News
Developer gave woman ten days to leave her own home
A property developer who broke into a woman’s home and told her she had ten days to leave because he wanted to add her house to his property portfolio, faces a possible prison sentence in March.
John O’Halloran (28), Pier Road, Seapoint, Barna and formerly of St Anthony’s Terrace, Bohermore, pleaded guilty before Galway District Court this week to burglary at a house on Fr. Griffin Road, by entering the house as a trespasser on May 11 last year, where he stole two letters from the lone female occupant.
Inspector Kevin Gately withdrew a charge of criminal damage against O’Halloran following his plea to the burglary charge.
Insp Gately said the woman was woken by a noise downstairs.
She came out of her bedroom to find O’Halloran, whom she didn’t know, standing at the bottom of the stairs.
He told the woman she had ten days to leave the house because he wanted to buy it and he then took two letters belonging to the woman which were in the hallway.
Garda Claire Burke later spoke to O’Halloran and he admitted he had been in the woman’s house.
Judge Mary Fahy asked if there was any particular reason why O’Halloran picked this house.
Insp Gately said O’Halloran wanted to take possession of the house.
Judge Fahy asked why would the accused pick that house above any other house.
Defence solicitor, Olivia Traynor interjected and said – at the risk of causing offence – that the house in question looked like it wasn’t occupied.
She said the house looked like it was boarded up. O’Halloran did a land registry search and got a name, but it was the wrong name.
“He did that on someone’s house that was not for sale?,” Judge Fahy asked bewildered.
Ms Traynor said the Land Registry told her client the house belonged to someone else who had passed away, but he now realised that was not the case.
Judge Fahy said O’Halloran had committed a burglary and she wanted to know why he took two letters belonging to the woman.
Ms Traynor explained he took them because he wanted to see the name and address on the envelopes and he wanted to know the name of the woman who was living in the house.
The woman said O’Halloran broke in through a window and he forced the door open as well.
“He asked me for my name the first time he came in, but the second time he forced his way in, there were three broken windows. I wrote to the Gardai but nothing ever happened.
“The second time he came in, I heard a huge crash and I saw him at the foot of the stairs.
He told me ‘You have ten days to leave your house. You have no right to be here.’
“My house used to be all right but they smashed it up, over and over,” the woman told Judge Fahy.
The judge told Insp Gately she was not happy that he withdrew the criminal damage charge against O’Halloran.
The woman claimed O’Halloran removed a high hedge from her garden when she was in bed one night and her gate was taken as well.
Judge Fahy told the woman the only charge before the court related to O’Halloran committing a burglary at her home and stealing her letters.
Judge Fahy said she wanted to hear a logical explanation why O’Halloran broke into the woman’s house and told her she had ten days to leave.
“He has built up a property portfolio and he thought he could buy the house,” Ms Traynor said.
Insp Gately confirmed O’Halloran had nine previous convictions. One was for a serious assault in 2013, another for a lesser assault in 2010, and the remainder for Public Order offences.
“I’m sitting on the bench for 23 years, and I’ve never heard of such an outrage.
“There is no logical explanation why a person building up a property portfolio would do something like this,” Judge Fahy said.
O’Halloran replied: “It’s an absolute mistake and I tried to take shortcuts. I can’t tell this lady how much I’m sorry.”
“And I can’t tell you how much I don’t believe you,” the woman replied.
O’Halloran said he had brought €1,250 to court for the woman.
Ms Traynor said her client was well aware that part of his bail conditions were that he stay away from the woman and her property.
Judge Fahy told the woman she was not obliged to take the money if she didn’t want to.
“Would it preclude any further action I might take against him?”, the woman asked.
Judge Fahy said it would have no bearing if she decided to take a civil action against O’Halloran.
The woman accepted the money, saying that the windows and hedge needed to be replaced.
Judge Fahy advised the woman that if anyone else tried to damage her house, she was to contact the Gardai immediately.
She warned O’Halloran that a charge of burglary normally carried a prison sentence in her court.
“Thank you judge. I appreciate being allowed to speak,” the woman said.
Judge Fahy told the woman Garda Burke would assist her in lodging the money in a bank and in getting her house in order.
She advised the Gardai to put the woman in touch with a victim support group as well.
Judge Fahy then adjourned the matter to March 20 for a Garda Behaviour Report on O’Halloran and for a further €500 in compensation for the woman.
Bail was granted on condition O’Halloran stay away from the woman, her home and from the entire Fr. Griffin Road area.
The judge warned the accused he was looking at a prison sentence or a suspended sentence.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
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.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
