Queen Says Thanks
QUEEN Elizabeth has thanked the people of Dublin for their warm welcome during last month's groundbreaking state visit.
In a letter to the capital's Lord Mayor Gerry Breen, the Queen said both she and the Duke of Edinburgh had a memorable time.
She also sent good wishes to everyone involved in making the trip a success.
The letter, dated May 26, from her deputy private secretary, says, "The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have asked me to thank you for your support in making their time in Dublin during their state visit to Ireland, so memorable.
"The visits undertaken by Her Majesty and His Royal Highness in Dublin highlighted a wealth of history, culture and dynamism associated with the city, which looked wonderful in the May sunshine."
The Queen and Duke said they were aware of the effort taken in putting together the program of events and sent their good wishes to everybody involved.
In a hand-written addendum, the secretary added a personal message, "The Queen has further asked whether you would kindly convey to the people of Dublin her sincere thanks for such a warm and memorable welcome."
It was the first visit to the Irish Republic by a reigning British monarch.

Evening Herald

Family Feud
A CASE against a man alleged to have called his sister-in-law a “f***ing bitch and bastard” during an altercation in Castleisland had his case dismissed at the local court after the judge found that the charges were not admissible under the Public Order Act.
Denis Hayes, 20, from Castleisland, was charged with acting in a threatening and abusive manner on March 26 and May 25 of last year when he was alleged to have verbally abused his sister-in-law Siobhan Hayes.
Hayes said that she was in town to collect her children from school on both dates. On the first occasion, Hayes called her a “f***ing bitch and bastard” when he passed in his car as she was pulling onto Main Street, she said.
She claimed that on the second occasion he again passed by in his car and called her a “f****r and a bastard.”
"I shake every time I see him, even if I see his car," she told Judge O'Connor.
She said the animosity between she and her brother-in-law arose from his mother's will. "He thinks I influenced his mother's will or something, I don't know," she said.
Defense solicitor Pat Mann said his client would say that on the second occasion Ms. Hayes provoked the situation by sticking her finger up at Mr. Hayes. He also argued that his client's actions could not be construed as having been in breach of the peace, a central part of the charge.
Mr. Hayes, 49, told the court the dispute followed on from an exchange of words at his mother's funeral when he learned the family home was not to be willed to him, but to his brother Danny.
"If my father had his sense for five minutes this could all be sorted out," he said.
Under questioning by Gardai (police), Mr. Hayes said he responded to his sister-in-law's alleged taunt by calling her a “f***king bitch.”
O'Connor ultimately found that the Public Order Act was never made for this type of prosecution.
"What we have here is a family dispute that is festering, and it would be wrong to convict him on what is essentially a civil matter," he said.
Mr. Hayes said he was worried about what would happen if Ms. Hayes “may say it again.”
"Keep away from her," O'Connor warned.

The Kerryman

No Ambulance Death
A MAN died after collapsing on a Drogheda street, and no ambulance was available to come to his aid.
A shocked motorist has spoken of the moment he had to bundle the dying man into his van and bring him to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.
The man died minutes later, and now Billy Doyle from Pearse Park wants answers.
“This was Drogheda at 10 a.m. on a weekday morning and a man was turning blue on a street and when an ambulance was called, I was told it was on its way -- from Navan. That's not good enough,” he stated.
The drama unfolded when Doyle was driving close to Constitution Hill.
“I was close to the launderette there and saw the man on the road. I stopped and other people came over too,” he said.
“There was a man in a collapsed state and his face was turning blue. I don't know much about first aid, but I got him into the recovery position and checked his airwaves were clear.”
As Doyle helped the man, another passer-by rang the emergency services. It was 10:02 a.m.
“We asked for an ambulance quickly but by 10:15 a.m. it still hadn't arrived and we were getting really, really worried about this guy.
“We didn't know if it was best to move him or leave him, but they do say wait for an ambulance so we did,” Doyle continued.
At that stage a doctor who was driving past stopped and stated that the man needed hospital care immediately. He administered CPR at the scene.
“We put another call in for an ambulance and were told there was one on its way from Navan,” said Doyle, who at that point, assisted by a couple of people who helped get the man into the back of his van, took off for the Lourdes Hospital, just a matter of minutes away.
When he arrived at the hospital there were three ambulances parked there.
“I don't know why they were there, picking up somebody, dropping somebody or whatever, but it was just frustrating to see them there and after what happened,” he admitted.
The man was taken from the back of the van into the hospital, but at 10:45 a.m. Doyle’s phone rang. “They told me the man had died. It hit me hard I have to say. We did our best for him, that's all I can say,” Doyle said.
But he's so angry that when an ambulance was needed for a dying man in a town the size of Drogheda there was none available.
“I can only talk about my experience last Thursday at that time. We were left waiting for an ambulance to come from Navan and we were minutes from the hospital. That's not right in my opinion, that shouldn't happen,” he said.

Drogheda Independent

Convict Mom
A 39-YEAR-old mother of 10 who has 124 previous convictions began crying at Sligo District Court when Judge Kevin Kilrane informed her he was going to remand her in custody for a week on a theft charge.
"This is an experienced thief and robber," remarked Judge Kilrane.
Before the court was Elizabeth Cawley, 39, of Letterkenny who admitted a charge of theft of menswear from Henry Lyons in Sligo City last April 29.
Inspector Sean McGinty said the defendant had 124 previous convictions, the most recent being in Letterkenny for no insurance. She had convictions for theft and had served a prison term.
Defending solicitor Tom MacSharry pleaded that the goods were recovered and the defendant had cooperated.
Cawley apologized in court for her behavior. After the judge indicated he was remanding her in custody for a week, the defendant broke down.
"Until you learn not to steal you'll be going back to prison," Kilrane told the defendant.
Later at the court, MacSharry was allowed raise the matter again and Cawley pleaded that it was two years since she had previously carried out shoplifting.
Kilrane told the defendant she would get one chance and one chance only.
He released her on bail to appear at the court on October 20. As part of the bail, the defendant was told to stay out of Sligo and Leitrim and not to re-offend.

Sligo Champion

Lost Communion Money
A WEXFORD boy’s happiness turned to tears last week when he lost his First Holy Communion money while shopping with his family.
Gary O'Sullivan of Whiterock Hill was as proud as punch when he made his First Communion in Bride Street Church, and even more delighted when the proceeds of the day amounted to over **** 400 in cash presents from generous relatives, and couldn’t wait to go shopping with his mother Colleen.
The first purchase on his shopping list was his first mobile phone, which he bought in the Vodafone shop along with *** 20 credit which he placed in his camouflage-design wallet along with his remaining money.
Next stop was Lifestyle Sports to get his name embossed on a jersey and from there, he went to Argos to buy his older sister Aisling a cover for her mobile phone.
Disaster struck when Gary went to pay for the phone cover. His wallet containing about ***240 and his phone credit docket was missing from the pocket of his tracksuit trousers. He was inconsolable.
Colleen re-traced their steps without success along the street and returned to the shops they had visited to ask if the wallet had been handed up, but no one had seen it. They returned home crestfallen.
“He is not too bad today. I suppose there is nothing we can do about it,” said Colleen as she appealed to anyone who comes across the wallet to please return it.

Wexford People