News from around the 32 counties of Ireland

Waterford

Cash hungry robbers caused terror in Waterford over the last week, with a spate of armed robberies occurring over a six-day period. Lone males wielding guns targeted a petrol station, a convenience store and a betting shop, threatening petrified staff into handing over cash. The latest incident occurred at the Amber Service Station on Paddy Browne’s Road the Sunday following New Year’s Day.
(Source: Waterford News & Star)

Westmeath

Almost one in five of the country’s confirmed child abuse cases in 2008 occurred in Longford/Westmeath. The shock finding is included in a new Department of Health report entitled ‘The State of the Nation’s Children - Ireland 2010’ published days before Christmas. The report found that there were 396 confirmed child abuse cases in Longford/Westmeath in 2008, the highest single amount from across the 32 HSE local health offices.
(Source: Westmeath Independent)

Wexford

It’s one of the UK’s most elusive birds — and hasn’t been sighted in Ireland at all in 150 years. But Irish birdwatchers enjoyed a late Christmas present last week after three bitterns were spotted at Lake Tacumshane in Co Wexford. The bittern became extinct in the UK and Ireland in the 19th century. Only a handful have managed to re-colonise and breed in England — but they haven’t been seen on Irish shores for a century-and-a-half.
(Source: The Belfast Telegraph)

Wicklow

Gardai (police) in Co Wicklow are investigating a house fire in which a 60-year-old man died last Monday. The blaze happened at a property on Ballybeg Road in Rathnew. Emergency services were made aware of the fire at about 8pm. The fire is not being treated as suspicious. The man’s remains were removed to Loughlinstown Hospital in Dublin.
(Source: The Irish Times)

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Nster.com