Antrim

After murdering the mother of his three children in a drunken rage, Antrim man Philip Hull tenderly held his estranged wife's body and decided that he could not bear to live without her, the Coroner heard last week.

Battling drink and depression, Philip Hull's once idyllic life with childhood sweetheart Sharon had ended in acrimony - and then boiled over into terrifying violence.

Both grieving families were forced to endure a horrific account of just what happened in the early hours of October 2, 2010 when two promising young lives were cut senselessly short.

The court heard that 34-year-old Mr. Hull had refused to accept the marriage was over. Then, faced with the agonizing prospect of life without Sharon, he chose to end it all.
(Source: Antrim Guardian)

Armagh

A pensioner was killed following a single vehicle road accident in Newry last weekend. The accident happened on the Armagh Road shortly before 12.30am on Saturday.

The 70-year-old man was taken to hospital, but died a short time later. No-one else was involved in the accident. 
(Source: Crossexmainer.co.uk)

Carlow

A terrified Carlow teenager is convinced she escaped “another Larry Murphy” when a stranger punctured her tyre, then chillingly began to follow her home in his car.

The 19-year-old from south Carlow, who works in a drive thru restaurant in Kilkenny City, was petrified when a man lay in wait outside the fast-food outlet, and then disturbingly watched as she got into her car and began to follow her.

The quick-thinking teen rang 999 and Gardaí directed her in to Kilkenny city, where they pounced on the sick stalker, who was still following behind her in his sliver Nissan jeep.

The terrifying night began on Tuesday 14 February at 11.20pm while the girl was working at the drive thru hatch.

But 20 minutes later, the Carlow girl noticed the man’s jeep still parked in the restaurant’s car park and, a short distance away, the man was standing beside her car, staring into it.

When he saw the young woman looking out from the restaurant, the man crouched down to the ground, near her front wheel.

A few minutes later, he moved his jeep, parking it beside the teen’s car.

However, when they were closing the restaurant, the stranger appeared to be gone. But just as her male colleague left, the Carlow teen noticed the stalker again.

Kilkenny Gardaí arrested the man and investigations are continuing.
(Source: The Carlow Nationalist)

Cavan

Irish owned company Comfort Keepers Homecare has created over 500 new jobs nationwide, 26 of which will be in Cavan. Within Cavan they are looking for one full-time employee and 25 part-time carers. Comfort Keepers provide people with both medical and non-medical assonance in people's homes.

The news comes as the HSE confirms that there has been a 4.7% reduction in the allocation for home help hours in Cavan and Monaghan this year.
(Source: The Anglo Celt)

Clare

Members of the Doolin Coast Guard executed an unusual rescue last Tuesday when they abseiled down a sea cliff to rescue a puppy trapped on a ledge 65ft above water.

Boxer pup Rosie and her mum, Ruby, had gone missing from the farm of Pat and Margaret Considine at Rehy near the mouth of the River Shannon on Monday. The dogs accompanied a group of people taking part in a farm walk on the land but are thought to have wandered off after picking up the scent of a herd of wild goats.
(Source: The Clare Champion)

Cork

A replacement 250 capacity prison for Cork may be built on the current site to reduce chronic overcrowding. Justice Minister Alan Shatter announced plans to build a new facility close to the current site on Rathmore Road on the North side of the city, in the current prison car park.
Source: (Cork Independent)

Derry

One of the major festivals planned for Derry’s City of Culture year will now not go ahead.

The WOMAD world music festival was due to take place in the city as part of the 2013 culture celebrations.

But after feasibility study undertaken by the Culture Company - the body organizing events in 2013 - the festival will not go ahead due to financial risk.

The North’s deputy first minister Martin McGuinness says he is disappointed the festival is off the 2013 calendar.
 (Source: Derry Journal)

Donegal

Bundoran Town Council proceedings stooped to a new low when the Mayor, Cllr. Michael McMahon, was branded “an asshole” by council colleague, Cllr. Florence Doherty.

The outburst occurred while members were considering the Draft Fraud and Corruption Policies for Donegal Local Authorities.

There was a general consensus that the Draft Policies should be approved without discussion but Cllr. Florence Doherty felt the issue merited further discussion. Things got heated and words were exchanged.
(Source: Donegal Democrat)

Down

A doctor who sexually assaulted three nurses was hired by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust to work in Daisy Hill.

Dr. Satpal Jabbal was hired to work in Daisy Hill Hospital for a year despite the fact that he was under investigation for three different sexual assaults on staff in a hospital he previously worked in.

The doctor's bizarre behavior came to light after a General Medical Council (GMC) fitness to practice panel launched an investigation into him.

In a written statement one nurse told how in 2001 Dr. Jabbal "freaked out" in a staff room when she playfully grabbed a remote control from his hand.

The nurse's report tells how Dr. Jabbal grabbed her left breast after she attempted to change the channel of the television.

He then stamped on a bag of crisps the nurse had, threw a cup of hot coffee over her and pushed the television off its stand.

The GMC also heard how he subjected another nurse to a continuous campaign of harassment between March 2006 and February 2007 and grabbed the breast of a third nurse as she tended to a patient who was under anesthetic.
(Source: Newry Democrat)

Dublin

A Garda sergeant is facing the sack after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a female colleague while on duty at a Dublin Garda station.

The veteran officer, who is in his 40s and had an "unblemished record", had pleaded not guilty at Dublin District Court to two counts of sexually assaulting his colleague, who was then on her first Garda station posting, on dates in March and June 2010.

Reporting restrictions were imposed earlier to prevent the identification of the complainant. This included an order prohibiting publication of the defendant's name, place of work and where the incidents allegedly occurred.

During the non-jury trial, now retired Garda Inspector James Flood told Judge Bridget Reilly that he investigated the claims and the defendant's attitude was "it never took place, he denied both allegations
(Source: The Evening Herald)

Fermanagh

A high risk pedophile who travelled across Northern Ireland to go bathing in a holiday center has admitted doing so in breach of his Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

The 63-year-old child molester Robert John Liddle admitted travelling from his Co Fermanagh home to the Silver Cliffs Holiday Village in Co Antrim last July “which afforded him access to a child or young person”.

Under the SOPO, Liddle, of Moorlough Road, Lisnaskea, should have obtained “consent from his designated risk manager” before making the unauthorized trip to the Clare Road holiday village in Ballycastle on July 11 last year.

Liddle, who has convictions for sexually abusing children as young as six and in 2000 was described as a “high risk” and a “danger to young girls” when jailed for two years for indecently assaulting an 11-year-old.
(Source: Belfast Telegraph)

Galway

The commitment of the engineering and business faculties at NUI Galway to engage with local enterprises was a key factor in the decision by an indigenous cloud computing firm to create 80 new jobs in the city.

SourceDogg, who announced the 80 new jobs last week, have decided to move most of their operations to the IDA Business Park in Dangan just over two years after the company began operating in Dublin.

Company founders John Quigley and NUI Galway graduate Mark Scanlon are to maintain their development team in the capital, but otherwise they see their long-term future in Galway after beginning the process of moving to the West last September.
(Source: Galway Bay FM)

Kerry

A man whose wife died more than two months after undergoing brain surgery has partially settled his High Court action arising from her death.

Dermot Finn’s wife Noreen (58) died at Cork University Hospital in April 1997. Arising from her death, he sued the Southern Health Board; two neurosurgeons – Timothy Buckley and Charles Marks – of Cork University Hospital; and a Killarney GP, Dr. Miriam McCarthy.

When the case came before Mr. Justice Éamon de Valera last week, Eoin McCullough SC, for the neurosurgeons and GP, said there was a partial concession of liability in relation to the medics and an open offer of €300,000, plus costs, was being made to Mr. Finn.
(Source: Irish Times)

Kildare

A violent criminal and his teenage pal were shot dead when gunmen stormed a house last week.

The killers opened up indiscriminately with a shotgun and an automatic handgun, killing gangland figure Andy Barry and the teenager from Lithuania at the house in Co Kildare.

Two others in the house at Kilcock were wounded in the crossfire, one seriously.

There are fears of a savage retaliation after the killing of Barry (30), a nephew of notorious crime suspect Troy Jordan.

Two other men who were in the house at Rochford Avenue in Kilcock at 10.20pm last Tuesday night were seriously injured in the gun attack. The killings unfolded in the downstairs area of the house when it was stormed by masked gunmen.

Murdered Barry, a drug dealer, was at the center of a bitter feud that has seen numerous violent incidents in the Tallaght area over the past two months.
(Source: Evening Herald)

Kilkenny

Dozens of small and medium sized Kilkenny businesses are expected to remain in business and prosper thanks to a new fund.

Reacting to criticism to the way the EU funds small food producers, Phil Hogan, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has announced that five million euros will be provided to support the creation and development of Agri-Food enterprises in rural Ireland.

Based on recent research conducted by the Local Development sector this funding has the potential to create more than 200 jobs directly as well as sustaining a number of jobs currently available in the sector.
(Source: Kilkenny People)

Laois

Walkers on a daily stroll in the picturesque grounds of Emo Court were shocked to discover a dead horse in their path.

The young horse is believed to have been dumped sometime last Tuesday night in the old avenue up to Emo Court, Willowtonian Avenue.

It is believed that the dead animal was ferried to the popular walking spot in a horsebox. A tree was used as an improvised anchor to yank the dead animal out of the horsebox after one of the hind legs was tied to it.
(Source: Leinster Express)

Leitrim

Images of Blacklion and Co Cavan will be beamed into the homes of over two million Americans this St Patrick’s Day.

Footage was captured last week in Co Cavan and across the island of Ireland for a series of short film clips, which will be aired on the NBC TV network during its live coverage of the New York St Patrick’s Day parade, which is being sponsored by Tourism Ireland. The footage will focus on themes like culinary Ireland and our world-class food; Christian Heritage and the St Patrick’s Trail; i2012 and the extensive program of events and historic anniversaries taking place in Northern Ireland this year; adventure and outdoor activity in the west of Ireland; and genealogy.

During their time in Blacklion, a village on the border of Co Fermanagh and Co Leitrim, the NBC crew visited the award-winning MacNean House in Blacklion, where they captured footage of celebrity chef Neven Maguire, who cooked a delicious trio of Irish lamb, showcasing the high standard of Irish cuisine and helping to raise awareness of Ireland as a superb food tourism destination.
(Source: Leitrim Observer)

Limerick

A study undertaken by researchers at the University of Limerick has found that teenage girls spend an average of 19 hours a day either sitting or lying down.

Over 100 girls aged between 15 and 18 took part in the study which measured how much time they spent sitting, standing or lying down using a small accelerometer device.

The researchers found that the total amount of time spent sitting and lying down was the same on weekdays as on Saturdays and Sundays.

However, the results of the study show that on weekdays the total amount of time spent sitting or lying down was accumulated through longer periods of inactivity lasting 20 minutes or more.

The research found that these long periods of sitting were more frequent on days when the girls were attending school.
(Source: Limerick Leader)

Longford

Gardaí are investigating an incident in which a man who appeared at last week’s sitting (Tuesday, March 6) of Longford District Court escaped from a patrol car in Ballyfermot while being transferred to a Dublin prison on a committal warrant.

The man, who appeared at Longford District Court  charged in connection with a theft charge, escaped from Garda custody when the vehicle he was traveling in was set upon by a number of men and is now deemed to be “unlawfully at large” by Gardaí.

The prisoner, who was released on bail following his appearance in Longford District Court on Tuesday, had been served with a committal warrant in respect of a separate matter.
(Source: Longford Leader)

Louth

Three inquiries are taking place into the suicide of Shane Rogers, who had been charged with the murder of Crossmaglen GAA star James Hughes.

Rogers (32), Deery Terrace, Inniskeen took his own life in a holding cell following a court appearance at Cloverhill District Court in Dublin.

The inquest into his death has been taking place at Dublin Coroner’s Court.

Rogers had been charged with the murder James Hughes a few days before he took his own life late last year.

Mr. Hughes was in a taxi with an ex-girlfriend of Mr. Rogers, Trish Byrne, in Dundalk, when Mr. Rogers opened fire several times with a shotgun. Ms. Byrne was injured in the incident.
(Source: Dundalk Democrat)

Mayo

Corrib gas protestor claims his car window was smashed by a Garda baton as he attempted to move his vehicle to the side of the road, as directed. Longtime campaigner, and spokesman for Pobal Chill Chomáin, John Monaghan told The Mayo News that ‘raw video footage’ he has delivered to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, as part of a formal complaint, revealed clearly that he was attempting to comply with the Garda direction when his side-window was smashed.

He said the video also records the same Garda threatening to pepper-spray him during the incident, which occurred shortly after midday on February 22 last. The Garda was on-duty on the rural road with two other Gardaí near Glengad, the site of Shell works for the final phase of the project.
(Source: The Mayo News)

Meath

Emigration is being blamed for a stark drop in the numbers claiming welfare benefits in one County Meath town.

Of the 110 people who left the county's dole queues last month, 106 of them were in Trim, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have revealed.

This huge drop in numbers signing on at the social welfare office in Trim is not reflected in other parts of the county.

While the numbers on the live register dropped by just one in Navan and by three in Kells, Trim experienced a massive drop with 106 less people claiming benefits there in February compared with January.
(Source: The Meath Chronicle)

Monaghan

Three students have brought a High Court challenge to an “unfair and unjust” decision by the Minister for Education to cut their maintenance grants.

Their action is regarded as a test case brought on behalf of students attending third-level colleges, and is supported by the Union of Students of Ireland (USI).

The students are Medb McCarthy, a student at NUI Galway, from Murtyclough, Burrin, Co Clare; Robert Johnson, studying at Dundalk IT and living in Lattonalbany, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan; and Iesha Rowan, a mature student at Galway-Mayo IT, from Ashbrook, Oranmore, Co Galway.
(Source: Irish Times)

Offaly

An exciting new initiative to create and improve the business environment in Edenderry has been launched in a bid to provide a support network for the town’s business people.

The new group, Edenderry Credit Union Business Support [ECUBS] was established and up and running since October and it is the brain child of the Board of Edenderry Credit Union after they identified a gap in Edenderry and the surrounding area for a group to be formed involving all in the local business community.

ECUBS will now provide a meeting place for business people to meet, exchange ideas, provide support to fellow business people, identify areas to improve the business environment and provide educational and informative sessions.
(Source: Offaly Express)

Roscommon

Two brothers were laid to rest after they both died of cancer within two hours of each other in Gloucester.

In a packed St Peter’s Catholic Church, the coffins of Father Patrick James Walsh, 76, and Tony Walsh, 83, laid side-by-side after they died on February 19.

The brothers, originally from Roscommon, Ireland, were very close throughout their lives and it was not a shock to those who knew them that they died within minutes of each other.

Canon Liam Slattery said Tony moved to Gloucester in 1949.

He settled in the city, marrying Jean and together they had five children, Maureen, Kevin, Eamon, Nigel and Paul.

Father Patrick James, known affectionately as PJ or Father Pat, moved to Gloucester several years after.
(Source: Gloustershire.co.uk)

Sligo

A hunt is underway for an armed gang from Northern Ireland that has struck in Sligo for the second time in the space of two weeks.

Two young men with what appeared to be a real gun burst into the kiosk of the Excol petrol pumps outside Collins' pub at Rathcormack on the main Sligo to Donegal road shortly 9 p.m. last Monday where an attendant was getting ready to close up. A third gang member waited in a silver Opel Omega car. The raiders were wearing boiler suits and balaclavas.
(Source: The Sligo Champion)

Tipperary

A Templemore farmer whose beautiful snow white lambs were bludgeoned to death by intruders using an iron bar, last week told The Tipperary Star that he would have had no hesitation in shooting the perpetrators had he arrived on the scene at the time of the attack.

John Percy, Talavera, Templemore admitted that he was fortunate he didn’t come on the attack on Thursday night last as two of his young lambs were tied up and beaten to death by the intruders. His wife Annie discovered the bloodied scene early last Friday morning when she found a number of shed doors open and the animals in a distressed state
(Source: Tipperary Star)

Tyrone

Two hoax alerts in two consecutive days have caused "big disruption" to people living in the Co Tyrone town of Strabane.

The first suspicious device was discovered in Ballycolman Avenue last Monday.

A number of homes were evacuated as the army bomb squad carried out investigations on the item, which turned out to be an elaborate hoax.

A similar sequence of events happened on Tuesday when another device was found in the Butcher Street area.
(Source: Belfast Telegraph)

Waterford
A new aftercare service, in the city, that gives young people who have left State care a place they can call home was launched by Focus Ireland and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald, last Monday.
The service started in December and half of the eight spaces have been filled already.
(Source: Waterford News & Star)

Westmeath

There has been an increase in the number of vacant shops and offices in the traditional commercial heart of Athlone during the last year, with more than one in four units now lying idle.

Last Monday, the Westmeath Independent carried out an informal survey of commercial units on the town's most prominent streets.

We covered the length of Sean Costello Street and continued through Mardyke Street, Dublingate Street, Church Street, Custume Place, Barrack Street, Pearse Street and Connaught Street.
It was the second time we had carried out this survey to assess the level of retail vacancies in the town's commercial core.
(Source: Westmeath Independent)

Wexford

A visitor and exhibition center is to be developed at the Kennedy ancestral home in Dunganstown, near New Ross, Co Wexford.

It is hoped the new center, for which a planning application has been lodged with Wexford County Council, will be completed by next year, the 50th anniversary of the visit to the homestead by late US president John F Kennedy.
(Source: The Irish Times)

Wicklow

Two men who ran in front of a moving coach and shouted at Gardaí have been fined €500 apiece.
John Kavanagh (23), 10 Springfield Heights, Newtownmountkennedy, and Evan Ryan (19), 80A Mountain View, Ballyguile, Wicklow, appeared in Bray District Court last Thursday.

Inspector Tom Finnerty told Judge John Coughlan that Gardaí were on mobile patrol on Church Road, Greystones on October 31 2011. Kavanagh ran across the road and jumped in front of the coach, then became abusive to Gardaí. He said that the circumstances surrounding Ryan were similar and arose from the same incident.
(Source: The Wicklow People)