A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Meath residents get court order against company over quarry
A group of Co Meath residents has secured High Court orders restraining a company using lands near their homes as a quarry.
Ms Justice Mary Irvine ruled yesterday that the use by Keegan Quarries Ltd of lands at Hilltown, Bellewstown, Co Meath as a rock and stone quarry amounted to unauthorised development materially different from any use to which the lands were previously put.
The proceedings against the company were brought by local residents Jonathon Pierson, Kevin A Woods, Glenn White, Desmond Woods, Kevin Greene and Joan Coyle. They claimed the operation of a quarry had a detrimental effect on their own lives and on their community.
Ms Justice Irvine ruled in favour of the residents. The judge said the present operation of the quarry was “highly mechanised” and generated substantial noise and dust with large volumes of trucks going to and from the premises.
Barry gets two years for assault
Convicted murderer and rapist Gerard Barry has been given a concurrent two-year sentence for assaulting his former partner and his young son, six months before he raped and murdered Swiss student, Manuela Riedo.
Barry (29), a native of St James Crescent, Mervue, Galway, had denied trying to strangle his then estranged 27-year-old partner in her bed on August 3rd, 2007, and assaulting the couple’s then two-year-old son when the matter came before Galway District Court last March.
Judge Mary Fahy had imposed the maximum 24-month sentence in the District Court on all charges in March. Barry appealed the severity of the sentences to the Circuit Court yesterday.
Judge Raymond Groarke affirmed the District Court sentences and made them concurrent to the life sentence being served.
Youth pleads guilty to driving charge
A 17-year-old Connemara youth has pleaded guilty before Galway Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving which caused the death of another Connemara man last year.
The teenager, who cannot be named due to his age, pleaded guilty to driving his vehicle dangerously at Criminagh, Lettermore on November 22nd last year which caused the death of Michael Joyce.
Defence counsel Martin Giblin informed Judge Raymond Groarke that his client was just 16 at the time of the fatal crash and had been driving a very defective vehicle. He asked for sentencing to be adjourned so that a probation report could be obtained.
Judge Groarke adjourned sentencing to November 30th and directed the preparation of a probation report for that date.