Tag Archives: gardai

By Owen Ryan GARDAI have arrested one man and are still seeking others following an incident in which three teenagers were robbed at knife point in Shannon last Saturday evening. On the evening in question at about 7.30pm seven teenagers were together in a wooded area of Drumgeely. They were approached by three males, all wearing hoodies with the hoods up. One of the group produced a knife and threats were made, before the group took sums of money consisting of €20 and €4 as well as a speaker for a phone which was valued at €60. The three hooded males ran off towards Corrib Drive after the incident. On the night Shannon Town were playing a soccer match against Moyross United and after the males suspected of being involved in the incident were seen getting onto a large coach that had brought people to the match, Gardai were alerted. Gardai brought all passengers off the bus and one person …

COMPARED to other towns of similar size like Tralee or Kilkenny, Ennis ranks amongst the lower end of the crime statistics and crimes have been decreasing steadily in the area since 2008, according to official figures. There was a drop of nearly 30% from 2008 to figures in 2011 and a continual decrease since. Results from a University of Limerick study show that only 20% of those questioned were ever victim of a crime in Ennis and of these nearly 50% were attributed to anti-social behavior, while and assault only accounted for 10%. These findings are from a recent study on Community Safety and Town Promotion of Ennis administered by UL’s Department of Politics and Public Administration. The research was done in late 2013 with people living, working and using the town of Ennis as a direct outcome from the Ennis 2020 Visioning Framework based on public participation in 2011. The study reveals that the main factors affecting sense of …

GARDAI investigating a fatal traffic collision, which occurred at about 8.30pm on Wednesday night on the Gort Road in Loughrea have arrested a man in his 20s. The man has been detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act at Loughrea Garda Station and can be detained for up to 24 hours. A cyclist, 68 year old John White, St Laurences Field in Loughrea, was fatally injured in the collision. He was taken to University College Hospital Galway where he was later pronounced dead. A post mortem was carried out yesterday afternoon by State Pathologist, Prof Marie Cassidy.

“THEY’RE not going home to shave their legs and they’re not making omelettes”, was the message of one councillor to Ennis business people as she urged that them not to sell eggs and shaving foam to youngsters during events such as St Patrick’s Day. Councillor Mary Howard at this week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council called on the local authority in association with other agencies such as An Garda Siochana, traders, Ennis Chamber and schools to devise a “code of conduct”. She outlined that this should deal with identifiable perennial events, “particularly antisocial behaviour on certain days by young teenagers”, on days to include St Patrick’s Day, the last day of school and festivals. She stated that there is a problem with antisocial behaviour among young people in the town on certain days of the year. And she said that she was told on St Patrick’s Day from 12 and 13 year olds that it was “too scary” in town …

GARDAí in Ennis have arrested a man in his early 30s following the discovery of a growhouse in Mullagh on Thursday night. Gardai seized cannabis plants at various stages of growth with an estimated street value of up to €144,000, pending analysis, following a search of a house on Main Street, Mullagh. The house was searched as part of an ongoing operation targeting the cultivation, possession and sale  of cannabis in the county. The growhouse, which was discovered shortly after midnight on Thursday by gardaí from the Ennis Drug Unit assisted by local gardaí, was described as “sophisticated”. A male in his early 30s was arrested at the scene and is currently being detained at Ennis Garda Station under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996. He can be held for up to seven days. This is the sixth cannabis seizure in Clare in less than two weeks and brings the total estimated value …

GARDAÍ, the coast guard, fire services and ambulances were called to three separate emergencies in Clare last night. Two vehicles crashed through the front windows of busy filling stations in separate incidents in Ennis. In a third emergency two units of the coast guard as well as the coast guard helicopter were called to assist Clare fire and rescue services and gardaí in a search for a person reported to have entered the River Fergus. Events began to unfold at about 8.45pm. A full-scale emergency call-out was sparked after a van was reversed into a busy supermarket, causing injuries to shoppers and staff on the Gort Road. Gardaí, ambulances and fire brigades rushed to the scene at Lynch’s Centra immediately after the incident occurred. An eyewitness described how the small van was reversed almost up to the check-out. A number of people, including the van driver, were attended to by emergency personnel and some were brought by ambulance to hospital. …

GARDAÍ investigating three arson attacks at houses at Beech Park halting site in Ennis, and separately a further arson attack of a house in Ashline halting site last week, say no arrests have been made. The latest arson attack occurred between 12am on Tuesday, August 20 and 9am on Wednesday, August 21 when three unoccupied houses in Beech Park halting site in Ennis were damaged by fire. Some form of accelerant was used to douse the buildings. Although it did not ignite, considerable smoke damage was caused to the interiors. The arson attacks have been condemned by the chairman of Clare County Council’s Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee (LTACC) Councillor Brian Meaney, who said these arsons exemplify taxpayers’ money “going up in smoke”. He claimed more than €34 million has been invested in Traveller-specific accommodation in the county over a 12-year period, since Clare County Council embarked on a project to provide housing and caravan bays for members of the …