In Short

A round-up of today's other court stories in brief...

A round-up of today's other court stories in brief...

Man convicted of intimidating his ex-flatmate

A Cavan man has been convicted of intimidating his former flatmate arising out of a stabbing incident following the 2004 All- Ireland Football Final between Mayo and Kerry.

Tim Cawley (24), North Circular Road, Phibsboro, Dublin, was found guilty on two charges of intimidating Michael Irwin, Belmullet, Co Mayo, in January 2005.

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The jury had heard evidence that Cawley tried to get Mr Irwin to withdraw a statement he made to gardaí that he saw Cawley stab someone else following the football final.

Judge Tony Hunt remanded Cawley, who is currently in custody for a drugs offence, for sentence.

Cawley was found not guilty on two charges of threatening to kill Mr Irwin and on three further counts of intimidating him.

The jury was told during the five-day hearing that Cawley was acquitted by another jury of the stabbing charge after a trial in which Mr Irwin gave evidence.

Judgment reserved on transfusion

The High Court has reserved judgment on a landmark legal action arising from a Dublin hospital's decision to seek a court order compelling a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses faith to have a blood transfusion despite her objections on religious grounds.

The case began last October before Ms Justice Mary Laffoy and ran for 37 days before concluding yesterday with judgment reserved. The legal costs of the action are estimated at some €2 million.

The action was brought by the Coombe Women's Hospital in Dublin against a woman, identified as Ms K, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the State.

In the proceedings, the Coombe claimed the State had a constitutional duty to protect and safeguard the woman's right to life and her personal rights generally as well as to protect the family life of the woman and the right of her child to be nurtured and reared by his mother.

Ms K, in a counterclaim, argued that the transfusion was a breach of her rights under the European convention for the protection of human rights.

Waterford quays case starts

The hearing of a long- running legal dispute which has held up the €32.6 million sale of development land on the north quays in Waterford for some three years has opened at the High Court.

The dispute involves Tarcel Ltd, which negotiated a contract for the sale of the lands in February 2005 with the Port of Waterford Company and CIÉ, with much of the controversy concerning whether CIÉ owns or is entitled to access to the Pier Head Road which forms part of the north quays.

Last May the High Court was told the proceedings against CIÉ brought by the Port of Waterford Company would not go ahead because of an agreement with Tarcel over the right-of-way issue.

Despite this agreement with Tarcel, the dispute relating to CIÉ's claims remains unresolved and the hearing of two sets of proceedings opened yesterday before Mr Justice Frank Clarke.

The dispute between the port company and CIÉ and Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and the Harbour Company concerns whether or not and to what extent the port company has a right of way over a railway line owned by CIÉ. Access to the north quays may only be gained by crossing the railway line.