Roy Keane Resigns

Roy Keane has resigned as manager of Sunderland Football Club.

The former Manchester United star had only been at the North Eastern club for 27 months but has released a statement stating that he believes the “right time” had come for him to move on.

Keane had brought the club from the First Division into the Premier League aswell as bringing stability to a side which had yo – yo’d between top flight and Championship football over the past number of years. However, recent results have not been good enough with 5 defeats in 6 matches and the club currently lies in 18th position with a trip to Manchester United at the weekend.

Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has release a statement speaking about his “dissappointment” at Keane’s decision.

For many Irish fans, the situation brings back memories of the 2002 World Cup when Keane walked out on the Irish national side during a training session in Saipan in the lead up to the first game of the tournament. During that incident, Keane had complained about the training facilities available to the squad. A known perfectionist, it may have been the words of his close friend and autobiographer Eamonn Dunphy who this week stated that Keane had “lost the plot” in relation to his transfer dealings, that may have driven him over the edge.

Whatever the exact reason behind his departure, one thing is for certain, he will be a hard act to follow for any new manager. Bearing in mind the fact that Sir Alex Ferguson has won 31 out of 33 meetings with his former players- turned -managers, it seems that maybe Keane could not face the possible humiliation awaiting this weekend at Old Trafford at the hands of his former boss.

United face a now managerless Sunderland at 3 o’clock on Saturday.

Some of Keane’s Highs :

And his lows :

Human Trafficking Arrests in Joint Operation

Nine people have now been arrested in a major operation targeting human trafficking in Ireland. Fourteen locations were raided this morning resulting in the arrests of 4 men and 2 women.

This afternoon, another man was arrested by PSNI in Northeren Ireland and 2 others have been detained at locations in Wales.

Welsh police say those arrested are a 47-year-old Irishman and a 31-year-old south African woman.

Each suspect is being held on suspicion of committing a number of offences including organising and managing prostitution.

Brothels were searched in Cavan, Drogheda, Athlone, Mullingar, Sligo, Kilkenny, Enniscorthy, Newbridge, and Waterford.

The raids follow an international investigation into human trafficking which involved gardaí, the PSNI and the British Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Human Trafficking is an issue which has had an increasing profile on the European policing agenda over the past number of years. A number of high profile cases have brought this issue to the forefront of political discussions in Brussels as the ever expanding boarders become increasingly difficult to police with constant expansion.

Tobin Guilty

Peter Tobin has been found guilty of the murder of Vicky Hamilton who went missing in 1991.

Tobin, a 62 year old Scottish man, is already in prison serving life for the murder of Polish student Angelika Kluk in 2006.

Here he is denying all knowledge of the whereabouts of his innocent victims’ body :

Mr. Tobin has been sentenced to serve a minimum of 30 years in prison and will not be eligible for parole until he is 92 years old. The judge passing sentence indicated that she would rather he have to serve both life sentences concurrently instead of together at the same time. This would mean that the murderer would not have the possibilty of release for another 52 years. However, the letter of the law has deemed this longer sentence unavailable on the basis of a technicality relating to the time difference between the 2 crimes.

Ever since his arrest on suspicion of murdering Ms Kluk, detectives across the UK have been trawling a host of unsolved murder cases and disappearances. It is now believed that Mr. Tobin may have murdered up to 48 times after an off the record prison confession. Police are currently investigating whether or not he is responsible for the infamous ‘Bible John’ murders in Glasgow between 1968 and 1969.

FAS Chief Resigns

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Mary Coughlan has accepted the resignation this week of the Director General of FÁS, Rody Molloy. FAS is Ireland’s largest public training and development authority.

Mr. Molloys’ resignation comes in the week of serious allegations regarding the use of public funds by the Director General and for excessive spendature for him and his staff members on business class trans atlantic flights.

In a statement, State training agency FÁS said it would continue to cooperate with investigations by the Public Accounts Committee and the Auditor General.

Chairman of the board of FÁS, Peter McLoone, said the resignation was in the best interests of the organization.

It has emerged that the agency has spent somewhere in the region of €700,000 on flights for board members between Dublin and Florida who were promoting a Science programme.

Mr. Molloy said the money that was spent was justified as it was for the benefit of teaching prgrammes which educated young Irish people. However, pressure groups have demanded for a public inquiry into how so much capital has been diverted into this type expenditures at a time when Ireland is facing down recession, job losses and increased taxation.

Knifeman found guilty

A 22 year old man has been found guilty of the murder of a 26 year old Dubliner today at the Circuit Criminal Court.

Dane Pearse stabbed Google employee Mark Spellman in the chest after a row on Londonbridge Rd, Irishtown in the early hours of August 4th, 2007. An altercation took place after the victim left a work party in the ‘51‘ pub on Haddington Road.

22 Year old Dane Pearse:

( Picture courtesy of The Herald.ie )

In a victim impact statement read to the court Mr Spellman’s sister Emma said she had lost her rock and that the family’s life had not been the same. The two men became engaged in a fight after trading insults outside the convicted mans’ home. Mr. Spellman had kicked Mr.Pearse in the chest, resulting in him falling backwards onto the ground. It was at this point that Mr.Pearse entered his house, acquired a batton and a knife before chasing the victim up the street and stabbing him to death in a neighbours garden.

Victim Mark Spellman :

( Picture courtesy of RTE )

This case bares haunting similarity to the previously reported case of the murder of 18 year old Sean Nolan by Finn Colclough on Waterloo Road. Both murders involved the heavy abuse of alcohol and are a sad inditement of the binge drinking culture which has swept across Ireland in recent years, especially amongst young people.

Mr. Pearse received the mandatory life sentence.

Body of I.R.A victim found

Gardai searching in the Wicklow mountains of South East Ireland have discovered the body of a man who was shot dead by the Provisional IRA 27 years ago.

Danny Mc Ilhone was abducted and murdered in 1981 on suspicion of the theft of Republican arms. Gardai disclosed that they had found a part of a foot, a sock and a boot during the dig at Ballynultagh, 6.5 KM from the village of Lacken in West Wicklow.

This rugged area was a known hotspot in the 1970s and 80s for IRA training camps with numerous reports of paramilitary operations taking place there during that time. The discovery of the then 21 year olds body puts pressure on Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland to reveal more information on behalf of the IRA’s Army Council as to the whereabouts of the bodies of more of the so – called “disappeared”.

IRA training and propaganda video :

The searches were co-ordinated by the Independent Commissson for the Location of Victims’ Remains. This case also comes at a time when the ongoing investigation into the brutal murder of another 21 year old man, Paul Quinn, reaches a turning point as the police confirm they suspect IRA involvement. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has yet to comment on the recent revelations.

Murder of Shane Geoghegan

Limerick, the small Irish town in the western provence of Munster ( with a population of a mere 90,000 ) is in the headlines back in Ireland again this week after the shocking murder of 28 year old Garryowen captain Shane Geoghegan.

Geoghegan was shot outside his home in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity. The murder brings the spotlight back to the attention of the gang violence which has engulfed the city over the past number of years. Inevitably, innocent people have begun to lose their lives as the two infamous feuding gang , the Mc Carthys and the Keanes , continue in to do battle over the lucrative drugs trade in the area.

Defence Minister Willie O’Dea said the murder had created a “palpable” sense of shock across Limerick. He also said that he remains confident that Gardai will identify and capture the culprits.

But is this enough? Is the Irish state doing enough to combat gang criminality in the 26 counties? When journalist Veronica Guerin was shot dead in 1996, the enormous public outcry resulted in a clampdown on the drugs gangs which terrorised Dublin in the mid 90’s. Such was the extent of this new policy, that murders within the capital fell by 50% as the CAB seized assets and ensured gang leaders were jailed under strict new legislations drafted in at the time.

Without doubt it would appear that a similar surge in Garda action is now required in Limerick. The same sense of urgency must be demanded by the public otherwise this scourge of lawlessness will continue unabaited, resulting in the continued loss of innocent people who are caught up in the crossfire.

May I also add that this picture which Minister Willie O’Dea posed for recently is COMPLETELY INNAPROPRIATE :

Drug Smuggler Sentenced

A 24-year-old man has been jailed for ten years after he pleaded guilty to his part in an operation to import at least €440m worth of cocaine into Ireland.

Gerard Hagan, who is originally from Liverpool, was part of a four man team who organised the shipment of one and a half tonnes of cocaine from Trinidad to Ireland, Cork Circuit Criminal Court was told. The operation fell apart when the men tried to transfer their haul by dinghy into Dunlough Bay from a nearby catamaran. During rough weather, their small boat capsized causing 61 seperate bales of pure cocaine to be deposited in the harbour.

Last July, three other members of the gang, Perrie Wharrie, Joe Daly and Martin Wanden were given sentences ranging from 25 to 30 years when they were convicted following an eight-week trial. This case further highlights the ongoing problem in relation to the policing of the Irish coastline. But for a major slice of good fortune, the Irish authorities would never have been aware of this smuggling operation.

The haul recovered is the largest to have been seized in the history of the Irish State :

( Picture courtesy of RTE )

Racism goes unpunished

So F1 World Champion and inspirational idol to millions of young children and adults alike, Lewis Hamilton, had to suffer the indignity of racist abuse at the hands of a number of Spanish and South American degenerates. It is hard to know where to begin in relation to this.
One finds oneself almost to infuriated to be rational here. The racism he suffered is not worth repeating and it was evident enough that even his poor father questioned whether or not he should allow his family to remain in such an open gallery to the public, on the platform of F1.

F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton :

Bernie Ecclestone should be sacked. Simple as. He tried to make light of the situation by saying these people were only ‘joking’. Would he be saying that if it was his daughter who was being racially abused? No.
I personally find myself turning into a left wing fascist when it comes to dealing with this. Fire needs to be fought with fire. These people were acting like modern day cultural Nazis without the back up of the mechanics of state. So, I believe, us right thinking members of society should ‘go Nazi’ in our treatment of them. Zero tolerance and an iron fist. If you have been caught on camera doing what these people did, you are not only taken forcibly from the stadium ( and banned for life ) but you are put in prison and humiliated in open forum. Pictures and names pubished. Bring shame on families.

( Picture courtesy of Pitpass )
How can such abuse be allowed go unpunished in this day and age? The Spanish speaking world, it would appear, has many questions it needs to ask itself. In fairness to the U.K , most racial abuse at sporting events, so prevalent in the 70’s and 80’s, has been almost completely eradicated. But not in Spain, or in South America. Many Eastern European countries also continue to turn a blind eye to this blight.
Emile Heskey and Shaun Wright Philips suffered the same despicable abuse when they played in the Bernebeau in Madrid. That is not a coincidence. The people of Spain in particular have questions that need to be answered.
We have got to be far more intolerant of intolerance. People say that the best thing you can do is stand up to a bully and this is true. But I think we need to then crush the bully. Stand on them with harsher laws. If you treat somebody like a piece of rubbish then we will treat you worse. That was how Los Pepes defeated Escobar and throughout history, it has always been the case that the only way to defeat bigots is by using their own tactics and then some.
Zero tolerance is required.
Drawing from that, the comments made by Mr.Berlusconi in relation to Mr. Obama should cost him his job also. And might I also add, does anybody else agree that Max Moseley should have been given the sack? The only reason he did not is because the F1 ruling body panel is made up by his closest  friends, that’s a fact.  A married man in his position of power and ‘stature’ who should be setting a benchmark about social decency for youngsters is supposed to be spending his time making sure the sport of F1 is free from such things as racism and not as it was, engaging in extra marital, questionably themed, extra marital ‘spanking’.  Either way, he is not doing his job.
None of them are.

Teenage drinking leads to killing

In Ireland this week we have seen the ongoing trial of 18 year old Finn Colclough of Waterloo Rd. in South Dublin.The Institiute of Education student stands accused of the murder of another 18 year old student, Sean Nolan. This is a case which sums up one of the problems in Irish culture which has never been properly addressed, despite all the ad campaigns. I am of course referring to teenage drinking. Conclough stabbed Nolan twice in the chest, one of which proved to be a fatal injury to his heart. The fact that the incident occurred at 4 in the morning at a time when everyone present at the scene was so drunk that many could not provide detailed accounts of what occurred, comes as no surprise. Both young men had been out celebrating exam results and it seems the argument occurred over who would provide a corkscrew for the bottle of wine which had been purchased in a nearby petrol station.

Finn Colclough arrives at court.

(Picture courtesy of The Evening Herald)
This is another extremely tragic event in the long history of drink fuelled violence in Ireland. One wonders at what point people will see sense. At what point are we going to stand up and be counted for in the battle against this scourge which has blighted our society for generations? Parents , in my opinion, is where the buck stops. We need to educate our children from a much younger age  than is the norm to be responsible and learned of the perils of alcohol.
But I sound like a broken record. It is very easy to be disheartened when one examines the facts ; alcohol related crime in Ireland has never been higher and continues to increase in frequency.
So what can be done?
This it appears in almost infinite question taking in an endless number of aspects ; policing, parenting, licensing laws etc etc. We could spend all day. But I think it is a fair conclusion to say that so far, the changes in these measures have not succeeded. So it would appear, in some ways, that it comes down to the individual. Each of us has a personal responsibility to society as a whole to stand up and be counted for and I suppose, not allow this to be something which we just regard as societies combined problem. It is very easy to feel that one’s own efforts is merely a drop in the ocean and does not / will not make a difference. But as we know, combine the drops and you have the ocean.
Enough metaphors. Everyone must do their bit. Teach our children. Ring the police. Don’t walk on by. Maybe this should be the new basis for the ad campaigns , which in Ireland anyway, taking alcohol as an example, merely tell the viewer NOT TO DRINK MORE THAN THE LIMIT.
Is it fair to say this is the wrong approach? It does not address the problem in oh so many ways. In fact, it raises some serious questions in itself.  The ad campaigns regarding excessive drinking in Ireland have failed as has the law. A whole new approach is required. And maybe that approach requires a whole new model: New laws and a new imputus which appeals to the social conscience of the individual possibly? But these are just suggestions. Major public debate is required. Because the situation at the moment is really, really depressing. Let’s all do what we can. Because, if not, we are failing as a society and we will only feel the pinch of that when it affects us personally and by then, it may be too late.
This should be, in my opinion, the biggest issue at the next election.