CITY TRIBUNE
Family attempt to get Coroner to stand down
The family of a 19-year-old man, who died in unexplained circumstances after becoming separated from friends in 2015, are to seek a judicial review as the Coroner hearing the case refused to recuse himself.
The legal representative for the parents of Brian Gubbins, of Gortlandroe, Nenagh, accused Dr Ciaran MacLoughlin of “objective bias.”
The Coroner for West Galway had not heard any evidence in the case, and was just about to read into the record a long letter received from the family’s solicitor, when Senior Counsel, Margaret Nerney, interrupted and made her formal application.
She said that the family had observed Dr MacLoughlin – who is from Clifden – being brought on a 45-minute “tour” of the relevant riverside locations, where the young man was last seen and where his body was eventually found, by Inspector Brendan Carroll that morning.
“This is meant to be an open, transparent, and fully accountable procedure,” she said.
“They have reasonable grounds to suspect some element of objective bias … my clients told me they saw the Garda gesticulating and highlighting certain locations around the courthouse.
“They have a fear and apprehension, in some way in light of the letter raised by Mr Murphy, our solicitor, that you have pre-judged or come to come conclusion.”
She said that the Coroner’s actions were “most unusual, unorthodox” which “shows concerns about the respect for their rights, and the principals of natural justice.”
Dr MacLoughlin assured Ms Nerney that he accompanied the Garda Inspector as the location in question was very difficult to visualise.
“I felt it necessary to see where he was last seen on the CCTV, and where he was found,” he replied.
“I walked that distance, and I wanted to try and satisfy my own enquiries as to where he had entered the water, and why his passport was found up-water from where his body was found. I wanted to see and visualise what happened in the last minutes or hours of his life.
“I was not being instructed or influenced by a member of An Garda Siochana. In doing so, I was showing my interest and commitment to establish what happened on that fatal morning.”
He said that specifically, his interest lay in three different waterways, a footbridge, a wall, and a building – presumably referred to by witnesses in statements made after the young man’s body was found.
He said that it was his job to answer questions raised in relation to what happened and, thereby, refused to recuse himself from the case.
Ms Nerney then asked for time to consult with her clients, which she was granted, and when the Coroner’s Court eventually reconvened, she made an application to adjourn the case. She indicated that her clients would be seeking a judicial review in relation to the Coroner’s response to her request.
The matter was adjourned to a date in October.
This had not been the first time that the Coroner and Ms Nerney had clashed before any evidence was heard. The Senior Counsel had wanted the entire case recorded using the Court Service’s DAR (Digital Audio Recording) system.
Dr MacLoughlin refused on the grounds that it was not common practice in the Coroner’s Court; that setting a precedent, which he would be doing by granting such a request to Ms Nerney, would prove problematic when the Coroner’s Court is held in other locations – such as in Galway County Council, as they will be later this month – where the DAR system is not available. He also said that the recording would be the property of Court Services – to which he is not attached – and end up in its possession, rather than his.
Ms Nerney said that she had been unable to engage a stenographer locally, and persisted to request the DAR system to be turned on. When the Coroner again refused, she asked for his refusal to be formally noted.
Brian Gubbins had come on a ‘Mystery Tour’ from the University of Limerick to Carbon Nightclub in Galway City on February 12, 2015. However, he got separated from friends, and did not get the bus home with them.
He was last captured on CCTV just before 1am the following morning. He was reported missing to Gardaí, and an extensive search took place in the subsequent days. His remains were found in the water near Bridge Street three days later.
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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