News
Judge praises pub security as pair nabbed stealing
Two pickpockets were in the country two days when they came to Galway to steal from customers in a city centre pub.
Judge Mary Fahy said she had noticed a trend that a lot of thefts of people’s phones and wallets was occurring in one specific pub and she wondered was it because it might be frequented by a well-heeled clientele.
The judge said she found it “amazing” the amount of ‘intelligence’ that was going on between people coming into Galway to steal.
“They all seem to be heading to the Front Door pub. Is it because they know it’s populated by people with handbags and iPhones and wallets?” she asked.
Before her court were Romanian nationals, Adrian Maracine (34) and Ilie Ion (27) who had been in custody since their arrest in the early hours of Saturday, March 19 last.
Maracine, the court was told, has convictions already for thefts in Germany, Denmark, Finland and Romania.
Both pleaded guilty to the theft of a man’s wallet, containing €300 at the Front Door on March 19 last.
They also pleaded guilty to using the man’s bank card to withdraw money from his bank account on the same date.
Inspector Mick Dwyer said that a man complained to staff that his wallet which contained €300, was stolen from him at 2.05am on March 19 last.
Security staff immediately checked the CCTV and saw both accused take the wallet.
When Gardai arrived at the pub, they found Ion had €950 in cash on him, in €50 and €20 notes. He could not explain why he had so much cash on him.
It later transpired both accused had been looking over the customer’s shoulder when he used his card earlier to buy a round of drinks, and they saw his PIN number.
They then stole his wallet and went to the ATM machine with the card to withdraw a further €500 from the man’s account as well.
Both accused told Gardai they arrived in Ireland on St Patrick’s Day and they could not provide a residential address here.
Defence barrister, Gary McDonald, said his clients told him they came to Ireland with the promise of work and they came to Galway for the Bank holiday weekend and had been in custody for over a month.
He said his clients were willing to pay for their own flights to leave the country straightaway. “There are flights to Romania on Sunday and Monday,” he suggested.
“That’s great. I’m sure there are flights every day,” Judge Fahy replied.
She commended pub staff and the Gardai for their vigilance in apprehending both accused.
Both accused, she said, were caught red-handed taking the wallet and it was all there on CCTV.
On hearing all of the money had been recovered, the judge said:
“That’s very good. The CCTV certainly worked on this occasion.”
She dismissed the notion the accused had come to Ireland or Galway to look for work.
This, she said, was a deliberate act of theft where they went into the premises to take advantage of people getting drink at the bar who would not be looking over their shoulder to see who was looking at their PIN.
Given his previous convictions in other jurisdictions, Judge Fahy sentenced Maracine to nine months in prison for using the stolen card to take money from the ATM machine and she imposed a consecutive three-month sentence for the theft of the wallet, which she suspended for twelve months on condition he not reoffend and stay away from the Front Door premises.
She imposed a six-month sentence on Ion, who had no previous convictions, for the theft of the wallet and imposed a consecutive, but suspended, three-month sentence on him for using the stolen card.
Leave to appeal the sentences was granted.
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
