Month: February 2012

ALLOWING artists occupy vacant buildings in Ennis to create and exhibit their work would add greatly to the vibrancy and image of the county capital, while at the same time guarding against vandalism and ensuring that many prime units don’t become derelict eyesores.

That’s the view of Clare County Council enterprise officer, Majella McNamara, who in throwing the weight of Clare local government behind Ennis Access to Space Initiative (EASI) has appealed to landlords to embrace the concept for enhancing the visual landscape of Ennis.

“From the point of view of landlords, we would encourage you to become involved because there isn’t really anything to lose in it for yourselves,” said Ms McNamara.

“You get to have something vital going on in your building and potential tenants can also see your building has many uses for it that might not have been considered before.

“We would encourage you all to get involved for the various different reasons, but really to revitalise the town and show that different uses can be made of the buildings,” she added.

In outlining the Clare County Council vision for EASI, Ms McNamara revealed that the local authority had “looked at a number of different schemes that might be suitable for addressing the problem in Ennis with regard to vacant properties and also to meet the demand for artists for space in the town.

“From a public perspective, this would take away some of the eyesores from the streets of Ennis and bring some vibrancy to the town. This initiative is very much about facilitating the needs of artists and helping the landlords who currently have vacant properties to add a sense of vibrancy and occupancy to their buildings.

“For the point of view of artists, craft workers and other creative people – you get to use the building to have a space in which to work and to exhibit your creative work. You also get an opportunity to contribute to the vibrancy of the town – for the people who live here, for the people who come to shop and visit, for tour- ists.

“It doesn’t look very good if buildings are vacant. One of the other aspects of the properties is that there is an increase in value to the buildings if they’re occupied. They aren’t as well maintained if they are vacant because there’s nobody in them and there’s no income.

“There’s more of an encouragement to maintain the building if they are occupied. Having the building occupied helps protect it against vandalism,” Ms McNamara added.

A DISABLED north Clare mother says she was “humiliated” and “degraded” by the manager of a Clare hotel – who refused to allow her to bring her personal assistant swimming with her and her seven month old baby.

Ann Marie Flanagan, who was the Green Party’s candidate for north Clare in the 2009 local election, says she was made to feel like a cheat and a crook by the hotel manager, who refused to allow her personal assistant free access to the facility, even though she cannot use the facilities without the aid of a trained assistant.

Ms Flanagan, who must use a wheelchair or crutches to get around, says that swimming offers her relief from her debilitating condition.

She is also a spokesperson for the National Advisory Group on Independent Living.

“I was told in no uncertain terms by the general manager of the hotel that my PA would have to pay – he acted as if I was trying to rip the hotel off.

“I explained in great detail but he didn’t seem to understand that I cannot use the facility without the help of my personal assistant,” she said.

“I felt humiliated and really very upset. I thought they would have some understanding of the situation but they made me feel like I was trying to get two for one.

“I need an assistant to get in and get out of the pool, but once I start I am usually okay. I would not be able to hold my son, Robert, in the pool all the time so my assistant helps with that as well. If a person needs a per- sonal assistant they should not have to be degraded by going into the specifics of their own personal condition.” Ms Flanagan has also paid tribute to the Woodstock Leisure Centre in Ennis who have accommodated her, her son and her personal assistant.

“Without even knowing me or anything about me, they were so helpful. I told them that I used a wheelchair and that I had a personal assistant and they were just brilliant. I have been a few times now and they have been very good and very kind,” said Ann Marie.

PLANS have been put in motion which could see Lisdoonvarna transformed into Ireland’s first ever wellness town. Despite the closure of the famous Spa Wells facility in the town, more than 8,000 German visitors came to the North Clare town last year, to walk in the grounds of the famous magnesia, iodine and iron spa.

While details for the Wellness Town Project have yet to be announced, Lisdoonvarna Fáilte last Friday issued a tender, looking for applications for someone to steer the project.

Lisdoonvarna Fáilte is a communityowned trust which owns the Spa Wells Facility as well as a number of local community facilities including the North Clare Sports and Amenity Centre and the Pavillion Theatre.

While a spokesperson from Lisdoonvarna Fáilte declined to comment on any part of the new project, The Clare People understands that an application for funding for the new position of Wellness Town Animator has been lodged with a government funding authority and a decision in likely to be made in the next 10 days.

Should this funding be granted, a person will then be appointed to assess what needs to take place in Lisdoonvarna before it can be transformed into Ireland’s first wellness town.

The Spa Wells Centre itself has been closed for more than five years and it has been an aspiration of the local business community, and Lisdoonvarna Fáilte, to reopen that facility since then.

Hundreds of thousands of people have came to Lisdoonvarna to bathe and drink at the Spa Well since it became Ireland’s first Spa Well Centre in the middle of the nineteenth century.

According to documents lodged by Lisdoonvarna Fáilte, the Wellness Town Animator would be tasked to de- velop “a model and framework aimed towards launching and managing a wellness town concept focussed on, but not exclusive to, the town of Lisdoonvarna and the assets, facilities and lands under the control of Lisdoonvarna Fáilte”.

Over the last decade, Lisdoonvarna Fáilte have helped develop the North Clare Sports and Amenity Park into one of Clare’s foremost community venues.

Complete with a community childcare facility, a playground, all-weather pitches and a GAA field, the project has also seen the restoration of the Pavillion ‘Town Hall’ Theatre.

KILKEE is now home to west Clare best cultural and library facility – a new dawn that was heralded this Monday evening when the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan formally opened the Culturlann Sweeney.

The € 1.6m redevelopment of the 1950s public library building on O’Connell Street in the west Clare town has been hailed as a major development for the arts by both Minsiter Jimmy Deenihan and Mayor of Clare, Pat Hayes.

The 8,299 sq-ft development, which is almost double the size of the original Sweeney Memorial Public Library, comprises additional library space, theatre and exhibition space, and multifunction spaces.

The new theatre and foyer/gallery facilities have been designed to accommodate approximately 110 people, while the number of book titles in the library stock exceeds 12, 500.

The project was funded by Clare County Council, in association with the Charitable Commissioners of Ireland, as well as the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government.

“The official opening of Cultúrlann Sweeney represents the completion of one of the biggest infrastructure projects to be undertaken in the West Clare area in recent years,” said Mayor Hayes. “The facility will greatly enhance the social infrastructure of the area and will help the future development of Kilkee and its environs,” he added

“The project has led to an improvement in the standard and range of independent functions within the building, allowing for different activities to occur independently. This new facility will play an important public and social role within the town”, said County Librarian, Helen Walsh.

The first County Council Library opened in Kilkee in 1945 in O’Connell Street and from 1951, when the Sweeney Memorial Library opened, there were two libraries operating in Kilkee. This Sweeney Memorial Library was founded with money bequeathed from Dr. William J. Sweeney, Union City, New Jersey, whose grandfather was born in Kilkee in 1833.

The Kilkee Public Library branch was closed in 1962, with Clare County Council taking over the running of the library from Sweeney Memorial Trust Fund following High Court Agreement was signed in 1985.

“The main reason behind the redevelopment of the previous building was that it did not sufficiently ad- dress modern accessibility requirements, nor did it possess efficient heating, advanced stage technology and the expanding functions of a modern community library,” said Clare County Council Director of Services, Bernadette Kinsella.

“The primary changes to the internal layout are the demolition of the existing toilet block to the front of the building, and the separation of library and theatre functions within the existing building.

“The new side extension contains the new floor space and gallery, the provision of lift access to the upper level, the new entrance foyer, and the upgrade of existing electrical and heating systems,” she added.

It’s expected that the Kilkee Tourist Office will be located at Culturlann Sweeney.

A CHARITY cycle to raise money to fund a live-saving operation for a Kerry footballing great will pass through Clare this weekend. From Friday, March 2, to Sunday, March 4, Noel Curran will cycle through every county in Munster to help raise money for the Paul Curran Trust.

The cycle will take him from Kerry, across the ferry into West Clare and then onto Ennis, Newmarket-onFergus and Hurlers Cross before he makes his way into Limerick City.

Paul Curran has represented Kerry at Minor, Under 21, Junior and Senior levels. He was diagnosed with bowel and liver cancer in 2010. He underwent surgery in March 2010 but he needs further life-saving surgery as soon as possible. He can only get this specific surgery in the Royal Marsden Hospital, London. It is currently scheduled for April 2012 but the cost of the surgery and associated costs may be as high as € 80,000.

The Paul Curran Trust Fund committee have set up various fundraising events around Kerry in the coming months. Anyone who is in the area of the cycle over the weekend is asked to cheer Noel on and give what support they can.

ON MONDAY, February 27, three members from the Gardaí visited Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon.

Rosaleen O’Connor, Deirdre Scanlon and Noreen King, accompanied by Barry Keating, Road Safety Officer for Clare County Council, were at the school to give all to transitionyear students on the dangers of road accidents.

Their talk included a PowerPoint presentation featuring graphic images and video clips of accidents in Ireland. The students were informed about the main factors that cause accidents – speed, alcohol and fatigue.

“The PowerPoint presentation made us more aware and cautious about road safety as it proved to us that accidents can happen very easily and anyone can be involved. The images showed us the reality of not wearing seatbelts and how much damage can be done if we’re going over the speed limit,” said the students. “It also made us think about the decisions we should make and how careful we should be on the road.”

A schools competition is being organised to raise road safety awareness, whereby students suggest methods of raising awareness. The winning idea will be promoted nationwide.

ONE OF west Clare’s most scenic walks has been targeted for industrial fly-tippers, with a large amount of industrial waste being dumped at the “back strand” of Seafield in Quilty last week. The rubbish was found by local photographer and nature lover, Ann O’Connell, who discovered the rubbish while out walking last Wednesday. The waste included a number of light fittings and long-life bulbs. Also included in the waste was the remains of at least one computer and a metre stick. Because of the nature of the rubbish Ann believes that it may have been dumped by someone in the construction industry to avoid from paying recycling or landfill costs for the waste. “I came across the waste last Wednesday while I was out walking and taking photographs. I know that it is a recent dump because I walked the same route four days previous to that and it wasn’t there,” said Ann. “There was a load of spotlights and low energy bulbs dumped aswell-as what looked like a computer and some other industrial waste. We don’t know who dumped it, but maybe it was a builder or contractor who didn’t want to pay to dispose of the waste properly. “It is a very scenic scenic area. I do walking there a lot and there are great views of the ocean and out towards Mutton Island and the Cliffs of Moher. This isn’t the first time that dumping like this has taken place in the area – not at all. It is a rocky enough place where it is dumped so I would imagine that the person who dumped this would have to be a local. “If children were to wander onto this rubbish it is the sort of stuff that could be very dangerous to them. They could injure themselves or get cut quite easily. There is also a very large ‘no dumping’ sign in the area so there is no excuse for whomever did this. It is just irresponsible.”

MORE than € 140,000 could shortly be released to community groups in Inagh and Kilnamona by Clare County Council, once a number of projects have been evaluated by a panel that is expected to announce their decision following a meeting on March 8th.

The money is part of a community fund which was set up to compensate local organisations for the construction of the local authority’s Central Waste Management Facility in Ballyduff beg in 2002.

According to an agreement, a small percentage of the profit made by Clare County Council on every tonne of waste taken in at Ballyduffbeg would be allocated to local “environmental” projects.

Between 2004 and 2006, a total of € 267,000 was allocated to local community groups under the scheme. At present, the local community is due to receive more than € 140,000 for waste disposed of in Ballyduff beg during 2007 and 2008. In addition, while the amount of landfill waste going to the Central Waste Management Facility has decreased in recent years, it is estimated that the community fund can expect as much as € 100,000 for waste disposed of in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

“My information is that this money has not been paid out since 2007 and I can’t understand why this should be the case,” said Cllr James Breen (IND), who campaigned against the siting of the Central Waste Management Facility in Ballyduff beg.

Clare County Council invited applications for funding in late 2009 for sustainable community based environmental initiatives or projects in the parishes of Inagh, Kilnamona and Cloonanaha under the Central Waste Management Facility Community Fund. The total funding available is € 140,775. A number of applications were received and are presently under adjudication by an independent Evaluation Panel. The Evaluation Panel is made up of six members in- cluding the Chairperson, three representatives from the local community, a representative from the community sector, a representative from the educational sector and a representative from Clare County Council.

No timescale has yet put in place for payments from 2009, 2010 and 2011.

“A number of meetings have taken place and when a recommendation is received from the evaluation panel, it will be placed before the members of Clare County Council for consideration. The next meeting of the evaluation panel is scheduled for March 8,” said Betty Devanny of Environment and Water Services with Clare County Council.

NORTH Clare has lost one of its iconic local businesses with the closure of Crosbies shop in Ennistymon after 21 years in operation. The shop, which was located in a prime retail spot at the Square in Ennistymon, closed last month with the effects of low-cost air travel being blamed for the demise.

According to proprietor Robert Crosbie, the shop was already facing difficulty before the beginning of the recession. Robert, who is also one of the driving firces behind the Project Ennistymon local business iniatitive, believes that a mixture of Irish people holidaying abroad and tourists having more restricted baggage allowances has put pressure on many high-end gift retailers.

“The viability of shops such as Crosbies was already threatened in due part by low-cost air travel. Cheap flights out of Ireland meant a lot of Irish people were going abroad for holidays, thus not spending at home,” said Robert.

“This, you might say, was balanced by tourists coming to Ireland but, because of luggage restrictions, these visitors did not have the same capacity to spend. And this was happening long before the recession hit.”

The window displays created by Suzanne Crosbie have been a local highlight for many years. Accord- ing to Suzanne, the fun of interacting with the local customers will be one of the things that she misses the most.

“We catered for the high end of the gifts and home accessories market and, as everyone knows, when money gets scarce, luxury goods are the first to feel the pinch,” said Suzanne.

“We loved the shop. and our customers. There wasn’t a day when you wouldn’t have a laugh about something. We are not young enough or old enough to stay in this type of business.

“I had always envisaged that by 2010 I would be able to ease up on working hands-on in the shop but the reality was that I was there six days a week, and after two years, I felt it was time to turn the corner.”

Crosbies first opened in June of 1991 and very quickly became an iconic feature of Ennistymon and North Clare. The high profile of the shop was in part due to Robert’s creation of the Folding Apple Basket, which was featured on the Late Late Show in 1994 and became an overnight success for the business.

The shop received the Best Traditional Shopfront Award from Clare County Council in 1995 and Robert and Suzanne won Clare Retailers of the Year in the FBD Excellence Awards for 2010.

Robert and Suzanne are currently looking at a number of new possibilities for the premises.

THE VOICE of one of Clare’s greatest living traditional musicians is set to appear in a revolutionary new album – which has been composed entirely from a series of spoken word interviews with some of the leading lights in Irish music.

East Clare fiddler Martin Hayes will feature on a new record entitled ‘The Speech Project’ which is the brainchild of Mancunian fiddler, composer and producer Gerry Diver.

Diver has taken a series of interviews with Hayes, as-well-as the likes of Christy Moore, and Damien Dempsey and harnessed the technical cadence of their speech patterns and composed melody lines to complement the musicality inherent in their words.

This revolutionary new way of composing music has led to a number of interesting discoveries – not least of which being the fact that Martin Hayes speaks in the key of G-minor.

According to Diver, Martin Hayes’ Clare brogue “drips with musical- ity”.

“There was even some parallels between Hayes’ words and music. A lot of his tunes are in G minor and Martin speaks a lot in G minor, too,” said Diver.

“Really, this all started as a happy accident. I heard an interview with Galway accordion player Joe Cooley and just happened to notice his voice pitch. There was no grand plan.

“Some of it was about the speech melody – taking the pitch and rhythm and putting those into a musical context by finding the musical and melodic contours that are there. For me, the parts that tended to stand out were where the interview became quite emotionally charged.

“So, for example, when Christy Moore talks about something that was quite emotional for him, he tended to go into D minor. So there’s a link between emotion and the more tonal parts of speech.

“I think people might listen to The Speech Project at different levels. They might listen to the content – to what is being said, but, in terms of the context, there’s more of a slight of ear pattern happening as well. Music sometimes expresses things which words can, and I hope that I’ve managed to find that balance between content, emotion and context.”

After spending decades based in America, Martin Hayes returned to East Clare last year. He has recently released his second album as part of the Triúr group which also includes Peader O’Riada and Caoimhin O’Raghallaigh.