Natasha O'Brien was beaten unconsciou by Cathal Crotty in an unprovoked attack. He only stopped when a male passer by intervened. He then fled the scene and boasted about the attack afterwards on snapchat saying "2 to put her down, 2 to knock her out". He has been given a fully suspended sentence. While the victim has lost her job and suffers ptsd from the attack. Cathal Crotty is a serving soldier paid by the state and continues to be paid by the state while he used homophobic slurs and when asked to politely stop grabbed Natasha by the hair and punched her unconscious. This man should not be allowed to continue in his position in the army. His sentance needs to be appealled as being overleniant. What message is this sending to the women of Ireland? 

*WARNING* Possible wake up call ahead, be prepared to grab the wheel! To all the parents like myself on all the WhatsApp groups, checking the time of GAA training for tomorrow... Recently driving home from work I felt I was nodding off a bit, a product of this modern world, too much on, too much running around, too much technology coming at me, I'm exhausted to be honest! When I got home and after doing the domestic dance of who's making dinner that night, I fell in front of what was my "babysitter" growing up - the TV. At the same time my kids are spread out all over the house in front of their modern "babysitter" - the mobile phone. Why did I get them these devices? Because you got them for your kids, and you got them because I got them for my kids, peer pressure at its worst! The internet is an amazing tool, the reason you are reading this message, but we all know there is the dark side that we don't like to think about, is it a case of modern life has us so tired that we are asleep at the wheel or are we just turning a blind eye? The internet is like a car, difficult to live without one, safe and practical in the hands of an adult, but give a car to a 12-16 year old and it's possibly a form of abuse! Dangerous to the child and dangerous to those around that child! The state has a dark history of child abuse, something you would think would not happen again in our modern society, that we would not let it happen on our watch, however abuse can come in many subtle forms! Are we all guilty of staying quiet like all those cases years ago, choosing the easier path!? The media is awash with the side effects of these devices - social media anxiety, mental health issues, shore attention span, behavioural issues, desensitization to violence, social disruption, sleeping disorders, eating disorders, underage sex, teenage pregnancies, underage sex crimes - the list goes on, it’s some punishment on our kids and on our communities just so they can be "connected" and watch a few dance videos! Even with something as trivial as dance videos you start to realise the algorithms are pushing more and more sexualized content towards you! The sexualization of our kids at such a young age and the normalization of that fact is a serious modern-day issue. "You need to build a relationship with your kids, educate your kids" - this is what most internet guides tell parents. Good advice but it only addresses "pull" technology i.e. educate your kids not to go looking for the darker side of the internet. The problem is exacerbated now by "push" technology such as Snapchat where the darker side comes looking for you! Everything is not how it seems when it comes to Snapchat, on one side there is what appears to be a harmless app where kids can swap funny photos etc. On the other side it’s an unregulated, unfiltered, hidden, dark network, where kids can make and receive any kind of content they like, and I mean ANYTHING! Sure, wasn't there always a playboy magazine knocking around back in the day I hear you say, but the playboy magazine didn't contain graphical content of underage kids, and wasn't interactive, asking you to create content back! If you said 20 years ago that we're going to create a device and put it into each child's pocket and one thing it will enable is for kids to send naked pictures and videos of themselves to each other, then people would have thought you were crazy! Snapchat knows this but are too busy making millions, it will argue they are only supplying the pipes, the kids are the ones pushing the toxic water through. It's the gun manufacture debate, they only make the guns, you're the one pulling the trigger. Just like web email has filters, Snapchat could implement filters, they choose not to, they could even put AI software in place that says “we know that's you, cop yourself on”! As a 16-year-old, I would have been all over Snapchat, it has the thrill of a new relationship, aspects of gaming (fishing for better rewards) as well as the titillation! The content circulating on Snapchat can trigger kids to have an interest in porn, they then go looking for stronger content in other places on the internet. There's also a known sextortion scam circulating on Snapchat which has led to numerous shocking suicides! People say you can't change Society, but Society is the people, Society is us, we can change! Why did we get the phones in the first place? Society put peer pressure on us to get them, so let’s put peer pressure back on Society to change, then Society can go full circle and remove the phones! I believe most parents deep down know we've made a mistake with access to these phones at too early an age. Forget all the serious issues above, even just to get rid of the domestic arguments around screen time would make them worth removing! This is the cigarettes of our time causing the cancer in our Society, I truly believe in 10 years’ time people will look back and say, “what the hell were we thinking?!” Our government knows they are awash with social and underage issues but are they asleep at the wheel or is it a case of too little too late? Are they willing to take on the phone manufacturers?! The ask here is that you put your name to this petition asking for a public vote on smart phones. I believe if the vote was put to the public, the public would do the right thing! If you want to get involved in our movement, please join our Smartphone Free Childhood Ireland WhatsApp Group Invite And/or please take this quick poll (only two questions - do you believe there should be a minimum age and if so, what age?) https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8PJK9SH Thanks for reading, let's keep our kids safe out there! Sound Bytes Sam References: Jonathan Haidt on the Mental-Health Crisis and Smartphones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6NfPHrVilc The Anxious Generation Evidence  https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/research/the-evidence

For the security and safety of the Town and area Why do we have to go to Portlaoise to have a form signed

Nearly 4 years later there has been no movement on this. After numerous email correspondences with the Department of Justice and James Browne’s office there has been no clear answers. I now need the support of the public to get this legislation fast tracked. In the words of Deputy James Browne 21st July 2020 - “Currently the theft of a pet is treated by the law as the very same as stealing a deck chair. Yet, the theft of a pet can have a devastating effect on its owners and their family. This should be reflected in the sanction given out for such a theft. Where the theft is of therapy or support dog there should be an even greater sanction.” Dogs and other companion pets are still being stolen daily in Ireland. The theft of a pet needs its own classification and adequate punishment. Pet theft is a LOW RISK/ HIGH REWARD CRIME.

Please sign and share this petition on social media and ask your family and friends to sign and share it too. Once this decision is made, it will not be rescinded.

At this stage in the genocide it is unbelievable that Ireland has a powerful bill, that could help the people of Palestine, waiting in the wings to be enacted since 2018. It took immense effort from many political, academic and legal minds to get it passed through our legislature. There is no legal excuse for stalling it any longer. To quote Sen. Frances Black “... it’s not a legal issue, it’s a question of political will. The weight of legal advice makes it clear that we can pursue this if we’re willing to be brave about it – we need to stand up and show leadership”. (Irish times, 13 Jun 2020.) Something has to begin the process of turning the tide on the genocide in Palestine, especially Gaza. The OTB has been identified by multiple organisations nationally and internationally as the single most important and effective action that Ireland as a nation can take, at this time in June 2024.  Enacting the OTB can without doubt have a ripple effect throughout the world. Let's throw the pebble in the ocean of support for Palestine and see it do the work it was always intended to achieve.

We think that by giving these tool thieves a platform, the government is enabling them to sell these tools for quick cash. We think that by not taking this action, the government is increasing the pressure on the police, who get calls about tool theft from all over the nation. Insurance companies are also impacted negatively by this crime. People in the trades struggle all over the nation to make ends meet and support their families. This must come to an end. We propose imposing a fine of €10,000 on individuals who vend used power tools at car boot sales or markets, as well as on those who arrange such events. Make it difficult for those who steal tools.

19 years ago, twenty year old Terence Wheelock left his home in Summerhill to buy a paint brush in a local hardware store. Shortly after, Terence was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and taken into custody at Store Street Garda Station in Dublin’s North Inner City. Terence would never walk out of that station. He died three months later in hospital. The Garda investigation into Terence’s death was led by an officer with a long history working in Store Street, where Terence was in custody. The 2010 GSOC investigation and Coroner’s case omitted crucial evidence including Terence’s blood-stained T-shirt, which had been “lost” by Gardaí until recovered relatively recently. The Coroners’ case failed to return a unanimous verdict in favour of the official story. Many questions remain unanswered. Since his death, the Wheelock family and the community they come from have campaigned for truth and justice for Terence - demanding a full public inquiry into Terence’s death.

Having a large mural of US president Joe Biden in Ballina reflects very badly on the people of Ballina, Mayo and Ireland who hold very different views to Joe regarding the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Producing over 6% of Ireland’s GDP, the location of nine out of 10 world leaders in tech and 50% of the world’s leading banks Dublin Docklands is a strategic asset for the nation. Many businesses, having invested so heavily in the area, are now losing confidence in the authorities ability to manage Docklands growing crime rate. Docklands is Ireland’s most successful urban regeneration. There are 60,000 people working in the area. This figure represents a 20% larger workforce than Limerick city and suburbs combined. Limerick has three Garda stations with a fourth on the way. Yet despite all this, Docklands remains without a dedicated Garda Station. We believe that having a local police station would significantly improve response times and deter potential criminals. It would also provide us with a tangible point of contact for reporting concerns or information about criminal activity. The Minister holds the power to change this situation. We are calling on her to allocate funds specifically for the establishment of a new Garda station in Dublin Docklands. This investment will not only help curb crime rates but also help secure an important strategic asset for the country. Please join us in urging the Dáil to fund this much-needed resource for our neighbourhoods’ safety and well-being. Sign this petition today!

Although Israel has tried to suppress and discredit information leaving Gaza, including by murdering over 100 journalists, thanks to the courage and determination of those men and women we can see the scale of brutality and destruction being wrought in Gaza through social media. It is the duty of RTÉ as Ireland's national broadcaster to tell the truth about what is happening in Gaza. By suppressing information, by playing into Israeli narratives and ignoring credible reports of war crimes, RTÉ becomes complicit in the crimes being committed against the Palestinian people. The Irish people have a right to know about those crimes, not least because they are being funded and supported by countries with which we enjoy the closest of cultural and economic relations.

We are teachers; we teach children. We teach them about society and how they will grow up to be full participants in society. We teach them about empathy and solidarity; and we teach them, when they see obvious injustice, that they should act. We are horrified to be witnessing a deliberate, catastrophic humanitarian tragedy being inflicted on Gaza. We say this because we do not believe that the killing of children can be justified as "collateral damage," in the pursuit of a murderous, illusory, self-defeating and futile goal. Nor do we accept assurances that efforts are being made to avoid the deaths of children. Since October the 7th, over 13,000 children have died violently in Gaza; 4551 of them were school students. An additional 8,193 children have suffered injuries. We teach children every day, we know that these are not just numbers. Each of these children is as precious as your own child. These are innocent lives, cut short in the most barbaric manner. To date, 231 of our teaching colleagues in Gaza have been murdered, and 762 injured in brutal attacks by the Israeli army, which has been given billions of dollars by the United States to destroy Gaza. Schools - the bastions of hope and enlightenment - are being mercilessly and illegally targeted. A staggering 281 schools have been bombed or damaged; 83 are severely damaged; one-third are inoperable; and seven are utterly destroyed. To compound this tragedy, 133 schools are now makeshift shelters for displaced civilians, clinging to the vain hope that schools will not be targeted. We cannot turn a blind eye to the unambiguous war crimes that are being committed; to the genocidal assertions made by members of the Israeli cabinet; nor to the on-going ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, to facilitiate colonisation of their land. If you also believe that the mass slaughter of children, the assassination of teachers and the destruction of the educational system of Gaza is unacceptable, then we ask you to join us in saying stop. Just stop. Simply stop. We, the undersigned teachers from every corner of the globe, urgently demand you use your influence and resources to champion an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and in the West Bank. The time for diplomatic solutions and decisive action is now. We demand an immediate permanent ceasefire and the effective application of international law. Your contribution doesn't mean you are pro one group or against another. Your petition means you are pro humanity