News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

Ward continued to drive, breaking two red lights as he turned onto Eden Quay with Gda Kelly still hanging out the vehicle’s window.
(Source: Leinster Express)

Leitrim

With the second anniversary of the devastating floods of 2009 later this month there is growing concern that too little has been done to ensure that a repeat scenario won’t re-occur in Co Leitrim.

The absence of any major funding for Leitrim Village in particular, has been especially galling for residents who were left inundated two years ago.

The recent flooding in the east of the country has already attracted calls for greater investment in flood prevention for larger, high-value residential and commercial urban areas and the fear is that these areas will be prioritised ahead of rural counties like Leitrim.

Earlier this year the OPW came in for criticism for allocating no funding to Co Leitrim in the first round of funding in 2011 for Minor Flood Works, despite the fact that large tracts of the county were severely impacted in November 2009.
(Source: Leitrim Observer)

Limerick

A woman rescued by two men from the Mulcair River in Annacotty after she jumped in to save her dog has highlighted the need for life buoys.

Jill Baird was strolling behind the Riverbank estate in Annacotty when her Jack Russell, Poppy, went chasing a rat.

“She disappeared and failed to return when called. I decided to explore a track down to the water. I found a three foot drop onto another part of the bank,” she said.

“I gingerly looked over the steep bank into the river about four feet below to see my dog treading water in a small culvert. The river is fast flowing in the centre, but calm by the banks so, without thinking, I slid myself into the water, and was lucky that my feet found a stone to support me. Either I had to leave the dog to drown or do something about it. The banks were steep so there was no way she could have got out,” said the brave Ms Baird.

After entering the water, Ms Baird then found that the bank, as well as being sheer, was undercut under the water level so she had no foothold to climb out.

“I decided to shout for help, and luckily, it being a quiet day, two men heard me and pulled me out,” said Ms Baird. She reckons she was in the water for over five minutes but with her adrenalin flowing she hardly felt the cold water flowing..
(Source: Limerick Leader)

Longford

People are becoming afraid to walk the streets of Longford town because it is “full of scumbags,” a local councillor told a joint policing committee meeting last week.

Cllr Gerry Warnock said that these were the comments of his constituents, many of whom raised concerns at latest crime figures.

He said two other concerns were that people no longer felt safe walking through the town due to an apparent rise in drug-related offences.

“I did a survey and the three answers I got back were that it (Longford town) is full of scumbags, it’s full of drugs and people don’t feel safe,” he said.

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Nster.com