JUDGE Sean McBride told a packed Monaghan District Court that he would blow the head off any intruder who entered his home.

“If I had a licensed shotgun I would blow the head of anyone that came into my house.

“People have no business going into private houses.”

Judge McBride was speaking out after sentencing a young man to three months in prison for stealing from an old lady who was a friend of his dead aunts.

The court was told how Liam Rob- inson with an address at Main Street, Rockorry robbed the old age pensioner. Following the death of his aunt her 79-year-old friend visited the deceased’s house to collect items left to her. After helping her take the items to her home in Rooskey Vale, 26-year-old Robinson went up to her bed- room, stole her purse, a bank card to the value for E20 and a cash card with which he later withdrew E320 to fund a day out in Galway.

Robinson’s solicitor Mr Niall Dolan said: “He holds his hands up.” He also said that Robinson had brought monies with him to court to makes repayments to the victim. “In fairness to him, Judge, he is making an effort”

However, Judge McBride warned: “I am sending a very tough message” describing the theft as “loathsome, mean, despicable and low” carried out to fund a “skit in Galway”.

“I have never heard anything more despicable in my life, going into a house of a 79 year old lady, going to her bedroom, taking her bank card and her purse. It is despicable.”

It was then he made his remarks about blowing the heads of anyone entering his house unlawfully adding there was a problem in his home county of Donegal about that kind of thing.

He sentenced Robinson to three months in prison in Wheatfi eld for stealing E320 and a further three months imprisonment to be served concurrently for stealing a bank card to the value of E20.

The court heard that Robinson, who had previous convictions for theft, was receiving treatment for alcoholism

TYDAVNET’S Caitriona Balfe has been named as one of Ireland’s 50 most beautiful women in the Sunday Independent’s beauty list.

Caitriona, now one of the country’s most successful international models, began her career at the age of 19 after she was spotted by Assets Model Agency while fundraising for charity in Dublin with college friends.

After only three months with the Assets Agency, Caitriona was spotted by Paris model agency Ford who quickly signed her up.

She spent a year in Paris, and then went to Milan where she modeled exclusively for Dolce & Gabbana. Soon after, she met Richard from the Elite model agency in New York who convinced her to move to the Big Apple where she’s enjoyed a hugely successful five years.

Two girls in their late teens were lucky to escape injury when the Peugeot 306 they were travelling in veered off the road at 1.30am last Friday (23rd February) morning at McCaughey’s Gala/Maxol filling station in Clones. The car crossed the petrol court entrance, went over the grass verge and slammed into the metal fence surrounding the hedge above the river. The girls were uninjured apart from a few bumps and bruises according to the Gardai.

The unnamed young driver has blamed a mechanical failure in the car for the crash which is currently being investigated by Gardai. A recovery truck removed the car in the late afternoon following a Garda examination.

SPECULATION is rife in county Monaghan that Lough Egish school teacher Margret Conlon has been offered the chance to run for Fianna Fail in the General Election.

It’s understood that Mrs Conlon was offered the nomination and has expressed an interest in it.
Margret Conlon will be seen by many observers to be a surprise choice for the Fianna Fail ticket, despite her extensive role in the party organisation in the county.

She is the Secetary of the South Monaghan Comhairle Ceantar and is the Chairperson of the Monaghan Comhairle Dáil Ceantar.

In recent month’s both Barrister Hugh Mohan and local Estate Agent Robbie Gallagher were seen to be the front runner’s for the nomination. However, without progress on the hospital issue or the likelihood of any pre-election deal for Monaghan General, it’s believed that neither man was interested in putting themselves forward.

A Fianna Fail spokesperson would not confirm this week’s speculation. However, it is understood that an announcement from the party’s Constituency Committee will be made “soon”.

Traffic Wardens handed out 7,500 fines to people in Monaghan town in 2006 according to the Town Council. The Council expects to earn an estimated E1.12 million from the scheme in 2007.
Pay Parking was introduced to Monaghan Town on the 31st January 2005 at a cost of E907,000. The cost of running pay parking in 2007 is much less at an approximate E410,000.

Monaghan Town Council has redistributed the revenue generated from fines to benefit the town in a number of areas. Some was contributed to Monaghan’s Tidy Towns project fund. The Council also used the revenue to increase community grants for local voluntary groups. The remainder helped update the town’s recreational facilities, town improvements schemes and to make environmental improvements.

The Monaghan Chamber of Commerce believes the scheme has greatly benefited the town.

At 50c per hour for short term parking both on street and in car parks and E1 per day for long term parking, Monaghan ranks among the cheapest pay parking schemes in Ireland.

Cavan town charges 60c per hour for on street parking. It is cheaper to park in the Cavan town car parks at 40c per hour although some of these are restricted to a short 2 hours. Cavan also provides a 7 day long term ticket at E10 for a multi-storey car park. Dundalk is more expensive charging E1 per hour for short term parking for a 2 hour stay. The only long term car park in Dundalk charges E2 per day.

Further a field, Kilkenny charges E1.20 per hour for short term parking and E3 per day for long term. Those prices are still cheap compared to that of Cork and Galway with rates of E1.80 and E2 respectively per hour for short term. Dublin City is unsurprisingly the most expensive at E2.50 per hour for short term parking.

A 100 year old boat, the An Ona 3, is being restored to its former glory by Darragh Ltd of Newbliss, Monaghan’s answer to Harland and Wolff.

The An Ona 3, one of only eight of its kind ever made, has made many historic voyages during its sea-faring days and, in fact, was commandeered during World War Two to bring soldiers from England to Dunkirk.

The restoration project was commissioned by Galway University as the boat is owned by its Irish department and will be used for research and training for marine students.

The team has been lovingly restoring the boat for more than three months to the Department of Marine specifications.

The An Ona is a wooden hull carvel built, oak and teak boat. It features a Canoe stern, a rare shape, which according to Roy McAdoo, enables it to glide through big waves.

The Challenger 1, a new prototype designed and built in-house, had a successful maiden voyage recently and will be available to buy for some E50,000. It was designed during the winter as a general-purpose sports boat for diving, offshore fishing and for Jet Skiing.

Darragh Ltd, has been designing, building and restoring boats since 1965. Founded by Roy McAdoo who was later joined by his son John and daughter Eleanor, it is a valuable industry for the local economy employing almost 30 people.

“We do our own stainless steel work, upholstery, engineering and designing. We are currently working on eight family cruisers; the shortest one is 40 foot long! We build passenger vessels as well; three of ours are on Lough Erne and one at Manor house. We work for private people, the Government and the Navy,” Roy McAdoo said.

John explained that the most memorable boat they made was a Chinese Junk for a Nigerian customer.

“We also spent a year and a half restoring a boat which was used to test the endurance of fighter aeroplane engines.”

Darragh Ltd also makes the heels and toe caps of more than 30,000 Irish dancing shoes each year. The company has come a long way from its first boat, which was made from two oil drums!

E2,783,000 has been awarded to eight Monaghan schools by the Department of Education. Over 250 schools throughout the country benefited from the E87 million hand-out.

Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin says funding will deliver almost 300 additional classrooms and over 170 rooms for special education.The eight schools to benefit are All Saints NS in Doohamlet, Scoil Mhuire in Monaghan, Scoil Cholmcille in Blackstaff, Corcreagh NS, Lisdoonan N.S. IN Carrickmacross, Scoil Phadraig Naofa, Gransha N.S. in Clones and Billis N.S. in Glaslough.