Port racket making us deaf -- residents

Din: Locals forced from homes by noise from container terminal

 

DUBLIN 4 residents tortured by relentless late-night noise from the port have suffered hearing loss and have been forced to abandon their homes.
Neighbours on Pigeon House Road in Ringsend said that they are exhausted from the constant din from a container terminal opposite their homes and are preparing to take their fight to Europe.
The terminal, controlled by Marine Terminals Ltd (MTL), has three gantry cranes which handle Panamax container vessels.
At their own cost, the residents brought in noise consultants Fehily Timoney who ruled that the noise in the neighbourhood was "significantly above the guideline values for community noise to avoid sleep disturbance . . . as recommended by the World Health Organisation".
The residents' requests are simple -- that the work stops at a reasonable hour, or at least before 10pm.
June Deakins has been in her home for 38 years but her hearing has deteriorated rapidly within the past few years.
"We are the little few houses that have been forgotten about -- we call ourselves the leper colony," June said.
"I attended a specialist and they said they hoped I wasn't using a walkman because it was damaging my hearing but I just can't stand the noise -- I use it to block out the noise."
Julie McCann (86) was born on Pigeon House Road but she had no option but to abandon her homestead.
"It was a wonderful place to live but it became unbearable when the noise became so bad," she said.
Fine Gael candidate Eoghan Murphy has pledged to assist the residents in their fight.
Dublin City Council, Dublin Port Company and Marine Terminals Ltd (MTL) all failed to respond to questions before going to print.
The City Council claimed that a previous investigation showed no action was needed.

 

Arrest warrant for socialites' son charged with smashing window

 AN ARREST warrant has been issued for the son of top celebrity hairdresser David Marshall and socialite Jackie Rafter.
Daniel Marshall (21), of Coppinger Glade, Stillorgan, Co Dublin, failed to appear in court on a charge of criminal damage.
Marshall is charged with damaging the front sitting room window at his home, the property of his mother Jacqueline Rafter (right) on January 30.
When he did not turn up at Dun Laoghaire District Court, Judge Claire Leonard issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
It was not the first time Marshall has been in trouble with the law. In July 2009, he was ordered by a court to pay a donation of €500 after hurling a can of beer at a garda car.
glamorous
A judge at Dun Laoghaire District Court warned him at the time that it was "his last chance".
His father David is one of the country's top stylists and has a school of hairdressing on George's Street in the city centre. Glamorous mum-of-two Jackie Rafter (47) is a well-known socialite, model and founder of the Bubblegum charity.
The couple separated after five years of marriage in the early 1990s and have now divorced. David has remarried.
Daniel pleaded guilty to committing the 2009 offence at Mount Anvil Road, Goatstown.
Sgt Peader McCann said the defendant, who was carrying a bag of cans of beer at the time, took one out and threw it at the back of the passing patrol car, scratching the vehicle.
Sgt McCann also told the court that the defendant had three previous convictions for public order offences dating back to 2007.
Defence solicitor Colm Allen told Judge Patrick Clyne that his client had "a rather troubled time over the last couple of years".
While his conduct was "completely inexcusable", he had attended Aisire for his alcohol problem and is training in his father's business, the lawyer said.

Killer, his wife, parents and ex split home cash

SUED: Family fights over proceeds from lovenest cottage

 

A CONVICTED murderer and drugs dealer, his parents, wife and also his former lover have agreed in court to split up the proceeds of a cottage they all claimed an interest in.
Brian Kenny, a 41-year-old former milkman, is currently serving a life sentence for the "cold, calculated and premeditated slaying" in April 2004 of 25-year-old father-of-one Jonathan O'Reilly, of St Mark's Gardens, Clondalkin, Dublin.
Kenny was sued by his former live-in lover Rita Harling in the Circuit Civil Court for a financial cut of Mitchelstown Cottage, Kilshane Cross, Finglas, Dublin -- the lovenest they shared until February 2002.
Barrister Paul O'Reilly told the court Kenny was also being sued by Amanda Joyce, the woman he (Kenny) had married after the 2002 break-up with Harling.
In turn, the convicted killer was sued for a financial interest in the property by his parents William and Anne Kenny, who claimed they had for years met the mortgage repayments while their son was unable to do so.
Sunniva McDonagh, counsel for Kenny, said he had bought Mitchelstown Cottage, Kilshane Cross, Finglas, where he had lived with Ms Harling until they split up in February 2002.
Married
She said Mr Kenny had subsequently married Ms Joyce, who was also making a financial interest claim against the property on the basis that it was the family home she had shared with Kenny.
The court was not given specific details on the payout but it was learned afterwards that a fire had taken place at a period when the house had been vacant and vandalised.
Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, was told following negotiations, that the matter had been settled. It was agreed Kenny would have a 40pc interest with 20pc shares each being granted to Ms Harling, Ms Joyce and Mr and Mrs Kenny.
Brian Kenny was jailed for life with Thomas Hinchon (25) for the murder of Jonathan O'Reilly as he sat in a BMW car outside Cloverhill Prison on April 17, 2004.
The Central Criminal Court heard a motorcycle with two men had drawn up alongside the car and a number of shots had been fired through the glass, hitting Mr O'Reilly.
In July 1999, Kenny admitted possessing heroin a year earlier with intent to supply.