Northern News

• Portadown District Orange Lodge has indicated that it is willing to enter talks with Garvaghy Road residents to discuss the Lodge's wish to again march down the largely nationalist road after their Drumcree church service each July. A message to this effect was sent to the Parades Commission with the proviso that the talks have an independent chairman. For the Residents Association Breandán Mac Cionnaith said some indication of a change of heart had been passed on by the commission but he had heard nothing official and there been no contact from the Orange Order.
• A Strabane family had started to wake their son last Sunday when they were told that he was still alive. Christopher McGonigle (35) was working on a supply ship to oil rigs in the North Sea when he went missing and it was presumed he had fallen overboard. In the early hours of last Saturday, while on night duty, he went for his break but failed to return. The ship was subjected to a number of searches and a full-scale air-sea rescue mission launched. This continued throughout Saturday and Sunday by which time it appeared that the missing man had drowned. That night, however, a crewmember, working out in the ship's gym, heard a noise. A further search resulted in Mr McGonigle being found in a virtually inaccessible roof space. Unconfirmed reports say that he had a broken leg, a back injury and was suffering from hypothermia. He also had a supply of food. No explanation has been put forward as to how he sustained his injuries but Scottish police say "there was no criminal aspect to the incident". Mr McGonigle was airlifted to a hospital in Aberdeen.
• David Morrison (52), from the New Lodge area of Belfast, was given a nine-year jail sentence and banned from driving for life after he pleaded guilty to a number of motoring offences, including causing death and grievous bodily injury by dangerous driving. Morrison failed to stop after he knocked down and killed Anne-Marie Dineen (38) in Andersonstown in February. The dead woman's friend, Veronica Armstrong, was badly injured in the incident and clung to the speeding car as Morrison served from side to side to shake her off.
• Michael Stone, the loyalist killer who is now accused of attempting to murder Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, has come up with a novel explanation for his armed attack on Stormont last month. In an open letter to Northern Secretary Peter Hain he apologies to all those who felt threatened by his artistic endeavours. He describes his attempt to enter the Stormont building as "performance art" inspired by the likes of Pablo Picasso and Éamonn McCann.
• Sinn Féin made news with the decision of Mitchel McLaughlin to abandon his Foyle constituency in favour of South Antrim in the Assembly elections planned for March 7. Without any representation in South Antrim currently, the Sinn Féin strategy is to target Alliance leader David Ford's seat; Martin Meehan came very close to winning this in the last Assembly elections. Other unusual activity was also taking place. Two Sinn Féin candidates were deselected although this has to be confirmed by the party leadership. Davy Hyland and Pat O'Rawe, who are currently MLAs for Newry-Armagh, were told by their local organisation that they will not be sitting this time round. The Irish Times predicts that Ms O'Rawe will be reinstated by HQ but that Mr Hyland will be left out in the cold because of his misgivings about the party's possible support for the PSNI.
• At the High Court in Belfast, bail was refused to David McCartan (35) and his wife Geraldine (34) who are accused of murdering Mr McCartan's mother. A prosecution lawyer claimed that the couple killed Annie McCartan (75) because she would not vacate her Warrenpoint house so the site could be used to develop apartments. The value of the proposed development was put at £2.4m.
• It was reported on Friday that Sinn Féin and the DUP had, over a number of days, been in intensive negotiations with the British Government, in an attempt to agree a timetable for devolving responsibility for justice and policing to the proposed new power-sharing executive. Senior Sinn Féin officials spent Friday reviewing progress and were expected to decide on whether to call a meeting of the party's Ard Comhairle over the weekend, but the review went on into Saturday. Such a meeting will decide if the time is right to convene an ardfheis to seek grass roots approval for a change in party policy, which would see it supporting the PSNI.
• Rhonda Paisley has withdrawn her application for assistance from the Equal Opportunities Commission after receiving an apology from the Democratic Unionist Party. The daughter of DUP leader Rev. Ian Paisley had alleged that she was not considered for the advertised position of policy officer as a result of sex discrimination.
• Property developer Armoy Homes has unveiled plans for a state-of-the-art greyhound track and a 31-bedroom hotel at Stranocum, near Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. The company already owns a popular bar and restaurant on the site chosen for the £12m development.
• Seán Hoey (37), who is charged with carrying out the 1998 Omagh bombing, has failed in his attempt to have the charges against him dropped. In Belfast Crown Court on Thursday Justice Weir ruled that the state of the evidence does not warrant the dropping of the charges.
• James McGuigan (30) and his daughter Lorna (8), from Belfast, were killed in a road accident in Co. Antrim on Friday. In the single vehicle accident the car left the road and crashed into a tree near Crumlin at around 9:00am. Two other daughters, aged four and five, were critically injured.
• Matthew Dagens (15), from Crossgar, Co. Down, died that night at around 9:30pm when he was struck by a car while crossing the Ballydugan Road in Downpatrick.

Ireland Today: A case study in poor customer relations

I don't think I have ever heard a commercial company come in for more criticism from its customers than cable television company NTL did on Joe Duffy's Liveline programme. The company decided to increase its prices and apply a surcharge on those customers who failed to pay by direct debit. Both decisions annoyed many but it was NTL's customer service operation, or lack of it, which really irked people. Many had spent days trying to make contact by phone but without success. Some even found a Dublin address but it was always closed. The few who eventually got through to report faults were told that a repair engineer would call in three weeks. NTL refused to talk to RTÉ, claiming that it only dealt directly with its customers, causing hoots of derision from those who had failed to make contact. The Irish Times later suggested that, as the company would soon change its name to UPC, it wasn't too concerned about the bad publicity.

Bits and Pieces

• A three-man armed gang forced their way into a house near Kinsale, Co. Cork last Sunday morning and assaulted the three residents, a couple in their 50s and their teenage son. The man, who worked in Britain, was forced to provide details of his bank accounts in the Isle of Man, and the gang also stole credit cards and a laptop computer with bank details. The family managed to raise the alarm after the gang left and the bank was contacted before any attempt was made to remove money from the accounts or use the credit cards.
• The parents of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, murdered in west Cork in December 1996, returned to the site of their daughter's death at the weekend to lay a wreath. Speaking after a commemorative Mass yesterday, Mme Bouniol expressed the fear that she would die before anyone is brought to justice for the murder. She was also critical of the lack of cooperation between the Irish and French governments on legal matters.
• In an interview with the Irish Times marking his ten years as Primate of Ireland, Archbishop of Armagh Seán Brady, spoke of the deep concern of many at the "growing coarseness and aggression" that has become a feature of modern Ireland. This, he said, was evident on the roads, in binge-drinking and the sexualisation of children. He blamed the change on the "marginalisation of religion", a development that has created "a very deep concern, particularly by parents, about where we are going morally and spiritually". Probably what captured most attention was his question, "Do we want to have a culture of Podge and Rodge, or one of decency and respect?" Not that people were falling over themselves to answer this. Instead they focused on the two puppets, late night regulars on RTÉ 2, who could be described as offering the ultimate in bad taste, a description with which even their fans could hardly disagree.
• The Irish Times reports that a Department of Foreign Affairs audit committee is concerned at the management of the Irish Aid budget. It notes that staffing in the department's evaluation and audit unit are "barely adequate", leaving it "susceptible to sickness, emergencies, staff departures, etc.". The committee is also concerned at the implications of decentralising the Irish Aid unit to Limerick; experienced staff who are not interested in relocating are being replaced with staff from other departments. The separation of the Irish Aid unit from the rest of the Department could, it is feared, lead to inconsistencies with other aspects of foreign policy. The practice of using consultants to prepare reports was questioned, as often there is insufficient staff to implement the resultant recommendations.
• The Government on Tuesday published details of a strategy aimed at making the country properly bi-lingual over the next 20 years. The plan was launched by Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív, accompanied by the entire cabinet. Among the targeted areas are education and broadcasting. Mr Ó Cuív noted that policies to date have been successful as successive censuses have shown increasing numbers of people able to speak Irish, while Minister for Justice Michael McDowell noted that 100,000 pupils attend Gaelscoileanna every day.
• Det. Sgt John White, who has been severely criticised in more than one report from the Morris Tribunal, has been dismissed from an Garda Síochána. He is, however, appealing the decision. He was told that his dismissal arose from the conclusions of the Morris Tribunal in relation to the Ardara module. This found that he had planted an explosive device at a television transmitter so that he could arrest, under the Offences Against the State Act, a number of people who had been protesting against the company which owned the transmitter. That particular Act allowed for their detention for three days rather than 12 hours.
• Two members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, a New York-based religious order, have arrived in Limerick where they are to open a friary in the city's Moyross area. The order already has a presence in New York, London, Honduras and Albuquerque where they work with deprived communities.
• It is expected that from 2008 onwards taxis which are more than nine years old will be considered unfit for use. This is being proposed by Taxi Regulator Ger Deering but he first plans a period of public consultation on that and other issues.
• Ireland's celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin is currently taking action in the High Court in London against a British garden designer. Mr Gavin alleges that Andrew Sturgeon, winner of the gold medal at this year's Chelsea Flower Show, infringed his copyright with the winning design.
• On Tuesday, gardaí in Dublin arrested a 23-year-old man after 17kg of heroin, worth around €4m, was found in his car.
• A garda on foot patrol in the Blanchardstown area of Dublin received minor injuries when he was knocked down while attempting to stop a car on Tuesday evening. Garda mobile units were alerted and some time later a car was stopped on the M50. The driver was arrested and has since appeared in court, charged with a number of motoring offences.
• "Mad cow disease", or BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), is still with us although on a very much reduced scale from previous years. This year the total number of cases detected was 41, down from 69 last year and 333 in 2003.
• Those who were lucky enough to be chosen to visit Newgrange on the shortest day of the year were rewarded with a perfect sunrise illuminating the burial chamber just before nine o'clock on Thursday morning.
• Four gardaí jumped into the water at Custom House Quay in Wexford on Friday to rescue a local man who had been seen to jump from the parapet of the bridge. Gardaí James Maher, John Joe Sinnott, Eric O'Sullivan and John O'Flynn were treated at Wexford General Hospital for hypothermia, as was the man they rescued.

National Lottery Winning Numbers:

• Wed: 27, 30, 35, 39, 42, 45 (44) - the jackpot of €3.96m wasn't won.
• Sat: 13, 17, 29, 31, 34, 39 (2) – the jackpot of €5.93m wasn't won.

Government's response to organised crime

Crisis talks on organised crime took place on Monday at a meeting attended by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Justice Minister Michael McDowell, Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy and Assistant Commissioner Fachtna Murphy. They were expected to discuss the speeding up of the court system, tightening bail laws and the level of garda resources.
It was later announced that the DPP will have a greater role to play in opposing bail applications; additional staff will be allocated to prepare cases for court in a more expeditious manner; more civilians will be recruited to carry out administrative work normally carried out by gardaí, 1,200 new garda patrol cars (to replace older vehicles) will be on the road within a month, and already the order has been placed for a long-awaited radio communications system.
Later in the week Mr McDowell announced that he had signed new regulations which allow gardaí to detain suspects for questioning about certain crimes for up to 24 hours, instead of 12 as at present.

Gangland shootings continue

Another innocent man was shot dead in yet another gangland shooting, this time in Limerick. Noel Crawford was hit in the abdomen as he stood at the front door of his mother's house in O'Malley Park, shortly before 3:00am on Monday. He was pronounced dead in hospital a short time later, on what was his 40th birthday. Seconds before the gunman appeared he was chatting to his brother Paul (32) who appears to have been the intended target. Their nephew, Jordan Crawford (5), was shot in the leg outside the same house in November, when again Paul Crawford was the target. According to the Irish Times, shots were also fired at the house on November 3 and, in July a 15-year-old boy was injured when shots were fired at Paul Crawford as he sat in a car with a woman and child.
Paul Crawford was arrested later on the day of his brother's death, for allegedly making threats to kill a woman. When he appeared in court he was remanded in custody after a senior garda officer described him as a leading member of the McCarthy-Dundon criminal gang who, if released, would attempt to exact revenge for his brother's murder. He was back in court again on Thursday, seeking bail to attend his brother's funeral. Also in court was Elizabeth Sparling, who had made a formal statement to gardaí about the threat. She now claimed that she was satisfied that she had nothing to fear from the accused, a man she had known all her life. A garda witness countered this by stating that Ms Sparling had only retracted her earlier statement as a result of further bullying and intimidation by members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang. Bail was again refused.
Shots were also fired in two separate incidents in the city before and after Monday morning's' murder. At about 11:30pm on Sunday a man was injured in the shoulder in Cliona Park, but this shooting is not believed to be connected to the feud. Shots were later fired at an occupied house in O'Malley Park, in all likelihood this was in response to the murder.
At lunchtime on Wednesday another well-known Limerick criminal, Brian Collopy (34), received two gunshot wounds in the leg in a drive-by shooting near the city centre. Collopy was in the news a couple of years ago when the Criminal Assets Bureau confiscated and sold his bungalow at Fedamore in Co. Limerick.
No one was injured when two shots were fired through the window of a house in Swords, Co. Dublin late on Tuesday. Two nights later a man was injured in Clondalkin when a shotgun was fired through the window of his home

Judges take umbrage

On Thursday a member of the Supreme Court commented on the barrage of criticism directed at the judiciary since the gunning down of 20-year-old plumber Anthony Campbell, because he happened to be working in the house in which drug dealer Martin Hyland was hiding when he was shot dead. Speaking in the Court of Criminal Appeal, Justice Adrian Hardiman said, "The court pays the comments in question no attention whatever". Without mentioning any names he referred to what was very reasoned argument from Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, and politicians of all shades, as "strident and repeated public comments" which were given "wide and excited coverage in the media". Justice Hardiman went on to say that it was the duty of judges to decide cases "in accordance with the Constitution and the law" but ignored the fact that they were being accused of failing to do exactly that.
That night Minister McDowell held his annual Christmas drinks reception at King's Inn but, according to the Irish Times, the event was boycotted by the majority of the judges of the High Court and Supreme Court. This is being interpreted as the judges' way of showing that they consider themselves above criticism, from a Minister for Justice or anyone else. It did, however, only generate more criticism, making Mr McDowell something of a hero in the eyes of many.
On Friday evening RTÉ asked retired judge Justice Feargus Flood his view of Mr McDowell's comments. He was strident in his condemnation of a Minister attempting to give advice to the judiciary, but that only generated phone calls and text messages to RTÉ, mostly critical of Justice Flood.

• In dealing with the case before him Justice Hardiman refused to reduce the seven-year sentence imposed on a Carlow drug dealer. Cocaine with an estimated street value of €21k had been found in the bedroom of Andrew Dermody (24).
• In the week's first significant drug case Bernard White (33), of Clonshaugh in Dublin, was given a ten-year sentence for possession of cannabis worth €17,500. Judge Thomas Teehan accepted, however, that White was "a relatively minor cog in the operation" and suspended five years of the sentence.
• On Thursday Justice Joseph Matthews imposed a 12-year sentence on Keith Mahon (30), of Tallaght, who had been found in possession of cocaine with a potential street value of €1.9m. Mahon, who regularly processed the drug for other dealers, had pleaded guilty and had three years of his sentenced suspended.
• Anthony Swift (21), of Tallaght, could have had the mandatory ten-year sentence imposed on him when he pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine worth €70k and two unlicensed shotguns. Instead the judge set him free but with an eight-year suspended sentence hanging over him.

Dublin Port Tunnel opens to traffic

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on Wednesday opened the Dublin Port Tunnel, making it available to heavy goods vehicles and buses for journeys between the N1 at Whitehall and Dublin Port. The 4.5km tunnel, which cost €752m, was completed two years behind schedule but no one seems to be able to agree just how much it was over budget. HGVs and buses will not be subject to a toll, but when cars are eventually allowed to use it, probably late next month, they will pay a toll of between €3 and €12, depending on the time of day.
Since opening, the tunnel has experienced a few teething problems. While some trucks were allowed through after the official opening, the plan was to close the tunnel until 1:00pm. This deadline wasn't met due to the number of people attending the official opening and it was 4:15pm before the tunnel was fully operational.
On Thursday morning there were reports of congestion at Dublin Port with trucks unable to leave the area. Heavy traffic was also reported from the Dublin Quays with many trucks opting not to use the tunnel. A spokesman for Dublin Port claimed that it had not been made aware that the tunnel was closing overnight, and also blamed a mistimed traffic light for contributing to the difficulty. Dublin City Council responded by sending out a spokesman who disputed the traffic light story and who claimed that the port authority was informed that it was always the plan to close the tunnel for a number of hours each night in the initial stages. What had happened was that the traffic light was changed to give more time to traffic heading for the tunnel, but the majority wanted to go through the city and the 15 seconds allowed out of each 90 caused them to back up into the dock area.
Dublin quays were again at a standstill early on Friday as truckers coming off the ferries continued to avoid the new tunnel. It appeared that many of those heading west and south preferred to take their trucks through the city centre rather than pay the toll of up to €5.60 on the West-Link Bridge. It was also suggested that many foreign truckers were confused by the changes which had taken place. By eight o'clock the traffic problems at the Point roundabout had eased.

Christmas travel now a two-way process

Christmas has caught up on me far too quickly but as I write most of the family are currently travelling and will arrive in Galway sometime today, Saturday. We are excited about seeing them all, but most particularly our two small grandchildren who are flying in from Moscow. Over the past few days I have spent a great deal of time on the Internet monitoring flights across Europe to make sure that our sons and their wives and girlfriends and our grandchildren reached their destinations. I have monitored the progress of flights from Helsinki to Dublin. Bratislava to Dublin, Moscow to Dublin via Heathrow, and Edinburgh to Valencia via London Gatwick. The good news is that no one was delayed by more than an hour.
I am sure that the same concern was displayed one way or another in houses around the country. As recently as ten years ago the arrival of emigrants, returning home for Christmas, was the top story on most news bulletins in the days prior to Christmas. It still makes news but alongside a new phenomenon, that of immigrants going home to places such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Slovakia to be with their families at Christmas. We also have significant numbers of parents of immigrants arriving in Dublin from eastern Europe to spend Christmas in Ireland in the company of their sons and daughters. Although they will not arrive from Moscow until January 2, we are looking forward immensely to having our son Liam's mother-in-law and brother-in-law stay with us for a few days on what will be their first visit to Ireland. They will be here for the christening of Alina Maria on January 6.
The effects of the Celtic Tiger were very evident in Galway on Saturday morning. Pauline and I arrived in the Dunne's Stores car park at 8:10am and, while we did not have any difficulty in finding a parking spot, we took the first one we saw. The story was the same in the Galway Shopping Centre at 8:30am and when we reached the butchers from which we had ordered the turkey and ham there were 25 people ahead of us in the queue and it was no shorter when we left. The city centre was equally busy shortly after nine with long queues of cars waiting to enter the multi-storey car parks.

• Among the Christmas stories from different parts of the country we had:
  On Monday Dean Dr Houston McKelvey again took up position, in his black robes, outside St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast. In keeping with a tradition established by his predecessor he collected money for good causes throughout the week.
• Dublin was inundated with Santas on Wednesday when the students from Inchicore College of Education donned the appropriate gear to solicit funds for an organisation working with children of special needs.
• Students from Dublin's Belvedere College staged their annual sleep-out on the pavement at College Green, to raise funds for a number of selected charities.
• On Wednesday President Mary McAleese sent Christmas greeting to Irish troops serving overseas with the UN. Communication was via a live video link and some 200 relatives of the personnel involved were invited to Áras an Úachtaráin for the occasion.
• Civil Servants from the Department of the Taoiseach sang carols on the steps of Government Buildings on Thursday. To the fore was Mr Ahern himself, accompanied by Minister of State Tom Kitt.
• Overheard in a crowded Dunne's Stores on Thursday evening, "It was much easier in New York". For a significant number of Irish women (one report suggested that a recent Aer Lingus flight carried only a handful of men) Christmas shopping in New York has become a tradition. This year the drop in the value of the dollar made the visit even more attractive.

Haughey slated by Moriarty

The Moriarty report on the late Charles Haughey's financial affairs captured the total attention of the media. The report condemned the former Taoiseach on virtually all counts, accusing him of accepting payments of £9.12m between 1979 and 1996 in return for mostly unspecified favours. The sum involved is regularly converted into €45m "in today's money" but the Irish Independent went a stage further with the headline, "Haughey stole €45m".
While for the most part the tribunal failed to identify what Mr Haughey did in return for the money, Moriarty accused him of accepting £50k from a Saudi businessman in return for issuing 15 Irish passports to the man's Lebanese relatives. He was also accused of signalling that the Revenue Commissioners should reduce a potential tax bill for the Dunne family. The report went on to question the motives behind all Mr Haughey's political decisions.

• Allied Irish Bank was attacked for its firm denial to the Evening Press in 1983 that Mr Haughey had run up an overdraft of more than £1m. Various businessmen subsequently contributed to help bail the former Taoiseach out and the bank ultimately wrote off £393k.
• For many the most damning accusation was that Mr Haughey continued to seek donations to cover the cost of Brian Lenihan's liver transplant after sufficient was raised. The Tribunal claims that more than £265k was collected, but only £70k was required. Much of the excess, it was alleged, was "misappropriated.... for his personal use". The Lenihan family refuse to join in the condemnation, noting that their father's medical bills were taken care of in full. There was also an accusation that VHI broke its rules by contributing in excess of its guidelines towards the operation, which took place in the US.
• Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was mildly rebuked for signing blank cheques which allowed Mr Haughey to spend money from the leader's allowance account in whichever way he chose. It was this account which was used to pay personal bills at Dublin's Le Coq Hardi restaurant and to purchase Charvet shirts in Paris.
• Businessman Ben Dunne doesn't dispute the allegation that he gave more than £2m to Mr Haughey. He does insist, however, that he does not recollect making many of the payments. He has since repeatedly attacked the Tribunal for rejecting his evidence, for failing to seek information on his medical condition at the time, and for jumping to the wrong conclusion in relation to his meeting with Revenue chairman Séamus Paircéir. Mr Dunne reminded us that there was a time when he abused cocaine and he could not remember much of what he did while under the drug's influence.
• Financier Dermot Desmond also came out with all guns blazing when he attacked the tribunal. His financial contributions were more modest and made after Mr Haughey had left office. Despite the timing the tribunal believed it still had to investigate the transactions. It also rejected the claim that the money constituted a loan. Mr Desmond issued a statement in which he said, "I would like to thank the tribunal for exonerating me and finding that I received no favours from Charlie Haughey. I am sure the taxpayers are thrilled at the nine years and millions of euros in verifying the information which I issued in press statements in January 1998". Elsewhere he suggested that the legal team involved would have been fired long ago if they had worked in the private sector. The "delays" and "massive costs" involved were "inexcusable".
• The Haughey family described the report's findings as "perverse"; they particularly took exception to the claims about the Brian Lenihan Fund, the relationship with Ben Dunne and allegations about passports. They repeated the claim that the £50k paid by Sheikh Mahmoud Fustok was for the purchase of a yearling horse.
• Fianna Fáil politicians for the most part said nothing; Taoiseach Bertie Ahern regretted signing blank cheques and noted that he had initiated new systems leading to much tighter financial controls.
• Some of Mr Haughey's friends have tried to offset the report's findings by recalling the positive aspects of his political career.
• Opposition politicians used phrases such as "damning indictment" as they tried to spread the blame as far as possible within the Fianna Fáil party.
• The media was almost unanimous in its outrage at the behaviour of the former Taoiseach. The only exception, if I heard him correctly on RTÉ television, was Irish Times columnist John Waters. He argued that the Tribunal produced little evidence to support its many allegations, relying instead on assumptions and hypotheses.

News from Ireland - Week-ending December 23, 2006

The Christmas spirit of goodwill was evident on the streets of Ireland in the past week but, while the media did find space for occasional feel-good articles appropriate to the season, most attention was paid to hard and often unpleasant news stories. We had another gangland murder in the early hours of Monday and would have had more if the gunmen had their way. Once again the victim was an innocent man caught up in someone else's feud.
The official response to the recent spate of lawlessness continued to be debated but took a new turn when a Supreme Court judge responded to the criticism directed at the judiciary. That was quickly followed by the majority of senior judges delivering what was seen as a childish snub to Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.
The week's big story took no account of Christmas. On Tuesday Justice Michael Moriarty delivered his report on the financial affairs of the late Charles Haughey. While there was little new in it, the media saw it as an official imprimatur on all the unsavoury rumours that surrounded the former Taoiseach.
Nowhere was the Christmas spirit seen better than in the country's airports, that was if the focus was kept on the many emotional reunions in the arrival halls. The story was different for some of those leaving the country, particularly if they were heading for England or using a London airport as a transit point for another destination. The persistent fog at Heathrow created many problems here

S P O R T

Rugby
Heineken European Cup
........SU Agen 13........Leinster 25
........Munster 32 ........Cardiff Blues 18
........Ulster 29........London Irish 13
European Challenge Cup Pool Four
........Montpellier 35........Connacht 22
AIB All-Ireland League Division One
........Ballymena 29........Terenure C. 10
........Buccaneers 8........Garryowen 6
........Clontarf 26........Blackrock C. 22
........Dungannon 25........UCD 24
........Lansdowne 17........Galwegians 16
........UL Bohemians 15........Belfast quins 9
........Cork Con. 17........Shannon 17
........Dolphin 19........St Mary's C. 13
Sports Shorts
Soccer: Galway United are the main beneficiaries after the FAI unveiled the 12 teams that will make up the new National League Premier Division, to replace the Eircom League as the league comes under the governance of the IFA. The 12 teams making up the new top flight includes the top ten teams in last year's Premier Division: Shelbourne, Derry City, Cork City, Drogheda United, Sligo Rovers, UCD, St Patrick's Athletic, Bohemians, Longford Town and Bray Wanderers; First Division champions Shamrock Rovers; and Galway United. Waterford United and Dundalk were the main losers. Waterford lost their premier division status despite having a better recent record than Galway, while Dundalk were rated 12th in the country after finishing second in the First Division, above Galway, and winning their play-off against Waterford. But the teams were judged on their league standings for the past five years and on the structure of the club off the field – finances, fan base, facilities, youth structure, etc. There is no appeals process in the decision, but Dundalk are reportedly seeking legal advice as to their options.

Golf: European number one Pádraig Harrington finished eighth in a 16-strong field in the Target World Challenge, at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California. His opening round of 75 gave him a mountain to climb and although he finished on five-under this was 11 behind runaway winner Tiger Woods, who also hosted the tournament.

Following the success of September's Ryder Cup, another prestigious international golf tournament has been awarded to Ireland. The 2011 Solheim Cup, essentially the ladies' equivalent to the Ryder Cup featuring Europe and the United States, will be held in Killeen Castle in Co. Meath. The Jack Nicklaus-designed course is still under construction.
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Weather

It started out another wet and windy week until the winds eased on Thursday. We continued to get some very heavy showers but things looked better on Saturday with bright sunshine as I drove north from Galway. Before reaching Donegal town it had darkened over and from there to Moville we experienced a number of downpours and a few sunny spells. Sunday's occasional showers didn't amount to much.

It seems we are in for a change in the weather. While some parts may have the odd shower today, after that it will remain dry until late Thursday at the earliest. We should also have long bright periods after overnight fog clears. Nights are also expected to be frosty.

Latest Temperatures: Day 9C (48F).................Night 4C (39F)

Business News

• It was claimed at the first National Payments Conference in this country that Ireland is lagging behind its neighbours by the slow rate of movement towards a cashless society. It seems that we are much more likely to make purchases with cash and, at a time when most modern economies are abandoning them, we still use cheques regularly. The conference was told that by retaining these antiquated practices we are losing money on a grand scale. It was suggested that one reason for the slow adoption of credit cards is the government's decision to impose stamp duty on all cards.
• Revenue has published its latest quarterly list of tax defaulters who between them had to pay €31.6m in back taxes, interest and penalties. Of the 141 names on the list the one that stands out is that of Anthony Fogarty of Arklow. He had to come up with €2.75m while his company, P. Boland hardware merchants, was liable for a further €2.25m. Others caught for more than €1m were: Thomas Carroll, a retired optician from Roebuck, Dublin (€1.72m); Michael Keane, a company director from Ballsbridge, Dublin (€1.02m); Séamus Quinn, a retired company director and farmer from Enniscrone, Co. Sligo (€1.82m); Frederick Shekleton, a farmer from Dromconrath, Co. Meath, (€1.5m); and Peter Sweeney Snr, a farmer and potato merchant from Newcastle, Co. Dublin (€1.29m). When the value of unpublished settlements is included the total amount recovered during the quarter was €171m. The full list can be seen at http://www.revenue.ie/publications/lists/def2-7-06.pdf

Deaths

• John Brown, a developer from Rostellan, near Whitegate in Co. Cork, died last Saturday while working on a site he owned at Shangarry. The father of four was laying pipes in a ten-foot deep trench when the sides collapsed on him. Both the Gardaí and the Health and Safety Authority are investigating the accident.
• A 41-year-old man died on Saturday afternoon when he fell while roofing a farmhouse near Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry.
• The funeral took place on Tuesday of murdered Kilkenny postmaster Alan Cunniffe. As a mark of respect all post offices in the country closed from noon until 1:00pm and all postal workers observed two minutes' silence at noon. Ten days ago Mr Cunniffe (32) was shot in the stomach when he confronted a gunman who had just robbed his sub post office at John's Green in the city. A Chinese national, who was arrested nearby, was later charged with murder and remanded in custody.
• Gardaí investigating the murder of Mr Cunniffe have appealed for anyone who travelled all or part of the journey from Dublin to Kilkenny on the Bus Éireann Expressway coach on December 8, the day of the killing, to contact them.
• State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy carried out a post-mortem on the body of 19-year-old Ronan Halloran which was taken from Galway Docks on Tuesday afternoon. Mr Halloran, from Shrule, Co. Mayo, had come into the city with friends on Sunday night but became separated from them after they had been harassed by another group in Eyre Square.
• Gardaí in Co. Galway are seeking help in identifying the body of a man who was found at Lough Inagh Valley near Recess in Connemara. It appears that the man had been hill-walking and died from natural causes. His body was badly decomposed and could have been lying there since August. The man is described as being 35 to 50 years of age, 5ft 6ins to 5ft 11ins tall. He was wearing a yellow waterproof jacket, dark navy shirt, orange jumper with a Norwegian Flag and blue denim jeans.
• A further three of the previous week's road victims were named on Monday. The motorcyclist who lost his life on Dublin's Phibsboro Road last Saturday was Slovakian Zoltan Szafko (31), who had been living on the Navan Road in Dublin. Later that day William Day (22), Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow died in a single-vehicle accident at Shankill, Co. Dublin. The victim of the following morning's hit-and-run incident in Co. Laois was named as Arunas Urbelis (30), a Lithuanian who had been living in Tullamore. Carl Conroy (17), from Robertstown, Co, Kildare was the driver who died last Sunday evening when his car plunged into the Grand Canal from the Allenwood to Prosperous road. Of the 11 people who died as a result of road accidents during that week five were from overseas – one from England and four from eastern Europe.
• Frank Long (59), from Roches Buildings in Cork city, was fatally injured shortly before 5:30pm on Monday when he was struck by a van, while crossing the road at Farnanes on the Cork-Macroom road.
• A Polish man in his 20s was killed early on Wednesday when two trucks coming from the Limerick direction collided on the N7, before the Plunkett Street roundabout, in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. The victim was a passenger in one of the trucks.
• Patrick Cox (17) lost his life shortly before 9:00pm on Saturday when the car he was driving collided with a truck near his home at Arva, Co. Cavan.
• A 26-year-old man died in a two-car collision in Bruff, Co. Limerick, shortly before 10:00am on Sunday.

Property

Paul Appleby, Director of Corporate Enforcement, has warned owners of flats that their properties could be devalued if proper maintenance and management is not carried out. The Director's office has issued a draft guide for the management of apartment complexes, the failure to comply with which could lead to companies being struck off; a number have already been removed and a further 75 are under threat.

Entertainment

Country singer "Big Tom" McBride was readmitted to hospital last weekend, a fortnight after he had been treated for a heart attack. According to his family, the second hospital admission was to monitor the success of the singer's earlier surgery.

Education

Minister for Education Mary Hanafin announced last Sunday that €544m will be spent on next year's school building programme. More than half the total will fund new schools and extensions to existing schools, while some €100m will be allocated to a summer works scheme which will allow repairs and maintenance work on around 1,000 schools. The end result will be 15,000 places in new schools and 45,000 places in extensions and refurbished classrooms.

Speaking at the conclusion of a four-month period of studying at NUI Galway, actor Martin Sheen referred to the period as "the most extraordinary adventure". The star of "Apocalypse Now" said he had always dreamt of returning to his mother's native country to study, having never attended university. Speaking on Monday, prior to most of the week's violence, the actor commented, "I have never felt more at home. Ireland to me is the safest place on earth".

Conservation & The Environment

The Government has decided that 16 Moore Street in central Dublin should be listed as a National Monument. The modest red brick house briefly became the headquarters for the 1916 Rising after the leaders were forced to vacate the GPO. It was in this house that Pádraig Pearse wrote the surrender document.

Results of the latest survey from Irish Business Against Litter shows that the situation is improving and that Irish litter levels are now close to the European average. Fermoy was declared the cleanest town in Ireland, followed by Dundalk, Greystones, Wexford and Youghal (joint fourth) and Galway. In all 26 towns were considered Litter-Free, 20 were Moderately Littered and three had a Serious Litter Problem. That left four Litter Blackspots, with Dublin at the bottom of the list, below Maynooth, Naas and Navan.

A National University Ireland, Galway postgraduate student has discovered heavy metal contamination in South Park in the Claddagh area of Galway city. The park, often referred to as The Swamp, was reclaimed some 40 years ago and prior to that it was used as a landfill site. The council has warned people not to eat shellfish collected from the Claddagh area until tests have been completed.

Residents of Kildimo, Co. Limerick have, for some months, been at odds with their county council over the future of their water supply. They are happy with it as it is, while the council wants to connect it to the supply from the River Deel which the residents claim is polluted. Council workmen moved in, in the early hours of Tuesday to connect the local supply from Bleach Lough. Residents, however, quickly organised and disrupted the work.

A High Court ruling that the State could not refuse to grant a diving licence in respect of the RMS Lusitania is to be appealed to the Supreme Court. F. Gregg Bemis, the present owner of the vessel, which was torpedoed in 1915, had applied for a licence for a research expedition but the State is arguing that the expedition involves excavation rather than merely research.

The Irish Abroad

• Pat McDonagh, the owner of the Supermac's chain of fast-food restaurants, has won his claim against Kevin Blair, president of the US-based Claddagh chain of restaurants, of which he is a major backer. The settlement of $2m in compensatory and punitive damages refers to a sum of $20m given to Claddagh which Mr McDonagh claims was a loan rather than an investment.
• The man who pushed John Curran (52) in front of a London Underground train in July pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The Dungarvan, Co. Waterford man was returning from work and was standing on the crowded platform of Highbury and Islington station on the Victoria line when Mehmet Bala (20) pushed him in front of an incoming train. Doctors confirmed that Bala had been suffering from mental illness.

Travel & Tourism

Preliminary talks have taken place between officials of Cork City Council and the Railway Procurement Agency with a view to establishing a light rail system for the city. A feasibility study is to be carried out on the project, which would be completed in three phases beginning with a line from Ballincollig to Blackrock and Mahon; a feasibility study has already commenced on a water bus service for the River Lee.

If there is no multilateral deal between the EU and the US within the next few weeks Minister for Transport Martin Cullen has said the Government will look for a bilateral agreement with Washington. The Minister will await the outcome of a January meeting between the EU and the US on the "open skies" policy. The Government is anxious to negotiate additional US destinations for Aer Lingus.

When the Dublin Port Tunnel opens on Wednesday access will be confined to trucks. The authorities want to assess the impact of the change to existing traffic flows. A review will take place in mid-January and cars may then be allowed to use it.