27 extra Gardaí for Dundalk branded “wholly inadequate”

Dundalk Garda Station

Local Gardaí have described the deployment of an additional 27 Gardaí to Dundalk as “wholly inadequate”.

That’s according to a report in today’s Irish Independent which says rank and file officers believe the additional support won’t make any difference to policing along the Border.

It is understood that 25 Gardaí and two sergeants are being sent to the district following the death of Garda Tony Golden in Omeath.

Local Gardaí are said to have been left deeply traumatised by that murder, coming less than three years after another Dundalk-based officer, Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, was killed in Bellurgan by a south Armagh crime gang.

“After Adrian’s murder we were promised extra people but they only stayed for six weeks before returning to their stations. Since then the numbers here actually fell further,” a source told crime correspondent Paul Williams.

“Going on patrol now, colleagues are telling each other to be extra-careful out there and members’ loved ones are petrified.

“The Dundalk area accounts for almost 50% of all crime in the Northern Region, which stretches from Donegal all along the Border to Dundalk and it is taking a terrible toll on everyone.

“We wouldn’t be talking about all this if it wasn’t for one of our friends and colleagues being murdered, but people are saying they have had enough,” the source added.

The sources described being snowed under with emergency calls and they have to deal with daily violence and car rammings.

In September, Dundalk received five new recruits from Templemore – one for each unit – but on the weekend they arrived, six local officers were injured in a series of car rammings in the town.

It is understood that 16 of the officers being re-deployed to Dundalk are being sent from the neighbouring Cavan/Monaghan Division, where manpower levels there are already down by 22%.

Meanwhile, the Garda Representative Association is due to seek a meeting with Garda Human Resources Management (HRM) to request that Dundalk and the Border stations receive the lion’s share of the next batch of young recruits currently in training.

“If there is not a major injection of manpower then our colleagues in Dundalk will be burned out and you could see a large number being forced off work due to stress.”

Dundalk midfielder Towell to miss out on clash with Galway Utd tonight

Richie Towell

Dundalk top scorer Richie Towell will miss tonight’s clash with Galway Utd at Oriel Park after being diagnosed with pleurisy.

The midfielder is hoping to return to full training on Monday, however, after initial fears that he could miss next month’s FAI Cup final.

Towell was out shopping with his girlfriend Kelly earlier in the week when he was struck with chest pains that saw him require immediate medical attention.

The 24-year-old was struggling for breath and there were initial concerns that he had suffered a collapsed lung.

However, he has since been diagnosed with pleurisy – an inflamation around the lungs which causes sharp chest pain.

According to The Irish Independent, doctors believe it may have been a delayed reaction to a heavy knock in last Friday’s clash with Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght, a game which saw him score from the spot late on to secure the league title for Stephen Kenny’s side.

Meanwhile, tickets for the FAI Cup final against Cork City on Sunday November 8th will be on sale from Oriel Park before and after tonight’s game with Galway Utd.

Motorists drive wrong way down the M1 to avoid truck fire

The remains of the truck that went on fire. Picture: Adrian McCourt

Motorists put their lives and the lives of others at risk this morning when they turned around and travelled the wrong way down the M1 motorway after a truck caught fire.

It is understood that a truck and its trailer caught fire early this morning en route from County Louth, between the junctions of Jonesborough (J20) and Ravensdale (J19).

Fire Brigade sources told The Irish Independent as they arrived to fight the blaze near the Ravensdale exit at Junction 19 on the southbound carriageway they saw cars coming towards them after they turned to travel back to the next exit and continue their journeys.

“It was a very dangerous thing for them to do and could have made what was a already a dangerous situation a whole lot worse,” said a fire brigade spokesman.

“A truck fire can be challenging enough without having to deal with head-on collisions on the way to it,” he added.

The southbound carriageway remained closed early this morning at Junction 20 Jonesborough after the truck fire which was first reported at 5.25am. One lane has since been reopened. No injuries have been reported.

Two people died earlier this year on the motorway in Co Louth having driven the wrong way down the motorway and Gardaí insist it should never be done under any circumstance.

Just one of 50 creches in Dundalk inspected so far this year

Just one of the 50 creches operating in Dundalk have been inspected so far this year, according to reports published by Tusla.

The information came to light in a report in today’s Irish Independent, who also revealed that 11 of the local creches hadn’t been inspected since 2012, with the remaining 38 having been inspected during either 2013 or 2014.

House building up 47% in Louth in first half of the year

The number of houses built in Co Louth in the first half of the year jumped by 47%, according to figures published in today’s Irish Independent.

The paper revealed that there were 193 new homes built in the county from January to June 2015.

Of this total 86 were one-off houses while the remainder were multiples.

The increase in Louth was the largest along the east coast, with the exception of Fingal which saw house builds jump by 102% in the first half of the year.

You can read the full article here.

Kingspan boss Murtagh takes a stake in Dundalk company Climote

Derek Roddy founder and CEO of Climote

Kingspan boss Gene Murtagh has taken a stake in Dundalk-based smarthome heating firm Climote, according to a report in today’s Irish Independent.

According to the paper it is understood that the valuation placed on Climote has doubled in the past two years.

Mr Murtagh is the latest heavy-hitter from the energy sector to invest in the business, which is based in Finnabair Industrial Park.

Last year, former Bord Gáis chief executive John Mullins took a stake in Climote, as did former Airtricity boss Ian Marchant. Mr Marchant invested around €100,000 and it’s believed that Mr Mullins invested about €300,000. Both are now advisers to Climote.

Mr Murtagh has stumped up €400,000 for his personal holding in Climote. Cavan-based Kingspan, a global insulation provider with revenue of €1.8bn last year, has already partnered with Climote in promoting smart energy solutions.

They recently worked together with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and Electric Ireland to equip 2,100 Co Louth social housing homes with Climote system.

Irishman Ross Finegan, a co-founder of London-based Lonsdale Capital Partners, has also just taken a stake in Climote. Lonsdale acquired Irish publisher CJ Fallon in 2013 and sold it earlier this year to US private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners.

Filings for Climote show that both Mr Murtagh and Mr Finegan each paid just over €1,000 per ordinary share in Climote.

That compares to the €533 per share that was paid by investors who used a British Virgin Islands vehicle in 2013 to acquire a stake in the business.

Climote is a spin-off from a company called Smarthomes. Smarthomes was co-founded by businessman and former presidential candidate Sean Gallagher, and Derek Roddy.

Climote has won awards for its remote home heating control system. Householders have an electronic control panel fitted in their homes to replace existing thermostat. Users can then control their home heating from anywhere in the world, over a smartphone app, by SMS, or via a tablet or laptop for instance.

The premise is that householders can save money by more precisely controlling when their home heating and water heaters go on and off.

BATE striker Rodionov may face retrospective punishment for headbutt on Dundalk’s Dane Massey

Dundalk are hopeful that UEFA will investigate a headbutt by BATE Borisov captain Vitali Rodionov on Dane Massey in their Champions League clash yesterday evening.

The international striker was involved in an altercation with the left back after BATE’s second goal, with the Dundalk defender revealing to The Irish Independent he was shocked when the attacker headbutted him.

The referee missed the incident, but there is video footage and the UEFA match delegate is aware of the matter which opens up the possibility of retrospective punishment and a suspension for the Irish trip.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Massey, “He just leaned in and planted one on me. I was a bit stunned at first.

“He was cute enough, though, as he held my back so I couldn’t go down. That’s what crossed my mind at first.

“I put my hand up to my head and there was blood – he cut me. I was raging and we went eyeball to eyeball then. I couldn’t believe he did it. His team-mates were off celebrating the goal and he was getting involved.

“I was shouting over to the linesman to see if he’d seen it but he hadn’t but I believe there might be video footage of it so we’ll see what happens.”

Read the full article here.

Mum of two Becky opens up about post natal depression

Becky Durnin, her husband Peter and daughters Trinity and Saoirse

Local woman Becky Durnin has opened up about her battle with postnatal depression.

The mother of two, formerly Becky Mulligan before her marriage, spoke to The Irish Independent about how the condition affected her following the birth of her second child Saoirse 15 months ago.

Becky, who is married to Peter Durnin and has another three year old daughter called Trinity with him, is a gentlebirth instruction with Dundalk-based company Juno and the Midwife.

She told The Independent that while she felt great after the birth of her second daughter, it wasn’t until months later that the symptoms of PND became apparent.

“I felt amazing after Saoirse was born, apart from the usual baby blues with the hormonal dip, but nothing concerning. The low didn’t hit until about four months later and it really took me by surprise. I didn’t think postnatal depression could happen to me. When it did, it absolutely floored me.

“I had everything I wanted and planned for but felt so hopeless, tearful and drowning in a deep sea of sadness, at first I put it down to the regular adjustment from one to two babies. I’d heard it was tough work so assumed I just wasn’t coping well.

“My husband was the one who planted the seed that this might be something much bigger than me. He suggested we speak to a professional after I began crying in the mornings at the thoughts of him going to work.

“I’m a GentleBirth Instructor, I teach Mindfulness, CBT and Positive Self-Talk for a living.

“This behaviour was worlds apart from who I am. I felt as though staying at home during the day was unbearable but getting out of the house was impossible.

“Everything was much more difficult and I seemed to be carrying a dead weight that exceeded my strength when trying to complete the simplest tasks.

“When my toddler came to me with tissues, as I sat in a ball on the floor once again, for the fifth time that day, with the intention to dry my tears, at the innocent age of 2 1/2, I realised I really needed help.

“I went to my local GP and told her the hopelessness I was feeling, that I just didn’t have the want or desire to get through another day.

“I didn’t want to commit suicide, even that seemed like too much effort and when the thoughts came – which they did – I wondered what was the point of trying as I probably couldn’t even do that right.

“She gave me a tissue, proscribed me Prozac and Xanax and told me to come back in a month. But I’m quite a pro-active person and very much a geek when it comes to evidence-based practices.

“I knew that medication could help but I wanted to be sure I was doing everything possible to help myself. I started to work out six days a week for one hour at a time with my brother at Fighting Fit, Dundalk.

“Endorphins really helped the darkest days. I changed my diet to cut out as much refined sugar as possible to prevent sugar crashes and upped my Mindfulness sessions. I started writing positive affirmations again and practising positive self-talk. Some days the only positive thing I had to say about myself to myself was that I got dressed today and I am loved.

“About a month after I began medication I started counselling with a fabulous counsellor from Nurture called Linda Reynolds.

“She reminded me of all of the tools I teach my GentleBirth clients and it was very easy to incorporate those into my life.

“The Xanax was horrendous. I felt spacey, out of control and very silly. It scared me more than the depression and so I chose not to take it again. The Prozac helped.

“The thick dark fog lifted to a light grey cloud within a few weeks. Was it the drugs? Was it everything else? I don’t know, I reckon it was a decent balance of everything but breathing became easy again, my feet didn’t feel so heavy on the floor, the tears stopped streaming so easily and I began to enjoy being alive again.

“About four months after I started taking the medication I felt safe again. I wasn’t afraid to be alone.

“I had a rock solid support network, my husband, my mother-in-law, my family, my beautiful friends Heather and Melissa, and a very precious secret group on Facebook with women who were going through the same thing, supporting one another and journeying together. I decided to slowly wean off the meds with the willingness to begin again if I needed to.

“It’s been seven months since I took any medications for depression. I practise Mindfulness every day, I still write my positive affirmations every Sunday but I’ve slacked a little on the exercise.

“Depression is an illness, it can happen to anyone. Most people can and do recover with the right support, unconditional love and encouragement.”

You can read the full article here.

Operations and appointments from Louth County Hospital could be outsourced

The Louth County Hospital in Dundalk

Hundreds of surgical operations and specialist appointments are set to be outsourced to private health providers in a bid to cut down on waiting lists with the Louth County Hospital in Dundalk amongst the locations affected.

That’s according to a report in today’s Irish Independent, which says that Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, as well as Beaumont and Connolly Hospitals in Dublin, have issued a tender for the work.

The paper also claims that hospitals which are part of the Royal College of Surgeons Hospital Group, including Cavan, the Rotunda, the Louth and Monaghan are “likely to be involved in the outsourcing.”

Health Minister Leo Varadkar said the plan, which could see some patients sent abroad for treatment, would be expensive but was required to cut waiting lists down to a maximum of 18 months.

There are currently 564 patients awaiting surgery in the Louth County Hospital and a further 2,062 waiting for an outpatient appointment.

Meanwhile, in the Lourdes Hospital there are 1,242 waiting on surgery, with 11,386 waiting for an outpatient appointment.

Nationally there are more than 412,000 people on waiting lists, with 10,000 of them waiting more than a year.

The tenders will see 500 endoscopies, and 200 colonoscopies outsourced along with 50 patients needing ear, nose and throat surgery. Another 300 are to be offered to see a dermatologist for skin conditions privately.

Mick O’Dwyer to act as advisor for Louth ahead of the championship

Mick O’Dywer

Louth’s championship hopes have received a boost with the news that legendary GAA manager Mick O’Dwyer is to come out of retirement to take up an advisory role with the Wee County footballers.

According to a report in today’s Irish Independent, the Kerry man has agreed to assist Colin Kelly and his management team as they bid to bounce back from relegation from Division Three.

Kelly confirmed that O’Dwyer had already attended a number of team meetings.

“He’s been about the place. It’s nothing formal. I would have had Micko addressing club teams I was involved with in the past. He has great enthusiasm.”

The 78-year-old once again finds himself back in Leinster where he has been so successful with Kildare, Laois and even Wicklow. His last inter-county position was with Clare for a year in 2013.

It is understood that agreement has been reached with O’Dwyer to attend some sessions at their Darver training centre in the build-up to their opening Leinster Championship match with Westmeath in Drogheda on Sunday May 17.

Former Donegal manager Brian McEniff previously acted as an advisor to Peter Fitzpatrick during his spell as Louth boss, as did Armagh duo Peter McDonnell and Martin McQuillan and former Dublin goalkeeper John O’Leary.