An 87-year-old Brother of Charity has been charged with 67 counts of indecently assaulting three boys in the 1960s and 1970s at a residential home for orphans in Cork city.
The brother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested and cautioned yesterday morning before appearing at a sitting of Cork District Court.
Judge Con O'Leary remanded the accused man on his own bail of €500 to appear at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on May 16th.
Driver of stolen car jailed for 3 years
The driver of a stolen car who dragged a garda behind him for over a distance of 40 feet has been jailed for three years at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
James Cotter (22), Annalee Grove, Mayfield, Cork, appeared before the court yesterday in connection with the incident last August. Cotter had been driving around Cork in an Opel Vectra at speeds of up to 90 m.p.h.
Garda Anthony Daly attempted to take the keys from the ignition of the car at a checkpoint near Fota golf club in Co Cork, but Cotter took off at speed, dragging the garda with him. The garda eventually stopped Cotter near Tivoli in Cork city and he was taken to Midleton Garda station.
He had rammed into a car in the course of the incident, causing £600 worth of damage. Garda Daly said his life had changed for the worse since the incident, which had kept him out of work with back injuries.
Mr Tim O'Leary, defending, told the court his client has a history of substance and alcohol abuse. Cotter apologised to the garda, saying his drinking was at the root of his problems. Judge Patrick Moran said he could not allow him to go back on the streets, adding he was lucky not to have killed the garda.
Gardai find guns in Limerick searches
A Garda search of houses in St Mary's Park in Limerick yesterday has uncovered a high-powered machine-gun, a hand-gun and drugs. The rapid-fire machine-gun can fire more than 30 bullets a second and, according to gardaí, both weapons were oiled and ready to use.
A quantity of cannabis was found in another house.
The weapons were sent to Garda Headquarters in Dublin for ballistic tests and to try to establish if any of the guns were used in family feuds on the north side of the city, which have increased since the shooting dead of Eddie Ryan in the Moose Bar, Cathedral Place, in November 2000.
Restaurateur fined for having no licence
A restaurateur was fined €1,264 at Dublin District Court yesterday for operating without a licence. Mr Patrick Deegan, owner of Dee Gees Wine and Steak Bar, Harbour Road, Howth, admitted he did not have a licence because he did not have tax clearance, but he claimed the Revenue owed him money.
Customs officer Mr Joseph O'Regan bought a glass of wine at the restaurant in September 1999. He subsequently interviewed Mr Deegan, who admitted not having a licence. He said this was because he did not get tax clearance even though, he claimed, he was owed money by the Revenue rather than vice-versa.
Mr Deegan had sought to have the case dismissed because he claimed he had not been furnished with certain information by the Revenue to prepare his case.
Judge Desmond Windle told him he had been provided with enough information. When Deegan tried to speak about his case, Judge Windle insisted that he only talk about why he did not have a licence. He imposed the maximum fine and fixed recognisances for appeal at Mr Deegan's own bond of €1,200 with an independent surety of €6,000.