News
Girl viciously attacked by ex in school toilets
A teenager, who barged into the toilets of his ex-girlfriend’s school and fractured her cheek bone with a punch to the face, was jailed for nine months at Galway District Court.
Judge Mary Fahy would not consider suspending any part of the sentence imposed on the man (19) considering that his victim was still receiving physical and psychological therapy following the attack on February 9 last year.
Remi Makula, originally from Romania but with an address at 52 Fearann Rí, Doughiska, had pleaded guilty to seriously assaulting the girl, who was 16 at the time, and with entering the grounds of the Presentation Secondary School as a trespasser, contrary to Section 12 of the Criminal Justice (Theft & Fraud Offences) Act 2001.
An interpreter was assigned to assist the injured party and her family during the hearing.
Inspector Mick O’Dwyer told the court that Makula was her estranged ex-boyfriend, and had gone to the school at 1.25pm, followed her to the toilets, where he pushed in the door of the cubicle. He punched her in the face, so hard that he fractured her cheekbone.
Judge Fahy was handed two medical reports outlining the injuries sustained in the attack. The DPP had directed that the matter be dealt with at District Court level on the tendering of a guilty plea only.
The girl, who is now 17, said that she had since left school altogether, and was currently receiving counselling and going to a physiotherapist for her injuries. The feeling in her face was affected, she added, through the interpreter.
Solicitor for Makula, John Martin, said that his client was holding his hands up, and accepted that he should not have been there at the time.
He said that the pair had been in a relationship, but had broken up shortly before this.
“He went to the school to talk to her, but he ‘lost the head’, and later that day he apologised,” he said.
“After that, things were okay between them, and then there was a separate incident – the DPP decided not to prosecute; the injured party was found by Gardaí shortly afterwards.”
He added that there had been a lot of tension between both families, but that this had since dissipated somewhat.
The injured party was not willing to accept the apology offered through Mr Martin.
“She is still affected by this, both physically and psychologically,” Judge Fahy told the solicitor.
“This is not domestic abuse – it is a serious criminal assault. In my view, he thinks it’s okay to treat women like this.”
The court heard that Makula had 10 previous convictions for theft and traffic offences, but none for assault; another matter is due to be heard in September, however.
The Judge remarked that he had not learned any lessons having been before the court prior to this incident, and was now facing another case.
In imposing the nine-month sentence, she was mindful of the serious medical report before her, and the DPP’s view of the matter. She would not consider Mr Martin’s request to suspend part of it.
Recognisances were fixed in the event of an appeal, on Makula’s own surety of €800, and an independent surety of €1,000, half to be lodged in each case. The surety has to be approved by the State with 48-hours’ notice.
A further condition of his recognisances is that he has no contact, by any means, with the injured party or her family.
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
