Don’t Diss Carlow GAA!
A LOCAL councilor stood up for his county colors and had a bank promise not to publish an advertisement again that plays on Carlow's lack of All-Ireland success.

Independent councilor Walter Lacey lashed out at KBC Bank and the “insensitivity” of the ad, which uses the lack of an All-Ireland senior football or hurling title in Carlow to promote their mortgage business.

While Carlow doesn't have the distinction of ever winning the Sam Maguire or Liam MacCarthy Cups, Lacey wrote to the bank to point out that Carlow have in fact won a number of All Irelands at other grades, including the camogie All-Ireland win of last year.

He also pointed out that 13 other counties have never won Sam Maguire, and 20 have not won the hurling.

“I feel strongly about this,” Lacey said. “The men and women of Carlow wear their red, green and yellow jersey with great pride. These same players give their full commitment to training for their county.

“They give the same commitment as players of other counties and they also give 100 percent when they tog out for their county. What kind of a message does this snide assumption and remark send to those very committed players?”

The bank wrote back to Lacey “to apologize most sincerely” for the offense that the advertisement caused.

“Our intention had been to reflect a more light-hearted comment, however having read your email we can completely understand your point of view,” wrote senior marketing manager Caroline Donnellan.

“We have taken the necessary actions in response to your feedback and this advertisement will not be appearing again.”

Carlow People


Dad Jailed for Kid Porn
A MEATH father-of-two who said that pornographic videos he had made of his 14-year-old daughter were “just show business” has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

The 47-year-old man pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to six charges each of sexual assault, producing child pornography and allowing a child to be used in child pornography on dates between May 2010 and April 2011.

In a “dress-up room” in the attic of the family home, the father would take pornographic photographs of his daughter and video himself performing sexual acts on the teenager.

The girl’s mother discovered the images on a camera and alerted the Gardai (police).

They searched the house and found 1,150 still pornographic images of the girl and 74 movie files.

The man claimed his daughter was a willing participant and described the videos as a bit “of fun.” It was “just show business” he said.

His daughter said she had loved her father and would have done anything to keep him in happy. However, she now believes he deserves to be in prison.

Judge Martin Nolan described it as “an appalling case to put it mildly” and imposed an 11-year sentence on the father-of-two.

BreakingNews.ie

Dog Mauls Boy

THE parents of a little boy savaged by his teacher's pet dog have said they do not blame anybody for the school playground attack.

Darwin and Valerie Stevenson declared, "It was an accident, pure and simple."

Their son Jamie needed emergency hospital treatment for facial injuries when the dog turned on him as he stroked it at Carniny Primary School in Ballymena, Co. Antrim, just hours before the school term ended for the summer break last Friday.

The husky-type dog, which was owned by the child's teacher, was later humanely destroyed.

The Stevensons said Jamie could not remember a great deal about the incident. He was allowed home after treatment at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald, Co. Down.

They said, "Jamie is feeling a lot better. We would like to make clear that no one is to blame for the injuries to Jamie. It was an accident, pure and simple, and as a family we do not blame anyone.

"Our focus is on ensuring Jamie makes a full recovery. We would like to thank everyone who has offered their support. We would really appreciate it if everyone would now respect our family privacy.”

Belfast Telegraph

Scans for Elderly

A BLACKROCK man died hours after he was taken to the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at the Louth County Hospital for treatment for a head injury he sustained after he fell outside Mass on New Year's Day.

And a consultant who treated the pensioner told an inquest into his death that procedures relating to head injuries at the MIU have changed as a result of this tragedy.
Patrick Macklin, 78, died in the early hours of January 2, 2012, around 12 hours after he fell outside 11 a.m. Mass at Haggardstown Church.

His wife, Mary, said her husband tripped on the curb at the side entrance to the church and fell onto his head.

A doctor in the congregation treated Macklin, a native of Co. Monaghan, and the pensioner was taken by car to the MIU at the Louth for what his wife said was a serious head injury.
Macklin received a number of stitches to his head for a cut above his right eye, though no one was able to say how many. Blood pressure was taken, but crucially, no X-ray or CT scan was ordered.  Macklin was sent home around 1 p.m. and, after having some lunch, went for a lie down around 4 p.m.

Mrs. Macklin said he took his Warfarin tablet around 6 p.m., but an hour later, she found him “very still” in the bed and rang an ambulance. The emergency crew spent around 20 minutes working to get a heartbeat and brought him to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda where, shortly after midnight, his life support machine was switched off.

A post mortem concluded that Macklin, who had a number of underlying medical complaints, had died from a subdureal hemorrhage. Mrs. Macklin told her solicitor Jim Wallace at the inquest that she believed an ambulance should have been called when they were in the MIU to facilitate a transfer to Our Lady of Lourdes so that a CT scan could have been carried out.

The emergency doctor on call said Mr. Macklin had not lost consciousness and added that he didn't think Macklin, who had a history of falls in the year before his death, needed a CT scan, which could have been done at the weekends in the Lourdes.

But since his death, it had been decided by doctors working in emergency care in the county to order CT scans for those over 65 and/or on Warfarin who present with a head injury as a result of this tragedy.

The Argus

Gay Adoption Set for North
THE Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NICHR) welcomed a Court of Appeal ruling that paves the way for gay and lesbian couples to adopt children in Northern Ireland.
At present a single gay or lesbian person can adopt children in the North, but a couple in a civil partnership cannot.

The NIHRC said the ruling would bring the North into line with the rest of the U.K.
Moves to allow gay couples to adopt had been on hold while the court heard an appeal from Stormont's health minister.

Edwin Poots had brought the legal challenge after an earlier decision by Belfast High Court that ruled the current adoption ban on gay and lesbian couples was unlawful.

Lord Justice Girvan said the department of health had put forward "no justification to exclude same sex couples as parties eligible to adopt as a couple."

He also said that there was no proper explanation why same sex partners were deemed ineligible once they publicly cement their relationship.

"This cannot provide a rational basis or justification for the differential treatment of those in a civil partnership compared to same sex couples outside a civil partnership," he said.

The challenge to existing legislation was mounted by the NIHRC. The commission was backed by an unidentified lesbian woman who wants to be able to adopt her partner's biological child.

The women, who have been in a relationship for four years, also wish to enter a civil partnership.
Unmarried couples in England, Scotland and Wales can apply jointly to be considered for adoption, irrespective of sexual orientation.

But anyone unmarried in Northern Ireland is currently only eligible for consideration as an individual.

Those in civil partnerships cannot apply either individually or as a couple.

NIHRC chief commissioner, Professor Michael O'Flaherty, said, "For children who are in need of a family in Northern Ireland, the importance of this case in widening the pool of prospective parents cannot be overstated."

BBC News