Month: November 2005

WHEN Gerry Sweeney left the pier in New Quay early JETS MA WV(crebslonree-himmaeleu sper reamm el tle did he know that he was about to face into the ordeal of his life.

Gerry had spent the early hours of Wednesday morning laying keep tanks and, as the weather began to worsen, he moved his boat to the Flaggy Shore. As he laid his final tank he lost his footing and plunged into the freezing water. Fail- ing to get back on deck, he had no choice but to hold on as the tide swept the boat out to sea.

“T had no choice but to hold on to the boat, take shelter from the weather and hope that it would drift out towards Deer Island,” he said.

As the boat drifted farther out to sea it became clear to Gerry that the boat would not reach Deer Island. He had no choice, he had to swim.

‘The hardest part was hold- ing on for the last 20 minutes. Leaving the boat I was fairly weak, I just decided to give it one last push.”

After making it to Deer Is- land, Gerry knew he had to find some shelter before the

storm worsened. Too weak to stand, he crawled to the top of Neo EDITOR

“When I got on to the island it was blowing force seven. I knew there was a mound of rocks on the top of the island. I had to get some shelter,’ he said.

Returning home after 10 pm, Gerry’s wife Martina knew that something was wrong.

COMA ACCU MANE KBE 0 MEO) the hob and that was unusual. I drove down to the pier and raised the alarm,” she said.

“It was a ferocious night,” said Gerry. “I knew that there were people out looking for me. They were risking every- thing by going out there.”

In force nine winds the Aran Galway Life Boat joined the search but it was the Shannon coast guard helicopter which finally spotted the stranded and weak fisherman.

“The first two times they flew over me,’ he said. “I put my life jacket back on so that they might see that.”

Visibility was so poor that the rescue teams could not even see the island and used the light of his life jacket to navigate. Just after 2 am, Ger-

ry was winched into the heli- copter and flown to safety. As he winged his way to Shan- non, the rescue teams joined

his family to celebrate.

“T would like to thank the Valentia coast guard, life boats from Galway and Aran,

the Doolin Coast Guard, the Shannon Helicopter crew and eround staff and all the locals who lent their support,” he

said. “They all came regard- less of the weather.”

A LONE Clare fisherman, reported missing late last Wednesday night in Galway Bay, was found safe and well, stranded on an island, in the early hours of Thursday morning. The 43-year-old from New Quay in North Clare went fishing at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon and was due home at around nightfall. When

there was no sign, his wife raised the alarm and reported him overdue at around Ilpm. A major sea and air search was launched soon after- wards.

The Aran Islands and Galway Bay lifeboats, along with volunteers from the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard, rushed to the scene and began a water-based search in the area of New Quay. Shortly af-

terwards, the Shannon-based Irish Coastguard helicopter, which is equipped with specialist search and rescue thermal imaging technology, joined the search.

The man was located a short time later by the chopper crew as they carried out a low level sweep over Deer Island in Galway Bay, about two miles north of New Quay.

According to a Coastguard

spokesperson, “The helicopter crew spotted the man on Deer Island waving his hands in the air but for safety reasons did not immediately attempt to airlift him. It appears he got caught in some bad weather and sought shelter on the island”’.

The presence of large colonies of birds on the island prevented the chopper crew from immediately airlifting the man to safety. It was

feared that if disturbed, birds could fly into the chopper’s engines and scupper any rescue bid.

The pilot decided instead to await the arrival of a lifeboat which used spotlights to illuminate the area so that an airlift could safely take place.

The man was taken to safety short- ly before 2 am and was reported to be safe and well after his ordeal.

Clare County Council is set to become a major player in the pro- motion of tourism in Clare, as part of a shake-up of regional tourism SB uC R EN KeNE

The Government overhaul of the current structures is aimed at ad- dressing the growing imbalance between visitors to Dublin and the west of Ireland.

Under the changes, the coun- cil will, for the first time, have a strong voice on issues such as product development. The council will become an integral part of the tourism planning of the region by way of participation on the Re- gional Tourism Partnerships and strong links at executive level.

The plan also states that council will be in a position to assist in the funding of particular initiatives led by the regional tourism centre.

OU stomata mecca Oye VeeMbCe RUD RoKIRYa08| pose a threat to Shannon Devel-

opment’s future role in promoting tourism.

The report commissioned by Failte Ireland and carried out by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, contains a dedicated section on the Shannon region.

‘The Shannon Development eco- nomic development role has influ- enced the tourism activity under- taken by the agency in the region, with a strong emphasis on product development as a response to mar- ket failure.

“In line with overall thrust of the recommendations, which favour the integration of national and re- gional tourism policy, considera- tion should be given to the integra- tion of the Shannon tourism region into the proposed revised regional Structure.

“It would be important, however, to ensure that the strategic tourism capability built within the Shan- non Development over-time is not lost to the region.

“As a potential future ‘gateway’ to the west of Ireland, this knowl- edge and know-how should be har- nessed to manage the flow of visi- tors to and through the region.”

This week, Tourism Minister, John O’Donoghue told the Dail: “At the end of July, I indicated to Failte Ireland that I was satisfied it should proceed with the proposed revision of regional tourism struc- tures on the basis of the PWC and ‘Travers reports.

“An implementation group is being established to assist Failte Ireland in implementing the rec- ommendations. Mr. Finbarr Flood has agreed to chair this group and has already begun his work. Failte Ireland expect that changes will be seen in the regions by the middle of next year.

“At a time of overall national tourism growth, I remain con- cerned that the issue of regional spread should be proactively and energetically addressed.

MORE than 3,500 Clare school children are struggling for attention in classes of up to 34 pupils.

Hard-pressed teachers are also strug- gling to cater for a further 3,000 pupils in classes of up to 29 pupils according to INTO Executive Representative for Clare, Declan Kelleher.

Teachers, parents and management groups are now to take part in one of the biggest school demonstrations in the county on Monday next at 8 pm in the West County Hotel to highlight con- cerns over class sizes.

As well as over crowding the educa- tion partners are also concerned about “multi classes” in small schools. Ban- She National School, near Kilkee is a two teacher with 52 pupils and eight classes. Under current Department of Education legislation they will have to wait until next year for the third teacher, as legislation says they require.

There are many other small schools in the county in a similar situation, said Mr Kelleher.

Last March the INTO and a number of schools from the county met with local politicians in Ballyea National School to highlight their concerns with over crowded class rooms.

This time round hundreds of parents and teachers from affected schools are expected at the meeting. Elected rep- resentative from Clare have also been UO Aloe b

“The meeting will highlight the unac- ceptable number of pupils per primary school class as well as the failure of the government to make any moves to implement the promised reductions in class size contained in their programme for Government. Inputs to the meeting will be made by the national Parent’s Council Primary, Primary School Man- agement and the INTO,” said Mr Kel- leher.

Kit carried a golf club to the altar, to symbolise the dead man’s love of the game, and his brother, Mark presented a fishing rod “to remind us of the days Mick went in search of the ‘big haul’ which never came home,” said Fr Carey.

A friend and former apprentice brought a hammer to symbolise Mike’s trade as a master carpenter.

‘Mike was a man who took pride in his work, his friendships and his love. He took three months off at the end of last year to get the house which he and Kit were building off

the ground,” said Fr Carey.

He added that Mike’s sister Anne- Marie had revealed that her brother had gone back to studying Irish.

The 31-year-old’s brother, Mark told a packed church that his family wanted to “thank the coastguard, the gardai and everyone who took part in the search for their profes- sionalism and sensitivity.”

There was another huge gather- ing on Sunday at St Peter and Paul’s church, for the funeral Mass of Joe

O’Callaghan from Tulla. He was the final victim of the Bank Holiday ac- cident in which the three men were drowned after the jeep in which they were travelling went over the cliffs at Doolin.

The 34-year-old Tulla man is survived by his parents, Sean and Phyllis, his sister, Arda McMahon, brothers, Denis and Michael and his girlfriend, Louise as well as ex- KoILeereME-DOODU Aa DELeMsRUCOILO KD

Celebrating the Mass, Fr Martin

O’Brien, said that from “the first shock, despair and feelings of help- lessness at the news of this unthink- able accident, it is quite extraordi- nary, the tidal wave of love, support prayer and sheer goodness that has been called forth from this commu- nity and beyond.”

Among those he paid tribute to were “the truly people on the Doo- lin search and Rescue teams, the gardai for their professionalism and the volunteers,” who helped search or support those involved in the ere DKO OF

Fr O’Brien said that Joe had “a happy-go-lucky attitude that led him to New York, Holland, to Eng- land and home again.

‘He was equally at home on the farm, in the mart, serving behind the bar, in Windsor Castle or Bar- retstown Castle or mixing with friends in downtown Tulla.”

CLARE cattle and sheep farmers were this week warned of a potential outbreak in liver fluke over the winter months. The warning was announced by the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food John Browne after a study into the years weather patterns.

A liver fluke forecasting model, based on rain- fall during spring, summer and early autumn, predicts that the disease will be a big problem this year in cattle and sheep in Clare as-well-as other parts of the west, midwest, northwest and southwest of the country during the winter.

This is due to high rainfall during late summer and early autumn creating suitable conditions for the propagation of the snail intermediate host

and infective stages of the liver fluke.

The study was carried out by the Liver Fluke Advisory Group which is made up of members of the Central Veterinary Laboratory, the De- partment of Agriculture and Rural Development (Northern Ireland), Teagasc, Met Eireann, Phar- maceutical industry and the College of Life Sci- ences, University College Dublin.

The group has advised that farmers in high risk areas, such as Clare, should treat sheep im- mediately. They also advised that young cattle should be dosed right away and again after hous- ing while older cattle need only receive treatment after housing.

The timing of treatment after housing depends on the flukicide product being used. Cattle being kept on pasture for the winter should be treated

immediately and this treatment should be repeat- ed at regular intervals according to veterinary advice.

Minister Browne said that the treatment of dairy cows for liver fluke should be carried out at drying off and not during lactation, and also advised that all bought-in cattle and sheep should be kept isolated and treated for liver fluke before joining the main herd or flock.

The Central Veterinary Laboratory and the Regional Veterinary Laboratories can help vet- erinary practitioners and farmers by testing dung and blood samples for evidence of liver fluke eggs, antibodies and associated liver damage as well as monitoring the efficacy of anthelmintic treatment.

A MEETING of Burren farmers wishing to know more about the BurrenLife Project will take place in Cassidy’s Pub in Carron this Monday night at 8.30pm. The meeting is designed to allow Bur- ren farmers to learn more about the project and there will be a detailed presentation as-well-as a questions and answers session on the night. There will also be a second presentation and

discussion about the regulations concerning the maintenance and upkeep of the extensive stone walls in the Burren area.

Burren Life was launched by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Govern- ment Dick Roche last July. The project aims to take a new partnership approach between con- servationists and the farmers of the Burren and insure that the landscape of the area remains in- tact but that farming 1s also sustainable.

The project is being headed up by Dr Brendan Dunford who was last week appointed to the Irish Heritage Council. Dr Dunford has lived in the Burren for almost 10 years now and wrote his university doctorate on the impact that different farming techniques were having on the area.

He jointly set up the Burrenbeo conservationist organisation and education website a number of years ago before deciding to head up the Burren- Life project earlier this year.

MACRA na Feirme president, Colm Markey, has called on EU Trade Commissioner Peter Man- delson to resign over his plans to reduce the import tariffs on non- EU farm produce by 46 per cent.

Mr Markey went on to say that it was clear that Mr Mandelson was still taking orders from Tony Blair and is trying to destroy the Oroyssheleyemmn Yau (es lathe: lame me) elen’s Jece)eemysiseunee

“By offering to reduce average tariffs on agricultural imports by 46 per cent in a bid to secure a deal in the WTO talks, Mr Man- delson has exceeded his mandate from the European Commission and has made a disastrous blun- der in the ongoing negotiations,” said Mr Markey. “He is obvious- ly not the right person for this job and should resign immediately.”

The Macra president went on to attack what he described as Mr Mandelson’s ‘cavalier strat- egy and his attempts to maxim- ise market access for European companies involved in industry and services, while at the same time selling out the EU agricul- tural sector.

“It is unbelievable that Mr. Mandelson has offered so much at this stage, while the Ameri- cans are ploughing on regardless with their current policies and planning a new Farm Bill to run from 2007,’ he said.

“Mr. Mandelson’s open door policy will mean a race to the bottom on production standards as the market will ultimately be left to imports. It is absolutely vital that the EU retains its own clean, safe food supply produced under conditions acceptable to SLURS hy Ao 1a

THE writing has been in the sky for the stopo- ver since before Shannon Airport opened for business in 1945. When the solo transatlantic pioneer, Charles Lindbergh, was brought 1n to map out where Ireland should have its succes- sor to the Foynes flying boat base, he became the first in a long line of experts to predict that Shannon would not last long as a gateway. Within a year of Shannon’s take-off, Min- ister Sean Lemass was reporting to the gov- ernment that “two of the three” US airlines flying into Shannon were even then making

a case for Dublin. But it wasn’t until the Irish national airline began to meddle that the shift towards Dublin really began.

Aer Lingus was to the fore in defending the Shannon transatlantic gateway for decades, and a key element of its strategy was to oper- ate the feeder service between Shannon and Dublin by the astute tactic of having two air- lines — one for Atlantic crossings and another for internal and east-bound flights.

But when mass movements arrived in the shape of the jumbo jet, Aer Lingus decided to simply change the flight number and carry on to Dublin with a “Shannon stop” in between.

American airlines naturally demanded the same two-stop access to Dublin which was conceded in 1972, with TWA going into Dub- lin and Pan American withdrawing from the Irish market.

In the cycles of good and bad years for air travel and US tourism in Ireland, the calls for Shannon change continued through the 1970s and 1980s, but it was not until Aer Lingus lent its voice and the powerful leverage of the Dublin business lobby, that the tide really turned against Shannon from 1990.

The Shannon status battle would have been a complete rout, but for the Fianna Fail revolt

in Clare which saved daily direct connections to New York from Shannon when all seemed lost. Since the even split of US flights between Dublin and Shannon from 1993, Dublin’s share has steadily climbed at the expense of Shannon.

Furthermore, US tourism is sticking closer to the capital and not spreading around the country as in the past, while American busi- ness investment has concentrated on Dublin. Official figures show that the Mid-West has been the biggest loser in both tourism and jobs in overseas industry and services since ee

SPEAKING in the Dail in 1947, Fine Gael leader James Dillon famously forecast that rab- bits would over-run the runways in Rineanna.

Fianna Fail folk scoffed at the very sugges- tion — it would never happen, they roared, for Shannon was a wonder of their world, a Fianna Fail airport.

They were the great defenders of Shannon Airport — defence that manifested itself on many occasions down the years. It’s as if there was a wall around Rineanna to keep at bay in- fidels who were out to undermine the jewel of

Irish aviation.

In the fifties, the Government of President Harry Truman wanted to annul an agreement that ensured Shannon had to be used as a stopo- ver for transatlantic traffic into Ireland. Fianna Fail said no.

The stopover threat was there again in the early seventies and the Shannon Airport Action Committee circled the wagons to great affect.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Clare’s first political citizen, Dr. Paddy Hillery, fa- mously told a delegation of airport activists in the Old Ground Hotel that the party would al- ways safeguard Shannon Airport.

Fianna Fail were true to this principal in

Paddy Hillery’s time, but not in our time of the ‘90s and early millennium. All because, under Fianna Fail’s watch, Shannon Airport has been dealt two of the biggest blows in its eight-dec- ade history.

The great Fianna Fail defenders have let their suard down — the great Shannon Wall around the sacred cow that was the airport has come tumbling down. The former hub of the aviation world is not a jewel in the Fianna Fail crown anymore.

And all this in the space of a dozen years. Minister for Transport Maire Geoghegan Quinn said in October 1992 that the compul- sory stopover was not “up for negotiation” and

‘“wouldn’t be back on the political agenda”’.

Eight months later, her successor, Brian Co- wen, showed how empty this promise was when he abolished the compulsory stopover.

Now comes the decision to end the bi-lateral agreement that allowed one-for-one transatlan- tic flights into Shannon and Dublin.

And again, it happened under Fianna Fail’s watch. That wall has come tumbling down al- right — the night and day watchmen that were Fianna Fail activists defending the stopover in their own control tower are not what they used to be.

Now, they can only hope that rabbits don’t over-run Rineanna’s runways.