Law « Thurles Information

Drug Search In Thurles – Community Information.

Members of the Divisional Drugs Unit have executed a warrant under the Drugs Act at a premises in Thurles suspected of selling cannabis, cannabis jellies and cannabis vapes.

During the search, Gardaí obtained a positive result, pending further analysis. An investigation has now commenced.

We would like to thank members of the community who brought this matter to attention through Community Policing. Your continued engagement and support play an important role in helping to keep our towns and villages safe.

Anyone with information relating to the sale or supply of illegal drugs is encouraged to contact their local Garda Station or the Garda Confidential Line.

Ní neart go cur le chéile – There is no strength without unity.

Man and Woman Charged Following €280,000 Cocaine Seizure in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

A man and a woman, both aged in their 20s, have been charged following the seizure of €280,000 worth of suspected cocaine in Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

The operation was carried out on Tuesday, May 19th, by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) alongside the Tipperary Divisional Drugs Unit, during which approximately four kilograms of suspected cocaine were recovered.

According to Gardaí, the drugs seized have an estimated street value of €280,000.

The two suspects were arrested and detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 at a Garda station within the Clare-Tipperary Division.

Both have since been formally charged in connection with the investigation and are scheduled to appear before Nenagh District Court this morning, Thursday, May 21st, at 10:00am.

The suspected drugs will now undergo forensic examination by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI), while Garda investigations remain ongoing.

International Law Is More Complex Than Irish Politicians Currently Admit.

There is a growing tendency among our Irish politicians and officials to speak about international law on Gaza as though the legal position is completely settled and universally agreed.
It is not.

Whether people support or oppose Israel’s actions, it is important to state the law accurately rather than selectively.

Israel imposed a naval blockade on Gaza during an ongoing armed conflict with Hamas, which has controlled the territory since Hamas violently seized power in 2007. The blockade was formally declared in 2009 and was justified by Israel as a security measure aimed at preventing weapons smuggling by sea.

Under international law, naval blockades are not automatically illegal as our heads of government publically declare. In fact, the law of armed conflict at sea explicitly recognises them under certain conditions.

The most widely cited framework on this issue is the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, found HERE. While it is not itself a treaty, it is widely regarded as an authoritative restatement of customary international law by legal and naval experts.

The San Remo Manual states that vessels attempting to breach a lawful naval blockade may be intercepted, including in international waters under certain circumstances.

This is not merely an Israeli interpretation. The 2011 UN Palmer Report concluded that Israel’s naval blockade was a legitimate security measure and that its enforcement had a legal basis under international law.

That does not mean every Israeli action is automatically lawful, nor does it mean there are no legitimate humanitarian concerns. Serious legal arguments have also been made that the blockade has become disproportionate or amounts to collective punishment due to the humanitarian consequences for civilians in Gaza.

But that is precisely the point: this is a disputed and highly contested area of international law. It is therefore misleading for Irish Government representatives to present the matter as though international law clearly and unanimously declares every interception at sea to be illegal. Many respected international lawyers, naval law experts, and even UN-linked inquiries have reached more nuanced conclusions.

People can oppose Israel politically or morally if they wish. But legal arguments should be based on the actual complexities of international law, not slogans or selective interpretations.

Central Criminal Court Hears Manslaughter Case Over Death of Polish National in Tipperary.

The Central Criminal Court has heard that “no one knows exactly what happened” on the night a 32-year-old Polish man died, following an incident at a house in Co Tipperary.

Mr Tomasz Rozpeda, aged 29, of no fixed abode, previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Maciej Nowak, who died at Ballycranna, Kilross, Co Tipperary, during the early hours of December 27th, 2023.

During the sentencing hearing today Tuesday, the court heard that both men had consumed large quantities of alcohol and drugs, while socialising together on St Stephen’s Day. A toxicology report showed Mr Nowak had an extremely high level of amphetamines in his system, close to a fatal level, although medical experts ruled this out as the cause of death.

The court heard Mr Rozpeda called emergency services and claimed his friend had “gone crazy”, hitting himself and smashing items around the house. However, pathologists later determined that Mr Nowak died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck, injuries which were not consistent with self-inflicted harm.

Medical evidence revealed Mr Nowak suffered extensive injuries, including dozens of bruises and trauma caused by the brain twisting within the skull. Gardaí also found blood-stained broken bottles scattered across the kitchen floor of the house.

Prosecution counsel told the court that CCTV footage showed the two men together at an Applegreen service station outside Tipperary town, before returning to Mr Nowak’s home. Additional evidence included phone calls and voice messages sent by Mr Rozpeda during the night, in which he reportedly told friends he had “f**ked up” and that an accident had happened.

Gardaí later arrested Mr Rozpeda, who initially denied responsibility and attempted to distance himself from the incident. Investigators said a number of untruths were told during interviews.

Victim impact statements were read to the court from Mr Nowak’s sister and fiancée. His sister described learning of her brother’s death as the moment her “world came to a standstill”, while his fiancée said she had lost “the love of her life” and struggled to cope emotionally since the tragedy.

The court also heard that Mr Nowak was a father of three children and had been due to marry in June 2024.

Defence counsel said the men had been friends for approximately ten years and there had been no previous animosity between them. He described the events as a tragic escalation during a night where both men had consumed substances “to excess”.

Counsel for Rozpeda apologised on behalf of his client and said there was no evidence that he had brought a weapon to the house or intended serious violence.

The Director of Public Prosecutions accepted the guilty plea to manslaughter, with the original murder charge set aside.

Ms Justice Eileen Creedon remanded Mr Rozpeda in custody ahead of sentencing on July 6 next.

Ireland Tolerates Terrorist Symbols But Ignores Murder Of Private Seán Rooney.

Something is deeply wrong, when Ireland tolerates terrorist symbols but ignores the murder of Private Seán Rooney.

Private Seán Rooney was not a politician, activist or a celebrity; he belonged to a far higher order of human achievement and character. He was a 24-year-old Irish soldier from Donegal serving his country on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
By all accounts he was courageous, decent and deeply committed to protecting his fellow soldiers.

**Private Seán Rooney, Irish Soldier Murdered by Hezbollah in Lebanon.**

On December 14th 2022, just 11 days before Christmas, while travelling in a clearly marked UN vehicle near the Hezbollah stronghold of Al-Aqbiya, Private Seán Rooney and his colleagues came under sustained gunfire from Hezbollah-linked attackers. Seán, sadly, was killed trying to protect his comrades, while another Irish soldier was seriously injured.

The aftermath of this event has been a grotesque insult to his family and indeed to the Island of Ireland itself.
The main suspect, Hezbollah member Mohammad Ayyad, was eventually convicted and sentenced in his absence after repeatedly avoiding court appearances. He still remains at large today, after previously being released on “medical grounds.”
Meanwhile, others involved received sentences so absurdly lenient that even the Irish Government publicly condemned them as unacceptable.
Private Seán Rooney’s mother correctly described the process as a “sham trial” and said justice had neither been done nor even seen to be done.

While Seán Rooney’s family continue to fight for accountability, Ireland has witnessed crowds marching openly through Dublin and Cork waving Hezbollah and Hamas flags, latter organisations synonymous with sectarian violence, terrorism, hostage-taking and the murder of civilians.

Perhaps nothing captures the moral confusion of our modern-day Ireland more than the sight of Irish Tricolours being waved beside Hezbollah and Hamas flags on the streets of Dublin and Cork, as though the values represented by our national flag are somehow compatible with organisations linked to terrorism, sectarian hatred and the murder of an Irish peacekeeper, Private Seán Rooney.

For Seán Rooney’s family, and for many decent Irish people, that image is not “solidarity” or “activism.” It is a profound national disgrace and an insult to the memory of a young Irish soldier who died serving under the UN flag at the hands of Hezbollah-linked gunmen.

What is truly repellent is not only that these flags appear, but that so many so-called and self-appointed champions of “human rights” refuse to condemn them. Many politicians, activists and celebrity figures appear far more interested in performative anti-Israel activism than in showing even basic solidarity with the family of an Irish peacekeeper, murdered by extremists, linked to Hezbollah. That silence is not moral courage; it is moral bankruptcy.

Jerome Lawrence rightly warned in his 1955 play, “Inherit the Wind”, that: “Fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding.”

That is exactly what we are witnessing today. Fanaticism survives when hatred becomes fashionable, when ideological tribalism replaces moral consistency, and when people excuse or romanticise violent extremism because it aligns with their political worldview.
Bigotry is not confined to race or religion; it also includes the irrational hatred and dehumanisation of anyone considered politically inconvenient, including Israelis, Jews, or even Irish soldiers whose deaths disrupt a preferred narrative.

Supporting innocent Palestinians does not require anyone to glorify Hamas or Hezbollah. But too many people in Ireland have crossed that line. They excuse terrorist symbolism, ignore antisemitism when it comes disguised as activism, and remain conspicuously silent about the murder of Private Seán Rooney because acknowledging it would force them to confront uncomfortable truths about the movements they openly, through ignorance, tolerate.

The Rooney family deserved national outrage, unity and relentless demands for justice. Instead, they got evasions, hypocrisy and silence from people who claim to stand against violence and extremism; latter a disgrace on modern Ireland.