Dundalk men in court following explosives find

Two Dundalk men appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday in connection with an explosives find in Meath on Tuesday.

The pair, both in their 40s, were arrested after Gardaí stopped two cars on the N52 between Kells and Ardee on Tuesday and discovered explosives.

Michael Connolly (42) of Grange Drive, Dundalk, was charged with membership of the IRA on December 16^th.

Meanwhile, Brian Fitzpatrick (49) of Castleross, Dundalk, was charged with two counts of possession of an explosive substance under suspicious circumstances on the same day at Mitchelstown Cross, Castletown, Navan, Co Meath.

Meanwhile, a Dundalk man, as well as two others, are due to go on trial in the Special Criminal Court in July 2016 charged with possession of explosive devices in Kilcurry on May 25^th last.

Gareth Mulley (45) with an address at Ashling Park, Dundalk, is charged with the possession of an explosive substance along with David Gallagher (37) of Marley Court in Drogheda and William Burns (38) of Kerrera Street, Ardoyne, Belfast, Co Antrim.

They are alleged to have had in their possession PETN and RDX, an adapted 50 litre beer keg, 50kgs of ammonium nitrate home-made explosives, an improvised detonation cord, an improvised steel booster tube and an improvised time and power unit.

Mr Mulley and Mr Gallagher have also been charged with membership of the IRA.

Kirk calls for additional driving licence centre to be opened in north Louth

 

Seamus Kirk TD

Local Fianna Fáil TD Seamus Kirk has called on the Road Safety Authority to open an additional driving licence centre in North Louth.

At present anyone who wants to renew their licence in Louth has to travel to the Southgate Shopping Centre in Drogheda – a 126km round trip from Omeath in the north of the county.

Indeed, the Southgate Shopping Centre is actually based in Co Meath, meaning Louth has no such facility at present.

Commenting on the matter, Deputy Kirk said: “Over the last few weeks, I have had a number of irate constituents complaining about the existing NDLS Centre in Drogheda.  Time delays, appointments not being met, shortage of staff and distance to the centre are the main complaints.”

After submitting a Parliamentary Question on the matter, Deputy Kirk was assured that an additional processing booth would be installed at the Drogheda centre to ensure those using the service spent as little time there as possible.

The RSA’s Moyagh Murdock responded: “The locations were selected to ensure that 95% of the population was within 50km of an NDLS centre. In addition, one of the features of the NDLS is that customers can visit any centre nationwide to apply for their licence or learner permit — they are no longer restricted to going to the centre in their hometown as was previously the case.

“So they can make it part of another trip, such as going to work or college, or visiting relatives in another county. They can also apply up to 3 months before their licence expires.”

However, Deputy Kirk said he would like to see an additional centre opened in Dundalk.

He said: “I urge the RSA to look at additional sites in Dundalk. Dundalk is the largest town in Ireland, with a population of nearly 40,000

“The NDLS is a step in the right direction, but there is more work to be done so that the public have easy access to the centres, where they can renew their licence in an efficient and effective matter,” said the Knockbridge man.

New children’s respite facility opening in Lordship today

A new 8 bed children’s respite facility will open in Lordship this afternoon.

The Maria Goretti Foundation Centre will provide respite for up to 39 children a year who are diagnosed with a disability.

It will allow parents and carers a couple of days’ break from the often challenging demands of providing full time care.

The only facility that currently caters for families in Louth is based in Navan, Co Meath, so this new facility will be most welcome.

The centre came about as a result of the experiences of the late John Hanlon, who had considerable contact with the family of a child with disabilities.

He was aware of the demands on the child’s parents and wanted to do something to help.

Mr Hanlon was suffering from Motor Neurone disease and passed away in 2008 but his family decided to follow through with his intentions after his death.

The new facility is funded by Louth Disability Services and the HSE, as well as from a donation from the Hanlon family and a site donated by the late Monica McDermott of Lordship.

Dundalk firm forced to pay settlement following construction worker’s death

The accident occurred during the construction phase of the M3 Motorway in Co Meath

A Dundalk-based contracting firm have had to pay out part of a €670,000 settlement to the family of a construction worker who died when the dumper truck he was driving overturned.

Father-of-four Peter McAndrew (44) died following the accident that occurred while he was working on a section of the M3 motorway in Co Meath on September 22^nd 2008.

The accident occurred when the dumper toppled over as he went down a steep incline on the construction site, just outside Dunshaughlin. He was trapped under the machine in a pool of water.

His widow, Doris, of Muckersastass, Coolarty, Co Longford, sued his employer Q&F Roadway Contracting Ltd of Park Street, Dundalk and the general motorway contracts SIAC Cintra Ferrovial M3 Joint Venture, Readsland, Dunshaughlin, Co Meath.

The accident occurred due to negligence and breach of duty of the defendants, the prosecution insisted.

It was claimed that the defendants failed to take any or any adequate precautions for the safety of the deceased while he was engaged in his work. These claims were denied.

Last year, the main contractors were acquitted on health and safety charges  in relation to the accident following a 12 day trial when a Circuit Court judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to properly charge the jury.