Law « Thurles Information

950 Persons To Be Conferred With Irish Citizenship.

The first in-person Citizenship Ceremonies in over two years will be held on Monday, June 20th 2022, in the INEC Arena, Gleneagle Hotel, Muckross Road, Killarney, Co. Kerry.

The ceremonies will be held at 11.00am and 1.30pm with registration for the first ceremony beginning at 10:00am and the second ceremony at 12.30pm on Monday, of the aforementioned date.

Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee TD, together with retired High Court judge Mr Bryan MacMahon and retired District Court judge Mr Paddy McMahon will be presiding over the ceremonies and conferring Irish citizenship on an expected 950 people.

Ireland is a sovereign, independent country and has rules and laws about who is entitled to Irish citizenship.

Most Irish citizens were automatically Irish when they were born. Before January 1st 2005, everyone born on the island of Ireland was an Irish citizen by birth. However, following an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland, citizenship by birth is now no longer an automatic entitlement to everyone born on the island of Ireland.

If you are born abroad, you are entitled to Irish citizenship if your parent was born in Ireland. If your grandparents were born in Ireland, you may also be able to claim citizenship through the Foreign Births Register.

Residents of Ireland who have come from abroad can apply to become Irish citizens, through naturalisation.

Citizens of Ireland are also EU citizens, which means that they can live, work and study in any other EU member state.

Alleged €2m Fraud At Richard Quirke’s Dublin Casino & Arcade.

An alleged €2m fraud has been uncovered at the company that wields control of the arcade and casino business, known as Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.

This disclosure is contained in new consolidated accounts for Dublin Pool and Juke Box Ltd, which reveals the alleged misappropriation of funds totalled €1.009m in 2018 and €1.017m in 2019.

The business is owned by “slot-machine tycoon”, 75-year-old, Mr Richard Quirke, father in law of Rosanna Davison, latter an Irish actress, singer, writer, model and beauty queen, who was crowned Miss World back in 2003.

Our readers will remember that Mr Quirke had, back in 2009, been associated with a €460 million plan, which was promoted by Tipperary Independent TD, Mr Michael Lowry.
The plan back then was to build a massive entertainment facility which was to include a five-star 500-bedroom hotel; casino; full-size replica of the White House; an underground entertainment centre seating 15,000 people; 18-hole golf course; driving range; retail outlets; timber chapel, heliport; 6,000 car spaces; new racecourse for horses and a new greyhound track on a 325 hectare (800-acre) site, close to the village of Two-Mile-Borris, Thurles, Co Tipperary.

In December 2009, An Taisce, objecting to the plan through their heritage officer Mr Ian Lumley, suggesting that this plan was based on a “Failed International Development Model”.
Eventually, the planning body gave the casino the go-ahead in June 2011, refusing permission for the 15,000-seater “underground” music venue. However, same ran into trouble again, almost immediately, following the government announcing plans to overhaul Ireland’s gambling laws, thus blocking large, resort-style casinos.

The original planning application for this development, expired in 2018, but the developer applied for (and was granted) an extension in February 2018 (due to expire in March 2023).

To date, Mr Quirke is understood to have built up a sizeable fortune from his Dublin based casino business, with most of the company’s wealth concentrated in property.

Cabinet Approval Granted To Draft Legislation On Jury For Stardust Inquests.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee has today received Government approval to draft legislative amendments to put in place bespoke supports for jury selection and summoning in the Stardust inquests.

Readers will remember, in 1981, the tragic fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, north Co. Dublin, which resulted sadly in the death of 48 people and left some 214 persons injured.

The ages of those who were killed in the fire ranged from 16 to 26, and in 23 cases the deceased were the eldest and sole breadwinner for their families. Most of the dead came from Artane, Kilmore and greater Coolock, and half of the deceased were aged 18 years or younger, with four of the victims aged 16 years and eight aged 17 years.

It is intended that the legislation will be passed before the summer recess and enacted quickly, enabling the Coroner to commence the inquests in line with her proposed timeframe.

This will allow the Dublin Coroner to seek the assistance of the Courts Service in selecting a jury for the Stardust inquests and will allow the jury selection process to operate in a similar way to that civil and criminal court proceedings.

The legislation will also ensure that employers will continue to pay the wages of people summoned to serve on the Stardust inquests jury, similar to provisions for criminal and civil trial juries.

These supports are being provided for by the Minister to address the concerns raised by victims’ families, in recognition that the inquests may span a number of months, while also conscious of the principles underpinning jury service as a civic duty that must be carried out with impartiality and fairness.

These special jury provisions will apply only to the Stardust inquests given the extraordinary circumstances.

The Minister intends that all matters pertaining to coronial law will be considered in the review currently underway in her Department as set out in the Justice Plan 2022.

Following the Cabinet meeting, Minister McEntee said:

“The Government’s decision today allows for the urgent drafting of special provisions relating to the selection and summoning of jurors for the new Stardust Inquests.
In this regard, the Dublin Coroner will be entitled to request the assistance of the Courts Service in selecting and summoning a jury by ballot drawn from the Electoral Register.
I had promised to address the concerns raised, particularly by representatives of the Stardust victims’ families, with regard to the empanelling of a representative jury.
As the Stardust Inquests are anticipated to take some considerable time compared to other inquests, I am also making provision that employers would be required to pay the wages of employees summoned to serve on the Stardust Inquests jury”.

Drug & Cash Seizure In Clonmel Tipperary Following Arrest.

A male in his 20’s was arrested and taken to Clonmel Garda Station following a Drug Seizure in the Cashel Road area of Clonmel on Tuesday last.

Members of the Clonmel District Drugs Unit, assisted by other local units, carried out a search of a residential address on foot of a search warrant.

Cocaine valued at approximately €6,700 was seized, together with a quantity of cash.

The search was conducted as part of Operation Tara, the goal of which is to protect communities from the scourge of illegal drugs in line with An Garda Siochana’s mission of Keeping People Safe.

This news comes following reports from the Health Research Board that treatment for cocaine use, among young people here in Ireland, has increased by 171% between the years 2011 and 2019.

Man Arrested In Tipperary Town Following Drug Seizure.

A man, understood to be aged in his 50’s, was arrested in Tipperary Town yesterday, (Bank Holiday Monday, June 6th), following the seizure of some 5,000 tablets, latter with an estimated street value of €10,300.

Cannabis, with an estimated street value of €700, was also seized.

The man was detained by members of Tipperary Town Drugs Unit and the Divisional Crime Task Force, before being charged with the possession of the drugs intended for sale and supply.

The arrested man appeared in Thurles district court today, June 7th, before being released on bail, pending analysis, to appear in court again at a future date to be decided.