Tag Archives: County Galway

AS a result of routine operations on Tuesday, February 9, Revenue Officers at Shannon Airport seized over 1kg of the drug Kratom. The illegal drugs have an estimated value of €20,000 and were discovered in a parcel originating from the Netherlands. The parcel was declared as ‘moringa extract’ and was destined for an address in County Galway. Investigations are ongoing. This seizure is part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the importation of illegal drugs. Officers have asked that businesses, or members of the public, with any information regarding smuggling,  contact Revenue in confidence on Confidential Phone Number 1800 295 295.

MOST Most. Rev. Dr Brendan Kelly will be formally installed as Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora this Sunday. The ceremony will take place at the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas, Galway. Born in Derrybrien, County Galway in May 1946, he was the second of nine children born to Sean and Annie Kelly. Following his Leaving Certificate in 1964 he was accepted by the then bishop, Michael Brown, to study for diocesan priesthood in the Galway Diocese. He was sent to St Patrick’s College, Maynooth in September of that year. As a seminarian Bishop Brendan completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1967 and a Bachelor of Divinity Degree in 1970. He was ordained to the priesthood in June 1971 by Bishop Brown in the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas. His first appointment was to the parish of Kinvara as a curate before being appointed to the teaching staff of Coláiste …

THE Supreme Court has refused, on grounds including it does not make “futile orders”, to declare that planning decisions relating to a windfarm development on a mountain site at Derrybrien did not permit deforestation of more than 115,000 trees. The site was the scene of a massive bog slide in October 2003 when nearly half a million tonnes of peat and debris was displaced, causing considerable damage to the surrounding area and pollution to a nearby fishing river. Following a 2008 decision of the European Court of Justice that Ireland had not fulfilled its obligations under a 1985 EU Directive related to assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, a local residents group appealed in 2009 against the 2005 refusal of the High Court to grant injunctions stopping the deforestation. The Chief Justice said, while the Supreme Court was prepared to approach the appeal “on the assumption the planning permission did not cover or …

Galway City and County Councils is to receive €58.4 million towards the construction of 1,126 new social houses in Galway. The new houses are due to be built by 2017 and will take 21% and 29% of households off the city and council housing lists respectively. “This is good news for the thousands of families on housing waiting lists across Galway. We will finally see local authorities building houses again – something that Fianna Fail stopped and Labour has been committed to starting again. This funding will provide homes for Galway families and is the first phase in a historic investment in social housing across the country,” noted Deputy Derek Nolan. “Social housing is a social good. It provides quality homes for those who cannot afford their own, relieves pressure on the private rented market and is a control on private house prices. I want to see more social houses built so that those on waiting lists can settle, raise …

The breathtaking Tulira Castle in Ardrahan, County Galway has been sold, it has been confirmed. The castle, which sits on more than 250 acres, is understood to have been bought by an Irish businessman for in the region of €5.8 million. Celia Lamb, head of country homes, farms and studs with Ganly Walters, described the property as “a national landmark and one of the finest examples of an Irish castle” but would not comment on the identity of the buyer or the final sale price. The property had been on the market since summer 2013 and had generated significant interest, especially among international buyers. “The asking price was €6.5 million. We had varied interest from a few groups of Chinese; we had some Europeans; we had some Americans who nearly went for it and we had Irish interest, interest from the UK and we had one prospective buyer come from Australia to view the property. He had been in Australia …

Businesses and consumers in Kinvara have taken a collective stand against Israel’s actions in Gaza by pledging to support the growing boycott of Israeli produce. The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said they were unaware of any other town or village that had taken this type of united action. The idea for the campaign emerged from numerous conversations at a local level, about what ordinary people could do to help end the bloodshed in Gaza. The subsequent appeal to local businesses was led by John Griffin, Frank Naughton and Vicky Donnelly, three members of the Kinvara community. “Like most people, we were sickened by the carnage we were seeing on our screens and felt helpless to do anything, until we decided to approach all the relevant businesses in our community to support the boycott of Israeli produce. The fact that we’ve had such a positive response sends out a strong message of solidarity,” John Griffin explained. According to Vicky, the campaign …

A 40-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Adrian Folan, whose body was found in a quarry near Liscannor on Monday. He is Declan Ó Cualain (Folan), with an address at Cuileán, An Cheathrú Rua, County Galway, who was brought before a special sitting of Galway District Court this  Tuesday evening. He is a brother of Adrian Folan. A defence application for free legal aid for Mr Ó Cualain was acceded to by Judge Mary Fahy. Defence solicitor, Adrian McLynn also requested that his client receive medical attention while in custody. Mr Ó Cualain has been remanded in custody to appear before Harristown District Court on Friday. Adrian Folan, 41, had been missing from Athlone since July 3. His body was found in a quarry near Liscannor on Monday morning. Mr Folan ‘s body was brought to University Hospital Limerick where the State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, conducted a post mortem examination on Monday night. Gardaí are not releasing the …