Latest news with #O'Donovan
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Irish crews featuring Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy qualify for openweight final at World Cup event in in Lucerne
In the semi-final of the double sculls, McCarthy and his new partner, Konan Pazzaia and O'Donovan, teaming up with Daire Lynch, both qualified for the final. The Olympic champions, Romania, finished sixth and must settle for a B Final place. McCarthy and Pazzaia were deemed Ireland One, and showed why. The bronze medallists from last month's European Championships started superbly and saw off all challengers to win. Britain and New Zealand kept them honest, while O'Donovan and Lynch left their best work until late on. As Britain faded, Ireland two came through to take third behind the Kiwis. Just three crews go through to Sunday's medal race, scheduled for 11.37 Irish time on Sunday. 'We made the A-final in Lucerne, the first A-final for the duo here, so very happy with the result and looking forward to tomorrow,' Pazzaia told The result was something of a triumph for Ireland coach Dominic Casey, who has always disputed the received wisdom that lightweights have a big disadvantage when they step up to openweight events. Casey, who now heads up Irish international rowing, has repurposed Fiona Murtagh from a sweep rower (holding a single oar) to a single sculler (two oars). It has been a raging success. She followed up her silver medal at the European Championships with a win in her heat in Lucerne and today dominated her semi-final to set up a chance of a rematch against the gold medallist from Plovdiv, Lauren Henry of Britain. The Ireland double of Mags Cremen and Zoe Hyde missed out on qualifying for their A Final, taking fourth in a semi-final won by China. Alison Bergin placed 22nd in the women's single through her fourth place in the D Final.
Sunday World
16 hours ago
- Sunday World
Former Fianna Fáil councillor harassed waitress, leaving her in fear, court hears
'For three years I have never stopped looking over my shoulder when I heard steps behind me' A young waitress was harassed at work by a former councillor who told her that she was the 'prettiest girl' he had ever seen, kissed her hand, tried to get her phone number and and stared at her both in the restaurant and through the window outside, a court has heard. Joseph O'Donovan, formerly known as Gary O'Flynn, appeared before Cork District Court today having previously pleaded guilty to one count of harassment. The harassment occurred on three occasions in late July/early August 2022. Sgt John Kelleher told the court that Mr O'Donovan (49) went to a restaurant in Cork city centre on July 30th, 2022. He stayed for two hours during which time he was drinking wine. Joseph O'Donovan, who changed his name from Gary O'Flynn. Photo: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Cork Courts Ltd News in 90 Seconds - June 27th He flagged down a 25 year old waitress and kissed her on the hand telling he that she was 'the nicest and prettiest girl he had ever seen.' He continued to engage the young woman in conversation whilst he was in the restaurant. His behaviour made her deeply uneasy. Mr O'Donovan of Melvindale House, Coolowen in Blarney, Co Cork returned to the restaurant on August 1st, 2022. Sgt Kelleher said that Mr O'Donovan wanted to be served by the same waitress. He ordered food and wine. The waitress felt that he was continuously staring in her direction. He again took her hand and kissed it. He breathed in to her ear and said: 'Meet me outside for a tip and I better get your phone number for it.' The court heard that Mr O'Donovan then went outside and started staring in the window. Sgt Kelleher said the waitress went out and told the accused that he wasn't welcome and should leave. 'He (Mr O'Donovan) went back in again and asked (the waitress) could he see her again. He was asked to leave by management. He threw a fifty euro note at the waitress.' Mr O'Donovan returned to the restaurant on August 6th, 2022 at around 10.30pm when the premises was near closing. The waitress told him to leave and Mr O'Donovan said that he was 'sorry' and that he 'couldn't help it'. Mr O'Donovan was arrested later that month. He told gardai he thought young woman was 'very pretty' and that he kissed her hand in a manner seen in movies. He claimed that he had carried out the gesture out of politeness and courtesy. The former Fianna Fáil councillor said that he thought his interactions with the woman were 'congenial.' He claimed that he never meant to upset her. He added that he believed that he was simply flirting with the restaurant worker. He insisted he was very sorry for what had occurred. Sgt Kelleher detailed the previous convictions of the accused. He said the most serious of those 26 convictions involved Mr O'Donovan soliciting a person to murder three people, one of whom was a Garda Siochana. Sgt Kelleher told Judge Mary Dorgan that Mr O'Donovan was jailed for five years with the last three years suspended in April 2015 after he pleaded guilty to soliciting someone to kill the three individuals. Other convictions including offences such as deception, making gains, using a false instrument and public order. The young woman who was harassed by Mr O'Donovan opted to give her own victim impact statement. She said that she had waited three years to have her say in court about what happened to her. 'For three years I have never stopped looking over my shoulder when I heard steps behind me. This man (O'Donovan) looked me in the eye and called himself a creep. This man looked me in the eyes and called himself a stalker. Then laughed about it. 'Laughter with a laugh that still makes me recoil in fear to this day. That moment has never left me. Because I that moment I realised I wasn't dealing with someone who didn't understand boundaries, but someone who chose to violate them.' She said that the accused felt that his 'desire' outweighed her right to say 'no'. 'He threw money around as if that gave him the right to harass me. His actions were not misunderstandings they were deliberate. He ignored every boundary and pushed further each time. It wasn't harmless. It was obsessive and it left me terrified in places that I used to feel safe.' She added that she would never forget Mr O'Donovan's 'stares, his weird comments or the way he would linger and wait.' Judge Mary Dorgan thanked the woman for coming to court and for making a 'powerful' victim impact statement. Defence solicitor, Frank Buttimer , said that his client was hugely remorseful for his actions, He said that whilst he wasn't in any minimising what occurred the offences were viewed by the DPP as being 'minor' in nature. Mr Buttimer said that he had certain concerns about aspects of the victim impact statement. He added that his client went to the restaurant on the third occasion in order to apologise to the young woman. Mr Buttimer acknowledged that the accused had 'failed to read the situation properly.' 'If he never went to the premises again I believe we wouldn't be here.' Mr Buttimer said that the the case was struck out in 2023 because of a failure to make progress only for it be subsequently re entered. He said that his client was suffering from an 'over reliance on alcohol' at the time of the offence. Mr O'Flynn has a history of depression and anxiety and is on the autistic spectrum. Mr O'Donovan hasn't had any contact, direct or indirect, with the complainant over the last three years. He gave an undertaking to the court to stay away from the woman and her family. Judge Mary Dorgan remanded Mr O'Donovan on bail until October 3rd next when sentencing will be finalised. Up to date reports will be prepared in the interim. Mr O'Donovan is the son of former TD, Noel O'Flynn who served in the constituency of Cork North Central from 1997 until his retirement in 2011. He recently returned to politics at council level. Joseph O'Donovan, when he was known as Gary O'Flynn, was a sitting councillor in Cork city from 2003 to 2008. The former solicitor took his father's old seat on the council in 2003 when the dual mandate ban came in to force. He concluded his political career five years later with his seat going to his brother, Ken who recently became an Independent Ireland TD in Cork North Central. Noel O'Flynn has taken up the city council seat vacated by his son Ken.
Irish Examiner
20 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Former Cork councillor looked woman 'dead in the eyes and called himself a stalker', court told
A former Fianna Fáil councillor charged with harassment looked a young woman 'dead in the eyes and called himself a stalker,' a court has heard. He then laughed and 'that laugh makes me recoil in fear to this day,' the young woman said in her victim impact statement which she read to Cork District Court on Friday. Joseph O'Donovan, formerly known as Gary O'Flynn, who has 26 previous convictions, including for soliciting a person to murder three people including a garda, pleaded guilty to harassment. Mr O'Donovan, aged 50 of Melvindale House, Coolowen, Blarney, County Cork, admitted to a charge contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997, for the offence of harassment on three dates between July 30 and August 6, 2022, at a location in Cork City. The harassment The 25-year-old woman was working in a popular city centre restaurant where Mr O'Donovan was drinking wine on July 30, 2022. He flagged her as she walked past, took her hand, kissed it, and told her she 'was the nicest and prettiest girl he had ever seen,' Sergeant John Kelleher told Cork District Court. She was uncomfortable with the attention and walked away, the court heard. Mr O'Donovan then returned the next day and told her he only wanted her to serve him. He ordered food and wine. He was staring at her and kissed her hand again, Sgt Kelleher said. The victim again felt very uncomfortable. He left, but returned when she was cleaning at the end of her shift. He breathed into her ear, and said: "Meet me outside for a tip and I better get your phone number for it." He then went outside and stared in the window at her, the court heard. The complainant told him to leave her alone, Sgt Kelleher said. 'But he came in, leaned over her ear and asked when he could see her again,' Sgt Kelleher said. He was asked to leave by the manager again and as he left he threw a €50 note at her. She again found him standing in front of her while she was at work. He said he was sorry if he scared her and said he 'couldn't help it'. He was reported to gardaí and was arrested. Joseph O'Donovan arriving at the Cork District Court on Friday. Picture: Noel Sweeney He told gardaí that he found the complainant 'very pretty' and said he 'kissed her hand out of etiquette, like they do in the movies.' He had felt things were 'very congenial between them' and thought they were 'flirting'. He told gardaí that his intention was never to upset her. When he was asked to leave by the manager, he said he only returned to give her a tip. Sgt Kelleher said that when gardaí were called to the city centre restaurant, the injured party was 'distraught and terrified'. The defendant was 'somewhat intoxicated' and said 'this must be about [injured party's name],' when they approached him. Victim impact statement Reading her victim impact statement to court, the woman said that she 'never imagined that something as ordinary as going to work could turn into something I'd carry with me for years.' 'I was just doing my job, smiling, being polite and trying to get through my shift. But one man, this man, took my professionalism as permission. When I said no, he didn't stop. And from that moment on, I stopped feeling safe." Some 'instinctual alarm bell' went off in her body telling her to run when he grabbed her hand very tightly and kissed it, she said. He decided that my body, my attention, my presence were his to take. 'I never forgot his stares. His weird comments. The way he lingered and waited; during my breaks, after my shift.' He had claimed their meetings were 'serendipity', a word that still gives the woman chills. "There was no serendipity in that moment. He had waited for me. There was no luck, no chance, just a man who created a trap and tried to cover it in romance.' She has felt so fearful of him finding her that it has stopped her leaving her home. 'It left me terrified in places that I used to feel safe,' she said. Mr O'Donovan looked her in the eyes and told her he was a 'creep' and a 'stalker', she said. 'How can a man so boldly, so confidently label himself with these disgusting titles, then laugh about it? I can only assume it's because he expected to get away with it.' Defence solicitor, Frank Buttimer, said that his client had pleaded guilty. His client had visited the restaurant three times over six days, he said. On his third visit to the restaurant, he had apologised. But this visit upset the woman so much that the gardaí were called. After this, he had stayed away from the woman, Mr Buttimer said. When he was arrested, he gave gardaí 'an extremely lengthy statement' and said he was very sorry 'for the way it was picked up' and 'apologised profusely.' He 'never thought it went to the point where she was upset,' Mr Buttimer said. Mr Buttimer said his client had lived under very strict bail conditions following his arrest and had had no contact with the complainant. He had engaged with a consultant psychiatrist since the incidents, Mr Buttimer said. He had been told he was on the autistic spectrum and was diagnosed with a depressive type illness. Joseph O'Donovan had visited the restaurant three times over six days. Picture: Noel Sweeney Judge Mary Dorgan commended the victim for coming into court and giving a powerful victim impact statement. It had been 'difficult to hear' what she had put up with from this man, she said. There were reports that the defendant had shown kindness to people and had a successful business, Judge Dorgan said. And a psychologist was 'of the view that he was not a danger to the public,' although this was just one view. She said she would adjourn the case until October 3 for a probation report and a full psychiatric report. She ordered Mr O'Donovan not to have any contact with the victim. The matter of compensation must also be addressed, she said. As Gary O'Flynn, the defendant was a councillor on Cork City Council from 2003 to 2008. Read More Former Cork councillor pleads guilty to harassing woman in city three years ago
Irish Independent
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy to go against each other in semi-final shootout at World Cup regatta
Lightweight rowing has been removed as an Olympic discipline, and both men have opted to compete in openweight competition. McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia took a bronze on their first outing at the European Championships last month. O'Donovan, making his season debut, teamed up with Daire Lynch, a bronze medallist at Paris 2024. Both crews secured semi-final places but finished second in their heats. McCarthy and Pazzaia threw everything at it in a closing sprint but found New Zealand too strong. O'Donovan and Lynch came within a quarter of a second of the win, which went to Independent Neutral Athletes (AIN). This is a moniker for Russian or Belarussian rowers competing under a neutral flag. Lynch, whose Olympic medal came in a double with Philip Doyle, was not happy. 'Tough enough going. Hopefully we'll get better,' he told A top-three finish and an A Final place for both Ireland boats is a tall order: the race features Olympic champions Romania, along with New Zealand, Britain and Greece. Fiona Murtagh's semi-final follows soon after (10.30). Her transition to single sculling from sweep boats (she took bronze in the four at Tokyo 2020) has been outstanding. She took silver at the Europeans and won her heat in Lucerne. 'Looking forward to tomorrow and stepping on again,' she said. Zoe Hyde and Mags Cremen also made it through to the openweight doubles semi-final (9.55). Third in their heat, their time was one of the best which did gain guaranteed qualification. Pararowers Tiarnán O'Donnell and Sadhbh Ní Laoghaire, competing in PR3 to allow Ní Laoghaire to be classified, have a final at 11.55, while Ireland's first finalist in the hunt for a medal will be lightweight sculler Siobhán McCrohan (12.07). The 37-year-old, making her debut this year as she recovered from injury, won her heat and finished third in her semi-final.
The 42
a day ago
- Sport
- The 42
Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy to face off in World Rowing Cup semi-final
BACK-TO-BACK Olympic champions Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy will be in competing boats in the semi-final of the men's double sculls at the World Rowing Cup at Lucerne tomorrow. O'Donovan and Daire Lynch are safely through to the semi after finishing second in their heat this morning. The Irish duo tried to overhaul the leaders in the closing stages but Aleksandr Iakovlev and Andrei Potapkin (AIN, or neutral athletes) held on by 0.24 seconds. 'Tough enough going,' said Lynch afterwards. 'Hopefully we'll get better.' In the semi-final, O'Donovan will come up against long-time partner McCarthy – with whom he has won two Olympic gold medals in the lightweight double sculls – and Konan Pazzaia, who also finished second in their heat today. Advertisement More to follow . . .
