News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

Monaghan

The Irish Government is to withdraw its commitment to pay towards a major road linking Co Monaghan with Co Derry.

The total cost of the A5 project, which was part of the St Andrew’s Agreement in 2006, was to be split between the Irish and British governments.

The last government pledged to spend £400 million (€470 million) on the road, which is viewed as an important part of the country’s infrastructure, RTÉ reports.

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar insisted that the current administration was “politically committed to the A5″ however, with €750 million being cut from the capital budget for next year, he said that the country was unable to pay.
(Source: Journal.ie)

Offaly

Gardai in Tullamore are investigating a spectacular crash which happened literally on their own doorstep on Wednesday night. The entire incident was caught on video and posted on line.

A Toyota that was going around the roundabout in front of the Garda Station was smashed into by a BMW that was coming down Patrick Street.

The Toyota was catapulted right up to the door of the Garda Station while the BMW ended up in the wall.

Miraculously nobody was seriously injured in the smash which happened at 9pm.

The man driving the BMW was arrested and brought the short distance remaining to the Garda Station.
(Source: Offaly Express)

Roscommon

Police believe the man who tied up and gagged his partner in her Co Roscommon home made a call to a friend to raise the alarm before he took his own life but the call was mistaken for a joke and ignored.
Detectives working on the case now believe the woman, separated mother of two Collette Keane (54), was tied up some time last Monday night.

She was tied and taped by her wrists and ankles to her bed in her home at Anvil Court in Roscommon town and had a sponge stuffed into her mouth before being gagged.

Her partner, Paul Timothy (47), then left her there and went drinking in Galway. He made a call to a man to raise the alarm about Ms Keane but the man who received the call thought it was a joke and did not act on it.

On Wednesday last Mr Timothy joined a tourist’s coach party in Galway that took in a number of stops including the Cliffs of Moher. He failed to return to the coach at the lunchtime departure time and the alarm was raised.

After a search in waters, the Coast Guard recovered his body. Gardaí investigating his death are not looking for anybody else.
(Source: Irish Times)

Sligo

A father of three was fined €250 at Tubbercurry Court for a fraud offence after money was lodged to his bank account for an Apple ipad that he had advertised online.

Kieran Lynch, Prucklish, Kilmacrennan, Co. Donegal, was summoned by Garda Michael Moran for committing the offence on September 27th 2010 at Fairgreen, Lowpark, Charlestown.

The court heard that the injured party in the case was looking at the advertising website, on which the defendant had an Apple ipad advertised. The injured party rang a phone number and arranged to transfer money to the defendant's account by online banking.

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Nster.com