Tag Archives: garda

A WARNING has been issued to gun owners that they must ensure their licences are in date. Kilrush Garda Superintendent Martin McGonnell has said a percentage of gun owners in the county do not have the requisite licence. “There are a number that seem to completely disregard it and don’t seem to realise that owning a gun carries a lot of duties and responsibilities. We have a duty to make sure that is the case. When people start running into four or five months without a licence, that’s an issue. I want to remind people that when their licence is out of date, they are carrying an unlicensed firearm. People should be aware of this and should get their firearms renewed,” he warned. “We are going to start a policy of seizing firearms and initiating proceedings. It is a criminal offence to have an unarmed firearm and people who continually fail to obtain a licence will have it seized, possibly …

An appeal has been issued by An Garda Síochána to all road users to take extra care over the October Bank Holiday Weekend. Gardaí have cautioned “there will be an increase in traffic as many will be travelling to different parts of the country. The school holidays will also be commencing for all school children, so we appeal to all motorists / motorcyclists to slow down, always wear their seatbelts, wear the appropriate safety clothing at all times, be well rested and never ever drink and drive”. Regional Traffic Superintendent, Western Region, Noel Kelly, said, “ We are anxious to ensure anyone using a vehicle is aware of our Bank Holiday Enforcement Campaign. Garda resources will be deployed with the aim of increasing compliance amongst road users and improving overall road safety. “Motorists are advised that inappropriate speed, Drink driving, seatbelts, poor vehicle lighting and faulty tyres are the greatest contributory factors to road deaths and serious injuries at this time of the …

Gardaí will have a strict traffic plan in place for the funeral in Killaloe tomorrow (Friday) of Munster and Ireland rugby star, Anthony Foley. The funeral mass will take place at St Flannan’s Church, Killaloe at 12 noon, with burial after in Relig Nua graveyard. A one way system will be in place around Killaloe along the R463 with the junction of Killaloe Bridge, to Abbey Street Covent Hill, right onto Crossroads, Thomas Street, Chapel Street, left onto New Street and back onto the main Scariff Road – R463. To enable the free flowing of the one way system the following junctions will be closed off to traffic: ·         New Street/ Main Street junction ·         Thomas/Chapel Street junction ·         St Flannan’s Road / Main Street junction ·         St Flannan’s Road/ Covent Hill junction ·         New Street / Ogonnelloe Road junction ·         The Green / main Killaloe square will be free of all traffic for the rest of Thursday and Friday. Funeral vehicular traffic coming from the Birdhill Road/M7 direction …

A GARDA national speed enforcement operation, “Slow Down”, supported by the Road Safety Authority and other stakeholders, will run for a 24 hour period from 7am on this Friday to 7am on Saturday. The objective is to reduce the number of speed related collisions, save lives and reduce injuries on our roads.  The aim of “Slow Down” is to remind drivers of the dangers of speeding, increase compliance with speed limits and act as a deterrent to driving at excessive or inappropriate speed. Although 2015 saw a very welcome reduction in road deaths, resulting in 162 road deaths, the joint lowest on record, there has been a marked increase in road deaths in 2016. Excessive and inappropriate speed is a major contributory factor in road traffic collisions, further confirmed by the recent RSA report on fatal collisions between 2008 and 2012 which found that excessive speed was a contributory factor in one third of all fatal collisions during that time. The …

Clare County Council is inviting the public to have an input in the formulation of the Speed Limit Review 2016 – 2017. Draft bylaws have been developed after a review of existing speed limits on Clare’s 4,000 kilometre road network and following extensive consultation with An Garda Síochána, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the adjoining local authorities in Tipperary, Galway and Limerick. Among the proposed changes to speed limits throughout the county is a reduction in the speed limit from 100 km/h to 80 km/h on the N67 from the Galway border to Killimer, an increase in the speed limit from 80km/h to 100 km/h on the N19 between Shannon Town and the Shannon Industrial Estate, and an increase in the speed limit from 80 km/h to 100 km/h on a section of the R-352 Ennis to Portumna Road. The draft bylaws also propose speed limit reductions of 10 km/h from 60 km/h to 50 km/h on the L-3040-0 at …

Gardaí in Ennis investigating the armed robbery of a shop in Ennis last night (Sunday) are now hunting for a man in his early 20s. The incident occurred at around 10.19pm on Sunday, when a man entered Hogans shop at Claureen, on the Lahinch Road brandishing what appeared to be a short firearm. He intimidated the staff and made them hand over the contents of the till before fleeing on foot in the direction of Shanaway Road. The man is described as in his early 20s and was wearing a black leather jacket, gloves and a dark hoodie. At the time of the robbery he had the hood up, and used a white scarf to hide his face. He is also believed to have been wearing dark jeans, dark shoes with a white trim at the bottom of the shoes, and he is understood to have spoken with an Eastern European accent. Anyone who may have seen a man matching …

A 33-YEAR-OLD man, who has pleaded guilty to making a large number of calls to various emergency services last year, has been warned that he is facing an 18 to 19-month prison sentence if he does it again. Richard McDermott, with an address at 6 St Flannan’s Terrace, Ennis, is charged with making 134 calls to emergency services on dates between July 25, 2015 and September 27, 2015. He was further charged with public intoxication on July 29, 2016. The calls involved were placed to various emergency numbers, including 999, the ambulance control base, Ennis Garda Station and Henry Street Garda Station in Limerick. Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey told the court that her client, who admits the charges, is a “very vulnerable person”. She outlined how some of the assistance he is getting from the Brothers of Charity had been withdrawn. Judge Patrick Durcan said he wanted McDermott to give an undertaking under oath that he would not make these …

FOLLOWING an intensive Garda campaign to curb drink driving over the August Bank Holiday weekend, the rest of the month will also see specific 24 hour operations. From July 29 to August 1 inclusive, 165 people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, Chief Superintendent Aidan Reid confirmed in a review of the weekend on our roads. “Twenty-one people lost their life on our roads in July, the highest of any month this year so far. Two people lost their life and there were eight serious injury collisions over the bank holiday weekend. We urgently appeal to every road user to take extra care on the roads and realise you have a personal responsibility when you get behind the wheel. Slow down, wear your seatbelt, put the mobile away and in particular, never ever drink and drive.” The Garda chief noted of the 108 deaths on our roads so far this year, 24 were passenger. Before …