Month: January 2011

EARLIER this year a group of north Clare people made the trip to the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan with one objective in mind – to come up with a range of ideas which would allow the people of the Burren to take control of their own destiny.

Central to this grassroots movement was Mary Hawkes-Greene, co-founder of the Burren College of Art and a person who is deeply committed to the future of her adopted home.

For Mary, along with all the difficulties that the current financial climate presents, it also created an opportunity for great change and for the people of Clare to take control of their own destinies.

“I believe that as a nation we have all got what we deserve. Our political system has been based on parishpump politics which requires leaders to do special favours for people which leads to corruption on a larger scale. We need people to be more honest and for our political system to be completely overhauled so we can get rid of the culture of everybody scratching everyone else’s back,” said Mary.

“For Clare and for local communities in Clare I think that now is a great opportunity for natural leaders to emerge within communities. For a long time we have relied on huge grants to be handed out to people from the EU and people haven’t had to be creative. One of the most successful things in my community, in Ballyvaughan, last year was getting people together and looking at taking control of our own destiny and deciding for ourselves how we wanted our own community to be.

“It’s not about looking for the next grant or the next EU directive, it’s about getting together and deciding what are our values as a community and what do we stand for. These things are not all economic and are not all financially driven. We found that one important thing for us, for example, was a community which had room for both old people and young people to come together and be involved in each other lives. That is something which has nothing to do with money or the economy but could have a great impact in the quality of life that everyone in the community has.”

While reorganising the political and economic society which we all live in is an important step in 2011, according to Mary, it is not nearly as important as looking at the types of lives we all lead in our community.

“I think we need to look at everything that is valuable. It’s not just money, living in a beautiful place and what that does to a person’s health and well being is a valuable thing. People need to put some value on things which are not economic, things which make us happy which have nothing to do with money. There is a great opportunity for communities to look at their core being and discover what really is important to them. From there maybe people can figure what economic steps need to be taken to allow them to live the life that they want to do. I think it is time for a radical reforms and a radical and for people to take control of their own destinies.”

As the co-founder of one of the biggest innovations on the Clare arts scene in recent decades, Mary also sees the importance of art in the development of Clare and Ireland in 2011. “The importance of the arts cannot be overstated. The arts should be seen as essential and as crucial to our well-being as fresh air or health care. The arts are essential to our development,” continues Mary.

“They give us another dimension of life which is beyond economics and what we need. What we need is more music in schools and in the community. People can be transformed and lifted to a different place by the arts – it uplifts spirits and shows people what they can achieve what some people might think of as being unachievable. That is something that can transfer to every area of people’s lives.”

MORE THAN most, north Clare filmmaker Alan Cooke has spent a lot of time pondering what needs to be done to secure Ireland’s future in 2011.

The Emmy award-winning filmmaker has spent much of the last two years researching the post-Celtic Tiger fate of his country and asking both what went wrong and what needs to be done to put things right for the future.

For Alan this is not a question of banks and budgets, but more a question of rediscovering out spirit and identity.

“In these times, we question the fabric of what we are. We wonder if there is a future in our country. We look at forces bigger than us trying to rip away the fabric of our values and decency. But I resolve as I hope others will that this decade we will find our way back to something ancient and old,” says Alan.

“I hope we will find that our communities turn to each other and grow stronger. I wish in 2011 that we realise there is something that they can never take from us. Our spirit is ancient. We are of royal blood from Celtic kings. We are not fools or filled with shame.

“I hope we can create a resolution that we can fight to bring Ireland to what it can be. We can resolve in 2011 that we can shed all of the hurt from the last decade, we can rise above the corruption and scandal in the Church, the government and the banks.

“I am going to go out and make a film about this country – to capture its beauty, its majesty, its power and the strength of our people. In 2011 I hope we can show the world how we are loved in our culture and our words and art.

“It is my job in this decade as it is the job of other Irish artists that we must lead and shine a light that the whole planet will turn to see. When I travel this land I see the incredible joy in people in the original nature. I see their dancing. I see their music and their words and stories.

“In my epic new film I hope to create something that represents the best in all of us. I resolve this and make a solemn oath that what is good in us will rise. All of the hurt of the last few years will be wiped away forever. Bless us all in 2011 and for the future we can take to be ours and make this country great again.”

To learn more about Alan’s new film or to make a donation to help fund the production visit www.thespiritofirelandfilm.com.

TOURISM is a global industry. If the Irish tourism sector is to play its part in the recovery of the Irish economy in 2011, a number of factors beyond the control of Irish business, the Irish public and even Irish politics will have to be counted before the much hoped for return of the international tourist can take place.

Despite the global nature of tourism, there are a number of resolution which, according to Michael Vaughan, head of the Clare branch of the Irish Hotel Federation, could help the local tourism sector in the year to come.

“We need the British people to rediscover the value and confidence to travel to Ireland again because we have lost as much as 25 per cent of that market. As well as lending us their money they could do better still and come over here and spend some of their money with us again. That would be a huge boost to us. Germany and America in 2010 seems to be good prospects – America really seems to be bouncing back and while it’s hard to know for sure there seems to be an increase of as much as 10 per cent on last year so far which is a good sign. Germany also has a renewed buoyancy so if we work to make sure that the product is right and the price is right they we could see a bounce in the German visitors for next year,” said Michael.

“In terms of what the government could do they could always spend more money promoting the country. Every euro that is spent promoting tourism brings € 4 back into the economy which is a good return. I’d like to see a better regime when it comes to local authority charges when it comes to businesses. That is a big ask I know, because local authorities are strapped for cash at the moment.

“I think a good summer weatherwise would be a big boost for the tourist sector. I know that is asking the God above to do us a favour but that would be a real boost for us. A good summer always makes a big impact for us, at least you can guarantee a few good weeks of trade.

“What could happen and what we would very much like to see is that people who have money might come out and spend that money. There are people in the country who have money. We would hope that these people would come out in the national interest and spend a bit of money in whatever way they see fit – whether they would be buying a bowl of soup or sandwiches in a cafe or whatever. There is a lot of money out there but people are thinking that they shouldn’t be spending money because there is a recession. But it’s a strange situation, spending money is exactly what we need them to do.”

As well on a national level and international, there are things within the county of Clare itself which could bring about a boost for the local tourist trade in 2011.

“The town of Ennis is critical to us and we’d like to see a big festival in the town. There has been a lot of talk about getting the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann back to the town but either way we’d like to see more activity. I’d like to see more going on at Glór especially if it could be expanded to let it take conferences.

“That would be a huge boost to the county for us to be able to take conferences of about 500 people in the county. If we could also see the coming together of tourism interests to help each other out,” continued Michael.

“I’d like to see that proposed bridge down in Kilkee being built. Loop Head and west Clare generally is such an undiscovered part of the county and it would be great to have an iconic tourism project located down there. The people who have brought Loop Head to the forefront in recent deserve their just rewards and they deserve to continue on and to see the benefit of their labours in the months and years ahead.”

THEY may have been St Flannan’s College old boys and senior ministers in the Fianna Fáil government, but past-pupil and party fraternity didn’t stop Sylvester Barrett and Michael O’Kennedy from having a stand-off at the cabinet table and a major disagreement on the direction and financial needs of housing policy in 1980.

As Minister for Finance, O’Kennedy had control of the purse strings, but Minister for the Environment Barrett felt his department needed more money to offset what he forecast would be a huge shortage of social housing as the 1980s progressed.

Minister Barrett took his concerns and demands for an extra £30m over his budgetary allocation for social housing to the Department of Finance, warning his ministerial colleague that unless money was forthcoming new house building levels wouldn’t be able to cater for the growing demand.

Minister Barrett pointed out that “demand was so high that new house prices had virtually doubled between 1977 and 1979”, while he also warned of unrest over the housing shortage.

“The number of houses to be completed in 1982 and 1983 will be lower than in any year since 1972,” warned Minister Barrett in making his case for extra funds for the sector. “There will be growing unemployment in the building and associated industries and widespread unrest among persons who have arranged to purchase or improve houses with the aid of grants and with loans under the local authorities house purchase and improvement loan schemes.”

However, the Minister for Finance was unmoved and wasted no time in hammering home the point to his ministerial colleague that “all government departments had been warned that the scope for additional allocations this year was practically nil”.

“Despite this, the policy of the Minister for the Environment appears to be to challenge all of the main budgetary allocations within his de- partment’s ambit,” added Minister O’Kennedy as the stand-off between the two government departments escalated.

Meanwhile, the Department of the Taoiseach was keeping a watching brief on the two rowing departments before delivering another hammer blow to Minister Barrett’s housing policy in response to figures that showed the number of home improvement grants had jumped from 11,000 in 1977 to 30,000 in 1979, while the cost of administering the scheme had risen from £7m to £35m in the same period.

The home improvement grants scheme was abolished on January 21, 1980, with a final cut-off date for grant applications under the scheme being February 1 – ten days that brought the system to its knees as some 45,000 applications flooded in.

FORMER US president Ronald Reagan famously toasted his Irish roots when drinking a glass of stout in Ballyporeen in 1984 during his controversial state visit to Ireland, but four years previously it was to Clare and not Tipperary that the then White House aspirant looked to when embracing his Irishness for the first time.

Early in his campaign for the presidency, Reagan had shown little interest in tracing his Irish roots, but the State Papers from 1980 reveal that all changed when the Republican Party candidate discovered that his connections with Ireland descended back to Killaloe and the High King of Ireland, Brian Boru.

Reagan revealed his interest in his relationship to the most famous Clareman of all-time in a phone-call to Morgan Llywelyn, the acclaimed author of Lion of Ireland that was published earlier in 1980.

Details of Reagan’s phone-call to Llywelyn that occurred a matter of weeks before he was inaugurated as president came to the notice of the state after the American-born writer gave a detailed account of the conversation to Ireland’s ambassador in Washingthon, Clareman Con Howard.

“At 1.30pm on Christmas Eve I was working in my study when the telephone rang,” wrote Ms Llywelyn. “This is Ronald Reagan. When I picked myself up off the floor, the President elect told me he had called to say how impressed he was with the Lion of Ireland . ‘I just wanted you to know that you are interfering with the transition process dreadfully because I sneak away every chance I get to read your book’, Reagan said.

“He had obviously read the book thoroughly and with high retention, for he can quote chunks of it. He was warm and friendly, easy to talk with. He told me he has found much that is thought-provoking and analogous to current situations in Lion, and that he was grateful to have knowledge of that distant ancestor of his. He indicated that some of Brian’s strategies and philosophies had impressed him deeply.

“He is interested in learning more about Ireland and the Irish. He wants to know the positive things; like so many others, he had heard for too long only the negative.

“The incoming president is half Irish and glad of it, according to his own words. With so many other ma jor and immediate problems vying for his attention, he has taken the time to express a sincere and personal interest in Ireland,” concluded Llywelyn in her letter to the Dysart-born Irish ambassador, who was associated with another famous literary figure in Clare history – Brian Merriman, in whose honour he founded the Merriman Summer School in 1967.

ROGUE developers and unfinished estates might be more associated with the present economic crisis that Ireland finds itself in since the collapse of the Celtic Tiger, but State Papers released this week under the 30-year rule show that the Fianna Fáil government of 1980 was confronted by similar problems, with grassroots members of the party leading the charged all the way to the Taoiseach’s office

It meant that the problem was passed over to Clare’s Minister for the Environment of the time, Deputy Sylvester Barrett, for consideration by Taoiseach Charles Haughey after a slew of complaints about unfinished estates landed at the cabinet table.

Fianna Fáil members complained directly to Mr Haughey about developers – many of whom were party backers – after they had left many new housing estates unfinished and then abandoned them. Confidential files contained in the 1980 State Papers reveal that a memo was issued to Minister Barrett about the scourge of private developments that were left unfinished around the country. The memo, that was also circulated to other members of cabinet made specific mention of Fianna Fáil’s promise during the 1979 Local Elections campaign that “developers will have to foot the cost of completing estates one way or the other”.

At the time there were 120 unfinished estates across, many of which had serious safety concerns attached to them. “Frequently housing estates are left unfinished by builders, many of whom are known Fianna Fáil supporters,” one letter passed on to Minister Barrett by Haughey claimed.

In response to grassroots anger about unfinished developments, Mr Haughey deflected criticism of his government by saying it was ultimately the responsibility of the local authorities involved to police developers

However, Mr Haughey also pledged some government action as those concerned had been forwarded to Deputy Barrett, who in his capacity as Minister for the Environment also had responsibility for all matters local government.

CLARE TD of 20 years and former senior cabinet minister, Síle de Valera, was at the centre of AngloIrish storm over the hunger striking prisoners in the Maze Prison that was only calmed by an apology being issued to the British government by Taoiseach Charles Haughey.

Irish State papers from 1980 released under the 30-year rule have revealed that Haughey stepped in to calm any discord in Anglo-Irish relations pertaining to Northern Ireland by sending a personal apology to British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, following remarks de Valera made in support of hunger strikers in the H-Blocks.

Deputy de Valera made her remarks at a bye-election rally, at which Charles Haughey was present, denouncing the conditions in the Maze, words that set in train a chain of events that ultimately forced the Taoiseach to issue a personal apology to Mrs Thatcher.

“I did refer to Mrs Thatcher at the time as being callous,” recalled Ms de Valera years later. “I still believe that she was in terms of her approach to that whole question of the hunger strikes. Even if you were to look at it from a purely humanitarian point of view, leaving aside the political aspects of that, I was very disappointed that she should take that stance. And it was interesting at the time that I was asked by some members of Fianna Fáil to apologise to Mrs Thatcher for calling her callous,” she added.

Ms de Valera’s support of hunger strikes led to her being part of a three-person Dáil delegation to visit Bobby Sands in the Maze when he was 51 days into his protest in 1981. The others were Dr John O’Connell and Neil Blaney.

“I think it’s important to remember – Bobby Sands said it to us that day we were there that he wasn’t just fighting for the demands of the Republican prisoners at the time, but those demands should be followed through to those who were Loyalist prisoners too, and that’s something that’s always forgotten,” said Ms de Valera.

Asked if she was moved by him, she said, “I think all of us were. From a human point of view, here was someone who knew they were very close to death. It was a horrible death. I think it could’ve been prevented, I think it could’ve been prevented by giving some of the demands”.

Meanwhile, Ms de Valera’s public show of support for the hunger strikers contrasts sharply with the British government’s view of what it called “unofficial” Fianna Fáil policy on the republican protests in the Maze.

Papers from the British National Archives have revealed that Mrs Thatcher told her cabinet colleagues that “Mr Haughey had regrettably not been willing to condemn the hunger strike in public, but he had made clear in private that he did so; he had not sought to argue that the strikers’ demand for political status should be met; and he accepted that there was nothing more that the British authorities could offer them”.

This claim by Mrs Thatcher has given added substance to the notion that it was Mr Haughey who privately insisted that Ms de Valera apologise for her remarks, but in the intervening 30 years she had refused to confirm or deny this.

“It wouldn’t be fair to name (them) but some senior members of the party,” Ms de Valera said in 2006 when announcing her decision to retire from frontline politics after the 2007 General Election.

When pressed further about whether Charles Haughey had asked her to apologise to Mrs Thatcher, she replied, “We’ll leave that to one side now”.

Ironically, it was Ms de Valera who played a crucial role in Mr Haughey’s rise to the leadership of Fianna Fáíl in September 1979 when she used the platform of the annual Liam Lynch Commemoration in Fermoy to launch a scathing attack on Taoiseach Jack Lynch’s policy on the north.

“If our political leaders are not seen to be furthering our Republican aspirations through constitutional means, the idealistic young young members of our community will become disillusioned and discontented. I look to our party and particularly our leader to demonstrate his Republicanism. If we are to be true Irishmen and Irishwomen we have a solemn duty to seek the freedom of our country,” she said.

Ms de Valera’s address, coupled with the attack of Dr Bill Loughnane TD on Jack Lynch’s leadership in July 1979, helped precipitate Lynch’s decision to resign as leader of Fianna Fáil in December of that year, with Charles Haughey beating George Colley in the subsequent leadership vote.

COORACLARE’S Brendan Daly had been in the Dáil for just four year when a young Bertie Ahern was first elected in 1977. For the next two decades their political careers became more and more entwined as first Daly and then Ahern were promoted to the Cabinet table where they became both friends and close political allies.

Thinking back to those early day, the former Clare TD remembers a quieter Bertie Ahern. A political mind with undoubted talents, who had a skill of helping people to get along and wished to keep his private life to himself.

“Even in the Cabinet he was very discreet. He kept his council very much to himself and was very considered and discreet. He was Minister for Labour at the time and he was very good and finding solutions to problems at that time. He came in in the ‘80s at a time when the Depart- ment of Labour was involved in solving disputes almost every day and he made a big contribution towards the establishment of industrial peace in Ireland,” remember Brendan.

“He was a very private individual. I wasn’t aware, for example, that he was having marriage difficulties even though his close friends did. I didn’t become aware of that until I went to his father’s funeral in Dublin. It was then that I met his wife whom I had known for a long time and I found out from her. It was only that day at his father’s funeral that I became aware that they had separated – that is how much he valued his privacy.

“In my time it was very rare to see him in the Dáil bar or socialising with the TDs in the Dáil. He preferred to be with his own loyal followers in the constituency when he had any free time and not so much socialising around the Dáil.”

When the historians finish with Bertie Ahern, Brendan believes they will have much more good things to say about him than bad.

“I think the one major contribution that he made was to the situation in Northern Ireland which was a very difficult situation. I think when people begin to write in more detail about him the one thing that will be mentioned is the settlement which has brought an end to the killing and bloodshed in Northern Ireland,” continues Brendan.

“I think it what was almost as important as the Northern Irish talks was coming to that tripartite agreement with the unions, employers and the government. We were on the brink of a major industrial dispute in 1991 and this arrangement worked out by Bertie brought about the industrial piece which has remained until now.”

THE SUCCESS of the Northern Irish peace process will be Bertie Ahern’s legacy in years to come and when the current financial troubles are forgotten he will be remembered as a good Taoiseach.

That is the opinion of Kilnamona man Michael McTigue, who got to know the former Taoiseach very well when he served on the National Executive of the Fianna Fáil party for more then a decade.

“I got to know him well enough when he was Minister for Finance and I was on the National Executive of the party and I was there when he was first elected Taoiseach. He was a great man to hang around and chat after a meeting – he always seemed to have time for everybody,” said Mike.

“Mind you he was always a very disheveled looking character when he was Minister for Finance, he was probably one of the worst dressed people going into Dáil Éireann at the time.

“He had an old shinny suit on him with the pockets bulging with notes about different things.

“Nothing was too small for Bertie, he would always make time for people. I used to always get a phone call from him on Christmas Eve, and if he didn’t get me his secretary would arrange another time for him to call.

“But I think the Good Friday Agreement would have to be his greatest achievement as Taoiseach. I remember I was at his mother’s funeral when he was whisked off by helicopter back to Belfast.

“He was knocking heads together up in Northern Ireland while his mother was dying. He came down for his mother’s funeral and at the end he was whisked back over the border again.

“I remember being at his mother’s funeral and in the middle of all of that he remembered everyone’s name – that’s the sort of guy he was,” he added.

“I mean he managed to solve the most intractable political problem in western Europe, something that has been an issue for many centuries, that is some achievement.”

Despite the current economic trouble, Mike believes that Bertie Ahern will be remembered fondly by the people of Ireland.

“Right now he is taking a bit of a beating but in the long term it will have to be seen in a positive light.

“We are in a mess now and people need someone to blame but when all of this is done they will realise that we have a roads’ network now that we never had before and even now there are twice as many people working now as there were in the 1980s,” he added.

OPPOSITION politicians in Clare have given a stern thumbs down to former Taoiseach Bertie Ahearn as a possible candidate for the presidency.

Former Labour TD Dr Moosajee Bhamjee and Fine Gael TD, Pat Breen both told The Clare People that they are less than impressed with Bertie’s criticisms of the current Taoiseach.

Dr Bhamjee said, “He has left politicis and he could have offered his support and experience to the current Taoiseach from the back benches. That was the time to make his opinions heard – not now when he has left.”

The Fine Gael Deputy spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Deputy Breen, had a similar opinion.

“I don’t think he’s being fair to Cowen. After all, he was Taoiseach when the trouble started and to say that as Taoiseach that no-one told him there was a problem with the banks, that’s just unbelievable,” Deputy Breen said.

Dr Bhamjee, who was part of the Rainbow Coalition Government of 1994, said he met with Bertie Ahern at various delegations and found he “had a way of pacifying people. He is a very co-ordinated person. He made social partnerships work by his way of dealing with people.”

But despite this quality, Dr Bhamjee feels it is “time for him to go. I don’t think he is a suitable candidate for the presidency. He has stepped away from politicis and he should just go quietly now and not make the kind of statements he has made over the last few days.”

Deputy Breen accused the former Taoiseach of having “bought his way through every election. He gave everyone what they wanted”.

The Fine Gael Deputy says Bertie’s potential candidacy would do the party no good.

“His work on the peace agreement was fantastic but he has wiped that out. He will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. The Galway tent was born during his era and that’s where many of the problems we know have begun.

“He created so many junior ministries there was nearly one for everyone in the audience. He can’t stand for the presidency, there are too many ‘if’s’ .

He continued, “For a former Taoiseach to take part in an ad where he appears out of a cupboard – he’s just not a creditable candidate for Fianna Fail.”

Deputy Breen said that while Bertie “has a great presence, you’d certainly know that he’s in the room”, his departure from politics should now be swift. “He can’t change his political legacy,” Deputy Breen said.