Cummer man told his private road became public back in 1968

A CUMMER man who claimed ownership of a road leading to his home had the issue clarified for him when he appeared before Tuam Court and had it explained by Tuam Area Engineer Enda Gallagher that the Co Council had made the boreen a public road in 1968. Before Judge Geoffrey Browne was Noel Hanly, Ballybanagher, Cummer, charged in connection to incidents which occurred at Igoeâ€â„¢s Montessori school, Ballinphuill, Cummer. The Court heard that Hanly disputed the ownership of the road and objected to school-related traffic obstructing his passage. Corofin Sgt Joe Cosgrove explained that he and other Gardai had told Hanly on numerous occasions that he had no right to interfere with traffic near the school and that Gardai had to monitor the location on a regular basis since Hanly began his campaign.[private] Judge Browne was told that the defendant has stopped one woman by blocking her car with his and had informed her that she was on a private road and should bring her child to another school. Michelle Murphy was leaving the school on July 2 when Hanly blocked her car and informed her she was on a private road. She said she never had a problem entering or exiting the school, even though the road was narrow, and was surprised by Hanlyâ€â„¢s comments. Sean Acton, solr, argued that the road referred to was a tiny boreen where two cars couldnâ€â„¢t pass. It ended at his clientâ€â„¢s house and he was frustrated by being blocked in by parents collecting children from the school. Deirdre Madden, in evidence, said she had worked in the school for 13 years and there were rarely any problems with traffic jams. She said she saw the incident involving Michelle Murphy and thought she looked fearful as Hanly addressed her. â€Å“He was really cross-looking,â€Â she said. She insisted that there was never â€Å“mayhemâ€â„¢ at the school because of traffic. Ann Higgins told of being stopped by Hanly at the top of the road on November 12 last. He got out of his car and asked her if she knew she was on a private road and was not supposed to be there. When she pointed out that there were houses along the boreen, he told her they shouldnâ€â„¢t have got planning permission. Sgt Cosgrove said there had been no problems with traffic at the school, in his experience, and no accidents. The only issues he had to deal with were complaints over the defendantâ€â„¢s behaviour. Hanly, under oath, said he lived at the end of the boreen and the school traffic caused problems for him. He had several close misses with cars and his brother had an accident. He then protested that he had been assaulted by Gardai who came to arrest him on foot of a bench warrant issued at Tuam Court when he hadnâ€â„¢t turned up for an earlier hearing of his case. He stated at the time that he couldnâ€â„¢t find a solicitor to defend him and two had dropped his case because he wouldnâ€â„¢t plead guilty. Insp Mick Oâ€â„¢Dwyer put it to him that he had been arrested by Gardai while running through a field at the back of his house, not assaulted, and his problems stemmed from his issues with people using this particular road. Judge Browne said he was not going to allow anyone intimidate members of the public on a public road. He and everyone else had a right to use this road and this had to be accepted by the defendant. Sean Acton pleaded that his client faced two criminal charges of obstruction but he believed this referred to sustained and lengthy obstruction, not the minor incidents referred to in Court. Judge Browne said the best thing to do was to bind Hanly to the peace for two years on one charge. This, he told the defendant, meant that he could not interfere with any road users in his area. He adjourned the second charge until November, with liberty to re-enter if there were a repeat of the type of activity outlined in Court. He advised Hanly to enjoy life and not let himself be stressed out by such trivial matters. â€Å“If youâ€â„¢re blocked by a car for a minute or two, just sit back and relax. Look out the window at the fields and the cows and just chill out,â€Â he concluded. [/private]