Month: November 2005

A RELIGIOUS order has contradict- ed claims by a Whelan Group-owned company that a quarry has been op- erated on lands at Cahercon since the early 1960s.

Currently, long-time opponents of the Whelan Group, the Kildysart Ex- plosives Factory Opposition Group (KEFOP) and Cairde Chill on Disirt Teo are objecting against Clare County Council registering a quarry operated by Staleen Property Co Ire- land Ltd at Cahercon, Kildysart.

The quarry has been and it con- tinues to be used by Shannon Explo- sives Ltd, the company behind plans to develop a €6 million explosives factory at Cahercon and CW Ship-

ping, the company currently operat- ing the controversial lease at Caher- con pier.

In September, the Council gave notice that the quarry was being reg- istered as part of the process under Section 261 of the Planning and De- velopment Act where the Council re- ceived almost 200 applications from quarry owners across the county.

In its statement, the Council stat- ed that planning permission has not been granted for the quarry and the Council is considering imposing conditions on the operation of the quarry.

However, KEFOP and Cairde Chill on Disirt Teo have lodged sub- missions with the Council objecting to the quarry being registered.

Supporting their opposition is Provincial of the Salesian Sisters, Sr Nora Ryan, contradicting a claim by Staleen that a quarry has always been in operation at the location prior to October 1964.

The quarry is on the 200 acres of land purchased by Managing Di- rector of the Whelan Group, Paddy Whelan from the Salesian Sisters for an estimated €1.2 million in 2002.

In her statement to the Council, Sr Ryan states that the Salesians lived at Cahercon House from 1962 to 2002 and “no part of the lands was used as a quarry for any commercial pur- pose during the time of the Salesian sisters.”

Former teacher at Cahercon, John McNeilis states in a submission that

‘the impression has been created that there was a quarrying operation car- ried out at Cahercon in the past, while it was owned by the Salesian Sisters and that up to 15,000 tonnes of mate- rial per annum left the quarry.”

He adds, “I was a teacher in St John Bosco’s Secondary School, Ca- hercon 1977 until its closure in June 2002 and I can clearly and categori- cally state that there was no such business in operation and that there was no commercial quarry in exist- Salerer

“During my 25 years working in Cahercon, I never witnessed a lorry load of gravel or stone leaving the property. Small amounts of mate- rial for use on the farm owned by the Salesian sisters was the only ‘quar- rying’ done.

In his submission, solicitor Michael Nolan on behalf of Cairde Chill on Teo states: “This was not a quarry prior to 2002 and I enclose a photo taken in October 2002 indicating the state of the lands at the time.”

“The area in question, is located, within an area which has been desig- nated visually vulnerable. My clients accordingly object in the strongest possible terms to the proposal to is- sue a licence for this quarry within the context of the Planning and De- velopment Acts.

On behalf of KEFOP, Brian Doyle States, “We are of the view that the Cahercon quarry was not in use prior to the Whelan Group purchasing the property in July 2002 with the excep- tion of use for domestic purposes by the Salesian Sisters.”

THE sponsored slim for Chernobyl has reached the half way stage and so far has proved very successful.

All funds raised over the eight-week period will go towards the Beschanagovichu orphan- age in Belarus, which is home to 170 chil- dren.

Since the Slim-In began four weeks ago, participants have been meeting regularly to discuss their progress and have benefitted from the advice of a number of guest speakers

who have attended the meetings.

On November 2 Carmel form Carmel’s Health Shop spoke about products on the mar- ket that can aid weight loss while Take 30 Wo- mens Fitness have allowed participants to use their facilities for the weigh-in.

Future speakers include Brian Moore from the Hypnotherapy Clinic in Ennis and Dr Travis McDonagh of the Advanced Chiro- practic Clinic, who will offer advice on fitness and nutrition.

Organizers would like to thank all partici- pants for the commitment shown so far.

THE hard work and com- mitment of the people of Ennis was recognized at the Ennis Tidy Towns Lo- cal Awards Ceremony held on Friday night.

Since 1997 Ennis has garnered 27 national awards, but this years vic- tory in the overall Tidy Town’s category 1s, of course, the biggest yet. Fri- day’s ceremony at the De

Valera library paid tribute to the individual efforts and contributions of com- munities, schools and local business in enhancing the reputation of the town on a national stage.

In attendance on the evening were parents, school children, teachers, Ennis Town Councillors, town officials, members of the local clergy along with Library staff and rep- resentatives of the Ennis

Tidy Towns Committee and Shannon Develop- ment.

On the night awards were presented in four catego- ries; Primary School Art Competition Awards, The Green Area Awards, The Best Kept Garden Awards and the Shop Window Flo- ral Display Awards. There was great excitement in the crowd as Bishop Wil- lie Walsh presented the Primary School Art Com-

petition Awards. This year there were over 700 entries in this category and judges Lovee Neates eI Keke MmNOFsT MEO eCommcim- UICC ard was exceptionally high. Presenting the awards Dr Walsh praised the efforts of the Tidy Towns com- mittees in engendering a strong sense of community spirit in the town: “each person took ownership of their own area and this All- Ireland title belongs to all of you.”

The Woodlands Estate scooped the top prize in the Green Area Awards when it was named the Overall AbehlomGineosee~Vacr Maa sehl le a special award was pre- sented to St. Flannan’s Ter- race for its floral display.

Over 15 residential areas from across Ennis were honoured, highlighting the widespread community ef- fort that helped make this year’s Tidy Towns effort OTe sire eersise

A letter, written by a Lebanese woman, which praises the efforts made by Irish soldiers in the Lebanon was the high- light of the commemoration day which took place in Ennistymon last week.

The day, which was organised by the North Clare War Memorial Committee in conjunction with the Irish Lebanon Veterans, began with a special mass in Ennistymon Church. Following the mass Limerick piper and Irish Army Captain, Michael Egan led the memo- rial parade through the town.

The parade travelled down Main Street and Parliament Street before

coming to a halt outside the commemo- rative plaque at the old cemetery on Church Hill.

A short prayer service will be held at the plague for all Irish soldiers who died in the service at home and all who were lost during peace keeping opera- tions, especially those who died in the Lebanon.

“The letter is something that I think every Irish peace keeper who served any time in the Lebanon should see or hear about,” said event organiser Ger- ard O’Halloran.

The parade was attended by a number Clare County Councillors as-well-as the Mayors of Clare and Limerick.

NINE craftsmen and women from the north Clare area have teamed up to put together one of this years biggest craft fairs, and just in time for Christmas.

The fair, which will take place in the Lady Gregory Hotel in Gort on Saturday and Sunday November 26 and 27, is being organised by the Clare Crafts Association. The fair will feature a wide range mate- rial some with a slight Christmas detosealen

One of the more interesting items on show will be a range of hand- made goat’s milk soap which is made by Janis James from Bally- vaughan. The soap, which is made in a variety of Celtic designs, uses goat’s milk because it has the clos- est PH level to human shin and acts as a moisturiser.

Also taking part in the exhibition will be Leueen Hill from Curren- rue who specialises with artistic work featuring Burren flowers. Leueen’s range includes _ water- colours, colour photopicture and handmade silk paper, all inspired by the Burren flora.

The crafts fair will also feature the jewellery and woodcarvings of Kinvara man Sam Beardon; the jewellery of Jamie Storer from Doolin; the leather work of Tony McFadden from Ballyvaughan; the jewellery of Frank Murphy from Ardrahan; the fused glass work of Gerry Ruane from Tubber; and the photography of Lisa Thielan from Lisdoonvarna.

The craft show will run each day between llam and 6pm.

SOME 300 delegates from all over Ireland and Europe will descend on Ennistymon later this month for the 17th annual SET eM Kees Oencouoleer

The conference, which is or- ganised by the Clare Tourism Council in conjunction with Clare County Council, takes place in the Fall’s Hotel from November 24 to the 26.

The conference, which will be chaired by north Clare County Councillor, Flan Garvey, is the only one of its kind in the Republic and of- fers interested parties the op- portunity to come along, plan and discuss how tourism can be developed and marketed in Ireland. This year’s con- ference will focus on quality and value for money in Irish tourism and is entitled *Posi- tioning Tourism – Quality or Price?’ “Everyone who talks about tourism in Ireland at the moment the first thing the mention is the price. Some

will say it’s too high and some will say it’s good value but value for money is a big thing,” said Paddy Maher of the Clare Tourism Council.

“One major thing is the idea of over regulation that we have here in Ireland. We will be discussing whether things gave gone over board com- pletely or whither we on track 2 UO0 NON Smee

The conference will open on Thursday evening with a spe- cial presentation for the win- ners of this years tidy towns competition.

After winning the national title, Ennis will be the central attraction for this but Ruan will also receive an award for being the most improved vil- lage in the county this year.

The main business of the

conference will begin on Sat- urday when the lectures will commence. Topics include; Tourism as an Economic Generator, Tourism and the Environment and Compet- ing through People. After the lectures the floor will be open to a question and answers ses- sion for all the delegates.

The Clare Tourist Council organised its first national

tourism conference in 1989. This two day event took place in the West County Hotel in Ennis and was called ‘The Tourism Explosion – Implica- tions for Ireland’.

Atl MERCO)INKoneICcmEEENCOMmE IETS foundations for future the conferences and over the years they began to attract more and more people from a wider spread of locations.

The annual conference has grown so much that not only does it help inform local peo- ple about best tourism practic- es, it also has become a valu- able revenue for the area with some 300 delegates and their families offering a boost to north Clare in the off season.

“The conference has been based in Ennistymon for the last number of years and we are very happy with the facili- ties on offer there,’ continued Mr Maher. It has a direct ef- fect on tourism in the area and could contribute as-much- as €250,000 over the three or Ane

THE founding chairman of the Shannon Status Committee, which lobbied to keep the Shannon stopover, has expressed his support for the controversial Open Skies policy. Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen expressed his absolute confidence that Shannon Airport will continue to “grow and prosper in the exciting new era of EU-US Open Skies”.

The Corofin TD was founding chairman of the committee as Clare County Council Chairman in 1989, and led the local FF revolt when Shannon was under threat 12 years ago. But he sup- ported Minister Martin Cullen’s decision this week, pointing out that none of the other 24 EU states has managed to negoti- ate an interim arrangement similar to Shannon’s.

In response to queries that he had changed his stance over the last decade, he said, “When full “Open Skies’ finally arises in 2008, it will be close to 20 years since the start of the ‘status’ campaign. At that time, unemployment hovered at close to 18 per cent. It is now, at 4.2 per cent, one of the lowest in Europe.

“Our debt-to-GNP ratio was 125 per cent and completely out of control. It is now a comfortable 30 per cent. And growth was

virtually at stagnation point, compared with today’s healthy five per cent,” the Minister of State added.

“Shannon has weathered the storm and the unprecedented success enjoyed by the new independent airport authority proves that Clare’s airport is fully capable of winning new business against all comers. I believe that the improved relationship with the new Aer Lingus management will greatly benefit Shannon, and US carriers using the airport have been more than happy with their load factors and want to retain their share,” he said.

“The new airport board, along with a revitalised and re-fo- cused Shannon Development, must continue to expand and build the marketing focus on the West of Ireland in the US, UK and European markets. And the completion of a first-class road and rail infrastructure must be delivered by Government.”

He claimed that the same “prophets of doom’, who foretold that the rabbits would overrun the runways in the 1940s and predicted closure of Shannon in the °90s, are “‘at it again”.

‘Their predictions are as inaccurate now as they were then”, Minister Killeen remarked, “and, as always, it falls to those of us who were prepared to take a stand in difficult times to pro- vide positive support so that Shannon can benefit from exciting new opportunities.”

INDUSTRY and opposition politicians have slammed the agreement which will see the Shannon stopover grounded from April 2008.

IBEC — which represents 500 busi- nesses, employing 50,000 people in the region — has branded the announcement that a deal has been cut to phase out the stopover as “a black day for the west.”

IBEC Mid-West Regional President, Mr Damien Clancy, added that the impact on industry, business and tourism would be devastating given that Government has not outlined measures to minimise the negative effect of this decision.

“The harsh reality is that, under Open Skies, US-Shannon flights could easily be reduced from 50 to 7 per week with an equivalent drop in US passengers of up- wards of 500,000 per annum as airlines seek to consolidate their Irish operations

for cost reasons,” he said.

Beginning next November, the number of flights serving Shannon will be re- duced to one in four on all scheduled routes. “This drastic reduction in serv- ices outlined by Minister Cullen will no doubt have a significant impact on invest- ment and jobs in Shannon and the greater West of Ireland region unless action is taken to plan for this change,” the IBEC President said.

Mike Halpenny of SIPTU, the union representing workers at the airport, says the deal is a disaster. “The big problem is that it’s a poor deal, not just for the air- port workers but also for workers in the industrial estate and the backward link- ages. And this has all been done without even the courtesy of an impact study.”

Joe Buckley of the Shannon Signal eroup said that it was “an appalling day for Shannon.” He added that, while the

Government had neglected to carry out any impact statement before the deal, in the US, a bill is moving through congress to examine fall-out for American indus- try in the Mid-West.

Fine Gael TD Pat Breen has criticised the one-in-four deal for Shannon over an 18-month-period as a drip-feed solution. He said, “This is a sellout of the West. It is a ridiculous sop which takes no ac- count of the threatened effects of an Open Skies agreement on the airport.”

But the plan has received a welcome from tourism interests and from the Lim- erick Chamber of Commerce, who said that “Open Skies could offer opportuni- ties and Shannon Airport’s business plan does make provision for its advent but it is now critical that they get their cost structure in order to attract carriers and compete on transatlantic business by of- fering lower landing charges.”

WANDER EI place in Shannon later this month.

Irish Country Pottery is to hold a factory clearance sale of €180,000 of its stock, over three days.

The stock being cleared 1s a mixture of first quality and a selection of slight seconds, which have built up over the years, since the company was formed almost 40 years ago.

The decision to sell the stock at a reduced rate — up to 50 per cent off — was made in advance of the launch of a new range, which is expected to hit the shelves early next year.

Among the items on sale include lamps, wooden ac-

cessories, hand painted shades and various kitchen ACCESSOTIES.

“We haven’t done this be- fore and the main purpose 1s to clear out the stock. All of the items on sale are of high Standard,’ said Alec Good of Irish Country Pottery.

People from a wide range of countries are among the 70-strong workforce em- ployed at Irish Country Pot- tery, including those from South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Philippines and Ro- mania, while a number of people with disabilities also 0) U.N SESE

The clearance sale, at Shannon Community Work- shop, in the Shannon Indus- trial Estate, will take place between 10am and 6pm on Friday and Saturday (No- vember 25 and 26) and be- tween 12 noon and 6pm on Sunday (November 27).

A 61-YEAR-old former cub scouts leader who indecently assaulted two young brothers in the early 1970s in Kilrush has been remanded in custody for four weeks.

Thomas Waters, of Moore Street, Kilrush – an employee of ESB at Moneypoint – pleaded guilty to 20 counts of indecently assaulting one of his victims between 1970 and 1975. He also admit- ted 12 counts of indecent assaulting another victim between 1970 and 1972 and one count of buggery, in 1970.

One of the victims – who are now both in their forties – was just eight or nine which the abuse started. The complaints were made to gardai in ree

Psychiatrist Dr Patrick O’Byrne told Ennis Circuit Court has treated Waters for over 20

years, after the accused visited him voluntarily. “There were little holes in his superego which would allow him to think he was doing young people a favour and wouldn’t see anything very wrong in it,’ said Dr O’Byrne.

Defending barrister Mark Nicholas said his client has acknowledged what he did was wrong and is filled with remorse. He said he attended counselling, before any complaints were made.

He pointed out that a report from the Grenada Institute for sex offenders stated that Waters now presents a low to moderate risk of offending. Mr Nicholas said Waters had assembled €60,000 for his victims, which he said was not a measure of compensation but a measure of his contrition.

Judge Carroll Moran said the case was a very difficult one, where the accused abused his posi- tion of trust.

“The facts of the case are very sordid and very

unpleasant. The accused was in a position of trust. He misused his position and betrayed the trust,” said the judge.

Pointing out that in one instance, the abuse took place twice a week over a three-year pe- riod, the judge said, “This was an appalling way to mistreat two boys. Of course it had a most detrimental scar on their childhood and on their development.

‘There was no show of remorse or apology un- til very late in the proceedings and he now comes into court with a substantial sum of money, but it is very late in the day.”

The judge pointed out that he took the guilty plea into account and accepted Waters’ entire savings were being used to meet the case.

Adjourning sentence until December 13 next, the judge said he needs time to consider whether the accused should face a custodial sentence.