Month: January 2008

CLUSTERING has become a com- mon phenomenon in our large towns and cities and Philip O’Reilly, Property Plus has just launched a car showroom development, which could see a large concentration of car dealerships establish a new base on the Kildysart Road.

The development incorporate six car showroom sites, which range from 1.1 acres to 2.1 acres. Prices range from €850,000 to €1.225 million.

The property is very well located

on the Kildysart Road, just 2km south of Ennis town centre and 300 metres south of the Clareabbey in- tersection of the new bypass.

Each of the six sites has outline planning permission in place for a car showroom unit together with assoociated parking and other facil- ities, allowing for the development of individual styled units.

The property has extensive road frontage running to 210 metres. The site is bounded by residntial lands with full planning permission for 220 housing units.

For full details call 065 6844448.

A KILRUSH man who has admitted robbing a US bank at gunpoint is to be sentenced next month.

Niall Clarke, 27, who is originally from the Killimor Road in Kilrush, was arrested in Bangor, Maine, in October 2006, shortly after robbing a Bank of America branch, near the Bangor Mall.

He had more than $11,000 in a black mesh bag and a loaded .38-cal- iber handgun and box of ammunition with him.

He pleaded guilty in January to charges stemming from the robbery.

After his Bangor attorney, Richard Hartley, had Clarke evaluated by a psychiatrist, he sought to withdraw his client’s guilty plea and enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Hartley has said that Clarke suffers from a severe mental illness. Clarke also was evaluated during the sum- mer at a federal facility by a govern- ment psychiatrist.

Clarke also had an assessment car- ried out by a psychiatrist, who was employed by his family. It concluded that “Niall was suffering from an ill- ness that rendered Niall unable at the time of the crime to appreciate the nature and quality of the wrongful-

ness of the act.”

In November, Clarke’s attorney agreed to schedule a sentencing date rather than to continue trying to withdraw Niall Clarke’s guilty plea, as had been indicated earlier.

Clarke faces up to 25 years in fed- eral prison on the armed robbery charge and a mandatory minimum of a consecutive seven years for using a gun during the robbery.

Under the federal sentencing guide- lines, the recommended sentence for the robbery is between 33 and 41 months. The seven-year mandatory sentence would be added to that sen- tence.

The sentencing date of February 19 next was fixed last week. The sen- tencing hearing will take place in Bangor, Maine.

Clarke was an award-winning stu- dent while studying Computer Sci- ence at Trinity College, Dublin and won a top Enterprise Ireland Student Award in 2002.

As a result of his Junior Certificate results at St Joseph’s Spanish Point, he was invited to join the Irish Math- ematics Olympic team.

As a result of his Leaving Certifi- cate, he was awarded a scholarship by Trinity College to study math- sere ee

CLARE students again fared well at the annual BT Young Scientist Com- oxeBL BLO) NF

12 Clare projects impressed the competition judges, earning top three placings and commendations.

There was success for St Joseph’s Community College, Kilkee who came first in the senior group sec- nee

Fourth-year students Danny Molo- ney, Davis Gould Duff and Roisin Latham won for their project, “Does ash help plants to grow?’ in the sen- ior biological and ecological cat- egory.

In the same category, Emma Hen- nessy, fourth-year student at Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon was awarded the Safefood tithe and a commenda-

tion for her project, “An investigation into bacteria growth on drink cans and the most effective way of clean- ing them’ in the intermediate indi- ACLU Ensen (e)ee

Patrick O’Connell, a third-year stu- dent, and Tim Horgan, a fourth-year Student, both from St Flannan’s, were highly commended in the biologi- cal and ecological category for their project ‘Have you seen your DNA to- day?’. Their project involved study- ing various types of plant DNA.

Fellow St Flannan’s students Siob- han McGrath and Aoife Staunton were also highly commended in the social and behavioral sciences sec- tion for their examination of the be- haviour of a solitary dolphin.

Aine O’Halloran, Sinead Liddy and Siobhan Weir, transition-year students at St Caimin’s Community

School, Shannon were highly com- mended in the chemical and physical sciences intermediate group for their project ‘using energy beads to test how effective sun creams really are’.

Mary Immaculate Secondary School further enhanced its good reputation at the Young Scientist Soyrayersisene

Students this year entered 13 projects and the school finished the second highest award winners.

Leading the way was sixth-year student Laura Simms who came first in the senior individual section of the social and behavioural category for her project “Did geography affect the 2007 General Election?’.

The north Clare student’s project examined whether voting is stronger along geographical or party political Naar

Evelyn Linnane and Tess McGov- ern scored a second place finish in the intermediate group section for their project on ‘Prejudice and toler- ance among teenagers in Ireland’.

Darren O’Gorman came second in the senior individual section of the biological and ecological category for his investigation into the effects of temporary limestone lakes on lead morphology of Rannaclus Repens.

There were commendations for students Ciara Griffin and Amy Mc- Grath and Sinead McNamara, Amie Barrett and Catriona Callinan.

Fourth-year student David Crowe came third in the intermediate indi- vidual of the social and behavioural sciences section.

School principal John Simms said he was very proud of the achieve- ments of the students.

THE first major farming event of 2008 was launched last week with the announcement of FarmFest ‘08. The major outdoor farming event, which is organised by Teagasc, will take place at the Teagasc Centre in Athenry on Friday, June 20.

Teagasc FarmFest 2008 will focus on all areas of farming but in par- ticular some of the emerging areas such as food, sustainability and the environment and REPS.

‘“FarmFest *O8 will display all as- pects of Teagasc’s relationship with the countryside, farming and farm families. Taking place this year in the west of Ireland, this event will

have something of interest for all members of the farm family, and will also be of interest to those living in the wider rural community,” said Teagasc Director, Professor Gerry Boyle last week.

‘Education will be a key aim of the day and will display the breadth of Teagasc’s services and the opportuni- ties available to farmers and country dwellers. We will bring together the old and the new, demonstrating Tea- gasc’s innovative and contemporary approach while not dismissing the rural traditions people hold dear.”

All the main farm enterprises will be featured along with areas such as bioenergy, forestry, artisan foods, tourism, sports horses and organic

farming. These displays will be in the form of a series of themed tented ‘villages’ with separate, but conven- iently located, exhibition areas and entertainment.

The villages will include sheep, dairy, cattle, horses and tillage tents as well as advisory services and re- search. Other tents will include food, crafts, alternative agri-enterprises and alternative energy. FarmFest is hoping to attract a good attend- ance from all farm families as well as those living and working in the countryside. The event takes place in Athenry on Friday, June 20.

Meanwhile, Teagasc and the Irish Bioenergy Association (Irbea) are jointly organising a one-day con-

ference that focuses on making the bioenergy supply chain work.

The event will be held in the Tul- lamore Court Hotel on February 12 and will consist of three separate sessions: Policy, Vehicle Fuel and Solid Biomass. The speakers, ex- perts drawn from different stages of the supply chain, will share their experience of how they achieved successful operations in the popular biofuel energy sectors, or in the less known non-energy sectors such as crop-derived construction materials, renewable polymers and lubricants.

For more information please con- tact Liz O’Sullivan, Teagasc Oak Park on 059 9183483 or email Liz. O’Sullivan @teagasc.ie.

FEBRUARY I has been set as the closing date for the receipt of ap- plications for the second stage of the 2008/2009 Milk Quota Trading NYo terns len

Speaking on Friday, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Coughlan, announced the clos- ing date and restated her satisfaction with the outcome of the first stage of the trading scheme.

“I am pleased that the changes made to the operation of the trading

scheme contributed to a very high rate of trade before Christmas. I now want to ensure that the second ex- change is completed before the end of the current milk quota year, and I believe that the February | deadline will facilitate this,’ she said.

“A formal review will therefore not take place at this point, but, as was the case last year, a comprehensive review of the scheme with all stake- holders will take place after the sec- ond exchange has been completed.”

The scheme will once more com- prise a priority pool and a market

exchange. The maximum price for quota from the priority pool will remain at 12 cent per litre, and the maximum quantity available to in- dividual producers will remain at 80,000 litres.

A 3:2 ratio will again apply to the distribution of quota from the prior- ity pool to young farmers and Cat- egory | producers, and the option for sellers to sell at one or two cent per litre below their original offer price will be made available in the same 10 co-op areas as in the first stage.

The minister also took the opportu-

nity to alert milk producers to the ex- istence of a new Milk Quota Trader number, which is a unique identifier that has been assigned to all those who have participated in the trading scheme to date.

Applicants for the first stage of the 2008/2009 scheme will be advised of their Milk Quota Trader number by their co-op in the normal process- ing of the results, and those intend- ing to apply again for the second stage should quote this number on their application forms, in addition to the usual information.

EARLY intervention for mainte- nance or repairs, ensuring the up keep of council properties and sup- porting local authority tenants 1s the reasoning behind Kilrush Town Greer MCB ilea Wane labour

The local authority will kick off a pilot house inspection programme in February as part of its proactive ap-

proach to tenancy management.

Staff of Kilrush Town Council will be making inspections of a small number of tenanted houses every Veto

The random inspections will be ongoing and the council propose to visit all properties and tenants, over time, annually.

The inspection will involve a checklist assessment of the general

maintenance and upkeep of houses and gardens by tenants.

Fiona Mooney, Town Clerk, said, “We are conscious that most of our tenants comply with all the require- ments in regard to upkeep and this will give an opportunity to acknowl- edge that positive responsibility 1on the part of the majority of our ten- ants.

“Equally, the idea is to pick up on

maintenance and upkeep problems and get these sorted as early as pos- sible for everyone’s sake. So the idea is also to operate as a preventative approach to tenancy management.” Mayor Tom Clyne welcomed the pilot approach adding that a regu- lar routine of checking houses and gardens could have a positive part to play in supporting tenants. Inspections will begin in February.

SURFS up in Miltown Malbay for hundreds of international surfers as the seaside town has become on of the newest and coolest places in Eu- rope for surfers.

So good are the waves at Spanish Point that Ennisman and long time surfer Pat Keane along with his wife Orshlaith (sic) have moved there to live and open a surf shop.

The owner of “White-water Surf Company” lays the popularity of the area with the quality of the waves and the fact “it is less hectic than La- hinch”’.

The high price of property in Lahi- nch is also benefiting Miltown Mal- bay as keen surfers are buying homes

and moving there instead.

The town is also lively throughout winter making it attractive for those keen on the sport that is at its peek during the cold windy months.

“IT know a number of people who have opted for Miltown because of the price of houses,” said Pat.

Surfers traditionally ride the waves around the reef near the Armada Hotel. This area remains popular as it has middle and outside reef and a very good point break.

“If the swell is from the north, coming from Iceland, it bypasses La- hinch to Spanish Point. So you could have a flat day in Lahinch and good waves here,” explained Pat.

While the reef remains popular a number of other “obscure waves”

have become popular with top surf- ers especially at White Strand Point and have featured on the cover of a number of English magazines.

There is a budding body board scene also in Spanish Point.

“There are plenty of waves around Spanish Point that would rate with the most challenging,” said the keen Uae

As all the well known waves have become crowded surfers who com- pete at a higher level, and are not content with regular waves seek deleyenmelelm

The top surfers will challenge themselves on these waves but will not go past their own ability and risk their lives, according to Pat.

“It 1s extremely rare to see a surf-

er in difficulty, I don’t think I ever have.”

While September, October and November are popular because the waves are high and the water reason- ably warm there are a group of surf- ers that will surf all year around.

Surfers in the area also avail of Doughmore in Doonbeg, and it be- comes a haven of long boards in the summer.

‘In the summer when the rest is flat you would get small waves there. It picks up waves when other places don’t,” said the surf shop owner.

THE blueprint outlining the devel- opment of Kilrush during the next six years will come before Kilrush Town Council next month for its seal of approval.

The public consultation process for the Kilrush Development Plan 2008 to 2014 closed on January 4.

Five submissions were received from members of the public regard- ing the plan.

Concerns have been expressed however that the 2006 Census may hamper development in the town and the development plan must counter- act this and encourage development.

“There are those of us who dis- pute the Census 2006 figures which

show a slight three per cent decrease in population from the census 2002 figures,’ said Cllr Tom Prenderville (FF).

“The inaccuracy of that Census 2006 short-changed our town in terms of investment in that it pre- sented a false account on the state of economic planning and develop- ment of Kilrush. Yet we note in the Kilrush Town Development Plan a projected population increase of 11 per cent over the next six years and a 25 per cent population increase to 3,245 by 2020.

“It 1s interesting to note the projec- tions of the last Clare County Coun- cil Housing Strategy 2007-2012, which predicted that Kilrush would only need an additional 274 housing

units in 2020. Present figures availa- ble from planning applications would appear to refute that assertion.”

The Kilrush councillor said the pro- posal for a multi million-euro water- front development at the marina adds confidence to the town, but the town plan must set an overall strategy for proper planning, sustainable devel- opment and gainful employment.

Cllr Liam Looney (FF) said, “I do hope we get a lot more support from national organisations and agencies than we have been. We haven’t got a lot of support from the IDA or other bodies,” he said.

Acting Senior Planner, John Brad- ley reassured the council that there were sufficient zoned lands in the new plan to provide for the needs

of the town. He said the plan seeks to improve services and attractions within the town so as to maintain the town’s vibrance and curb urban drift to the adjoining countryside.

The senior planner also said the plan could stimulate the competi- tiveness of the local economy, pro- vide upgraded services, promote ur- ban renewal and the regeneration of brown field sites, complete the regen- eration of John Paul Estate, optimise the benefits of the MANS Broadband service, and facilitate and promote the development of the marina.

“If the above objectives can be achieved during the lifetime of the new Development Plan, Kilrush town will face a very positive fu- ture,’ he said.

THE need for more staff and equip- ment dedicated to maintaining the Killaloe and Westbury areas of east Clare has prompted two council- lors to take the matter to the local authority.

Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald wants to see a road sweeper dedicated to keeping the roads of east Clare clean while Councillor Tony O’Brien wants council road workers who were let go before Christmas put back on the payroll.

Cllr O’Brien said that there is cur- rently a shortage of staff in the gen- eral operative section “and it shows in the state of the roads in Killaloe, Kilbane and Broadford. We cur- rently only have about half our full complement of operatives”.

At today’s meeting of the Killaloe Area Committee of the council, Cllr O’Brien will be calling for the num- bers to be brought back up.

“We let part time workers go at the end of November. They should be taken on again immediately,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald will be raising the matter of clean- ing and sweeping at the same meet- ibahee

Currently, he said, a road-sweep- ing machine visits the Westbury es- tate about once a week.

“This is not nearly enough. The population of this area has grown so much in the last few years with Westbury, Shannon Banks and Ar- dnacrusha that we really need a dedicated sweeper that will be kept in east Clare and can come several times a week to each area that needs

it,’ the councillor said.

He pointed out that just over the bridge in the Limerick City Council controlled area “sweeping is done four times a week”’.

Cllr Fitzgerald is also raising the matter of the need for lights on the road between Ardnacrusha Post Of- fice and Barry’s Cross.

‘This is a very dark stretch of road but there are a lot of people walking and driving on it. It’s another area where the population 1s growing and we need lights from a safety point of view,’ Councillor Fitzgerald said.

CONCERNS for the safety of chil- dren going to school in Parteen have prompted a local councillor to call for agreement from lorry drivers to change traffic movements.

Councillor Cathal Crowe learned for himself what peril children are in going to and from school when he joined Parteen National School as a teacher this year.

“This is the only place in Parteen

where there’s no footpath and it’s a road that is used by trucks serving several companies in Parteen. We talk all the time about childhood obesity and encouraging children to walk and take exercise but it’s just not safe for them to walk on this road,” the councillor said.

Apart from the immediate danger to children. Cars meeting trucks find they have no room to pass each other and at school drop off and collection times, this brings other problems and

Cro ue

“Parents are entitled to get their children to school in safety. And at school times, there can be hold ups anywhere on this road between the school and Larkin’s Cross. The long- term solution is to widen the road but in the meantime, there are things that can be done to make the road safer.”

At a meeting of the Killaloe Area Committee of the council today, Cllr Crow plans to ask the director of services to put a traffic management

plan in place to limit the movement of heavy goods vehicles in both di- rections and to get agreement with all concerned to finance passing bays so that trucks and cars can safely pass each other.

“When the quarries were given planning permission, it was a condi- tion that they put passing bays on the roads. That is what is needed here in the short term, along with restric- tions on two-way traffic,’ Cllr Crowe said.