Month: August 2011

THERE has been call for extra warning signs at a popular fishing spot near Kilkee where an off duty garda tragically fell to his death last week.

Adrian Martin (46) had been fishing from a 75-foot cliff at Dunlickey Point near Kilkee on Thursday with his six year-old son when the accident occurred. Other fishermen in the area raised the alarm when they saw the Monaghan native fall into the sea. A double tragedy was averted when another man out fishing intervened to ensure Mr Martin’s son didn’t fall over the edge.

Members of Kilkee Marine Rescue Service received a call to go to Dunlickey Point at 1.14pm. The rescue boat reached the scene at 1.32pm and a body wearing a red tracksuit top was seen floating in the water. Mr Martin’s body was recovered from the sea at 1.32pm and brought back to Kilkee Marine Rescue Centre where it was attended to by a local doctor, members of the ambulance service and the parish priest. Gardaí were present and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Manuel Di Lucia, a spokesman for Kilkee Marine Rescue Service, said, “A terrible tragedy especially for his young wife, his young little six yearold boy, who was on the cliff at the time and saw his father fall to his death. Only for other mackerel fishermen on the cliff, there is no knowing to what might have happened to that boy. They held him back.”

Mr Di Lucia has urged fishermen visiting Dunlickey Point to be careful. He said, “This is the first tragedy from that particular spot. My advice for people that are going there is to be very careful. It’s a very popular fishing area. At this point in time there is no point in saying people shouldn’t fish of it. They will. I would request that Clare County Council put up another sign to tell people that this cliff is a very dangerous area for fishing.”

As members were being de-briefed about the tragedy, the service received a call between 3.30pm and 4pm that snorklers had got into difficulty in Kilkee Bay.

One of the snorklers had returned to the shore but re-entered the water in order to save his friend. Mr Di Lucia explained, “He was in danger of actually drowning and his friend saved him and brought him onto the rocks in Kilkee. But in doing that he got badly cut to his knees and to his hand and a couple of marks on his head. The man that rescued the man actually got some injuries as well”.

The man received treatment for cuts and bruises, initially from members of the rescue service and later at Ennis General Hospital. The men are said to have made a full recovery.

THE Merriman Summer School, which concluded in Lisdoonvarna on Sunday, has backed a campaign by a west Clare county councillor to create a bursary in honour of former Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald.

Fine Gael councillor, Gabriel Keating, was behind the motion that was tabled at the June meeting of Clare County Council, and now two months later, the 44th Merriman Summer School has endorsed his move that’s to be considered by local authority chiefs.

“Garret Fitzgerald attended a number of Merriman schools over the years and made a value contribution to this Clare festival,” a Cumman Merriman spokesperson told The Clare People on Sunday, “and it would be fitting indeed if this contribution was honoured in Clare,” he added.

Councillor Keating has called for “Clare County Council in conjunction with Clare VEC to award an annual bursary to promote the development of innovation in our secondary schools in recognition of Dr Fitzgerald”.

The motion won the backing of fellow councillors but Clare County Manager, Tom Coughlan pointed out that “the awarding of a bursary had financial implications” and that “the matter would need to be considered in the context of the 2012 Clare County Council Budget”.

“I would hope that this move to honour Dr Fitzgerald in Clare would happen,” Cllr Keating told The Clare People this week.

“Dr Fitzgerald was a man who helped shape modern Ireland and was a regular visitor to Clare and had connections with the county. In this context and as an educationalist, I think that it’s fitting that a bursary should be awarded in his honour,” added Cllr Keating.

ENNIS took another large step towards hosting the All-Ireland Fleadh in 2012 this weekend when it hosted a delegation from the National Standing Committee of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.

With just 10 days to go until the announcement of who will host next years All-Ireland Fleadh, this was the local committees last change to influence the destination of valuable votes on the National Committee.

Ennis is currently in a three way competition to secure the Fleadh with Sligo and Cavan Town all bidding to host the event. Hosting the All-Ireland Fleadh is worth an estimated € 35 million to the locality which hosts it – and it could be worth a multiple of that in spin off tourism opportunities around the county.

“They seemed very pleased by what they saw in Ennis and we got a very positive response from them. There was a very impressive presentation for them, not just from he local branch but from the entire community here in Ennis,” said Rory Casey of the Local Steering Group.

“We took the delegation on a tour of all the prospective around the town and they were very pleased with what they saw.

“It was a really good presentation and we think that nothing more could really have been done to try and sway them. Whatever way things turn out we can look back at this and know that we did everything we could possible have done to bring the Fleadh to Ennis for next year.

“We have been so impressed by the amount of local support that we have received. Everyone has gotten together behind the bid. It hasn’t just been the local Comhaltas, all of the state agencies, the business and tourism communities – everyone has pulled together to try and make this a reality. What was really great about the presentation is the sheer amount of other interested bodies who took part.

“This could be the making of the summer for Ennis. You are talking in the region of € 35 million and in the current climate that will be a major boost not just for Ennis but for all of County Clare. That is one of the main things that we are pushing – that this will be not just an Ennis event but something that can be spread out to all of the county and something that can benefit all of Clare.”

GARDAI have outlined details of a number of recent burglaries that have taken place around Clare in recent weeks.

Gardai in Scariff are investigating a burglary that occurred at a house in Furnace, Whitegate, between 8.40am and 6pm on August 25.

Thieves gained access through a rear window. Items taken include a small amount of cash, two gold wedding rings, one diamond engagement ring (two small diamonds set beside a large diamond on a gold band), a gold wishbone ring, a thick gold chain with a weave design halfway round, a gold bracelet with red stone on the top, a gold chain and a gold ring with three red stones.

A burglary took place at a house in Lenabeg, Ennis, between 2.50pm on August 24 and 5.50pm and August 25. A 19-inch plasma television, an X-Box 360 console, a silver chain, a small sum of money and a black Nintendo DS.

A house in Tullagower, Kilrush, was ransacked between 8pm and 10pm on August 28. Burglars gained entry to the house by forcing open the rear door. A landline telephone and television were taken in the incident.

In Knockera, Kilrush, a quantity of diesel was stolen from two diggers parked in the area. The burglary occurred between 7pm on August 23 and 9am on August 24. Also stolen were two sets of sockets, tool box with tools inside, two large spanners and three ratchets.

A burglary took place at a house in Clarehill, Clarecastle, between 11.45pm on August 28 and 3.30am on August 29. Items stolen were a Dell laptop, a house key and a lady’s purse.

Also in Clarecastle, an incident of criminal damage occurred when two back passenger windows were smashed in a car parked outside a house at St Joseph’s Terrace.

In Kilnamona, the front bumper, front grill, front headlights and two wing mirrors were stolen from a Grey Isuzu jeep that was parked in a field. The incident occurred between 6pm on August 25 and 8am on August 26. Gardaí in Ennistymon are investigating.

FORMER Clare Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Daly was the unlikely name mentioned in the latest round of leaked cable released by the WikiLeaks organisation last week.

Mr Daly, who departed political life after the 2007 General Election, was mentioned in a communication between the US Embassy in Dublin and the American Government in Washington in relation to the “Shannon Five” who damaged an US plane parked in Shannon Airport.

The leaked top-secret document claimed that Mr Daly, who was a Senator at the time, contacted the Director of Public Prosecutions and requested an appeal against the notguilty verdict handed out to the protesters.

Speaking to The Clare People last night Mr Daly said that it was no secret that he was in favour of the use of Shannon Airport by the US Military.

He also said that he had no direct contact with anyone from the US Embassy but did remember receiving a call from someone who identified themselves as being from US Homeland Security around the time of the trial but had assumed that it was a crank call from some of his “friends in Dublin”.

“I felt at the time the we were right to allow the US to use the airport and my opinion on that hasn’t changed. It is something that is creating jobs locally and if we said no to it then they would simply fly out through Amsterdam or some other airport instead,” he said.

“I do remember at the time getting a call from someone saying they were from Homeland Security in America but I assumed at the time that it was Dooley [Clare TD Timmy Dooley] or some of my friends up in Dublin making the call.”

The Shannon Watch Organisation have been critical of Mr Daly’s stance on the matter, saying that it showed a lack of respect for the Irish judicial process.

“This cable suggests that he was not satisfied to take the decision of an Irish court – he wanted to interfere and find some way that the decision could be overturned,” said John Lannon of Shannonwatch.

“We don’t know what contact Mr Daly may have made with the DPP – whether that it was official or non official contact – but we do know that it became known to the American Ambassador that Senator Daly wanted to overturn the decision of an Irish court.”

IT LOOKS certain that one of Ireland’s most controversial clerics, Bishop Eamon Casey, will never again say Mass in public after he was taken into a Clare nursing home last week because of ill health.

The former Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora has been in a virtual limbo in the parish of Shanaglish on the Clare/Galway border since his return to Ireland in 2006.

Bishop Casey has been technically a practicing priests for the parish but has not been allowed to say Mass locally and has instead had to content himself by saying Mass for himself in his home.

Bishop Casey, who is a popular figure in the locality, was admitted to a Clare nursing home last week for a period of “respite”. One local man, who is a close neighbour of Bishop Casey, says that the disgraced bishop is “a proud man” and is hoping to return to his own home as quickly as possible.

“I was told that he would be making an appearance in the local pub this week, that he would be given a passout for the night, but we will have to wait and see,” said one neighbour.

“I know that the woman from the shop in Gort will be asking me when he [Bishop Casey] be back in to collect his daily paper again. But we don’t know. He is a proud man and I have no doubt that he will want to back to his house in Shanaglish again soon.”

A spokesperson from the Galway Diocese declined to make any statement of the health of Bishop Casey yesterday saying it was a personal matter but did confirm that there had been no change is Bishop Casey’s position regarding saying Mass again locally.

Bishop Casey was one of Ireland’s most popular religious figures before it was discovered that he had fathered a child with an Irish American woman, Annie Murphy, in 1974. This was one of the biggest scandals ever to hit the Irish Church when it came to light in 1992 and prompted Bishop Casey to tender his resignation and leave the country.

After 1992, Bishop Casey then chose to embrace the life of a foreign missionary in South America and worked with members of the Missionary Society of St James in a rural parish in Ecuador.

After a number of years in South America he moved to England before returning again to Shanaglish in 2006.

DRUNK-DRIVING is more acceptable in Clare than in any other county in Ireland with more than half of all Clare drivers would “take the chance” of driving while possibly still drunk from the previous nights drinking according to a survey from the Automobile Association of Ireland.

According to the survey, which had 14,000 responses and is the largest survey of its kind ever undertaken in Ireland, 52.4 per cent of Clare drivers would drive while still a little drunk compared to 49.8 per cent in Cavan and 49.7 per cent in Limerick.

The survey also revealed that Clare people were the third most likely in Ireland to get into a car with someone who was possible drunk.

Ennis man and head of the Irish Drivers Association, John Lernihan, says that people need their head examined if they get into a car driven by someone who is over the alcohol limit.

“Would you go on a flight with a pilot who had drink taken? I know I wouldn’t. It is the same thing, you could be killed in the car just as easily as a pilot in a plane,” said John.

“Clare is a rural county and people don’t have the public transport which is available to them in Dublin or places like that but there is no excuse to drink and drive. If you are down in a place like Kilbaha, let’s say, and want to go into Kilkee, it just can’t be done with public transport.”

Mr Lernihan has blamed the governments policy of allowing drunk drivers to pay a fine and collect penalty points for putting a price on human lives.

“The idea is to make money. They are saying that it’s okay to chance killing someone by being drunk behind the wheel and people can get away with it by paying a fine. They are doing away with the court route – it’s about fines and penalty points now and that is all about making money for the government,” continued John.

“They are putting a value on people’s lives and I think that this is an insult to the people who have lost loved ones through drunken driving. They are now saying you can take a chance and drink and drive – and buy back your license after that. The Irish Drivers Association would be in favour of a mandatory ban – it is an insult to people and their right, especially those who have lost loved ones.”