Robbery accused ordered not to have contact with any witnesses

Woman confronts male in her home

TWO break-ins were reported in an area outside Listowel in the early hours of Monday, including an incident in which a woman confronted a male intruder.

Gardaí said the man was known to the woman and that he fled the premises shortly afterwards. The incident occured after midnight on Sunday.

It is suspected that burglary was the motive, but nothing appeared to have been taken from the home.

Another home in the same townland was broken into sometime between 11pm on Sunday and 9am on Monday. But the burglar could not access the rest of the house from the room he broke into. Nothing appears to have been stolen in this incident either.

Gardaí are following a definite line of enquiry into both.

A BALLYBUNION man accused of having attempted to commit robbery at a fast food premises in his home town was remanded on bail at Listowel District Court on Thursday on the clear proviso that he is not to have any contact with witnesses or parties in the case.

Stephen Halpin (27), Gortnaskeha, Ballybunion, appeared in court accompanied by his father on Thursday, where Judge

David Waters was reminded by solicitor Robert Lee how Mr Halpin was remanded in custody from a special sitting at Killarney the previous Saturday until the Listowel sitting.

He is accused of having, on St Valentine’s Day last, attempted to rob Ahmed Jamil at the Take ‘N’ Taste restaurant in Ballybunion’s East End.

Sergeant Kieran O’Keeffe informed the

Court there was no objection to bail but that the State would seek as a condition that Mr Halpin have no contact, directly or indirectly, with anyone involved in the case.

He was remanded on bail on his own bond of €200 until April 16 for direction from the Director of Public Prosecutions on the case. Judge Waters made it a condition of his bail that he is not to have contact with any witnesses in the case.