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Car thief told only reason he is alive because he stole a BMW

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A joyrider was told he was alive because he stole a BMW car.

Thomas McDonagh was thrown into a field after he lost control of the car and ended up in a field before it hit a tree.

McDonagh, aged 23, appeared before Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal charged with dangerous driving and theft.

The court was told that McDonagh stole the car from the village of Killea on March 18th, 2017.

Garda forensic officers estimated the car thief was travelling at a speed of 91kph when he tried to take a bend which was only safe to take at a maximum speed of between 33kph and 44kph.

A Garda patrol came across McDonagh after he had left the road and ended up in a field with a serious head injury.

Solicitor for McDonagh, Patsy Gallagher said his client was lucky to be alive today.

“My client was lucky to be in the kind of car he was in – it saved his life. It was a BMW 520 SE.

“He has simply no recollection of what happened.

“He had an internal bleed and needed a lot of medical attention and does not remember anything,” he said.

Garda Inspector Michael Harrison agreed saying “It is a miracle the defendant is here today.”

The court heard that McDonagh, who is on remand at Castlerea Prison, traveled for about a mile and a half before he crashed.

He had earlier taken the car after finding the keys on the car’s central aisle.

Judge Paul Kelly was told that the owner of the car was out the value of the car but had not been compensated.

He said that the crime deserved a sentence of six months in prison but taking into account that McDonagh had no previous convictions, he was reducing the sentence to three months.

He also disqualified the accused man from driving for two years and fined him €300.


Pizza shop owner stole €16,000 and lost it gambling on horses

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A restaurant owner stole more than €16,000 from his ex-girlfriend and put the money on two horses at a local betting shop.

Raul Andrei appeared at Letterkenny District Court in charged with theft from his ex-partner when she was out of her home.

Andrei, aged 46, had invested €70,000 and opened up a franchise of Apache Pizza in Letterkenny which he ran for a number of months.

However, he developed a gambling habit after visiting a local casino close to his restaurant.

The court heard that on October 14th last while his partner was visiting friends in Dublin he gained access to the former house he shared with Oana Grigore at The Green, Ballymacool, Letterkenny.

He stole the money and then went to his local branch of BoyleSport Bookmakers.

He placed €10,000 on one horse and €6,720 on another in two different horses at two different race meetings but both lost.

Solicitor Ciaran Haran said his client had lost a considerable amount of money the previous day and was trying to win the money back.

The accused told a friend that he had lost the money and was feeling suicidal as a result.

He also telephoned his ex-partner and told her what had happened.

He was later admitted to a psychiatric unit locally and received treatment.

Mr Haran said the money which the accused had stolen had come from the business and he had given it to his ex-partner.

The court was told that Ms Grigore had hidden the money as she was aware of the accused man’s gambling habit.

Mr Haran said his client was very remorseful and that he had attended Gambler’s Anonymous and was also attending church meetings and added that he no longer gambles.

Andrei has tried to pay back some of the money but the victim had refused the offer.

The couple has one child together and Andrei still pays his child’s creche fees and sees the child regularly.

The court heard that the accused, of Sprackburn House, Letterkenny, is now working with a local company, earns €600 per week and is anxious to pay the money back to his ex-partner.

He has no previous convictions of any kind.

Judge Paul Kelly adjourned the case to June 24th for a probation and community service report and also a to get a victim impact statement.

Woman who stole chicken fillets is jailed for one month

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A woman has been jailed for stealing a packet of chicken fillets from a frozen food store in Co Donegal.

Florica Rostas appeared at Letterkenny District Court charged with taking the 25 fillets at The Igloo in Ballybofey on April 19th last.

Ms Rostas, a widow with three children, entered the shop with some children at was found with the food in her coat when she left the shop.

Solicitor Patsy Gallagher said he appreciated it had been claimed in the media previously that people from Ms Rosta’s country, Romania, had a reputation for such behaviour.

But he added “It’s all that she knew. She did this to feed her family and that’s the reality of her situation.”

However, Judge Paul Kelly said that Ms Rostas, of The Green, Convoy, aged 35 had 19 previous convictions and the vast majority of those were for theft.

Most of those sentences were suspended jail sentences and some fines.

Judge Kelly referred to the previous suspended sentences and said “It ends today. One month in prison.”

Donegal father sentenced to 11 years for raping daughter

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A Donegal father-of-six who repeatedly and regularly raped his teenage daughter has been jailed for eleven years.

Maurice Lafferty (50) of Corcullen, Castlefin, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to raping his daughter Annie Lafferty at his home on dates between November 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.

Garda Sergeant John Dorian told Paul Carroll SC, prosecuting, that the accused man’s wife worked in Letterkenny and lived away from the home four nights a week during the period of offending.

Gda Sgt Dorian said that on a night in November, 2010, Lafferty came into his then seventeen year old daughter’s bedroom. “You’re my good little girl, you’re the only one I can trust,” Lafferty said to her.

Judge Alex Owens said Lafferty had only pleaded guilty at the last minute.

Ms Annie Lafferty spoke after the court of how relieved she was after the court case. Watch on Virgin Media News here: 

Woman who stole from handbags in disco had downed a bottle of Prosecco

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A young woman who stole from two handbags after downing a bottle of Prosecco and shots while out with friends claims she couldn’t remember the crimes.

Carla Deehan appeared at Letterkenny District Court charged with the theft of a handbag and a Samsung Galaxy phone from patrons at the Pulse Nightclub in Letterkenny.

The thefts happened on February 3rd last.

Ms Deehan, from Strathfoyle in Derry pleaded guilty to the charges.

The court heard that staff at the nightclub had been approached by another woman saying her handbag had been stolen and Ms Deehan was identified.

Staff viewed CCTV footage and saw Deehan taking the handbag.

When arrested by Gardai she was also in possession of a Samsung Galaxy phone which had also been stolen earlier in the nightclub.

Ms Deehan’s solicitor said his client entirely accepted her involvement in the incident but had consumed a lot of alcohol including shots and a bottle of Prosecco and had no recollection of the events.

Judge Paul Kelly said a lot of people consume a lot of alcohol but they don’t steal handbags and phones in nightclubs.

Passing sentence he said he was taking into account her early plea and the fact that she had no previous convictions and applied the probation act.

“I don’t want to see her here again,” he added.

Lifford man appears in court on child porn charges

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A Lifford man has pleaded guilty to the possession of child pornography.

David Martin, aged 56, appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court today.

He was arraigned on one charge of possession of child pornography at 11 St Jude’s Court in Lifford on October 6th, 2016.

The court heard Martin had six videos of containing child pornography on the hard-drive of a desktop computer.

His barrister Peter Nolan told Judge John Aylmer that his client had pleaded guilty at the earliest possible opportunity.

He asked for probation and welfare report on his client as well as a psychiatric report on Mr Martin.

The case was adjourned to the October sitting of the court.

Company caught thief after installing new CCTV system at Donegal business

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A company installed a specialist CCTV system to catch a suspected thief after their accountant noticed their business was not performing as well as it should be.

Castle Interiors, a painting and decorating supply company in Co Donegal had noticed their books were not tallying over a period of time.

They installed a new surveillance camera system and observed one employee who was caught red-handed dipping in and out of the till.

Alan Moore appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court in Co Donegal today for sentence after previously being found guilty of ten counts of theft at the shop at the Courtyard Shopping Centre in Letterkenny.

A jury of twelve found him guilty on all charges by a majority verdict of ten to two.

The court heard how the owner of the shop, Rossa McCosker, had been informed by his accountant that there had been an unexplained shrinkage in stock.

The accountant also said the shop was not performing as it should be.

Employee Alan Moore, aged 54, had been reprimanded on a number of occasions for leaving the till open.

An older surveillance system which had to be played back by staff was then replaced but Moore had not been told of this.

When the new ‘live’ surveillance system was put in place, a member of staff in the company’s Ballyshannon office monitored the activity in the shop.

Between 22nd November, 2013 and December 2nd, 2013, the employee made a contemporaneous note of everything that happened in the shop while watching the live CCTV stream.

She had noted when to ring in some items into the till put money in or took money out.

The jury was shown footage of ten specific incidents when More took cash out of the till and put it into his pockets.

The court was told that a total of €794 had not been rung into the till and that €780 in cash had been taken from the till.

Because the items were not being rung into the till there was no excess of cash in the till to be lodged at the bank.

When approached about the incidents Moore became very angry and later claimed that Mr McCosker had wanted to close the shop and did not want to pay out redundancy money.

She was strongly denied and the court was reminded that the Government paid 60% of redundancy payouts in any case.

Detective Garda Paul Lynch gave evidence of interviewing Moore after he was arrested.

He admitted that he had operated a haphazard system for operating the till for a number of years but this had been tolerated by management.

In his victim impact statement, owner Mr McCosker said he operated a number of businesses and after this, he had found it difficult to trust employees.

“I am less able to trust individuals and am watchful and needy and I feel more vulnerable to fraud,” he said.

The court was told that Moore was now a 56-year-old married man with two sons and had no issues with drugs, drink or gambling.

Judge John Aylmer adjourned the case to decide on a sentence which he said he will pass on May 8th next.

Farmer Quirke found guilty of killing DJ Bobby Ryan

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Farmer Pat Quirke has been found guilty of murdering his love rival Bobby Ryan.

The jury at the Central Criminal Court returned the majority verdict of 10-2 this afternoon after deliberating for 20 hours and 39 minutes in a trial that has gripped the nation.

The trial lasted 15-week which the longest in the history of the State.

Quirke (50), of Breanshamore, Co Tipperary, always denied murdering Mr Ryan (52) on a date between June 3, 2011, and April 2013.

The prosecution alleged Quirke killed Mr Ryan so he could rekindle his affair with Mary Lowry, the widow whose farm Quirke was leasing. This was denied by Quirke.

Mr Ryan was in a relationship with Ms Lowry at the time of his disappearance.

Mr Ryan disappeared after leaving Ms Lowry’s house at Fawnagown, Co Tipperary at 6.30am on the morning of June 3, 2011.

His body was discovered 22 months later by Quirke in an underground tank on the farm, but the prosecution alleges this was a “staged” discovery.

Independent.ie reports that Patrick Quirke showed no reaction when the verdict was delivered.

He was taken into custody and will be sentenced at a later date.

A number of friends and relatives of Mr Ryan wept after the verdict was delivered.


Man charged in connection with Lifford burglaries

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A man has appeared in court today charged with a series of burglaries and crimes in Lifford over the last two months.

Detectives investigating recent commercial burglaries in the Lifford area arrested a male in the town on Wednesday, 1st May.

The man was detained at Letterkenny Garda Station and questioned over burglaries, attempted burglaries and criminal damage incidents in Lifford during March and April 2019.

He was subsequently charged in connection with the crimes and appeared before a sitting of Letterkenny District Court today (Thursday) where he was remanded on bail to appear before the courts on a later date.

Gardaí have thanked the public for their assistance so far in this investigation.

Anyone with further information regarding the burglaries can speak with detectives in Letterkenny by contacting Letterkenny Garda Station on 0749167100 or if they wish, contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

Man jailed for preying on student after giving him lift from disco

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A young student has revealed how he has become an alcoholic and has tried to take his own life by drinking bleach after he was sexually abused by a man after a disco.

The young man was sexually assaulted after losing his memory when he drank a can of Coke given to him by a man he got a lift home from a nightclub.

The victim, who cannot be identified, claimed he was waiting for a taxi in West Donegal when he was approached by Neil McBride.

The man, a student at Letterkenny Institute of Technology, was waiting for a taxi after a disco in Gaoth Dobhair.

McBride, now aged 48, asked the student if he wanted a lift home and on the way gave him a bottle of water to drink.

However, the accused ended up at his house and made the excuse that he needed to get something inside. He invited the student inside the house and gave him a can of Coke to drink.

The man said he became drowsy and went to the toilet where he phoned his mother telling her where he was.

The student said he lost his memory and the next thing he remembers is waking up in his boxer shorts with McBride fondling his penis and testicles.

McBride appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court on one charge of sexual assault on October 7th, 2007 which he denied. The court was told that after the incident, the student’s father and his brother arrived at McBride’s house and took him away.

The next day the student, who was aged 19 at the time of the assault, attended the local NowDoc service and said he suspected he had been raped.

The NowDoc service contacted Gardai and they arrived to interview the student who said he wanted to contact his parents first.

Letterkenny Courthouse (North West Newspix)

Retired Detective Garda Sgt Michael Carroll told the court that when he called the student’s house the following day, the boy’s father answered the phone. Mr Carroll said the boy’s father told him that they would not be making any complaint and that he was not to phone the house again.

The victim later told the court that his father told him that if he made a complaint against McBride their family would be forced to leave the area. However, a number of years later, on March 23rd, 2015, the former student made an official complaint and McBride was arrested.

During interview, McBride said it was the student who asked him for a lift. When it was put to him that the victim claimed he was drugged, McBride replied “If there were drugs in his system he didn’t get them in my house.”

McBride, of Derrybeg, Gaoth Dobhair, claimed it was the student who wanted to stay in his house and that when he went to put a quilt over him in a bedroom, he accidentally hit him in the groin area.

He added that although he was gay he had no interest sexually in the student as he knew he was dating a girl locally.

After deliberating for just under four hours the jury found McBride guilty of the single charge of sexual assault.

The court heard today (Thurs) how the young victim has been forced to drop out of college because his drinking became out of control.

He is now a member of Alcoholics Anonymous for the past nine months and has tried to take his own life on several occasions.

He added that his relationship with his father is non-existent because of the incident.

“It is next to impossible this get this out of my head,” said the student.

The court was told that McBride has two previous convictions, one for drunk driving and another for the possession of child pornography for which he received a one year suspended sentence in March 2015.

Passing sentence Judge John Aylmer said there was an element of premeditation to the assault and it was evident that the victim was in a state of intoxication at the time.

He sentenced McBride to 22 months in prison but suspended the last five months of the sentence under the agreement that he enter a bond to keep the peace for 12 months.

Family plead with Judge not to jail driver who killed their son

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The family of a young man who died in a horrific road crash has pleaded with a judge not to send his best friend to jail.

Evan Quinn was driving a car which hit a verge and then spun out of control killing pal Martin Strain and seriously injuring his girlfriend Kayleigh Fullerton in Inishowen on August 23rd, 2015.

The 19-year-old driver had just hours earlier been stopped by Gardai and told to replace two bald tyres.

However, in the early hours of the following morning, Quinn lost control of the car in horrific driving conditions at Tooban on the Inishowen Peninsula and killed his best friend.

The driver appeared for sentencing at Letterkenny Circuit Court where he pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death.

Quinn tested negative for drink and drugs but the court was told that his car had been defective.

Quinn, from Meenagorey, Buncrana and Mr Strain had collected Mr Strain’s girlfriend from Liberty’s nightclub and they were travelling onwards.

Around 4.30am near Tooban, Quinn failed to take a bend, mounted a grass verge and lost control of the car.

Garda forensic expert revealed how the car was sent into a clockwise spin and hit a kerb, a bus shelter, a lamp-post and finally a tree before coming to a stop.

The impact was so violent that the engine was thrown from the car.

Mr Strain, from Burnfoot, died at the scene and Ms Fullerton received various injuries but survived.

The court was told the driver was a ‘novice’ who had only been behind the wheel a number of months with a full license.

However, the late Mr Strain’s family said they did not want to see the driver put behind bars.

Mr Strain’s heartbroken father Hugh supported by his wife Elaine took to the witness box where he pleaded with Judge John Aylmer, not to jail the driver.

He admitted that they had been left with a void in their lives but he added that his “happy and hardworking” son would not have wanted Evan Quinn going to jail.

He said “We have forgiven Evan Quinn. What happened that night was a tragedy. But we are thankful that we have not been put through a trial.

“We want to let the world and the court know what a happy go lucky and hard-working son he was. Our hopes and dreams have been taken from us that we will never fulfil.

“He was a loving son and brother to Stephen. He was a friend to many, much more than we realised. He was loved by everyone.

“But we know that Martin would never have wanted Evan to have been sent to jail.”

The court was told by Quinn’s barrister Peter Nolan that his client’s own brother had been killed previously by a drunk driver and he was wracked with guilt over the death of his friend Martin.

He has not been behind the wheel since this incident, Mr Nolan added.

Judge John Aylmer said he would read the various reports in the case and deliver his sentence on Wednesday next.

Man appears in court after break-in to Letterkenny car dealership

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A man has been remanded in custody following a break-in to a car dealership in Letterkenny.

The man appeared before Judge Kevin Kilraine at a special sitting of Sligo District Court.

An application for bail was refused and the man is to appear by videolink before Judge Paul Kelly at Letterkenny District Court tomorrow morning.

The man’s appearance follows an incident in which a jeep was stolen from Diver’s Hyundai in Letterkenny and used to ram the gates of the premises.

Man remanded in custody after theft of €17,000 jeep at Divers Hyundai, Letterkenny

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A man has been remanded in custody following a break-in to a leading Donegal car showroom during which a jeep worth €17,000 was stolen.

Thomas McDonagh, aged 39, appeared at Letterkenny District Court charged with theft and criminal damage today.

McDonagh, of Letterkenny but with an address at Castelrea Prison, applied to the court to be released o bail.

However, bail was refused by Judge Paul Kelly on the grounds that McDonagh had already taken two bench warrants, the seriousness of the charges and the “strong evidence” in the case.

The case relates to an incident on Saturday morning during which there was a break-in to Diver’s Hyundai garage at Canal Road.

Considerable damage was caused to the premises and a jeep was stolen during the break-in which happened around 2.30am.

Owner of Divers Hyundai, Mr Terence Diver, was in court for the short hearing.

Solicitor for the accused, Mr Patsy Gallagher, asked for the case to be adjourned until May 20th for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Judge Kely agreed to the adjournment and ordered the accused to appear by video-link.

Divers Hyundai at Canal Road in Letterkenny.

Farmer accused of breaking neighbour’s cheekbone in row over cow

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A man has denied attacking his neighbour fracturing his cheekbone after a cow strayed onto his land in Milford.

Hugh McBride, aged 44, appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court charged with assaulting next-door neighbour Gerard McGarvey at Golan, Milford on July 8th, 2015.

Mr McGarvey claimed that on the morning of the alleged incident, he went to retrieve a cow which had strayed onto his neighbour’s land.

However, when he went onto the lands he claimed he was attacked by McBride.

Mr McGarvey, aged 51, said that at 8.30am on the morning in question he was going to work at Milford Mart when he noticed a cow at the back of McBride’s house.

He went to take his cow out but he said McBride shouted at him not to open the gate or come onto his lands.

Mr McGarvey walked on and he said McBride began to push him but he continued to walk past him.

When he did, he said he suddenly felt a blow to the right side of his head and claimed that McBride said to him “Hit me, hit me, hit me.”

Mr McGarvey said he walked on saying “I never reacted or I did not do anything to provoke him. I just wanted to take my cow out.”

The court was told from the outset that there is a long-running dispute between the men over a right-of-way between the neighbours which has been ongoing for more than 5 years.

Dr Karena Hanley told the court that she attended to Mr McGarvey when he attended her surgery.

She said he had been a patient of hers for many years and that he was in obvious distress when he called to her clinic in Milford.

She noticed redness to his face and it was swollen and asked Mr McGarvey to return to see her on July 14th.

She then suspected he may have a fracture to his cheekbone and when she sent him to the Emergency Department of Letterkenny University Hospital it was confirmed and Mr McGarvey had to undergo an operation.

Mr McBride denies the charge.

The trial, before Judge John Aylmer, is expected to last two days.

Man who killed best pal in horror crash walks free after family’s plea

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A Judge has listened to the pleas of a tragic family who asked him not to jail the man who killed their son in a horrific car crash in Co Donegal.

Michael Strain was just 19 when he was killed by his best friend Evan Quinn.

Quinn, who had only hours earlier been told to fix his defective car by Gardai, lost control of the vehicle after it slid on a grass verge in August 2015.

His car crashed through a bus shelter and hit a lamp-post and the impact was so severe that the engine was thrown out of the car.

Quinn, now aged 22, survived but Mr Strain was killed instantly and his girlfriend Kayleigh Fullerton was seriously injured following the crash at Tooban.

Quinn, who returned from Australia for the case, pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving causing death.

Letterkenny Circuit Court had heard that around 4.30am near Tooban, Quinn failed to take a bend, mounted a grass verge and lost control of the car.

A Garda forensic expert revealed how the car was sent into a clockwise spin and hit a kerb, a bus shelter, a lamp-post and finally a tree before coming to a stop.

The court was told the driver was a ‘novice’ who had only been behind the wheel a number of months with a full license.

Letterkenny Courthouse (North West Newspix)

However, the tragic family of the late Mr Strain, from Burnfoot, pleaded with Judge John Aylmer not to jail the driver.

Mr Strain’s father Hugh admitted that they had been left with a void in their lives but he added that his “happy and hardworking” son would not have wanted Evan Quinn going to jail.

He said “We have forgiven Evan Quinn. What happened that night was a tragedy. But we are thankful that we have not been put through a trial.

“We want to let the world and the court know what a happy go lucky and hard-working son he was. Our hopes and dreams have been taken from us that we will never fulfil.

“He was a loving son and brother to Stephen. He was a friend to many, much more than we realised. He was loved by everyone.”

Passing sentence Judge Aylmer said it was unclear from the forensic examination if Quinn was exceeding the speed limit or that a bald tyre was a contributory factor in the accident.

He said this was a “momentary lapse with devastating consequences” and said there were no other aggravating circumstances.

He added that he placed the offence in the mid-range of such offences and one which merited a sentence of one year in prison.

He reduced this to nine months because of a range of factors including the fact that he had no previous convictions and also the psychological effect killing his best friend had had on him.

Judge Aylmer said he had particular regard for the “sympathetic and charitable” statement from the Strain family imploring him not to impose a custodial sentence.

He said the probation services had said Quinn was at low risk of reoffending and also that he was suffering from “survivor’s syndrome” and was deeply remorseful for the accident which killed his friend.

He then suspended the nine months sentence for a period of 12 months and ordered Quinn to sign a bond to keep the peace for that period.

On another charge of assault in which Quinn stood on a man’s head, Judge Aylmer said he accepted that he was influenced by medication while drinking and ordered him to do 240 hours community service in lieu of 18 months in prison.

He also disqualified Quinn, from Meenagorey, Buncrana, from driving for four years.


Farmer in assault case claims his land over-run by neighbour’s animals

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A farmer accused of breaking the cheekbone of his neighbour in a row over a straying cow claims his land is constantly being over-run by cows, horses, sheep and even ducks.

Hugh McBride has denied striking neighbour Gerard McGarvey twice in the face at his home at Golan in Milford.

The father-of-three, aged 44, is appearing at Letterkenny Circuit Court where he denies assaulting Mr McGarvey, 51.

Mr McGarvey has told how he was set upon by Mr McBride on July 8th, 2015 when he went to retrieve a straying cow at 8.30am.

He said he required hospital treatment and had to undergo an operation after his cheekbone was broken when he was punched by McBride.

He also alleged that McBride called his family “orange bastards” but Mr McBride denied this emphatically.

The court was told that the background to the dispute is over a disagreement over a right-of-wayOn the second day of the trial, pictures of bruising and other damage to Mr McGarvey’s face were produced in court.

McBride has consistently denied that he ever assaulted the alleged victim. He said that when the cow trespassed onto his land he locked the gate and called the Gardai and said he was not going to let the cow out.

He said he had suffered enough trespassing of animals belonging to Mr McGarvey on his lands.

He referred to one occasion as far back as eight years ago when his daughter was two years old when his daughter was surrounded by cows belonging to Mr McGarvey on his front lawn.

He said “All I wanted was for the Gardai to see what my family was going through between me and him.”

He added that he never touched Mr McGarvey and said that it could easily have happened as a result of an accident on his farm.

Barrister for the accused, Mr Peter Nolan asked Mr McGarvey if it was not the case that he should have his animals under control at all times.

Mr McGarvey agreed but Mr Nolan asked him was it not the case that some of his sheep had actually broken out today (Wed) and the alleged victim agreed.

Mr McBride’s wife Maura said there is not a week that passes that Mr McGarvey’s animals do not stray onto their land and into their gardens.

She said she did not see her husband hitting Mr McGarvey as alleged.”There were no punches thrown. I didn’t see any punches,” she said.

She added that her husband had asked her to film the incident from the house but she said she could not manage her phone as she had a small baby in her arms at the time.

The case before Judge John Aylmer is expected to finish tomorrow (Thursday).

Young driver has ‘fair’ Garda to thank for not being jailed

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A young man who side-rammed a Garda patrol car at 100kph causing €4,500 of damage has been saved from going to jail by the Garda he tried to drive off the road.

Dominic Keys undertook a series of dangerous driving manoeuvres after he fled a Garda checkpoint in Co Donegal.

Keys, from Whitehall, St Johnston, drove at high speed through a number of townlands and villages pulling hand-brake turns.

The then 19-year-old was stopped at a routine Garda checkpoint at Ballyboe, Manorcunningham by Garda Barry Gallagher and Marcus O’Dowd at around 2am on October 7th, 2017.

The conditions were wet and as Keys driving a red Audi A4 approached the checkpoint he suddenly put the car into reverse and sped off forcing Gardai to launch a pursuit.

Gardai pursued Keys across several townlands as he performed a number of danger manoeuvres and drove on the wrong side of the road and at high speed.

At one stage Gardai managed to pull up alongside the red Audi being driven by Keys but he turned the steering wheel into them and caused a side impact ramming.

Keys managed to drive off but Gardai recognised the driver and called to his father’s home where they told his shocked father Martin about what had happened.

Dominic Keys called to see Gardai and admitted the offences very early on and apologised to Gardai for his behaviour.

He took to the witness box and told the court he did not know what came over him on the night of the incident.

He said “I’m disgusted with myself and that I put other people at risk – the Gardai and the other people in the car, It was pure stupidity. It was completely out of line, I’m 22 now.

“I have never driven since. It was nobody else’s fault but my own. My dad has always given me support and I’d be lost without him.”

Letterkenny Circuit Court heard Keys had pleaded guilty to three charges, two of dangerous driving and another of endangerment.

Garda Barry Gallagher spoke up on behalf of the accused and said he knew him socially from playing football and that this event was completely out of character for Keys.

He agreed with barrister Fiona Crawford that the accused was from a very good family background.

Garda Galagher said “I got the impression he made a very bad decision and that’s what happened. He’s from a good decent family, he’s a good guy. I briefly know him through football and he is a decent fella. I would know him socially and this is out of character.”

Barrister Ms Crawford added that her client was very sorrowful for what had happened and that he hasn’t been behind the wheel since the incident more than a year and a half ago.

Passing sentence Judge John Aylmer described Keys’ driving as “appalling” and placed it in the mid-range of such offences.

However, he said Keys dealt with the incident in the appropriate manner from the outset with a plea and noted that he had no previous convictions.

He said the endangerment charge warranted a sentence of two and a half years in prison and the dangerous driving charges merited sentences of six months.

However, because of the mitigating circumstances, he would reduce these to 18 months and four months each.

Taking into account all the factors in the case he said he was prepared to impose a 240 hours community service sentence on Keys in lieu of the 18 months in prison and took the other two charges into consideration.

He told the accused that he had Garda Gallagher to thank in many ways that he was not facing a custodial sentence saying he was “extremely fair if not sympathetic and charitable” towards him.

Letterkenny man who stole from employer is jailed for 21 months

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A Letterkenny man who was caught stealing from his employer has been jailed for 21 months.

Alan Moore, of Lurgybrack, had pleaded not guilty to ten counts of taking cash from Castle Interiors in the Courtyard Shopping Centre.

However, after a five day trial, the 56-year-old was found guilty of the charges and was released on bail to be sentenced yesterday at Letterkenny Circuit Court.

Judge John Aylmer said the systematic nature of the thefts could not be ignored.

He also pointed to the fact that Moore had tried to claim he was targeted by his employer to stop him paying a redundancy payment as the shop was closing which he said was not the case.

He added that Moore had frustrated the investigation by giving false explanations when various charges were put to him during interview.

Judge Aylmer said he placed the offences in the mid-range and that each charge merited a prison sentence of two years.

However, because Moore had no previous convictions and had previously enjoyed a long history of employment and had a low risk of reoffending, he reduced the sentence to one of 21 months with all to run concurrently.

The trial has heard that Moore’s company installed a specialist CCTV system to catch a suspected thief after their accountant noticed their business was not performing as well as it should be.

Castle Interiors, a painting and decorating supply company had noticed their books were not tallying over a period of time.

They installed a new surveillance camera system and observed one employee who was caught red-handed dipping in and out of the till.

The court heard how the owner of the shop, Rossa McCosker, had been informed by his accountant that there had been an unexplained shrinkage in stock.

The accountant also said the shop was not performing as it should be.

Employee Alan Moore, aged 54, had been reprimanded on a number of occasions for leaving the till open.

An older surveillance system which had to be played back by staff was then replaced but Moore had not been told of this.

When the new ‘live’ surveillance system was put in place, a member of staff in the company’s Ballyshannon office monitored the activity in the shop.

Between 22nd November, 2013 and December 2nd, 2013, the employee made a contemporaneous note of everything that happened in the shop while watching the live CCTV stream.

She had noted when to ring in some items into the till put money in or took money out.

The jury was shown footage of ten specific incidents when More took cash out of the till and put it into his pockets.

The court was told that a total of €794 had not been rung into the till and that €780 in cash had been taken from the till.

Because the items were not being rung into the till there was no excess of cash in the till to be lodged at the bank.

When approached about the incidents Moore became very angry and later claimed that Mr McCosker had wanted to close the shop and did not want to pay out redundancy money.

She was strongly denied and the court was reminded that the Government paid 60% of redundancy payouts in any case.

Detective Garda Paul Lynch gave evidence of interviewing Moore after he was arrested.

He admitted that he had operated a haphazard system for operating the till for a number of years but this had been tolerated by management.

In his victim impact statement, owner Mr McCosker said he operated a number of businesses and after this, he had found it difficult to trust employees.

“I am less able to trust individuals and am watchful and needy and I feel more vulnerable to fraud,” he said.

The court was told that Moore was now a 56-year-old married man with two sons and had no issues with drugs, drink or gambling.

Farmer accused of breaking neighbour’s cheekbone in row over cow found not guilty

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A farmer accused of breaking his neighbour’s cheekbone in a row over a straying cow has been found not guilty.

Hugh McBride, aged 44, was accused of punching Gerard McGarvey, 51, at Golan, Milford.

A three day trial at Letterkenny Circuit Court heard completely conflicting reports of an alleged assault on July 8th, 2015.

McBride emphatically denied that he ever assaulted his neighbour and claimed he may have been picked injuries to his face while working on his farm.

However, Mr McGarvey claimed it was McBride who struck him twice in the head which resulted in him having his cheekbone broken and being forced to have an operation.

The pair agreed that a dispute between them stemmed back to a long-running row over a right-of-way between them.

Mr McGarvey claimed that at 8.30am on the morning of the incident he went to retrieve a cow which had strayed onto his neighbour’s land.

He went to take his cow out but he said McBride shouted at him not to open the gate or come onto his lands.

Mr McGarvey walked on and he said McBride began to push him but he continued to walk past him.

When he did, he said he suddenly felt a blow to the right side of his head and claimed that McBride said to him “Hit me, hit me, hit me.”

Mr McGarvey said he walked on saying “I never reacted or I did not do anything to provoke him. I just wanted to take my cow out.”

Dr Karena Hanley told the court that she attended to Mr McGarvey when he attended her surgery and that he was later diagnosed with a fractured cheekbone.

In his evidence, the accused claimed his land was constantly being over-run by cows, horses, sheep and even ducks.

He said he had suffered enough trespassing of animals belonging to Mr McGarvey on his lands.

He referred to one occasion as far back as eight years ago when his daughter was two years old when his daughter was surrounded by cows belonging to Mr McGarvey on his front lawn.

He said “All I wanted was for the Gardai to see what my family was going through between me and him.”

He added that he never touched Mr McGarvey.

Barrister for the accused, Mr Peter Nolan asked Mr McGarvey if it was not the case that he should have his animals under control at all times.

Mr McGarvey agrees but Mr Nolan asked him was it not the case that some of his sheep had actually broken out duirng the trial and the alleged victim agreed.

Mr McBride’s wife Maura said there is not a week that passes that Mr McGarvey’s animals do not stray onto their land and into their gardens.

She said she did not see her husband hitting Mr McGarvey as alleged.

“There were no punches thrown. I didn’t see any punches,” she said.

She added that her husband had asked her to film the incident from the house but she said she could not manage her phone as she had a small baby in her arms at the time.

Summing up Judge John Aylmer told the jury of eight men and four women that they must come to a decision in a cold and calculated manner.

He said they must not act of sympathy for either party if they believe that Mr McGarvey was attacked or if Mr McBride’s land was over-run by straying animals.

The jury took two hours and 15 minutes to return a not guilty verdict.

Sisters awarded €17,000 after father crashed into wall

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Two children have been awarded €17,000 following an accident during which their father crashed into a wall.

The children, who are sisters, were both wearing seatbelts but were thrown forward and then backwards during the accident in April, 2016.

Both were treated by Letterkenny-based GP Dr James McDaid who said they were suffering from classic whiplash symptoms.

Barrister Gareth McGrory told Letterkenny Circuit Court that the children were 5 years old and 4 years old at the time of the accident.

Both complained of chest pain and muscle injury was diagnosed when they attended Letterkenny University hospital.

Both have since made a full recovery, the court was told.

Judge John Aylmer said he was happy to recommend the offer of €17,000 for each girl.

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