A DRUG dealer nabbed by Gardai operating in Letterkenny has been given community service in lieu of a nine-month prison sentence.

Ciaran McCormack, 27, from Lurgy, Letterkenny, pleaded guilty before the District Court in the town.

He was arrested by gardai on the Port Road in Letterkenny on August 22 last.

Judge Paul Kelly said he had been concerned that McCormack had been “attempting to minimise your role in the offences” during a meeting with probation officers.

“This is of some concern; you were supplying drugs and they are serious offences. There was a substantial amount of money involved in this case.”

However the judge said McCormack had belatedly acknowledged his actions and the probation service said he was suitable for community service.

He imposed a nine month prison sentence but substituted 180 hours community service. He was also fined €150.

A man has been jailed for two years for his part in a huge cannabis operation despite his friends coming together to get him a one-way plane ticket out of Ireland.

Sin Lay Kok – jailed for two years. Copyright Northwest Newspix.

Sin Lay Kok was caught by Gardai at the cannabis factory in Portsalon in September, 2014.

The Malaysian man was caught red-handed at a house in Magherawarden which had been turned into an elaborate growhouse.

Officers arrived at the house following a surveillance operation by a team at Milford Garda station and found the accused with a bag of cannabis clippings in a bag outside the house.

Garda Liam O’Riordan told Letterkenny Circuit Court that they had found up to 321 empty pots used to grow cannabis.

They also discovered cannabis clippings and buds which had all been dumped at the rear of the house which had been rented from an unsuspecting local man.

The total street value of all the plants, buds and emptied pots was close to €300,000.

It is understood the operation had been abandoned because a transformer at the bungalow had blown and the operation’s heat source had been taken away.

Kok told officers he was merely a cleaner at the house but did realise the plants were illegal.

He received €700 to clean the house on one occasion and a further €1,000 to clean it on another.

He also occasionally clipped the plants.

He told the court that he was driven to the house but did not know who the men were who took him there.

Barrister Ivan Toner told the court that Kok was merely a small cog in the wheel and there was also an element of fear for his safety.

He said his client did admit cleaning the heating lamps at the house but only planned to stay at the premises for a few days.

He was told to keep to himself and to turn out the lights at night.

He said his friends had come together and they had arranged to pay for a flight so he could leave the country.

However, Judge John O’Hagan said he found it hard to believe that Kok was simply just a cleaner at the house.

“If he got that kind of money then I think I would like to go into the cleaning business myself,” he said.

He referred to the amount of Garda time spent on detecting such growhouses and also the “terrible damage this stuff dos to our young people.”

He said he could recommend Kok’s deportation but that was a matter for the authorities.

He said he could not give him sweets for breaking the law and that he had to be punished.

He sentenced Kok to two years in jail for the charge of possession of drugs and backdated the sentence until the date Kok was arrested on September 4th last year.

He also made an order for the destruction of all the drugs.

The parents of four families who failed to have their children attend school regularly have appeared in court.

Kids failed to turn up for class

They pleaded guilty to “failing to cause a pupil to attend schools” after charges were brought by the Child and Family Agency.

The parents appeared at Letterkenny District Court.

The court heard that charges related to ten children failing to attended two secondary and two nationals schools on dates in September and May 2014.

The parents was charged for failure to attend a number of schools including Loreto Convent, Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, St Eunan’s College and Scoil Cholmcille.

The children involved ranged in age from eight to 14.

The court heard that the children had been “absent more than they were present” but there has been “dramatic improvements” in attendance recently.

Judge Paul Kelly adjourned sentencing to June 2.

A NEWTOWNCUNNINGHAM man told a waiter he was a ‘dead man’ after refusing to pay his bill at The Yellow Pepper restaurant in Letterkenny, a court has heard.

Justin Fleming

Justin Fleming, 44, from Colehill Park, was roaring and shouting at staff after they asked him to settle a €66 bill run up by him and his friends.

The court heard his friends had left, leaving him to look after the bill.

He told the waiter: “You’re a dead man.”

When gardai arrived, he said he would kill their wives and children.

Defence solicitor Donough Cleary said Fleming had since paid the bill, didn’t remember the evening in question and was mortified by his behaviour.

Fleming was fined €100.

A man with ‘super human’ strength jumped through a reinforced window and later had to be restrained by SEVEN gardai who failed to stop him with pepper spray and batons.

Theo Boake pictured laving court. Pic copyright of Northwest Newspix.

Theo Boake broke into Letterkenny technology company Pramerica and attacked the company’s €300,000 server system with a fire extinguisher.

The 24 year old student claims he did not know what he was doing and claims he is not guilty by reason of insanity.

He appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court where he is charged with a number of offenses of causing criminal damage and assault.

A jury of eight women and four men were shown amazing CCTV footage of Boake jumping through a reinforced wire glass pane before going on to attack servers with a fire extinguisher.

Mr Gerard Grant, Vice-President of Information Technology at Pramerica Systems, said there were fears over the future of the computers following the attack on November 3rd, 2012.

The following day Gardai were called when Boake went berserk in a phone shop in Letterkenny when his debit card would not work.

He had tried to pay for €1,700 worth of goods including smart phones on his debit card at the Carphone Warehouse shop but it was declined several times.

He then smashed the machine by punching it and the manager of the store called the Gardai.

When Gardai arrived, Boake, of 76 Ballymaccol Woods, Letterkenny, reacted violently and had to be forcefully arrested.

He was taken to Letterkenny Garda station where a doctor was called to examine a cut to his hand.

The doctor recommended he receive hospital treatment but as he was getting into an ambulance, he fled the scene of he Garda station at Newline Road.

Gardai eventually caught up with the prisoner but it took at least seven gardai to restrain him.

Garda Damian Mulkearns said he had never witnessed anything like the strength of Boake.

“It was almost as if he was super human. I have never seen anything as strong. The incapacitating spray did not have any affect on him,” he said.

Garda Marcus O’Dowd said he had used his baton on the prisoner but it did not have any affect either.

“I hit him with my baton but it had not affect at all. It was like hitting a wall. I pepper sprayed him but it had no affect either. He punched me in the face and I had a black eye and a bit of bruising.

“I have never seen the pepper spray not working. It doesn’t matter what size you are – you usually foam from the mouth and it should blind you for around ten minutes. I have never seen it not working,” he said.

Barrister for Boake, Mr Peter Nolan said his client was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and was normally a very mannerly young man.

Ms Patricia McLaughlin, barrister for the state, said almost all of the facts of the case were admitted by the defense but it was up to the jury to decide if Mr Boake was not guilty by reason of insanity.

The case continues today.

Theo Boake pictured laving court. PIc copyright of Northwest Newspix.

A man with ‘super human’ strength who had to be restrained by seven Gardai after going berserk has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Theo Boakye broke into a technology company and attacked its €300,000 server system with a fire extinguisher.

The 24 year old student later escaped Garda custody and was involved in a confrontation with several Gardai in Letterkenny, Co Donegal.

However, Gardai said Boakye had incredible strength and did not react to being pepper-sprayed or being struck with batons.

Boakye, described by his barrister Peter Nolan as a ‘courteous and gentle young man’, had suffered a psychotic episode on November 3rd and 4th, 2013, Letterkenny District Court was told.

A jury were shown terrifying CCTV footage of Boakye jumping through a reinforced wire glass pane before going on to attack servers with a fire extinguisher.

The following day Gardai were called when Boakye went berserk in a phone shop in Letterkenny when his debit card would not work.

He had tried to pay for €1,700 worth of goods including smart phones on his debit card at the Carphone Warehouse shop but it was declined several times.

He then smashed the machine by punching it and the manager of the store called the Gardai.

When Gardai arrived, Boakye, of 76 Ballymaccol Woods, Letterkenny, reacted violently and had to be forcefully arrested.

He was taken to Letterkenny Garda station but escaped while being brought to hospital.

Gardai Damian Mulkearns said the prisoner had ‘super-human’ strength while his colleague Garda Marcus O’Dowd said pepper spray or batons simply did not work on Boakye.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Dermot Ward said he discovered that Boakye had suffered from acute psychotic episodes during which he felt paranoid but also felt he may have special powers.

He said this particular type of mental illness was more common in people from “the African race.”

He added that most likely Boakye would not even have know he was committing such crimes.

He added that he found Boakye to be a personable young man and that if he stayed on his medication, he was very unlikely to encounter another similar psychotic episode.

The jury took a half hour to find Boakye not guilty by reason of insanity of all seven charges including assault, causing criminal damage and escaping Garda custody.

Judge John O’Hagan described the case as most unusual and said that in his seventeen years as a Judge it was only the second time he had come across a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict.

He discharged Boakye on the condition that he continues to attend for psychiatric check-ups, takes his medication and that he stays away from alcohol and drugs.

Two young men who gagged and bound a girl before robbing her have escaped a lengthy jail sentence after being given a taste of prison.

Lee McLaughlin was given a taste of prison. PIc by Northwest Newspix.

Lee McLaughlin, and James Leedham, were part of a three man gang who terrorised two young women in a house robbery in Carndonagh.

The men had pleaded guilty at Letterkenny Circuit Court to false imprisonment and aggravated burglary when they appeared on Monday last.

An angry Judge John O’Hagan deferred sentence until yesterday but had sent both men to Castlerea Prison to reflect on what they had done.

The court heard gang forced their way into the house at The Mullins in Carndonagh in broad daylight on September 29th, 2013.

The men had their faces hidden and had also brought an imitation firearm to the house.

Two young women in the house were watching television at around 1.45pm in the afternoon when the gang struck.

One of the women Shannon Doherty managed to escape through a window but another woman, Danielle Doherty, who was 20, was held captive by the raiders.

McLaughlin, 20, of Allendale Park, Carndonagh, tied Ms Doherty’s hands with a cable-tie and put duct tape on her mouth to stop her from screaming.

James Leedham got suspended jail sentence. Pic by Northwest Newspix.

The gang tried to put her into a wardrobe but she refused to go into it.

They eventually stole 36 packets of cigarettes, 6 packets of loose tobacco and €58 in cash which they put into a rucksack which they had brought with them.

However the men were chased by some neighbours who had ben alerted to the robbery by Ms Doherty who had escaped earlier.

They managed to flee through fields but were eventually apprehended by Gardai.

The court heard the gang had planned the robbery after watching a video the previous night.

Victim Danielle Doherty said she was still suffering from the attack and had to lock all the doors in her house if she was home alone.

Leedham, 18, of Station Road, Buncrana, revealed he had been turned down for an application joining the army and was upset.

McLaughlin had suffered a vert tough childhood and his father abused him and his siblings including occasions when he would stub cigarettes out on them.

Judge O’Hagan said if he had sentenced the men last Monday, they would have been looking at a lengthy jail term.

“The deviousness which they did it with was quite frightening – the taping of the mouth, using cable ties, attempting to put her in the wardrobe – it’s like something you would see in the movies.

“I really do hope the four days they have had in Castlerea was a time of reflection and that they should not wish to be there again,” he said.

He sentenced both men to three years imprisonment but suspended the sentences for three years and ordered them to be of good behaviour.

A Judge has invited people into his court to see the effect binge drinking is having on society in Co Donegal.

Judge John O’Hagan

Judge John O’Hagan spoke out as he invited people to witness the legal system in action – and hopefully persuade young people not to break the law.

The circuit court judge said that public order offenses fueled by alcohol were now a fact of life in Donegal.

“Binge-drinking is a fact of life and we have to face up to it – look at the awful things that are happening as a result of it.

“We have so many public order offenses fueled by alcohol and a lot of those involve young people who are hoping to go on to college and so on.

“If a visit here convinces them not to get involved in that then that is wonderful,” he said.

He added that people can contact the courts service and there is a hand-out to explain the procedure for groups or individuals wishing to visit.

A man has been charged with sexual assault at an undisclosed location in Co Donegal.

Letterkenny Court.

The man, who is in his 70s, appeared at Letterkenny District Court this morning.

He cannot be named for legal reasons.

The man has been put forward to appear at the present sitting of Letterkenny Circuit Court.

A mother sent her two young children into a supermarket to steal presents for Christmas.

Rose McDonagh sent her two children, aged just 8 and 10 years, into Tesco Supermarket in Letterkenny.

The children placed two children’s iPads, valued at €315, into shopping bags.

However they were caught but dropped the bags and ran out of the shop during the robbery on December 22nd, 2013.

Ms McDonagh, 32, was outside the shop waiting for the children and then sped off from the shopping centre car-park.

When Gardai called to her home, the uncovered the stolen goods.

Ms McDonagh, who had more than 30 previous convictions, appeared at Letterkenny District Court.

She was also charged with stealing a purse from a St Vincent de Paul charity shop on September 18th, 2014.

The court was also told that Ms McDonagh of Lisfannon, Buncrana, was also charged along with another woman for stealing two supermarket trolleys of groceries from SuperValu in Carndonagh on October 17th, 2014.

Gardai said the women were later found with the groceries in the boot of their car.

Judge Paul Kelly said he was very disturbed that Ms McDonagh has used her children to steal.

“The grooming of her kids to steal from a shop is something I find very disturbing,” he said.

He added “What hope is there for them in not following a similar pattern to her own life?”

Solicitor Frank Dorian said the theft of the iPads was a misguided attempt to get a gift for a child at Christmas.

Judge Kelly adjourned the case until Mach 23rd for a community service report.

A man who could not accept his relationship was over bombarded his ex-girlfriend with dozens of phones and text messages.

Letterkenny Court.

Brian Flood, of Labadough, Milford appeared at Letterkenny District Court charged with stalking or harassing the woman.

The 26 year old was accused of phoning the woman nineteen times and sending her 62 text messages between August 12th and October 19th, 2013.

On way day he sent her a total of 28 txt messages, the court was told.

Garda Inspector Goretti Sheridan said the texts were not of a sinister nature and mostly involved Flood asking his ex where she was and what she was doing.

“He was just very persistent,” said the Garda Inspector.

Th court was told that Flood has 11 previous convictions for a range of offenses including theft, public order and assault.

Solicitor for Flood, Mr Patsy Gallagher, said his client would simply not take no for an answer.

“It was an ongoing event and he simply would not take no for an answer. Also the threats to self-harm must have put this young woman under stress and he apologises for this also,” he said.

Judge Paul Kelly said the fact that the charge carries a one year jail sentence showed what a serious case this was.

He said it clearly had an impact on the victim.

“I want to se what the probation services make of him,” addd Judge Kelly as he adjourned the case until March 23rd.

A Judge asked Gardai if a man who head-butted the walls of a holding cell caused much damage to it.

Richard Kelly was arrested by Gardai for being intoxicated in Carrigans on October 2nd, 2014.

However, when taken to Letterkenny Garda station h began headbutting the walls and split his head open.

Garda Inspector Goretti Sheridan told Letterkenny District Court that it cost €200 to clean up the blood and to have the cell disinfected.

Judge Paul Kelly asked “I take it the cell withstood the impact of his head?”

Solicitor Patsy Gallagher told the court that the 33 year old farm labourer from 455 New Houses, Carrigans had a serious issue with alcohol.

He said Kelly was prepared to reimburse the taxpayer he €200 it cost to clean the Garda cell.

Judge Kelly heard the accused was seeking to attend the Whiteoaks Addiction Centre and adjourned the case until February 23rd.

A young Letterkenny man has pleaded guilty to stealing dozens of beer gigs from two different pubs.

Ferry admitting stealing dozens of beer kegs.

Dean Ferry, 29, appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court charged with three different counts of theft.

Ferry, of Lisnennan Court, pleaded guilty all three charges of stealing the empty beer kegs.

Ferry was charged that on July 4th, 2012 at Sister Saras in Letterkenny he stole three beer kegs worth €300.

On the same date he was charged with stealing 16 beer kegs worth €1,600, the property of Diageo, from the Cornerhouse Bar at Oldtown, Letterkenny.

And on the same date he is also charged with stealing a further eight beer kegs worth €800, the property of Bulmers, from Sister Saras.

Judge John O’Hagan ordered a probation and welfare report on the accused and adjourned the case until the next sitting of the circuit court.

A man who broke his bail conditions has been arrested at his home and ordered to sign on each weekday at Letterkenny Garda station. 

Enda McGowan

Enda McGowan appeared before Letterkenny District Court after being arrested at his home in Dromore by Gardai.

He faces a number of upcoming charges including alleged burglary.

Gardai told the court that as part of his bail conditions, McGowan was due to sign on at Letterkenny Garda station three times a week.

However, Gardai gave evidence that he had not signed on since December 6th last year.

Solicitor Kieran O’Gorman told the court his client was not a flight risk and that he was due to meet with Gardai to discuss his situation.

He added that McGowan was due before the court again to face a number of charges at the end of April.

But Judge Paul Kelly said McGowan was well-aware of his bail conditions saying he had ben in and out of the court on a number of occasions.

He also pointed out that he had failed to meet a number of probation appointments he had been due to have.

Judge Kelly said he was changing the bail conditions and ordered a personal cash surety of €1,000 from McGowan as well as an independent surety of another €1,000.

He also ordered the accused to sign on daily from Monday to Friday at Letterkenny Garda station and keep a curfew from 11pm to 7am.

A CHARITY worker caught drinking and driving has lost a bid to have her conviction overturned on claims gardai had broken the law.

Catherine Peoples, 44, from Drumkeen, was convicted at the District Court in Letterkenny and banned from driving for two years.

However she appealed the conviction to District Court Appeals which are heard at the Circuit Court.

Her solicitor Ciaran McLaughlin argued before Judge John O’Hagan that the breaking down of a breathalyser machine forced gardai to get a blood sample instead – but that gardai had failed to explain this to Peoples.

The court heard that gardai on patrol between Drumkeen and Convoy at just after 12.05am on April 3, 2011, saw Peoples take a turn off the road without indicating.

They followed the car and Peoples was breathalysed. She failed the roadside test and was taken to Letterkenny Garda Station under arrest.

Once there Garda Charlene Anderson said she observed Peoples for 20 minutes before carrying out a test on the intoxyliser machine at the station.

However this machine broke down and Garda Shane Lavelle took a decision to ask for a doctor to attend the station to take a blood sample.

Mr McLaughlin said Peoples should have been told that her detention was being extended to facilitate this third test. He said the failure of gardai to tell  his client this was unlawful and the conviction should be overturned.

However Judge O’Hagan said there was nothing in the drink-driving legislation which demanded this.

The judge also said that anyone detained by gardai for a test could be asked to take whatever tests where necessary at a garda station – including breath, urine or blood.

He confirmed the two year drive ban, fined Peoples €150, but delayed the implementation of the ban for six months.

Mr McLaughlin said his client had dinner earlier on the evening of the offence and  had a couple of glass of wine. She had only left home to collect a teenage son who didn’t have a lift home from a disco.

A young girl claims she was sexually assaulted twice by her neighbour at a First Communion party for her sister.

Letterkenny Court.

The family friend, who is 37, has gone on trial at Letterkenny Circuit Court after he pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault at the girl’s home in Co Donegal on April 24, 2010.

The man cannot be named to protect the identity of his alleged victim.

Patricia McLaughlin, for the DPP, told the court yesterday (WED) the defendant had been invited to the First Communion party.

Children were playing in the house while some of the adults had been drinking wine, she said.

The defendant, it is alleged, had sat beside the alleged victim on the sofa and had sexually assaulted her whilst other children were playing games.

Later the same day the girl had been upstairs in her mother’s bedroom when the defendant had sexually assaulted her again as she read a First Communion book.

The girl, who was 10 at the time of the alleged assault, is now 15 years old.

The allegations came to light when the alleged victim told her sister, who in turn told their mother.

A video of the young girl in which she was interviewed by a social worker, was shown in court.

The girl, who was wearing her school uniform, told of what allegedly happened at the party.

The girl said the man had ben playing with friends who were putting make-up on eachother.

The man then sat down beside her and put his hand on her knee, it was alleged.

She then alleged that he put his hands on her “private parts.”

She said she became frightened, ran upstairs and hid under her mother’s bed before coming out again.

At that stage the man had come up the stairs and told the girl, who was holding a communion booklet, he had been looking for her.

He then allegedly sexually assaulted her again.

The girl then said the man claimed he was tired and lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

The trial continues tomorrow.

Judge John O’Hagan

A JUDGE has said he fears the facilities at a cramped court house could be potentially dangerous in the event of an emergency.

Judge John O’Hagan was speaking at Letterkenny Circuit Court yesterday as he was about to sit at a jury trial.

A jury panel of almost 100 people and around 200 other people attending a family law hearing at the District Court in the same court house had been forced to wait in a cramped waiting area between the two court rooms.

A consultancy room, complained barrister Peter Nolan, meant that he had to use a dishevelled jury room to speak to his client because no other facilities were available.

The courts service has already given the go-ahead to a new court house in Letterkenny which will be completed in 2017.

But Judge O’Hagan said the conditions in the 19th century court house still being used were ‘intolerable’.

He went on: “God forbid if there was an emergency and we had to get everybody out quickly because we couldn’t.”

He said he new the caretaker of the court building was “tearing his hair out” trying to cope with the out-dated facilities.

“I won’t be here in 2017 when the new court will open but something must be done about what we have in the meantime,” said Judge O’Hagan.

“I intend to write to the Chief Executive of the Courts Service to complain because what everyone has to do deal with here is a disgrace.”

Mr Nolan told the court that the facilities were ‘outrageous’.

He said people attending the family law hearing were forced to stand ‘cheek to cheek’ in the waiting room for hours on end.

He said it simply wasn’t good enough that he had to use a jury room for a consultation with a client facing very serious criminal charges.

A THUG who was part of a gang behind robberies which left staff terrified has been jailed for two years.

Dylan Loughlin, 21, only escaped a five year prison sentence because he had admitted his role in the raids on a petrol station shop and a fast food takeaway, said Judge John O’Hagan.

Loughlin – described by his own barrister Peter Nolan as ‘not the sharpest knife in the drawer’ – was also convicted of a separate charge of assault on fellow criminal Matthew Lafferty.

Det Garda Alfie McHale told how Loughlin and some other men were spotted on CCTV in Bridgend on April 13, 2012, as they tried but failed to steal a car. They were seen walking across the Border.

Some time later the PSNI reported how a terrified woman in Derry had her Renault Megane car hijacked at knife point as she returned to the vehicle with her shopping.

At 9.30pm Loughlin asked for Stg£20 worth of diesel at the Top service station in Killea and when the fuel was put into the stolen car it had been driven off back into Derry without payment.

At 9.55pm a group of masked men burst into the Go filling station in St Johnston. A young male member of staff was stacking shelves at the back of the shop when the gang arrived.

“They were all wearing balaclavas; one of them was carrying what was described as a large butcher’s knife; they ransacked the shop and stole €5,110 in cash and two till drawers valued at 500 euro each. These were later found in Carrigans,” said Detective McHale.

At 1pm the next day the Derry woman’s new Megane was found burnt out in Manorcunningham. It was completely destroyed.

The second robbery took place the following month, said the detective.

On May 2o the gang burst into PJs takeaway in Killygordon. Three males wore balaclavas – one had a large knife. A second person – Loughlin – was carrying a baseball bat.

As two men took €560 from the till, Loughlin smashed up a cigarette machine causing €1,000 in damage.

The car used in this incident was found abandoned in Raphoe the next day.

The detective said that having viewed various CCTV footage they were satisfied with the identify of those in the gangs.

He said Det Sgt Mick Carroll had led three searches including a house in Long Lane Letterkenny where Loughlin was living with an aunt.

Loughlin was arrested and eventually admitted his role in the robberies. He said he was high on drugs and drink.

Judge O’Hagan said he wanted to know the affect of the robberies on the staff of the premises in St Johnston and Killygordon. Detective McHale said staff had been left terrified and frightened by the incidents.

Barrister Fiona Crawford, for Loughlin, said he was a man with limited education and background. She said he has been offered a job at Ferry’s Refuse if he was given a chance by the courts.

However she accepted that Loughlin had refused to meet the probation service in the run up to yesterday’s sentencing hearing.

Judge O’Hagan slammed Loughlin for his role in the robberies.

“They walked away (after the robberies) as if it was a great day’s work – like all the stuff they see in films, we’ve got €5,000 – that’s a great job – well it wasn’t a great job, it was a silly, stupid escapade all of it being recorded on CCTV,” said the judge.

He said the Derry woman had lost her car as a result.

“It was somebody’s pride and joy, worth a lot of money to them. It was torched – burnt to ashes,” said the judge.

He said Laughlin had a record for previous incidents including being drunk, abusive to gardai.

“He was an undergraduate in crime, graduating to the serious business of serious crime with these offences,” said Judge O’Hagan.

He said had Loughlin pleaded not guilty he would have had ‘no hesitation whatsoever’ in jailing him for five years.

The judge jailed Loughlin for 2 years on each count, with the last six months suspended.

He ordered that the February 2012 assault on Matthew Lafferty be taken into consideration.

A nine-year-old boy child has been taken into care over concerns that his mother could not look after him and amid allegations his father let him watch pornography.

Letterkenny Court.

The application for an emergency care order was made amid concern for the child’s health and safety after visits to the house where he stayed with his mother, who has addiction problems.

Letterkenny District Court heard that social services have not investigated claims that the father inappropriately touched the child more than two years ago.

There were also claims that his father allowed him to watch pornography and that he was exposed to his father’s inappropriate sexual behaviour with partners.

A social worker said the allegation had been made over two years ago and the delay in the investigation was due to a lack of resources.

An application to take the child into care was made after a social worker raised concern over his mother’s ability to look after him.

A social worker told the hearing at Letterkenny District Court that visits found the house where the boy lived with his mother was in “a bad state”. During one visit the mother appeared intoxicated, her speech was slurred, she was stumbling around and had needle marks on her left arm.

On another occasion the boy had got himself ready for school but his mother had told him that he wasn’t going, the court heard.

During visits by social workers the house was found to be cold, cigarettes butts were on the floor and the mother was found to be incoherent. Bags of empty beer cans were found on top of the rubbish.

A solicitor for the child’s father argued for care to be granted to the boys’ paternal grandparents, who had been granted access two days a week, as an alternative to being placed in foster care. The solicitor said the father, who lives with his parents, would vow to stay away from the child if this happened.

The solicitor argued that the child was “seriously traumatised” and would be better off with the stability that the care of his grandparents would offer him.

He said the allegation has been hanging over child’s father for some time and “nothing has been done to investigate the allegation”.

A solicitor for the Child and Family Agency told the court the boy “is caught in the middle and seeks love and attention from both parent and both sets of grandparents”.

The Child and Family Agency opposed granting care to the grandparents. The social worker said there were concerns that comments about his mother from his paternal grandparents were having a negative effect on him.

He said that during a two-week stay with his grandparents, they had proved not able to look after his hygiene, homework had been incomplete and he had not been given medication on time.

In separate evidence, a social care worker said the boy had said his grandparents had encouraged him to “act up” when he was staying with his mother.

The social care worker said the grandparents had previously stated they wanted to end the access arrangement.

She said the boy needed to be in an environment where “there is no history being thrown up in his face”. He needs psychiatric help, yet no psychiatrist will deal with him while he is in an environment of negativity, she said.

She said the boy feared that if he said anything negative about his father the grandparents “would start on him”.

Judge Paul Kelly said he was satisfied that there was a risk to the boy if he stayed where he is and it was evident the paternal grandparents are not in a position to care for him.

Granting the order he adjourned the case until February 16th.

Jody Brogan died later in hospital

THERE were three possible sources of a house fire which tragically took the lives of sisters Jolene and Anngeline Brogan, an inquest heard today.

The close-knit and loving sisters – there was just 14 months between them in age – died on January 3 last year in the fire at 8 Ceannan View in Letterkenny.

Jolene – who was 28 and known as Jody – and Anngeline, who was 27 and known as Anngie, were found in an upstairs bedroom of the semi-detached house.

A garda forensic officers who later examined the scene said the fire had started in or around the bed in which the girls had been sleeping.

Garda Noel Keaveney said the fire could have been caused by one of three possible sources – cigarettes in an ashtray on a beside locker, three wax candles on top of a cabinet or an electric fan heater which was in the ‘on’ position and plugged in.

He said the fire had burnt a hole in the wooden bedroom floor into the living room below. This hole, he said, measured approximately six feet by three feet.

Fire officer Martin Bond said he and a colleague faced thick black smoke when they entered the house which was so bad they had zero visibility.

As colleagues tackled the flames from outside, he went into the bedroom and quickly located the body of Anngie close to a radiator.

Realising she was dead, they prioritised finding her sister and located her inside an en-suite bathroom and quickly removed her to a waiting ambulance. She was still alive but died 45 minutes later in hospital.

Gda Robert Carey told coroner John Cannon he was called to the scene at 11.15am and was met by a friend of the girls Dean Kelly who was distraught and shouting the girls’ names.

Mr Kelly said he had woken to the smell of smoke but had fallen asleep again. He woke again shortly afterwards and the smoke alarms were going off.

He ran to the front bedroom but when he opened the door there was “a huge explosion”.

He was blown back and ran to a neighbour to raise the alarm. He grabbed a jumper, wetted it on the road outside and wrapped it around himself and ran back inside the house to try to save the girls.

“I couldn’t get in. The smoke was so thick I couldn’t breathe,” he said.

Mr Kelly said he and the girls had bought beer, vodka and Baileys at 5pm the evening before and they had enjoyed the evening chatting and listening to music. They had all gone to bed at 2am and he was invited to stay in the back upstairs bedroom whilst Anngie and Jodie shared a double bed at the front of the house.

A shop assistant from a Centra store at Mountain Top told the inquest that Anngie had entered the shop with an unknown man between 3.30am and 4am. She had complained a cash machine wasn’t working and they left without purchasing anything.

Pathologist Dr Hajnalka Gyorffy said she had found Anngie had died from soot inhalation, carbon monoxide poisoning and fourth degree burns. She had also found a toxic level of alcohol.

In relation to Jodie she found she had suffered first and second degree burns, carbon monoxide poisoning and soot inhalation. She also found toxic levels of alcohol, cocaine and sleeping tablets.

Mr Cannon recorded their deaths as having been caused as set out in the pathology report.

He told parents Frank and Mary Brogan that the deaths were “heart-wrenching” and he passed his sympathy to the family.

He also praised the emergency services for their work on the day of the fire.

Sgt Eunan Walsh thanked the Brogan family for the way they had helped gardai with their inquiries and she he hoped that now the inquests were over the extended family could begin to find some closure.