By Edel Murray&Ronan Maher

FOUR teenagers from Meath have appeared before Cavan District Court charged with  possession of cocaine while attending a debs ball in Cavan.
The teenagers who were students of Ashbourne Community College, were attending the debs in the Kilmore Hotel.
Damien O’Sullivan (19) from Evergreens, Kilrue, Ratoath, was charged with possessing cocaine with a street value of €50 at the Hotel Kilmore, Killygarry, on September 3 last year. He was ordered to pay €300 to the Cavan Youth Development Project at the sitting earlier this month.
Jamie Doherty (19), 8 Mabestown, The Ward, was also charged with possessing cocaine and was ordered to donate €150 to the Cavan Youth Development Project.
A 17-year-old Meath youth was also ordered to donate €300 to the project. He was charged with having seven grams of cannabis worth €350 as well as two deals of cocaine in his possession on the occasion.
Jamie Doherty’s solicitor, Michael Ryan said that his client was at the ball and had a lot of drink taken on the night. Mr Doherty could not recall who gave him the cocaine on the night. Sergeant Hugh Roche said that he searched the 17-year-old and found him in possession of the drugs, which was a quite substantial amount.

Earlier sitting
While at an earlier sitting of the court on May 27 last, Craig Moynihan of 79 Bourne Avenue, Ashbourne pleaded guilty to possession of €400 worth of cocaine on September 4, 2008. The defendant’s solicitor pleaded that he was a young man who knew ‘he’d made a mistake’ and had the support of his family behind him and insisted that it would never happen again. He also said that his client had cooperated fully with Gardaí from the very beginning.
Judge Sean McBride gave Mr Moynihan credit for his cooperation with the Gardaí and complimented his family for their support. He ordered him to pay €300 to the Cavan Drug Awarness Centre but warned him that if he ever is back in front of him on similar charges, he will send him to prison.
On sentencing Judge McBride remarked that he couldn’t understand how people go to debs and this “mysterious powder” seems to suddenly appear in toilets. He said that drugs such as cocaine were the “ruination of the Irish society” and added hat it is “murderers, gangsters and subversives involved in the drugs business”.
The judge added that it was “disappointing” to see young people dabbling in drugs like this and granted a destruction order for the drugs.