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Bernard Shevlin (43) was from Castleblayney, Co Monaghan. He was also a former policeman in the US.

Following his police career, he joined the American army and served as a major with the US forces in Iraq.

He retired following a severe injury received while on duty in Iraq in 2003. He was with a military transport unit, towing a heavy anti-tank gun along the ruins of a war- torn suburb, when three security personnel were killed in a bomb blast.

He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters, five brothers and two sisters.
(Source: Irish Times)

Offaly

A five-year development plan for Tayto Park, outside Ashbourne, could see the facility attracting up to 900,000 visitors a year and employing 500 people during peak season, according to Ray Coyle, CEO of Largo Foods, who operates the attraction.

The company is to lodge a new planning application for expansion of the park later this year. Mr Coyle said that with support from the local community and Meath County Council, the facility could be developed into an even bigger visitor attraction in the area.

He explained that the company would be making a planning application by the middle of 2012 for a five-year development plan which would include an extension of the current facility. He said a lot of investment in local infrastructure would be required to deal with the numbers it would attract.

"We hope to continue to have activity-based and educational aspects. We never envisage having the bumper cars type of thing here," he added.

Mr Coyle said that 2011 had been an "amazing year" at Tayto Park. "When we opened, we thought we would be employing up to 60 people at peak time, but we actually had 127 working here during the peak period and we have 44 full-time at the moment," he said.

Tayto Park attracted 300,000 visitors last year, the first full year of its operation and its owner is hoping to increase that by a further 200,000 next summer.
(Source: Offaly Express)

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Roscommon

There were heartbreaking scenes in Carrick-on-Shannon last Friday as thousands turned out to pay their respects to local student Andrew Dolan who was tragically killed in an unprovoked assault in Mullingar.

Parish Priest of Carrick-on-Shannon Fr Frank Garvey described 20-year-old Mr Dolan as a naturally quiet young man who never raised his voice in anger.

“How utterly unthinkable that he should be the victim of such an unprovoked and vicious assault,” Fr Garvey told the thousands of mourners who gathered at St Mary’s Church to support Andrew’s parents Joe and Rosie and his brothers Jack and Gavin.

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Nster.com