Other regional news in brief
Clare group celebrates €2m Lotto win
A group of Co Clare workers, who were temporarily unemployed and facing an uncertain future only seven months ago after a fire gutted their hardware business, are celebrating a €2 million Lotto win.
A syndicate of 15 at Gerry Bredin's hardware business in Ennis won Wednesday night's jackpot and each is now in line for a payout of €133,000. In November a fire caused €2 million worth of damage to the business, forcing it to close. It reopened at a new location three months later. The fire was the second at the building in the space of two months last year.
Kerry national roads in doubt
Two key national routes in Co Kerry may be further delayed because of Government cutbacks, a council meeting has heard. There was now some doubt that the Castleisland bypass, estimated at €30 million, on the N21 main Kerry-Dublin route, would proceed this year as pledged before the general election.
Land acquisition would not be a problem but the tender process to begin the bypass would be subject to NRA approval, engineers told councillors yesterday.
In the case of a new N22 route between Killarney and Farranfore, originally projected to start in 2009, the likely starting date now was 2015, chairman of the meeting Michael Gleeson remarked. The route had been decided in 2003, but the 26km road project had not proceeded even to land acquisition stage.
Reprieve for priest in US
A Donegal priest working on the American prairies and due to be deported from the US this week has been given a reprieve. Fr Cathal Gallagher (58), Gweedore, has been told by the department of homeland security that he can stay in America at least until July 14th while it reconsiders a deportation order.
He believes the stay on the deportation order which was to have been executed on Tuesday is a positive sign.
Fr Gallagher was pastor in three small towns in the diocese of Sioux Falls where he has served for the past 10 years.
Donegal man dies in Brisbane
Tributes poured in yesterday for the Donegal man who was crushed to death in a workplace accident in Australia on Tuesday.
Rory McMenamin (25) from Newtowncunningham was killed when a truck rolled over him at the tyre depot where he worked in the Sherwood area of Brisbane. He was taken to Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition but later died from serious head and internal injuries.
The GAA half-forward was described yesterday as "always smiling", "enthusiastic" and "a very positive person". Local priest Father Kevin O'Doherty said Rory was an "exuberant" young man whose death was a tragic loss for the community.
Jailed after cross Border car chase
A man who was involved in a cross-Border car chase in which three Garda cars were rammed and damaged has been jailed at Monaghan District Court after pleading guilty to charges including criminal damage, dangerous driving, driving without insurance and driving while disqualified.
He was also disqualified from driving for five years.
Billy Dundon (22), Gormanston, Co Meath, who has a host of previous convictions, was given what amounts to a 12-month sentence with a number of concurrent terms also handed down. Judge Seán Martin McBride said Dundon's guilty plea had saved him from a heavier sentence.