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Sunday World
5 days ago
- Health
- Sunday World
Special fundraiser taking place for man (61) who suffered brian haemorrhage at uncle's funeral
Myles O'Sullivan who died of brain haemorrhage is to be remembered with a special vintage fundraiser Little did the late Myles O'Sullivan think when he nominated Cahersiveen Community Hospital as the beneficiary of this year's Iveragh Vintage Field Day that he himself would ever avail of their services. Tragically however the 61-year old suffered a brain haemorrhage while attending his uncle's funeral in Tipperary in May of this year and spent his final days at the hospital. As chairman of Iveragh Vintage Club Myles not only ensured a very successful annual field day every year but an event that helped local charities. Prior to his death the club had nominated the local hospital St Anne's Community Hospital as a beneficiary for this year funds and now his family want to ensure one of his final decisions in the club will be honoured and help the facility that helped Myles and his family during what was a very difficult time. The late Myles O'Sullivan Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 18th For his wife Brenda this is hugely important as she said the hospital did so much for all of them after Myles suddenly became ill. "It allowed his 88-year old mother and his daughter who travelled from Sydney and all the rest of the family to say their goodbyes to Myles with respect and dignity,' explained Brenda and for this they are eternally grateful. Myles was loved in the community and in the club and his funeral earlier this year was one of the biggest in the area in a long time. Now the much loved husband, father, neighbour and friend, will be remembered at the annual Iveragh Vintage Club field day in Waterville this weekend. "Myles loved everything vintage and he loved his club, he also loved people and was a proud Dromid man as well as a great family man,' says Brenda and all these traits will be remembered as the club unite to honour him. It will be a poignant weekend for Brenda but a special one and to ensure that Myles is honoured the club have ensured a great day out for all the family with a host of events that Myles himself would have been proud to organise. These will include of course a fine display of vintage machinery and vehicles as well as music, dancing and entertainment for children including a bouncy castle. Even 'Tina Turner' is making a special appearance for the day. There will also be sheaf throwing and sheep shearing and local groups and organisations will also be in attendance including the Skellig Bee Keepers Association and Garraí Glas Heritage Farm. Breda is urging everyone to attend and help support the local hospital and remember Myles. Iveragh Club's Field day takes place this Sunday, July 20.
Sunday World
08-07-2025
- Sunday World
Gardaí seize motorcycle in Co Tipperary after pulling over ‘poorly-dressed' biker
A Roads Policing unit spotted the man riding the motorbike wearing just a tee-shirt and shorts Gardaí have seized a motorbike in Roscrea, Co Tipperary after pulling over the 'poorly-dressed' rider. A Roads Policing unit spotted the man riding the motorbike wearing just a tee-shirt and shorts. 'After pulling over the poorly dressed biker, we also found they were not in possession of a proper motorcycle licence,' gardai posted. 'The bike was seized and court to follow.' The offending bike Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 8th In Ireland if you ride a motorcycle on a public road, you must follow the rules of the road and carry a valid driving licence for the correct category of motorcycle. You must also have motor tax and motorcycle insurance. If you are a learner driver, you must wear a high-visibility yellow fluorescent vest over your clothing, and it must be in good condition. Although motorcyclists represent less than 2 per cent of all licensed vehicle drivers in the country, they account for 10 per cent of road deaths. As a motorcyclist, you are legally required to ensure that your motorcycle is always roadworthy and check that your tyres are of the correct tread depth. You must wear an approved helmet and protective clothing. In Ireland, penalties for driving a motorcycle without a valid license include fines and potential imprisonment, depending on the specifics of the offense and whether the driver has been disqualified previously. Specifically, driving without a license, or after disqualification, can result in fines up to €2,000 or €5,000 respectively, and/or imprisonment for up to 6 months Additionally, exceeding the penalty point threshold can lead to disqualification from driving.
Sunday World
08-07-2025
- Sunday World
‘Cocaine mule' caught with high tech gear and stealth boat says he was going to ‘boot-camp'
No drugs were landed in Ireland but 840 kilos of cocaine worth more than €58 million was found washed up on beaches in Denmark Ali Mazidi covers his face as he's led by officers One of 10 men charged with conspiracy to import drugs after being arrested with satellite phones, walkie-talkies, tracking devices, bug detection devices and stealth boat claimed he was innocent and merely going to a 'military style fitness boot camp'. Iranian-Dutch national Ali Mazidi (49), with an address in Rotterdam, was one of the alleged gang members arrested in Tragumna and Leap in west Cork following a surveillance operation on March 14 last year. No drugs were landed in Ireland but 840 kilos of cocaine worth more than €58 million was found washed up on beaches in Denmark. It is unclear if the mission to land the drugs in Ireland was aborted due to surveillance fears or poor sea conditions. The men, of various nationalities including Irish, Spanish, Iranian-Dutch and Serbian, were charged before the Special Criminal Court with conspiracy to import controlled drugs into Ireland. Some have pleaded guilty while other maintain their innocence including Mazidi, who told gardai he was taking part in a fitness boot camp. The suspects had used a 40 foot RIB (rigid inflatable boat) with three high powered engines attached to it which had been modified for stealth and speed. All lights were blacked out and any surface capable of reflecting light had been spray painted black while its screens were also taped over. Gardai believe the stealth boat was going to be used to meet with a 'mothership' to collect a large quantity of drugs but the meeting never took place and the drugs ended up washing up in Denmark. A court has also heard Mazidi had travelled to the United Arab Emirates, Peru, Columbia, Trinidad & Tobago and Ecuador on two occasions and Turkey in the months before his arrest. Mazidi told gardai he was 'a self-employed coffee distributor'. Ali Mazidi covers his face as he's led by officers Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 8th Specific details of how the operation unfolded were revealed in a recent unsuccessful Supreme Court case taken by Mazidi looking to overturn a High Court decision to refuse him bail. The court heard that uniformed garda stopped a car in Bandon on February 27, 2024, and when asked for identification, Mazidi, who was a passenger in the vehicle, said all his documents were in his hotel. However, gardai found a number of identity documents including a Dutch passport belonging to Mazidi when they searched the vehicle. The passport revealed his extensive travel history in the months previously to several countries on multiple continents with links to the international cocaine trade. Gardai also found a notepad with various pier locations, accommodations and travel times and distances between the piers and accommodations. Mazidi was later released without charge. Gardai swooped at Tragumna Pier near Skibbereen A concerned citizen had contacted gardai after three vehicles converged on Tragumna Pier, around 5km from Skibbereen, on March 12. The witness observed the boat being launched to sea and contacted gardai who launched a surveillance operation. Gardai watched as all three vehicles reconverged on the pier at 4.45am on March 14, almost 48 hours later while the RIB was approaching the coastline. All 10 co-accused were on the pier as the boat was loaded with difficulty onto the trailer. At 7.20am the campervan left the pier and drove into Leap village. Gardai arrested the occupants of the van and those remaining on the pier. Mazidi was arrested in the rear of the stolen Land Rover with three other men. Gardai found receipts which showed more than £8,500 had been spent on maritime clothing alone prior to March 12. They also found a large volume of communication devices including five owned by Mazidi. Mazidi claimed his presence in the area 'related to the organisation of a military style fitness bootcamp'. He denied any involvement in drug importation. He also claimed gardai handed him a phone and 'planted a document' in his bag during the arrest operation. In April , three of his co-accused, Mario Angel Del Rio Sanz (45) of no fixed abode in Spain; Anuar Rahui Chairi (42) of Malaga in Spain; and Aleksander Milic (27) of Svetorgorska, Belgrade in Serbia, pleaded guilty to the charges.
Sunday World
05-07-2025
- Sunday World
Man who pretended to be police officer ‘as a prank' jailed
'I cannot imagine a worse case of impersonating a police officer' This is the Co Down driver who pretended to be a police officer and flashed down another driver A Co Down man who impersonated a police officer twice in one night has been handed a jail sentence. Sentencing Charlie Ward this week, District Judge Nigel Broderick outlined how the 21-year-old had told a probation officer the offending was 'a prank.' However, the judge said there was nothing humorous about his actions. 'I don't see anything funny about this whatsoever,' declared Mr Broderick, adding: 'I cannot imagine a worse case of impersonating a police officer.' At an earlier hearing, Ward, from Downpatrick Road in Killough, entered guilty pleas to dangerous driving and impersonating a police officer on December 28 last year. At Ballymena Magistrates Court on Thursday, a prosecuting lawyer said police received a report from a member of the public that a car had driven up close behind them and was repeatedly flashing blue and red lights in the front bumper. This is the Co Down driver who pretended to be a police officer and flashed down another driver Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 5th Believing it was police, the driver pulled over and was approached by a male 'who said he was an undercover police officer.' The suspicious driver asked for ID and when none was forthcoming, they 'drove off, feeling in danger.' The fake officer 'chased after them for approximately two miles, at high speed,' said the lawyer, adding that as the car progressed from the Crankill Road to the M2 motorway, Ward was 'tailgating and trying to undertake the car at one stage.' Forty-five minutes after that, Ward used the same modus operandi to stop another car at the Seven Towers roundabout. This member of the public told police they had been driving along the dual carriageway when a vehicle came up behind them, 'at speed, flashing blue and red lights and signalling left.' The other vehicle was driving erratically, said the lawyer, recounting how it was tailgating and swerving left and right. This person stopped, put the window down, and again Ward told them 'he was an undercover police officer.' Ward's car sped off up the M2, swerving across several lanes and almost causing a collision before he 'disappeared at Sandyknowes roundabout.' The lawyer said Ward was arrested on December 31 and a search of his vehicle uncovered a cable and switch connected to blue and red lights on the bumper. Arrested and interviewed, Ward refused to answer police questions but he later entered guilty pleas. Defence counsel Thomas McKeever said he had to accept 'that the facts are not good' and further that the judge 'will be considering an immediate custodial sentence.' Submitting that Ward has 'strong family support,' the barrister revealed that many of his problems stemmed from his mother dying when he was young as well as a diagnosis of ADHD. 'He had not taken his medication that day and that is absolutely no excuse for the behaviour, but it's an explanation I suppose,' Mr McKeever suggested. Conceding that the offending was 'very foolish,' the barrister said it had been 'very much a wake-up call' for Ward, submitting that the court 'could take a chance in terms of a suspended sentence.' But Mr Broderick referred to Ward's previous offending, as he imposed a custodial sentence. 'He has had 22 chances already,' he said, citing how Ward had been before the Youth Court almost two dozen times and had been given different sentences including probation and youth conference orders. 'There is a litany of offences' on his record, the judge told the court, 'and despite that strong family support, he continues to reoffend, pretends to be a police officer and as if that's not bad enough, he does it again.' As well as the four month prison sentence, Ward was also banned from driving for 18 months. As a prison officer was in the process of handcuffing Ward, Mr McKeever asked for bail pending appeal and Judge Broderick agreed, freeing Ward on his own bail of £500.
Sunday World
04-07-2025
- Sunday World
Three family members of suspected burglary gang charged with organised crime offences
The men, from Dublin, who are related and include a father and son, were denied bail at Sligo District Court and remanded in continuing custody. Three suspected members of a burglary gang were charged yesterday with organised crime offences. The men, from Dublin, who are related and include a father and son, were denied bail at Sligo District Court and remanded in continuing custody. The court previously heard the case against them was part of a wider investigation into a large number of burglaries, mostly in the west of Ireland. The three are Edward Connors (50) and his son Larry Connors (27), both of Bridgeview, Cloverhill Road, Clondalkin, and Edward Connors (28), of Drumkerring Park, Fettercairn, Tallaght. Edward Connors (50) Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 4th They face a range of charges linked to separate burglary and associated offences. They were brought before Sligo District Court yesterday and charged with organised crime offences as part of an investigation carried out by gardaí from the Western Region. The elder Edward Connors was charged with one count under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 of facilitating and enhancing the activities of a criminal organisation in relation to a garda interception in Co Kildare last November. He was further charged under Section 73 of the same act, which states that a person who commits a serious offence for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, a criminal organisation is guilty of an offence. In his case, these alleged offences are concerned with two burglaries, in Co Sligo in April 2023 and Co Tipperary last August. Larry Connors (27) Among other offences he is charged with is alleged criminal damage to a van that occurred in Co Roscommon last November. Larry Connors was charged with the same two offences under the Criminal Justice Act, with his Section 73 charge related to an alleged burglary in Co Roscommon last November. The men are further charged with handling stolen jewellery The younger Edward Connors was charged with a single Section 72 offence under the organised crime legislation. As with the other two defendants, this charge is related to the circumstances of his arrest in Co Kildare last November 29. Gardaí had earlier charged all three men with having in their possession gloves, torches, a pry bar, pliers, a heavy-duty axe, screwdrivers, a signal interference device, a telescopic ladder, a vehicle refuelling kit, surface disinfectant and two sets of number plates not matching the car they were travelling in, when they were stopped at Cadamstown, Johnstownbridge, Co Kildare, last November 29. They have been in custody since their arrests last November. All three were refused High Court bail during an application before Mr Justice Tony Hunt in early January and were again refused bail at yesterday's hearing. Bail could not have been granted to them at the district court on the organised crime charges. Convictions in relation to Section 72 or 73 of the act can attract a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. Their case is expected to be sent forward to the next sitting of Sligo Circuit Criminal Court, and it has been remanded for a week for service of books of evidence. The men are further charged with handling stolen jewellery taken during the course of a burglary at a house in Tuam, Co Galway, last November 28. They are charged with further separate offences, some of which were upgraded at yesterday's court sitting.
