A round-up of today's other regional news stories in brief
Suspended term for 'stupid' crime
A robbery of €10,975 from a Dunnes Stores safe by a company security man picked up by CCTV was yesterday described as "extremely stupid" by a circuit court judge.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Con Murphy imposed a suspended jail term of two years on Tom Egan (36), Glenmore Road, Kilmihil, Co Clare, after the father of three pleaded guilty to stealing the money last August 14th, at Dunnes Stores Shannon outlet.
Judge Murphy said: "This was an extremely stupid offence with no hope of avoiding detection. It seems Mr Egan had a temporary breakdown knowing he was going to be caught, because he would have been aware of the CCTV cameras in operation. It is a most serious crime involving a substantial amount of money, where Mr Egan used his know-how to access the money."
Pat Whyms, counsel for Egan, said at the time his client "was going through a bad period. There was friction with his employers and he was also worrying about how he would pay for his father in an old folks home. He was under a lot of pressure." The next day, Egan's solicitor contacted the gardaí and Dunnes Stores and all the money was returned. If jailed, "the financial and emotional impact on his family would be devastating".
Waterford murder investigation
Gardaí in Waterford are continuing their investigation into the murder of a man after his body was discovered at his Henrietta Street apartment on Friday. James Purcell was found dead at around 6pm.
A postmortem by State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy revealed that Mr Purcell died from trauma injuries to the neck and throat area. A weapon was found at the scene.
Mr Purcell was last seen alive at the credit union in Parnell Street on the evening of March 13th. Anyone with information can contact gardaí in Waterford at: 051 305 300.
Body identified as that of Northerner
The body of a man uncovered in a field in west Kerry on Good Friday, near the extreme edge of the Dingle Peninsula, has finally been identified as that of a missing man from Co Antrim.
Trevor McFall (46) went missing from his home in Larne in Easter 2004, almost two years before his body was discovered.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster conducted a postmortem.
Supt Pat Sullivan said yesterday the death of Mr McFall was not suspicious, but the examination had not been completed and the cause of death was not yet known.