Bodyboarder drowns off north coast

One man from Belfast drowned and two men and two women, all of them foreign nationals, were rescued in three separate incidents…

One man from Belfast drowned and two men and two women, all of them foreign nationals, were rescued in three separate incidents off the north coast in counties Derry and Antrim yesterday afternoon.

The man died while bodyboarding in the sea off Downhill Beach, Castlerock, just after noon.

An hour later two men and a woman, all Spaniards, were rescued after the raft they were in was blown out to sea near Portstewart.

In the third incident, a Lithuanian woman was winched off the cliff face at the White Rocks Beach, Portrush.

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€30,000 stolen in van raid

Gardaí were last night searching for two raiders who stole about €30,000 from a cash-in-transit van at a busy Dublin shopping centre yesterday morning

The raid, at Nutgrove, Rathfarnham, was the first robbery on a cash-in-transit van since the establishment of the Garda's Operation Anvil in May.

The raid took place just before 9am as the van was parked at the back of a McDonald's outlet. Thieves threatened staff with a weapon and took a number of cash bags from the van.

Group criticises psychiatrists

The group representing patients with schizophrenia has criticised consultant psychiatrists for their refusal to co-operate with the establishment of independent tribunals to review the legality of the involuntary detention of persons in mental health facilities.

Schizophrenia Ireland claimed last night that the consultant bodies were seeking additional resources to allow their members to participate in the tribunals.

"Schizophrenia Ireland believes that more circumspect use of involuntary detention and better use of current resources and manpower would free up sufficient time for consultants to participate fully in the proposed tribunals."

Boy beaten by gardaí - mother

A mother yesterday claimed in court that her 16-year-old son was left in a state of concussion and had baton marks on his back after he was beaten by gardaí.

The teenager had been due to appear in the Dublin Children's Court over a theft charge but was not present for the proceedings. His parents claimed their son could was not in a fit state to make it to court because he was at home resting.

The teenager's mother said an inquiry is to be conducted at Store Street Garda station over these claims.

Manslaughter charge denied

A manslaughter trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has been told of a punch-up between two men who were sleeping rough on either side of a woman near the Guinness Brewery.

A witness described how she saw what she called "the older man" put his arm around the woman and this appeared to anger the second man whom the prosecution claims is the accused.

Derek Clarke (27) Moneymore, Drogheda, Co. Louth, has pleaded not guilty to unlawfully killing Martin Reilly on July 12th, 2004. The trial continues before Judge Yvonne Murphy.