Month: July 2008

THE drive to experience different aspects of life has seen people take on many challenges, but the need to know what high altitude felt like saw one west Clare GP go to great heights.

Kilkee town councillor and local GP Dr Tom Nolan had his curiosity well and truly quenched when he ar- rived at the summit of Kilimanjaro.

The Kilkee man was the only one in his group of four to make it to the top of the highest mountain in Africa.

Once a climber is higher than 19,000 he or she begins to feel the effects of “extreme” altitude. Kili-

manjaro stands at more than 20,000 feet high.

The amount of oxygen in the air would also be half what it would be at sea level, making the challenge all the more difficult.

Altitude sickness can manifest in insomnia, nausea, headaches and, in extreme cases, diarrhoea. The top of the mountain is also extremely cold, especially at night.

A keen hill walker, Dr Nolan said he always wanted to experience the effects of altitude.

The Kilkee doctor took the Mach- ama or Whiskey route with his three Northern Ireland companions.

They circled the mountain for five

days before Dr Nolan climbed to the summit. On the night he reached the summit the temperature dropped to minus 15 degrees.

While 40,000 people visit the mountain every year not everyone makes it to the top.

Dr Nolan received a certificate in recognition of this feat. It was marked number 32,000.

Describing the climb, Dr Nolan said, “It was anything but fun.”

‘I didn’t necessarily feel that it was a personal achievement. I just wanted to get back down. It was very cold,” he said.

‘‘T have experienced altitude. I don’t like it and I won’t be going back. I’m

going back to Kerry, the landscape is nicer. It is something I have ticked CO) Nap eeh astm

‘Fair play to anyone who does this regularly, they must be crazy,” he laughed.

The doctor learnt the importance of home comforts on the trip.

“Any creature comforts you can glean along the way go for it. I have learnt that you need a good back up group. Morale is very important,” he SHOE

“You need life experience to know when not to give up and when to give up. I won’t say that I enjoyed it but it may mean more to me when I look back in time,” he added.

TWO major benefit events in aid of an Ennis man seriously injured in a motorbike accident take place in En- nis next weekend.

Liam Casey sustained serious spine and neck injuries when he was in- volved in a motorbike crash in Ennis on Sunday, July 6.

Liam was returning from a trip with the Banner Motorcycle Club when the bike he was traveling on skidded in wet conditions in Ennis.

He is currently being treated in the Mater Hospital, Dublin, where he re- mains in a Serious condition.

Now friends of Liam at the Banner Motorcycle Club are rallying around and in order to assist Liam’s family with expenses, have organised two events that will take place on Satur- day, July 19.

Motorbike enthusiasts are asked gather for a bike run at the One Mile Inn, Lahinch Road, Ennis, at 2pm next Saturday. The cost is €50 and the run commences from the One Mile at 3pm sharp.

The €50 cost also covers the cost of admission to a rock night which takes place later that night at the Au- burn Lodge, Gort Road, Ennis.

Music by local bands and The Bik-

er DJ and the music gets underway 9pm. The cost of admission is €10 with all proceeds going towards as- sisting Liam’s medical expenses and any future care that might be re- quired.

Banner Motorcycle Club are ap- pealing for people to come out and support on the night.

All club members are also asked to return their tickets to the Record Rack, Ennis.

Established in 1973 the Banner Motorcycle club is one of the longest established Motorcycle Clubs in Ire- land. Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every month in Lucas

Bar, Parnell Street. New members are always welcome.

Aidan Woodford, a member of the Banner Motorcycle Club, said every- one associated with the club were ea- ger to support Liam and his family.

He said, “We were out on a run last Sunday. It was the 35th anniversary of the club so there was a good few of us out.

“We were coming back to Ennis and the road was a bit slippy and L1- am’s bike skidded.

‘It was a very serious accident. He’s a very nice guy. It’s a very tough time for his family. We’re hoping to get a good turnout on the night.”

PEOPLE in Ennis get the chance to have their say on the future develop- ment of the town when the review of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan 2003 goes on public display in the coming weeks.

Councillors were presented with the document at the July meeting of Ennis Town Council and agreed to submit the pre-draft development plan 2008-2014 forward for public consultation.

Apart from obtaining the review document itself, which planning of- ficials revealed is costing €100 per copy to produce, the public is also being invited to engage with the process in a variety of ways.

The plan will be available for download from the websites of both

Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council.

Submissions and questions relating to the plan can also be sent by email. Senior planner John Bradley told last week’s meeting that all incoming emails will be logged and a response will be sent to anyone submitting a query just as soon as the system is o) oer 1a Ceyered

“These events will be fully adver- tised in local media beforehand. We want to market this and publicise this document as much as possible’, said Mr. Bradley.

A number of public information events will also take place at loca- tions around Ennis, confirmed Mr. Bradley.

The review of the Development Plan for Ennis and Environs com- menced with a 9-week period of

public consultation on December 8 2006. The Development Plan covers a 6-year period and the current plan is due to expire later in the year in December 2008.

Mr Buckley said that considerable work remains to be done in order to have the final plan ready in time for the December deadline.

He said, “There is still a lot to do with this document. We are trying to get 22 weeks work done in two weeks. We will be burning the mid- night oil in the coming weeks, I can assure you.”

He continued, “We hope to have it ready for you (councillors) for the October meeting and all the issues can be resolved in time for the plan to be adopted by December 9”.

The plan will guide the future growth of Ennis and its surrounding

environs in a way that will set out the future land use requirements of the town’s community for economic de- velopment, recreational, social, com- munity, residential, transport and in- frastructural needs.

The review of the 2003 plan has also addresses other zoning issues in relation to flood risk management, energy efficiency and traffic manage- ment.

Independent councilor Frankie Neylon told the meeting that it was the important the public was made aware that their views would be tak- en on board.

He said, “I would suggest that we would use the County Museum for these public event and I think it is important that it 1s made clear that submissions can be re-entered into the plan”

TWO Ennis fishing groups cast out together last week in a bid to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) society of Ireland.

Members of both the Ennis District and Angler’s Association (EDAA) and the Fergus Salmon Anglers de- scended on Dromore and Ballyline lakes near Ruan last Sunday for a charity pike fishing competition

MS Ireland as fishing enthusiasts took to the water to compete.

MS is a chronic condition of the central nervous system. The central nervous system consists of the brain

and spinal cord.

It is the most common disabling neurological condition of young adults, affecting approximately 6,000 in Ireland, 85,000 people in the United Kingdom, 250,000 in the USA.

“We have been out collecting for flag days and we’ve had a few other events ourselves but this time we de- cided to try and do something for an- other organization. The MS society do great work’, said EDAA president Gerry Kenny, explaining the motiva- tion behind the event.

Established in 1935 and 1980 re- spectively, both the EDAA and the Fergus Salmon Anglers have played

important roles in sustaining sal- mons stocks on the River Fergus and maintaining the appearance of the river and the surrounding environ- mental habitat.

A massive renewal programme commenced five years ago aimed to restore the River Fergus system and develop it as a major tourism re- elt Keee

The work, grant aided by the Her- itage Council, involved the rehabili- tation of the River Fergus fishery, improving the access to the water- ways, working with local landowners and consultation with the Heritage Council and the Regional Fisheries Board.

Improvement works carried out so far include the erection of vortex weirs, bank-side pruning and the placement of random boulders.

Gerry explained that while many improvements have taken place along the river, old problems still persist.

“Our main work has been stocking the river with salmon and keeping numbers up’, said Gerry, “We have done and awful lot of development work, tidying up sewage and other litter that gets thrown into the river, re-gravelling and repairing the river walls. Pollution though is still the biggest problem we have at the mo- ment. Its unfortunate, but pollution is still a big issue on the Fergus”’.

A FILM festival that opens in Ennis this week provides the ideal opportu- nity for young filmmakers to express their talents.

Lights Out! opened in Glor yester- day and runs until July 18. Across a series of workshops, young people are treated to a diverse programme of animation, live action, documen- tary and short films. There will also be opportunities to get hands on ex- perience behind the camera with an exciting set of film workshops.

All events take place in Glor Irish Music Centre. There is a weeklong crash-course entitled ‘Make your own Movie with Fresh Film Festival’ (July 14-18 Age 12+), one day anima- tion workshops (July 14-18 Age 8-12) and a special opportunity to learn about the classification process and let young peoples’ voices be heard at IFCO – Meet the Censor! ( July 14 Age 8-12).

At the end of the week there will be an opportunity to see and discuss the films made by young people during the week at the Young Filmmakers

Panel (July 18 All Ages).

Lights Out! patron Kathryn McKi1- ernan, from RTE’s The Den, said ‘I believe Lights Out! is a wonderful opportunity for young people to ex- plore and experience the fascinating world of film and storytelling.”

The festival has been specially de- signed with the help of the young consultants panel which enabled young people to have an active part in the planning of all aspects of the festival. Clare was well represented on the panel by two young film bud- ding directors, Conor Fahy (12) from

Ennis and Ruth-Ann Browne (14), from Cree.

In addition to the main film screen- ings there will be two sets of Quick Flix (6+ and 15+) short film screen- ings showing the best of young peo- ple’s shorts from the film festival circuit.

Lights Out! is an initiative of the Irish Film Institute and is sup- ported by our the Ombudsman for Children’s Office as well as RTE, The Ticket, The Irish Film Board, The Arts Council and Clare County Council Arts Office.

IT appears that Clare farmers will escape any direct losses as a result of the cut in government spending an- nounced last week.

The farming organisations however, have expressed fears that a number of schemes, especially the Farm Im- provement Scheme, could face a very uncertain future.

In the meantime however, the IFA has welcomed the department’s pro- tection of the schemes and its com- mitment to “enhancing the com- petitiveness of farming and the food sector”.

IFA President Padraig Walshe said the current farm investment scheme is clearly boosting the construction

sector in rural areas.

“The investment programme by farmers, supported by department grant schemes, would strengthen the competitiveness of the sector at a time when the industry had to meet the most stringent environmental conditions,’ he said.

Speaking on Thursday, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith, confirmed that his department would be providing sav- ings of €9.1 million in 2008 towards the Government’s overall savings of €440 million. The minister said he would seek more savings in 2009.

“The €9.1 million will be absorbed by the administrative budgets in my department and its state agencies and will involve savings in operating

costs, including salaries,’ said Min- ister Smith.

“T can confirm that €1.04 million would be saved on this department’s administrative budget, €5.391 mul- lion would be sought from the state agencies under this department’s ae- gis and a further €2.679 million will be saved on consultancies, PR and payroll costs.

“I will be examining every aspect of my department’s programme of schemes and services with a view to ensuring that expenditure is fully justified and that we get the best pos- sible value for public investment in these sectors.”

Emphasising the significant contri- bution to the economy made by the agriculture, food, forestry and fish-

ing industries, Minister Smith de- scribed the agri-food sector as “one of our most important indigenous manufacturing industries” which ac- counts for almost 7 per cent of GDP, 8 per cent of employment and 10 per cent of exports.

The Minister said that the range of measures and schemes funded by his department were “important drivers of economic development in the agri- culture, fisheries and food sectors”.

Minister Smith concluded with a commitment to continue with this prudent approach to managing the public finances in order to support the agri-food sector but also in tak- ing any additional and proportionate measures required to manage our way through the current difficulties.

IN the wake of an organic farm walk which took place on the Coolnaboy farm of Pat McCormack in Ennis Thursday last, Teagasc have called on Clare farmers to look at organic farming as a real option for the fu- ture.

The Ennis farm walk was the fifth in a series of 21 walks taking place nationwide and Teagasc officials are hopeful that they can convince farm- ers of the growing market for organic produce not just in Ireland but right across Europe.

“The aim of the walks is to show

that organic farming is a great op- portunity for Irish farmers,” said Teagasc organic farming specialist James McDonnell.

“A well-run organic farm can be very profitable in the current climate as it complies with good farming practices, and when combined with organic scheme payments and pre- mium prices for produce there is po- tential for good profit.

“Payments for conversion to or- ganic farming are ©212 per hectare for two years and €106 thereafter, in addition to the basic REPS 4 pay- ments. On a 55 hectare farm the or- ganic scheme payments amount to

approximately €©8,100 per year or €40,810 over five years.

“Organic food is a niche market but a rapidly growing one. Most organic produce attracts a price premium and represents a significant addition to income on organic farms.”

Teagasc, in association with the Department of Agriculture, Fisher- ies and Food, has organised a series of 21 organic farm walks throughout the summer.

In other European countries organ- ic farming 1s much more popular and has grown in response to increased consumer demand.

Just 0.9 per cent of agricultural

land in Ireland is farmed organically, compared to 4.4 per cent in the UK, while in countries like Italy, Aus- tria, Sweden, Finland and Denmark it ranges from between 6 to 13.5 per cent of farmland.

The 21 farms hosting the organic walks represent the full range of organic enterprises in Ireland and cover the vegetables, fruit, cereals, beef, sheep, poultry, dairying and pig sectors.

The latest information on organic production from Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture, Fisher- ies and Food is available at the open days.

THE way is now clear for planning permission for a €50 million retail park adjacent to the Ennis bypass after the disappearance of a rare but- terfly from the site.

The extinction of the Marsh Fritil- lary will also be welcomed by the builder of the bypass, GAMA Con- Struction, as it faced accusations from Clare County Council that it performed a breach of contract by transferring the butterflies to the re- tail park site from the bypass site.

The presence of the butterfly on site represented a major planning hurdle to Stephen Harris in his bid to secure planning permission for the retail park; it prompted the Department of the Environment to lodge an objec- tion against the plan.

However, a new report by expert Ken Bond has stated that the butterfly — which is the only butterfly protect- ed under the EU Habitats Directive — “has been lost from the Skehanagh site and that there are now no suitable habitats for the species in this area of the immediate surroundings”.

The site was initially home to a substantial colony of the butterfly in the year 2000. Larval tents of the butterfly were trans-located onto the site in the Autumn of 2005 as they were threatened by the development

of the Ennis by-pass.

According to Mr Bond, a satisfac- tory population of the species was recorded on the retail park site in 2006 and 2007.

Mr Bond was of the opinion, in the report, that the butterfly has become extinct at the site due to heavy graz- ing during the Autumn and Winter of 2007 combined with flooding events during the Winter of 2005/06/07.

A second expert, Paul Murphy of EirEco Environmental Consultants, visited the site in June 2008 and he affirmed the findings of Mr Bond on the disappearance of the rare butter- uae

The report states: “Mr Murphy did not record any adult butterflies and judged that the vegetation at the site was now a sub-optimal habitat for Marsh Fritillary.

“Mr Murphy broadly agrees with the findings of Mr Bond and also concluded that the butterfly has be- come extinct at the site.”

Last year, the Department of the Environment claimed that planning permission would be be contrary to the aims of the EU Habitats Direc- tive.

On the basis of the new evidence the department may have to revise its earlier objection.

A decision is due on the application next month.

A JURY has returned a verdict of ac- cidental death in the case of a man involved in a road traffic accident on the road between Tulla and Gort in October last year.

The inquest into the death of 29- year-old Patrick Murphy heard that he died after he got trapped when his jeep overturned on October 27, 2007. No other vehicle was involved in the collision, the Coroners Court in En- nis was told.

Mr Murphy, a native of Crusheen, had been out socialising with friends

in Tulla on the night the accident oc- ie Kee

The deceased’s brother James Mur- phy told the court that Patrick had gone to get his get his phone from his car after leaving the Teach Ol pub in Tulla.

He said, “The first I heard of what had happened was when Valerie Hogan came out and said Pat had been in accident. We drove out to the scene. I knew it wasn’t good when I saw his back sticking out.”

Garda Liam Donoghue was called to the scene of the accident. He told the court that when he arrived he saw

‘‘a jeep overturned on the correct side of the road”.

In his deposition Dr Rasheed, a consultant anesthetist on duty in En- nis hospital on the night of the ac- cident, said that “resuscitation was started and every step was taken to resuscitate him (Patrick Murphy)”.

Mr Murphy was pronounced dead at 4.10am on the morning of October 28.

State Pathologist Dr Marie Cas- sidy told the Coroner’s Court that blood and urine tests taken from Mr Murphy recorded high levels of alcohol. She said the cause of death

was asphyxia caused by a crush in- jury. Dr Cassidy also found evidence of Sarcoidosis, a rare disease which affects the immune system, and said this may have been have contributory cause of Mr Murphy’s death.

Directing the jury, County Coroner Isobel O’Dea said that the appro- priate verdict was one of accidental olerldee

Ms O’Dea said Mr Murphy’s death was a “very sad and tragic accident”.

Inspector Tom Kennedy also ex- pressed sympathy on behalf of the Clare Garda Division to Mr Mur- eMac E-TeOvO RTA

A 25 YEAR old man who fell from a cliff in Quilty after a night out man- aged to raise the alarm by using his mobile phone to call his mother.

The incident occurred at around 7.45am on Sunday. The young man, named locally as Pat Murrihy from Quilty, had been socialising in the area on Saturday night and was walk- ing home early on Sunday morning when he apparently stumbled and fell almost 10 metres from a sheer cliff onto rocks below. He was alone at the time of the incident.

As he lay injured and unable to

move, he raised the alarm by call- ing his mother on his mobile phone. She immediately contacted the emergency services before rushing to the scene along with neighbours and members of the local Red Cross vuebLe

The incident occurred between Quilty village and the local pier.

A rescue operation was launched within minutes involving the Doolin unit of the Irish Coastguard, gardai, the ambulance service and the Shan- non based coastguard helicopter. The operation was coordinated by Valen- tia coastguard radio.

Mr Murrihy was treated at the scene

by Red Cross personnel pending the arrival of the coastguard team.

Shortly before 9am the man was airlifted to University College Hos- pital in Galway where he is receiving treatment for back injuries which, al- though serious, are not believed to be life threatening.

Gardai at Ennistymon are inves- tigating the incident which is being treated as an accident.

A coastguard spokesperson said the man fell about 8 metres down a sheer cliff. The tide was out at the time but if it had been in, the casualty would have been very close to the water.

“We were able to reach him by

walking down a ramp but it was de- cided to airlift him to hospital rather that transport him by road. It was certainly a good thing he had his mobile phone with him.”

A spokesperson for UCHG con- firmed that the man 1s expected to be discharged from hospital on Monday night or Tuesday.

Last October, an 81 year old retired New York City fireman died after he fell from the same cliff just yards from the scene of Sunday’s accident. Pat Lusterring, who was originally from the area, was returning to his holiday home from visiting a friend when the tragedy occurred.