More stories in brief
A 46-year-old Co Longford man was yesterday killed in a freak accident when he fell from a tree while carrying out landscaping work.
The man, who has not been named until his family has been notified, was pronounced dead at the scene in the centre of Edgeworthstown.
A bachelor, he was a well-known handyman in the region. A postmortem will take place today.
Priest (62) faces six sex charges
A 62-year-old Catholic priest from the diocese of Derry has been returned for trial charged with six sex offences dating back over 30 years.
The priest, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty at the Crown Court in Derry yesterday to one charge of indecently assaulting a boy between August 30th and September 30th, 1972. He also denied committing an act of gross indecency with the same boy between the same dates.
The defendant also denied four charges of indecently assaulting a woman between September 1st, 1977, and November 19th, 1978.
Man (36) denies abusing relatives
A 36-year-old Derry man is to go on trial at the Crown Court next year charged with committing 26 sex offences against three of his relatives.
The defendant, who cannot be named in order to protect the identities of his alleged victims, pleaded not guilty to 16 charges of indecently assaulting his niece and to one charge of committing an act of gross indecency towards her between December 1986 and January 1988.
He also denied committing eight acts of gross indecency towards another niece between the same dates.
He also pleaded not guilty to indecently assaulting his nephew between January 1982 and December 1983.
Surfers face fines of up to €2,000
Surfers who refused assistance from the Irish Coast Guard Service near the Cliffs of Moher last month could be facing fines of up to €2,000 each, it emerged yesterday, in accordance with provisions in the Irish Maritime Safety Act.
On November 24th last, while engaging in tow-in surfing of the 30ft Aill na Serracht wave off the cliffs, two surfers got into difficulty, with a third on the shore, and they all refused to be winched to safety by a winchman from the Irish Coast Guard helicopter in a rescue effort involving 40 people.
Yesterday, the country's rescue agencies, with the Garda and the Department of Defence, described the surfers' behaviour as"unacceptable".