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 The Garda Ombudsman has been asked to investigate an incident which happened this evening near Newport in Co Tipperary, in which a man died.
The incident is understood to have happened between 8.00 and 9.00 pm and was referred to the Ombudsman by the Garda Commissioner.
The scene of this incident has now been preserved pending the arrival of investigators from the Ombudsman’s office.
It is understood that a male opened fire on Garda officers after being pulled over by a Garda patrol car, which observed him driving erratically. It is also understood that the as yet unnamed male then shot himself. The Gardai in the patrol car on the scene were believed to have been unarmed.
The body of the victim, which still remains at the scene, is believed to be a native of County Limerick, living in Tipperary.
 Despite protests and walkouts by Solicitors, Roscrea and Templemore Courthouses have been closed.
North Tipperary County Council are now inviting “expressions of interest,” from local Clubs, Community groups and other Bodies for to tender for the use of these former Courthouses, with a view to making better use of said vacant buildings, located in both rural towns.
Proposals for shared use by a number of community based groups will now be considered.
Letters or emails of interest should be clearly marked: Courthouses – Expressions of Interest and should clearly state to which premises the request refers.
Such expressions of interest may be made in writing or by email and should specify the following information:
1. The proposed use of the premises.
2. The proposed frequency of use (e.g. full-time, one day per week, number of hours per day, week-ends only).
3. The proposed duration of any agreement.
4. The contribution which the club or group is prepared to make towards the maintenance of the premises.
5. Details of the constitution of the group or club, its membership and its full remit.
6. Details of the extent to which the proposed use will serve the local community (e.g. will use be confined to membership or will there be general access to the community?)
7. Name and number of contact person etc..
Expressions of interest should be sent by post to Rosemary Joyce, Senior Executive Officer, North Tipperary County Council, Corporate Support, Civic Offices, Limerick Road, Nenagh or by email to rosemary.joyce@northtippcoco.ie .
The closing date for receipt of expressions of interest is Friday 24th February 2012.
 Joseph Finnerty The Irish Court of Criminal Appeal has today ruled that a three-year sentence imposed on a Tipperary man, who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl, was too lenient.
Forty Seven year old Mr Joseph Finnerty, Grove Villas, Roscrea, who previously resided with his elderly mother, is just weeks away from prison release, having been convicted of false imprisonment and sexual assault in 2009.
During the assault Mr Finnerty’s victim had tried to escape from his car, as he drove her to Glassderry Wood in Co Offaly, prior to attacking her. His victim claimed that the events of that night, had completely destroyed her life making her anxious and hyper-vigilant.
Following his six-day trial at the Central Criminal Court, the accused was found guilty and jailed for three years, but today the DPP appealed that sentence handed down, on the grounds that same was unduly lenient.
The court heard that it was hard to imagine how one single incident of sexual assault could have been worse, than in this case, where a young girl had been preyed upon by an older man.
Lawyers representing Joseph Finnerty stated that their client had no previous history of any sexual offences. However during the trial in 2009 Sgt Aidan Farrelly had stated that Mr Finnerty had 25 previous other convictions, which included three assaults, road traffic offences and criminal damage.
The court today added an additional one year to Mr Finnerty’s sentence, which is to be suspended on the grounds that Mr Finnerty is due for release, from his custodial sentence, in the coming weeks.
 The Irish Courts Service have brokered a deal with local Ballina, Co Tipperary publican, Mr Michael O’Donovan, to use his licenced hostelry as a Courthouse, with Judge Aeneas McCarthy presiding, looking down upon gardaí, solicitors, court users and criminals from his raised platform stage, normally the preserve of performers John Spillane, Mary Coughlan etc and the other bands who regularly perform at O’Donovans Bar.
Beneath disco lights, (switched off I hasten to add when the court is in session) in full view of favoured tipple labels Heineken, Guinness and Carlsberg, not to mention bottles of gin, vodka etc, now dispensers of this country’s justice sit in true American Wild West historical Saloon fashion, and will continue to do so for a trial period over the next three months. I should point out that the bar is not open during these court sessions.
This new venue brings an ends to the 64 mile round trip to Ennis, that court officials and criminals have been forced to take since September, when court sittings were suspended with the Kincora Hotel going into receivership.
Main reasons given for choosing this new venue was the difficulty experienced by criminals not being able to get to Ennis Court because of a lack of direct public transport. No doubt the Health Service Executive will now be organising a similar setup for Diabetes sufferers and those who need weekly Kidney Dialysis in Limerick hospital and who must drive a 96 mile round trip just to stay alive.
Alan Shatter TD, Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, was not on hand to officially open this new venue.
Me, well I blame this rather unusual court setting now forced on us here in Tipperary, on Angela Dorothea Merkel, Chancellor of Germany and the current state of the Euro.
In fact a middle aged male German tourist recently, on his first visit here to Tipperary, recently confided in me, the following story.
According to him he had visited one of our houses of “ill repute.” (No, before you ask, I didn’t get an address or a mobile telephone number.) The lady in charge asked him to be seated and sends over a young lady to entertain him. They sat and talked, frolicked a little and drunk a bit. He whispered a request in her ear and she gasped and runs away, screaming “No I will not.”
Seeing this, the lady in charge quickly sent over a more experienced lady to further entertain the gentleman. They also again sat together and talked, frolicked a little, laughed a lot, drunk a bit. He again whispered into her ear, and she also screamed, “No never in a month of Sundays.” and quickly left the scene.
The madam naturally was very surprised that this ordinary, good looking man was asking for something so outrageous, that her two most experienced girls refused to have anything to do with him. So, intrigued, having never seen anything like this in all her years of operating her business, she decided to find out what this man wanted that had made her girls so angry and uncooperative.
She approaches her unsatisfied tourist customer, sits and talks with him. They frolic, they giggle, they drink and then she sits on his lap. My tourist friend leans forwards and whispers in her ear, “Can I pay you in Euro?”
Still, in the words of Eamon de Valera: “When we have done our best, we can, as a united people, take whatever may befall, with calm courage and confidence that this old nation will survive and if death should come to many of us, death is not the end.”
Yea, listen I will leave the above text to each of you, our discerning readers, to decide which is the biggest joke.
 Contents Of Cigarette Smoke As much as 14% to 18% of the 1.7 billion cigarettes smoked in Ireland last year were illegally imported, indicating a €250m loss to the Irish Exchequer in unpaid duty or taxes.
According to today’s Irish Independent Newspaper, Fine Gael TD Derek Keating warns us that more people will die in 2012 from tobacco-related illness than alcohol or even heroin. Ireland he states is now viewed, by smugglers, as an ideal location for their trade in comparison to the rest of Europe.
Mr Keating went on to state that almost every major street in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Dundalk has illegal vendors. Another major aspect to this problem is that it is well know that some of the filler substance used to bulk cigarette products, is more dangerous than the actual tobacco content contained in the cigarette itself.
Mr Keating said “We need to smash the distributions system of these criminals and by tackling this crime, everyone will be a winner.”
Mr Keating appears of course to have forgotten to state that cigarettes purchased here in Ireland cost between €4 and €6 more, per pack of twenty, than in any other European country, due to his and previous government’s annual easy target tax increases. This market for cheap smuggled cigarettes is therefore promoted and encouraged by present and previous governments and their sudden concern for our individual health, shown only I fear through tax increases.
Mr Keating has forgotten that Tobacco Products under EU law, being brought into Ireland from other EC countries, once transported and accompanied by the purchaser and for his sole use, rather than for commercial purposes, enter Ireland without payment of exorbitant Irish duty.
Smoking Cheaply In Ireland Within Irish Law
Since the recent price increase by tobacco manufacturers of 10 cents and Minister Michael Noonan’s budget increase of 25 cents, per pack of twenty, confirmed smokers in Ireland have changed their smoking habits considerably. While many seek out easily available illegally imported supplies, others have moved more significantly to “roll your own,” loose tobacco.
Presently if you are a 40 cigarette a day person, two packs of 20 cigarettes can cost as much as €17.80 per day, depending on brand. On the other hand one packet of “roll your own” cigarette tobacco, including 50 gummed cigarette papers, which allows for the making of about 30 cigarettes, costs a mere €4.20.
Mastering the rolling of your own cigarettes by hand is now no longer “an acquired art over time,” when you can purchase an automatic cigarette rolling machine for less than €5. Within 15 minutes you can easily whip up 20 beautiful hand made cigarettes. Indeed confirmed female smokers and followers of fashion, are now buying engraved silver personalised cigarette cases for about €20, for their handbags, claiming they smoke only handmade cigarettes.
Most new converts to “Roll Your Own Cigarettes,” claim they smoke less tobacco, by including slimline filter tips when rolling their cigarettes. All smokers, previously smoking up to 40 cigarettes per day, state that they now save a colossal €90 per week, due to their change in habit, and all feel less guilt, in relation to their usage of their households disposable income.
Note: Regardless of the tobacco product used, it has been proved that there is an increased risk of cancer, strokes and heart disease by its usage. Tobacco smoke that is inhaled causes lung cancer, sinus disease and chronic obstructive lung disease. Many pipe smokers state that they do not inhale, but research shows that they have a significant increase in risk of lung, larynx, throat, esophagus, pancreas, and colon-rectal cancers along with an increased risk of coronary artery disease, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and strokes.
So maybe it is time to quit the habit as this years ‘new years resolution.’
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