Month: March 2007

MARY Shannon’s decision to go public last week and her call for mandatory sentences for rapists re- kindled memories for several other rape victims.

One Clare rape victim recalled horrific memories of her own or- deal, at the hands of her former partner.

The woman, who is from west Clare and who wished to retain her anonymity, said she was repeat- edly raped over a period of a long number of years but was too afraid to take a case against her attacker.

After going through prolonged pain for several years, she eventu- ally left him, five years ago.

“If he wasn’t raping me, he was beating me. I would refuse to have sex with him but he would force himself on me. I would get a belt anyway. I would lie to the doctor about my injuries.

‘“T reported it to gardai, but I didn’t go any further with it, because I felt I was the one that was in the wrong. I have been feeling guilty all my life,’ she said.

Not only was she afraid to make a statement to gardai, but she was also in fear of telling her family

what she was going through.

“IT was afraid to make a statement in case I hurt his feelings. He had a hold over me. It was up to me to walk away but I couldn’t,” she said.

She eventually managed to tear herself away and she fled.

“It was very hard to walk away from it. He cut my breasts and that was the end of it,” she said.

She attended counselling at the Rape Crisis Centre, but believes the psychological effects of her ordeal will remain with her forever.

She said that Mary Shannon’s de- cision to go public has inspired con- fidence in her and, in hindsight, she

regrets not pressing charges against her attacker.

“T regret not going ahead with it. I always get angry when I hear some- thing like this (Mary Shannon’s case). I have come a long way, but you have to get help,” she said.

“My advice to other women would be to report incidents like this… fast. You never forget. You start drinking or using drugs to dull the pain. It works for a while, but then you become addicted and you are worse. The biggest thing I felt was anger and I would feel angry again when something like this happens again,” she said.

A PILOT plastic collection scheme, conducted in conjunction with Clare County Council last year, 1s to be ex- tended to the rest of the country and could provide the solution to the farm plastic issue which has plagued Irish farmers for the last number of years. The Irish Farm Film Producer Group (IFFPG) and the Irish Farmers As- sociation (IFA) have announced the agreement of a major deal with the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Dick Roche, to

clear the accumulated backlog of plastic all over the country.

Over the next seven week services will begin in seven new counties, Cork west, Cavan, Donegal, Kilken- ny, Meath, Sligo and south Tipperary, which will see farmers bringing bale wrap and silage covers to designated local authority collection centres.

There will be no charge for this service and the accumulated plas- tics will be delivered to authorised recycling facilities. The scheme will be extended to farms in Cork east, Kerry, Limerick, Laois, Monaghan,

Westmeath and Wexford during June and July.

The final phase of the project will focus on Dublin, Kildare and Louth during September and October.

“The scheme to date has been rolled out on a phased basis because we know there are significant back- logs to be collected. It also gives local authorities sufficient notice to agree and put in place the necessary arrangements for collections in their areas,’ said Minister Roche.

Under the Spring Clean project, each local authority listed will organ-

ise, on a once-off basis, special open days to allow farmers in those coun- ties to deposit their stockpiled farm plastic. This service will be free to the farmer and funding to assist the local authorities will be made avail- able from the Environment Fund.

The IFFPG have been having dif- ficulty collecting all of the plastic waste produced by Irish farmers over the last number of years. The prob- lem is a result of illegally imported plastic which is not subject to a levy which goes to the IFFPG to support the proper disposal of the plastic.

THE importance of Shannon airport being used by US tourists flying in to Ireland was stressed by the mayor of Shannon, during a visit to New Jer- oN SMA (e151.

Councillor Tony McMahon (La- bour) accompanied Shannon Town Clerk Tomas MacCormaic to Eliza- beth, a town in New Jersey, during a four-day visit. While there, they at- tended two St Patrick’s Day parades – one in Elizabeth and the other in Woodbridge – and met several Clare people living in the US.

A relationship between Shannon and this particular area of New Jer- sey was forged over a decade ago. The link was initially developed between firemen at Shannon airport and the policemen’s association in Elizabeth and the communication has continued over the years.

A delegation from Shannon has been invited to visit the annual pa- rade in Elizabeth, each year.

Mr McMahon and Mr Mac Cor- maic attended a number of Irish- American gatherings, during their visit. Up to 40,000 attended one of the parades, while almost 60,000 at-

tended the other parade.

“It was a great experience and was useful and beneficial. Good contacts were built up during the trip,” said Cllr McMahon.

“IT had an opportunity to address the organising committees of the parades. I stressed the importance of visiting Ireland and using the Shan- non stop,” he said.

‘They were very positive, when I explained the situation to them. I _Wucd VCore MO OTs Imm MeL eam oN LO Ni moley lean Ceat-0 MU OND ets. for American tourists was to fly in to Clare. The Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle and other areas in the west

and south west are very accessible from Shannon,” he added.

He also encouraged the Americans to look favourably on the campaign by Irish illegal immigrants.

The mayor met a number of Clare men and women who have settled in the US. He was particularly pleased to re-acquaint himself with a neigh- bour from his native Flagmount, Michael Williams, who emigrated almost 40 years ago.

SW alomm enki) umrctelCmm coy sme) (<0 Gru BAVere! back on Shannon soil last week, in time for the Shannon St Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday.

RESIDENTS near Sixmilebridge are angered by the practice adopted by a refuse collecting service in Wales buAN Gore

A number of households at Cl- onnanass have been told that the refuse collector, Mr Binman, can no longer collect their rubbish from outside their homes as the road in the area 1s too narrow.

The four householders, who are customers of Mr Binman, say they are now being forced to bring their wheelie bins a half mile from their homes, or use an alternative method

of disposing of their refuse.

One resident, Richard Cahill said he now has no option but to store his waste in a shed.

“I have no way of bringing it down the road. One man physi- cally brings his bin down the road and another lady tows the bin on the back of her car,” he said.

Mr Cahill said he joined Mr Bin- man, as a customer last December. At that stage, he said he was led to believe the bin would be collected outside his gate.

“We clarified at the point of order of the service that the bin would, indeed, be collected from our gate.

We were assured that this was not a problem, and took them at their word,” he said.

‘Transporting the bins is not a possibility for some and is a danger to those who are already doing so under duress. We feel we deserve to have our rubbish collected at our own homes,” he added.

Pat Neville, who also lives in the area, said he has been forced to change his family’s method of dumping rubbish. He has stopped using a wheelie bin and has re- placed this with a small bin.

“We have decided to get rid of our Wheelie bin and get a normal bin

and drop it down to the head of the road, every two to three weeks. That is Our way around it. We shouldn’t have to do it,” said Mr Neville.

“IT don’t see why we should have to bring the bins down. There is no real danger on the road and there is no reason in the world why they can’t come up the road. It is a total inconvenience. When I was build- ing my house, there were 40 foot trucks coming up the road,” he added.

Despite numerous efforts, at the time of going to print

CONCERNS over the poor state of a section of land in Shannon have prompted a group of locals to set up a campaign to restore it.

The wetland, behind the play- ground and the leisure centre in the town, has been targeted by people who have dumped garden waste and industry waste there, over the years. During this time, its condition has deteriorated and locals want to re- store it to its former condition.

They believe that the dumping has resulted in the original species being Web usrsIKealsrem

The Shannon Town Wetland Group says that the waste being dumped

on the site brings in evasive plants, which may disturb the natural bal- ance. The group was set up last year, under the Clare Biodiversity Project, and its aim is to encourage people from Shannon to support it. A grant of €4,720 has been allocated by the Heritage Council to the group, to help with the restoration process.

Secretary of the group, Edith van Burgh said a major clean-up will take place next month. The Wetland Group has just a few members and locals are being encouraged to get involved in this.

“We want to give the original flora and fauna – many species of birds and insects – of the wetlands a chance. We want to get rid of the pine trees

and to give the original trees – elder and willow trees – a chance. We have started a bit of the preparations. The nesting season is approaching, so we did not want to disturb too much, but there will be a big clean-up in April. It would be good if volunteers got in- volved. It will be a big job. We hope to have it finished before the end of the year,’ she said.

“We will try and keep it clean and make people aware how valuable this piece of land is. There are very interesting species living these, like foxes and snipes and we want to make sure they have a place to live. We also want to keep the landscape and species for the next generation,’ she said.

Ms van Burgh, a native of The Netherlands, is mindful of the 1m- portance of preserving nature. She is a former Biology teacher and taught Environmental Science in her native country, prior to moving to Shannon last year. She is hopeful that the re- percussions of the project will last for a long time to come.

“We want to put up signs that it is against the law and also to explain why we don’t want this happening,” she said.

She is also hoping to encourage the schools in Shannon to get involved in the project.

“T am planning to visit the schools, to highlight the importance of land- scapes,’ she said.

THE tremendous talent of pupils at the Scariff Community College was in the spotlight last week, when the school staged a variety night.

The evening showcased student tal- ent, with a hip-hop group, traditional music, sketches, recitations, singing and more.

Organised by the transition year students and the fifth years, the night involved almost 50 students in per- forming and back-stage work.

“A lot of work went into the show and that was obvious. We are very lucky to have so many talented stu- dents and organisers in the college,” a spokeswoman for the Community

College said.

The show was such a success that it’s hoped it could become an an- nual happening. And it was the first of many events which are being held in the newly refurbished school, to which teachers and 265 pupils re- turned to on February 12, after being in temporary accommodation on site for the past 18 months.

The €2.5 million roof replacement and refurbishment was undertaken for health and safety reasons.

“The roof was made of asbestos and had begun to leak,’ said Sean Daly, Principal. “We had buckets in the corridors gathering the rainwa- ter. It called for a complete redesign of the roof.”

Replacing the roof provided the Opportunity to make some other 1m- provements at the school.

The science and home economics rooms have all been refurbished and re-equiped and the floor coverings have also been replaced. And the school has gained an extra car park, when the temporary car park created while the work was ongoing was turned into a permanent one.

The next stage in the school’s de- velopment will be to drain the hurl- ing and camogie pitches, land which was bought through locally raised funds some years ago.

‘“That’s our next big campaign,” said Daly. **The land is not usable for the whole of the winter months, and

we would like to have them available all year round.”

Arrangements are being made for an official rededication and reopen- ing ceremony for the community college in the coming weeks.

There were also other opportunities to view the new facilities. Two infor- mation days were organised, one on March | for third-year students and their parents interested in what tran- sition year has to offer and an open evening on March 8 for prospective new students and their parents.

PERMISSION to build 27 new homes in Tuamgraney has been giv- en by Clare County Council.

And in a separate application, a developer is seeking to build 16 new houses at Ardnacrusha.

Permission has been given to Conor Daly to build the 27 homes and for ancillary site works and services at Ballyquinn in Tuam- eae NINE

The permission is ring-fenced by 41 conditions and the planning authority is billing the developer

to the tune of €182,655 for public infrastructure and facilities for the development and a special contribu- tion of €108,872 for the improve- ment of surface water, sewerage and water facilities in the area.

Before building can start, a traffic management plan for the construc- tion phase has to be drawn up and submitted to Clare County Council.

The developer will also be respon- sible for the extension of the public water and sewerage systems to the new homes.

For each tree that is removed, ten have to be planted on the bounda-

ries of the site.

Nine trees will have to be removed to facilitate a new entrance onto Reddan’s Quay Road and the road will have to be upgraded to cater for the houses which will be allowed to access it directly.

Six of the houses on the 1.24 hec- tare site will have direct access to the Wood Road. The road will have to be widened to 5.5 meters and a 1.5 meter footpath constructed.

Meanwhile, an application to build 16 new houses in Ardnacru- Sha has been submitted to the Coun- ty Council by Seamus Danagher of

Springhill Developments.

The development will be at Spring- hill, Blackwater.

A site suitability report has been submitted which shows that there are no valuable archaeological, his- torical or natural sites where the de- velopment is proposed.

There are already other houses built adjacent to the site but the re- port also states that there is a prob- lem with drainage on the site.

It states that precautions will have to be taken against ponding of efflu- ent and contaminating larger water courses with groundwater run-off.

IT’S time for the people of Tuam- eraney and Scariff to phone a friend and show off their general knowl- edge. And all in a good cause.

On Thursday last, the 50/50 joint effort of the Scariff Community Council and the Tuamgraney De- velopment Association was unveiled as details were announced of the coming “Who Wants To Be A Thou- sandaire?’ fundraiser.

The two groups are jointly organis- ing the night to raise money for com- munity projects in both areas.

Damien Heaney, spokesperson for the organisers of the fun night out said it’s hoped that the event will raise in the region of €20,000 for worthwhile projects.

The Palace Marketing group have been brought on board to stage the event, which will be just like the real SAVa eveerce

“It should be a great night out and people will have loads of fun. If someone doesn’t want to compete personally, they can nominate anoth- er person or we will pick someone for them at random from a panel. But the person who bought the ticket gets the prize money,’ said Damien.

The organisers are expecting up to ten rounds on the night, which is Fri- day April 20 at Scariff Community College from 8pm.

A huge amount of organisation is going into the night, with six teams of six working under two co-ordina- tors, Margaret O’Meara, PRO of the Tuamgraney Development Associa-

tion and Harry O’Meara, Chairman of the Scariff Community Council.

‘Even the launch was a joint ef- fort between the two communities,” said Damien. “We had Niall Malone and Diarmuid Nash, world champion handball players, draw the first tick- et. They both play with Tuamgraney handball club Niall is living in Tua- mgraney while Diarmuid 1s living in Scariff.”

Local businesses have also rowed in behind the event, with Centra in Scariff, Finsa Forest Products and Sports World Netting coming in as the three main sponsors. The prize money for the night 1s being gener- ously put up by Queally’s Supervalue in Killaloe.

And the real winners from the clash of knowledge will be the two local

communities.

Scariff organisers are aiming to raise cash to install play equipment in their riverside park development, which has been improving every year and Tumgraney will be using the cash for the continued develop- ment and upgrading of their memo- rial park.

Tickets are €10 each and are avail- able from any of the 30 people in- volved in promoting the night or from the community council or de- velopment association members.

A BID by a west Clare primary school to prevent an 80-ft-high mast from being erected in close proxim- ity to the school has failed.

Clare County Council has granted planning permission to O2 to con- struct a telecommunications mast at Torr, Lahinch.

The council gave the plan the go- ahead despite stiff opposition from the Board of Management of Rineen National School and the Moy-Torr

Action Group.

In their objection, the Board of Management of Rineen National School stated that they were object- ing due to the close proximity of the mast to the school, that there were already three masts in the area and that the proposal would be visually harmful to a highly scenic area and beautiful natural landscape.

In their objection, the Moy-Torr Action Group pointed out that the proposal was located adjacent to the route of the west Clare railway.

They said, “If the development were to go ahead, it would conflict with this policy as it will have a negative impact on the amenity provided by the walking route and the enjoyment of the Black Hill along the route at this point.

‘Furthermore, the proximity of this development to the proposed route raises questions about public safety and the security of the proposed de- velopment.”

The Action Group also lodged a petition with their objection and stat-

ed, “The proposed development is contrary to policy in both the Clare County Development Plan and the North Clare Local Area Plan.”

They state that the proposal is ad- jacent to a designated scenic route and is clearly visible from both ap- proaches and that it will have a nega- tive impact on the residential amen- ity of adjoining properties.

The Action Group also stated that as the proposal was located close to two national schools and adjoining residential properties, the “precau-

tionary position” with regard to pub- lic health should be adopted.

They also claimed that O2 had not demonstrated “reasonable effort” with regard to co-location. However, despite the opposition, the council gave the plan the go-ahead, ruling that it wouldn’t seriously injure the amenities of the area.

The council made its decision hav- ing regard to Department of Environ- ment guidelines, the rural nature of the site, the lack of a specific visual designation and the pattern of devel-

AN invading Japanese Army will descend on the old FCA barracks of Slough Hall in Lahinch next week. Fear not however, this merry army comes not to fight and kill but in- stead to sing and dance.

The Ennistymon Choral Society will stage Gilbert and Sullivan’s M1- kado from March 22 to 25 and this years production promises to be one of the best in recent year. This is the third time in its 34 year history that the society will perform the Mikado and there are some members who have been involved in all three pro- ductions.

The group was founded by Fr Ned Crosbie in 1974 and their first pro- duction was HMS Pinafore.

“The group has been going bril- liantly ever since. There is so much talent in the group. Our catch- ment area goes from Ballyvaughan down to Miltown and over as far as Corofin,” said one of the organisers.

‘This whole area is so rich in mu- sic and the quality of the singers is fantastic. When we can produce a full Gilbert and Sullivan musical from within our own ranks it is re- ally amazing. And the young singers just keep coming and coming, we are really blessed with a lot of talent and dedication.”

Getting young people involved in musicals is one of the main aims of the society and they work with hun- dreds of local young people each year, sharing with them the joy of music and acting on stage.

“We encourage the school and young people to get involved. We run an art competition for all the local schools and exhibit their work during the production. They come in then for the matinee and they love it. We also have several transition years in out society from the Christian Broth- ers, the Vocational School and the Convent,’ she continued.

Mikado tells the story of Ko-ko (James Barry), a young man who is condemned to death for flirting but is reprieved only to become the lord high executioner. He wants to marry Yum-Yum (Grainne Curtin) but a strolling minstrel comes along and falls in love with her. This minstrel is Nanki-Poo (Michael McCormack), who is also the son of the Mikado (Mark Wright).

“It is a hilarious comedy, it has a ri- diculous plot like all Gilbert and Sul- livan shows. They are as improbably as fairy tales and a lot more fun,’ she continued. “The music is gorgeous and we sing every note which is very unusual for a local society. We have always had all our own principles and we sing every single note on the Ne) Kone

For more information or to book tickets contact 7071828.