News
Sudden end to trial for publican’s manslaughter
The trial of a Romanian man charged with the manslaughter of schoolteacher John Kenny in his pub in Oughterard in 2011, ended abruptly yesterday when the prosecution withdrew the charge from the jury.
Marian Lingurar (37), with a former address at 29 Orchard Court, Blackpool, Cork, had earlier denied the unlawful killing of Mr Kenny at his pub on Main Street, Oughterard, on September 25, 2011, contrary to Common Law.
The prosecution entered a nolle prosequi in the manslaughter charge on Tuesday after accepting a plea to a lesser charge against the accused of withholding information during the Garda investigation into Mr Kenny’s death. Sentence has been adjourned to April 30.
Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, Shane Costello SC had opened the prosecution case to the jury of six women and six men.
He said evidence in the case was circumstantial as there were no independent witnesses to the offence but it was the State’s case that the accused was part of a group of people who set about robbing John Kenny in his pub that night.
He said the accused drove three other people from Galway to the public house and back again to Galway that night.
Amongst the people he drove was Florin Fitzpatrick – a Romanian man who became an Irish citizen through marriage – along with a juvenile and a third man, named as Vasile Muntean.
“They all went there with the intention of robbing Mr Kenny. The allegation is that the accused drove these men to the premises from Galway and back. Florin was working behind the bar while the juvenile was doing security at the door.
At some stage the accused drove Vasile Muntean to the pub and all four were there after the pub closed.
“Mr Kenny was beaten so severely be died from his injuries. His body was discovered the next day by his wife and daughter. He had been tied up and restrained.
“He died as a result of the beating he sustained,” Mr Costello told the jury.
While the prosecution, he said, could not prove Lingurar took park in the robbery, he did participate in the crime by driving the others to and from the premises, and was as liable and as culpable as the others.
“It cannot be proved who caused the death, but he was an active participant in the robbery that night.
“He actively participated in the robbery of the pub and of Mr Kenny and he is liable for the death of Mr Kenny. That is the prosecution case,” Mr Costello told the jury.
However, shortly afterwards, Mr Costello told Judge Rory McCabe that the prosecution was not proceeding with the manslaughter charge and that the accused could be arraigned on a second charge of withholding information.
Lingurar then pleaded guilty to withholding information from Gardaí which would assist in the apprehension and subsequent prosecution of another person in connection with the death of Mr Kenny.
Mr Costello said that plea was acceptable to the prosecution and he entered a nolle prosequi in relation to the manslaughter charge.
Judge McCabe discharged the jury and adjourned sentence in the matter to April 30 to allow Mr Kenny’s family time to prepare victim impact statements which, he said, would be taken into consideration on that date.
The body of Mr Kenny, who was a teacher at Presentation College Athenry, was found the day after his death on the floor of a room in his pub with his hands tied behind his back.
A post-mortem examination carried out on Mr Kenny’s body at the time by State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy showed his death was the result of an assault.
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
