in Roscommon

< PAUL HEALY

The recent death of Peter Pringle (84) led to renewed media focus recently on the murder of gardaí John Morley and Henry Byrne following a bank robbery in County Roscommon in 1980.

Pringle, later cleared of any wrongdoing and deemed to have been wrongly convicted, was one of three men who were sentenced to death for the capital murders of the two gardaí.

The shooting dead of Detective Garda John Morley

On July 7th 1980, an armed gang carried out a raid at the Bank of Ireland in Ballaghaderreen. Gardaí intercepted the bank robbers at Shannon’s Cross, near Loughglynn village. After the gang’s vehicle collided with the patrol car, its occupants opened fire on the gardaí. Detective Garda Morley and Garda Byrne were shot dead.

Three men – Colm O’Shea, Patrick McCann and Peter Pringle – were convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Just weeks before they were due to be executed, their sentences were commuted to 40 years in prison. In 1995, having served almost 15 years in jail, Pringle was released after his conviction was deemed unsafe and quashed. O’Shea and McCann both served 33 years in prison, before being released in 2013.

Well-known journalist Mick Clifford recently wrote an article in the Irish Examiner on the speculation that Pringle was ‘the third man’ in the criminal gang in Ballaghaderreen on that day in 1981. Mr. Clifford also contributed to a discussion on RTE Radio 1’s Liveline last Friday, as did Mr. Pringle’s widow, Sunny, herself a former death row prisoner.

Pringle was arrested in Galway city two weeks after Henry Byrne and John Morley were shot dead. He claimed then – and ever since – that he had nothing to do with the events of July 7th 1980 in West Roscommon. After the Court of

Criminal Appeal found his convictions to be unsafe and unsatisfactory in 1995, Pringle’s wrongful conviction led to him taking a number of civil actions against the State. He became a human rights campaigner, a role which saw him campaign against the death penalty. By then separated from his first wife, Pringle married Sunny Jacobs, who herself had been on death row in America many years earlier. In 1976, Jacobs and two men – including her then boyfriend Jesse Tafero – were convicted of the murder of policemen Phillip Black and Donald Irwin. She was placed on death row, but was exonerated 17 years later.

Peter Pringle, of Connemara, Co. Galway (and formerly of Killybegs, Co. Donegal) died on December 31st, 2022.

Roscommon County Council

We, Oakwood Private Nursing Home Limited, intend to apply for Permission for retention of the following:

1. The addition of 2 No. fire escape stairwells to the east and west gable of rear nursing home annex previously granted nursing home use under PD13/390.

2. Alterations to rear annex elevation (south) with provision of 4 additional windows.

3. The provision of 12 additional bedrooms within the rear annex (formerly 8 now increased to 20).

4. The relocation of existing boiler house.

5. Increase in floor area of oratory by 5 sq m.

6. Along with connections to all services and all other associated site works at Oakwood Private Nursing Home, Oakwood Village, Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon, F45 XT27

The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee of €20 within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application and such submission or observation will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The planning authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions, or may refuse to grant permission.

Signed: Collins Boyd Engineering Ltd. Engineers & Architects Galway Road, Roscommon, Co. Roscommon. Ph (090) 6634421

Fax: (090) 6634423

Email: info@collinsboydeng.com

Plannings

ROSCOMMON COUNTY COUNCIL Áras an Chontae, Roscommon, County Roscommon

We Alan and Deirdre O Hara, intend to apply for permission for development at this site Cloongrehan, Cootehall, Boyle, Co. Roscommon.

The development will consist of a planning permission for the renovations and extensions to existing dwelling house and upgrade existing septic tank to new One 2 Clean Wastewater Treatment Plant with percolation area and all site development works.

The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, €20, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application, and such submissions or observations will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The planning authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions, or may refuse to grant permission.

Signed: Alan and Deirdre O Hara

Roscommon County Council

I am applying to Roscommon County Council for full planning permission on behalf of Maurice and Fiona Hamrock for a change of house plan consequent to PD/21/180 to that previously granted for the construction of an extension to an existing dwelling house, construct a garage, waste water treatment system, close two existing roadside entrances, create new roadside entrance & associated siteworks at Clooneen, Athleague, Co. Roscommon.

Signed: Seamus Murray, Project Managers, Engineers & Surveyors.

Phone: (087) 2222874

The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours and that submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application and such submissions or observations will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The planning authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions or may refuse to grant permission.