts have to do so for 14 days.
“We are trying to wait and see if they become infectious either symptomatically or asymptomatically. The message still isn’t getting through. People in their twenties are not doing what they are supposed to be doing and it is really worrying.”
She was aware of one person who had tested positive and turned up at the home of a very elderly person.
Dr Duffy said her surgery did not have a single Covid-19 positive case for weeks, but she has had seven this week.
“That’s seven in one practice and I am aware of colleagues who have multiples too and we are getting calls from people who are close contacts. This is how it mushrooms and spreads out of control. It is too disappointing that people will ignore the advice they are being given.”
Monaghan has seen a considerable spike in recent days with 30 new cases notified on Thursday although its 14 day average up to last Monday was 61.7 cases per 100,000, lower than the national average of 70.7 per 100,000 cases.


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--Man using electric scooter found dead on road in Harmanstown, Co Meath

Gardaí are investigating the discovery of a body on the N51 in Harmanstown , Slane , Co Meath .
Gardaí @ @ @ @ @ 2.50am on Saturday morning following reports of an unconscious man lying on the road .
@ @ @ @ @ on an electric scooter from the direction of Slane , was treated by ambulance services @ @ @ @ @ .
The road was closed pending a technical examination and local diversions were put in @ @ @ @ @ , gardaí are treating this incident as a possible road traffic collision and have appealed @ @ @ @ @ .
They have also appealed for camera footage from drivers who were travelling on the @ @ @ @ @ and 3am .

The road was closed near the scene of the tragedy pending technical examination. Photograph: Seamus Farrelly
The 29-year-old Moldovan whose body was discovered at a roadside in Meath in the early hours of Saturday morning was due to be married in the coming weeks.
Staff at a Meath takeaway have expressed their shock and devastation at the death of their popular colleague whose remains were discovered close to an electric scooter at Harmanstown on the N51 Navan to Slane Road at 2.50am.
The young man was living in a house close to where he was found and had only moved to Ireland in the last three months.
He was due to get married to his fiancée who is living in Moldova in the coming few weeks.
READ MORE
Staff at Romayo’s Takeaway Restaurant on the Collon Road in Slane expressed their horror at the tragedy.
“He was a very popular young man and was working here on Friday. He was only in the country a few months,” said a co-worker who did not wish to be named.
“We are all shocked and just devastated that he is gone. No-one knows what happened.”
Local businessman David Smyth, who owns the building where Romayo’s is situated, visited the scene on Saturday morning and said the deceased was hugely liked by all who met him.
“He had only been in Ireland a few months and was due to get married to his fiancée who is back in Moldova in about three weeks time,” he said.
“I visited the scene in the early hours of Saturday morning after the accident. The deceased had lights on his scooter and was wearing a helmet and a high viz jacket.”
He said the man was “only here a short time but had already made a lot of friends in the area and was well liked by all who came across him”.
“He was hugely popular among the staff in Romayos and my heart goes out to them and his loved ones at this time.”
Local Fianna Fail Cllr Wayne Harding said: “It’s an absolute tragedy and I feel particularly sorry for the staff of Romayos.
“He was a member of a team of hard-working staff in a very popular and busy takeaway.”
In a statement on Saturday morning, gardaí said they had attended the scene at about 2.50am following reports of an unconscious man lying on the road.
The man who was travelling on an electric scooter from the direction of Slane, was treated by ambulance services but was later pronounced dead, the statement said.
The road was closed pending a technical examination and local diversions were put in place.
“At this time, gardaí are treating this incident as a possible road traffic collision and have appealed for witnesses to contact them,” the statement said.
Anyone who travelled along the Navan-Slane road between 2-3am and who may have dashcam footage should contact the incident room at Navan Garda station on 046 907 9930 or the Garda Confidential line on 1800 666 111.


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--Another Life: Here comes the sunfish

Another Life: Here comes the sunfish

Measuring big changes in the life of the sea can mean poring over the records of tiny things such as plankton .
But swimming into recent Irish calculations has come the biggest bony fish in the world and certainly one of the strangest .
Mola mola , the sunfish , can grow up to more than 3m long with a body mass of up to 2.3 tonnes .
One of the biggest on record , at 3.6m , was encountered by divers in Brandon Bay , Co Kerry , in September 2003 .
And the website of Blasket Islands Eco @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a trip goes by without an encounter with sunfish ” .
Many of those in the seas off Ireland this summer would have been a lot smaller and younger than the biggest .
But once a casual and little-studied curiosity , the growing abundance of Mola mola and its appetite for jellyfish have raised its significance for science .
A near-circular disc of a fish with a rather small mouth , the sunfish swims mostly vertically , like a great coin on edge .
Long fins at top and bottom act as paddles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the tail should be .
There ’ s a reason for this seemingly weird design .
Sunfish spend only about a quarter of their time in the top 5m of the ocean , munching jellyfish , and the rest diving deep after seabed food and small fish .
Near the surface again they tilt their big bodies , like mirrors , to the sun , basking in its warmth .
Their long absences from the surface means that counting them from an aircraft is tricky , with a one-in-four chance of spotting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ the number of sunfish present in our study area could be up to five times greater than the estimates presented here ” .
This survey , published online in 2017 , was mounted by researchers from University College Cork .
It covered some 300,000sq km of the northeast Atlantic and offered first estimates of sunfish : at least 12,702 in the summer and 8,223 in the winter .
It modelled a daily consumption of 2,600 tonnes of jellyfish .
In the same year , French researchers published a paper headed “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rise of slime ’ .
” They had undertaken “ the most extensive aerial surveys of sunfish ever conducted and found surprisingly high abundances off the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of western Europe ” .
With up to 475 sunfish per 100sq km , researchers estimated a remarkable 20,774 tonnes per day of predated jellyfish .
Ocean warming , they suggested , and the overfishing of predatory sharks , could have led to sunfish abundance .
Reports of “ surprisingly high densities ” of the species are also noted in research for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” of change in the Celtic Sea , just published online ( EPA Report 335 ) .
Its authors , led from the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology , looked at regular sunfish sightings from the bird observatory on Cape Clear Island , off Co Cork , and found they increased markedly after the mid-1990s .
This matched rising numbers of siphonophore jellyfish .
But the study calls for more research to understand how the environment shapes abundance of “ this important planktivorous predator ” .
Tipping points are abrupt changes that can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The study looked at long-term past data for early warning signals from step changes .
A main aim was to develop statistical tools for use “ to learn from the past ” .
Details of the great increase in jellyfish came from the nets of the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey towed behind volunteer ships from the UK since 1931 .
They showed that jellies could , at times , make up to 42 per cent of the total biomass of zooplankton .
This ecosystem shift , or “ step change ” , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was around 1990 that another “ change point ” occurred , as southwest winds in the Celtic Sea reached greater strength and frequency .
They dispersed herring larvae from the fish ’ s spawning grounds off the south coast , carrying them offshore into deeper water and round into the Irish Sea .
Among the study ’ s analysis of records of tiny things were those of the otoliths , or earstones , of fish .
These pea-sized , pearl-white structures , floating beneath the fish ’ s brain , are routinely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ annual sampling of ocean fish to estimate age and abundance of stocks .
Age is shown in the added rings of otoliths , like those in slices through trees .
But the growth measurements , compared across fish , can also show responses to ecosystem shifts .
The study found that fish were getting smaller in the Celtic Sea with increases in sea warming .
Most notably , the herring showed a sharp drop in size from the mid-1970s to the 2000s : the length of a four-year-old fish decreases sharply above a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Big Irish herring have gone .
Sunfish , on the other hand , find this even better for basking , its numbers increasing as the ocean warms .

Measuring big changes in the life of the sea can mean poring over the records of tiny things such as plankton. But swimming into recent Irish calculations has come the biggest bony fish in the world and certainly one of the strangest.
Mola mola, the sunfish, can grow up to more than 3m long with a body mass of up to 2.3 tonnes. One of the biggest on record, at 3.6m, was encountered by divers in Brandon Bay, Co Kerry, in September 2003. And the website of Blasket Islands Eco Marine Tours currently claims that “hardly a trip goes by without an encounter with sunfish”.
Many of those in the seas off Ireland this summer would have been a lot smaller and younger than the biggest. But once a casual and little-studied curiosity, the growing abundance of Mola mola and its appetite for jellyfish have raised its significance for science.
Their long absences from the surface means that counting them from an aircraft is tricky
A near-circular disc of a fish with a rather small mouth, the sunfish swims mostly vertically, like a great coin on edge. Long fins at top and bottom act as paddles and a stiff frill of skin is where the tail should be.
READ MORE
There’s a reason for this seemingly weird design. Sunfish spend only about a quarter of their time in the top 5m of the ocean, munching jellyfish, and the rest diving deep after seabed food and small fish. Near the surface again they tilt their big bodies, like mirrors, to the sun, basking in its warmth.
Their long absences from the surface means that counting them from an aircraft is tricky, with a one-in-four chance of spotting them. As one report put it, “the number of sunfish present in our study area could be up to five times greater than the estimates presented here”.
This survey, published online in 2017, was mounted by researchers from University College Cork. It covered some 300,000sq km of the northeast Atlantic and offered first estimates of sunfish: at least 12,702 in the summer and 8,223 in the winter. It modelled a daily consumption of 2,600 tonnes of jellyfish.
In the same year, French researchers published a paper headed “Ocean sunfish as indicators for the ‘rise of slime’.” They had undertaken “the most extensive aerial surveys of sunfish ever conducted and found surprisingly high abundances off the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of western Europe”.
With up to 475 sunfish per 100sq km, researchers estimated a remarkable 20,774 tonnes per day of predated jellyfish. Ocean warming, they suggested, and the overfishing of predatory sharks, could have led to sunfish abundance.
Reports of "surprisingly high densities" of the species are also noted in research for the Environment Protection Agency on "tipping points" of change in the Celtic Sea, just published online (EPA Report 335).
Its authors, led from the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, looked at regular sunfish sightings from the bird observatory on Cape Clear Island, off Co Cork, and found they increased markedly after the mid-1990s. This matched rising numbers of siphonophore jellyfish. But the study calls for more research to understand how the environment shapes abundance of “this important planktivorous predator”.
Tipping points are abrupt changes that can switch an ecosystem to an alternative state. The study looked at long-term past data for early warning signals from step changes. A main aim was to develop statistical tools for use “to learn from the past”.
Details of the great increase in jellyfish came from the nets of the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey towed behind volunteer ships from the UK since 1931. They showed that jellies could, at times, make up to 42 per cent of the total biomass of zooplankton. This ecosystem shift, or “step change”, became marked in the late 1990s.
It was around 1990 that another “change point” occurred, as southwest winds in the Celtic Sea reached greater strength and frequency. They dispersed herring larvae from the fish’s spawning grounds off the south coast, carrying them offshore into deeper water and round into the Irish Sea.
Among the study’s analysis of records of tiny things were those of the otoliths, or earstones, of fish. These pea-sized, pearl-white structures, floating beneath the fish’s brain, are routinely archived by the Marine Institute in its annual sampling of ocean fish to estimate age and abundance of stocks.
Age is shown in the added rings of otoliths, like those in slices through trees. But the growth measurements, compared across fish, can also show responses to ecosystem shifts. The study found that fish were getting smaller in the Celtic Sea with increases in sea warming.
Most notably, the herring showed a sharp drop in size from the mid-1970s to the 2000s: the length of a four-year-old fish decreases sharply above a sea surface temperature of 14.1 degrees.
Big Irish herring have gone. Sunfish, on the other hand, find this even better for basking, its numbers increasing as the ocean warms.


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--What’s this creature that arrived in from the clothesline? Readers’ nature queries

This fellow came in on a towel from the clothesline .
He was about 6cms long with beautiful markings and big dark eyes .
– Jonathan White , Killiney , Co Dublin It ’ s the convolvulus hawkmoth , a late summer visitor from Mediterranean regions .
This wonderful underwater photo of a crayfish among dead man ’ s fingers was taken by club member Kieran McGlynn off the Donegal coast .
– Dearn McClintock , Sheephaven Sub Aqua Club , Co Donegal I was scuba diving recently off Hook Head , Co Wexford and saw 21 dogfish all crammed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , staying still .
I returned hours later and they were still there .
Could this be a mating event ?
– Orlaith O ’ Connor , Thomastown , Co Kilkenny .
Female dogfish crowd together in refuges to avoid predators and unwelcome mates , especially during the day .
We spotted this caterpillar-like creature on our walk along the Grand Canal at Edenderry .
– Gavin Duffy ( 11 ) , Edenderry , Co Offaly The caterpillar of the goat moth is so called because it smells like a male goat .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a tree where it has been growing for the past three or four years .
It will pupate on the ground and the moth will emerge next June .
We were delighted to see hundreds of hermit crabs at Omey Island in Connemara .
Some were the largest we have ever seen .
The shells ranged from 1cm to three times the size of those in the photo .
– Barbara Browne , Knockmore , Co Mayo Hermit crabs have a soft tail which they protect by occupying the empty shells of other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ larger shells as they grow .
The badger and hedgehog , as well as a fox , are nightly visitors outside my window .
– David Rice , Killaloe , Co Clare Ethna Viney welcomes observations and photographs at Thallabawn , Louisburgh , Co Mayo , F28 F978 , or by email at viney @ anu.ie .
Please include a postal address .

This fellow came in on a towel from the clothesline. He was about 6cms long with beautiful markings and big dark eyes. – Jonathan White, Killiney, Co Dublin
It's the convolvulus hawkmoth, a late summer visitor from Mediterranean regions.
Crayfish
This wonderful underwater photo of a crayfish among dead man's fingers was taken by club member Kieran McGlynn off the Donegal coast. – Dearn McClintock, Sheephaven Sub Aqua Club, Co Donegal
I was scuba diving recently off Hook Head, Co Wexford and saw 21 dogfish all crammed into a small crevice in the rock, staying still. I returned hours later and they were still there. Could this be a mating event? – Orlaith O'Connor, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny.
Female dogfish crowd together in refuges to avoid predators and unwelcome mates, especially during the day.
Caterpillar of the goat moth
We spotted this caterpillar-like creature on our walk along the Grand Canal at Edenderry. – Gavin Duffy (11), Edenderry, Co Offaly
The caterpillar of the goat moth is so called because it smells like a male goat. It has emerged from the trunk of a tree where it has been growing for the past three or four years. It will pupate on the ground and the moth will emerge next June.
READ MORE
Hermit crabs
We were delighted to see hundreds of hermit crabs at Omey Island in Connemara. Some were the largest we have ever seen. The shells ranged from 1cm to three times the size of those in the photo. – Barbara Browne, Knockmore, Co Mayo
Hermit crabs have a soft tail which they protect by occupying the empty shells of other species. They move from small to larger shells as they grow.
Badger and hedgehog are nightly visitors in a Killaloe garden
The badger and hedgehog, as well as a fox, are nightly visitors outside my window. – David Rice, Killaloe, Co Clare
Ethna Viney welcomes observations and photographs at Thallabawn, Louisburgh, Co Mayo, F28 F978, or by email at viney@anu.ie. Please include a postal address.


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--Coronavirus: State at ‘tipping point’ in Covid-19 struggle, says expert medic

The Republic is at a “ tipping point ” in the fight against Covid-19 , according to director of intensive care medicine at Tallaght Hospital in Dublin .
Intensive care unit ( ICU ) consultant Dr Arabella Fahy said hospitals are facing a critical moment in transmission of the virus given the rising levels of coronavirus infections again .
Tallaght Hospital has three Covid-19 patients in ICU , the most countrywide .
Dr Fahy said that in March the hospital went from three patients in intensive care to nine in just two days .
“ I feel over the next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community will determine what happens on the ground in the hospital , ” she said .
There are 16 coronavirus patients across critical care units , including two each in the Mater and St James ’ s in Dublin , Portlaoise , Tullamore and University Hospital Limerick .
Dr Fahy said that the difference between the fight now and the infections in March and April was most healthcare services were then stopped to prepare hospitals for increasing Covid-19 cases .
This time regular care must be managed also and Tallaght ’ s 12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Even if the numbers aren ’ t as high as before at the peak , our concern is the capacity to manage patients is restricted now .
We haven ’ t been able to empty out spaces in the same way so that is a real concern for us , ” said Dr Fahy , who is honorary secretary of the Intensive Care Society of Ireland .
Early response in the pandemic back in March had the benefit of being able to use redeployed staff from other parts of the hospital and repurpose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had ceased .
Now the hospital must manage Covid and normal services .
“ We are now in a situation where we would be above capacity – and we are – and now we have to look after another group of patients as well , ” she said .
“ We are seeing more patients on the wards and more patients in ICU again.
” In all , 32 patients with Covid came through Tallaght ’ s intensive care unit .
The total number of patients in the hospital ’ s ICU peaked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three or four non-Covid patients treated in additional critical care beds created in the hospital , including requisitioned children ’ s intensive care unit beds .
Dr Fahy hopes that some of the 17 new critical-care beds announced by the Health Service Executive at the launch of its winter plan this week will go to Tallaght which has been awaiting funding for 12 additional ICU beds since the hospital secured planning for them 18 months ago .
She said Tallaght ’ s intensive care unit is having the same critical illness in patients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are better resourced with information and experience now .
This includes knowing the benefit of proning sick patients earlier – or putting them lying on their stomach during ventilation – as well as using steroids , non-invasive ventilation and high-flow oxygen on wards .
She warned that young people with no underlying health conditions , including teenagers , ended up critically ill in intensive care , some of whom are still suffering the effects of the disease .
“ We are fighting a much longer war and the first battle now I feel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is as if we are in the trenches and we have to keep going for longer , ” she said .

ICU consultant Dr Arabella Fahy: ‘We haven’t been able to empty out spaces in the same way so that is a real concern for us.’ Photograph: Tallaght Hospital
The Republic is at a "tipping point" in the fight against Covid-19, according to director of intensive care medicine at Tallaght Hospital in Dublin.
Intensive care unit (ICU) consultant Dr Arabella Fahy said hospitals are facing a critical moment in transmission of the virus given the rising levels of coronavirus infections again.
Tallaght Hospital has three Covid-19 patients in ICU, the most countrywide. Dr Fahy said that in March the hospital went from three patients in intensive care to nine in just two days.
Hospital Report
“I feel over the next couple of weeks what happens in the community will determine what happens on the ground in the hospital,” she said.
READ MORE
There are 16 coronavirus patients across critical care units, including two each in the Mater and St James's in Dublin, Portlaoise, Tullamore and University Hospital Limerick.
Dr Fahy said that the difference between the fight now and the infections in March and April was most healthcare services were then stopped to prepare hospitals for increasing Covid-19 cases.
This time regular care must be managed also and Tallaght’s 12 ICU beds are already full.
"Even if the numbers aren't as high as before at the peak, our concern is the capacity to manage patients is restricted now. We haven't been able to empty out spaces in the same way so that is a real concern for us," said Dr Fahy, who is honorary secretary of the Intensive Care Society of Ireland.
Early response in the pandemic back in March had the benefit of being able to use redeployed staff from other parts of the hospital and repurpose areas of the hospital where elective surgeries had ceased. Now the hospital must manage Covid and normal services.
“We are now in a situation where we would be above capacity – and we are – and now we have to look after another group of patients as well,” she said.
“We are seeing more patients on the wards and more patients in ICU again.”
In all, 32 patients with Covid came through Tallaght’s intensive care unit. The total number of patients in the hospital’s ICU peaked at 16 in early April along with three or four non-Covid patients treated in additional critical care beds created in the hospital, including requisitioned children’s intensive care unit beds.
Covid-19 impact on the young
Dr Fahy hopes that some of the 17 new critical-care beds announced by the Health Service Executive at the launch of its winter plan this week will go to Tallaght which has been awaiting funding for 12 additional ICU beds since the hospital secured planning for them 18 months ago.
She said Tallaght’s intensive care unit is having the same critical illness in patients as earlier this year, but doctors are better resourced with information and experience now. This includes knowing the benefit of proning sick patients earlier – or putting them lying on their stomach during ventilation – as well as using steroids, non-invasive ventilation and high-flow oxygen on wards.
She warned that young people with no underlying health conditions, including teenagers, ended up critically ill in intensive care, some of whom are still suffering the effects of the disease.
“We are fighting a much longer war and the first battle now I feel was in March and April. It is as if we are in the trenches and we have to keep going for longer,” she said.


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--‘The top of my finger was gone’: Fireworks a clear and present danger in Halloween run-up

Last Monday night , at about 9.30pm , Ballyfermot 17-year-old Seán Redmond blew the top off his right index finger and almost his entire right thumb .
He was playing among a group of friends in Palmerstown Park with a new , increasingly popular firework called Hot 8 .
“ They let off eight shots all different colours , about 40ft into the air .
There ’ s some noise off them .
One of my little brother ’ s friends , he ’ s 14 , was there .
He was holding the packet for me .
I took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold so I could push through the plastic top on it to get the fuse out .
I wanted to light it real quick because someone else in the park was lighting one , and I wanted to get mine in the air at the same time .
So we let off the first seven shots , ” says Redmond .
Then everything went wrong .
Instead of shooting up before exploding , the firework exploded in his hands : “ I seen all the boys running ; all I felt was both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crossed my arms and put my hands under my arm pits .
I saw there was blood splashed all over my friend ’ s jumper .
Then I looked down at my left hand and saw my jacket was melted into my new tracksuit .
I looked at my right hand and saw the top of my finger was gone and my thumb was blown that way.
” He was shooed away from the first house he went to for help , but the second called an ambulance .
In Connolly hospital he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hand and was discharged on Wednesday .
“ Today it is very sore , ” he says on Thursday .
“ I ’ m getting flashbacks , waking to the sound of fireworks in my head .
Every few hours I have a ringing noise in my ears.
” He will not be able to use his hand for months : “ I will have problems when I ’ m older and in cold weather , ” he says .
This week , he posted a graphic photograph of his bloodied hand on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be like him , he says : “ Boys I ’ m begging yous all to not play with fireworks .
.
.
I ’ ve learned that the hard way I ’ m on the mend now.
” The post was shared more than 600 times , giving hope young people are taking heed .
Tuesday and Wednesday nights were quieter .
However , Thursday was “ like a war zone ” , with one woman near Le Fanu Road saying she has all but given up reporting the “ nightly terrors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ replaced a window damaged by a firework , costing €400 .
Gardaí face fireworks being thrown at their vehicles if they come .
“ They don ’ t get out , ” she says .
“ It ’ s not safe for them.
” Ballyfermot is not alone .
While normally fireworks and bangers are expected in the run-up to Halloween , this year predominantly working-class areas have been enduring them since July .
Now they are a nightly occurrence , hurled at shops , homes , passing vehicles and even people across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And this behaviour is causing “ huge anxiety ” , especially to older people and pets .
Fireworks are illegal under 1972 legislation and gardaí can confiscate them from anyone without necessary authorisation .
But this is not happening often enough , say locals .
Calling on Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to review community policing cuts , Sinn Féin Dublin West TD , Mark Ward says “ communities feel abandoned ” .
Insp Barry Mills , chief crime prevention officer , told The Irish Times that gardaí are active.And he noted the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This week he , along with Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and the Dublin Fire Brigade , launched an anti-fireworks campaign , Operation Tombola , weeks earlier than in previous years .
Urging the public to report incidents , Mills says seizures have doubled each week since early August – from eight in the first week to 141 in the first week of September .
Young people around Ballyfermot believe fireworks are being bought in Northern Ireland and sold to everyone , including children “ out of cars ” .
“ You wouldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get them , ” says a 16-year-old .
Residents who talked to The Irish Times would not be named , fearing reprisals , though many feel the authorities tolerate , or ignore anti-social behaviour in poorly-off areas .
“ This isn ’ t happening in places like Sutton or Howth or Ranelagh , ” says one woman .
“ If it was I can guarantee the gardaí would be flooded in to deal with it .
Places like Ballyfermot are forgotten.
” Brendan Cummins , youth worker in the Famlibase centre , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been an increase in anti-social behaviour generally since the lockdown.
” Famlibase helps 300 children and young people and nearly 40 families affected by addiction , domestic violence , trauma , neglect and poverty .
“ We have seen a big increase in need , ” he says .
Noting an increase in drug use and domestic violence , he says the number of child protection reports in the first six months of the year is already higher than for all of 2019 .
Some children who would have been fed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not get enough food when the schools were shut , he says .
Some lost contact with the “ one good adult ” in their lives – whether a teacher or a youth worker , leaving them with “ only their peers and friends to raise each other ” , he warns .
Sitting in Famlibase , Seán Redmond agrees , saying Ballyfermot has been a “ bad spot ” during lockdownand he notes the closure of many local youth services .
“ There ’ s been nothing to do .
.
.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ all closed .
People are all in on top of each other .
.
.
there ’ s tension , ” says Redmond .
Calling for more gardaí on the ground , especially after 7pm , and funding for youth services , Cummins says he would keep Famlibase open “ up to 10pm if he could .
It could make a big difference.
” Mills worries about Halloween .
In recent years Dublin City Council staged safely run bonfire and fireworks , but these are cancelled this year .
Young people will “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he says .
Following his injury Redmond has changed his mind about fireworks , describing them now as “ stupid ” .
But he understands why many of his peers continue to like them .
“ They like the noise .
.
.
the lights and colours ; it ’ s just something to do .
Yeah , we ’ re told by parents , the gardaí , in school [ that ] they ’ re dangerous .
But it doesn ’ t feel like that when you ’ re using them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s just one or two , so you take your chances .
You ’ re only going to realise the damage when it happens to you , ” he says .

Fireworks casualty: Seán Redmond (17) was injured on Monday night when a firework exploded as he was holding it. Photograph: Crispin Rodwell/The Irish Times
Last Monday night, at about 9.30pm, Ballyfermot 17-year-old Seán Redmond blew the top off his right index finger and almost his entire right thumb.
He was playing among a group of friends in Palmerstown Park with a new, increasingly popular firework called Hot 8.
“They let off eight shots all different colours, about 40ft into the air. There’s some noise off them. One of my little brother’s friends, he’s 14, was there. He was holding the packet for me. I took one out and gave him it to hold so I could push through the plastic top on it to get the fuse out. I wanted to light it real quick because someone else in the park was lighting one, and I wanted to get mine in the air at the same time. So we let off the first seven shots,” says Redmond.
Then everything went wrong. Instead of shooting up before exploding, the firework exploded in his hands: “I seen all the boys running; all I felt was both my hands were really warm. I crossed my arms and put my hands under my arm pits. I saw there was blood splashed all over my friend’s jumper. Then I looked down at my left hand and saw my jacket was melted into my new tracksuit. I looked at my right hand and saw the top of my finger was gone and my thumb was blown that way.”
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He was shooed away from the first house he went to for help, but the second called an ambulance. In Connolly hospital he underwent seven hours of surgery on his hand and was discharged on Wednesday.
“Today it is very sore,” he says on Thursday. “I’m getting flashbacks, waking to the sound of fireworks in my head. Every few hours I have a ringing noise in my ears.”
He will not be able to use his hand for months: “I will have problems when I’m older and in cold weather,” he says. This week, he posted a graphic photograph of his bloodied hand on social media.
Imploring friends not to be like him, he says: “Boys I’m begging yous all to not play with fireworks . . . I’ve learned that the hard way I’m on the mend now.” The post was shared more than 600 times, giving hope young people are taking heed.
‘Nightly terrors’
Tuesday and Wednesday nights were quieter. However, Thursday was “like a war zone”, with one woman near Le Fanu Road saying she has all but given up reporting the “nightly terrors” to gardaí.
Last month she replaced a window damaged by a firework, costing €400. Gardaí face fireworks being thrown at their vehicles if they come. “They don’t get out,” she says. “It’s not safe for them.”
Ballyfermot is not alone. While normally fireworks and bangers are expected in the run-up to Halloween, this year predominantly working-class areas have been enduring them since July.
Now they are a nightly occurrence, hurled at shops, homes, passing vehicles and even people across Coolock, Clondalkin, Drimnagh and Darndale. And this behaviour is causing "huge anxiety", especially to older people and pets.
Fireworks are illegal under 1972 legislation and gardaí can confiscate them from anyone without necessary authorisation. But this is not happening often enough, say locals.
Calling on Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to review community policing cuts, Sinn Féin Dublin West TD, Mark Ward says "communities feel abandoned".
Insp Barry Mills, chief crime prevention officer, told The Irish Times that gardaí are active.And he noted the number of fireworks seizures taking place.
This week he, along with Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and the Dublin Fire Brigade, launched an anti-fireworks campaign, Operation Tombola, weeks earlier than in previous years.
Urging the public to report incidents, Mills says seizures have doubled each week since early August – from eight in the first week to 141 in the first week of September.
Young people around Ballyfermot believe fireworks are being bought in Northern Ireland and sold to everyone, including children "out of cars". "You wouldn't need to leave Ballyfermot to get them," says a 16-year-old.
Residents who talked to The Irish Times would not be named, fearing reprisals, though many feel the authorities tolerate, or ignore anti-social behaviour in poorly-off areas.
"This isn't happening in places like Sutton or Howth or Ranelagh, " says one woman. "If it was I can guarantee the gardaí would be flooded in to deal with it. Places like Ballyfermot are forgotten."
Brendan Cummins, youth worker in the Famlibase centre, is unsurprised at the surge. "There has been an increase in anti-social behaviour generally since the lockdown."
Famlibase helps 300 children and young people and nearly 40 families affected by addiction, domestic violence, trauma, neglect and poverty. “We have seen a big increase in need,” he says.
‘One good adult’
Noting an increase in drug use and domestic violence, he says the number of child protection reports in the first six months of the year is already higher than for all of 2019.
Some children who would have been fed in schools and at after-school programmes pre-Covid did not get enough food when the schools were shut, he says. Some lost contact with the “one good adult” in their lives – whether a teacher or a youth worker, leaving them with “only their peers and friends to raise each other”, he warns.
Sitting in Famlibase, Seán Redmond agrees, saying Ballyfermot has been a “bad spot” during lockdownand he notes the closure of many local youth services.
“There’s been nothing to do . . . they’re [youth services] all closed. People are all in on top of each other . . . there’s tension,” says Redmond.
Calling for more gardaí on the ground, especially after 7pm, and funding for youth services, Cummins says he would keep Famlibase open "up to 10pm if he could. It could make a big difference."
Mills worries about Halloween. In recent years Dublin City Council staged safely run bonfire and fireworks, but these are cancelled this year. Young people will "likely" organise their own this year, he says.
Following his injury Redmond has changed his mind about fireworks, describing them now as “ stupid”. But he understands why many of his peers continue to like them.
“They like the noise . . . the lights and colours; it’s just something to do. Yeah, we’re told by parents, the gardaí, in school [that] they’re dangerous. But it doesn’t feel like that when you’re using them. Not all fireworks are dodgy. It’s just one or two, so you take your chances. You’re only going to realise the damage when it happens to you,” he says.


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--Covid-19: Fears grow over increased restrictions for cities and local areas

Fears over increased Covid-19 restrictions for other urban and localised areas are growing after the Government imposed Level 3 restrictions on colleges , which will see most tuition move online .
While third-level institutions will remain open during the move lasting up to three weeks , all lectures and most tutorials are expected to migrate online .
Students will be encouraged to remain at home rather than travel to their campus .
Libraries and laboratories in colleges are expected to remain open , but with social distancing measures in place and regulation on entry .
All social activities on campus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Education Simon Harris said the decision was grounded on the experience in other jurisdictions where there were significant increases in coronavirus cases after colleges reopened .
He also said it was a response to the current situation in Ireland , where the country faced a “ critical two weeks ” in its efforts to curb the disease .
“ Notwithstanding all the protective measures that have been put in place by our higher level institutions , you will appreciate there is now a growing concern about the impact the recommencement on campus of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the very fragile epidemiological situation that pertains at present .
“ We are asking people to show common sense .
If you don ’ t have to trek across the country to attend a lecture , you should not have to , ” he said .
Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Friday warned urban centres could have Covid-19 restrictions increased to Level 3 , pointing to concerns particularly about Cork , Limerick , Galway and Waterford .
He indicated that the National Public Health Emergency Team ( NPHET ) may advise in terms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officer Ronan Glynn on Friday night said there was “ every chance other areas will have to move to level 3 ” , but said there is “ nothing inevitable about it ” and people can work together to “ turn the tide on his virus ” .
Co Donegal moved to Level 3 from midnight , with gardaí to begin a highly visible and targeted operation from Saturday , including cross-border checkpoints in co-operation with the PSNI .
A further 326 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the State on Friday night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Cork , 21 in Galway and 22 in Donegal .The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in hospitals reached 102 , going above 100 for the first time since early June .
Meanwhile , it has emerged that contact tracers are to begin investigating where people are infected with Covid-19 , following admissions this week by the State ’ s public health team that it can not tell where cases are happening in the community .
In a letter to Government , NPHET said that retrospective contact tracing would gather extra information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community transmission ” up to now .
A HSE source said tracing teams will now play “ detective ” and investigate in much greater detail the movements and contacts of a confirmed case to identify at-risk bars , gyms and restaurants .
The HSE has , separately , been asked to explore proposals to significantly increase the level of Covid-19 testing available .
The Minister for Health , Stephen Donnelly , has told senior Government figures he believes that the level of testing needs to be substantially increased ahead of the winter period @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been asked to produce an options paper on significantly increasing testing capacity .

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris speaking to the media at Government Buildings. Photograph: Julien Behal Photography
Fears over increased Covid-19 restrictions for other urban and localised areas are growing after the Government imposed Level 3 restrictions on colleges, which will see most tuition move online.
While third-level institutions will remain open during the move lasting up to three weeks, all lectures and most tutorials are expected to migrate online. Students will be encouraged to remain at home rather than travel to their campus. Libraries and laboratories in colleges are expected to remain open, but with social distancing measures in place and regulation on entry. All social activities on campus have been suspended.
Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris said the decision was grounded on the experience in other jurisdictions where there were significant increases in coronavirus cases after colleges reopened.
Hospital Report
He also said it was a response to the current situation in Ireland, where the country faced a “critical two weeks” in its efforts to curb the disease.
READ MORE
“Notwithstanding all the protective measures that have been put in place by our higher level institutions, you will appreciate there is now a growing concern about the impact the recommencement on campus of [student] activity will have on the very fragile epidemiological situation that pertains at present.
“We are asking people to show common sense. If you don’t have to trek across the country to attend a lecture, you should not have to,” he said.
Urban centres
Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Friday warned urban centres could have Covid-19 restrictions increased to Level 3, pointing to concerns particularly about Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. He indicated that the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) may advise in terms of particularly localised restrictions.
Acting chief medical officer Ronan Glynn on Friday night said there was “every chance other areas will have to move to level 3”, but said there is “nothing inevitable about it” and people can work together to “turn the tide on his virus”.
Co Donegal moved to Level 3 from midnight, with gardaí to begin a highly visible and targeted operation from Saturday, including cross-border checkpoints in co-operation with the PSNI.
A further 326 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the State on Friday night, including 152 in Dublin, 32 in Cork, 21 in Galway and 22 in Donegal .The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in hospitals reached 102, going above 100 for the first time since early June.
Contact tracers
Meanwhile, it has emerged that contact tracers are to begin investigating where people are infected with Covid-19, following admissions this week by the State’s public health team that it cannot tell where cases are happening in the community.
In a letter to Government, NPHET said that retrospective contact tracing would gather extra information about Covid-19 cases labelled only as “ community transmission” up to now.
A HSE source said tracing teams will now play “detective” and investigate in much greater detail the movements and contacts of a confirmed case to identify at-risk bars, gyms and restaurants.
The HSE has, separately, been asked to explore proposals to significantly increase the level of Covid-19 testing available.
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has told senior Government figures he believes that the level of testing needs to be substantially increased ahead of the winter period.
It is understood that the HSE has been asked to produce an options paper on significantly increasing testing capacity.


theirishtimes--2020-09-26--Man (75) dies after being hit by van in Co Cork

A 75-year-old man has died after being hit by a van in Douglas , Co Cork .
Gardaí have appealed for witnesses after the traffic collision at the car park of a sports complex in a Cork city suburb on Saturday afternoon .
The man was walking across the car park of the College Corinthians car park in Donnybrook on the southside of the city when he was hit by a van at around 3.30pm .
It is understood the driver of the van had just dropped his son off to play a match with College Corinthians and was reversing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The emergency services were alerted and paramedics worked on the man but he was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was removed to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem .
Gardai have not released the name of the pensioner as all next of kin have yet to be notified but it is understood that he is from the general Douglas area on the southside of Cork city .
The driver of the van , a man in his late 40s , was uninjured in the incident but was badly shaken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treated at the scene for shock by paramedics .
Gardaí cordoned off the scene of the fatal collision and a Garda forensic crash investigator began an examination of the scene to try and establish the precise details of how the collision happened .
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision , or who may have any camera footage , including dash-cam to contact Anglesea Street Garda Station on 021 452 2000 .
Saturday ’ s incident is the second fatal collision involving a pedestrian in Cork in four days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man while crossing the main Cork-Limerick Road in Charleville on Wednesday .
Father of four Eddie Goggin ( 83 ) from Beech Avenue , Brindle Hill in Charleville , was crossing Main Street in the town just before 11am on Wednesday when he was struck by a truck .
Mr Goggin was crossing through the traffic which was stopped and less than 20 yards from a pedestrian crossing when the traffic began to move off and he was fatally injured .
The emergency services were alerted and paramedics and personnel from Charleville Fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked to save Mr Goggin but he was pronounced dead at the scene .
The driver of the truck , a 58-year-old man from the northside of Cork city was not injured in the collision but was badly shaken and was treated at the scene by paramedics for shock .
Gardai from Charleville began harvesting CCTV footage from business premises in the centre of town and examining the footage to see if any of their cameras captured the incident .
And they have also appealed to any witnesses including motorists on Main Street @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contact them at Charleville Garda Station on 063-21770 .

The incident occurred in a car park of a sports ground in Donnybrook in Douglas at about 3.30pm
A 75-year-old man has died after being hit by a van in Douglas, Co Cork.
Gardaí have appealed for witnesses after the traffic collision at the car park of a sports complex in a Cork city suburb on Saturday afternoon.
The man was walking across the car park of the College Corinthians car park in Donnybrook on the southside of the city when he was hit by a van at around 3.30pm.
It is understood the driver of the van had just dropped his son off to play a match with College Corinthians and was reversing the van when he hit the pedestrian.
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The emergency services were alerted and paramedics worked on the man but he was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was removed to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem.
Gardai have not released the name of the pensioner as all next of kin have yet to be notified but it is understood that he is from the general Douglas area on the southside of Cork city.
The driver of the van, a man in his late 40s, was uninjured in the incident but was badly shaken and traumatised by what happened and was treated at the scene for shock by paramedics.
Gardaí cordoned off the scene of the fatal collision and a Garda forensic crash investigator began an examination of the scene to try and establish the precise details of how the collision happened.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision, or who may have any camera footage, including dash-cam to contact Anglesea Street Garda Station on 021 452 2000.
Saturday’s incident is the second fatal collision involving a pedestrian in Cork in four days and follows the death of an elderly man while crossing the main Cork-Limerick Road in Charleville on Wednesday.
Father of four Eddie Goggin (83) from Beech Avenue, Brindle Hill in Charleville, was crossing Main Street in the town just before 11am on Wednesday when he was struck by a truck.
Mr Goggin was crossing through the traffic which was stopped and less than 20 yards from a pedestrian crossing when the traffic began to move off and he was fatally injured.
The emergency services were alerted and paramedics and personnel from Charleville Fire Brigade were quickly on the scene and worked to save Mr Goggin but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the truck, a 58-year-old man from the northside of Cork city was not injured in the collision but was badly shaken and was treated at the scene by paramedics for shock.
Gardai from Charleville began harvesting CCTV footage from business premises in the centre of town and examining the footage to see if any of their cameras captured the incident.
And they have also appealed to any witnesses including motorists on Main Street who might have dash cam footage to contact them at Charleville Garda Station on 063-21770.