February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Patrick Markey
The Swedes are coming and they’re looking for gold. At least in Galway.
A Swedish-Canadian company has applied to Ireland’s Department of the Marine and Natural Resources for a prospecting license and will start digging for precious metals in the county’s northern hills, reports The Tuam Herald.
Although gold streaks are a rare possibility in the region, zinc is the more likely target of any prospecting, according to a department official. Ireland is No. 1 in the world for zinc finds per square kilometer. But even then there is only a one in a thousand chance of striking metal.
The paper reports that Galway’s limestone formations make for possible successful zinc digs. But geologists warned that prospecting is a slow process and it could take up to 10 years before any good veins of precious metals are found.
Checkpoint charlatans
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An Irish website has raised the stakes in the cyber war between the law and online hustlers.
Gardai have restricted access to a website that lists well-known speed traps on major roads, a site being used by drivers to avoid checkpoints and lists types and names of cars used by gardaí, reports The Examiner newspaper.
Creators of the site also ask drivers to give details of speed traps in their area, so they can add to a directory of listings.
Gardaí have asked website providers in Ireland to remove the site because it lists sensitive or illegal information. The site gives specific details of speed traps, including favorite locations, types of cars and times of checkpoints.
The appearance of the website comes as Ireland launches a nationwide crackdown on speed and at a time when the death toll on roads is at an all-time high.
"We are aware of a the site listing garda checkpoints and we instructed the web provider case to remove it. Criminals could use this information as part of a planned get-away route," a garda spokesperson told the paper.
Life’s no Ulster beach
Northerner’s beware: An Ulster beach has been declared the dirtiest in the UK by a recent survey.
The Reader’s Digest survey places Ballyhornan Beach at the bottom of the pile in a league table of 257 beaches, reports the Belfast Telegraph. The County Down strand was followed by Ballintoy beach at Moyle, which was the third most litter-strewn.
Volunteers collected 69 items of rubbish per meter from Ballyhornan, compared to 21 at Ballintoy and 11 at Murlough, outside Newcastle.
But there is some good news for Ulster sun-seekers. Ulster figures fall below the national average. An average 1,819 items per kilometer were found here, compared to 1,936 in Britain.
Overall, Scotland was found to have the most polluted beaches, then Wales, Northern Ireland and, finally, England. Not surprisingly, the Channel Islands topped the poll for clean stretches of golden sand.
A total of 12 Ulster beaches were combed by volunteers last September for the survey.
Portstewart Strand was declared the cleanest, with just 301 items of litter for 2,700 meters of beach. It was closely followed by Portmuck and Ferris Bay beaches at Island Magee and Brown’s Bay at Larne.
Tourists were the worst culprits. More than a third of all debris found on beaches was left behind by day-trippers. The report also hits out at the fishing industry. Over 29,879 lengths of rope and 6,381 lengths of fishing line were found. Sewage-related debris also played a part with cotton buds, towels and sanitary items accounting for 7.4 percent of beach litter.
Unusual items found included a wheelchair, two sets of false teeth and a motorbike.
Teething troubles
Kathleen Meehan thought she deserved another chance.
Appearing in a Tuam local district court, Meehan was facing charges that she had bitten a publican who had thrown her out of his drinking establishment, reported the Tuam Herald.
Impossible, claimed Meehan. Impossible, because she has no teeth.
Her court appearance came after she was accused of abusing a patron in Tuam’s Town Hall Tavern. She then alleged refused to leave the premise and the gardai were called in. During an attempt to haul her out of his premises, the publican claimed, Meehan bit her.
Garda Jim Elliffe said, however, "She says she has no teeth to do so."
The proceedings were adjoined for a later date.