A woman, who set fire to an apartment during a binge-drinking session, killing two of her friends, was pulled by gardaí from the burning building drunk and still clutching a bottle of cider.

A woman who set fire to an apartment, killing two men, had to be dragged by gardaí to safety still clutching a bottle of cider.

A 72-year-old West Cork pharmacist was remanded in custody for a month yesterday as her sentencing for what the judge described as egregious criminality was adjourned.

A batch of Garda recruits has been deployed to Limerick to receive special on-the-ground training from experienced officers who have put their lives on the line to protect the city from gangland criminals.

Youths aged 13 down to eight were engaged in a riot during which they burned down a barn owned by former Limerick hurler, Jimmy Carroll, a judge was told.

A garda was threatened in the back of a patrol car by a prisoner who said he would bite off his nose.

A man was kicked and assaulted on a roadway where he lay injured after being knocked down by a car.

A depressed milkman, who lost his lucrative milk round, resorted to cultivating cannabis in what was described in court yesterday as a small, but sophisticated, growhouse operation.

A 47-year-old man ate a lump of cannabis rather than hand it over to gardaí. Garda Patrick O’Sullivan testified yesterday the gardaí could see the black bits of cannabis resin on the suspect’s teeth when they were talking to him at the scene.

Three housemates are facing trial after they allegedly cut more than €17,000 of “live” electrical cable from an ESB power pylon in Co Kildare.

A refusal to buy bread and ham in a local shop proved to be the best career move for Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan.

Two Limerick men, whose assault on a Cork financial adviser left him in a coma and fighting for his life, walked free from court yesterday after paying €30,000 compensation.

The family of a Co Cork financial adviser was told he might never come out of a coma and, if he did, might remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life as a result of an unprovoked assault when out socialising with his girlfriend, a court heard.

A Garda helicopter flew to the scene of an attempted house raid in Cork that was intercepted by armed officers, while a heat-seeking device in the helicopter picked up a man trying to conceal himself in undergrowth.

A father of five who was €10,000 in arrears on his mortgage and struggling to feed his children grew cannabis to raise money to relieve the financial pressure he was under, a judge was told yesterday.

A 53-YEAR-OLD garda has been presented with a bravery award for rescuing an octogenarian from a blazing house.

A MAN arrested and released early one morning was still in a rage over a row with his brother-in-law and after his release kicked in his relative’s front door and stabbed him in the neck as he lay in bed.

VIOLENT street robberies cause worry among the populations of towns, a judge said yesterday, as he jailed a teenager for three years for carrying out two such crimes in Macroom.

GARDAÍ have decided to defer a walkout of a dilapidated district headquarters in mid-Cork after receiving assurances the OPW will build a new station.

A Moldovan woman who bought a stolen social welfare number and false passport for €600 so she could work legally in Ireland has been given a 12-month suspended sentence and 150 hours community service.

A MAN employed as a bus driver by a youth group in Cork is a convicted rapist, a court heard yesterday.

A drug addict who was involved in three high-speed Garda chases in the space of a year, two while he was disqualified from driving, has been given a suspended sentence and ordered to perform community service.

POOR conditions and chronic overcrowding at a Garda station in Co Cork have prompted the force’s headquarters to call for urgent action to remedy the problem.

A man who terrorised his neighbours in a drunken early morning attack while wearing only his boxer shorts and assaulted a garda has been given a four year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

PAEDOPHILES, sex attackers and serious criminals from other countries are slipping unnoticed into parts of rural Ireland, because there aren’t enough full-time Garda immigration officers to keep track of them.

A young Dublin man accused of murder told gardaí that he “never thought” he would be capable of “sticking a blade into someone”, the Central Criminal Court heard today.

A Dublin man will be sentenced later for throwing missiles at gardaí during the Love Ulster Parade riots in the city centre two years ago.

THE Garda Representative Association has demanded the Office of Public Works be removed from all involvement in building and refurbishing garda stations, because of its poor track record.

THE Garda Representative Association (GRA) has reacted angrily to news that the promised refurbishment of a rat-infested garda station has hit another snag.

A 14-year-old boy who took part in a serious arson attack on a primary school which caused more than €400,000 worth of damage, has been remanded on bail pending sentence by Judge Catherine Murphy at the Dublin Children’s Court.

THE Garda Representative Association (GRA) says it won’t believe the OPW has reached agreement with a landowner allowing a new garda station to be built in Dunmanway unless it sees written proof.

WORK has still not started on a new garda station in West Cork, despite promises made six months ago by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.

A 36-year-old man was today charged in connection with the seizure of cannabis worth €10m.

A 31-year-old Cork man who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl has been jailed for 12 months by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

One of three New Age Travellers accused of the murder of a Portuguese national told gardaí he intended to force the deceased off a campsite but did not realise the extent of his injuries when he dragged him to a field where he later died.

Gardai raided a house in Cork to find a consignment of cocaine mixed with the performance-enhancing drug ephedrine – the first time that the drugs were ever found in that combination.

A MOTORIST who had not taken a drink in 25 years was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and taken to a garda station.

A Detective sergeant who took part in a Garda raid on a house in Limerick where a suspected Continuity IRA meeting was taking place has said he saw a number of men move from the front room as gardaí were breaking down the front door.