A round-up of today’s other news stories in brief
Protesters 'risked life' to stop blasting
A group of protesters from Co Mayo had risked life and limb by camping near a rock quarry to prevent the owners setting off a chain of explosives, the High Court heard yesterday.
James Macken SC, counsel for quarry owners Geraghty Bros Civil Engineering Ltd, Cartron, Newport, Co Mayo, said that the protest began last Monday and had continued in spite of explosives having been placed in the rock-face.
"They are camped so close to the quarry that their lives would be in danger if the explosives were deliberately detonated or indeed if they were detonated by lightning or some other source."
Mr Macken said the quarry owners were seeking to restrain Charles and Breege Mulchrone, John Pat and Maureen Sheridan and Thomas John and Mary Caine, as well as county council officer Jim Egan and the county council from preventing the blasting.
Mr Justice Hanna said he hoped an agreeable solution could be reached to allow the protesters to move away a safe distance to facilitate the explosives being detonated. He directed that the explosives be detonated within the next week on the undertaking of the quarry owners not to cause any further explosions in advance of a further court order and he adjourned the matter until next week.
Alert after finds of toxic chemicals
An environmental team from Monaghan County Council yesterday dealt with a toxic threat to a number of farms and waterways between Castleblayney and Carrickmacross after almost 10,000 litres of chemical mix were dumped at a number of different locations.
It was thought that the dumped chemicals may have been used to remove dye from diesel by cross-Border smugglers so that the diesel could be sold as non-rebated commercial fuel.
Containers holding more than 4,000 litres of the chemical mix were dumped at a lay-by close to the main Dublin-Derry road near Broomfield and other containers were found at locations near Carrickmacross.
The substance was removed to a recycling plant at Scotch Corner in Co Monaghan to be transferred to special containers for shipment to Germany.
New remand over Limerick death
A 31-year-old man charged in connection with the death of a father of four was further remanded in custody at Limerick District Court yesterday. Mark Naughton, with an address at Meat Market Lane, Limerick, is charged with injecting Patrick O'Donoghue with heroin and placing him in a laneway in an unconscious state on the night of September 8th/9th last.
The body of 41-year-old Mr O'Donoghue was found by a passerby in Meat Market Lane, off Athlunkard Street, last Friday morning.
Judge Tom O'Donnell remanded Mr Naughton in custody with consent to bail to appear before the court again on September 29th.
Suspected illegal dump found
Galway County Council has confirmed that it is investigating a possible illegal dump on farmland near Athenry.
Council officials moved on to the land on Wednesday and began excavating sections of the field. Material was uncovered by the digging operation, but it is not known when it was buried there.