A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Man escapes prison sentence over possession of pistol
A man who had possession of a pistol as he made a delivery to St Patrick's Institution has escaped a prison term after a judge accepted he believed he was allowed to have it.
Sandor Hideg (33) was delivering a skip to the detention centre and handed the gun to guards because he thought he had to check it in before entering. The court heard the guards were “perplexed”, and in the confusion Mr Hideg was handed back the gun.
Mr Hideg, Liffey Avenue, Liffey Valley Park, Lucan, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the 10mm pistol on November 30th, 2009. The gun was only capable of firing non-lethal rubber balls.
Judge Yvonne Murphy accepted Mr Hideg had a licence for the gun in his native Romania, and was unaware he also needed one here. She said the incident was “a complete misunderstanding”, and ordered him to keep the peace for 12 months.
Remy Farrell, defending, said his client was working with a waste management company but had lost his job due to the media attention.
He said the offence was “at the very lowest end of the scale”.
Man to be charged over Clare death
A 39-year-old man will appear in court this morning charged in connection with the violent death of Ballyvaughan guesthouse worker Deirdre McCarthy.
The man, believed to be a married father of two from Ballyvaughan, will be brought before Ennis District Court today after he was charged last night. He was arrested on Tuesday afternoon after being discharged from Galway University Hospital, where he underwent treatment for injuries which were apparently self-inflicted last Friday night.
Ms McCarthy (43), who was buried on Tuesday, was found washed up on Fanore beach last Thursday morning on the fourth day of a search. She was last seen alive late on Sunday, March 27th, and was reported missing the following day.
Trial for child porn possession begins
A Circuit Court trial of a Longford businessman for possession of child pornography begins today after a successful application by a co-defendant for a separate trial,
reports Thomas Lyons.
Thomas McNally (51) and his daughter Tanya Mulryan (28), Foynes Court, Longford, were before Judge Michael White facing two charges under section 6 (1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998.
These are that both knowingly had in their possession images of child pornography at Foynes Court, Longford, on February 6th and 7th, 2006.
Before the jury was empanelled yesterday, Paul Burns SC, for Ms Mulryan, requested a separation of the cases or an adjournment. Mr Justice White acceded to the request for separate trials, observing that the DPP was perfectly entitled to bring a joint indictment.
The judge put the case against Ms Mulryan back for mention on June 28th, but she may be called as a witness for the defence.
Pádraig Dwyer SC, for Mr McNally, said his client was ready for his trial, which is expected to last for six days.