Council permits holiday homes Wexford County Council unanimously voted on Monday to contravene the 1988 Courtown Development Plan to allow the construction of 23 holiday homes at Glen Richards. The homes and associated site works, including a temporary sewage treatment plant, will be developed by Mr Eamon Coleman on land formerly zoned as agricultural that has now been rezoned as residential. A number of conditions for the construction of the holiday homes were attatched, which included that the development be constructed in at least two phases to ensure its satisfactory completion in the event of the non-completion of the entire project. Details of the phasing are to be submitted for the agreement of the Planning Authority prior to the commencement of construction work. 

Tara Hill's harvest thanksgiving 

Great day for pupils and staff of Kilmuckridge N.S. 

Opening of extension reward for hard work 

Wexford I.C.A. Federation taking bookings for trip 

Childrens author to meet fans 

Took top prize in draw 

LUCKY Stephen Wall from 27 Slaney Street took the top prize of £100 in the second week of the St. Aidan's primary school silver circle draw. He was sold the lucky ticket, numbered 1936, by his young Slaney Street neighbour Marguerite Casey. The organisers of the draw have stressed that it is still not too late to join the silver circle which will run for a total of six weeks. The latest crop of winners was: £100 - Stephen Wall, Slaney Street; £50 each - Grainne O'Leary, Greenville Court; Leigh Ann Nolan, Bohreen Hill; £10 - Father Peter O'connor, The Manse; James O'Connor, Ross Road; Ann Kennedy, Court Street; Margaret Murphy, c/o St. Aidan's; Susan Doran, Sean Browne Court. 

Diocesan Synod 

THE Ferns Church of Ireland diocesan synod takes place on Wednesday, October 14 in Wexford town. Delegates meet at St. Iberius church for Holy Communion at 10 a.m. before gathering for their discussions at Ferrycarrig hotel. Bishop John Neill presides. 

Bunclody public toilets 

Wexford County Council is to look at the possibility of improving the public toilet facilities in Bunclody. The matter was raised at a recent meeting of the Gorey District Committee of the Council, and a number of suggestions for development were made. Mr Eamon Hore, Council Executive Engineer, undertook to investigate the situation and report back to the committee at its next meeting. 

Facing long wait for new public library 

GOREY faces a long wait before it can hope to have a new public library, according to a recent letter to County Librarian Fionnuala Hanrahan from Department of the Environment and Local Government official Kevin McCormick. Mr McCormick informed Ms Hanrahan that an application for capital grant aid and approval in principle for the provision of a branch library in Gorey have been approved at stage one by An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, the National Library Council. However, he warned a long wait for funding is inevitable. Money for library development is made available on a year-to-year basis, and is limited relative to the number of projects which have applied for funding. The 1998 allocation has already been committed to ongoing projects, and significant commitments have been made already from the 1999 and 2000 funds. `It is difficult to say when funding may be available to advance the Gorey project,' Mr McCormick admitted. Mr McCormick pointed out that Minister Noel Dempsey established a policy review committee last year to examine all aspects of the library service nationwide. The work of the committee is ongoing, and it is due to submit a report before the end of the year. All of the projects on hand will then be reviewed. 

Gorey Youth Club members preparing for French trip 

A DOZEN members of Gorey Youth Club are currently preparing themselves for a trip to France later in the month to participate in an international exchange programme. Ten young people and two group leaders will travel to Mauzac on October 23 for a ten-day programme of events with other youth groups from France, Germany and Sweden. The programme of events will include the Gorey group hosting an Irish night where they will feed all the other visitors with lashings of traditional Irish stew and keep them entertained with Irish dancing and music. Similar evenings will be hosted by the participants from the other countries, and a great time is sure to be had by all. Gorey Youth Club's final fundraising event for the trip will be held on Friday in the Bunker Bar when a Music & Craic night will be held. Anybody can get up on stage and sing a song, play a tune, do a dance, tell a joke or do anything else they want. The craic will be only mighty, and all support will be much appreciated. 

A lotto luck on the double! 

THEY say good things happen in threes, but for the members of one North Wexford family, there has been twice that much good luck this year. Five members of the Hempenstall family were among the 28-stong syndicate from Murphy's pub in Kilanerin who scooped £36,000 each when six of their numbers hit the lotto jackpot back in June. Now a sixth member, Mrs Sadie Bergin from Coolgreany, has come up trumps to win a holiday of a lifetime in a nationwide competition on 2FM. Sadie and her husband Pat are heading off to the Central American republic of Costa Rica, one of the world's largest coffee-producing nations, early next month after she won a week-long competition on Garret O'Callaghan's Breakfast Show sponsored by Robt Roberts coffee company. One listener was allowed on the air bright and early each morning to participate in the 'Wake up and smell the coffee' competition, where they were asked to listen to 14 words relating to coffee that were read out in rapid succession. Then one word was taken out of the list, and the remaining 13 were read out again. But just to make it even more difficult, they were read out in a different order. Sadie was lucky enough to get through the jammed RTE switchboard one morning, and showing uncommon concentration skills for such an unearthly hour, noticed that 'Colombia' was the word missing that day. 'It's a word I'll never forget!' she announced earlier this week. She didn't have the prize straightaway though, as competition rules dictated that a draw for the top prize be held on the Friday between all entrants who managed to spot the missing word. Just one other person managed to do so, so as the Bergin family knew they had a 50-50 chance of winning as they tuned in on Friday morning with fingers crossed and prayers offered up. There was an almighty whoop of delight when Sadie's name came out of the hat. 'I couldn't believe it. I was absolutely delighted. It's going to be the trip of a lifetime,' she said, revealing she has never before won anything. Sadie and Pat will fly out on November 3 to spend a week in a luxury hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean, in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. They will be brought to see all the exotic animal and plant life Costa Rica has to offer and have plenty of time to relax, and even drink the local coffee. The holiday is worth over £3,000 and they will also be given £500 spending money. It's not all glamour and excitement though, and some necessary evils such as needles had to be endured as part of the preparations for the trip. 'We had to go to get injections against Typhoid and Hepatitis A today,' Sadie revealed when The Notebook contacted her on Monday. Sadie narrowly missed out on also being part of the lotto-winning syndicate in June. 'I'd throw in a pound every time I'd be up in Murphy's, but I wasn't there that week,' she explained. Nonetheless, there were nothing but delight when she saw her mother Sadie, father Pat, sister Teresa, niece Aoife and nephew Conor Rooney all come out of the draw £36,000 better off. This was all thanks to her sister Teresa, who threw her name and that of her nine-year-old daughter Aoife into the pot while out shopping during that week that will never be forgotten in Kilanerin. When she got £3 in change, she decided on the spur of the moment to throw in another pound each for her parents and nephew Conor. Conor subsequently became one of the richest babies in the entire country, and recently celebrated his first birthday in style. To have £36,000 tucked away in savings is a good start in life for anybody...plenty to keep him in gold plated rattlers and soothers for some time yet! And now, a message to the Hempenstall family from everybody else playing the Lotto and doing competitions...please just leave a little bit for the rest of us! Kings of New York And now for another success story involving people from North Wexford, this time in the sporting arena. The current compromise rules series between Ireland and Australia is not the only international aspect Gaelic Football has taken on recently, and dedicated fans out there may already know a week-long international tournament was held in Dublin two weeks ago. Teams from New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Canada, Australia, and other major population centres of the Irish diaspora, all travelled back to the ould sod to take on some local teams in a two-group, round-robin competition, with the winners and runners-up of each group qualifying for the semi-finals. After five tough games, New York emerged as eventual winners, and the cup was presented by GAA President Joe McDonagh to their captain...none other than Kilanerin native James Donohue. And just to show that the Hempenstalls are not the only family who like to get everybody involved in success stories, James was joined on the winning team by his brother John. James, who left Annagh to work in the construction industry in The Big Apple eleven years ago, was always noted as a footballer of great talent and skill and represented Wexford at senior level before emigrating. He was joined there two years later by younger brother John, who works as a chef, and both men continued to play the game they love so well while on the other side of the Atlantic. Consistently-fine performances turned in in local championship games over there led to both being selected for the New York team that made the triumphant homecoming, and technically, they are now the only set of Wexford brothers who could claim to be world champions at their chosen sport! The footballing success was not John's only victory since moving Stateside however...two years ago, he was crowned 'Batchelor of New York'! Both brothers are said to have thoroughly enjoyed their stay back in Ireland, and parents Larry and Eileen are proud they bred a couple of winners. Lorcan shocker It's not often Lorcan Allen can be heard to criticise his beloved Fianna Fail party, but the attendance at a public meeting in Gorey last week heard him do just that. The meeting was to discuss to the current review of the County Development Plan and the topic was sources of revenue for the local authorities. Somebody pointed out that there is no direct income since rates were abolished a number of years ago. Then Lorcan sprang into life. 'The worst thing ever done by a Government!' he declared. 'I don't care that it was my own party, it made no sense whatsoever and we are still suffering because of it!' A short statement perhaps, but a significant one nevertheless. It remains to be seen whether Lorcan will again toe the party line in future or become even more of a rebel. Strange passenger Eagle-eyed pedestrians walking along Church Street the other day may have noticed an unusual passenger in a car parked there. Spread across the back seat of a dark-coloured, Dublin-registered car was a fully inflated blow-up doll! Now, your correspondent has no idea what it was doing there or who owns the car, and there is probably an innocent explanation to it all. I just can't think what it might be! 

St. Mary's £500,000 sports hall is taking shape 

Adrian's vision is `a great big roof' 

DAVID MEDCALF Enniscorthy ^ 

TEACHER Adrian Walsh has been having visions recently. He stares into the middle distance, across the campus at the C.B.S. in Enniscorthy and he intones: `I see a roof over my head, a big roof.' No, Adrian has not set up in competition with Mystic Meg. The roof which has painted itself on his mind's eye is not a matter for crystal ball speculation. Come next September, the roof will be very much a reality sitting on top of a £500,000 sports hall. Building site Returning to their classes this term, the students and teachers at St. Mary's have found themselves sharing the school with a huge building site. On one side of the safety barriers, they have been continuing with their regular academic life, more or less as normal. But through the barriers they can see contractor Thomas Ryan and his hard-hatted men work to bring an end to the era of the pre-fab. Enormous yellow diggers have been gouging at the ground uncovered by the demolition of the old mid-19th century Model School. No-one has been keeping a closer watch on their progress than Adrian Walsh who is the staff member in charge of physical education. A Monageer man, he is a past pupil of the school where he was in the same class as hurler Martin Storey. Top rank sportsmen The miracle is that the C.B.S. has continued to produce top rank sportsmen of the calibre of Storey over the years, in the absence of decent facilities. Having worked at the beginning of his teaching career at Ballyliffan College, Adrian knows that not all members of his profession are so confined. There in Laois, the students have their own lake (complete with 20 canoes) as well as a full set of pitches and spacious indoor facilities. Coming back to Enniscorthy three years ago, he returned to a spartan reality which comprised a tarmac basketball court on which water was forever lying. The Model School building was so riddled with dry rot that it was not a safe place for any form of meaningful physical exercise. The fear was that someone would break an ankle or worse when the creaking wooden floor finally gave up the ghost and collapsed. Double PE period All the boys at St. Mary's have a weekly double period of P.E. in their timetables. Without a proper sports hall, whenever the rain falls, Adrian and his charges finds themselves in an ordinary classroom. He is unable to fill his brief. The double P.E. becomes a double study period to the frustration of all concerned. At least, the school has the benefit of being able to use the Showgrounds and St. Patrick's Park for team games. This is an amazing resource to have at the command of Adrian Walsh and the various volunteer coaches, albeit one which is more than five minutes walk away through the town and along Pearse Road. Adrian has discovered that being a weather forecaster is one of the essential requirements in his job. He reckons that he can now, with one careful examination of the sky to the west, tell whether the clouds will unleash their watery load in the next couple of hours. On the basis of his assessment, the decision is taken to head off to the Showgrounds, or to stay put. He is seldom wrong. This peculiar talent for diagnosing the prospects of rain will, from less September become a less important talent. So far, the new sports hall is just a series of concrete poles at the John Street side of the school grounds. In a year's time, however, it will feature a covered, regulation sized basketball court which will be adaptable to may other games. Adrian is grateful that the school took the initiative to spend an extra £170,000 that had to be raised locally to make the hall full sized. Under the penny perfect Department of Education's mathematics for calculating the grant, St. Mary's 550 students were short of the numbers required for so large a facility. The board of management decided that second best was not good enough. Bigger version `Great vision was demonstrated in deciding to go ahead with the bigger version of the hall,' comments Adrian Walsh. `The boys of the school and the community at large would have been very let down if they were left with something only fit for three-a-side soccer.' He and other members of staff were able to sit down with Waterford based architects Falconer's to thrash out details of the design beforehand. It will feature three sets of changing rooms as well as a spectator balcony and Adrian is also hoping to find space for a weights room. It looks as though a bright new sporting era is about to dawn for St. Mary's C.B.S. and for the many teachers who help out with the various teams. People such as Jim McCrea, Jim McGovern, Justin Waldron, Mick Carty and Eddie Nangle must all be licking their lips in anticipation. At present the school enters competitive teams in hurling, football, golf and tennis. But the P.E. teacher is the first to admit that, in many cases, the skills of the team members have been learnt in their clubs with the coaches at the C.B.S. being limited in what they can add. Basketball and badminton competitions have been abandoned in recent years, due mainly to problems with the existing facilities. Still Adrian Walsh and adult enthusiasts try to offer an introduction to sports such as soccer, rugby, Australian Rules football and table tennis. Visionary mode Lapsing back into visionary mode, the Monageer man looks forward to a new deal for physical education, with the revival of basketball and badminton, along with opportunities for such sports as volleyball and indoor hockey. It is a development which will cater not just for the high-flying elite: `The average sports people will really get a good deal.' In the meantime, he keeps an eye on the builders and wishes them God's speed. 

Court told crash happened on straight stretch of road 

A traffic accident on the main Wexford-Gorey road last January led to an Oulart motorist being convicted at Gorey District Court last week of driving without reasonable consideration for others. Alice Morton, Ballytarsna, Oulart, was convicted of committing the offence at Kilnamagh, Oulart on January 16 last. Sergeant Clince, from Oulart Garda Station, gave evidence visiting the scene of the accident and preparing a sketch. He got a report of an accident at 8.45 a.m. on the day in question. He arrived at the scene at 9.15 a.m. and saw the crash was between a blue Mini Metro and an Opel Vectra. The accident occurred outside the house of a Mr Furlong. He spoke to Mr Michael Redmond of The Ballagh, who had been driving the Opel Vectra in the direction of Gorey. He then spoke to Alice Morton, the driver of the Mini Metro, who said she was leaving Furlong's and intended to turn right to travel towards Kyle Cross and Wexford when the accident occurred. Sgt Clince said the accident occurred on a straight stretch of road. The nearest bend was 100 to 150 yards away. He said the gateway Morton was coming from is 'quite dangerous'. It was not possible for him to establish the point of impact because Mr Furlong had swept the debris off the road before he got there. Under cross-examination from defending solicitor McCartan O' Gorman, Sgt Clince accepted that damage to the front of the Mini Metro would suggest a head-on crash. The Vectra was damaged on the front passenger side. Mr. Redmond said he was driving towards Gorey when the accident happened. As he was approaching Furlong's, a car came out of the gateway and went straight across the road wihout stopping. He noticed a woman standing in the gate, making hand signals like she was trying to stop the car. He swerved to try avoid it, but it kept coming across the road and hit him on the left hand side. Mr Redmond said he suffered minor injuries. He had over 20 years of driving experience and was doing 60 mph when the accident occurred. There were no other cars on the road and driving conditions were good. Ms Martha Furlong, the defendant's sister, gave evidence of standing in the gateway when the accident happened. She was there just to say goodbye to her sister and not to direct her onto the road. She did not see any other traffic on the road until her sister had driven out onto it. She said Morton had reached her own side of the road and straightened her car out before the accident happened. Morton said she had been staying with her sister for eight months before the accident happened and performed the same manoeuvre in her car every morning. She looked up and down the road before driving out of the gateway, and saw nothing coming. She was approaching the middle of the road before she saw the other car coming. She claimed she was stopped in a gateway on her own side of the road before the accident occurred, and the other car swerved straight towards her so she could not avoid it. Morton said her sister was not waving at her or telling her to stop. She was not looking at her in any case as she was concentrating on getting safely onto the road. When asked by Supt Flynn to estimate how far away Mr Redmond's car was when she first saw it, she replied `ten or fifteen yards'. When Supt Flynn asked her if this meant Mr Redmond had travelled anything between 90 and 140 yards on a straight stretch of road before she saw him, Morton replied 'I am not very good at yards.' She did not accept the marks on the road which were depicted on Sgt Clince's sketch suggested the Opel Vectra had to take sudden evasive action. Nor did she agree she would be better off having her sister help her if she was standing in the gateway anyway. Defending solicitor McCartan O' Gorman sought a dismissal on the grounds of conflicting evidence, but Judge Donnchadh O'Buachalla chose to convict. `We all understand that accidents can happen for the simplest of reasons,' the Judge said. `Mr Redmond was coming down the road and had no way of knowing a car was going to come out. He tried to avoid it but could not. It was an unfortunate accident.' Morton, who had no previous convictions, was fined £50. She was given two months to pay and faces five days in prison by default. Recognisances were fixed for the event of an appeal. 

Fined £40 for being in possession of cannabis 

A £40 fine was imposed at Gorey District Court last week on a man who was found to be in possession of cannabis resin earlier this year. Alan Ward, 11 Westhill Park, Gorey, was found to be carrying 0.963 grammes of the drug at Main Street, Gorey, on February 18 last. The court heard that Ward had a previous conviction, relating to the robbery of Kilanerin Post Office in January 1994. He received a seven-year sentence for that offence. Defending solicitor McCartan O' Gorman said Ward could not come to court because he was attending a Post-Leaving Certificate Course in Enniscorthy. He had been anxious to come to court to speak to Gardai. This was his first drugs offence, Mr O'Gorman pointed out. Ward was given two months to pay the fine and faces five days in prison by default. 

Girl broke another girl's jaw during row 

GOREY District Court last week heard how a 16-year-old girl broke the jaw of another girl during an argument in Camolin last year. Kelly McHale (now 17), 16 Moin Rua, Monageer, was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm following the attack on Miss Nicola Byrne at St. Moling's Terrace, Camolin, on July 14, 1997. Supt. Pat Flynn gave evidence that Miss Byrne was sitting on a wall with her boyfriend when a crowd of people pulled up alongside them in a car. A fight ensued. McHale grabbed Miss Byrne by the hair, causing her to fall to the ground. While lying there, McHale kicked her in the face and broke her jaw. Defending solicitor Triona Walsh said the incident was the aftermath of an earlier one in Lambert's Nightclub in which both McHale's and Miss Byrne's friends were involved. There was still a lot of tension afterwards. McHale originally got involved to try stop the fight, but got hit and then retaliated. Ms. Walsh said McHale was just 16 years old at the time of the incident and is very sorry about it. She telephoned Miss Byrne the day after the assault to see how she was. She was accompanied in court by her mother, and all her family were 'devastated' by the incident. Ms. Walsh added that McHale has never been in trouble before. She works part-time and earns £75 per week. Her position could be in jeopardy if a conviction is recorded against her. Garda John Cooper informed the court that the injured party had to be hospitalised after the assault and had her jaw wired for about six weeks. Judge Donnchadh O'Buachalla said he considered the assault to be very serious. He adjourned the case to November 27 to allow the preparation of a Probation Report and warned the defendant it is up to her to co-operate with the Probation Officer and all other officials during that time. 

Case adjourned for further consideration 

THE case of a man who faces a number of charges including killing a black labrador dog by hanging it came before Gorey District Court for review last week. James Boland (47), whose address was given as Ballinatray Lower, Courtown Harbour, also faces public order and criminal damage charges arising from incidents last December. A further £150 compensation was handed into court last week. The defence thought this made up the full sum, but the injured party said it still left her £62 short. Defending solicitor David Tarrant said he could have the remaining money in court the next day if there was one further adjournment. Supt. Pat Flynn said Boland causes no problems to anybody when he is not drinking, but that he is `like a lunatic' when he is. He has given an undertaking to stay away from the injured party. Mr. Tarrant said Boland has learned his lesson. In relation to the dog, Mr Tarrant said he has spoken to a vet who told him the killing of the dog was not as cruel as it might first appear. Allowing for the dog's weight and age, it would have been dead within 30 seconds. Supt Flynn said there would still be more humane ways of killing it. Mr Tarrant said it could have been a lot worse. Judge Donnchadh O' Buachalla said he considered this to be a very serious matter, and wished to consider it further as there were a number of reports to be read. He adjourned the case to November 27, indicating it would be finalised on that date. 

Retrial jury unable to agree verdict 

Sex assault trial fails second time 

THE wheels of justice sometimes run an uncertain course as shown by the retrial of a sexual assault case at Wexford Circuit Court in which a second jury failed to reach a verdict. The original trial of a 56 years old man charged with three counts of sexual assault on a young woman when she was 12 and 14 years old took place in July. After listening to two days of evidence from both sides, the jury found it impossible to reach a majority decision and the Director of Public Prosecutions ordered a re-trial. All details Last week, a new jury of nine men and three women drawn from the Co. Wexford community was selected and asked to adjudicate on the charges which allegedly happened in 1992 and 1994. The State's evidence and the defence position was presented in detail once again and the jury was sent into a private room at the back of the court to consider the evidence and bring in a verdict. But the jury members were unable to come up with the majority 10-2 verdict required for a conviction or an acquittal and Judge Pat McCartan had to discharge them. It is uncertain at this stage whether the DPP will make arrangments for another re-trial as he is legally entitled to do, but it is unlikely that the charges will be brought before a court again. Cruel experience While the case demonstrates the essential justice of the jury system in requiring a majority of 12 `ordinary' people to decide whether a peer should be found guilty or not, those centrally involved may be wondering about the cruelty of it all. Watching the girl who is now 18, crying her way through embarrassing evidence and blunt cross-examination in front of a roomful of uniformed and non-uniformed strangers for the second time, one had to wonder whether the experience was ultimately more damaging than beneficial for her. During the first trial, the court had to go into a short recess to allow her to compose herself when she became too upset to carry on. The alleged incidents happened when she was a schoolgirl and the defendant who has daughters of his own, was a neighbour in the same locality. Her mother had gone to Dublin with the defendant's wife and had arranged for the defendant, a family friend to drive her to school. Tried to stop him During the two-mile journey he kept putting his hand up her skirt, she said. She kept trying to stop him and push him away. While she was staying in his house that evening, waiting for her mother to come home, she said she was watching television when the defendant came and put his hand down her trousers and put his finger up her vagina. Sobbing The third alleged incident took place two years later when she was a passenger in the defendant's car. He kept putting his hand up her skirt, she said. The court, understandably, requires detailed evidence and the girl, looking pale and drained, sobbed as she was questioned about the alleged incidents by prosecution and defence counsel. She was accompanied in court by members of her family, her boyfriend and a representative of Victim Support and was comforted by him after she left the stand. Looked lost She sat in the courtroom, looking lost and uncomprehending as the details of her life and her childhood were discussed. Two of her former friends, both females, who also frequented the defendant's home as children, gave evidence on his behalf, saying that he had never touched them inappropriately. Her discomfort seemed to reach a peak when one of them said she, the alleged victim, was always trying to cause disagreements between a group of them, including the defendant's daughters, who were neighbours and friends in the area, `so we didn't put much pass on what she said'. As the case started, the families took up seats on different sides of the room and the tension in the courtroom was palpable. Family support For all of them there must have been a nightmarish sense of deja vous. Most people would shiver at the prospect of ever finding themselves in such a scenario. They had to endure it twice, without the satisfaction of a definitive conclusion. The defendant, dressed in a suit and tie, was accompanied by family members, including his wife and children, three of whom, two daughers and a son, gave evidence in the defence case. He looked flushed and nervous but was composed in the witness box as he repeated his denial that nothing had happened, that he had not sexually assaulted the girl in any way. For the second time, he sat in the box as John Peart toughly cross-examined him on behalf of the prosecution, telling him `you had the opportunity to molest that young girl and you took it'. `I did not' the defendant replied. Tense wait When all the evidence had been presented and the jury retired to consider their verdict, the families and friends of both the accused and the alleged victim sat outside for hours on different sides of the balcony, waiting patiently, smoking cigarettes. Now and again, a few of those accompanying the alleged victim could be seen quietly crying. When the news was broken that the jury had failed to reach a verdict yet again, the general reaction appeared to be one of numbness. Following hushed conversations with solicitors and barristers, all the parties trudged out and left to pick up the pieces of their lives. 

£2.9m water scheme approved by Minister for Gorey and Courtown 

A MAJOR £2.9 million scheme for water conservation works in Gorey and Courtown was approved last week by Minister for the Environment Noel Dempsey. The work will involve the replacement and relining of all the water distribution mains in the area, together with various associated works. It is expected that work will commence early next year, and take 12 to 15 months to complete. The scheme will drastically reduce the level of water losses in the area, which currently stands at approximately 70 per cent, and should ensure that problems with water pressure become a thing of the past. Many current cast-iron pipes have been in operation for over 50 years and in some places have become so encrusted with water deposits that their six inch diameter has shrunk to as little as two. All these substandard pipes and faulty joints will be replaced, while householders will also be afforded the opportunity to replace old leaden pipes with more modern, safer ones. A further £500,000 is currently being spent by Wexford Council on an extensive study of water mains in other parts of the county in order to determine which other area also require urgent attention. There will be significant disruption caused to traffic while the work is taking place, as almost every street in Gorey will have to be dug up. However, a condition of the contract that will be awarded is that no work can take place in busy areas such as Main Street, the Courtown Road, or Courtown itself, during the peak summer months. 'There will be some inconvenience caused, but the benefits at the end of it all will be huge,' Mr Niall McGuigan of the County Council's Engineering Staff said this week. 'The work is badly needed, and we hope people will bear with us while it is being carried out because it will all be worth it in the end.' 

Drama League 

Members of the Drama League of Ireland were in Enniscorthy last weekend to take advice from the local drama group. The 60 delegates to the league's annual general meeting gathered at the Riverside Park on Friday and Saturday. They were entertained by the Enniscorthy theatre group at a special social function. The D.L.I., which represents drama groups throughout the country, opted to come to Enniscorthy after being impressed with the town during the All-Ireland confined finals. 

Took car hired by friend and then crashed it 

GOREY District Court heard last week how a young man who does not drive took a car in Courtown last June that had been hired by his friend, drove it across the road, and crashed it. Andrew Kerr (19), Friarshill, Wicklow, was charged with the unauthorised taking of the car at Ardamine on June 1 last and with driving without a licence or insurance. Defending solicitor David Tarrant said his client was pleading guilty to all charges, adding that a number of mitigating circumstances exist. Supt. Pat Flynn gave evidence that a Ms Angela O'Mahony was visiting Ireland from London at the time of the offence. She had hired a grey Ford Fiesta from Murray's Car Rentals and driven it to Courtown, where she booked into O'Loughlin's Caravan Park. She was there with a number of friends, which included the defendant. Kerr asked her for a loan of the car keys, saying he wanted to get something from the boot, and she gave them to him. He got into the car and drove it out of the caravan park's gates and across the road before crashing it, causing extensive damage. Supt. Flynn added that Kerr was undergoing medical treatment at the time of the offence. Mr. Tarrant said Kerr is just 20 years old, from a good family, and had never been in trouble before. All the damage had since been paid for. He had never driven before the incident, and had not driven again after it. He said Kerr is still undergoing medical treatment, and his doctor would be willing to come to court to give evidence. He suggested the case could be adjourned for one year to monitor his client's progress. Supt. Flynn objected to this, saying that driving without insurance is a serious offence. He did not think the case should be adjourned for any more than six months. Judge Donnchadh O'Buachalla agreed to an adjournment to April 9 next on condition that Kerr give an undertaking not to attempt to drive in the meantime. 

Craanford window firm fined for illegal dumping 

A Craanford window making firm was fined £200 at Gorey District Court last week for illegal dumping earlier this year. K.K. Windows Ltd., Rossminogue, Craanford, was convicted of committing the offence at Clonamona, Gorey, in or around March 4 last. The court heard that Mr. Billy Byrne, Waste Disposal Supervisor with Wexford County Council, went to the site on March 4 and discovered a large amount of illegal dumping there on private property. While searching through the rubbish, he found a quantity of plastic covering with K.K. Windows' written on it. Defending solicitor McCartan O'Gorman said the firm had the permission of the landowner to dump rubbish there, and did not think they were doing anything wrong. They immediately stopped dumping there when they found out it was illegal to do so. The firm was allowed two months to pay the fine. Costs were agreed between the firm and Wexford County Council. 

MOTORIST FINED £100 

A Courtown motorist was fined £100 at Gorey District Court last week for not having a valid tax disc displayed on her car earlier this year. The offence committed by Winifred Redmond, Ballinakill, Courtown Harbour, was detected at Ballinatray Lower on May 10 last. Garda Yvonne Foran gave evidence of stopping a car being driven by Mr Patrick Redmond at 8.20 a.m. that day. There was no valid tax disc displayed. Mr Redmond told her the car belonged to Winifred Redmond. Redmond, who did not appear in court and was not represented, was given two months to pay the fine. She faces five days in prison by default. A further summons of having no tax was taken into consideration. 

Summons struck out 

A Hollyfort man accused of having no tax or valid tax disc displayed on his vehicle earlier this year saw the summonses against him struck out at Gorey District Court last year. Patrick Howard, Hollyfort, Gorey, was accused of committing the offences at Coolishall, Gorey, on June 11 last. The summonses were struck out last week when the court heard that all back-tax has been paid with no loss of revenue to the state. 

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At the opening of the South-East Business Information Centre in Gorey were from left, Seamus Dooley, County Manager; Philip Ryan, Hugh Byrne, Minister of State and Dick Murphy, chairman of SEBC

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Licence restored 

A Ballygarrett man successfully applied at Gorey District Court last week for the restoration of his driving licence. Sean Stafford, Ballinagam, Ballygarrett, had been disqualified from driving for two years on April 11 last year for drunken driving. The court heard last week he has paid his fine. His licence had not been handed in for endorsement yet because he had an english driving licence when the offence occurred. Stafford gave an undertaking to take out an Irish driving licence and hand it in for endorsement before driving again. Judge Donnchadh O' Buachalla said he would restore the licence subject to this being done. 

Gorey man on assault charge remanded on bail 

A GOREY man charged with assaulting another man last month was remanded on bail when he appeared before the local District Court last week. Kevin McDaid (30), whose address was given as c/o 31 Eire Street, Gorey, is charged with assaulting Mr Kieron Maher at McDermott Street on September 24, causing him harm. Evidence of arrest, charge and caution was given by Garda Joseph Sullivan, who noted McDaid made no reply to the charge. Bail was fixed at £500 and the case was put back to the November 27 sitting of the court. 

Pitched a tent where camping wasn't allowed 

PITCHING a tent in a place where no camping is allowed led to four young Dublin people facing charges at Gorey District Court last week. Gerard Sheridan, 102 Rathoath Drive, Finglas West; Declan Byrne, 63 Abbotstown Avenue, Finglas West; Triona Moran, 6 Seancastle Close, Clondalkin; and Douglas McClean, 14 Rathoath Drive, Finglas West; were all charged with illegal camping at South Beach, Seamount, Courtown Harbour, on May 2 last. Byrne and McClean pleaded guilty to the offence. There was no appearance by Sheridan or Moran. Garda John Cooper gave evidence of going to `The Burrow', Courtown beach, on the date in question and finding four people camping there. He advised them that camping is prohibited there and pointed out there are signs there saying that. As far as he knew, all four defendants stayed in the tent there for a further two nights after he visited them. Byrne and McClean said they are both working. Neither had any previous convictions. They did not know why the other two defendants were not present. They were both given the benefit of the Probation Act. Fines of £15 each were imposed on the absent defendants, who were also ordered to pay £127 costs to Wexford County Council. In an unrelated case, Aideen Darcy of 11 Brookwood Meadow, Artane, Dublin 5, was also fined £15 for illegal camping at South Beach, Seamount, on May 4. Garda Tomas O'Leary gave evidence of finding her camping there at 3.30 a.m. on that date. Defending solicitor McCartan O'Gorman said Darcy had been at a disco, had nowhere to stay afterwards and pitched her tent without realising she was not allowed to do so. She had intended to come to court but her work takes her all over the country and she was unable to do so. She was given two months to pay and ordered to pay £60 costs. 

Given cannabis as present 

A YOUNG Gorey man who received a `somewhat inappropriate' birthday present of cannabis resin was given the benefit of the probation act when he appeared before the local District Court last week. Niall McCarthy, 42 Gorey Hill, was charged with possession of the drug at Gorey Garda Station on December 22 last year. At last week's sitting, defending solicitor Michael Cullen pointed out the case had earlier been adjourned to monitor McCarthy's behaviour. He has behaved well and not come to the attention of the Gardai in that time. Mr. Cullen said a small amount of cannabis found on McCarthy in the Garda Station had been given to him as a `somwhat inappropriate' birthday present. He added that McCarthy is working and has no previous convictions. Judge Donnchadh O'Buachalla said he would apply the Probation Act in the hope that the defendant had learned his lesson. 

Had number of motoring summonses struck out 

A Craanford man accused of committing a number of motoring offences earlier this year had all the summonses against him struck out when his case came before Gorey District Court last week. Hugh Kenny Senior, Bannpark, Craanford, was accused of having no insurance, driving licence, tax or valid tax disc displayed at Tinnock, Gorey, on February 26 last and with failing to produce a driving licence and certificate of insurance within ten days of being asked to do so. The court heard last week that all back tax has now been paid with no loss of revenue and all documents have been produced and are in order. 

Youth told to stay away from alcohol 

A Bunclody youth has been put on probation for a year after an assault. Kenneth Farrell from 45 Carrigban, was at the sitting of the District Court in the Meadowlands night club last Thursday. He confirmed that he had not complied with an undertaking he had given to stay away from alcohol. Farrell assaulted Damien Ryan at Ryland on St. Patrick's Day but no further charges have arisen since, the court was assured. Judge Donnchadh Ó Buachalla decided to order the defendant to enter into a probation bond for a year. It was made a condition of the bond that he would attend alcohol counselling, as and when directed to do so. 

Deft received £3,814 in social welfare fraud 

A Clonegal man charged with social welfare fraud appeared again before Bunclody District Court last Thursday. Defendant Billy Gahan of 12 Valley View, Clonegal, heard prosecuting solicitor Declan McEvoy recall that evidence was given in court on a previous occasion. Mr. McEvoy felt that there had been confusion then over the amount of the over-payment involved. He told the judge that a reduced figure had been accepted by social welfare officials and that £250 had been repaid by Billy Gahan. The revised figure owed was put at £3,814 and the matter was adjourned once more, until the court sitting of February 11. 

Girl's drive to the shop for sweets results in £200 fine 

A BUNCLODY woman who let her teenage daughter drive to the shop received a £200 fine on an insurance charge last Thursday. Evidence in the prosecution of Margo Halpin, Carrigduff, was given at Bunclody District Court last Thursday by Garda Paul Buckley. He told the judge that the summons arose after a road accident on the afternoon of April 16 last at Drumderry. No other vehicle was involved in the mishap which resulted in a number of injuries to the occupants of the car. The court was told that the girl who was at the wheel had been dealt with by way of a Garda caution rather than a summons to court. Solicitor Tony Ensor explained that Ms. Halpin's daughter was 16 at the time of the accident, though she was now 17. She borrowed the car with the defendant's permission in order to go to the shop, about two miles away, with the intention of buying sweets. Mr.Ensor stressed that his client had not been aware that there would be more than one other child in the car for the ill-fated trip. In fact, a number of the daughter's firends were on board when it came to grief at Drumderry around 3.30 p.m. that afternoon. The court was told that the car was covered by comprehensive insurance but this did not extend to a 16-year-old. A fine of £200 was imposed on Margo Halpin, who was present in court for the hearing, and her licence was endorsed with the conviction. 

Caim driver may appeal conviction 

Absence of stop sign blamed for accident 

A TRAFFIC diversion operated to facilitate the `Beat on the Street' in Wexford last year led to a young Caim motorist being fined £50 in Wexford District Court last week for driving without reasonable consideration. Liam Dunne, Knockmore, Caim, was convicted as a result of an accident at Stoneybatter, Wexford, on August 16 last year. He failed to stop when emerging from a side road and collided with an oncoming car. At the outset of the case, defending solicitor Rory Deane suggested the Gardai might accept it was reasonable for a young driver to make such a mistake as there was no `stop' sign there at the time. Dunne did not see the stop line which was marked on the road. A series of photographs were handed into court to suggest it is difficult to see the line as there is an upwards slope on the road before it. Lee Cooper, the front seat passenger in Dunne's car, gave evidence that they were travelling to Wexford. There was a traffic diversion in operation and they had to take the road that runs by the old hospital. It was raining and visibility was poor. He saw a 30 mph speed limit sign and noticed that Dunne slowed down as he passed this. He did not see a stop or yield sign, and thought Dunne had the right of way. The other car struck them as they emerged onto the main road. Dunne said it was about 10 p.m. when they were heading to Wexford. It was dark. He was directed onto the road in question because of the `Beat on the Street'. He had never travelled it before. He was driving at 30 to 40 mph before coming to a crossroads, and slowed to under 30 mph when he passed the speed limit sign. This suggested to him that he was getting near town, but he did not see any stop sign and so did not know he was approaching the end of the road. He did not see the line on the road because it was dark. He thought he was just going around a bend and only realised he had gone onto the main road when he got out of the car following the accident. He had about two year's driving experience when the accident occurred. Under cross-examination from Inspector Peter Finn, Dunne said there were four people in the car at the time. Inspector Finn asked him if they were talking or laughing in such a way as to affect his concentration. Dunne replied there was very little conversation taking place. His passengers were just looking out the windows and wondering where they were. Inspector Finn suggested he should have driven carefully if he did not know where they were. Dunne said he was doing so, and going slowly. Inspector Finn said the stop line was clearly marked on the road. He suggested the only reason Dunne did not see it was because he was travelling too quickly. Dunne denied this. Mr Deane pointed out that the local authority have erected a stop sign at the junction since the time of the accident, and asked Dunne if he would have stopped had this been in place at the time. Dunne replied he would. Judge Donnchadh Ó Buachalla said he had every sympathy for the defendant, but would have to hold against him. He accepted that `a certain lack of driving experience' had perhaps contributed to the accident. Dunne, who had no previous convictions, was fined £50 and given two months to pay. He faces five days in prison by default. He was also ordered to pay £80 witness expenses. Recognisances were fixed for the event of an appeal. 

Speed limit fines at Bunclody court 

A NUMBER of drivers caught speeding in the 30 miles per hour zone at Carrigduff were dealt with at Bunclody District Court last week. All prosecutions were taken by Garda Paul Buckley: Deirdre Bowler, Bessmount, Enniscorthy, was timed travelling at 53 miles per hour on May 15. She apologised and explained that she thought she was out of the 30 miles per hour area at the time. She was given two months to pay a £60 fine; lorry driver Joseph Clince, Marshalstown was detected driving at 47 miles per hour on March 19. He told the court that he did not realise he was doing that speed and he was into the limit before he realised. He too was fined £60; Eugene Cox, Gurteen, Bunclody was timed going at 50 miles per hour in his lorry. He was not in court and his solicitor John Mernagh was not available, so the matter was adjourned until February 11; Kevin Hudson, 31 Birchwood Heights, Tallaght hit 59 miles per hour according to Garda Paul Buckley. He told the court that he was guilty and that he did not realise he was going so fast. Judge Ó Buachalla handed down a fine of £100 along with endorsement of the licence and disqualification from driving for 21 days. 

Told court he signed statement of admission to get released 

Bunclody man jailed for act of `buggery' 

A MIDDLE-AGED Bunclody man was sentenced to two years in prison after he was found guilty by a jury at Wexford Circuit Court of buggering a young man. Forty-eight years old John Murphy, a bachelor, of Drumderry, Bunclody, denied committing an act of buggery with a person in Co. Wexford in July 1995 and said he had signed a statement of admission because he wanted to be released from garda custody. He told the jury in a re-trial before Judge Pat McCartan that the portion of the statement which contained a confession did not come from him but had been dictated by a garda sergeant. Guilty verdict After deliberating for less than three hours, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict and Judge McCartan imposed a two year prison sentence. He refused an application for leave to appeal. Judge McCartan said the defendant had been saved a longer term in prison by Garda John Mullins who gave evidence that the defendant was highly thought of in his local area. He said there had been a suspicion for many years as to the defendant's homosexual behaviour but he was never a threat and was never brought to garda attention. He would not particularly like to see him go to prison because he believed he was never a threat as a paedophile. There was a lot of drink involved in this particular incident which is why the defendant took advantage of the young man. The victim's father told the court that he was at home on the evening of July 3 when his son burst into the sitting room. He had taken off his clothes in the kitchen and was wearing only his undergarments. He was very upset and crying and he noticed blood spots on his vest and on his back. He gave him a bath and calmed him down, gave him some supper and sent him to bed. Under cross-examination by Denis Vaughan Buckley, SC, for the defence, he said that his son had never come home in that kind of condition before. Dr. Edward Fitzgerald gave evidence that on July 3 or thereabouts, the young man attended the surgery with his father. He examined the private parts of his body and also carried out an internal examination. He was very fearful and very anxious. The doctor said it was his opinion that he had been involved in a sexual act, namely anal penetration. Under cross-examination by Mr. Vaughan Buckley he agreed that he couldn't rule out that the symptoms were not caused by haemorrhoids. He suspected anal intercourse had taken place but he couldn't state it positively. Dr. Maureen Smith of the Forensic Scient Laboratory in Dublin said she examined items of clothing, swabs and blood samples from both the victim and the defendant.She did not find semen on the swabs taken from the victim. Garda Fergal O'Connell of Bunclody Garda Station gave evidence of going to the defendant's home with Sergeant Pat Leahy and Garda John Mullins on the morning of July 12 for the purpose of arresting him and bringing him to Gorey Garda Station. The defendant denied interfering with the young man but had difficulty recalling where he was on the date in question. 12 hours in custody He was in custody for nearly twelve hours and was questioned continually while being allowed breaks to eat and talk to his solicitor, Peter Creane who spoke to him on the `phone and also called in person to the station. Garda O'Connell took notes during the interviews and the defendant signed one set of notes in which he denied that anything had taken place. Garda 0'Connell told the court that the following a break of approximately an hour, the defendant indicated that he wanted to talk to the Bunclody gardai. He made a statement at 8.01p.m. in which he said it happened in the wood on July 3. It was about 5.30 p.m. The victim went down to the wood and he followed him. He masturbated himself and they had sex. He didn't want to go into the details. There was no force involved. After this, he went to the home of a friend for dinner. This never happened with he young man before. He was sorry that he ever met him. Garda O'Connell said the statement was read out to the defendant and he signed it. He was released immediately afterwards at 8.15p.m. Under cross-examination by Mr. Vaughan Buckley, the garda agreed that the defendant would have had to be officially released at 8.20 p.m.. He agreed that there was no forensic evidence linking the accused to the crime and that he had denied any involvement during nearly eight hours of questioning. `Lo and behold' said Mr. Vaughan Buckley, `in the last 20 minutes, you say he dictated this statement to you, admitting the crime'. Garda O'Connell said the defendant had made the statement. Mr. Vaughan Buckley asked why the word `before' in the sentence `this never happened with Mr. X before' looked as if it had been inserted afterwards. Garda O'Connell said he wrote the sentence and as he started the next sentence he realised he had left that word out and went back to put it in. He denied a suggestion from defence counsel that the gardai had told the accused that if he made a statement, it would go no further. Sergeant Pat Leahy told the court that Det. Gardai McCall and Collins informed him at about 6.50 p.m. that the defendant wished to speak to the gardai from Bunclody. Because he had been under questioning for nearly four hours which is legally the longest time a person can be interviewed, he decided to give him a break for an hour. Was cautioned He was taken to the interview room at 8.01 and cautioned before making the statement of admission. Under cross-examination by Mr. Vaughan Buckley, Sergeant Leahy agreed that up to this point, the gardai were investigating a complaint that the crime had taken place in a public toilet. He denied that he was dictating what would go in the statement. He was there for the taking of the statement but he didn't sign it. In his own defence, the accused recalled being arrested and brought to Gorey garda station. He was interviewed by five gardai in all. He was exhausted by the time the eight hours was over expecially with the verbal abuse he received from Sergeant Leahy, he said. He was very upset over that. He did not say he wanted to speak to the Bunclody gardai. In relation to the signed statement, he said Garda O'Connell was taking notes and Sergeant Leahy was doing the dictating. He did not say it happened in the wood. Sergeant Leahy said that. He did not say he had sex with the victim. Sergeant Leahy was doing the talking most of the time, he said. He said he was told that if he signed the statement he would be released. Sergeant Leahy told him they wanted it for their files, there would be nothing further about it and it wouldn't go to court. He heard nothing about it for nearly a year and a half when he received a summons and then it was nearly another year before he got a book of evidence. He told the court that he knew the victim and had last met him in June of 1995. Under cross-examination by John Peart, SC, the defendant agreed that the allegation put to him by the gardai was that he had sex with the young man in a public toilet. Mr. Peart put it to him that the first the gardai heard about it happening in a wood was in the statement he made. And if they had wanted to fix the statement they would have said it happened in the toilet. `Did you tell them it happened in the woods' asked Mr. Peart. `No', replied the defendant. `You had to tell them it happened in the wood' said Mr. Peart. He agreed that he had consulted with his solicitor during the day and further agreed that he knew he didn't have to sign anything if he didn't want to. `Yet you were read over a very serious confession made by you and you signed it' said Mr. Peart. Under pressure `I signed it, yes, when I was asked. I signed it to be released'. `I was confused. I was under a lot of pressure. I signed it to get out'. After the jury returned a guilty verdict, Judge McCartan suggested it might be a case for a Victim Impact Report. Garda Mullins told the court that the defendant had no previous convictions and came from a talented family background. He was a piper in the local band. The defendant's brother, Brendan Murphy, a member of the Garda Siochana said he only became aware of the problem when his brother received a summons. Their parents were still alive and had been made aware of the case. Although he no longer lived in Bunclody, he said he believed his brother was now a changed character. He became withdrawn following the investigation and had experienced sleeping problems. He believed his brother had a drinking problem at the time. Summing up, Judge McCartan said there was clear evidence the young man had been very severely traumatised by the incident.The charity and christianity shown by Garda Mullins had saved the defendant a considerable term in prison, he said, but to prison, he had to go. Judge McCartan said he had to take into account the young man, his father and the people of Bunclody who would be outraged if any other decision was handed down. He said his anger was very much tempered by what was said on behalf of the defendant by Garda Mullins and his brother. However, the court must take a very serious view of people who abuse young and vulnerable members of the community and breach the trust of adult members of society. The first trial earlier this year was halted by Judge Olive Buttimer after a witness in the case said things to the jury which were not in his statement in the Book of Evidence. 

Dangerous driving causing death charge reduced by jury 

Court hears how woman was killed while helping accident victim 

A man accused of dangerous driving causing death had his charge reduced to careless driving by a Jury following a Criminal Trial before Judge Pat McCartan on Thursday and Friday last at Wexford Circuit court. Roy McCarthy, Cushinstown, Foulksmills, appeared before the court on a charge of dangerous driving at Assaly Little, Killinick, on February 28, 1997, causing the death of Patricia Hayes, 4 Rathlannon Drive, Piercestown, Wexford. Ms Deirdre Murphy, B.L. instructed by State Solicitor, Mr. Jack McEvoy, appeared for the DPP, while Mr. Vaughan Buckley, S.C., and Mr. Colman Coady, B.L. instructed by Ms Fiona Reynolds, Solicitor, appeared for the defendant. Detective Garda Dermot McDonagh attached to the Mapping Technical Bureau in Dublin gave evidence to the court of surveying the scene of the accident. He told the court that the width of the road was 44' 2'' with a generous hard shoulder on one side and a slightly less hard shoulder on the Texaco garage side of the road. He informed the court that approaching motorists from the Rosslare side would have a comprehensive view of the area of roadway from the old entrance to Killinick village, which would be about 250 yards, with a limited view further back, adding that it's a very good road and very wide. Anthony Whelan in evidence told of driving from Rosslare Harbour on the night in question. As he approached Killinick village he saw a yellow flashing light, and as he went into the shop, he saw a tractor and loader parked in the forecourt. Whelan told the court he saw the tractor and loader pull out and on hearing a noise he looked over, seeing that the loader had unhooked. As a result the driver of the tractor got out and flagged down a car approaching from Wexford. As the driver of the tractor ran into the shop he heard the screech of tyres and a bang. He said that when he went to the car he recognised the driver as been Dympna Maguire of Rosslare Harbour and she appeared to be unconscious. He drove from the scene to drop a Ms Atkins home and flashed oncoming cars. When he arrived back at the scene he saw the red car which he had flashed at crashed into the loaders, adding that he had earlier met the car four hundred to five hundred yards from the scene and flashed his lights for it to slow down. Replying to Vaughan Buckley, S.C. the witness said there was some room for cars to get by, while every effort was been made to warn oncoming vehicles. David Redmond of Tacumshane told of been in the Supermarket on the night in question. He was putting petrol into a car at the time, and on looking up, he saw a tractor on one side of the road, and a trailer across the road. He saw Dympna Maguire's car strike the trailer around the back axle. The witness said he went to the assistance of Dympna Maguire and Patricia Hayes also arrived with both attending to Ms Maguire. Patricia Hayes had a light and was trying to flag down oncoming traffic. As soon as Patricia Hayes arrived he took his eye off approaching traffic before the next thing he realised that he had been driven under the low loader. William Kehoe from Foulksmills told of being in the area at about 9.30p.m. As he approached Killinick he saw a tractor and low loader across the road. The tractor and trailer was pulling out of the forecourt and as he got closer he saw that it had unhooked. As a result, Kehoe told the court, that he passed the vehicle out before parking the car, leaving his flasher warning lights on. The driver tried to hook the trailer to the tractor but was unsuccessful and went into the supermarket looking for a rope or chain. Having started to warn oncoming traffic, some of which passed by before he went to look at the draw bar after which he heard a loud bang. Following this he went to the car and saw a woman whose face was covered in blood after which he got the tractor driver to ring for an ambulance and the gardai on his mobile phone. The witness said that having heard a second noise the next thing he noticed was that he was spinning around and went to the forecourt. He said that the drawing bar of the trailer was stuck into the ground and the driver could not get it out. Patricia Whelan of St. Brendan's Estate, Rosslare Harbour, said she was in the car of Anthony Whelan at the supermarket in Killinick on the night. She had seen the driver of the tractor in the shop before seeing him drive out onto the road, before appearing to turn for Rosslare, after which she heard a bang. She saw a man standing beside the tractor before seeing the car crash into the trailer. She added that as Anthony Whelan drove towards Rosslare he flashed his lights but she did not remember the car involved in the accident passing by. Mary Doran told of being a passenger in John Kehoe's car. She noticed a tractor with a hazard light which they passed before parking on the hard shoulder. Having remained in the car she saw a car approaching from Rosslare and she flashed the lights, while the hazard warning lights were also on. The car crashed into the trailer and a second car came along shortly after, striking some people while also crashing into the trailer. Michael Beaver said he was driving from Wexford town towards Rosslare Harbour. As he approached Killinick a car in front was indicating to turn right, at which stage he went to pass on the left side, before noticing a trailer across the road, which led him to brake, swerving to the right to get by. He told the court of noticing a car in the trailer while also seeing another car coming from the Rosslare Harbour direction. He flashed his lights but the second car did not stop and struck the people who were attending the first car. On seeing the impact he went immediately to the supermarket to see if the ambulance and gardai had been called. He estimated the car had been travelling a 50mph to 60mph. Paul Ennis of Duncannon told of driving away from the service station when he heard a loud bang before realising a car had struck the trailer. Shortly after he saw a second car strike the trailer and two people flying over the trailer. Jennifer Scahill told of been a passenger in a second car driven by Kerry McCormack. Before they approached the Danby Lodge she had lit cigarettes for herself and Kerry after which she handed Kerry her cigarette before putting the packet back into Kerry's bag. As she looked around she could see lights of car at an angle. Kerry was slowing down at the time. She saw the back lights of a car before saying it to Kerry who swerved to try and avoid it, adding that she possibly have been distracted, by giving her the cigarette. Replying to Vaughan Buckley, S.C. she said that about five hundred yards back she saw the flashing lights of a car which she thought only flashed once. Michelle Fortune told the court that on the night she was sitting in a car parked in the forecourt. She did not hear the first collision before she saw Patricia Hayes going out of the shop, after which she heard a bang. As a result she saw two people going into the air. On going to Dympna Maguire who was still in the car, she saw another person lying under the trailer, while another person was lying across the road, on the opposite side of the trailer. Liam Murphy from Hayestown, Taghmon, a Plant Hire Contractor, told the court of being the owner of the tractor involved in the accident. He used the tractor and low loader to move machinery on site. He said he knew the brakes on the back axle of low loader were not working, but the front were working, and there were good brakes on the tractor. On the evening in question he directed Roy McCarthy to go to Rosslare Harbour but did not see him leave, but he was doing this on his directions. He said that on a number of occasion previously Mr. McCarthy had driven the vehicle without any problem. The witness said he was unaware of there being any problem with the hitch on the tractor. Garda Peter Ryan told the court the trailer had rear lights but no side markings. He noted that two cars had crashed into the side of the trailer, while he saw a man trapped under the trailer who had to be freed by the fire brigade. Having gone over to a car he saw Dympna Maguire with a badly bleeding face who was being attended to by a nurse from the Intensive Care Unit of Wexford General Hospital, while Miss Hayes had been taken to hospital by ambulance. When he later went to interview Dympna Maguire she made a statement saying she did not remember anything about the accident, adding, that Kerry McCormack had pleaded guilty to careless driving in the District Court and had been fined £80. Garda Tony Coakley said when he arrived at the scene he saw Patricia Hayes on the side of the road unconscious, while David Redmond was trapped under the low loader. He was conscious and able to give his name. He also spoke to William Kehoe who was sitting in the forecourt in a state of shock and appeared badly shaken. Sergt Daniel F. McCarthy, Public Service Vehicle Inspector, told the court the brakes and steering of the tractor were sound. However he said that the space between the hitch and the stopper leading to slackening made the connection very dangerous, while the mechanical components of the low loader were totally defective. He said there were no brakes on the low loader and no side markings and found it very dangerous. With no brakes on the low loader and being towed along it would put severe stress on the tractor and also severe stress on the draw bar leading it to snap. Sergt. McCarthy told the court that the overall combination was in a dangerous condition because of the parts outlined. He also examined the cars which had severe damage but appeared in good condition. Sergt. Kevin Foran told of the defendant going to Rosslare Garda Station with a prepared statement. The defendant in a statement said he was travelling to Rosslare Harbour to move a digger on site. The low loader was on loan from Peter McLoughlin and the tractor was owned by Liam Murphy. He hitched up the low loader at Barntown, checked the brakes, and there were only brakes on the front axle of the low loader which were working. As regard the piece of black rubber it was used to stop the draw bar from jumping up and down. Having stopped in Killinick he drove out and was half way across the road when the low loader came off the hitch. At the time the tractor was facing towards Rosslare and there was an orange flashing light on the cab. Having got out out of the tractor another man came along who stayed on the road as he went into the shop to look for a chain or rope. On going back he saw a girl in a car with blood on her face after which he went to the tractor to contact an ambulance and the gardai. He then saw a girl from the shop with a light after which another car came along and sent the people flying. The Jury following an absence of two hours returned a unanimous verdict of careless driving. Sergt. Foran told the court he found the accused to have always been a forthright and honest young man. The Hayes family, he said, found it very hard, difficult and most stressful with all the court cases, and found the court system very hard to understand. The defendant he said had no previous convictions of any kind and never came to the notice of Gardai before, and was now in new employment driving a digger. Sergt. Foran said that Ms McCormack had pleaded guilty to careless driving in the District Court, was fined £80, but was not disqualified from driving. Judge McCartan said the young girl out of a sense of duty and charity went onto the road to help and met an inappropriate death. However he had to measure out a number of factors in dealing with the case. Another person who was a participant was dealt with in another court and fined a miniscule sum and dealt with in another way. The Judge said he could not ignore what had happened to the other person while also having to consider the defendant as being a very young man. The young man, he said, was subject to directions from a very irresponsible employer. It was grossly irresponsible of the employer to ask him to take the vehicle out onto the road. It was an appalling judgement on anyones part. It was inevitable something was going to happened and unfortunately it happened on a busy junction leading to an unbelievably sad tragedy. Judge McCartan said that while he was compelled to have regard to the facts his hands were tied in so many areas. He fined the defendant £350 on the reduced charge of careless driving, giving him two months to pay, while also endorsing his driving licence. 

NEWS SPECIAL The Ballygarrett Pike group were just one of the many from all over the county who took part in Dublin's 1798 commemorations on Saturday. Reporter Colm Lambert was among them. 

Proud day in Dublin as we march to the beat of '98 

IT all began innocently enough. A simple phone call to Ballygarrett man Peter Carton seeking information about a play currently being rehearsed there, which turned out to be a new one written by Peter himself which deals with a North Wexford family's involvement in the 1798 rebellion. We began to talk about the summer-long series of commemorations and the fact that a march was coming up soon in Dublin. Next thing I knew, he invited me to march there with the Ballygarrett pike group. My experience of the commemorations had been limited to spectating and reporting up to that point, but I am as proud a Wexford man as any other and decided it was about time I took an active part in proceedings. That was how I came to find myself standing at the Realt na Mara GAA pitch at 10.30 on Saturday morning, clad in grandfather-collared white shirt, black waistcoat and peaked cap, just a matter of hours after stumbling in home from a beery Friday night. Half asleep and hungover...some would say it was the authentic 1798 pikeman experience. The pikemen and women numbered about 25 by the time the bus pulled away, and it had barely gotten through the gateway of the GAA complex before John Carty produced his tin whistle, Jim Garde got out the mouth organ, and the singing began. It continued all the way to Dublin, pausing only for cries of `hold on, we want to go for a pint!' as the bus whizzed by Jack White's Inn and The Beehive. Company Commander Danny Cooper sat alongside the novice pikeman for a while on the way up and explained the basic commands needed for marching. Nil ach cupla focail agam, but I quickly learned that `cle...cle...cle, deis, cle' was the most important bit and was confident I wouldn't make a show of my colleagues by running along hopelessly out of step. Danny then retired towards the rear of the bus to exercise his fine singing voice, having also revealed that the pike he would be carrying was built with an original 1798 pikehead that was found in a field near his home many years ago. The assembly point at Parnell Square was reached well before the allocated time of 2 p.m., and many Dublin heads turned as the 25 Ballygarrett pikepeople were joined by others from different groups on the search for food. `Are yiz in a play or a film or something or wha'?' bemused locals asked as we filed into Patrick Conway's pub on Parnell Street, the one that featured in the film `The Snapper', for the chips and a quick pint. `No, we're pikemen up for the march,' they were told. `Oh right,' they replied, still seeming none the wiser. Unfortunately, knowledge of the rebellion is not all it could be in the city. Back up to the square it was then to take up our position, which was alongside a jeep whose owner had obviously heard of the latest parking restrictions being enforced in Dublin. `On 1798 march...please don't clamp me!' read a notice in its window. The order to begin the march came shortly afterwards, and Sean Roche began to beat out the steps on his drum for the Ballygarrett folk to follow. I must admit to feeling a certain sense of pride as the procession snaked its way past the Garden of Remembrance and along the entire length of O' Connell Street and beyond. This was giving the Dubs an idea of what has been going on in Wexford all year long, and how much 1798 means to everybody from the Model County. Onlookers applauded, but not everybody was so charitable. The black-clad staunchly-Catholic old woman who can often be seen with her crucifix and rosary beads on O' Connell Street chose to express her disapproval of the rebellion with some decidedly un-Christian language. `The worst crowd of f****** ever to come out of the country' were the words she chose to describe the rebels who fought for freedom 200 years ago. `Cle, deis, cle' were the words that would not leave my brain as the march continued along College Green, Dame Street, Christchurch, Thomas Street, and St Catherine's Church and the South Quays before crossing the Liffey again at the Guinness brewery (where incidentally, I want my ashes to be scattered after my death!). It was only then that the full extent of the parade became clear to the marchers themselves, as we saw over 1,000 others all along both sides of the river as wreaths were laid in the Croppy Acre. The pause was appreciated by some more than others, as they took advantage of it to dash into nearby pubs to answer nature's call. Back up along the North Quays then and up O'Connell Street to the GPO, where the speeches were taking place. It was difficult to hear all that was being said, but the largest cheer came as RTE's lack of coverage of the event was condemned from the podium, and there was also support for the suggestion that the parade become an annual event at Vinegar Hill, in the manner of Dublin's 1916 commemorations. While standing at ease with pike in hand, a familiar voice sounded behind me. `Howaya Lambert,' said a journalistic colleague, Michael Foley from `The Sunday Tribune', in his dulcet North Cork tones. The significance, and irony, of a man from that part of the country standing among 1,000 pikemen as the sounds of 'Boolavogue' began to echo through the city's main street was unfortunately lost on him. The march resumed for the short distance back to Parnell Square before both the nearby Barry's Hotel and the Belvedere Hotel were bombarded by pikemen longing for tea and ham sandwiches. Veterans of dozens of marches were glad of the sustenance provided, including the members of the Ballindaggin Pipe Band. Seeing the line at the bar however, the Ballygarrett crew adjourned back across the road to the bar of Club na Muinteori, where the sing-song began again in earnest. Not to be outdone, Enniscorthy pikewoman Kay Doyle, another impostor among the teachers, also joined in the proceedings. It was off to the Stillorgan Park Hotel then for yet more food, which was followed by more singing in the bar from Danny Cooper, the fine voice of John Carty, and the man who claimed to be the only one from Courtown Harbour to march, Mick Byrne. A cultural exchange of sorts followed, as a group of visiting Germans interspersed `The Boys of Wexford' and `Kelly from Killane' with a selection of Teutonic drinking songs. It was closing time before the bus left (there's a surprise), and the songs and craic continued all the way back to Ballygarrett. As the men and women clamoured off the bus just after 1 a.m., some were already looking forward to marching in New Ross the following day. Having spent a day with a pike group, this reporter now appreciates why so many people have been so enthusiastic about marching all summer long, and is firmly of the opinion that all should not end just because 1998 is almost over. There is a strong case to be made for more frequent commemorations of the rebellion. 

650 seat church will service growing community 

Clonard celebrates the opening of new church 

HILARY MURPHY Journalist 

`GOD IS ALIVE and well and living in Clonard with a 20-year mortgage'! In this jovial comment at the consecration of Clonard's beautiful new church last Sunday, Parish Priest Fr. Denis Lennon aptly summed up what they had experienced in the herculean task of building the church over the past two years. The work involved for all concerned had been carried through with a virtual religious fervour, he said, while the chief challenge ahead was to clear the heavy debt incurred. The full 650-seat capacity of the splendid building was taken up for Sunday's ceremony which was led by Bishop Brendan Comiskey and attended by a large number of clergy. The historic occasion was attended also by Wexford's Mayor, Cllr. Paddy Nolan and Mr Brendan Howlin T.D. It was a time for savouring the satisfaction of a job well done and for expressing admiration and gratitude for the trojan input by so many and by certain individuals in particular. The one-and-a-half-hour service began with the building project's executive chairman, Michael Kelly, presenting the keys and plans of the building to the bishop. In doing so, he noted that this was the first church to be built in the diocese since 1970, and the first since Brendan Comiskey became Bishop of Ferns and to bear his name on the foundation stone. `This church,' said Michael Kelly, would not have been possible without the commitment and enormous effort of Clonard's greatest asset, its people. Today we have seen the fulfilment of an aspiration that has been in their hearts and minds for many years.' As part of the ceremony, two babies had the privilege of being baptised by the bishop at the church's new-style baptismal font. They were Emily Sinnott from McClure Meadows, and Jenna Kearney from Belvedere Grove. Baptismal vows were also renewed by everyone present and priests moved through the congregation to anoint some sick and elderly people with the chrism of the church. With the emphasis on community, eighteen representatives of the various categories in the parish were invited to the altar to receive a lighted candle from the bishop. These included marrieds, widows and widowers, sick and handicapped, young and elderly, confirmation and first communion candidates, ministers of the Word and Eucharist, teachers and general church helpers. There was also community representation in the offertory procession. Among the gifts brought to the altar was a Billy Colfer painting of the old church and the baptism register from the year it opened, 1974. Bishop Comiskey was joined in concelebrating Mass by Clonard's three priests, Fr. Lennon, Fr. Colm Murphy and Fr. Bobby Nolan as well as former Parish Priest, Fr. Lory Kehoe under whose stewardship the new church project was launched. The first reading was taken by Dick Conway and Fr. Kehoe read the Gospel. Solo singing by Lydia Fitzgerald, the parish choir, folk group and confraternity band greatly enhanced the joyful occasion. Catholic Boy Scouts in the charge of Stevie Martin proved a guard of honour. The much praised designer of the church, architect Maurice Fitzgerald, speaking at the end of Mass, singled out three individuals for their exceptional input into the building project - Seán McDonald, site foreman for contractor Jimmy Browne; his own partner Colm Redmond and church building chairman Dessie Robinson who, he said, was `an absolutely wonderful man to deal with'. Mr. Fitzgerald said his brief for the design of the church was to make it intimate; to ensure that the congregation would be close to the sanctuary at all times, and to make it a restful, meditative place with the focus of attention on the altar and tabernacle. Bringing the glorious occasion to a close, Fr. Lennon said the building project had represented a marvellous coming together of local talent working with the design team of Maurice Fitzgerald and Colm Redmond. `I have found it one of the greatest pleasures of my life,' he added. 

Reporter Colm Lambert survived Bunclody's `Irish wedding' and tells his story 

There's nothing quite like a Bunclody style Irish wedding 

THERE'S nothing like a real Irish wedding, but the wedding that took place in Bunclody's Meadowlands Nightclub last Friday was like nothing ever seen before. The occasion was a novel fundraising venture for the local swimming pool, and some of the town's best-known characters got dressed up to act out a hilarious comedy play based on the sort of shenanigans associated with all nuptial ceremonies. Ad libs were the norm throughout the night, and much of what was said cannot be repeated in this newspaper! The play took place in two acts, one based around the church ceremony and one around the reception, and the hundreds of wedding guests who attended enjoyed a fine meal in between. The players were in character even as the guests began arriving, as father of the bride Frank Buckley greeted them at the door. 'Hello...hello...thanks for coming...oh I don't know you, you're from the other side,' he announced as they filed in. Proceedings proper kicked off with father of the groom Dennis Farrell stumbling drunkenly into the church, where he was lambasted on his inebriated state by wife Evelyn Mulrennan. All the time, groom Dennis Finn, best man Eamon Cowman and groomsman Pat Lennon were steadying their nerves with a stiff drink in the nearby bar. The priest, played by solicitor Peter Crean (who was sporting more hair than he has had for many years), did his best to get things going but had to stand back helplessly as the groom's father made advances on the beautiful pair of bridesmaids, played by Lory O' Connell and Patricia Finn. 'He's worse than Bill Clinton!' they muttered as they fought him off. It took a real man of a woman, the mother of the bride Tony Jordan who was once again donning women's clothes for the sake of his art, to sort out the lecherous Dennis as he beat him off with a sturdy-looking handbag. The unfortunate victim was just the first of a number of handbag victims there would be as the night progressed. The groom finally showed up, drunken red eyes hidden behind sunglasses, before the wedding march began. There were howls of amusement when the guests first saw the state of bride-to-be Josephine Byrne, who looked as though she was about eleven months pregnant. The ceremony began, but was soon interrupted by bingo enthusiast Marie Wall-Dunne. 'You're in the wrong place, my good woman, this is a church,' Fr Crean told her. 'Well, it looks like Meadowlands to me! There's Mick Kehoe over there,' she retorted, pointing towards the proprietor of the premises. 'Did you do well out of the ploughman's lunch, Mick?' she inquired. 'The signs were big enough anyway!' Nobody was safe as Marie continued her rounds of the guests. She accosted Bunclody's recent Lotto-winning trio of Bernie Deane, Peig Kelly and Martha Dunne with cries of 'would ya look, there's the lotto crowd in playing bingo looking for more money, have yiz not got enough already?' Wexford hurling manager Rory Kinsella was asked to 'get us an oul' ticket for the match', and others also had to endure her tongue. Presidential candidate Derek Nally was also the subject of conversation when cleaning ladies Mary Gibson and Geraldine Sheehan wandered in and spotted him in the front row. 'I love a man with grey hair...he would have been a gorgeous President, wouldn't he?' they said. Marriage vows were eventually exchanged despite numerous objections, and Fr Crean blessed the marriage with the words 'May God forgive me!' The father of the groom then invited all in the church to come down and join them at the reception...'but I don't want to see any of yiz sneaking into Kehoe's or Finn's on the way and getting scuttered!' he warned. The interval for the meal followed, and some of the men who took the opportunity to visit the toilets were greeted by a strange sight there as mother of the groom Tony Jordan went about his business with his floral dress pulled up around his waist. 'It's an awkward job to do in this get-up!' he moaned. Dinner was a rowdy affair, as those at the top table threw tomatoes and other food at guests, before things got going again as Fr Crean announced the recent formation of the Bunclody Viagra Awareness Group. 'The first meeting is in Finn's on Friday, and the chairman is Rory Kinsella,' he stated. No wedding is complete without the telegrams of course, and best man Eamon Cowman did a fine job of reading them out when he finally got going. 'Dear Johnny, you were never the best biology student but I see you have now become an expert on female anatomy,' read one from the groom's old teacher in the FCJ Secondary School. 'All your years playing GAA and you could never score, but one night at the back of Meadowlands and you became a top marksman,' was the greeting from HWH-Bunclody GAA club. 'I will always love you!' was the message to the groom from the mysterious Rodney. The one that caused the most stir came from the groom's doctor. 'I hope this does not arrive too late, but the recent tests prove you are sterile,' it read. Johnny groaned as he looked again at his heavily pregnant wife. 'It's alright, sure don't we have the land!' his father declared. The speeches from the best man and groomsman led only to disagreement and fighting, and the whole thing degenerated into a scrap as one by one, everybody involved in the wedding was led away by Garda Mick Bowes. It is belived divorce proceedings were initiated the following morning. Music and dancing followed, and a number of spot prizes of whiskey and brandy were handed out. One prizewinner though, Wexford-based banker Tommy Murphy was less than enamoured with his booby prize of a 'modular table heater', some sort of contraption consisting of a moulded piece of plastic and a small candle. Nobody seemed sure what it was for, though Tommy pointed out somebody had already used the box as a beermat before it was ever given away as there was a round stain on it that exactly fitted the base of a pint glass! Bill Mernagh of the swimming pool committee professed himself to be delighted with how the night had gone, revealing he could have sold many more tickets had they been able to cope with the demand. And as Chairman Rory Murphy said at the outset of the night, 'we hope to have an extra gallon of water or too in the pool next year!'