A roundup of today's other regional news in brief
Galway parents due in court over cruelty, rape
A Co Galway couple will appear in court in Athenry today charged with cruelty, rape and neglect of their children.
The couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Ennis District Court on December 29th when gardaí told Judge Joseph Mangan the couple may face possibly hundreds more charges.
The 48-year old man is charged with raping four of his daughters and neglect and cruelty towards a son between 1997 and April of this year, while his wife faces 18 charges of cruelty and neglect of her children between May 2002 and June last year.
Galway gardaí told the court the couple had moved addresses numerous times in recent months, were difficult to locate and gardaí do not believe they would turn up in court if bail was granted.
Solicitor took fees of over €1m from client
A Kilkenny solicitor who admitted taking fees of more than €1 million from a client’s estate, when between one-third and a half of that amount may have been due, has provided a statement of his means to the Law Society, the High Court heard yesterday.
Padraig J Butler, practising as Butler Solicitors, Lower Patrick Street, Kilkenny, had his accounts frozen by the court last October following an investigation by the society.
It was alleged he took about €1 million in fees from the estate of a woman when the amount due to him in fees was somewhere between €300,000 and €500,000.
Yesterday, Paul Anthony McDermott, for the society, said Mr Butler had provided an affidavit of means last week and a further adjournment was being sought.
The president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, adjourned the matter for three weeks.
State may seek move for Carmody trial
The State will apply for the transfer of the trial of former doctor, Paschal Carmody, from Clare to Dublin if a move by Mr Carmody to stop his retrial fails.
At Ennis Circuit Court yesterday, Stephen Coughlan for the State said a judicial review by Mr Carmody concerning the case is to start in Dublin today.
Mr Carmody (62), Killaloe, is challenging the DPP’s decision to retry him on 11 outstanding deception charges. In July 2008, he was found not guilty on six charges with no verdict on the remaining 11 charges.