Tag Archives: garda

ROAD deaths in Clare have seen an 83% reduction since 2007. This places Clare in the top five counties in terms of the reduction in road deaths. The first year-on-year increase in the number of fatalities since 2005 came in 2013 and has been revealed in a recently published report by the Road Safety Authority (RSA). The publication looks at the number of road deaths in each county in Ireland, from 2007 to 2013, which placed County Clare in the top five safest counties, with the fewest number of fatalities. The report, entitled 2007 To 2013 Road Traffic Deaths by User Type and County, highlights the reductions in road fatalities in Clare between 2007 and 2013. However, while this statistic is a step in the right direction, tragically, since 2007, 23 drivers, three motorcyclists, two cyclists and eight pedestrians have been killed on roads in the county. Commenting on the report, Clare’s Chief Superintendent, John Kerin, said while the statistics …

Gardaí are on the hunt for two men who broke into Cassidy’s Pharmacy in Ennis in the early hours of Tuesday morning after what has been described by gardai as a “smash and grab” incident. The premises, which is located on O’Connell Street , was targeted at approximately 2am by two men who “using a sledgehammer bashed in the door” of the well known pharmacy. It took the culprits approximately three minutes to break the glass to gain entry and clear shelves of cosmetics products before they were gone again. A senior garda said this was an unusual type of crime in that it was so “daring”, and described it as a “smash and grab” incident as it took so little time to execute. Gardaí believe high value cosmetics were the primary target as these were the only items stolen in the burglary.  The theft was over in a matter of minutes as the items were cleared from shelves onto …

A man in his late 20s has been arrested and is being detained at Ennis Garda Station after members of the public gave pursuit when a shop in Ennis was robbed at knifepoint on Friday morning. O’Connor’s shop in the Market in Ennis was held up at knifepoint on Friday morning at approximately 9.45pm. A female staff member was in the shop at the time and was confronted by a man who was wearing a hoodie and brandishing a knife. She handed over a sum of money to the man, who then fled from the shop in the direction of Parnell Street. Two members of the public observed the man fleeing and gave chase, catching up with him at the Parnell Street Car Park by the river wall. Gardai, who were alerted to the incident, promptly attended the scene and apprehended the suspect at this location. A knife and a sum of money was recovered as part of their investigation. …

By Carol Byrne A THREE-year-old child was left alone in a bedsit, while his mother went off to see her boyfriend. The incident led to a case before Ennis District Court this week, where the 22-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to one count of child cruelty. Inspector Tom Kennedy, prosecuting, outlined how the gardaí received a call at approximately 1.30am on October 26 last from a tenant in the property that the defendant occupied. Gardaí heard from a man, who was living above the defendant’s bedsit, that he had heard a child crying in the room below. The child, the court heard, was three years and eight months old. “He was calling ‘Mum, Mum’ for about 20 to 30 minutes. Garda Noel Pearse went to the address and heard the child crying. The door was locked. The garda told the child to go back from the door. He comforted the child,” Inspector Kennedy said. …

By CAROL BYRNE UP to 17 members of Ennis Garda Station, including the county’s Chief Superintendent, participated in a shave or dye event in aid of the Irish Cancer Society on Friday. The Ennis station is one of the few garda stations to have embarked on a shave or dye event, since the initiative began. Organised by community garda Deirdre O’Doherty the decision was made to theme the shave or dye in line with Ennis being the first town to secure a purple flag status. As a result those getting their hair dyed will have it dyed purple. Speaking about Friday’s initiative Garda O’Doherty said, “The main reason for organising it is because of the amount of people who have been touched by cancer. Even through our own station, a number of people have been touched by it. I was approached by one of my colleagues, who said I would be the one to take it on. I had thought …

By CAROL BYRNE CLARE Garda District registered the highest percentage termination of fixed charge notices in 2012, and was a close second for 2011, according to a report of the Garda Siochána Inspectorate into the fixed charge processing system. Meanwhile the largest percentage termination of fixed charge notices in the country occurred in Kilrush in 2012 when 9.64% of the notices here were terminated. On 4 July 2013, the Minister for Justice and Equality requested the Garda Inspectorate to commence an inspection of the Garda Síochána fixed charge processing system and make recommendations they deemed appropriate. The report, which was released recently, is the result of this examination of policy and practices for the fixed charge system and makes recommendations for short, medium, and long term. In the report the professional standards unit gave a breakdown of the number of fixed charge notices issued by each garda division across the country in 2011 and 2012, and of those how many …

A RANGE of measures that householders can take to secure their homes against the threat of burglary was highlighted by An Garda Síochána at Wednesday’s launch of its National Crime Prevention Day of Action. The main entry points by burglars to houses are through a rear window (28%), front door (27%), and rear door (25%). While the latest CSO figures show a 8.9% fall in the level of burglary and related offences between June 2012 and June 2013 compared to the previous 12 months, An Garda Síochána is advising people to remain vigilant and security conscious in order to thwart burglars. “Burglars will tend to go for what they view as easy targets –  houses with no lights on, no alarm, or unsecured doors and windows. So it is critical for householders to secure all doors and windows, light up their homes even when out, and have an alarm and turn it on even when at home,” said Sergeant Kelvin …

Garda are not treating as malicious a fire which claimed the lives of two people in Gort. Ben Whiteman (38) and Nuala Sweeney (65) died in the fire at Tom O’Donnell’s Flats, Station Road, Gort on Thursday morning last. Friends and relatives of Mr Whiteman gathered at Mullin’s Funeral Home in Gort on Monday to bid farewell to the British national, before a private cremation in Cork on Tuesday. Emergency services were called to the fire at 2.50am on Thursday morning. The fire was brought under control by Gort and Loughrea fire services. Two bodies were taken from the damaged building and removed to University Hospital Galway. No one else was injured in the incident.