Articles in the Castleblayney Category

By PATSY McARDLE A SURVEILLANCE operation over several weeks, plus earlier tip-offs to the gardai and revenue authorities, led to the latest crackdown last week on a major cross-border fuel laundering operation at Drumacon near Castleblayney, a short distance from the South Armagh border. The early morning swoop and seizure of an illicit plant, huge containers, two tankers, fuel, and sludge, effectively terminated part of an €11 million cross-border racket in which it was claimed, the plant had a capability of “doctoring” up to twenty ...

A 19-YEAR-OLD Castleblayney man who was remanded in custody from a special court in Cavan on Sunday last, on a charge of assaulting and causing serious harm to a young musician – who died in hospital following injuries sustained in an early morning incident on the previous day – was further remanded in custody to another sitting of the court on June 22nd next, when he appeared at Carrickmacross District Court yesterday (Wednesday). Conor McClelland of Cullentrabane, Laragh, was previously charged under Section 4 ...

Gardai are warning homeowners to be especially vigilant about valuable vehicles parked outside their houses at night, following a spate of “creeper theft” incidents in which high-powered cars and jeeps have been stolen after raiders broke into the owners’ houses to find the keys. It is suspected that one gang is behind the series of robberies, which are possibly being carried out to order. A black Renault Fluence with a 2010 registration was stolen from a house in the Latton area at about 2.30am on Tuesday last, gardai confirmed, ...

By PATSY McARDLE THREE MEN were remanded in custody at a court sitting in Newry on Monday last, to a further sitting at Armagh on May 17th on charges arising from a swoop by Northern security forces last Friday, at Carnagh, close to the Castleblayney/Keady Road, where some weapons and explosives were seized. Brian Anthony Sheridan, 34, from Avonmore, Blackwatertown, Co Armagh; Brian Francis Cavlan, 35, from Circular Road, Dungannon; and Dominic Dynes, 39, from Bree, Castleblayney, appeared at Newry Magistrates’ Court Detective Sergeant Ronnie Gibson told the court he could ...

PATSY McARDLE CASTLEBLAYNEY is set to host the biggest-ever annual May Day Bank Holiday parade on Monday next, with a huge turn-out of marching bands, industrialfloats,representatives from various organisations and community groups, including the voluntary sector, local schools and the public services. Local Chamber of Commerce President Mr. Patrick McFadden of the Glencarn Hotel, said this week they were delighted by the build-up of public interest in the parade, which should attract huge crowds to the town. “We are delighted by the excellent support already evident from ...

A 47-year-old Castleblayney man who has served 25 years of a 40-year sentence for the kiling of a Garda Sergeant during an armed robbery has lost a High Court bid to be considered for remission. Noel Callan, Cullaville, who is serving the sentence for the murder of Garda Sergeant Patrick Morrisey in 1985, had sought to be granted eligibility for remission, but his application was refused by Mr Justice Michael Hanna. Callan had claimed that he had been unlawfully deprived of the right to remission, which could reduce ...

By PATSY McARDLE A road in Mid-Monaghan a few miles from the South Armagh border was closed by Monaghan County Council environmental officials for some hours last Friday after the discovery of close on 4,500 litres of diesel sludge—the substance taken from diesel when laundered by racketeers to remove colouring so that it can fetch the higher price which is available for commercial fuel. The tax-rebated cheaper coloured fuel is used solely for agricultural purposes. The latest toxic dump was discovered on an isolated stretch of roadway at Annaglaive, ...

A MAJOR review is to be undertaken of the Development Plan for Castleblayney which will have direct implications for all future planning within, and around, the mid-Monaghan town. Ths emerged last week when the Town Clerk Mr. Jerome Savage indicated in a letter to the councilors that ,Castleblayney Town Council intends to review the existing Development Plan for the town which covered the period 2007-2013, and prepare a new Development Plan for the area for the six-year period from 2013 to 2019. The thoughts and views of the public, are invited ...

A Castleblayney trader was informed in the Commercial Court in Dublin on Friday that he must repay a €32 million loan he obtained from a bank to fund a shopping centre development in the Mid-Monaghan town. Forty-year-old Jim McConnon of Main Street, Castleblayney was told by Mr Justice George Bermingham that Zurich Bank was entitled to recover the €32 million in unpaid loans which it had made to him in 2007. The Judge ruled that the ‘Blayney man had failed to make any arguable defence to the bank’s ...

IT never happened before in Blayney, not even once upon a time….but next Thursday (Feb 17th) there will be up to seventy young students from the Central School, Scoil Mhuire na mBuachailli, and Scoil Cailini, taking to the streets and meeting people to ply their ability in telling yarns!. They are already calling the promised unique occasion “Blether’s Day” and claim the town will be awash with youthful ‘blethers” on the day—not to mention the few older ones ...