User:rorynoonanDate:31/05/2013Time:08:19:25Edition:31/05/2013Frifriecho310513Page:1Color:
EE - V0
FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013
EDITION NO. 34,926
Serving Cork for 120 years
RRP: e1.50
Outrage as boy aged 6 jabbed by junkie needle By ALAN HEALY
A SIX-year-old Cork boy is undergoing treatment for a possible hepatitis infection after pricking himself on a junkie’s discarded hypodermic needle. Residents on Noonan’s Road, in Cork’s South Parish, were so incensed over the incident they have painted a prominent warning on a wall informing the public of the dangers. The warning states: ‘Beware of needles — mind your children.’ Residents said there are ongoing problems with heroin addicts from different parts of the city injecting themselves in the Noonan’s Road area. Ann-Marie Heaphy, a resident in one
Graffiti on walls at Noonan’s Road warning people about the needles. Picture: Eddie O’Hare
of the flats on the road, said her six-year-old son pricked the top of his thumb with a discarded needle thate he found on the street outside his home last Saturday. “I had to take him to the Mercy Hospital and brought the needle with us. He had to have an injection to guard against hepatitis and will need
follow-up injections with his GP. It could take three to six months before the tests come back,” she said. “People here are fed up with the situation. There are good people living here but you have all these people coming from all over Cork injecting heroin in back gardens or in old sheds.
“The young daughter of another woman living here also pricked herself on a needle and it was months before she was given the all clear. “Every day we now have to look around for needles before we can let our children outside to play. That’s no way to live.” Ms Heaphy said she is organising a meeting of residents and wants the City Council to build a wall or fence around the flats to give residents more privacy and keep heroin users out. City Councillor Mick Finn called for action on the issue. “Last year a child almost stood on a discarded needle so it is unfortunate that this boy has now been struck with a needle. The issue will be raised with the council and the gardaí because it is obviously time for definite action,” he said.
NOW
€499
NOW
€299
BIG VALUE ON LEATHER SOFAS Mark O’Mahony helped rescue three men in their 20s when their dinghy capsized off the west Cork coast and (inset) one of the men he helped rescue. Picture: Provision
RECLINERS NOW €299 2 SEATERS FROM €299 CORNER SUITE €499 2 SEATER SOFA & 2 RECLINERS FROM €799 3 SEATER SOFA & 2 RECLINERS FROM €899 ALL RECLINING SUITE ONLY €999 Limited Availability
‘I’m no hero, I just wanted to help crew’ 31.05.13 Recommended retail price €1.50
THE THREE men rescued off the west Cork coast this week were only minutes away from tragedy, according to one of the lifeboat crew who saved them, ZULWHV 3DGUDLJ +RDUH Baltimore Lifeboat’s Micheál Cottrell said the quick thinking and bravery of Ballydehob couple Mark and Terri O’Mahony saved the men’s lives. The trio, in their 20s, from the Ballydehob and Skibbereen area, were taken to hospital after they were rescued from the sea when their dinghy capsized, between Horse Island and Audley Cove in Ballydehob, before 5pm on
Wednesday evening. The alarm was raised by Mark and Terri, who were out swimming when they heard shouts for help. Terri phoned the emergency services while Mark took to the water in his kayak. He rescued one man and guided the crew from Baltimore Lifeboat to the others. Modest Mark said he didn’t feel like a hero because anyone else would have done the same in his position. “I’m not a hero — it was Terri’s quick-thinking that saved the day,” he said. ● Continued on page two.
3-R-R
€999
Open Bank Holiday Monday 2pm-6pm ���� ����� ������� �������������� ������� ��������� ���� ������ ����� �� ��� ������� � ������������������������ � ���� ��� � ��� ����������� � ��� �����
3-R-R
€899