Garda struck by car after tackling gang in violent crime rampage

A NORTH Dublin gang went on an early hours rampage today -- leaving a garda and two gang members in hospital.

The terrifying chain of events started at 2.30am when gardai responded to a call of suspicious activity at Loughshinny on the outskirts of Skerries, where they encountered a four-man gang.

Sources say that two members of the gang had stolen a motorbike and were pushing it up a road when they were confronted by the officers.

One of the gang then jumped into a silver 00-reg Volkswagen Polo car, which was used to drive at a young garda. The car struck him, causing hand and leg injuries.

After the garda was driven at, the four men sped away from the scene in the Polo in the direction of Skerries village, where they crashed into a railway bridge a short time later.

Gardai had lost the car and it was not being pursued when it struck the bridge, the Herald understands.

destroyed

"They must have been going at huge speed as the impact was very severe. The car was destroyed," said a source.

It is understood that the car hit the wall of the cut stone railway bridge on the edge of Skerries, and rebounded into the tunnel where it ended up blocking the road. The front of the car then became embedded in the tunnel.

One of the occupants of the car suffered serious injuries, including a broken leg and arm, in the incident.

His three associates fled the scene, leaving him critically injured, but were arrested shortly afterwards.

One of the three men fled despite having head injuries, for which he is being treated today.

The two other occupants of the car were also arrested, close to the scene, and are being questioned at Ballymun Garda Station today.

The four suspects involved in the incident are all aged in their late teens and early 20s and are from north Dublin.

The garda, who is aged in his 20s, was also brought to Beaumont but has since been discharged.

Broken glass and shattered car parts littered the road this morning, and packaging from oxygen masks and medical equipment used by the emergency services could be seen at the roadside.

Paint marks placed by accident investigators on the road showed the position of the car's wheels where it came to a halt under the bridge.

lucky

Speaking to the Herald today, the Garda Representative Association called for the law to be changed to protect gardai.http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2947997709228911038

GRA President Damien McCarthy said that it was "very lucky" that the garda had not suffered more serious injuries.

"There has to be a deterrent created to stop situations like this. What happened last night has similarities to the case of Garda Robbie McCallion, who was killed when he was knocked down while on duty in Co Donegal," Mr McCarthy pointed out.

A 19-year-old man is currently serving a six-year jail sentence for dangerous driving causing the death of Garda McCallion.

Colette Fitzpatrick: Desperate Housewives? Kathryn will never be joining that club

DELIGHTED to see Kathryn Thomas hasn't adopted the look -- and more importantly the attitude -- that some women in their 30s, who've been going out with a man for a few years, fall victim to.

You know the one. Gritted teeth. Forced smile when their best pal shows them the Rock of Gibraltar, just slipped on their finger by a boyfriend down on bended knee.

The look is one of desperation masked as someone who has a life plan.

Kathryn would not wear that look well because, quite simply, she's the last person on earth you'd call 'desperate'.

Anyone who knows the RTE star knows that 'party central' is her motto. She was never the type who, when she was going out with someone, would go home early or wouldn't bother going out at all. The Operation Transformation star is the original successful, solvent woman who's not gagging for a trip up the aisle.

Pesky

Don't get me wrong. She clearly adores her beau Enda, and he adores her. Obviously. But at least Kathryn has the good manners and sense to laugh off pesky questions about impending nuptials.

The rules are difficult for women in their 30s. A man comes up with a big, bold gesture; he's considered romantic. A woman does something similar and she's considered desperate and a psycho. But having a desire to fall in love is totally different to being needy and clingy.

Micro managing every aspect of your life to fit in around his and dumping your pals to suit him is the calling card of the desperate woman.

Flirting

The territorial woman is another sign. Like a tomcat circling their man; this woman's every prowl says 'stay away; he's mine.' Talk to this man and you'll be accused of flirting and seduction. She's in combat mode every time she leaves the house.

The desperate woman is the serial dater; debuting her new man the weekend after the old one dumped her. Isn't it more seemly to have a decent gap in between relationships?

Constant calling, emailing, texting and wanting to meet the family way too soon; all harbingers of a woman with one thing on her mind.

And it's not what's on yours.

The only man I know that admitted to being desperate is the character from The Office, Michael Scott, who, when asked about being single, said ' I like it. I like starting each day with a sense of possibility. And I'm optimistic because everyday I get a little more desperate, and desperate situations yield the quickest results.'

Kathryn Thomas; Desperate Housewife wannabe she is not.

Good on Susan, now let's hope all other judges follow her lead

HATS, or wigs, off to Susan Denham, our new Chief Justice. Appointed this week to the top judicial post in the country, Justice Denham has already proved she's no great white hype, with an unprecedented move just one day into her new post.

She's forgoing a pay rise attached to her new job. It's never happened before and the money she has given up is no small potatoes -- €38,000 a year is slightly above the average industrial wage.

Fair enough, €258,000 is plenty to be going on with. But in forgoing the money, Justice Denham has given her colleagues their cue. She has sent out a signal.

Removed

Judges, she said, "were not immune from the effects of the economic crisis". Though it's hard to feel sorry for the best paid judiciary in Europe if they overextended and remortgaged on their salaries. Their pay has been safeguarded in the Constitution and they aren't even subject to the pension levy.

So why have some judges still refused to take a voluntary pay cut? Does a wig and robe mean you are so removed from the cases that come before you; the house repossessions, businesses collapsing, the divorces born out of marriages unable to bear financial pressures, that you won't play your part until you are forced to do so by referendum?

Justice Denham was a trailblazer even before she announced that she wouldn't be taking her pay rise. The first woman to the post of Chief Justice and the first Protestant.

It's significant that her move to forgo her pay rise is in itself so newsworthy. Isn't it time that all of her colleagues followed her lead without exception? In doing so they would show that they are not a judge- ocracy removed from society, but part of it, where everyone has to do their bit. 

Drivers play a dangerous game as they race against time to beat their sat navs

Motorists are putting lives at risk in a dangerous race against time to try and beat their satnav.

GPS racing is the risky new game in which drivers race to beat the predicted arrival time on their in-car device.

Entering the destination in their Garmin or TomTom triggers a frantic battle to beat the time on the road as many drivers exceed the speed limit and throw road safety considerations to the wind.

A new survey has found an alarming number of road-users have raced to a destination to beat the predicted arrival time on their vehicle's GPS.

Some drivers believe they may be subconsciously influenced by a desire to "beat the clock" once a notional target has been set.

There are also concerns that GPS racing can prompt road rage.

Drivers admitted to having flashed their lights or gesticulated at other drivers to try and get them to speed up so they could race to their destination.

The major UK survey found that GPS racers admitted to having driven through amber lights changing to red; not slowing down appropriately at roundabouts and crossroads; breaking the speed limit when racing against their GPS and hitting the kerb while driving erratically and dangerously.

Caroline Perry of the UK road safety charity, Brake said: "People who are racing their GPS system are putting themselves and the lives of other road users at risk. Speeding is a highly irresponsible act which causes deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

"Every road death is unacceptable and causes devastation to families, so it is essential that drivers give the act of driving their full attention."