Month: March 2009

THE parents of Roman Vysochan, the Ukrainian teenager who was al- legedly stabbed to death in Corbally last year, were present in Limerick District Court yesterday where two people were charged with the murder of their son.

The 16-year-old was found dead at the entrance of Carraig Midhe on the night of May 10, 2008 after suc- cumbing to his injuries allegedly in- flicted at a house in the estate.

John O’Loughlin, 20, with address- es at Cecil Street and Carraig Midhe, and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be identified, were charged with the murder of the teenager. The pair are also accused of assaulting another 16-year-old boy on the same date.

Detective Garda Enda Haugh from

Mayorstone Garda Station gave evi- dence of arresting Mr O’Loughlin at an address at Cecil Street at 7.50am yesterday morning. Det Garda Haugh told the court that the accused gave no reply to the charge when cau- tioned at Mayorstone Garda Station.

The 20-year-old was granted legal aid and John Devane was assigned his defence solicitor.

Detective Garda Kieran Crowley gave evidence of arresting the 17- year-old boy at 8.l5am at Bishop Street. The teenager also made no reply to the charge after caution.

He was also granted legal aid and Ted McCarthy was assigned his de- fence solicitor.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy remanded the pair in custody to appear before the court again this Thursday, March 26.

TRADING stalls at the Matchmak- ing Festival in Lisdoonvarna could be a thing of the past as Clare Coun- ty Council is preparing to severely curtail casual trading licences issued in the area this year and are to ex- amine a complete ban on traders in the square.

Following a proposal put forward at yesterday’s north Clare area meet- ing of Clare County Council, the lo-

cal authority is to arrange a meeting with local business people and the Gardai to discuss how to limit li- oiler

Speaking on the proposal, Cllr Ri- chard Nagle (FF), said that a number of tourists visiting Lisdoonvarna have had to leave their hotels in the middle of the night because of noise and disruption coming from the trad- ase

“The business community of the town need to be consulted on this.

There is a lot of noise and distur- bances from the traders and this is giving a very bad impression of Lis- doonvarna,” he said.

“T would propose that only a few licences should be given out and no licences be given in the area of the square. I know that visitors were so disturbed by the noise that they said that they would not come back to the town and demanded their money back for their accommodation.

“A meeting must take place with

the business people in Lisdoonvarna but it is important that the Gardai are at that meeting. In the past the Gardai have said that they are not in a position to move the people who are causing a nuisance on but under the new by-laws that does not seem to be the case.

“It seems that everyone who wants to come and park up in the middle of Lisdoonvarna has the right to do it. When there is an idea out there that there is no laws then people will treat

it as such.”

According to James Barry, Senior Staff Officer of the Ennistymon Area Office, new by-laws introduced last year mean that the council and the Gardai now have the power to drasti- cally reduce the number of licences and add a number of conditions to each license.

Despite this however, fortune tell- ers will be allowed to continue in Lisdoonvarna as they do not fall un- der the remit of the new by-laws.

A GROUP of volunteers and home- less people will camp out in Ennis this afternoon and tonight (Tuesday) to highlight the plight of the home- less in the county amid claims that the largest national provider of emer- gency accommodation for homeless men still refuses to recognise them.

Homeless Education Learning Project (HELP) was set up last year by local woman Josephine O’Brien and two others to provide support to the homeless in the town of En- nis. To date, the service has helped a number of Polish men and members of the Travelling community to find accommodation.

Ms O’Brien said yesterday, “It wouldn’t be fair to say that nothing is being done but not enough is being done for the homeless in Ennis or in County Clare. The biggest problem is the bureaucracy and the endless pro- cedures people have to go through to get help. Also, there is a huge lack of information and someone who has nowhere to sleep has no idea who to go to or who to contact.

‘No one wants to know the people we are dealing with, some of whom are foreign nationals. The people we deal with are the real homeless and no one wants to help them. We have been to the homeless forum at Clare County Council but they tell us that for someone to get accommodation they need a PPS number. But for someone to have a PPS number, they

have to have an address. It’s a catch- 22,’ Ms O’ Brien said.

Speaking about today’s planned ac- tion, Ms O’Brien said, “We are go- ing to camp out in the People’s Park near the Courthouse in Ennis today and tonight to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless in the county and the fact that not enough is being done to find places for them. There are about eight people sleeping on the streets in Ennis on any given night, while there are dozens more depending on friends and relatives on a night-to-night basis for some

place to sleep.”

According to Clare County Coun- cil’s Homeless Unit, “At present, emergency B&B accommodation may be provided where the accom- modation needs are immediate, acute and unforeseen. Assistance in sourc- ing private rented accommodation is given through the Homeless Unit.”

A NATIONWIDE carers support group, whose foundation and base is in Ennis, is growing in strength thanks to its hard working staff, ded- icated volunteers and the determina- tion of carers to finally speak out.

Family carers throughout the coun- try who had been overlooked by the Government and society for decades are finding their voice thanks to Car- ing for Carers Ireland.

That strength was in numbers at the organisation’s 18th National Carers Conference and Respite Break at the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney.

As many as 84 delegates from nine Caring for Carers groups in County Clare were among the 500 family carers who took part in and contrib- uted to the conference.

Training and Development Officer Susan Hogan – who, among her many roles, oversees the nine branches of the organisation in Clare – hailed the conference a success.

The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Sustaining Care in Challenging Serato

Ms Hogan explained that acute disappointment was expressed at the decision by the Minister of Social and Family Affairs not to publish the National Carers Strategy. Caring for Carers had made a submission to the Carers Strategy Consultation Forum, which sought to advocate the enact- ment of a Carer Act, to improve sup- ports and services into the future.

The National Conference, repre- senting the 161,000 family carers in Ireland, called on Minister Hanafin for the immediate publication of the Carers Strategy, pointing out that its implementation need not necessarily mean increased funding in the cur- rent economic climate, but to put ex- isting funding to better use.

‘We believe that the strategy should still be published. A lot of what is in it would not cost a lot, if anything,” said Ms Hogan.

Those taking part in the conference also argued that family carers are the backbone of community care and should be supported in every way possible, not only to maintain their own health and well-being, but also those for whom they care.

Caring for Carers Clare was repre- sented strongly at the weekend con-

ference through its 85 members and the newly elected chairperson.

Chairperson Margaret Scanlon who hails from Cranny, is expected to provide strong leadership for the 4,671 family carers in Clare.

Tributes were paid to the outgoing chairperson, Helen Kelly, who pro- moted the position of family carers in County Clare for the past three ert ae

Flynn to run again at the behest of leader Kenny

A FOUNDING club in the Clare Soccer League has joined forces with a founder member of the Eng- lish Football League in a move that could pave the way for professional soccer careers for the cream of its underage talent.

Lifford AFC, the only Clare club to produce three schoolboy internation- als has linked up with Notts County in a venture that will give its play- ers direct access to the English club’s School of Excellence.

“It’s an exciting departure for the club,’ says Lifford chairman John O’Neul. “In the past we produced schoolboy internationals like David Ryan, Alan Brooks and Gary Flynn, so in the future if we have players who might be good enough to pursue professional careers, this link with Notts County gives them a chance. It will be for Lifford players only,” adds O’ Neill.

The link up between the two clubs has come about through Lifford head coach Mick Kennedy’s friendship with Notts County’s Mick Leonard, who comes to Clare this week to for- malise the new arrangement. Both began their professional playing ca- reers together at Halifax Town.

“Players coming through the ranks of Lifford will be given a chance with Notts County. Mick Kennedy (picutred below) will be responsible for assessing and coaching the play- ers, and Notts County will take them on,’ says O’Neill.

The relationship between the two clubs is being seen as the next step in Lifford’s development. It comes in a decade that has already seen the club purchase and develop one of the best soccer grounds at this level of the game at Cassidy Park in Drumcliffe.

IT’S doubtful if Cusack Park in its storied 73-year history has witnessed anything quite like this. There was a lone piper and two drummers behind the wire on the near the Clare dugout — Mayfield and Blackpool boys they proudly proclaimed.

The drums were beating while the piper played, and talked as they tried to get on the other side of the wire. “Is Frank Murphy your boss,” the piper roared when Clare County Board officials moved quickly to close the gates from the VIP section onto the field.

The pipes stayed playing, and the drums stayed beating, as the May- field and Blackpool boys planned their next move.

Meanwhile, out on the field Con- sidine clasped Donal Og Cusack by one hand, and threw the other hand around him in congratulations. This

was Tony Considine, not stand-in Cork manager John Considine.

SURI ENC BNIBeIr DIEM che BWM lool! away explaining away a remarkable recovery. “A great win. Six points down, it was as if the lads made up their own minds that they were going to win. I had an armchair ride when they kicked into gear in the last ten minutes.

“TY couldn’t do much, I didn’t have to do much, the lads did the business. We had only two nights with them and in that limited time we couldn’t get them any fitter, any faster, we couldn’t do any hurling, couldn’t change any game plan — we just pulled them together.

“In fairness today the lads did what was required. They started badly in the second half, only one score in the first 15 minutes, but we found our rhythm near the end and maybe Clare took their foot off the pedal.”

Donal Og meanwhile was giv-

ing another interview, as was Ben O’Connor, while the drums and pipes could still be heard in the back- ground. “This is what we wanted,” said O’Connor. “We wanted to be hurling and playing the top teams in the country. This is the first step back, and, hopefully, we will be able to drive on from here. We don’t want to talk about it anymore. We are back doing what we want to do now, which is playing hurling.”

Then they moved off, but as they drew closer to the dressing room the noise grew louder. You guessed it — the drummers and pipers had breached the county board defences and were outside the Cork dressing Kelson

Others supporters were there too — forming a human tunnel to let Ben, Donal Og and Considine through. Roaring and backslapping as they travelled.

You could call it a tunnel of love.

WHAT is it about Cork that causes Clare to implode at the vital time? The 2005 All-Ireland semi-final. The 2008 All-Ireland quarter-final. Prime examples of Clare’s failure to see out the game when coasting to vic- tory against Cork but Sunday’s lat- est clash has to go down as the most dramatic turnaround. Six points and a player up with only eight minutes remaining, Clare inconceivably shot themselves in the foot, allowed Cork to gain momentum and facilitate a perfect return for their 2008 squad.

Of all the four league games to date, this was undoubtedly the most gut-wrenching pill for Clare to swal- low and as manager Mike McNamara came to speak to the unusually large media contingent outside the dress- ing room, his face understandably cut a picture of sheer frustration and disappointment as he contemplated what went wrong.

“We gave them the initiative. We gave them the scores exactly when they wanted them and we conceded scores again, and goals again at in- opportune times for us. We conceded goals at vital times in a game that we were coasting towards victory. Sport has that knack of kicking you in the face just when you think you have turned a corner but sport has also a knack of lifting you up when you are down so we have Kilkenny next week and I think if we play as well as that against Kilkenny, we would probably beat them.”

And McNamara was the first to concede that it is difficult to turn their luck around when confidence and the winning habit deserts a team.

“Probably had we won a game early on in the league, then things fall into place but when you are struggling for points, when you want points badly, sometimes it doesn’t go your way. UNC MOM me UIMOloMny Sue) Imm sLUeMmB ele team, it’s just a little correction here and there. There is very little wrong with the manner of their perform- ance as you have seen, they played

extremely well for most of the game. It was a good game of hurling and we probably dominated most of the exchanges in most quarters of the field. That we finished on a losing note would just be put down to the vagaries of sport more than anything else. Look what one kick yesterday could have done in a rugby match to Ireland’s hopes and dreams. So we feel we are in the same situation, we need to get a few more scores on the board and we need to play with a bit more confidence. But again there is a bigger picture down the road so we would like to pick up a few more points in the league and hopefully we will.”

If things weren’t problematic enough for Clare at the moment, news that Gerry Quinn had left the panel after a training dispute on Friday spread like wildfire over the week- end but when asked whether or not Quinn would return to the panel, Mc- Namara’s response was open-ended. “T would imagine that’s up to Gerry Quinn. The story of Gerry Quinn is very simple. He is gone off the panel at this point and time. That’s as much

as I’m prepared to say”’

Rooted to the foot of the Division 1 table after four games, Clare now must win all their remaining fixtures to stand any chance of avoiding the drop and to do that, McNamara sug- gests that he needs his strongest side available.

“We have to start pushing now. We pushed Brian O’Connell out there today and as you saw, he was a lit- tle ring rusty. Tony Carmody was pushed out there today and we have to start getting our better players back in the form that can win match- es. Hopefully when that happens we will turn the corner, get out of the hole we are in, win a few matches and get a bit of pride and spirit going in the crowd again.”

The reality for Clare is that they have now been beaten by all four Munster sides so far in the league. If the bigger picture is securing a Munster Championship, that is not the type of statistic that breeds con- fidence.

PLANS for a contentious compound to the rear of the town hall in Shan- non have been resubmitted by Clare County Council.

The plans were lodged earlier this year and met with stiff opposi- tion from local residential groups, An Taisce, Duchas na Sionna and a group set up amid concerns about the plan called ‘Save the Shannon Town Hall Woodlands’.

The plans were withdrawn earlier this month and the council said it

would make adjustments to the ini- tial proposal, based on issues raised during the public consultation proc- ess, before resubmitting it.

The plan has now been resubmitted, on what the council says 1s a smaller site (reduced from 1,/00 square me- tres to 1,450 square metres).

The council now plans to relocate the depot building on the site directly to the rear of the town hall. It says that traffic movements to and from the depot will be limited to around 60 a day – mainly when workers ar- rive for and leave work.

It also says that council vehicles will be parked at the depot overnight and security measures will be put in place to discourage anti-social be- haviour in the vicinity.

The council says that by placing the building directly behind the town hall, it will not be visible.

“Its original location meant it could be clearly viewed from the road. Other than that, there are no major changes,” said Shannon Town Man- ager Ger Dollard.

He said the proposal was “very modest, very low impact and will

have nothing but a positive benefit for Shannon town”’.

However, local resident Don O’Sullivan says he is “disgusted” that the planning application has been re- Submitted, in the same location.

“There is very strong feelings about this in the town and I believe that the timing of the approval (if this is what is achieved by the county coun- cil) and the local elections will not be missed by the voting population of Shannon. I, for one, will vote to ensure that we get councillors on the local and county councils whose pri-

mary interest is in representing the people of the town,” he said.

The chairman of Duchas na Sionna, Greg Duff – who is a Labour council- lor in the town – said, ““The proposed depot’s site in a green area 1s once again demonstrating a lack of vision and concern in relation to the needs of the local community. I am call- ing on the town manager to seriously consider the many alternative sites that were not seriously considered previously.”

Submissions on the project can be made up until May 8.

Claire Gallagher and Ronan Judge