Dublin: Former Taoiseach Albert Reynols Dies Aged (81)

Albert Reynolds served as Taoiseach for just under three years

Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds has died at the age of 81.

Albert Reynolds served as Taoiseach for just under three years - one of the shortest ever terms.

But he made an enduring contribution to Ireland with his peace initiative which helped to end 25 years of violence on this island.

He is survived by his wife Kathleen, two sons and five daughters.

Mr  Reynolds was a Fianna Fáil stalwart, leading the party in two coalition governments.

For him his most important political contribution was his work on the peace process.

Albert Reynolds: A life in politics

He was born in Rooskey in Co Roscommon and before entering politics was involved in the dance hall and pet food businesses.

He was elected a TD for Longford Westmeath in 1977 at the age of 45 - it was the election made famous by the party's manfiesto, which was full of sweetners.

Two years later he was a key member of the the backbench  group which helped topple the Taoiseach Jack Lynch.

He was rewarded by Charlie Haughey who appointed him as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs.

In the 1980s he became the Minister for Finance but his intense dislike for being in coalition with the PDs added to cooling in his relations with Mr Haughey who portrayed Albert Reynolds as being part of the Country and Western wing of the party.  It was was image seemingly not dismissed by him.

The economy showed more signs of moving out of recession during his time in finance but he was dramatically sacked from cabinet after supporting an abortive attempt to remove Mr Haughey in late 1991.

Three months later Albert Reynolds finally got the top job was Haughey was ousted.

Immediately he caused a sensation by sacking eight of Mr Haughey's ministers.

The very next day he was confronted with the X case crisis - where a 14-year-old girl was refused permission to travel abroad for an abortion.

It was an issue that dominated much of his first period in office.

He never liked being in coalition with the PDs, "a temporary little arrangement", he called it.

At the tribunal of inquiry into the beef industry he and Des O'Malley were deeply critical of each other.

It was clear relations between Albert Reynolds and the PDs were at breaking point

 A general election was called he had served only nine months as Taoiseach. 

Fianna Fáil went on to lose nine seats and was forced into partnership with the Labour party.

Ireland secured a multi billion million pound deal in EU funds and there were hopes the coalition would last the full course.

But there were rows over passports for sale, a tax amnesty and unemployment reached 300,000.

He did though strike up a strong relationship with the British Prime Minister John Major.

His determination and deal cutting skills led to the Downing Street Declaration in 1993.

The following summer, the IRA announced a ceasefire.

One writer said it was his readiness to take a risk, cut corners, back a hunch  and drive a hard deal that kept the entire peace process on course.

Despite the success relations between the Tanaiste were serioulsy  deteriorating.

There was a huge flare up with Dick Spring over the publication of the beef tribunal report, a bitter disagreement over the appointment of a High Court President and a related row over the Attorney General's handling of a the Brendan Smyth case. 

After an extraordinary sequence of events, Fianna Faill was forced out although Labour reamined in power with new partners without an election.

After politics Mr Reynolds returned to business life , but was again in the headlines  when he controversially sued the Sunday Times for libel and was awarded only a penny.  However on appeal he reached a settlement with the paper.

There were several disappointments ahead, he was encouraged to seek the Fianna Fáil nomination for the Presidency but instead the party  went with  a northern based lawyer Mary McAleese.

Another set back  came in 2006 when the Reynolds pet food factory in Co Longford was destroyed by fire.

In more recent times Mr Reynolds was criticised by the Mahon Tribunal for seeking donations for the party from developer Owen O'Callaghan.

Mr Reynolds, the tribunal found, had abused political power 

The final breakthroughs of the peace process may not have happened during his tenure, but  Albert Reynolds lived long enough to see the fruits of his work 

During the british queen's visit, he showed his satisfaction  by giving a thumbs up 

As for his personal life, he said he and his wife Katheleen and his children were blessed . 

When he stepped down as Taoiseach nearly two decades ago, he reserved his final words for them.

Keywords: albert reynolds

Ballyfermot, Dublin: Human Leg Discovered By Workers At Waste Recycling Plant: *UPDATED

*UPDATE: RELATED ARTICLE:

Human remains discovered at a depot in England may have got there after being thrown in with a recycling collection, police have said.

A police cordon remains in place at a recycling plant where the body parts were discovered yesterday.

Specialist officers are carrying out investigations at the site after Avon and Somerset Police were called to the plant in Avonmouth, Bristol, where workers made the discovery of male body parts yesterday morning.

The area was cordoned off and police have launched an investigation.

Police are now focusing their inquiries on Swindon after it is believed the body parts may have come from a recycling collection in the Wiltshire town, about 80km away along the M4.

Senior investigating officer Gareth Bevan, said: "Police enquiries so far suggest the body was transported with commercial recycling waste collected in Swindon and therefore the focus of the investigation will be in that area.

"The investigation is at an early stage and we are keeping an open mind about the circumstances leading to this man's death."

Police said they were called to the scene at around 11am yesterday.

Employees at the site were concerned at what they thought were remains at one of the units.

Officers cordoned the site off.

Police confirmed the remains are believed to be male, but that it was too early to say how long the body parts had been dismembered.

The victim has yet to be identified, police said.

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*UPDATE:  Gardaí were last night trying to identify which bin lorry carried the remains of the human body that was found at a recycling plant late on Thursday night.

It is part of a wider investigation which is trying to identify the person and establish whether the person died accidentally or at the hands of another person.

Detectives hope that, if they can pinpoint which lorry was carrying the person, they can follow its route and gather any CCTV from the various locations from which it picked up waste. 

This could capture images of the person who somehow ended up in a large wheelie bin.

Last February, a homeless man narrowly escaped death after falling asleep in a recycling bin which had been tipped into a rubbish compactor.

Last August, another homeless man, Henryk Piotrowski, died after a commercial wheelie bin he was in was emptied into a compactor and he was crushed to death.

The body of Mr Piotrowski, aged 43 and originally from Poland, was found when the contents of the truck were emptied at the Panda recycling facility in Ballymount, south Dublin.

The alarm was raised on Thursday night when staff at the Thornton Recycling Plant on Killeen Road in Ballyfermot, west Dublin, discovered a limb, believed to be part of a leg, while sorting rubbish at around 11.40pm.

Gardaí arrived and a doctor was called, who confirmed the remains were that of a human. The area was sealed off overnight pending a forensic examination and the arrival of the State pathologist.

A full search was conducted and a second body part, possibly part of a hip, was uncovered. A detailed Garda search continued throughout yesterday.

Deputy State pathologist Michael Curtis arrived yesterday morning and the parts were removed to Tallaght Hospital for examination.

Gardaí wanted to know whether the parts belonged to the same person, what was the gender and the race, as well as an approximate age. 

Garda sources said the parts could be the result of a tragic accident, possibly involving a homeless person who had ended up in a bin, or the result of something more sinister.

It was also considered that it could be the result of the misplacement of human remains following medical or pathology procedures.

Sources said investigators were “scratching their heads” at the gruesome discovery.

If the Garda team is able to establish which one of the bin lorries the body was carried in, it will aid their investigations, which will still take considerable time.

They will locate the various locations from where the lorry picked up waste and determine what, if any, camera footage is near those areas.

They will then try and secure the footage and go through the exhaustive and time-consuming process of viewing it.

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Body parts found overnight at a Dublin waste recycling plant are believed to be those of a woman.

The first gruesome discovery of a human leg was made by a shocked worker just before midnight at the Thorntons recycling plant on Killeen Road in Ballyfermot.

Gardai were called to the scene as soon as the discovery was made, along with a doctor who confirmed that the limb was human.

But gardai then discovered part of what is believed to be a pelvis and an arm while searching through mountains of rubbish this morning. Early indications are that the remains are that of a woman, sources said.

"It's early in the investigation, and the teams of gardai are working in very difficult conditions. But the early signs are that the remains are female," one source told the Herald.

"Gardai are looking at all avenues in this investigation."

Detectives remained at the site this morning as the search for more remains continued, and an investigation has been launched to try and identify the victim.

Bins

While gardai are keeping an open mind, one avenue being investigated is that the remains could be from a homeless person who may have been sleeping rough in a bin somewhere in the city.

There have been instances in the past where people who were in bins have been crushed in bin lorries, as well as occasions when homeless people have been rescued from the jaws of the mechanical crushers after being tipped into them while sleeping in bins.

In March this year Bray native Paco Hayes (45) cheated death when he woke up in a Greyhound bin lorry after being tipped into it from a large bin he was sleeping in at Hardwicke Street on the northside of the city.

In August last year the body of a man was found at a recycling plant operated by the Panda group in Ballymount, west Dublin.

Polish national Henryk Piotrowski (43), a father of two, was discovered after a bin lorry emptied its contents at the facility.

An autopsy showed that while Mr 
Piotrowski suffocated inside the lorry, he had suffered injuries to his face and head that were consistent with an assault.

Two men have since been charged in the case.

In February 2011 the arm of convicted rapist James Nolan (46) was found washed up on Dollymount Strand.

Gardai have not ruled out that the remains found last night could have been dumped in a bin following an assault or an attack.

A spokesperson for Thorntons did not want to comment, and gardai emphasised that the investigation is at an early stage.

Sources say the worker who found the limb and raised the alarm will be offered counselling.

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Gardaí are investigating the discovery of a human leg at a waste recycling plant in Dublin last night. The leg was found by a worker shortly after 11.30pm among waste material at Thornton’s plant on Killeen Road in Ballyfermot.

Gardaí were called to the scene when the discovery was made and the plant was shut down.

A doctor also attended the recycling plant and identified the limb as human.

A full search of the premises was carried out, a spokesman for An Garda Síochána said. Gardaí have not yet identified the source of the limb . www.garda.ie  

Thornton’s provides domestic waste collection and waste services for industries including construction, manufacturing and hospitality. It also handles waste from the healthcare industry including hospitals.

The company operates recycling and recovery facilities in Dublin, Meath and Kildare. Founded in 1979, it employs over 300 staff and operates a fleet of over 100 trucks.

RELATED AUDIO & VIDEO

• Watch: Human remains found at a recycling plant in West Dublin
• Listen: Human leg discovered in Ballyfermot

Work at the plant was stopped and the equipment was shut down.

A doctor was called and confirmed the limb was human.

A thigh was subsequently found and a search of the plant is continuing.

Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis is to examine the human remains.

A large section of the recycling centre has now been sealed off as gardaí carry out a forensic examination.

Gardaí are keeping an open mind on the discovery of the remains.

While it could be sinister, they say there is also a possibility that it could be misplaced medical waste.

Thornton’s have made no comment on the incident.

Dublin: Community Groups Sound Warning On World Hepatitis Day

You could have Hepatitis C but not know it.

That’s the message this World Hepatitis Day from three groups who are encouraging people to get tested for the disease.

Up to 50,000 people in Ireland are affected by this ‘hidden’ disease, and the CThis campaign believes it is misunderstood.

CThis was created by Community Response, www.communityresponse.ie  Dublin Aids Alliance and UISCE, who collectively provide support and advocate on behalf of people with blood-borne viruses as well as drug users.

They’re encouraging people who could be at risk of hepatitis C to get tested, or visit: www.hepinfo.ie   or ring the HSE helpline on 1800 459 459.

They will be bringing a two-metre tall green ‘C’ around Dublin city today “to symbolise the magnitude of hepatitis C”.

How can you contract Hepatitis C?

Although up to 50,000 Irish people may be infected with hepatitis C, in the early stages most people don’t experience any symptoms and don’t realise they have the virus.

This leads to people not being diagnosed until more serious symptoms occur, such as cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver.

 Up to 1,000 new cases are identified each year with up to 20% of these developing cirrhosis of the liver.

Hepatitis C is transmitted from person-to-person through blood-to-blood contact, such as:

• Sharing needles:
• Unscreened infected blood and blood products (in countries without screening processes):
• Needle stick injuries:
• Tattooing:
• Piercing:
• Acupuncture:
• Medical, surgical or dental procedures:

Nicola Perry of Community Response said:

"Hepatitis 'C' is often misunderstood by the public. It can be confused with hepatitis A or B where there are vaccines available. Hepatitis C cannot currently be vaccinated against and can lead to a long-term infection. People need to be aware how hepatitis C is contracted and get tested if they feel they could be at-risk".

 The groups said that while approximately 75% of hepatitis C cases are associated with drug use, “many people have kicked their drug habit and are now leading normal lives, completely unaware that they have a virus that is causing serious damage to their liver”.

Testing is available for free at public STI clinics.

Funding badly needed

Dr Shay Keating of the Drug Treatment Centre Board also noted that to date, no funding has been made available for the implementation of the HSE’s Hepatitis C Strategy.

LINKS TO OTHER HELPLINES:  www.drugfreeworld.org & www.drugscope.org.uk & www.drugs.ie & www.spunout.ie & 

www.teenline.ie & www.letsomeoneknow.ie  

He said that while they “are treating as many patients as possible, we are not getting as far ahead as we would like”.

Additional funding and a lift of the moratorium to recruit additional staff are needed in order to implement the national strategy fully.

Nicola Perry of Community Response said:

"Hepatitis C is an infectious disease, often with no symptoms, and can lead to severe liver conditions. Of those who develop chronic hepatitis C, an estimated 30% will develop cirrhosis; others will develop liver cancer, some of whom may require liver transplantation. Chronic hepatitis C is the most common reason for liver transplants in Europe and poses a significant public health burden".

A Treat It, Beat It campaign has been launched by Community Response and Janssen.

It includes a place on the Community Response website for people to petition their local TDs urging them to ensure that resourcing of the National Hepatitis C Strategy is a priority in Budget 2015.

Dublin: Finglas Gardai Appeal Over Missing Man Konrad Misiak (35)

The public's assistance is being sought in tracing 35-year-old Konrad Misiak who is been missing from his home in Finglas in Dublin.

Konrad was last seen in the Meakstown area of Finglas in February this year.

He is described as 1.5m (5'1") tall, with black hair worn tight, brown eyes and thin build.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Konrad should contact Finglas Garda Station on 01-6667500, or Garda Confidential Line 1800-666-111.  www.garda.ie 

Ballyfermot, Dublin: Shot Sean (6) Now Facing Years In A Wheelchair

A SCHOOLBOY shot by accident last month is facing a long period in a wheelchair, but his family hope that he will walk again.

Six-year-old Sean Scully was shot while playing with friends on a green near his house in Croftwood Gardens, Ballyfermot, west Dublin, on June 13. The gunman, who was attempting to shoot someone else in the vicinity, went on the run following the shooting.

The little boy's mother Gillian Scully has revealed how Sean suffered spinal injuries in the shooting, but how he was lucky that his spinal chord was only bruised by the bullet - not severed.

"He still has no movement. We're just trying to keep him pain-free, here in the hospital," Ms Scully said.

Speaking to Joe Duffy on RTE radio's LiveLine, Ms Scully explained how the family had returned from Thunder Road Cafe, where they were celebrating his older bother Shane's birthday, on the night of the shooting.

They took the bus home before Sean asked if he could play football with his friends.

PLAYING

"We had only got off the bus at 10 o'clock. When we walked over, a few of the kids were playing out so Sean played for a minute.

"I went in, the door was open and within five minutes it happened.

"We heard a bang, but as you probably know up there, there has been a lot of stolen cars and that, so we thought it was a car.

"We ran out and the kids were running in. They were just screaming, it was just bedlam," Ms Scully said.

"Sean was on the ground, he was awake, he was asking 'help me up, help me up'.

"There were just crowds, we don't know where the people came from. It was just chaos," she said.

Ms Scully explained how her older son could see what had happened and was asking for help, but she was expecting an older boy to be on the ground. "When we ran out it was Sean," she said.

Though Sean had been shot in the neck, Ms Scully said: "He didn't realise. He just said 'help me up, can you get me up?'

"He didn't know what was after happening to him then at that stage," she explained.

The gardai and ambulance arrived quickly and Ms Scully praised their work.

"I thought he was gone, when people were trying to talk to him, you know to keep him awake and that.

"His eyes would roll and I thought he would go any second. I didn't know what to think," she said.

On the way to the hospital and after he had arrived, Ms Scully said that Sean was talking and was responsive.

The mother explained how the bullet had gone through her son's neck and to his spine before lodging at the top of his back left rib.

"They operated on the Sunday and they got that out but it damaged the top of his spine," she said.

The family was told that night that doctors weren't sure what was going to happen ahead of the three-hour operation to fit plates into his spine.

"They had told us this operation is just to try and help, it probably won't help, but his spinal chord wasn't damaged, but it was severely bruised," Ms Scully said.

She added that if the spinal chord was nicked, her son would never have been able to walk again.

"Because it's severely bruised, they're hopeful for, eventually, a few steps. Now they said he'd never get back to normal, but well we're hopeful too."

ORDEAL:

The whole ordeal has left the youngster confused and Ms Scully said that Sean has asked what happened to him.

"At that stage I didn't want to tell him, I didn't want to frighten him.

"I just wanted to make out to him that it wasn't his fault that no one wanted to hurt him," she said.

To date just one person has been arrested in connection with the incident. However that was in relation to withholding information from gardai.

Meanwhile, Sean has been suffering from nightmares and flashbacks since the horrifying incident.

His lungs are also very weak so he remains on machines to help him to clear his throat.

"He's in a wheelchair definitely. He's hoisted to a wheelchair, we can't even lift him," Ms Scully said, adding that he had no feeling from his chest down.

Doctors hope that he will soon gain the upper body strength that will allow him to push the wheelchair and the family accept that a wheelchair will be part of their lives for a long time.

Sean will be transferred in around six weeks to the National Rehabilitation Hospital, in Dun Laoghaire.

"His life's changed forever now and even though they said they're hopeful for a few steps, it could be five or six years down the line before he might," his mother said.

Ms Scully said that people were shocked when they heard about what happened to her son. Even though her family have nothing to do with crime, she feels she has to explain.

HORRIFIC

"I feel like I kind of need to let people know that. I know they're probably not judging me, but that's how I feel," she said.

Sean plays with his PlayStation computer in Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin and his mother brings him a new toy every day.

"He's going to suffer for a long time. A lot of people have been asking how he is. He's good in himself, so people think he's doing well. But he has an extremely long road ahead of him. The injuries are horrific," she said.

Gillian has quit her part-time job to look after Sean fulltime.

Dublin: Communities And State Must Challenge Gangland Violence NOW: *UPDATED

•  

By Cormac O'Keeffe
Irish Examiner Reporter

The harm to two children highlights the need for the State, communities, and gardaí to unite to try to combat criminal gangs, says Cormac O’Keeffe.

THE recklessness and barbarity of gangland violence has raised its ugly head again in recent days.

It does this with depressing regularly in certain communities across the country, but it is a reality that rarely pricks the interest of most people.

What has made it different has been the ages of the victims: A six-year-old boy lucky to be alive after a botched gun attack in Ballyfermot, west Dublin, and a 16-year-old youth who had three of his fingers hacked off by a criminal gang in nearby Clondalkin.

“We have become a bit immune as a society to violence in certain areas,” said Eddie D’Arcy, who has worked with disadvantaged young people for 40 years.

“There is a feeling among many people that ‘if they shoot themselves, let them at it’. What has highlighted the issue is the age of the boy shot and the brutality of the attack on the 16-year-old.”

Mr D’Arcy, who still works with young people at Clondalkin Addiction Support Programme, said the degree of violence and intimidation has worsened.

“There is a level of violence and intimidation that is continuous in these areas. What has changed is the violence is more callous now as well as the recklessness of it. Look at the number of murders and shootings outside creches we’ve had.”

He said gangs are very powerful in certain communities and that the structure of them has changed, “They are typically mid-to-late teens and early 20s now — not guys in their 30s or 40s,” said Mr D’Arcy. “They are more volatile, more aggressive, and are enjoying their bit of power. People are afraid of them and they have got money in their pockets.”

He said most of the violence and intimidation centres around drug debts and turf wars between rival gangs.

“Typically you owe a few bob and told if you don’t pay you’ll be severely beaten or worse,” he said. “If you go to the guards there is no agreed response and they can’t offer 24/7 protection. Are you prepared to go to court and give evidence? If you live in the community that’s a big, big ask, as your windows are put in and the family car is burnt out.”

He said that while the majority of kids in these areas don’t get sucked into gangs and drugs, a minority do. For them, the future is bleak. “The chances are that if you are involved at that end of drugs you’ll get shot or asked to shoot someone,” said Mr D’Arcy.

Clondalkin Fianna Fáil councillor Trevor Gilligan yesterday said gangs operating locally “feel they rule the streets and can act with impunity”. causing enormous anxiety to locals.

Like Ballyfermot and Clondalkin, the Crumlin-Drimnagh area has been hit very hard over the decades by drugs and gang violence.

“I don’t see it stopping,” said Susan Collins, a veteran community activist with Addiction Response Crumlin.

“We have young people, 16-17, who owe say €120, and the family gets a knock on the door looking for money. We have a lot of beatings, windows being smashed, houses been shot up, animals being killed.”

She said most people won’t go to the gardaí and are left in an impossible situation as to what to do. She said three young people have left ARC’s rehabilitation project in recent months because of intimidation.

Ms Collins said gangs use violence and intimidation to control communities. “Gangs want to show how powerful they are in the area,” she said. “It’s a show of strength. They shoot up a house on Saturday and are paid on Sunday.”

www.drugfreeworld.org & www.drugs.ie & www.drugscope.org.uk & www.fsn.ie &
www.citywide.ie & www.garda.ie

Local family support groups can be found on fsn.ie or by ringing the Family Support Network on 
01 8980148 

She is not sure how the situation can be solved, but said the creation of a small committee, led by the minister of justice, including senior gardaí and active community members.

Mr D’Arcy said there is an urgent need for the State, along with communities and gardaí, to adopt an agreed response to gangs for individuals in debt.

“We need an immediate response to young people who are victims of violence and living in fear because they owe money,” he said. “The need to be put in a safe environment, away from gangs. And it’s not just the individual, but their family as well.

“If there is no agreed response it perpetuates the myth these gangs are untouchable and the chances are there will be a really shocking incident and a child will be killed.”

*A teenager is recovering after a number of his fingers were hacked off in a brutal knife attack.

Gardaí said the 16-year-old boy was attacked in the kitchen of a house in the Clondalkin area of west Dublin just after midnight last Saturday morning.

Fianna Fáil councillor Trevor Gilligan said locals believe the attack was carried out following a row with criminals in the area.

“This is a disgraceful and barbaric attack, the worst I’ve come across since becoming a councillor for the area 10 years ago,” he said.

The teenager is understood to have attempted to flee from his attackers by running into a house in Kilcronan Close where he does not live.

He was set upon in the kitchen by a man armed with a large machete-type knife.

The teenager had some fingers completely severed in the attack and suffered deep lacerations to others, and knife wounds to his hands and arms while trying to protect himself.

He was being treated in St James’ Hospital.

Gardaí said no arrests have been made but that they are treating the attack as a serious assault.

The incident happened a day after a six-year-old boy was shot in the neck while playing on a green in an estate in the Ballyfermot area of west Dublin.

It is understood the youngster was hit by mistake when a man attempted to confront another man with a gun on the street and opened fire.

Mr Gilligan added: “This whole incident highlights the need for more garda resources and in particular more resources working on targeting gangs operating in Dublin.

“It’s clear that the gangs operating in communities like Clondalkin and Lucan feel they rule the streets and can act with impunity.”

Child victims

June 14: A 16-year-old boy had three of his fingers severed in Bawnogue, Clondalkin, after being chased into a house on Kilcronan Close just after midnight by two men, one armed with a machete. The boy also sustained serious injuries to his arm and leg. A local criminal gang is suspected.

June 13: A six-year-old boy sustained a bullet wound to his shoulder and neck when a gunman mistakenly hit him while attempting to shoot a relative of the child. The boy, Sean Scully, was at the gates of his house on Croftwood Grove, Ballyfermot, at 10.15pm when two men, one armed, opened fire. The attack is thought to be related to a personal feud.

October 5, 2013: A mother and her seven-month-old narrowly escaped with their lives when up to 15 shots were fired into a house on Knockbrack Close, Drogheda. The mother was in the sittingroom and was leaning down to her baby’s cot when one of the bullets grazed her.

June 20, 2012: Five-year-old PJ Duffy had two fingers blown off and another two seriously damaged when he innocently picked up a pipe-bomb left outside his mother’s home in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow.

February 8, 2012: Melanie McCarthy, 16, was shot dead when Daniel McDonnell, then 17, fired shots aimed at her boyfriend into a car at Brookview Way in Tallaght. McDonnell was later convicted of her murder and given a life sentence.
*----------------

The 16-year-old was treated at St James's Hospital

A teenager who was seriously injured when he was attacked in Dublin last Friday night has been released from hospital.

The 16-year-old was chased by two men into a house in the Kilcronan estate in Clondalkin and attacked in the kitchen with a machete.

He lost three fingers during the attack and also sustained leg arm and hand injuries.

RELATED AUDIO & VIDEO

• Watch: Teenager who lost three fingers in Clondalkin attack released
• Watch: Gardaí investigation as teenager loses three fingers after Clondalkin assault

He was taken to Tallaght Hospital before being transferred to St James's Hospital, where he underwent surgery over the weekend.

Gardaí believe the wounds are defensive.

Gardaí are waiting to interview the teenage victim.

The attack happened between 11pm and midnight on Friday night and gardaí say the attackers were wearing hoodies.

Detectives are trying to establish a motive for the attack and are appealing for anyone with information to contact them at Clondalkin Garda Station on 01-6667600 or the Garda Confidential line on 1800 666111.

Ballyfermot, Dublin: Parish Priest Calls On Communities, Gardai To Challenge Drug Cartels

THE parish priest local to the Ballyfermot area of west Dublin has hit out at the easy availability of guns on the streets and called for a crackdown. "The flourishing drugs industry and the cartels that dominate this sector must be challenged by a renewed partnership involving community and gardai.

www.drugfreeworld.org & www.drugscope.org.uk & www.drugs.ie & www.garda.ie

 Tackling youth unemployment must be prioritised.

If we cannot as a society open opportunities for young people to paricipate fully in the economy, we will not have peaceful communities.

New dynamics are needed to broker solutions to drug debt.

The response must be broader than policing strategies.
It must show a deep understanding of the underlying problems".

In the wake of the callous shooting of six-year-old Sean Scully, Fr Gerry O’Connor has said that teenagers now know where to source guns.

Writing in today’s Herald, Fr O’Connor said that teens could also name hitmen with a reputation for success such was the creeping influence of gang culture in neglected areas of Dublin.

“Teenagers can tell you where you can source a gun, how much it will cost and they hint at naming hitmen with a reputation for accomplishing their tasks,” he says.

“While the listening ear might be dubious, the normalisation of such conversation speaks of a society fragmenting.

REVENGE

“It sadly describes a changing Ireland where the fundamental dignity of human life is diluted,” he said.

Fr O’Connor has lived in the Cherry Orchard area of Dublin for the last 11 years.

“The residents of Cherry Orchard generally live happy and peaceful lives in the midst of the scourge of unemployment,” he said.

But he added that there was anger about repeated “dark events” and citizens are demanding political, policing and economic action.

The priest said that there were six problems that needed urgent action, such as easy access to guns.

“The ease of access to guns must be curtailed. The plentiful supply must be addressed,” he said.

Fr O’Connor said that the language of revenge needed to be scaled back, youth unemployment must be tackled and alternative education methods must be implemented.

*A MAN has been arrested in connection with shooting of an innocent six-year-old boy in the neck.

Sean Scully was blasted as he played on a green area at Croftwood Gardens, in Ballyfermot, west Dublin.

He was just metres from his home and with his friends when a gunman opened fire after 10pm on Friday.

It is understood that the intended target of the shooting was a relative of Sean’s.

A row had broken out between two bothers and the relative, who ran towards a house.

As he was trying to escape, the gunman opened fire, missing the intended target hitting Sean in the neck.

Surgery

Investigating officers yesterday arrested a man in his 30s, in the Ballyfermot area, in connection with the shooting.

He was taken to Ballyfermot garda station where he is being held for questioning under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

It is understood that the man was arrested for with-holding information.

A garda spokesman said that investigations were ongoing. Gardai have identified at least one other man who is wanted for questioning following the shooting.

“Gardai do not believe the child was the intended target of the shooting and are following a definite line of enquiry in relation to the shooting,” a statement said.

Over the weekend, gardai appealed to the persons involved in the shooting to come forward.

A senior investigating officer was appointed to the incident. The scene was sealed off by the Technical Bureau.

Officers also undertook extensive house-to-house enquires.

Sean’s life was saved when a quick thinking passer-by put pressure on the injury while an ambulance was called.

Eyewitnesses said that the gunman held his head in his hands for a number of seconds after he realised what he had done, while the other man cycled off on a bicycle.

There were a number of children on the green area at the time of the blast.

Members of Sean’s extend family gathered yesterday to support each other at a home in the estate.

“We’ve been getting hundreds of calls all day. We are not interested in talking about it. What has been said in the media is wrong,” one man told the Herald.

Other locals said that the youngster’s immediate family had been with him in the hospital since the shooting.

TERRIBLE

“They’re in the hospital, but I don’t think they want to talk about it at the moment.

“I haven’t seen them come back since. It was terrible what happened. I’d know the little lad from being around and he’s a grand young lad,” one man said.

“I think he’s doing okay in the hospital, that was the last I heard, I think he’s okay,” he added.

Locals have said that blood was gushing from the wound following the shooting.

Sean, who is a senior infant at St Ultan’s Primary School in Cherry Orchard, is in a stable condition in Crumlin Children’s Hospital.

He underwent surgery over the weekend. There are concerns that he may have suffered long-term injuries in the shooting.

Fr Gerry O’Connor, chairman of the board of St Ultan’s Primary School, visited the family home along with school principal Ms Ena Morley.

He said there were no words to describe the shooting, adding: “Across Dublin this type of thing is happening. There seems to be a total disregard for human life.”

He said that the community was in crisis.

“This is a community that is in what can only be described as a state of hurt, bewilderment and pain at this time.