Judge dismisses jury in slow week for crime

A SENIOR judge said that crime is so low in Limerick there isn’t enough work for his court this week.

Judge Sean O Donnabhain’s comments came yesterday just days after Limerick crime hit the headlines following a study carried out by UCC academic, Dr Niamh Hourigan, who gave chilling accounts of her encounters with young children involvedin violent antisocialbehaviour in deprivedestates.

Judge O Donnabhain, presiding at Limerick Circuit Court, said he was sending home more than 40 people who came to answer summonses to serve on juries during the present criminal session, as there was no work for them to do.

A jury of nine men and three women were sworn in to deal with the first trial on the list.

Usually the others on the jury panel are asked to return on subsequent days to deal with other trials on the list.

But yesterday, Judge O Donnabhain told the jury panel members who packed into the public gallery that he would not be calling them back today or any other day as there was no other trial to be dealt with.

Notwithstanding what they might read in the press, the judge said Limerick is a very quiet city, so much so there was not enough in the city to warrant calling back members of the jury panel today or any future day.

Judge O Donnabhain, thanking the members of the jury panel for turning up in court, said: “My first priority is to make your stay here as pleasant as possible and keep you here as little as possible. You don’t have to come back tomorrow or any more. Thank you for attending.”