A picture of Julia Holmes in one of her guises

DETAILS of the mysterious deaths of serial con-woman Julia Holmes and her Limerick partner Thomas Ruttle are expected to emerge at an inquest in Newcastle West this Monday.

Julia Holmes, who adopted a number of aliases in the course of her life, died alongside Limerick bee-keeper Thomas Ruttle at his family home at Boolaglass outside Askeaton on May 18, 2015.

Their badly decomposed bodies were found by burglars who had broken in to the house which they believed was abandoned.

Thomas Ruttle (56) and Julia Holmes or Julia McKitterick, (63) had not been seen for a number of weeks prior to the grim discovery. Pressure had been mounting on Ms Holmes who was being sought by police after a number of her cons were exposed.

The PSNI from Northern Ireland were looking to arrest her after she failed to turn up at a court hearing over an £18,000 theft allegation.

A native of Tyrone, Ms Holmes abandoned her young son when she emigrated to Canada and the US where she was jailed over $500,000 fraud. She had been married to a Texan business man despite being still married to her first husband in Northern Ireland.

She was also accused of fraudulent activity in Australia before she linked up with Thomas Ruttle, a well respected and unsuspecting farmer from County Limerick

When they moved into the roadside farm property at Boolaglass, Ms Holmes failed to pay a local builder €50,000 for extensive renovations on the two storey house.

Thomas Ruttle was buried at the family plot in Askeaton but his partner’s body was cremated in Cork after it remained unclaimed for a number of weeks.

Next Monday afternoon, the final chapter in Julia Holmes’ remarkable life will be heard at the inquest into the couple’s deaths.

Statements had been taken from the men convicted of the burglary at Boolaglass but it is unlikely that they will be called to give evidence of their shocking discovery.

The burglars contacted Gardaí after they found the bodies so as to distance themselves from the deaths.

Deputy Coroner for West Limerick Antoinette Simon BL, will preside over the inquest which is to be held at Newcastle West courthouse.

State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy is expected to give evidence as well as a number of Gardaí who were dispatched to the scene.

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THE result of a vote by staff at Limerick’s five Tesco stores to take industrial action in support of long-serving staff whose conditions of employment are being altered is expected within the next two weeks.

The workers have also voted on the issue of having a pay recommendation of the Labour Court implemented.

The supermarket chain employs more than 1,000 staff in Limerick at stores in Arthur’s Quay, Shannon Banks, Dooradoyle, Roxboro and Coonagh Cross.

The supermarket giant wants to get rid of a contract agreed 20 years ago that it claims is inflexible. Staff moving to a new contract would suffer a wage reduction of more than €2 an hour.

Tesco has asked staff to sign a new contract, negotiated in 2006, which would mean lower pay of €11.97 an hour, later working hours and rostering on Sundays.

They would also lose a guaranteed bonus, which would now be based on performance.

The supermarket chain has promised to compensate staff for the loss of earnings and will discuss this with them in the coming weeks.

Workers who are members of the Mandate trade union have already voted in favour of strike action and the union’s lead negotiator Brendan O’Hanlon has asked members of other unions to vote in favour os supporting their colleagues.

“This dispute could have major implications for all private sector workers,” he said.

Mandate said workers on the old contract, who earn €14.31 an hour, would suffer a cut of 16.5 per cent, or €2.35 an hour.

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Limerick gardai raided and searched 20 houses this Tuesday morning

UPWARDS of 100 gardai have been carrying out searches in three different areas of Limerick city in a bid to target criminal activity and organised crime.

The ongoing operation in the Limerick City area saw Gardaí search up to 20 houses as part of early morning raids this Tuesday.

Searches were carried out at houses in Moyross, Southill and Garryowen involving detectives, members of the armed Regional Support Unit and local divisional gardai.

One man in his 20’s was arrested arising out of the operation and the investigation and has appeared at Limerick District Court charged in connection with the discovery of around €1,500 worth of cannabis herb.

The accused, Evan Bullman had been detained at Roxboro Road Garda Station under the provisions of Section 4 – Criminal Justice Act 1984, before he was brought before a sitting of the court this Tuesday where he was charged under the provisions of Section 3 and 15 of the Misuse of Drugs act.

Garda Shane Ryan gave evidence of arresting the accused this Tuesday morning at 7:30am at his address and later charging him at 4pm with the alleged drugs offences.

Gardai discovered the drugs at a house at Lawnway, John Carew Park this Tuesday morning.

The matter has been adjourned to June for the directions of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

During the wide variety of searches, garda seized a number of items including mobile phones, laptops during this operation.

Investigations are continuing.

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Liam Keane pictured leaving court on Monday after he was granted bail following an alleged high speed chase with gardai

A LIMERICK man, said by Gardaí to be a “leading member of a criminal organisation”, has been granted bail in connection with a high speed chase on Saturday night.

Liam Keane (31) of Greenhills Gardens, Ballysimon, appeared before Limerick District Court last Monday on nine charges relating to road traffic offences and a further charge of recklessly endangerment by driving on the wrong side of the N18 dual carriageway while trying to evade Gardaí.

He is alleged to have hit a car, causing minor injuries to the occupants, and was also charged with dangerous driving, driving without insurance and failing to stop for Gardaí.

Opposing bail, Garda Dean Landers said that Liam Keane was a “leading member of a criminal organisation” and he didn’t believe he would abide by any bail conditions.
“He is a volatile individual,” he added.

Outlining the nature of the allegations, he said Keane was seen driving a Mercedes car at John Carew Park by members of the armed Regional Support Unit (RSU) at around 6.15pm on Saturday.

He failed to stop and, during a subsequent pursuit, he drove at speed against oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the N18 dual carriageway.

According to Garda Landers, he “put a lot of motorists at risk and clipped one vehicle”.

The people in that car were treated in hospital for what was described as “soft tissue” injuries.

Defending solicitor Ted McCarthy said there was no evidence that his client represented a flight risk and he was willing to undertake not to drive if released on bail.

Following an objection to some of the Garda evidence, Judge Timothy Lucey commented that the evidence before the court was “only an allegation” and that the “presumption of innocence” applies.

After hearing the Garda objections, Judge Lucey said he was granting bail, subject to a number of conditions.

In addition to not driving any vehicle, Liam Keane was ordered to sign on at a Garda Station on a daily basis, obey a nightly curfew and be contactable at all times.

Sergeant John Moloney asked that the case be adjourned to June 10 for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.

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Limerick gardai seized large quantities of drugs in the last two weeks

DRUGS, including large quantities of cocaine and heroin have been seized over the last two weeks by gardai in a crackdown on the illegal drugs market operating citywide.

Last Wednesday, Gardai from the Divisional drugs Unit seized heroin with a street value of €72,000. The drugs were seized during the search of a house in the Thomondgate of the City.

On Thursday, a number of premises were searched in the Old Cratloe Road and drugs, mostly cannabis herb, with a street value of €7,500 were seized.

Cocaine destined for the Limerick market and valued at almost €80,000 was seized two weeks ago on April 13, while cocaine and heroin with a street value of almost €9,000 were also seized during the search of a house at St Mary’s Park the following day.

Investigations are continuing and a number of arrests were made with gardai now completing files for the DPP.

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THE SCHOOL made famous in Frank McCourt’s, ‘Angela’s Ashes’ and now home to the Frank McCourt Museum, which was due to be auctioned, has been taken off the market.

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The Irish Cancer Society’s 29^th Daffodil Day, which is kindly supported by Dell, took place on Friday 11th March. On the day, people from all over Limerick got involved by selling daffodils and merchandise on the street, organising events and donating online. The Society wish to extend a huge thank you to communities in Limerick who supported the campaign.

Over 40,000 people are now diagnosed with cancer in Ireland and over 100 people every day receive a cancer diagnosis. Daffodil Day volunteers in Limerick collected to help provide free services for cancer patients to address this epidemic and to fund life-changing cancer research.

Donal Buggy, Head of Services at the Irish Cancer Society said: “We are extremely grateful to our volunteers and supporters who have played a central role in supporting people in their own communities who are affected by cancer. More and more people are diagnosed with cancer every day and that in turn increases the demand for our services. However, as a result of the support of our loyal and generous supporters, Daffodil Day will make a huge difference to the lives of cancer patients in Ireland.

The services provided by the Irish Cancer Society are only made possible by donations on Daffodil Day. Services where patients are brought to their chemotherapy treatments; the Cancer Nurseline 1800 200 700 where people can get expert support and guidance; and where patients in the last days of their life are able to stay at home surrounded by the ones they love, cared for compassionately and with dignity by one of the Irish Cancer Society’s Night Nurses.

We are aware that some supporters have yet to lodge the funds they have raised. To ensure we can continue to deliver our free services and to fund innovative cancer research, we are asking for all funds to be lodged as soon as possible.”

The success of Daffodil Day 2016 won’t be known until all funds raised from around the country are lodged and counted. Dell, the lead partner of Daffodil Day 2016, has provided a Dell Venue 8 Series tablet to raffle among supporters who have banked their funds by the end of May. Volunteers can log on to the Irish Cancer Society’s Twitter and Facebook pages to learn more about how to win the prize.

Niamh Townsend, General Manager at Dell Ireland, thanked all those who contributed to the success of the campaign. “Daffodil Day sees people come together to make a real difference. Cancer has impacted all our lives and every volunteer has their own reasons for supporting the campaign. To all who supported Daffodil Day in 2016 – from individuals to companies – we join with the Irish Cancer Society in thanking you for your immense generosity.”

Visit www.cancer.ie/daffodilday?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss to lodge funds electronically.

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The trial continues before Limerick Circuit Court

THE trial of a “jealous” lover, allegedly jilted over a text message sent to an ex partner, has heard details that the alleged victim was “sexting” messages agreeing to be a “naughty sex slave” and to be tied to a tree to have her “ass slapped” just before she claimed she was sexually assaulted.

Limerick Circuit Court heard the evidence after the accused man denied two counts of sexually assaulting a 36-year-old mother of his child during an alleged rage at her house over three years ago.

The 35-year-old accused, who was living in Clare at the time of the alleged offence, is charged with two counts of sexual assault on a woman who he had an “on-and-off relationship” with on January 26 and 27, 2013.

The alleged victim, who is the mother of two children, one of which is with the accused opened her evidence this Wednesday before a jury of six men and six women.

Prosecution counsel John O’Sullivan BL opened the case and said that the woman had been in a relationship with another man and the couple had one child before the relationship ended.

Mr O’Sullivan told the court that the alleged victim then entered in to another relationship with the accused in 2008 and in 2010, the couple had a child.

Jealousy, Mr O’Sullivan said was the main background to the case and that this fuelled the accused aggression to commit the alleged assaults.

In her evidence, the victim, told the court that she had a child with an ex-lover in 2005 but the relationship ended.

She began a relationship with the accused in 2008 and during an on off period, they had a child in 2010 but again the relationship broke down.

During a period of discussion over access to see the child, the accused and the victim struck up their relationship again and the accused moved in with the woman.

On the night of the alleged incident, the victim told the court that she and the accused had consensual sex before the accused saw a text message that was sent to her former ex-partner saying “Goodnight X”.

Enraged, the woman described how the accused man forced himself on her, demanding anal sex and slapping her on the “bum area” while repeatedly shouting “whose ass is this, whose is it…say it’s mine, say it, say it, say it”.

Emotional while giving her evidence, the victim said “he was trying to force his penis in to my anus”, before she broke down in the witness box.

Recomposing herself, the victim said that she refused and wriggled her way out but again the accused shouted and slapped her saying “you will like it, you will be begging me for more”.

“It took all my strength to stop him – I was begging him” she said before again breaking down i n the witness box.

The next day, the accused, according to the victim, confronted her with the text message and blamed her for the events of the night before.

“Look at what you have done”, the victim claimed that the accused said before he left.

In her evidence, the victim said that over the course of the following day, she thought that matters had calmed when the two were in contact via text and phone conversations.

“I felt it was my fault earlier but then I thought that he would come back and say that it would never happen again and we could put it behind us. I didn’t realise what I opened the door to that night”, she said before revealing details of the second alleged assault.

The accused returned late that night and the victim said that she had thought they were going to talk about what had happened and sort things out.

However, the trial heard that the accused allegedly said “I haven’t come her for that” and dropped his pants and underwear.

The victim said that he forced her to the ground and pushed his penis in to her face demanding that he “suck it”.

The trial heard details of another struggle and more demands from the accused who she says was seeking oral sex.

“He was angry and saying that he didn’t come there to talk and saying a whole load of vulgar things. They were derogatory and he kept saying it over and over”, she told the court.

He kept pushing his penis towards my mouth while his hands were over my head”, the woman told the jury.

During cross examination by defence counsel Lorcan Connolly BL, the woman accepted that she sent numerous sexually orientated text messages during the course of the relationship but claimed she only did this to “keep him happy”.

Details of some of the messages read out to the court included that the woman agreed to be the accused’s “naughty sex slave” and that she longed for his “shaft” in her mouth and to “choke” on it.

The woman denied that she consented to any of the sexual activity that is the subject matters of the charges claiming that she was “in love with someone who was very wrong for me”.

However, the court heard that in the aftermath of the alleged sexual assaults, the woman sent more explicit messages inviting the accused to have “outdoor sex” and including that “you can tie me to a tree and slap my ass all you want”.

When Mr Connolly put it to the alleged victim that as the couple had sex earlier on the Saturday night, any of the “robust activity” later was just a continuation of the same event, the 36-year-old denied this.

“I never agreed to any of that – he was forceful, violent and angry. I begged and pleaded for him to stop.”

Asked to explain the explicit texts, the woman said that she sent those “just because he asked me to, he got a kick out of them when we were not together. i was sos embarrassed I sent the first few in Irish she said”, but Mr Connolly put it to her that this painted a “very different picture”.

The victim said that the events had “a huge effect on my life” adding that she suffered panic attacks and months of counselling.

Mr Connolly asked why the victim sent a text to the accused saying that she “can’t wait for your hot ass”, the woman said “I didn’t want him to come in home angry”.

The trial continues before Judge Tom O’Donnell at Limerick Circuit Court.

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HE plays the role of Garda Paudge Brennan in TV3’s award-winning drama Red Rock.

But when he’s off screen, Caherconlish actor Pat Ryan gives a very convincing portrayal of a man who gets immense enjoyment out of what he does.

“I’m a very proud Limerick man. The further I get from here, the more attached I get to it” he explains.

Asked if acting was his passion from a young age, Ryan explained that there was big chance of him ‘doing a bit of everything’.

“My hurling cameo was brief and uneventful while in Caherline primary school, so that’s as far as my sporting career went. When I was growing up, I was a bit of a messer, but I always liked watching television shows and films, so I guess that had an impact on me.

“I developed an interest in acting and performance from there and got involved in the Belltable and Limerick Youth Theatre. I was a young fella and meeting the likes of Mike Finn, John Murphy and Myles Breen really helped me because within a year I was in a professional show”.

From there, he went on to study acting in the School of Drama at Trinity College but even then he considered swapping the stage for adventures further afield.

“I was going to bail out of acting in 2007 as I had been in Dublin since the turn of the Millennium and said to myself this isn’t as good as I thought it was going to be. I contemplated doing an arts degree but decided to stick it out for another while at least.

“There will always be ups and downs in acting, but you prepare for that as best you can. I was heading to Canada for a change of scenery before Red Rock came up. I had my visa organised and was ready to go but the phone rang and I’m delighted it did”.

Having performed in film, television and theatre, he feels that the electricity of a live performance is hard to emulate.

“I love all aspects of what I do, but when a live audience feeds off an onstage performance, it’s hard to beat. I toured with ‘Alone it Stands’ for a while and the 25th anniversary performance at the University Concert Hall in 2003 was special.

“In terms of film and television, it can be a slow burner, but with Red Rock there is a quick turnaround with filming.

“With any new production it’s exciting and frightening at the same time, as you don’t know how it’s going to go or how the public will react to it, but luckily Red Rock seems to be holding it’s own”.

There may be an element of modesty in his assessment because Red Rock has been snapped up by the BBC and US online site Amazon Prime.

Now in it’s second season on TV3, he says that the award-winning drama has been a great project to work on for a number of reasons.

“There’s a good relationship between everyone involved and we are all highly driven individuals who want to make good television. The scriptwriters and directors are extremely professional, and everyone has rowed in to give the show an opportunity to succeed”.

During his time off, he likes anything that keeps him gainfully occupied.

“I recently got my hands on a ’79 kadett so I have been tipping away at that. I could say I restore cars but that would be a lie! I just like to get out and about, to recharge the batteries”

Looking to the future, he is keeping his options open but for the time being, he is enjoying every minute.

Red Rock airs on TV3 on Wednesday and Thursday at 8.30pm, and is also available on the TV3 player online.

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FOUR men have been released on bail after being charged in connection with a riot at a County Limerick hotel during an event highlighting suicide awareness among the Traveller community.

Michael Harty (20) of Ballingrane, Askeaton was granted bail on the condition that €4,000 cash was lodged with the court service.

Edward Harty (23) of Lisheen Park, Patrickswell; Larry O’Connor (27) of Holycross Place, Charleville and Jimmy Harty (20) of Lisheen Park were granted bail on charges of violent disorder in Rathkeale on April 14 last.

Limerick District Court heard that around 100 members of the extended Harty family were attending the launch of a CD by members of the family as a fundraiser to highlight suicide awareness.

Gardaí allege that “mayhem” broke out on the dance floor amongst a number of people attending the function in the Rathkeale House Hotel which was organised by West Limerick Resources and the HSE.

Detective Garda Jason Mitchell objected to Michael Harty’s application for bail based on the nature of the offence and he indicated that the incident was the latest in an ongoing feud among the Harty family.

Evidence was given that two Gardaí who were injured in the ensuing “riot”, have been rostered off duty as they recover from their injuries.

Michael Harty said he was not involved in the incident and was only there to hear his uncle play music.

Judge Mary Larkin granted bail subject to a number of strict conditions including a proviso that two thirds of a €6,000 bond be paid in to court to secure his release.

His co-accused, who were previously granted bail, are due in court again on June 16.

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Limerick man Gearoid Cleary photographed outside the High Court in Limerick after withdrawing a case against the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland for compensation from a fatal crash.
Photograph Liam Burke/Press 22

A LIMERICK man who was jailed over a fatal road crash, was left penniless after he withdrew a High Court compensation claim for injuries he suffered in the collision almost ten years ago.

Gearoid Cleary (32) of Ballinacurra Gardens was jailed for four years in 2008 for dangerous driving causing the death of 19 year-old Emma Woodland at Ballysimon Road, Limerick on September 9, 2006.

CCTV footage showed Cleary driving his Honda Integra at high speed outside Limerick Prison shortly before midnight. A 5-series BMW, driven by Latvian, Roman Andreas, was also seen traveling at high speed and in pursuit of Cleary.

A few hundred yards further on the Ballysimon Road, the BMW rear ended Cleary’s car and deflected it into a Toyota Starlet that was crossing the main road at an intersection.

Emma Woodland, a back seat passenger in the Toyota, died from head injuries sustained in the crash.

Roman Andreas fled the scene but was later prosecuted and jailed for three years when he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death.

Cleary contested the charge but was found guilty and jailed for four years.

Last week he took a High Court action against the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) for injuries, both physical and psychological, he suffered as a result of the fatal smash.

Although injuries to his back cleared up after a few years, he said was still haunted by nightmares and felt aggrieved that he was charged and convicted for causing the crash.

He said he pulled the registration plate of the BMW from the bumper of his car where it was embedded. He denied that he was “blocking” the BMW from overtaking and that he was “dicing or racing with the car behind”.

However he admitted to Michael Gleeson SC, for the MIBI, that he was “travelling at ferocious speed”.

“I wasn’t racing anyone. If Roman Andreas says he was racing, then he is on his own with that. I certainly wasn’t racing”.

Asked what had caused the accident, he said: “If your man wasn’t drunk, it wouldn’t have happened. I accept that it was careless, but I wasn’t to blame for it all”, he said.

Accepting that he was “aggrieved” by the conviction, he added that “the jury got it wrong as did the court of criminal appeal”

Consultant engineer Tom Hayes had earlier told the court that the damage caused by the crash was the worst he had seen. Marks on the road indicated that Cleary’s Honda would not have hit the Toyota Starlet if it wasn’t rear ended by the BMW.

However, on the fourth day of evidence, Mr Justice Brian Cregan was told that Cleary wanted to withdraw his claim and that no order was to be recorded by the court.

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Limerick gangland killer Gary Campion was found unresponsive in his cell

DOUBLE gangland killer, Gary Campion, who is serving two life sentences, has been found unresponsive in his cell this Thursday morning by prison officers at Mountjoy, in what is believed to be a drug overdose.

Campion (32), who was previously found with 73 bags of heroin in his cell at Limerick Prison almost nine years ago, was rushed to the Mater hospital from the Dublin jail this Thursday where he is doing life for the killing of nightclub doorman Brian Fitzgerald in 2002 and ‘Fat Frankie’ Ryan in 2006.

Officers believe that Campion may have overdosed after he received a package on Tuesday.

Gardai and the Irish Prison Service are to launch an investigation on the incident as Campion was under “special observation” at the time he lost consciousness this Thursday morning.

It is believed that the package may have been hidden about his person or he ingested it internally and subsequently may have burst inside the 32-year-old’s body.

Campion had been in a “close supervision cell” this Thursday.

The Moyross man was the first killer to be convicted of two gangland murders in the State under the new legislation brought about to tackle gangland crime.

The 32-year-old killer was found guilty of murdering nightclub doorman Brian Fitzgerald on November 15, 2007, and he received another life sentence on May 28, 2009, for the murder of Frank Ryan.

Appeals against both convictions failed last year.

Brian Fitzgerald refused to allow criminals sell drugs at the nightclub where he was working and subsequently became a target for a notorious criminal gang.

The 34-year-old was shot dead outside his home in November 2002.

Campion was the getaway driver for the shooter, James Martin Cahill.

In 2006, Campion shot Frank Ryan in the back of the head while they both sat in a car in Moyross on September 16 of that year.

Campion was subsequently found guilty of both murders and jailed for life but in 2009 he received a four-year sentence at Limerick Circuit Court for having 73 bags of heroin for sale in his cell at Limerick Prison.

This Thursday afternoon, the killer remains in a critical condition at a Dublin hospital.

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Limerick Gardai are investigating the attack

A 12-year-old boy with special needs was injured when he was attacked for a second time outside the Kileely Court community centre last Friday afternoon.

Gardai in Mayorstone are investigating the incident which resulted in the boy sustaining bruising to his face, eye, arms and head when he was attacked by two other boys.

One of his neighbours, who is a young mother, said that he was a soft target and not capable of fighting back in the same way another boy his age would be.

“This is the second time he has been attacked. The first incident happened over a year ago when he was knocked unconscious after being repeatedly hit in the head. He spent several days in hospital with concussion.

“The victim is in the same class as one of the attackers and is so traumatised by the events is unable to go to school. The other boy is only eleven years old so little can be done by the Gardaí except to refer him the HSE social workers.

“What is our world coming to when this is how our young people are acting and already treating vulnerable people in such a deplorable manner,” she said.

The investigation is being handled by Mayorstone Gardaí.

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LIMERICK-based equipment systems engineering firm, SL Controls, has announced 20 new positions.

The company currently employ 22 people at their offices at National Technology Park in Plassey. The new jobs are for qualified equipment systems engineers and graduates to support the company’s growing Irish operations and expansion into Europe.

The positions will be created across SL Control’s five operating centres in Limerick, Sligo, Galway, Dublin and Birmingham.

SL Controls work closely with University of Limerick and Limerick Institute of Technology and regularly attend their careers events from which they actively recruit new members to the SL Controls’ team.

“As part of our client engagement and recruitment strategy, we opened our Limerick offices in January 2014. The geographic spread of our business has been one of our biggest and best investments allowing us to recruit and retain top engineering talent and graduates, from University of Limerick and Limerick Institute of Technology, who are keen to live near their home towns and families,” said Keith Moran, Managing Director of SL Controls.

“We are currently in a period of rapid expansion, having welcomed our 51st team member this week, and look forward to recruiting another 20 engineers by early 2017,” he added. 

SL Controls has expanded into Europe with sights set on new territories and markets in the Food, Med Device and Pharma markets. The company has established a new validation/compliance department and recently completed customised serialisation solutions in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Sweden and France.

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GARDAI believe that a Limerick man used a German Shepherd dog to intimidate two teenagers during a robbery in the city last Sunday.

Detectives at Henry Street are investigating an incident in which a mobile phone and cash was stolen from a 16-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl in Arthurs Quay Park.

They were approached by a man who became aggressive and said he had a knife.

He stole their property and walked from the park in the direction of Francis Street.

He is described as being about 6’ tall, aged in his 30s, wearing a blue puffa jacket and tracksuit.

He had a German Shepherd dog with him and Gardaí say this made the teenagers afraid.

Separately, Gardai in Roxboro in Limerick are hunting two thieves who used BMX bikes and threatened to stab a man during the robbery on the outskirts of the city last Monday night.

A 41-year-old man was walking along Childers Road near the Parkway Shopping Centre when he was approached by two youths on BMX type bikes.

One of them produced a knife and threatened to stab the man who was then forced to hand over his mobile phone.

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The incident is alleged to occurred at Estaury House on Henry Street

AN AFGHAN national who said he hates Irish and white people, has been remanded in custody after he was charged with assaulting a Garda at an immigration office in Limerick last Monday.

Yusef Hashemi, (36) appeared before Limerick District Court this Tuesday charged with assaulting Garda Peter O’Grady at the Immigration office in Estuary House on Henry Street after he demanded that he be deported, despite living in Ireland since 2004.

Objecting to bail, Sgt Tony Miniter said Garda O’Grady was recovering in hospital with a suspected fracture of his cheekbone.

Sgt Miniter said the State’s case was supported by medical evidence, CCTV footage and witness statements from the injured party and an independent witness.

Mr Hashemi had called to the immigration office the previous Friday in a very aggressive state. A female member of staff “hit the electronic panic button because she was so much in fear”.

Hashemi, who failed in his application for asylum, left the immigration office but returned on Monday morning and was again aggressive while dealing with a female member of staff.

When asked to leave, he lashed out and hit Garda O’Grady a number of blows to the face.

Asked why he was at the immigration office, Sgt Miniter said that Hashemi “wanted the State to pay for him to go home”.

“There is no obligation for him to stay, but he wanted the State to pay for him to return to Afghanistan – it’s a simple as that.”

Sgt Miniter said that he understood Mr Hashemi was lawfully licensed to be in Ireland until March 2017.

Asked what would happen then, Sgt Miniter said he didn’t know, but he was aware of a Dublin-based firm who assisted people being repatriated to their home country.

“The purpose of his visit to the station was to be deported but there was no warrant or necessity for him to be deported out of the country.”

“There was a powerful incentive for him to leave last Friday and this new charge will further incentivise him to go” Sgt Miniter added.

Defence solicitor John Herbert said his client alleged his house was broken in to four times in Limerick and he had family he wanted to return to.

Sgt Donal Cronin said that the State had huge concerns over the man’s demands as well as his living status.

“The direction of travel is now against the direction of travel of thousands of people from that part of the world and this is something that we find extraordinary,” Sgt Cronin said.

Judge Marian O’Leary said that she was refusing the application for bail and remanded Mr Hashemi in custody to May 3.

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THE Eurovision episode of Father Ted was filmed in Limerick’s Theatre Royal. Patrick Pearse also roused volunteers in the same hall. Oscar Wilde delivered a talk on his personal impressions of America here and The Cranberries took to its stage after selling their first million records Stateside. There is now plans afoot for a four-screen cinema and digital hub. Limerick Post reporter Alan Jacques recently visited his old haunt.

I STAND centrestage in a landmark building in the heart of Limerick City and breathe in its rich history and consider all those who have tread its boards.

In the year of 1916 Centenary commemorations, it is almost impossible not to conjure up images of Patrick Pearse rousing volunteers in this same hall more than a hundred years ago.

On the same cold Sunday night back in 1914, Roger Casement, another founding father of the Irish Republic, was also present.

The walls of the Limerick Athenaeum at 2, Upper Cecil Street are steeped in history. Since it was built in 1833, it played a pivotal role in Limerick life for more than 150 years, drawing the community together to laugh, love, learn and dream.

The venue has served many purposes down the years as an art school, lecture hall, library, theatre, cinema and live music venue.

Sadly, the doors of what was known in its last incarnation as the Theatre Royal have been closed since 1997.

In its heyday, Limerick Athenaeum played host to an impressive range of luminaries from Oscar Wilde to Maud Gonne, Catherine Hayes and John McCormack.

While in more recent times everyone from The Cranberries to The Corrs, The Prodigy and Boyzone have plied their musical wares here.

A church pulpit is curiously placed over on the corner of the stage. I am told it was a prop left over from one of two ‘Father Ted’ episodes filmed in the Theatre Royal. It was on this very stage that Fathers Crilly and McGuire crooned their way through ‘My Lovely Horse’ in that unforgettable Eurovision episode.

• Most of us of a certain vintage will also have very fond memories of the venue as the Royal Cinema. I can remember being brought to see Franco Zeffirelli’s epic ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ here when I was just six-years-old.

I asked photographer Brian Gavin of Press 22, who joins me for this trip down memory lane, about his recollections of the old movie house.

“Oh, I remember it well. I loved Westerns and my father used to take me to see all the John Wayne movies here,” Brian recalls.

“We knew it as the flea market. You’d be itching all over after coming to see a film at the Royal. You’d have to be deloused when you got home.”

Interestingly, Declan McLoughlin of Limerick Film Archive, and Dave Burns, director of The Royal Project, both remember ‘Raging Bull’ as the last film they saw at the city centre cinema. The film, a classic, stars Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s emotional tale about a self-destructive boxer.

Speaking of pugilists, the venue has taken a real pummeling in the last number of years. The harsh winter of 2010, which caused pipes to burst, delivered a severe body blow leaving the hall’s wooden floor buckled, uprooted in places, and in serious disrepair.

That said, if Declan and Dave have their way, the Royal could, one day in the not so distant future, rise like a beautiful, fiery phoenix to relive some of its former glories.

Their plan is to transform this desolate relic into a vibrant four-screen cinema, café/bar and digital hub that would bring much-needed life back into the city centre. The cost of realising this wonderful dream comes in at around €5.9 million — €12 million less than proposed for the controversial footbridge over the River Shannon.

It may not make any of the ‘greatest movies of all time’ polls but as it turns out, the last film screened at the Royal was ‘Police Academy 2’.

As I walk around one of my favoured city hangouts of the mid-nineties, the memories come rushing back. I vividly remember my old pals, Limerick band ‘The Hitchers’, launching their debut album ‘It’s All Fun and Games ‘Til Someone Loses An Eye’ here back in 1997 to a full house and real rabble-rousing party atmosphere.

In the main foyer, a poster advertises a Picturehouse concert at the Theatre Royal on a bygone Sunday June 29 to promote their single ‘Heavenly Day’. Another talks up Billy Nasty, who performed here on Friday August 27, 2007, as “the UK’s number one Techno DJ”.

A condom machine looks forlornly down from the wall of an upstairs toilet in this boogie wonderland. Once upon a time, it dispensed ‘sensual, ribbed and coloured’ variety packs to randy concertgoers with their minds on making sweet music of a different kind.

In the dressing room, a flood of images come out to greet me from an antique mirror as I revel in a moment of nostalgia in these cosy backstage quarters. I can still picture former proprietor, the affable and charming Seamie Flynn, walking these corridors, greeting musicians and patrons as if into his home.

Sitting on the bar in the main hall, an unopened bottle of Corrib Ginger Ale still waits patiently for a stiff drink to come along and liven things up.

Posters and fliers that litter the venue tell their own tales of raucous musical capers from the likes of Sharon Shannon, The Spice-ish Girls, Slackjaw and the Australian Pink Floyd.

These walls are filled with music, memories and laughter. Hopefully one day soon they will ooze vitality once more.

It would be a Royal shame if they don’t!

by Alan Jacques

alan@limerickpost.ie

All pictures by Brian Gavin/Press 22

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Limerick

THE COST of living in Limerick is significantly higher than Dublin, Cork or Galway, according to the latest cost of living index.

And shoppers in the Treaty City pay almost one-third more for their groceries than people living in Dublin or Cork and a massive 43 per cent more than it costs to fill a shopping trolley in Galway.

The latest figures show that on a scale of one to 100, Limerick is the most expensive of the four major Irish cities, scoring 92.88 as against Dublin’s 83.78, Cork which clocks in at 76.81 and Galway at 73.89.

The index is made up of a combination of expenses including the cost of groceries, the price of rent, eating out and transport.

But while consumer prices in Limerick came in at more than 20 per cent higher than Cork, almost 26 per cent higher than Galway and 11 per cent higher than Dublin, Limerick rent costs are less than half the price of rents in Dublin.

Renting a property in Limerick will cost a third less than renting in Cork and more than 28 per cent less than renting in Galway.

The price index lists everyday items, such as lettuce, which costs €1.01 in Dublin and €1.15 in Limerick. Everyday items such a litre of milk and a loaf of white bread also turned out to be more expensive in Limerick than the capital.

However buying a new car will be easier on the pocket in Limerick than in Dublin with a Volkswagen Golf coming in at €500 cheaper.

Those who like a tipple fare better here than in Dublin with a pint costing on average 10 per cent less than in Cork.

Grabbing a quick bite is more expensive at McDonalds in Limerick than in Dublin, with a McMeal costing 75 cents more here.

But on the restaurant price index scale of 1 to 100, eating out in Limerick is cheaper, coming in at 81.32 compared to 88.01 in Dublin and 81.81 in Cork.

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Limerick Circuit Court heard details of the sexting between the accused and the woman

JUST because a woman engages in ‘sexting’, should not damage her credibility in making a complaint to gardai, the jury in the Limerick trial of man charged with sexual assaulting a mother of two has been told.

However, following one hour and 48 minutes of deliberations, the five women and seven men returned a unanimous not guilty verdict in the trial of a 35-year-old man who denied two counts of sexual assault on his former partner and the mother of his child at her home three years ago.

Prosecution counsel for the State, John O’Sullivan BL asked the jury to consider the shock romantic novelist Jane Austen would have “if she walked in to a bookshop and saw 50 Shades of Grey – but such is the change in society that we have today.

“Considering that, it is wrong to say that just because someone wrote certain content in text messages, it would therefore damage her credibility to make a complaint of sexual assault which was ‘forceful and violent’ and carried out by a man who was described as controlling and angry’”.

In his closing address after two days of evidence, Mr O’Sullivan said that the alleged victim was of good character and that there was evidence to support her claims made against the man that she had a four and half year ‘on-and-off’ relationship with.

During the trial, the jury of five women and seven men heard that the accused was described as a “jealous” lover who became jilted over a text message sent to an ex partner just after the couple had consensual sex in the woman’s home in January 2013.

The relationship was described as often “volatile” but also “highly sexually charged”.

The 35-year-old accused, was living in Clare at the time of the alleged offence and denied the charges of two counts of sexual assault on a woman who he had an “on-and-off relationship” with on January 26 and 27, 2013.

The trial heard that the victim was “sexting” messages agreeing to be a “naughty sex slave” and to be tied to a tree to have her “ass slapped” just before she claimed she was sexually assaulted.

“Jealousy”, the court heard, was said to be the main background to the case and that this fuelled the accused aggression to commit the alleged assaults.

In her evidence, the victim, told the court that she had a child with an ex-lover in 2005 and despite the relationship ending, they remain on good terms.

In 2008, the woman said that she began a sporadic relationship with the accused they had a child in 2010.

On the night of January 26, 2013, the victim told the court that she and the accused had consensual sex before the accused saw a text message that was sent to her former ex-partner saying “Goodnight X”.

Enraged, the woman described how the accused man forced himself on her, demanding anal sex and slapping her on the “bum area” while repeatedly shouting “whose ass is this, whose is it…say it’s mine, say it, say it, say it”.

Emotional while giving her evidence, the victim said “he was trying to force his penis in to my anus”, before she broke down in the witness box.

Recomposing herself, the victim said that she refused and wriggled her way out but again the accused shouted and slapped her saying “you will like it, you will be begging me for more”.

“It took all my strength to stop him – I was begging him” she said before again breaking down in the witness box.

The next day, the accused, according to the victim, confronted her with the text message and blamed her for the events of the night before.

In her evidence, the victim said that over the course of the following day, she thought that matters had calmed when the two were in contact via text and phone conversations.

The court heard that that in the aftermath of the first alleged sexual assault, the woman sent more explicit messages inviting the accused to have “outdoor sex” and including that “you can tie me to a tree and slap my ass all you want”.

Later she said “I was on auto pilot through the day. I felt it was my fault, but then I thought that he would come back and say that it would never happen again and we could put it behind us. I didn’t realise what I opened the door to that night”, she said before revealing details of the second alleged assault.

The man returned late that and the alleged victim said that he demanded oral sex when all she wanted to do was talk about the night before.

“He told me that he didn’t come to talk and dropped his pants and underwear.”

“He forced me to the ground and pushed his penis into my face demanding that I ‘suck it’”, she said.

“He was angry and saying that he didn’t come there to talk and saying a whole load of vulgar things. They were derogatory and he kept saying it over and over as he stuck his penis in to my face”, she told the court.

“He kept pushing his penis towards my mouth while his hands were over my head”, the woman told the jury.

During cross examination by defence counsel Lorcan Connolly BL, the woman accepted that she sent numerous sexually orientated text messages during the course of the relationship but claimed she only did this to “keep him happy”.

The woman denied that the marks she received arose out of “robust sex”, she had with the accused and that the texts were a “curious response to what was alleged to have happened the night before”.

Details of some of the messages read out to the court included that the woman agreed to be the accused’s “naughty sex slave” and that she longed for his “shaft” in her mouth and to “choke” on it.

The woman denied that she consented to the man’s demands adding that she was “in love with someone who was very wrong for me”.

“I never agreed to any of that – he was forceful, violent and angry. I begged and pleaded for him to stop.”

Asked to explain the explicit texts, the woman said that she sent those “just because he asked me to, he got a kick out of them when we were not together. I was so embarrassed I sent the first few in Irish she said”, but Mr Connolly put it to her that this painted a “very different picture”.

The victim said that the events had “a huge effect on my life” adding that she suffered panic attacks and endured months of counselling.

“The texts were meant to be fun and not an excuse for him to beat me or become violent”.

Mr Connolly asked why the victim sent a text to the accused saying that she “can’t wait for your hot ass”, the woman said “I didn’t want him to come in home angry”.

The court heard that the woman broke down and confided in a friend two days after the alleged incident and that the father of the woman’s first child took 22 pictures of her injuries the next day and that he initiated contact with gardai.

On the day she made a statement of complaint to Gardai, the court heard details that the woman engaged in texting with the accused seeking an “explanation and apology” for what had allegedly happened.

Following his arrest in February 2013, the accused man denied the sexual assault allegations when they were put to him during the garda interviews.

He denied that he was every aggressive and that any slapping between the two “did not have any force”.

Asked why he apologised to the alleged victim in text message on the Sunday evening, the accused said that the couple had a disagreement but this was after and not related to the consensual oral sex they had.

He added, “women are fickle, sure aren’t we always apologising to them”.

In his closing argument, Lorcan Connolly defence counsel for the accused man said that it was simply the case that the 35-year-old denied the sexual assault claims made by the woman.

“Lies and nonsense” is how the accused described the allegations to Gardai and Mr Connolly asked the jury to consider the “only option as being not guilty”.

Before retiring the jury to begin their deliberations, Judge O’Donnell asked the jury to be as “dispassionate as possible in considering the verdict and stick to the evidence that has been put before you. The consequences of any verdict should not be of concern to you”.

Shortly before 5pm this Thursday, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty on both counts.

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A picture of Julia Holmes in one of her guises

SERIAL fraudster Julia Holmes died in a suicide pact with her partner Thomas Ruttle at his home in Boolaglass, Askeaton, an inquest at Newcastle West coroners court concluded this week.

Coroner Antoinette Simon BL, heard that the couple were found dead in their bed by a gang of burglars who stumbled on their decomposing bodies on the night of May 17, 2015.

Five members of the extended Harty family from West Limerick arrived at Newcastle West Garda Station in an agitated state looking to speak with the Garda in charge.

Sgt Gearoid Thompson said the men were stealing scrap metal from sheds and continued in to the house as they had been undisturbed in their activities outside. When they saw the two bodies in the upstairs bedroom, they ran from the scene and contacted the Gardaí.

He arrived at the house at 2.50am on May 18 and immediately noticed a smell. He went upstairs and found two badly decomposed bodies.

He saw two guns, neither of which had been discharged, in the bedroom as well as three buckets of cinders in the front of a fireplace that was blocked with tin foil.

When he returned downstairs, he saw handwritten letters on the kitchen table, with instructions for persons finding the bodies and other instructions.

Dr Sebastian Van Eynatten attended the scene and found both bodies in varying degrees of composition. They were bloated and there was a lot of blood stagnating in the tissues.

Detective Sgt John Grant said that he found a blue towel behind the back door of the bedroom and that the room had been staged to prevent air circulating.  This was colloquially known as an indoor BBQ where coals are burnt in a sealed room to produce carbon monoxide poisoning.

In her summation of the evidence, Ms Simon said Gardaí concluded there was no third party involvement in the deaths of Thomas Ruttle and Julia Holmes as the bedroom was deliberately staged to produce carbon monoxide poisoning.

She added that Ms Holmes’ identity was confirmed after fingerprint analysis confirmed she was also known as Julia Cecilia McKetterick who had fled Northern Ireland and was being sought by the PSNI.

Mr Ruttle’s identity was confirmed by DNA evidence from his biological son in Nenagh.

State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy agreed that the “staged” environment she found at the scene would be consistent with persons allowing a deliberate build-up of carbon monoxide.

Leanne Knight, Thomas Ruttle’s former partner and the mother of his two sons, asked if it was possible to determine who died first, to which Professor Cassidy replied it was possible that Thomas Ruttle may have died first as he had a mild medical condition.

Professor Cassidy gave further evidence that the appearance of the scene and the post mortem findings were consistent with asphyxia-type death due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Despite these findings, she said that the cause of death could not be confirmed.

Ms Simon said that the handwritten notes that were found at the scene would not be read in to evidence

“Should the families wish to see them, my office will forward them,” she said.

She added that although Professor Cassidy said the cause of death could not be confirmed, she was satisfied to direct the jury in reaching their verdict.

“Collectively the letters and notes that were found in the kitchen, of which I have considered, are such that both the late Mr Ruttle and Ms Holmes’ unfortunate intention was to take their own lives.

“I will request the jury to return a verdict that in accordance with the evidence heard that there was no third party involvement in the deaths of both the late Thomas Ruttle and Julia Holmes.

“The verdict should be one of suicide, once the jury are satisfied of such a verdict beyond a reasonable doubt.

“I do not believe that there is an alternative verdict upon which I can address the jury to return their verdict and sadly it is most regrettable that such a verdict has to be reached.

Ms Simon went on to say that “today has been the inquest into how the death of both came about in the most tragic of circumstances and saddening situations they found themselves to carry out for reasons both of whom considered that they had to carry out in ending their lives.

“Both the late Mr Ruttle and Ms Holmes were persons who were once a son and daughter, a brother and a sister to siblings and, most of all, a parent of whom the loss undoubtedly has caused extreme sadness and distress to them.

“I would respectfully submit that this be the finalisation into the lives of their past prior to the events leading up to the May 17 and 18, 2015, for the sake of their loved ones”, she concluded.

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