Connacht Tribune
Heroin addict jailed after guilty plea for forgery
A man has been sentenced to six months in prison for forging a court clerk’s signature on a fake receipt which he then used to obtain money from a neighbour on the pretext it be used as bail money.
Mark Keady (34), from Powl, Spiddal, pleaded guilty before Galway District Court to making a false hand-written receipt on February 9 last, purporting to be from the Courts Service of Ireland in the name of District Court Clerk Róisín Uí Neachtain, with the intention it be used to induce another person to accept it as genuine, to the prejudice of that person, contrary to Section 25 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.
His partner, Susan O’Toole (32), from Wormhole, Rosscahill, pleaded guilty to the same offence.
Following their pleas, a second charge of using the forged hand-written receipt to induce another person to accept it as genuine and to do some act to the prejudice of that person, contrary to Section 26 of the same Act, was withdrawn by the State.
Garda Michéal O Rainne gave evidence that on February 8 last, Keady told his friend and neighbour, Jack Conneely, he was due in court in Galway the next day for road traffic offences and he would be sent to jail if he did not have money for bail. Conneely gave him an undisclosed amount of money.
Keady rang Conneely the following day saying he was in the Courthouse and that he would need an extra €200 to secure bail.
Keady hung up when Conneely told him he would come into court with the money himself.
Moments later, Susan O’Toole rang Conneely and told him her brother was in court and would go bail for Keady but that he would need his money back later that evening.
That night, Keady and O’Toole called to Conneely’s house where he gave them a further €200.
They showed him a hand-written receipt, purporting to be from the Court Service and signed in the name of Róisín Uí Neachtain, acknowledging receipt of the bail money purportedly paid earlier that day to secure Keady’s bail.
Garda O Rainne said Keady had produced the receipt in an attempt to cod Mr Conneely.
He said Conneely made a complaint to him a few days later. He took his statement of complaint and then obtained a warrant and searched Keady’s home where he found a receipt book.
Conneely withdrew his complaint a few days after that stating he had been repaid all of his money.
Susan O’Toole was interviewed and she admitted writing the receipt while they were en route to Conneely’s house that night.
The court heard Keady had 34 previous convictions, 20 of which were for similar theft and fraud offences.
Olivia Traynor, who represented Keady, handed a copy of the forged receipt into court.
“Any normal person looking at it would realise it’s not a genuine receipt. In fact, Jack Conneely said to Gardai he knew it was a false receipt when he looked at it,” she said.
Mr Traynor said Keady was a heroin addict who was now on a methadone programme.
Sean Acton, who represented O’Toole, said his client was very remorseful and embarrassed about what happened. The court heard she had no previous convictions.
Judge John King directed the preparation of a probation report on O’Toole and put sentence in her case back to February 22 next.
The Judge said Keady had ‘form’ for theft and fraud offences before sentencing him to six months in prison.
Leave to appeal was granted on condition Keady and O’Toole have no contact with Ms Uí Neachtain and at all times stay away from her home.
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.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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
