Month: September 2011

IT’S 30 years now since Clare first scaled the heights of the National Tidy Towns when Mountshannon brought the overall title home for the first time ever, but it’s in the last decade that the county has showcased itself as one of the leading lights of the hugely prestigious competition that dates from 1958.

Figures secured by The Clare People this week give a breakdown of how far the county has come in 10 years – from the smallest centres like Bridgetown with less than 200 of a population through to the county capital of Ennis that has emerged as the flagship of Clare Tidy Towns in recent years.

Firstly, it’s in terms of participat- ing centres, with the numbers of towns and villages taking part in the competition having mushroomed in recent years on the back of greater community involvement and awareness of the importance of the local environment.

In 2002, the number of entries from Clare was 27, but in the intervening decade that has risen by 22 per cent, with 34 entries in 2011, but more significant than that rise in participation has been a huge jump in the standard of entries from Clare.

Pride of place in this regard goes to centres like Ballynacally – 10 years ago it returned an overall mark of 218, but in the intervening period has made rapid strides through the ranks of Tidy Towns in the county, winning a Gold Medal in this year’s event af- ter returning a hugely impressive mark of 305.

Once again, Ennis has proven itself to be Clare’s most consistent Tidy Towns performer, winning a Gold Medal in every year over the past decade. Ennis’ drive to the top started at the beginning of the decade and culminated with overall victory in 2005, while they’ve maintained those high standards since then, winning the Tidiest Large Urban Centre Award in 2006 through to another Gold Medal-winning performance this year.

Meanwhile, Mountshannon’s enduring involvement in Tidy Towns received national recognition once more thanks to their Silver Medalwinning performance, 30 years after they blazed a trail for the county by winning the overall award.

At the presentation of the awards in Dublin on Monday, Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan, praised those from Clare who participated in this year’s competition.

“I continue to be impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm of all those involved in the Tidy Towns effort,” he said. “These people volunteer their time and effort, year on year, in order to make their communities better places.

“The results of their efforts are to be seen in attractive, well cared for towns and villages throughout the country. It is clear that working together, getting out there and getting things done increases peoples’ pride in where they live and helps to build stronger communities,” he added.

THE Chairman of Ennis Tidy Towns says he is happy Ennis has retained its “elite” status after the town won county and regional honours at the National Tidy Towns awards yesterday.

Ennis placed fifth overall, scoring a total of 307 points, just three marks shy of winners Killarney. Ennis won a county award, the mid-west regional award and a gold medal.

The county capital also narrowly missed out on reclaiming the prize for Ireland’s tidiest large urban centre, with the honour going to the home of the newly crowned All-Ireland hurling champions, Kilkenny.

“I was talking to one of the adjudicators and he said it was only a toss of a coin, there was only one point between us. It’s Kilkenny’s year, I suppose. We had won it a few times and we were hoping to get it back. But we’re quite happy,” explains Ennis Tidy Towns Chairman, Noel Crowley.

The adjudicator’s report praised Ennis for it’s “structured approach to ongoing developments in the town.”

It continues, “There are many examples of good planning policy, good design and imaginative and colourful presentations dispersed throughout. New developments have integrated well and have strengthened the traditional identity and ethos of your historical location, while continuing an important programme of development for the youth. Well done on your success in the Tidy Towns competition, which is well deserved.”

Mr Crowley says, “We were fifth out of 820, which is no mean achievement. It’s hard to stay at the top because you only climb up incrementally.”

“To stay at the top is the hardest thing to do. The mark we got this year would have it won it last year and the year before that. So we’re happy to stay at the elite end of the competition,” he adds.

On the area of litter control in Ennis, the report states, “Your litter programme is working well, considering that the town hosted a number of events over the weekend. The employment of litter wardens is a very good initiative as is your campaign of promoting civic pride through your liaison with the Green Schools and the Spring Day Programmes. Once again the main streets were generally litter free while some back areas had small scatterings of litter. The river area looked very well.”

The report also compliments the efforts of local residents associations.

It states, “The various initiatives you have undertaken in this category are effective. Categorising areas for competition and the holding of prizegiving ceremonies is a great way of promoting environmental issues in the many housing estates in your town.

“This adjudicator was very impressed with new developments at Cloughleigh including the HSE Community Resource House and the new playground. The announcement name sign of the various estates and many individual colourful private gardens were admired here. Well done on this effort.”

Mr Crowley hopes the unveiling of four new statues in the coming months will boost Ennis’ chances of landing the top prize next year.

He also thanked all those who had contributed to Ennis’ ongoing success in the competition, saying, “Everyone in Ennis is part of this. It’s not the committee. It’s everyone.”

A FORMER Mayor of Kilrush is to take the fight against the centralistation of local government services in Ennis to the floor of a public meeting of his local town council this week, in a move which is expected to receive the unanimous backing of fellow members of the council.

Cllr Tom Prendeville has lashed out at what he calls “the diminuition of services” in the west Clare capital, following the recent move that requires drivers wishing to renew their motor tax to do so by way of the internet only, rather than through a facility that was available to them in Kilrush.

Speaking ahead of his motion before the September meeting of Kilrush Town Council, the Fianna Fáil councillor blasted the decision to remove the motor tax renewal facility from the local Town Hall in Kilrush.

Cllr Prendeville has highlighted what he calls the “lack of consultation” with people in west Clare and its local representatives before the decision to remove the Kilrush facility was made, labelling it evidence of “the centralisation of services to Clare County Council headquarters in Ennis”.

Cllr Prendeville has called on Clare County Council “to restore the motor tax service which was available under the much-vaunted ‘one-stopshop initiative in the Town Hall until recent weeks.

“From now onwards, members of the public are being asked to renew their road tax online, even though a great majority of car-owners don’t have access to internet facilities.

“The removal of the service is an inconvenience to west Clare and is being seen as a further centralisation of services to Áras an Chontae and it is a source of regret that public consultation was not entered into before the service was withdrawn,” he added.

THE match may not live long in the memory but for members of the Tulla Pipe Band the meeting of Ireland and Slovakia in last Friday’s European Championship qualifier was certainly an unforgettable experience.

After years of performing at some of the country’s biggest sporting and cultural events, the band played for over 40,000 fans and an international television audience of millions when they performed the national anthems of the respective nations at the Aviva Stadium.

The band were invited to perform after impressing Football Association of Ireland (FAI) CEO John Delaney during a visit to Tulla in July. An invitation for a first ever performance at the old Lansdowne Road was extended to the band by the FAI through Tulla United.

Club players and officials accompanied the 26 band members and assistant treasurer Mary Boland to Dublin on Friday.

“We got there at 5pm on the button and the bus pulled into the tunnel in the stadium. I suppose it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get into the heart of the stadium,” recalled band Chairman Fintan Leamy.

The band ran through a 20-minute sound check and rehearsal before returning to their dressing room beside the Slovakian national team.

Fintan said, “They were right next door to us. They came out to try and warm up in the warm up area where we had left our equipment and instruments. I think it obstructed them. I don’t know if they were put there for tactical reasons!”

The band spent six weeks preparing for the event, making sure their performance conformed to the strict requirements of television schedules.

He continued, “We were back out on the pitch at exactly 7.29pm, that was our time slot to be out on the field. The playing of the two anthems came in at around 2mins 30secs and we had to shorten it by about 10-15 seconds…It was the most technically managed event we ever played at.”

Fintan added, “We had it all very well rehearsed. From the gate to the pitch in Tulla is almost the exact same length as the tunnel in the Aviva. We were 100 per cent prepared.”

While Slovak fans gave a rapturous response to the band’s version of ‘Lighting over the Tatras’, Fintan said the players weren’t sure what to make of it.

He explained, “The Slovak players were a little surprised on hearing their anthem played on pipe music. The fans were certainly rejoicing in it. It’s normally played in an orchestral band format. It was a totally new sound (for them).”

Band members were congratulated on their performance by John Delaney and former Republic of Ireland international Ray Houghton.

Fintan said he hopes the high profile association with the world of international soccer will help attract a new generation of musicians to the band who this year celebrate 75 years in existence.

He added, “Any band would love the exposure. It’s great advertising. Certainly we would love to do it again.”

THE announcement of 35 new jobs for Gort could be the first in a series of jobs announcements for the locality, according to the local Chamber of Commerce.

US-based company CareFusion are to add 35 new full-time positions to their medical equipment manufacturing centre in Gort before the end of the year. This company currently employs 90 full-time and 15 contract workers and the latest jobs announcement will swell their number to just under 150 workers.

According to Chamber of Commerce spokesperson and local councillor Gerry Finnerty (FF), this investment proves that the infrastructure is now in place in Gort to cater for large-scale factories and investment. Over the past 12 months, Gort has seen the completion of the Gort/Crusheen bypass, which gives the town motorway access to Shannon Airport, and the local water and sewerage scheme.

“It isn’t so much the number of new jobs. This is a vote of confidence for the area and an indication that we will certainly be able to hold onto the jobs which are already here. The size of this operation now shows that we have the infrastructure here in Gort to attract major companies,” he said.

“We now have the motorway and access to Shannon Airport, which is very important. And we have the new water system and good broadband, which is all very important for attracting business.”

The new jobs are also expected to have a large spin-off for other local businesses, with more money being spent in the locality by the increased factory workers.

CareFusion was established in Gort in 2006 with just 12 staff members. The company now employs more than 15,000 in more than 20 countries worldwide.

Since the Gort/Crusheen bypass opened 10 months ago, the retail sector in the town has seen an increase in trade with better access to the town and a reduction in congestion leading to more people chopping in the area.

A number of businesses in the hospitality sector have seen a reduction, however, with a lessening in the passing trade using local cafes, bars and hotels.

ONE of east Clare’s largest employers, Beckman Coulter, is seeking up to 20 voluntary redundancies from its plant in O’Callaghan’s Mills as part of a major restructuring of the company.

The redundancies are to be spread between the company’s two Irish plants – the O’Callaghan Mills facility which employs 180 people, and a facility in Galway City which employs 190.

These redundancies are the first part of a major restructuring of the company which could lead to a closure of one of the two plants, with operations to be consolidated in ei- ther Galway or east Clare.

According to Clare SIPTU spokesperson Mary O’Donnell, who is working with the Beckman Coulter employees in O’Callaghan’s Mills, it looks likely that there will be enough staff members willing to take redundancy at this time.

However, SIPTU officials in Clare and Galway are monitoring the situation and hope to interact with Beckman Coulter management concerning any possible closure.

“At this point, we have the impression that there will be enough people to take up the voluntary redundancies so there is no plan for any union actions at this point,” she said.

“We are also monitoring the situa- tion regarding the proposed closure of one of the facilities. At this point, we have been given no timetable for when a decision on that is likely to take place.”

In a statement to all staff last week, Beckman Coulter president Bob Hurley said that eight per cent of the company’s 12,000 employees, or just under 1,000 employees, would be affected by the restructuring.

He said that management of the company were in the process of “making many tough decisions” about the future of the company and that any lay-off in facilities outside the US would “follow all local laws and legal requirements”.

Beckman Coulter was bought by Washington-based technology firm Danaher last July and have been in the process of a major restructuring of operations since then.

These latest job losses for O’Callaghan’s Mills come after 59 employees were let go at the facility in 2009.

These lay-offs were made following Beckman Coulter’s acquisition of the facility from Olympus Life Sciences in August of that year.

The reduction came when Beckman Coulter had to choose between getting rid of its Immunoassay Departments in either Clare or Galway. The factory has existed in the Lismeehan area of O’Callaghan’s Mills for more than 30 years.

KILRUSH was once considered as a potential site for the Harland & Wolff shipyard, but it’s as close as the West Clare capital came to the Titanic – the ill-fated White Star Line ship that came to a watery end on the Atlantic 100 years ago next April.

Until now that is, because this Tuesday – 150 years after Harland & Wolff nearly made a home for itself in Kilrush – the Titanic is finally coming to West Clare thanks Jackie Whelan’s West Clare Railway in Moyasta that’s being given a lead part in new documentary on the most famous vessel in maritime history.

International distributor ZDF Enterprises is co-producing a € 1.6 million documentary on the men below the Titanic’s deck with Irish production company Tile Films and German-based Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion.

“They’ve come to the West Clare for a couple of reasons,” Whelan told The Cla re People this week. “I have the only steam-operated engine in the country and the final journey made by a lot of people before they boarded the Titanic was on a steam train. “They are re-enacting that scene, while they also want to film the boiler we have in the Slieve Callan engine, because in many ways its similar to the boilers that were used to power the Titanic,” added Whelan. Saving the Titanic, which will be available to mark the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking on April 14, 2012, will use eyewitness accounts to tell the story of six engineers who were below the Titanic’s deck. The production budget is more than € 1.6 million and will include largescale re-enactments and computer generated imagery to bring to life the last hours of the Titanic. The Irish/German co-production is being funded by ZDF Enterprises, RTÉ, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and the Irish Film Board. “It’s great that they’re coming back to the West Clare,” said Whelan. “Four or five different film crews have been here for filming and it’s great publicity for what we are trying to do,” he added. The West Clare Railway’s first brush with film came back in 1956 when acclaimed Holywood director John Ford used the narrow gauge railway to film

GARDAÍ are investigating the seizure of four kilos of methadrone, a heroin substitute, in two connected hauls over the weekend. The total value of the drug is almost € 175,000.

The first two kilos was seized by gardaí during the search of a car on the Tulla Road in Ennis last Thursday afternoon.

In a follow-up search, another two kilos of the drug was seized in a bog in the Ballymaley area on Saturday evening. The drugs discovered in each seizure is valued at approximately € 87,000, according to gardaí.

A man in his 40s, from county Clare, was arrested at the scene on Thursday. He was detained at Ennis Garda Station, before being released without charge on Saturday evening. A file is being prepared by gardaí for the DPP’s office.

Gardaí say that the amount of this type of drug – which was sold in the head shops nationwide prior to their closure last year – is significant.

The head of the Clare Garda Division Chief Superintendent John Kerin said gardaí are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the seizures of the cheaper substitute for heroin.

“This is the first significant seizure in Clare and we are not aware of too many of them around the country. It’s unusual in this regard,” he said. He described the amount seized as “surprising”. “It is a substitute for heroin and is very addictive. The amount found is quite surprising. We would never have come across anything of this nature previously,” he said. “People of any age group who are sampling them are likely to get addicted. People were using them and there were all kinds of bad reactions to them and they have led to the commission of crime. It has serious side effects and has been known to be involved in the commission of crime, criminal damage and attempted suicide,” he said. “They can be even more addictive than heroin and cocaine,” he said. “We are delighted to take it off the streets. It’s worrying that we have a quantity like this,” he said. This significant seizure follows six seizures of small quantities of the drug from individuals during random searches by gardaí in recent months.

TWO tragedies marred the summer on the county’s waters.

After a busy summer on the county’s beaches, the 30 lifeguards completed their final tasks of 2010 at the weekend.

The lifeguards at the county’s beaches finished their duties for this year at the end of August, but those at the busiest beaches – Lahinch, Kilkee, Spanish Point and Fanore worked until Sunday evening.

There were two tragedies on the waters in Clare – the death of a Limerick woman while out swimming near Liscannor in June and the death of a man while out fishing in Kilkee two weeks ago – during the summer.

A number of rescues took place during the summer months, the most serious of which were in Spanish Point after two people got into difficulty in separate swimming incidents.

The county’s Water Safety Officer Liam Griffin reflected on the summer, saying, “The weather wasn’t as good as we would like to see. There were a number of rescues. There were a couple at Spanish Point that were quite serious.”

A number of other rescues also took place in Lahinch and Fanore. Lifeguards also had to deal with several missing children in several of the seaside resorts in Clare.

“We had 30 lifeguards on duty covering 12 different beaches; four in Lahinch, four in Kilkee, three in Spanish Point, three in Fanore and two at the others,” he said.

The other beaches covered were Bishop’s Quarter in Ballyvaughan; Doolin; White Strand, Miltown Malbay; Seafield, Quilty; Whitestrand, Doonbeg; Cappagh, Kilrush; Ballycuggeran and Mountshannon.

Mr Griffin stressed the importance of swimming in public areas over the coming months when the lifeguards are off duty.

“In many cases, people are not aware of the dangers of the water. If people are in strange places, they should ask locals. People who lose their lives in the West Clare area are not locals. Locals know and appreciate the dangers and will help,” said Mr Griffin.

“The advice is to go to areas regularly frequented by other users and don’t go swimming in isolated areas. If you are going boating, life jackets are vital. They are not expensive to buy,” he said.

AIR QUALITY issues have emerged yet again in Shannon, according to local residents in the town.

The town has been plagued by concerns over unsavoury smells emanating in recent years. In March of this year, the Environmental Protection Agency put monitoring measures in place and recorded a result of ‘good’ at the time. This was upgraded to the top possible result of ‘very good’ last month, and the latest figures are set to be made available later this week.

The EPA’s mobile laboratory, which is located in the town, actively analy ses the quality of air in the town and surrounding areas. This is part of a comprehensive assessment of air quality in all major cities and towns in Ireland.

However, Fine Gael Senator Tony Mulcahy, who first brought the issue to the public’s attention several years ago, said that there have been several complaints in recent weeks over odours. “We have a very bad sewage smell and an unsavoury pungent odour. I have had complaints from Smithstown and the lower half of the town; Ballycasey and Tullyvarraga. I am getting a very bad sewage smell myself,” said Mr Mulcahy, who lives in the town. “I am getting complaints about a pungent odour at weekends. A few people have rang me with the same thing,” he said.

“If it is a sewage issue we need it cleaned up as soon as possible. We need it identified,” he said. “Up until now there hasn’t been an issue but in the last two weeks there has been a smell. We had a similar issue last year. It is something we need to resolve. We need to establish where they are coming from,” said Mr Mulcahy.

When the EPA announced the measure in March, it indicated that the initiative would continue for up to a year. The assessment was started, on foot of requests from local town councillors. This assessment is done via a trailer which is located at the rear of the civic offices in Shannon. Analysers are contained in the trailer and these are read on a regular basis.

In addition to the trailers that are moved from one location to another, there is also a fixed network whereby a number of sites nationwide are monitored on a continuous basis. One of those sites is Ennis. Concentrations of oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and benzene and toluene are being measured. The index is based on four parameters – sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter.

According to data from the EPA, there was one exceedance of particulate matter to-date this year.