News from around the 32 counties of Ireland

What's going on in your home county in Ireland

ANTRIM

The trial of a man accused of murdering two soldiers in County Antrim four years ago has heard that crucial D.N.A. evidence in the case may have been “compromised” at the scene.

Brian Patrick Shivers (47) is accused of involvement in the Real I.R.A. attack on Massereene Barracks in which Sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey were killed.

Shivers, from Sperrin Mews in Magherafelt, denies murdering the soldiers on March 7, 2009 and also denies six counts of attempted murder and possession of two firearms.
[Source: Antrim Guardian]

ARMAGH

The scourge of toxic waste dumping that plagues the south Armagh region has once again been met with anger and condemnation from local representatives, who are urging all involved agencies to tackle the issue “once and for all.”

Their demands came just as H.M.R.C. officers removed more than one-and-a-half tons of toxic waste from a cattle farm in Cullyhanna, after the discovery of a diesel-laundering plant hidden behind a wall of hay bales. The illegal operation, which used slurry tankers to launder and transport the diesel, was capable of producing 1.8 million liters of illicit fuel, evading almost $1.8 million in taxes and duty a year.

Sinn Fein Councilor Colman Burns, speaking after visiting another diesel sludge dumping site in Mullaghduff, branded the discarding of toxic waste “a disgusting practice” and said it only served to feed the negative publicists who thrive on giving the border area a bad name.
[Source: Examiner Newspaper]

CARLOW

Farmers and contractors have been taking full advantage of any breaks in the weather in recent weeks, with plenty of ploughing and planting already done in southern counties, in particular.

However, further up the country, some areas with heavier soils need more time before they are ready for the plough.

I was in Carlow last week to meet with Diarmuid Claridge and Derek Delahunty of Lemken Ireland, and Ken Doyle of Templetouhy Farm Machinery, to see how they went about setting up a plough and tractor for optimal performance in the field.
[Source: Irish Independent]

CAVAN

Gardaí (police) have made a “huge” breakthrough in their investigation into the disappearance of Gerry Daly, and have upgraded the case to murder. On Monday morning, March 11, at 8 a.m., Gardaí in Bailieborough arrested a 47-year-old man – not 53, as incorrectly stated in national papers – at his home on suspicion of murder after a search of a property in the area.

The arrest occurred in the Bailieborough area and local detectives were “intensifying” their investigations in light of recent developments in the case.

It is not yet known whether Gardaí have recovered the body of Mr. Daly, who went missing from his home in June 2011, and Gardaí are remaining tight-lipped on the new evidence, which is apparently strong enough to now open a murder investigation.
[Source: The Anglo Celt]

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