Month: February 2012

PLANS are underway to recognise three Clare people who were passengers on Titanic.

This year marks the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the Belfast built cruise liner.

Over 1,000 people died in the tragedy and now an Ennis councillor has called on Clare County Council to commemorate the Clare people who were on board the Titanic’s maiden voyage.

In a motion submitted to last Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council, Cllr Mulqueen called on the council to mark the “memory of the two Clare men who lost their lives on board the Titanic and also remembers the relations of Mary Agatha Glynn who survived this huge loss of life 100 years ago.”

Cllr Tony Mulqueen told the February meeting of Clare County Council that two men – Martin McMahon from Cragbrien, Ennis, and Daniel Keane lost their lives when the ship went down in the North Atlantic.

However, one Clare woman, 18year-old Mary Agatha Glynn from Flagmount, survived the sinking after being rescued from one of the ship’s lifeboats.

Cllr Mulqueen told the meeting that the council should commemorate Clare’s links with the Titanic by erecting a plaque in memory of the passengers.

Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), said plans are already under- way in east Clare to remember Mary Agatha Glynn. Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) backed proposals to erect a memorial plaque.

West Clare councillor, Christy Curtin (Ind) said recognition for the three Clare passengers would be appropriate.

He said Clare is a maritime county with a strong association with the sea. County Secretary Michael McNamara said the council is open to receiving suggestions about how best to mark Clare’s link to the Titanic.

CLARE Fine Gael backbencher Pat Breen yesterday questioned the credentials of Fianna Fáil when it comes to their recent protestations regarding the Government’s programme of asset disposal.

The West Clare TD said that concerns by members of the Fianna Fáil party, particularily concerning the workers in Moneypoint and Ardnacrusha, as “ringing very hollow”.

“It was Fianna Fáil who engaged Dermot McCarthy in July 2010 to undertake a review to consider the potential for the sale of state assets, including Commercial State Bodies, so any protestations now about this Government’s programme of asset disposal by Fianna Fail rings very hollow,” he said. “Our Government has reached an agreement on an asset disposal programme, as required under the EU/IMF Programme and provided for in our Programme for Government. The targeted proceeds from the programme is € 3 billion; and we have secured agreement from the Troika that a third of this € 3 billion can be reinvested into the economy to stimulate growth and jobs.

“The sale of a minority stake in the ESB will not now go ahead and the Government is committed to the retention of the ESB as a vertically integrated utility in State ownership, in spite of our decision to dispose of some of its non-strategic assets.”

“Both Ardnacrusha and Moneypoint are strategic power generating stations here in the County Clare. Ardnacrusha was the ESB’s first power station, opening in 1929, and today it continues to provide two per cent of the ESB’s total capacity.

“Moneypoint is one of the largest employers in West Clare, employ- ing up to 600 people depending on the number of contractors on site at any one time. The entire economy in West Clare benefits from having the ESB’s largest generating station based in the West.

“The workers live in Kilrush and the surrounding areas and this has a knock-on beneficial affect for local businesses and is helping to keep jobs in West Clare. Following the oil crisis in the 1970s, the generating station at Moneypoint was built in order to increase the level of ESB output and ensure that the country could become less reliant on oil imports.”

CLARE County Council should seek to tap into the wealth of expertise that exists among retired workers in order to generate ideas for job creation.

The idea was put forward by West Clare councillor Gabriel Keating at the February meeting of Clare County Council. Cllr Keating (FG) proposed that the council seek to tap into the “wealth of experience and knowledge” amassed by the “many active retired, highly qualified and talented individuals residing in Clare”.

Cllr Keating said the council should engage with people who are willing to volunteer, advice, mentor or share their skills. He told the meeting that people with ideas for job creation should be encouraged to bring their proposals to the council. He said 30 good ideas could generate 300 jobs over a period of 10 years.

Cllr Keating said people would also be encouraged to provide some financial backing to their proposals. He added that he did not want the initiative to become a “talking shop”.

Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) encouraged the council to facilitate people who can provide a role commensurate with their skills.

Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) said a broad invitation should be given to a wide section of the community. “There is a wealth of talent that can be tapped into,” he added.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said Cllr Keating’s motion should be sent to the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government to see if grant funding is available for the proposal.

In his reply, Director of Service Ger Dollard pointed to the high number of people who volunteered in Clare last year. He stated, “By the end of 2011, 731 volunteers were registered with Clare Volunteer Centre and had volunteered for 9,342 hours. The Clare Volunteer Centre, which opened in 2008 as part of a national network of volunteer centres, confirms that reduced opportunities had resulted in community and voluntary sector organisations focusing on more innovative ways to involve volunteers.”

Mr Dollard continued, “Clare County Council has a tradition of engaging volunteers in an advisory capacity with the community and voluntary sector such as voluntary housing, development of community recreation and sporting facilities including playgrounds, tourism initiatives, consultation process’ through focus groups when developing policy and identifying actions to implement policy.”

Mr Dollard told the meeting that the high number of retired people seeking to volunteer their time and expertise has emerged as a significant issue. He said the council would examine Cllr Keating’s proposal.

AN AMERICAN man is appealing to the people of West Clare to help him track down his Irish ancestors, and reunite a family that has been split apart since the Great Famine, more than 150 years ago. The Minnesota native is hoping that the people of Clare can help him track down any relatives of Mathias Breen, who hailed from the area of Kilofin in Labasheeda, and emigrated to America in 1851. Mathias Breen was born in 1833. His father’s name was Thomas Breen of Laghkil and it is thought that his father was probably Mathias Breen (Snr) of Ballina. Mathias (Jnr), who is the American’s great-grandfather, emigrated to the city of St Paul in America in 1951, just after the Great Famine. The American ancestor has contacted the Ireland Reaching Out project, asking them to assist him in tracing his Clare cousins. “The project is about connecting members of the Irish diaspora from all over the world, with people from the own parish and where their ancestors actually came from. We have volunteers in a number of parishes all over Ireland and they are researching their parishes and finding out who have gone abroad from their parish for the last 150 years. We are tracing those people and trying to reconnect the descendants of the people abroad with their parish back home,” said Paula Kennedy of the Ireland Reaching Out Project “While we normally look for people in foreign countries to connect with, we were contacted by a man in America who is looking for Breens in West Clare. He is looking for any descendants of his family and is very keen to make some sort of connections. At the moment, we have only one or two parishes in Clare who are part of the Reaching Out Project but we are hoping that more will come on board in the next little while.” Anyone who has information on the Breen family from West Clare and, specifically, any relatives of Mathias Breen is asked to visit www. irelandxo.com and make themselves known or ring 091 842013.

THE first ever Ennis Food Festival is among the proposals being considered for the next phase of the Create the Magic Initiative.

The initiative was launched last year as part of a push to make Ennis the friendliest town in Ireland. Around 40 businesses have so far backed the campaign which, through a series of seminars of workshops and seminars, focused on improving standards of customer service.

The next stage of Create the Magic will be launched in Ennis next week. Business people have met in recent weeks to develop new iniatives to help Ennis rebound from the recession.

These include plans to promote Ennis as the culinary capital of the Mid West by capitalizing on the town’s market history and popular cafés and restaurants.

According to one local businessperson, the idea was one of several put forward in light of the recent decision not to put Ennis forward for the 2013 Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann.

“After losing out on the Fleadh, it was just one of the ideas raised. Food festivals have been very popular and there hasn’t been one in Ennis before. We have a lot of cafes and restaurants. It would be ideal to have a food festival in Ennis.”

A new Create the Magic committee has been selected to guide the initiative in 2012. They are Mary Kelly, Mary Kelly Newsagents (Chair); Ciara Mulhern, Rowan Tree Café Bar & Hostel; Kathleen Sullivan, KT Sullivan & Associates; Marie Dillane, Banner Motor Factors; Mary O’Halloran, An Binsin Luachra; Sarah Malone, Zest; and Rita Mc Inerney, Ennis Chamber.

A Create the Magic information evening for the launch of the initia- tive for the coming months has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 7 at the Temple Gate Hotel, O’Connell Square, Ennis. Businesses are being urged to attend to maintain the energy of the initiative.

Members of Ennis Chamber and Ennis Development Forum, along with customer service expert Kathleen O’Sullivan, launched Create the Magic last March.

Members were also involved in the production of Ennis Share the Feeling, a promotional DVD that showcased Ennis at Christmas. The film drew over 11,000 views on sites such as YouTube and Vimeo.

MORE than € 73,000 was raised in Clare last year for Daffodil Day, as demand for the Irish Cancer Society’s free services also increased in the county. As the event’s 25th birthday approaches, the Irish Cancer Society continues to grow its support in Clare, as 733 more Clare people were diagnosed with the disease in last year.

In 2011, € 23,890 worth of financial aid was provided to people in County Clare, with services also increased.

The amount of nightcare provided by specialist cancer nurses in Clare increased from 98 nights in 2010 to 159 nights in 2011.

These nurses provided 8,110 nights of care to over 2,000 families nationally in 2011, which was an increase from 7,187 nights in 2010.

Specialist cancer nurses also supported 22,120 callers to the National Cancer Helpline (Freefone 1800 200 700) – 167 of these calls were from people in County Clare.

In 2011, the Irish Cancer Society also funded 13 Oncology Liaison Nurses in hospitals across the country to the value of € 497,943. One of these nurses is employed at the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, the centre for cancer treatment in Clare.

Travel2Care grants of € 356,966 were administered to patients across Ireland, with € 11,995 specifically going to patients in County Clare. Travel2Care is a transportation assistance fund which has been made available by the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) to patients travelling for cancer treatment and is administered by the Irish Cancer Society.

The organisation also distributed more than 688,266 cancer information booklets and fact sheets to people concerned about cancer across the country in 2011; 7,575 booklets and fact sheets were sent to people in the county. While there were 259 registered Daffodil Day supporters in Clare, many more assisted them in selling daffodils and gathering donations on the day.

John McCormack, CEO, Irish Can- cer Society said, “This year marks the 25th birthday of Daffodil Day, and, since it began in 1988, we have seen a massive increase in the demand for our services due to the ever increasing incidence of cancer.

“The latest figures from the NCRI show that there were 733 cases of cancer diagnosed in Clare last year. Now, more than ever, the services we provide are crucial.

“The money we raise on Daffodil Day goes directly to support people with cancer and their families at every stage of the cancer journey,” he said.

A CLARE third-level student will have to wait to find out whether her legal appeal against changes to the criteria for third-level grants will be successful.

The Union of Students of Ireland (USI) have brought the High Court challenge on behalf of North Clare student Mebh McCarthy, who studies at NUI Galway, as well as Dundalk IT student Robert Johnson and Iesha Rowan who is studying at the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology.

The evidence was heard in the High Court last Friday, February 24, with the judge choosing to “reserve judgement”. It is thought that a final decision on the case could be two weeks away or more.

The case has been brought against the Student Services Act which was introduced last year. The act changes the rules for third-level grants, increasing the distance that a student would have to live away from the educational institution from 24 kilometres to 45 kilometres.

Under the new rules, Mebh – who lives between Ballyvaughan and New Quay in North Clare – would be considered to live “adjacent” to NUI, Galway and with a commutable distance to the university.

The case is being seen as a test case by hundreds of students in Clare who will have their grants reduced if the new system is enforced.

Mebh is currently in receipt of a grant of between € 6,100 and € 6,700 per year to go towards rented accommodation and maintenance while she studies in NUI, Galway.

If the decision is not reversed, it will lead to a loss of between € 2,440 to € 3,900 towards her maintenance in college next year.

With no effective public transport in place in the North Clare area, Mebh will not be able to reach Galway City for college each day until after 11am. Despite working to support herself during her time in college, she is not in a position to make up the shortfall in the grants payment.

According to the Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn (LAB), the change in policy was put in place to reflect the improving public transport network in Ireland – which, he claims, has made it easier for students to commute to work.

AN Ennis man has been given the job of spearheading the implementation of the € 337 million Limerick Regeneration Programme when it comes under the control of Limerick City Council later this year.

Oliver O’Loughlin, who has over 20 years’ experience working for Limerick City Council and is currently a Director of Service in the local authority, has been appointed to this key position by Minister for Housing and Planning, Jan O’Sullivan.

Mr O’Loughlin is to head up the new dedicated office to manage the 2009-2018 Regeneration Programme, which has six more years to run as it comes under Limerick City Council control. Council officials have revealed that over a couple of months, Mr O’Loughlin will begin the process of bringing the various facets of regeneration into one dedicated office working with current chief executive Brendan Kenny.

“In the past, he has provided a link to the wider council, including the planning, roads and wider functions. He is quite familiar with the process,” said Deputy City Manager Kieran Lehane.

“He is one of the best public serv

ants. He has worked in

every department in

Limerick City Council.

He would be very ex

perienced. Oliver has a

vast knowledge of the

public service and how

it works,” said Deputy

Mayor of Limerick,

Cllr Kevin Kiely said.

“He is going to bring

his experience and

knowledge of local government. I know he is very highly thought of in the department in Dublin. As a result of this, he will be aware of ways of leveraging money for the city council and projects to benefit the city centre,” he added.

In his Limerick City Council career, Mr O’Loughlin has worked as a fire chief, a senior engineer, as well as drawing up the city’s emergency plans and helped secure funding for the Northern Distributor Road, and Green bus routes in the city.

ALMOST 17 years after it first opened, Buskers musical instrument shop will close its doors in Ennis for the final time tomorrow.

A first port of call for a generation of aspiring young musicians and the place where many of Clare and Munster’s best known touring bands popped in to get equipment, Buskers has been a part of life on O’Connell Street since March 1, 1995.

An increase in the purchase of instruments online is one of the main reasons behind owner Philly Walsh’s decision to close the business.

He explained, “It seems to me that a lot of people now are buying over the internet. Rather than go their local shop, people are buying off the internet having never had the feel for an instrument.”

Philly also believes there has been a decline in the pub music scene.

He said, “There has been a huge de cline countrywide in musical instruments sales in general, along with a decline in the pub music scene. If bands aren’t working as often, then they are not getting the basic equipment, guitar strings, leads etc.”

Having worked as a drummer with bands on the showband circuit in the early 1990s, Philly decided to open his own business in Ennis.

Philly recalled, “It had kind of run its course and I had been working on the road for a long time. I decided to open Buskers because I felt there was no place catering for band or rock musicians. You had shops for trad music but not for bands.”

Buskers originally opened as a shop for music instruments but, over the years, Philly’s work moved more towards supplying and installing audio equipment. The Ennis native will continue to operate the audio equip- ment supply and installation business.

However, Philly admits that he is sad to be closing the business. He said, “It’s been my day job for the past 17 years. You were helping out kids who were buying the first guitar or keyboard. In one way, it’s hard but, in another way, it allows me to concentrate on the PA side of the business.”

Having worked in the centre of Ennis for almost two decades, Philly believes the town is facing serious challenges from large retail developments in Limerick and Galway.

“For a lot of people, if they are living outside Ennis, its almost easier for them to take the motorway to Limerick or Galway. Somedays, by the time you get into town and get parking, you’d be in Coonagh Cross quicker.”

CLARE County Council has questioned the criteria used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when assessing the quality of waste water treatment, describing it as “too blunt”.

While the local authority have not disputed the results of the EPA’s 2009 audit of treatment plants in the county, which was released last week, they have questioned the failure notice given to the Lahinch Waste Water Treatment Plant, which passed 11 of the 12 tests carried out by the EPA in 2009.

“While we have no dispute with the factual information on test results, we feel that the EPA’s cover-all definition of non-compliant is very blunt,” said a spokesperson from Clare County Council. “We are reviewing our records to find out the date and reason for the single failure [in Lahinch]. It may have been due, for instance, to weather conditions, or very high loading during holiday period, or a maintenance or equipment fault at the time the sample was taken.”

Meanwhile, construction work planned for a number of Clare waste water treatment plants has been stalled as a result of a lack of central government funding. Projects planned for Kilrush and Kilkee, Clarecastle, Liscannor, Ballyvaughan, Quin, Shannon, Ennistymon and Ennis South are all at various levels of development but none of the projects currently been granted the financial backing needed to go forward.

According to the latest information from Clare County Council, the Kilrush and Kilkee project is still on the Government’s 2010-2012 Water Services Investment Programme (WSIP) and is currently waiting for financing before works can begin.

Works at Clarecastle which would intercept the local effluent and pump it to the proposed upgrade of Clareabbey treatment plant are now unlikely to begin until 2015 or 2016 at the earliest.

Construction work on both the Lis- cannor and Ballyvaughan waste water treatment plants were part of the government WSIP for 2006 to 2009 but have been dropped from 2010 to 2012 list of projects.

Clare County Council are also planning an upgrade of the Quin treatment plant using funding received in total from levies and that work is ready to proceed, subject to finances being available.

The Shannon sewerage scheme, which includes a new treatment plant, has been retained on the WSIP for 2010 to 2012, however Clare County Council may be forced to pay unusually high percentage of the cost of this because of the large number of industries and business in Shannon.

The construction of a new treatment plant for Ennistymon was included as part of the government’s WSIP for 2006 to 2009 but has been dropped from the latest list of likely projects while in the Ennis South area, construction of an upgrade of Clareabbey is now thought unlikely to start before 2015 while.