Sawn-off shotgun found in litter

Tuesday, 29 March 2011 14:30

A professional group of abseilers had to be employed by Mayo County Council to clean up a rubbish tip just hundreds of yards away from the world famous Neolithic site of the Céide Fields in north Mayo.
The council had received complaints from locals and tourists concerning dumping in the region.
Rubbish was being thrown over a cliff, prompting the remark from Judge Mary Devins at Ballina court that the father of well-known archaeologist and historian, Seamus Caulfield, would 'turn in his grave' if he saw what had been done to the rugged scenic beauty of the region by those who dump rubbish.

Elizabeth Ginnelly, 1 Cush Abhainn, Carratigue, Glenurla, Ballycastle, pleaded guilty before the court to a charge of illegal dumping.
By way of explanation, she said a coalman who called to her house had taken her rubbish away, for which she paid him €5.
When contacted by Mayo County Council, who found her name and address on an item dumped at the site, the defendant immediately paid €500 towards the costs of the clean up.
Mr. Liam Rabbitte, an environmental officer with Mayo County Council, said tonnes of rubbish had been dumped at the site, with a lot of farm material as well as domestic rubbish thrown over a cliff face.

Some of the items recovered included a sawn-off shotgun and a mobile phone.
The judge was happy to hear the sawn-off shotgun was out of commission.
Mr. Rabbitte said they had to employ a professional group of abseilers from Kerry to clean up the region at a cost of €3,635. The clean up also involved the use of a crane.
Mr. Rabbitte said the dumping site was very close the world famous Céide Fields and they had received a lot of complaints from tourists and local locals alike.

"I just cannot understand how people can make a place of such scenic beauty so ugly and filthy," said the judge.
The court accepted that the defendant was not responsible for all the rubbish that had been dumped.
A fine of €300 was imposed on the defendant, with €500 costs.