Lowfuelcard.ie to sponsor Irish PGA Championship in Dundalk

Brian Owens of Dundalk Golf Club, Michael McCumiskey, Secretary of the PGA in Ireland and Joe Barrett of Applegreen

LowFuelcard.ie will sponsor the Irish PGA Championship at Dundalk Golf Club from October 1st to 4th.

The card is a new product offer by forecourt retailer Applegreen plc and while no figures have been released for what is initially a one-year deal with the Irish Region of the PGA, it is believed to be €30,000 with an option for further years.

The prize fund for last year’s event at Adare Manor was €29,450 and it is expected to remain at that level this year.

PGA in Ireland Secretary, Michael McCumiskey said: “This new sponsorship agreement is an important development for this historic championship. The PGA in Ireland looks forward to building a strong partnership with Applegreen over the coming years.”

Applegreen plc is the number one motorway service area operator by number of sites in the Republic of Ireland and has a growing presence in the UK.

The Group had 152 sites as of late December 2014 with 96 in the Republic of Ireland, 54 in the UK and four on Long Island in the USA.

Joe Barrett, Chief Operations Officer for Applegreen plc said; “We are delighted to be involved with this national event which engages with businesses in the locality.

“Applegreen have recently opened a motorway services area (MSA) at Templepatrick on the M2 outside Belfast and are currently building another MSA on the M1 south bound just outside Lisburn.

“Applegreen already has a significant business presence on the M1 at Castlebellingham, Lusk, Balbriggan and Gormanston.”

Dundalk Golf Cub has hosted the Irish PGA Championship on two previous occasions. In 1953, Harry Bradshaw collected his eighth title with a four round total of 272 and in 1969, Jimmy Martin won with a score of 269.

Redesigned by Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas in 1980, extensive improvements have been carried out to the 6,826-yard course over the last 18 months.

A number of new bunkers have been added but the main focus has been on redesigning and improving the drainage of the existing green side traps. A tree-thinning process has also opened up the sixth and 15th greens to the elements.

Last year’s Irish PGA Championship at Adare Manor Golf Club was won by Royal Dublin’s Niall Kearney, who birdied the 18th to edge out Derry’s Michael McGeady and pocketed a cheque for €3,500.

Court rejects soldier’s appeal against Defence Forces discharge

A locally-based solider who claimed he was suffering from the side effects of an anti-malarial drug when he sexually assaulted a female colleague has failed in an application to have a stay put on his discharge from the Defence Forces pending an appeal.

Last June Pte Barry Kingham (34), with an address at Waterville Crescent in Dundalk, was convicted of sexually assaulting a female colleague at Gormanston Camp in May 2010. He was also convicted of two counts of behaviour prejudicial to good order and discipline.

Court Martial judge Col Michael Campion discharged Kingham from the Defence Forces, sentenced him to seven days in custody and fined him €400.

Counsel for the applicant, Gerard Humphreys, yesterday told the Court of Criminal Appeal he was making an application for an order putting a stay on the discharge of Kingham from the permanent Defence Forces.

Mr Humphreys said his client had no recollection of the incident and had been on the anti-malarial drug Lariam while stationed overseas.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman said the appeal court would not grant the relief sought.

Local soldier discharged and jailed over sexual assault

A local soldier who claimed he was suffering from the side effects of the anti-malaria drug Lariam when he sexually assaulted a female colleague, has been discharged from the Defence Forces, sentenced to seven days in prison and fined €400.

Army court martial judge Col Michael Campion also imposed “a very severe reprimand” and lifted reporting restrictions allowing the perpetrator to be named as private Barry Kingham of Dundalk.

Pte Kingham was convicted last month on one count of sexual assault on a female colleague, and two counts of behaviour prejudicial to good order and discipline.

The offences took place when Pte Kingham was on 24-hour duty with his victim and their supervising corporal at Gormanston Camp, Co Meath, in May 2010.

Discharging Pte Kingham from the Defence Forces in respect of the sexual assault, Col Campion told Pte Kingham it was necessary to “lay down a marker that behaviour like yours cannot be tolerated”.

Col Campion said military personnel needed to trust and depend on one another and the assault represented “a very serious breach of military discipline”.

He said the first count of a breach of good order and discipline, that the accused had “entered the bedspace” of his victim, was “a serious breach of discipline” and he imposed a custodial sentence of seven days detention and a fine of €300.

Col Campion said the second count of a breach of good order and discipline, that Pte Kingham had stripped down to his boxers while on duty, was the least serious charge but still a serious breach of military discipline.

Colleagues were depending on Pte Kingham to maintain a state of readiness to go on active duty, said Col Campion, and he imposed a “very serious reprimand” and a fine of €100.

The colonel also said he did not accept the defence argument that Pte Kingham’s use of the anti-malaria drug Lariam on overseas trips, particularly to Chad in 2009, was a mitigating factor.

Col Campion said a claim by Pte Kingham that the first he knew of the assault was when he found himself standing in his boxer shorts in a room as the light was switched on, with his victim shouting at him, was “self serving”, it was “not credible” and “did no service to you”.

Pte Kingham had shown “no indication of genuine insight or remorse” and, notwithstanding an immediate apology to his victim, had continued to maintain he did not know what had happened, “suggesting he has not engaged with the reality of his conduct on the night”, Col Campion said.

Defence counsel Gareth Humphreys said he would take instructions on the subject of an appeal.

During eight days of evidence Pte Kingham maintained that he had suffered depression and nightmares after returning from Chad in 2009 where he had been prescribed the anti-malaria drug Lariam.

Expert evidence was given by Dr Ashley Croft, a former adviser to the British military in tropical medicine and infectious diseases, that Lariam has been linked to symptoms of sleep loss, nightmares, forgetfulness and psychotic behaviour.

However another British military adviser, Dr Ronald H Behrens, introduced by prosecuting counsel Comdt Fintan McCarthy, said Lariam had no long-term effects and would not have been a contributory factor in the alleged assault.

Source: The Irish Times