In Short

A round-up of today's other regional news in brief...

A round-up of today's other regional news in brief ...

J udicial review in Halvey death driving case

A judicial review is likely in the case of a former Irish and Munster rugby star Eddie Halvey in relation to a charge of dangerous driving causing death. Mr Halvey, Allendale Hall, South Circular Road, Limerick, is charged with dangerous driving causing the death of Kevin Walsh (16), Bruff, Co Limerick, on April 1st, 2006, at Toomevara, Co Tipperary.

At Nenagh Circuit Court yesterday Pat Walsh for Mr Halvey told Judge Olive Buttimer that his colleague Patrick Gageby was drafting papers in preparation for a judicial review of the case.

He said the DPP had made a decision to drop the charge in January 2007 but subsequently reversed his decision and reinstated the charge.

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Judge Buttimer accepted there was no likelihood of the case proceeding and adjourned the matter to May 5th.

10 years in jail for having cocaine

A lorry driver who had €764,000 worth of cocaine hidden in a flat has been jailed for 10 years. Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court was told yesterday that Patrick Donoghue (56), Dunleer, Co Louth, would collect the cocaine which was left at a gateway near his flat and then deliver it to other locations.

He was afraid to give gardaí the names of other people involved but told them he had been doing this for no more than six months and received a few hundred euro a month.

Gardaí also found a small amount of heroin in the flat and the court heard Donoghue had been a chronic heroin addict.

Man to face trial for Nenagh killing

The testimony of a witness from Latvia would prove crucial in the case of another Latvian national charged with manslaughter, Nenagh District Court heard yesterday.

Karlis Ruja (50), Eiscir Island, Tullamore, Co Offaly, is charged with the manslaughter of Alexey Pekelman in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, on May 15th, 2007.

Defence counsel told Judge Olive Buttimer she was seeking a date for a special hearing and estimated the trial would run for six days.

Search continues for Strabane woman

A full-scale search is still under way for a woman who went missing from Kinnegoe Bay, Co Donegal, on Sunday. Dr Deirdre Donnelly O’Flagherty (41), a mother of three from Strabane, was on holiday.

The alarm was raised just after 10.30am on Sunday when a man walking the beach reported to gardaí that he had seen a silver BMW with the keys still in the ignition. A major search involving a helicopter from Sligo, the Greencastle Coast Guard inshore lifeboat, the RNLI Portrush all-weather lifeboat, gardaí and volunteers continued into the night.