Month: April 2007

TWO units of the fire brigade were called to assist the crew of a Health Service Executive ambulance in Clare in the early hours of Saturday morning after smoke began to blow from its engine.

The HSE has denied, however, that the safety of a patient travelling in the ambulance at the time was in any way compromised by the incident or that the ambulance was “burned out”’ as had been reported on local radio.

The incident occurred near Bunrat- ty at around 3.20am as the Limerick City-based ambulance was. trans-

porting a patient from Shannon to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick. The patient was not in any danger and the call was not an emergency.

According to a spokesperson for the Regional Fire Control Centre in Lim- erick, they received a call at 3.24am reporting a vehicle on fire on the in- bound lane of the Ennis to Limerick dual-carriageway near Bunratty.

Two units of the fire brigade from Shannon responded to the incident and were at the scene within min- utes. While originally reported as a vehicle on fire, no fire was found on arrival by the fire service.

The HSE has confirmed that one of its ambulances was involved in the incident but that safety of the patient or the two-person crew was never oyna one yeeb isle em

‘There was an oil leak in the engine and the oil splashed on to the engine manifold creating smoke.

‘The ambulance crew pulled over immediately and, in accordance with procedure, they notified the Regional Ambulance Control Centre in Lim- erick of the matter.”

A second ambulance was sent to the scene while the local fire brigade was also notified as a precaution.

The HSE spokesman also con-

firmed that there was no danger to the patient or the crew and that the patient was transported on to Lim- erick in a second ambulance a short time later.

“The ambulance crew remained with the patient at all times and a short time later that patient was transported to the Mid Western Re- gional Hospital in Limerick on board another ambulance.

‘There was no fire and the vehicle was not damaged.”

It had been reported on one radio station that the vehicle was burned out in the incident. However, the HSE denied this.

FORMER Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who died yesterday (Mon- day) at the age of 76, visited Clare last year. He spent his time shark fishing off the west coast and had hoped to return again in the future.

The skipper who took care of Mr

Yeltsin during his trip to Clare last August has expressed sadness at the loss of a “great man”.

Ennisman Willie O’Callaghan said, “I was saddened to hear of Mr Yeltsin’s death. I met him for the first time in Liscannor last August and he left a major mark on me and the area. He was such a big man and a gentle

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“It was an honour to be asked and trusted to take care of Mr Yeltsin for the day. It 1s something I will never forget. We had hoped the he would return again someday, I am sure he wanted to. I know he thoroughly en- joyed his time in Clare and Liscan- nor. He was definitely a very happy

man during his time here.”

Mr O’Callaghan, who runs Lis- cannor-based O’Callaghan Angling Cruises, had the task of organising a day of fishing for Mr Yeltsin. He had to be sure that the visit remained se- cret. Security personnel checked the skipper’s 42ft angler cruiser, True Bitedeie

‘Tam sure they checked my creden- tials first to make sure we were up to the job. They were onto us to tell us what they needed for the trip and everything was in place when they arrived,” he said.

During his visit, Mr Yeltsin trav- elled to the Cliffs of Moher and en- joyed a day’s shark fishing off the Clare coast, breaking for lunch on Inis Oir, the smallest of the Aran Is- lands.

Mr Yeltsin’s previous visit to Clare in 1994 was far more memorable. He made international headlines after he left Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, two ministers, a guard of honour and an army band standing on the tarmac at Shannon Airport. Yeltsin had agreed to make a stopover at Shannon on his way back to Moscow from the Unit- ed States but, as it turned out, it was more like a sleepover.

Mr Yeltsin returned to Shannon Airport last August for the first time since that diplomatic gaffe over 12 years ago. The former President was whisked off amid tight security to the five-star Dromoland Castle where he stayed for three nights.

A CLARE accountant who was un- fairly dismissed from a Limerick firm has been awarded a total of more than €18,000 in compensation.

Gerard White, from Woodbrook Lodge, Fountain, Ennis, took a case with the Employment Appeals Tri- bunal against the firm he had worked for for almost 33 years.

O’Hurley Blair Irwin, of Mount Kenneth House, Henry Street, Lim- erick, denied they had unfairly dis- missed White, citing gross miscon-

duct and breach of trust as the reasons for him losing his job.

The tribunal was told that in April 2005, the company received a call from a bank in connection with sub- stantiating a loan application. No- one in the company knew anything about the loan applicant and he was not a client of the firm. White told the partner in the firm who had dealt with the call that the person named was a friend of his.

The partner asked that copies of documents relating to the named per- son be sent to him and it transpired

that the bank had received accounts for three years relating to the person as well as a letter for the tax affairs of the person, which indicated that the company was representing him and that his affairs were in order.

The firm suspended the claimant with pay and, subsequently, White told them it had been his intention to intro- duce the person to the firm as a client. White told the tribunal that he had met with the business person, who was a friend, in January 2005. He called to White’s home with the papers neces- sary to apply for a bank loan. White

said he did not submit accounts.

White said the home visit was not unusual as he often brought work home. He had put a note in his diary as a reminder to set up an account with the firm for the man.

The tribunal determined that there was an unresolved conflict of evi- dence but the dismissal was unfair because of deficiencies in procedure on the part of the accountancy firm.

Under a claim for minimum notice, White was awarded €5,692.32 and he was awarded €12,500 in compensa- tion under the Unfair Dismissals act.

AN ENNISTYMON couple last night said that justice had been done, after their 21-year-old son was ac- quitted of the murder of their teenage daughter.

There were emotional scenes at the Central Criminal Court after a jury found Patrick O’Dwyer of Shrohill, Ennistymon, not guilty of the mur- der of his sister, Marguerite (17), at the family home, on November 29, PAu s

He claimed a defence of dimin- ished responsibility, in that he suf- fered from a mental disorder when he killed his sister, a Leaving Certifi- cate student.

The jury agreed and found him guilty of manslaughter, by reason of diminished responsibility.

O’Dwyer, who showed no emotion during the six-day trial, smiled as he hugged his mother and sister, mo- ments after the jury brought in the verdict.

He then spoke briefly to a friend on a mobile phone, before being led away into custody.

His mother Claire tightly clenched his hand in hers and fought back tears of relief, before she embraced her husband Paddy.

Their sole comment came from Patrick’s sister Louise (22) moments ETC merc KM Uolome-DOOBU NAN (oJMMmOelomerelUb am

“We are just relieved that justice has been done,” she said.

The jury reached its majority 10-2 decision at 8.05 pm, after deliberat- ing for seven hours and 33 minutes. It had earlier failed to reach a unani- mous verdict.

Trial judge Mr Justice Paul Carney remanded O’Dwyer in custody for sentencing on May 21.

“This is the first finding in this ju-

risdiction of diminished responsibul- ity on the new insanity statute,” said the judge, referring to legislation brought into effect just last year.

O’Dwyer hit his sister six times on the head with a claw hammer and in- flicted more than 90 stab wounds to her body in a frenzied attack which lasted just 15 minutes.

He told gardai he had contemplated suicide and attacked his sister while

She watched television, as he feared she would get in the way of his sut- cide attempt.

“It’s like being inside a room with a video and I can’t turn it off,” he told ee KOrNE

Mr Justice Paul Carney told the jury the “battleground” of the case was Whether Patrick O’Dwyer was suf- fering from a mental disorder. The prosecution argued that he wasn’t,

while the defence claimed he was, said the judge.

MICHAEL Considine was an ani- mated figure on the Gaelic Grounds sideline on Saturday afternoon.

It was a combination of trying to get his team going, exhorting them to ereater heights and venting his anger at some of the decisions that didn’t go his team’s way.

The latter is something that Con- sidine was thinking about after the game – the injustice done to Clare twice in the first half when they were playing catch-up after Limerick scin- SD UE-lenerea eva

“T’m not making excuses but I thought the refereeing was a dis- grace, said Considine about Mau- rice Condon’s handling of the game.

‘The decisions that went against us were unbelieveable. Gary Leahy was pulled up by the referee after he took a free, while Enda Lyons should have been awarded a penalty. He was defi- nitely pulled back. When those things gO against you it makes it harder. We needed scores badly at that stage but didn’t get them,” he added.

However, the refereeding aside, Considine admitted that it was a very disappointing display by his charges after they play some fantastic foot- ball in the drawn game three days previously.

“We were flat, very flat,” he admit- ted. “The start killed us, to concede 2-3 of a start to Limerick meant we were chasing the game and it was al- ways going to be very hard to come oye) que ueyeemset.le

“But we battled hard and I can’t fault the lads for the effort they put in the game. They got it back to four

points with four minutes remaining which showed the character that’s in this side,” he added.

This character will be needed in spades on Wednesday when they re- turn to the Gaelic Grounds to take on a Tipperary side that went down by 3-7 to Q-10 in their opening round tie in Limerick.

“lve watched the DVD of Tip- perary’s game against Kerry last Wednesday. They are a typical Tip- perary team – they’re big and strong and will be very hard to beat. We know that they will be hard to beat, Tipperary teams always are at under- age level,’ said Considine.

‘“We’re hopeful that the lads will lift it now but it’s crazy that they’re being asked to play a third cham- pionship game in seven days. The GAA have established a committee to look into player burn-out yet they wouldn’t consider putting back this game by a few days.

“But were going to get on with it. We have injury worries that we carried into Saturday’s game, Dav- id Connole has a rib injury while Michael McDonagh has ankle trou- ble. Your midfield is crucial and we ll just have to wait and see how they are on Wednesday.”

Clare’s preparations for the tie started after their defeat on Saturday when they had a pool session in The Bunratty Shannon Shamrock Hotel. “We’ll have another pool session be- fore Wednesday and then take our chance,” said Considine. “If we can get over Tipperary, we have Water- ford to look forward to and we could yet reach a semi-final against Cork. That’s what we have to aim for.”

ALL-IRELAND glory came to Clare handball on the double on Saturday as Clare handball played the genera- tion game to stunning effect in Moy- cullen on Saturday evening last.

In the winners enclosure were O’Callaghan’s Mills doubles pair Conor and John Cooney while vet- eran John Kirby of the most famous handball clan of them all added an- other title to his name.

The Cooneys claimed the Under 21 Doubles titles with a hard-earned victory over Mayo’s Dara Reid and Ciaran Burke while Kirby’s latest hour of glory came in the Diamond Masters A Singles.

The doubles final went to a tie- breaking third game, after the open- ing two games were shared. The Cooneys won the first by 21-16, but were taken to a third game after go- ing down 21-16 in the second. How- ever, they came good again in the de- cider to win comfortably by 21-8.

Then Kirby showed that his skills remain undiminished by the years When beating Roscommon’s Pat Clarke by 21-7, 21-17. At the same venue, Lousie Hayes of Tuamgraney put in a fantastic performance in the All-Ireland Junior Ladies singles fi- nal but in the end was just edged out by the single ace by Mayo’s Pauline Gallagher.

Meanwhile, in the Girls Under 17 Singles, Kate Lynch received a bye into the All-Ireland final, as did Ais- ling Fitzgerald and Edel O’Grady in Under 17 Doubles. The coming weekend will be another big one for Clare handballers and handball fol- lowers.

Cappagh in Limerick will the be the place to be on Saturday at 5.30pm as Tuamgraney’s Niall Malone and Di- armaid Nash face Niall Smyth and Ger McGrath of Kilkenny in the All- Ireland Minor Doubles final.

At Crinkle in Offaly on Sunday at 2.00pm Louise Hayes and Ann- Marie Fitzgerald Tuamgraney are in action in the Ladies Junior B Dou- bles final against Roscommon’s Lin- da Connolly and Laura Mannion.

Also on Sunday at 2pm, John Kirby and Jimmy Walsh travel to Cashel for the Diamond Masters ‘A’ Dou- bles final against Kilkenny’s Paddy Reilly and Seamus Reade.

FAI chief executive John Delaney laid out the vision for underage soc- cer in Clare saying such programmes would a true reflection of the work carried out by the FAI. In his first visit as FAI supremo to Ennis Dela- ney officially kick started the proc- ess that will eventually see a full time County Development Officer appointed to Clare.

The officer will co-ordinate the development of soccer at grassroots level by working closely with clubs, schools, Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council.

Addressing league officials, play- ers, politicians and coaches Dela- ney outlined the vast level of work carried out by the sport’s govern- ing body. In total the FAI caters for 450,000 people a week. The number of coaches now stands at 17,500. By the end of 2007 it is anticipated that a 100 technical staff will bee in situ at the FAI’s new centre of excellence in Abbotstown.

He hailed the work being done by local volunteers as “extraordi-

nary’ and also heaped praise on the achievements of Clare’s Oscar Traynor team.

Speaking after wards Delaney ex- plained how the County Develop- ment Officer would lead to more fo- cused player development.

He said, “That individual will work with the club, the kids, schools devel- oping a mass participation level. The best players will come through at the top. Their role is very much based on getting participation and tackling anti-social issues like obesity, alco- hol abuse/ drug usage, getting girls active in the game. By doing that, the better players will come through always, but soccer in this country is not about the elite level, it’s about participation for everybody who lives TbO MO etemexelbbeL nm aes

Delaney has strong Clare connec- tions. His wife Emer is from Ennis. He counts Clare’s unforgettable All- Ireland win in 1995 as among his fa- vorite sporting moments.

“My wife is from Ennis. Her father was Paddy O’Dea, I think he played football for Clare. Her first cousins were Seamus and Colm Clancy who

won that famous game in 1992 when they won that Munster football final. Her aunty Kitty played in the Kil- fenora Ceili band. My father’s moth- er was a Darcy from Ennis. I used to spend two or three months of my summers in Kilkee. Every summer we’d go to Kilkee for maybe 16 or 17 years of my life. Probably one of my most memorable days outside of soccer would have been 1995 when Clare won the All-Ireland. I was there with Emer, her brothers and her mother and Dad. That was a fantas- tic day. In terms of a sporting occa- sion, to see Clare win an All-Ireland, I don’t think they’d won one since 1914. They’d won the Munster final in 1932 but got beaten by Kilkenny. I think when they won in 1914 Michael O’Hehir’s father was the manager”.

On qualification for the Euro- pean Championships the former St Michaels clubman was cautiously optimistic. He believes the public must be patient.

“You must remember we were a fourth seed going into the group so that means you should finish fourth de facto. That’s not what we are aim-

ing to do. I think everybody should realize we are in transition from where we were. Some of the older players have retired since 2002. I’m very much encouraged by, like I think everybody in the country is, by young Hunt, he scored again for Reading today, Shane Long, Paul McShane, Kevin Doyle, young Darren Gibson who is at Manchester United and on loan at Antwerp, Terry Dixon at Spurs, Billy Clarke from Cork who’s with Ipswich, young McCarthy who’s with Hamilton his grandfather was from Donegal. I think there are a lot of very good players coming through. I think patience is required as we bring those players through. The omens are good”’.

LIFFORD played the Tipperary League in an under 16 friendly over the Easter break and it was the Clare side that emerged victorious on a 1-0 scoreline.

Lifford took the lead in the first half through Toni Lagan. Naomi Carroll hit a rasper of a shot which the keep- er parried. Lagan was lurking in the area and was quickest to react. She pounced on the loose ball, making no mistake from close range.

Lagan and Lifford came close to doubling their lead a few minutes later. She was one on one with the keeper who made a good save.

Captain Cathy Hayes and Niamh O’Dea were outstanding at the heart of the Lifford defence — in the cen- tre half and sweeper positions re- spectively. Laurie Ryan, Caitriona Hennessy and Ashling Darcy were equally as outstanding for the away side.

THE Republic of Ireland schools

team participated in the Celtic Na- tionals Schools’ Championship fea- turing Scotland and Wales and fin- ished in top spot.

There was Clare interest in the form of Naomi Carroll who started against Scotland and come on as a 35th minute substitute against Wales. Maria McMahon also made the squad but had to withdraw due to injury

IRELAND have failed to qualify for the Elite Phase of the under 19

Championships after losing to France in their final group two match.

It started off brightly for the Irish, recording two 1-0 victories over Por- tugal and then the Netherlands with Aine O’Gorman and Diane Caldwell netting the all-decisive winners.

Ireland faced France in their final eroup encounter and with France’s superior goal difference Ireland knew they needed to take all 3 points. De- spite putting in a brave performance they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat, both of the goals coming in the first half.

Each of the group winners takes their place in the finals in Iceland along with the best runners up. Ire- land completed their group in second place with six points and were denied the latter spot by Italy, who qualify with 7 points.

Jennifer Critchley of Lifford was on the squad and played a part in all three games.

She was in the starting line up against Portugal and the Netherlands and she came on as a half time sub- stitute in the game against France.

AN Ennistymon man who was jailed last month for life for murder has been jailed for four and a half years for a firearms offence.

John Collins (51), of Francis Street, Rathealy Road, Fermoy, County Cork, and who is originally from En- nistymon, was found guilty in March of murdering boxing coach John Ma- hon, in Cork, on February 12, 2006.

At the Central Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday (Monday), Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins 1m- posed two four-and-a- half year jail terms, to run concurrently, for possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Darotee Counsel John Edwards, SC, told the court that his client has had a long history of alcohol abuse and the case re- lated to a “long-standing grudge”’.

“Mr Collins was not normal in the sense as we accept it. He was not thinking in a normal way,” said Mr Edwards. He said his client was “frank and forthright” in his state- ments to gardai.

“Whatever was going on in his head, it was not a case that he set out to cause hurt and upset to the deceased’s family or indeed to cause hurt to the deceased. Something overtook him. It 1s all to do with his

drink problem,” he said.

‘He is remorseful. He cannot turn back the clock. In all the circum- stances I would ask you to be as leni- ent as you can in this case,” he said.

Mr Justice O’Higgins said it was difficult for the court to divorce the charges faced by the accused yester- day with the murder charge.

He said to Collins, “You have been convicted of murder. You have been sentenced in relation to that. In some ways, the knowledge of the back-

eround makes sentenc- ing more difficult. The possession of a fire- arm 1S a very serious offence and carries a penalty of 10 years,” he said.

He said there were a number of mitigating factors involved, in that Collins co-oper- ated with gardai and showed gardai where

the firearm and ammu- nition were.

He said he was also taking into account that Collins was a “chronic alcoholic”’.

“In all of the circumstances, I have to deal specifically with these charg- es on their own merits and not in as- sociation with the murder charge,” said the judge. He backdated the sen- tence to February 2006.

IN an astonishing pre-election move, the Labour Party last week declared virtual war on Irish farmers through the publication of a new bill on the controversial issue of hill walking.

The bill, which among other thing proposes automatic access to land that is 150 metres or more above sea level, was proposed by party spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ruairi Quinn, and prompted outrage from the farming organisations.

The former party leader subse- quently accused the farming organi- sation of failing to read the bill prop- erly and of a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction.

“This is ridiculous. All the major

stakeholders are working through Comhairle na Tuaithe to solve the problem of access. It is important that the Labour Party realise that this 1s- sue 1s far more complicated and sen- sitive than the bill would suggest,” said the ICSA’s sheep vice chairman, Gree mOsebenr-vanter

“It is fine for Labour to say that people should be able to access the countryside, and most farmers are hugely tolerant of this, but to give them the right is a completely differ- ent matter. People who own land, and have paid for it, are entitled to refuse access if they want to, and the idea that they would have to appeal to An Bord Pleanala to uphold their prop- erty rights is ludicrous.”

Meanwhile, the IFA’s Hill Farm-

ing Committee Chairman, Neilie O’Leary, said the Labour Party’s draft bill was a clear contravention of property rights and will have wider implications for property ownership throughout the State.

“The Labour bill is tantamount to nationalisation and I’m amazed by the presumption of rights of access over private property. I’m particular- ly disgusted by the Labour Party’s at- tempts to trample on the livelihoods of hill farmers by trespassing on their property, which in many cases is their sole source of income,” she Sr HKGE

“IT would like to see Ruairi Quinn legislate for public access to his front garden on Sandymount Green, or Liz McManus for her front garden on the

seafront in Bray.”

Responding to the criticism, Deputy Quinn, described criticism to the bill as short sighted and ill-informed.

“Some of the criticism is so wide of the mark as to suggest that the farm- ing representatives have not read either the Bill or the accompanying documentation we _ published last week,” he said.

‘The whole purpose of the Bill is to allow the tens of thousands of people who go hill walking in this country reasonable access to upland areas while at the same time ensuring that farmers are not exposed to undue risk in terms of public liability issues.”