Month: August 2011

AN EAST Clare businessman has flown to the rescue of a teenager whose beloved birds were stolen.

Sean Kavanagh (15) from Clonlara was heartbroken when he went to feed his exotic birds last week, only to find that thieves had ripped out the wire on his backyard aviary and stolen them.

The Clonlara teen had worked tirelessly, cutting grass and washing neighbours’ cars and windows to earn the money to get set up in his hobby, only to have the birds stolen within days of him buying them.

When Paul Hogan, owner of the ‘Crocodile Dundee’ animal business in Ardnacrusha heard about the theft, he wanted to help.

“I got in contact with him and I was very impressed with him. He’s a lovely, genuine lad and he worked like mad to buy those birds. Some youngsters get eveything handed to them on a plate, but he worked for it. I thought it was terrible, what happened to him,” Mr Hogan told The Clare People. Paul Hogan runs Crocodile Dundee, a dog grooming service, school and kennels but he also has a mobile pet shop and has been selling and dealing with exotic birds for years.

“I wanted to do something to help Sean. I know what it’s like to have such an interest and attachment to birds,” he said.

Paul has made Sean a present of a pair of colourful cockatiels as well as some finches and canaries to fill his aviary with song once again.

“I just want to say a big thanks to Paul. It means so much, what he did,” Kavanagh told The Clare People

MOVES are being made to have a tangible tribute to mark the contribution made by the late Dr Brendan O’Regan to the aiport and the Shannon region.

Speaking about the year in which Shannon College of Hotel Management is celebrating its 60th birthday, the director, Philip J Smyth, said that it is fitting that some tribute be put in place for the man creditied with the creation of the free zone and duty free.

Now the Mayor of Shannon, Mary Brennan, intends to bring a proposal to the town council to have some landmark which will bear Dr O’Regan’s name.

The Shannon College was founded by Dr O’Regan in 1951. Mr Smyth said that in facing current financial challenges, Dr O’Regan’s vision is an inspiration which can be brought to bear.

“His entrepreneur’s spirit is exactly what is needed now. He had incredible dynamic and vision. He gave the world duty free shops, the Shannon free zone and developed the airport and then there’s our own jewel in the crown in terms of educating the hoteliers of tomorrow. It is fitting that some tribute be paid now, whether it be a statue or a road named after him or whatever,” the director said.

When contacted by The Clare People , Mayor Brennan said she would “certainly support such a suggestion. Dr O’Regan brought so much to the Shannon region. He had such foresight and brought industry and jobs here. That kind of commitment cannot be ignored.”

Mayor Brennan said that she feels that erecting a plaque or naming a road after Dr O’Regan would “be a more practical proposal than erecting a statue, given current finances. But I will be bringing a motion to the September meeting of the Shannon Town Council to that effect and I’ll speak to other members in the meantime. I’m sure my fellow councillors will support it. We owe a great deal to Dr O’Regan and the tremendous things he did here.”

Once passed by Shannon Town Council, the plan will have to go before a full meeting of Clare County Council for approval and help with funding.

THE MUSIC at the Feakle trad festival will be silenced for a time this week, as a mark of respect for a visiting group from Olso who put aside the trauma of mass murder to come and play in Clare.

An organised silence is planned during the festival and Clare County Council will open its offices on Saturday to allow the visiting musicians to see the book of condolences.

And it has emerged that a group of young East Clare musicians narrowly avoided beiung at the heart of the dreadful massacre.

The East Clare youth traditional music group and their leaders and helpers were just back from an exchange visit to Oslo when Anders Behring Breivik went on his killing rampage.

Speaking from Oslo as the group of young people prepared for their trip to Ireland last night, leader, Thor Hauknes, said that they have been deeply shocked and traumatised by the events, but were dertermined to come to Clare nonetheless.

“It is terrible and everyone is very shocked. Thankfully, none of the group were directly involved but one of them works very close to the building that was bombed but she was not there at the time. My daughter, Solveig, her friend was killed. She was a fiddle player and they had played fiddle since she was nine years old.”

Thor said that the long-planned trip to Clare will be part of the healing process for the youngsters.

“This youth exchange, getting to know other young people in Europe and learning about the music of Clare, that is so important. That is what it is about,” he told The Clare People.

The exchange between the young people from Norway and the music students from Clare is funded by the Leargas Youth In Action prgramme. 28 Clare youngsters and twenty leaders and helpers had just returned from a trip to Oslo when atrocity struck.

Music Teacher, Mary McNamara, said that everyone involved “was so shocked when we heard about it. (the murders). I can’t tell how wonderful the people in Oslo were to us and what a fantastic trip it was. It’s chilling to think of what happened and to think that but for the timing, our students could have been there.”

A period of silence is planned during the festival as a mark of respect and Mayor of Clare, Pat Hayes has organised to be at thecouncil offices to welcome the Oslo musicians and show them the book.

The young musicians, who are aged between 15 and 21, will learn about the East Clare style at classes during the week and will take part in a joint youth concert with Clare musicians on Thursday night.

“They will stay with the Clare musicians in a group as we did in Oslo. That’s the point of the exchange. As well as learning music, they live together, eat together and get to know each other,” Mary explained.

KILRUSH Town Council is to make an application to the Department of Sport for over € 1 million in funding to build a new state of the art multiuse sports facility in the West Clare capital.

The development has been earmarked for Gallery Park on the Cooraclare Road, after the conclusion of negotiations between the local the authority, the ESB and the Department of Education.

“Grant aid of up to 95 per cent is available in some areas,” Kilrush Town Manager Nora Kaye told The Clare People this week.

“I think that the grant aid applicable to this case is in the region of 85 per cent. A very cost initial estimate for the entire development would be € 1.3m,” she added.

The proposed facility will include a full-size GAA pitch, two full-size training pitches, upgrade of the tennis and basketball courts, an astroturf pitch as well as dressing rooms, playground, car parking and ancillary facilities.

It is hoped that the grant will be announced in September 2011, follow- ing which construction of the first phase will commence.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the people of Kilrush. We have waited a long time to see progress in relation to sporting with regard to the availability of land for these facilities,” said new Mayor of Kilrush Cllr Ian Lynch.

“Discussions have been held with the various sporting organisations and they are all on board with these proposals,” he added.

Kilrush town clerk John Corry said that the proposed sports complex delivers a much needed development in the town and it will provide ‘something for everyone’.

“People of all ages will be encouraged to participate in the various sports and exercise options and the completed facility will not only add to the competitive sports activities in the area but will be there to encourage people to become more active in their daily lives.

“The development of the facility will also mean that there will be employment opportunities during the construction stages and this is a welcome boost for the local economy,” added Mr Corry.

THE CLARE County Council decision to extinguish a public right of way across one of the fairways on Doonbeg Golf Club has been upheld by the High Court.

The order was made by Mr Justice Peter Charleton on Thursday last, when he dismissed a bid to quash the extinguishment of the right of way, citing the fact that the application was brought outside the legal time limits.

The judge pointed out that under court rules, an application for judicial review must be made within a maximum six months, unless there are good reasons shown to extend the time. No good reason was shown in this case, he said.

The challenge to the extinguishment of the right of way across the course was taken by James McNulty, Ballingun West, Kilrush, who said he was dismayed the local authority would extinguish a right of way to a place of natural beauty.

In his court challenge, Mr McNulty also said that the council had acted beyond its powers in this decision, and that it breached legislation on grounds including that an oral hearing relating to the proposal lacked fair procedure.

Clare County Council voted by 223 in September, 2009 in favour of extinguishing the right of way, which meant the public could no longer walk across the fourth and 14th fairways. The decision provided for an alternative right of way nearby. The plan also involved the golf club constructing a car park to be used predominantly by surfers.

Mr Justice Charleton said Mr McNulty focused on the fairness of a public hearing held by the council in October 2008 concerning its proposal to set up an alternative right of way.

While that hearing was chaired by an independent planning official, Mr McNulty had concerns the county council’s solicitor advised the inspector on legal procedures during the course of the hearing and claimed that tainted the fairness of the hearing.

Mr McNulty also argued the council’s proposal to extinguish the right of way in favour of a private arrangement between it and the golf club was outside the local authority’s powers.

TOURISM concerns in Clare say there is some cause for optomism despite a season which has been a “very mixed bag” so far.

One of the definite success stories this summer has been the opening of the Loop Head Lighthouse attraction, which is already proving to be very popular with tourists, early figures showing that 700 visitors make their way to the iconic structure.

Sources in the Clare Tourism Forum also say there has been an upside to this season.

“The opening of new attractions plays an important role. The Loophead Lighthouse opening has had a tangible effect. There are 700 people a day visiting the lighthouse and that’s growing. You’re talking about a lot of people coming into an area and they don’t just visit the lighthouse and leave. They have coffee or lunch and they spend in other ways. Talking to people on the ground, it’s been a good July and the season is holding its own.”

And there is a renewed interest among anglers and country sports enthusiasts in coming to Clare, according to Teresa Browne of East Clare Tourism. Teresa has just returned from four days manning a stand on behalf of the tourism organisation at the County Livinging Association’s annual show, the biggest of its kind in the UK.

“The angling tourism business is really down in recent years but that said, there was a lot of genuine interest and enquiries at the CLA show.

“There was also a lot of genuine sympathy for the trouble we have been going through with the economy. I would hope that the feedback at the East Clare Tourism stand will translate into tourists coming here.”

“Anyone who is involved in the North American business is doing well but the Irish don’t seem to be coming out to play,” said Mid-West Hotel Federation chairman, Michael Vaughan. The Lahinch hotelier said that a new dynamic in the industry is seeing larger towns and cities getting the tourists at the expense of smaller places like Kilkee and Kilrush.

“In those places, business has been fairly flat and I’ve been speaking to a lot of B & B owners this week. They are really struggling. But that said, the US group market is doing well and September bookings are looking good. The extra flights with Delta and Continental have brought people in as well. Overall, I would say there has been a small lift and there is cause for optimism for next year.” he told The Clare People .