More news in brief
Gardaí yesterday seized heroin and cocaine during early morning raids on the southside of Limerick city.
Heroin worth €30,000 and cocaine with an estimated street value of in excess of €5,000 were found in four searches in Carew Park, Southill, yesterday.
More than 20 armed detectives and uniformed gardaí from the Divisional Search and Dog Unit began the searches at 7am.
The heroin and cocaine, which were discovered on open ground near a house in John Carew Park were packed and ready for distribution, are believed to have belonged to a southside criminal gang.
McCourt 'unlikely' to win NY election
Irish-American writer and actor Malachy McCourt has admitted he has little chance of winning the election for governorship of New York next month.
The brother of Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt will stand in the New York state election on November 7th next as the Green Party's candidate.
Earlier this year, the 75-year-old, who was raised in Limerick, secured the 15,000 signatures necessary to get on the state ballot.
However, he faces stiff opposition from Democrat Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general, and Republican candidate, John Faso. The winner will succeed Governor George Pataki, who has expressed an interest in seeking the Republican nomination in the 2008 US presidential election.
Historic Cork hotel to close
A historic West Cork hotel which was established over 150 years ago on the site of a dye works for the linen industry closed its doors yesterday.
The Vickery family first settled in Bantry in the 1740s and Thomas Vickery set up the Vickery Inn in 1850. Current owner Hazel Vickery moved in to the hotel in 1961, when she married the late Ian Vickery. Mrs Vickery (67), was approached a couple of months ago by a consortium of business people interested in buying the property.
She admitted yesterday to feeling emotional about saying goodbye to the guests at the hotel but said the time was right for the closure.
"I have many happy memories of my years here and even remember coming here as a child," she said.
Mrs Vickery recalled that the hotel was burned down in 1921 during the Troubles and re-opened again in 1926.
"It was very modern for the times as it had running water and washbasins in the room. So much has happened. In the 1970s the tourism industry collapsed again with the Troubles in the North. But we have been lucky. Staff have been like family here."
The Vickery Inn played a part in all the significant events in Bantry's history and many couples met at dances in the Vickery Inn during the 1930s when the town was a base for the British fleet.