CITY TRIBUNE
Brothers jailed for crime spree across the city
A city man who went on a spree of car thefts and burglaries over, has been jailed for 22 months by Galway District Court.
In imposing the sentence, Judge Mary Fahy said it would have been lengthier, except she was restricted to a total of 24 months.
“It probably should have been dealt with at a higher court, but the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] decided to go for summary disposal,” she said.
Matthew Goldbey (27), with an address at 174 Leargán, Knocknacarra, was also banned from driving for seven years.
Garda John Kerrigan said that all of the incidents had taken place in mid to late August this year. In the early hours of August 29, Gardaí were alerted to an alarm activation at Barna Pharmacy. The front glass door and window had been smashed by a rock, which was found on the shop floor.
Another door, leading into the dispensary, had also been smashed. Approximately €500 in cash was missing from the cash register – which was removed altogether – and from a cash box in the dispensary. The damage was estimated to be in the region of €1,000.
CCTV footage was examined, and two culprits were identified – Goldbey, and his younger brother, Ryan (22).
They were subsequently arrested, and detained at Galway Garda Station, where they made full admissions in relation to this burglary. However, none of the cash was returned.
Matthew Goldbey was also questioned about other crimes, including a burglary at a house in Creagan, Barna, around the same time as the pharmacy was targeted. This home was unoccupied, but the side door was kicked in, and a Sony Bravia TV, valued at €900, was stolen – it was never recovered.
A second burglary had taken place at Binn Bhán on the Western Distributor Road between August 26-29, through which entry was gained via an unlocked front door.
Car keys were stolen, along with a BMW from the driveway – both items were recovered undamaged.
He admitted to his part in another burglary at an occupied home in Leargán on August 22. There was no confrontation with the homeowners, but car keys, a phone, and a vehicle were stolen. The car was missing for a week and, when it was finally recovered, there were no keys in it. The owner faced the expense of replacing them, the court was told.
A second burglary of a home in Leargán took place between August 10-22, during which two sets of car keys were taken, and a VW Polo removed from the driveway. It was later found nearby.
“He admitted having the keys in his possession and driving it, but made no admission in relation to entering the home – the car was in good condition, but the car keys were not recovered,” Garda Kerrigan added.
The court heard that Matthew Golbey had 60 previous convictions, which his solicitor, Brian Gilmartin, blamed on his addictions. He said that the defendant was now a father, and that his main focus was on dealing with his charges to be free to raise his child. Judge Fahy was not convinced, however.
“There is a litany of suspended sentences from this and higher courts, and no time spent in any manner dealing with his difficulties,” she said.
“We know all about him, but nothing about the victims – just because they didn’t want to come into court doesn’t mean they are not victims.
“Their cars were stolen, their houses burgled, and the violence used – windows and doors kicked in, and rocks thrown.
“Our top jurisdiction (in District Court) is two years, and he has to get some dispensation for pleading. These people are at the expense of their new keys, and at the inconvenience – one person was missing their car for a week. In his favour, he has pleaded, and he made admissions while in custody on other matters.”
For the burglary at the occupied house in Leargán, a nine-month sentence was imposed; a further nine months for a similar offence at An Creagan, and a four-month sentence for the burglary at Barna Pharmacy. All of the other offences were marked with concurrent sentences. His prison term was backdated to August 30, the date that he was taken into custody.
Recognisances were fixed, in the event of an appeal, on his own surety of €500, and an independent surety of €1,600. The conditions of which are that he does not drive any vehicle pending appeal.
Ryan Goldbey, meanwhile, the court was told, had 49 previous convictions – among them 10 for burglary. He was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for the Barna Pharmacy burglary.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
The new Salmon Weir pedestrian and cycle bridge will be officially opened to the public next Friday, May 26.
Work on the €10 million bridge got underway in April 2022, before the main structure was hoisted into place in early December.
A lunchtime tape-cutting ceremony will take place on Friday, as the first pedestrians and cyclists traverse the as-yet-unnamed bridge.
The Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Brendan McGrath, previously said the bridge, once opened, would remove existing conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists and traffic “as well as facilitating the Cross-City Link public transport corridor over the existing 200-year-old bridge”.
The naming of the new bridge has been under discussion by the Council’s Civic Commemorations Committee since late last year.
One name that has been in the mix for some time is that of the first woman in Europe to graduate with an engineering degree – Alice Perry.
Ms Perry, who was from Wellpark, graduated from Queen’s College Galway (now University of Galway) in 1906. The university’s engineering building is named in her honour.
The bridge was built by Jons Civil Engineering firm in County Meath and was assembled off-site before being transported to Galway. Funding for the project was provided in full by the National Transport Authority and the European Regional Development Fund.
(Photo: Sheila Gallagher captured the city’s new pedestrian footbridge being raised on the south side of the Salmon Weir Bridge in December. It will officially open next Friday, May 26).
From the Galway City Tribune – Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, Kieran O’Donnell was labelled a “disgrace” for overturning councillors’ decisions to rezone land in the new City Development Plan.
Minister O’Donnell (pictured) confirmed in a letter to Council Chief Executive Brendan McGrath last week that he was reversing 25 material alternations made by councillors to the CDP 2023-29. He made the decision on the advice of Office of Planning Regulator (OPR).
Minister O’Donnell directed that 14 land parcels that were subject to land-use zoning changes by councillors as part of the Material Alterations to the Draft CDP should be reversed.
He directed that a further 11 land parcels in the city should become “unzoned”.
The Minister found that the CDP had not been made in a manner consistent with recommendations of the OPR, which required specific changes to the plan to ensure consistency with the national planning laws and guidelines.
At last week’s Council meeting Cllr Eddie Hoare (FG) asked for clarity on the process by which councillors could rezone the lands that had been changed by the Minister’s direction.
Cllr Declan McDonnell said, “What he [Minister O’Donnell] has done is an absolute disgrace”.
And he asked: “Do we have to have another development plan meeting to deal with it?”
Both Cllrs Hoare and McDonnell wondered what would become of the lands that were rezoned or unzoned by the ministerial direction.
Mr McGrath said the Council had put forward an argument in favour of retaining the material alterations in the plan, but ultimately the Minister sided with OPR.
He said if councillors want to make alterations to the new plan, they could go through the process of making a material alteration but this was lengthy.
The Save Roscam Peninsula campaign welcomed the Minister’s decision.
In a statement to the Galway City Tribune, it said the direction would mean the Roscam village area on the Roscam Peninsula will be unzoned and a number of land parcels would revert back to agriculture/high amenity.
A spokesperson for the campaign said: “the material alterations made by city councillors following lobbying by developers continued the long-standing practice of councillors facilitating a developer-led plan rather than an evidence- and policy-based plan that meets the needs of the city.
“The Minister’s direction is an important step in restoring confidence in the planning system. It is clear from the City Council’s own evidence on future housing projections that there was no requirement to zone these lands for residential purposes in order to meet the needs of the targeted population increase up to 2029,” the spokesperson added.
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