Month: February 2012

SHANNON Town Council member, Cllr Cathy McCafferty, has broken her silence outside the confines of the local authority chamber on her resignation from Sinn Féin that has left the party without any representation in Clare local government.

However, in issuing a statement about the controversy that has racked Sinn Féin since late 2011 after Cllr McCafferty was initially suspended and her husband Eugene McCafferty expelled from the party, she has declined to say whether she took her former party’s pledge before the 2009 local elections.

Sinn Féin authorities are adamant that Cllr McCafferty signed a pledge that she would vacate her seat on Shannon Town Council in the event of a parting of the ways between herself and the party.

“I think that it is common knowledge by now that I recently declared myself a non-party, independent Town Councillor,” said Cllr McCafferty in broaching the subject of her controversial exit from Sinn Féin party politics in a newspaper column in The Clare Courier .

“I have parted ways with Sinn Féin after a long number of years. It is not my intention to enter into a slagging match about this as I still have many friends in the party.

“For me, however, it was time to move on and I am very happy to continue to represent the people of Shannon who gave me a mandate in 2009.

“I would like to acknowledge the great support I have received from local people over the last number of weeks. This has been both humbling and very encouraging. Many have called me on the phone or texted me, but I been especially heartened by all of those people who have stopped me when out shopping or socialising to offer their encouragement and kind words of support.

“Contrary to the impression that might have been given otherwise, my situation is not unique; many others have parted ways with political parties in the past and many more will do so in the future.

“For me, I intend to honour the commitment I made when I was elected by continuing to work for a better Shannon and a fairer society,” added Cllr McCafferty.

“She hasn’t honoured a commitment she made before standing for election,” a local spokesperson for Sinn Féin has told The Clare People this week.

“That was in the party pledge she signed. It’s as simple as that,” the spokesperson added.

FOUR men have appeared in court arising out of an alleged public order disturbance in Ennis last week.

John Doherty (46), Jimmy Doherty (38) and Michael McDonagh (21) and Bernie McDonagh (44), all with addresses on the Kilrush Road, Ennis, were each granted bail subject to conditions at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

The charges relate to an alleged incident on the Kilrush Road, Ennis on February 21 (2012)

Bernie McDonagh (44), with an address at 1 Ashline Kilrush Road, is charged with engaging in threatening, insulting or abusive behaviour with the intent to provoke a breach of the peace. Bail was approved subject to McDonagh not having any contact with John or Jimmy Doherty.

Mr Hassett said that the McDon- aghs and the Dohertys lived in the same estate. He said his client understood that he was not to have any direct contact with the Dohertys.

Jimmy Doherty (38), with an address at 8 Maiville, Kilrush Road, Ennis, is charged with engaging in threatening, insulting or abusive behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace. Doherty was ordered not to have any contact with Bernie or Michael McDonagh.

Michael McDonagh (21), with an address at 1 Ashline, Kilrush Road, Ennis, is charged with threatening, insulting or abusive behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace and failing to comply with the directions of a garda.

Insp Kennedy said McDonagh was not to have any contact with John or Jimmy Doherty.

John Doherty, with an address at 4 Ashline, Kilrush Road, Ennis was charged with failing to comply with a direction of a garda. Insp Kennedy said the gardaí would consent to bail if Doherty did not have any contact with Bernie or Michael McDonagh.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy granted the State liberty to re-enter in each of the four cases should there be a breach of the bail conditions.

Each of the men was remanded on bail to appear in Ennis District Court on March 21.

A PHOTOGRAPH that captures one of the most dramatic moments in Clare’s political history has been discovered in a Dublin attic. It shows Eamon de Valera addressing a huge rally at O’Connell Square in Ennis in 1923, shortly before shots were fired at the future President of Ireland.

De Valera survived the attempt on his life and was rushed from the podium. Ms Barrett, the woman with the coat, pictured to De Valera’s right, took the bullets meant for him. She survived and married in the town.

The photograph was part of a case of material taken by the Duffy family when they left Ennis in the late 1950s. Rónán Ó Dubhthaigh discovered the case at Christmas when he went to Dublin to visit his mother. The photograph subsequently found its way back to Ennis, where it was identified by local historian Pat Brennan. Pat and members of the Steele’s Terrace Centenary Committee, including Simon O’Donnell (Chairman) and Anthony Lynch (Secretary) had issued an appeal for photographs for a new publication on one of Ennis’ oldest residential areas. The fruits of their labour Steele’s Ter ra ce: More Tha n A Centur y of Histor y, Pictures a nd Memor ies will be launched in the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis, on March 15 at 8pm. The new De Valera photograph is not included in the collection but many more memorable images are. Simon O’Donnell explained that work began on the project last August. He said there had been a great response to the committee’s appeal, with responses coming from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand. Simon also thanked the work of committee members and local researchers. He said, “Pat Brennan did a lot of the groundwork. Without him, it wouldn’t have have happened. The Clare Roots Society were a great help in getting the names of the original tenants.” The terrace is named after ‘Honest’ Tom Steele, a Protestant landowner who became a prominent member of the Catholic Association and a close friend and supporter of Daniel O’Connell. Rónán Ó Dubhthaigh would like if any readers would contact him if they have any information on the Duffy family who lived at No. 9, Steele’s Terrace. He can be contacted at anfhiontarlannteo@gma

CLARE manager Davy Fitzgerald was keen to prevent supporters from getting carried away in the wake of the Banner’s impressive win over Limerick on Saturday night.

“It’s only the first round of the league so there’s no point in people of Clare getting carried away, but all they can expect, as I’ve said from day one, is a hard working team,” he told The Clare People after the game.

“We still have things to work on and we’ll have dips but in the long run, I think the lads won’t be too far away but it’s going to take time. But we are on the right track.”

A track that leads to O’Garney Park on Sunday for the challenge of All-Ireland finalists Tipperary in the Waterford Crystal Final where another win would be seen as Clare’s most significant scalp of the season.

A NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS man remains in a serious condition in hospital following a weekend car accident in which his 33-year-old cousin was killed.

Wayne Fitzgerald was the passenger in the green Toyota Corolla that crashed on the main Tulla to Ennis Road on Friday night last.

The 22-year-old is believed to have sustained serious head and neck injuries during the single-vehicle accident.

The driver, his cousin Michael Maloney Jnr, was fatally injured in the accident.

Originally from Glencinnane, Kildysart, Michael had played under-age hurling for his county.

He captained the Clare under-16 hurling team, and had been involved with Clarecastle GAA club in his early years. Sport came naturally to him, according to local people, as he enjoyed both football and hurling.

The eldest of a family of three, Michael was the only son of Tina and Seán Maloney, and brother to Fiona and Lisa.

He is to be buried today (Tuesday) following a private ceremony.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Ennis are appealing for information about the accident.

The tragic incident occurred at approximately 7.50pm at Clooney, Quin, on the main Ennis to Tulla road, not far from Clooney Church.

The green Toyota saloon, which contained just the driver and passenger, collided with a wall and a tree.

The scene was attended by local emergency services and both occupants were taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, where Mr Maloney died from his injuries.

Gardaí are now appealing for witnesses to come forward.

“The key times of interest to the gardaí are between 7pm and 7.45pm. Did anyone see this car in the Clooney-Quin area during these times and did they notice anything about this car which should be brought to the attention of the gardaí?” a Garda spokesperson said.

A LONG-TERM cancer sufferer could only get relief from the disease by taking cannabis, a court in Ennis has heard. Jacquelene Corris (40) told gardaí that she grew 13 cannabis plants in the back kitchen of her home in Ennis for personal use to cope with a medical condition.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Corris, with an address at 4 Connolly Villas, Ennis, pleaded guilty to cultivating, without license, plants of genus cannabis. She was also charged with unlawful possession of cannabis.

Garda Francis Brennan gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution. The court heard that Garda Brennan carried out a search of the accused’s home at 4 Connolly Villas on October 24, 2011. Thirteen cannabis plants, valued at € 5,200, were found in the back kitchen of the premises, the court heard.

Garda Brennan said there was no evidence that the cannabis was to be sold. He said the plants were for Corris’ own personal use. Insp Tom Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the matter. Judge Aeneas McCarthy accepted jurisdiction.

Solicitor Joe Chambers told the court that his client, who is self-employed, suffers from long-term cancer and has the “cancer gene”. He said cancer is an ongoing problem for his client who has undergone numerous operations. He added, “The only relief she can get is from taking this plant.”

Mr Chambers said that Corris cooperated fully with gardaí and has since “varied her ways”. Judge McCarthy adjourned the matter until April 4 for preparation of a report by the probation and welfare services.

A SENIOR official with the United Nations has welcomed a proposal to develop a humanitarian aid hub at Shannon Airport,

UN Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva recently spoke to the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade on the key humanitarian priorities for the EU over the coming years.

At its meeting, members of the committee discussed the chief humanitarian concerns for the EU with the Commissioner. Taken collectively, the EU is the world’s largest humanitarian donor and accounts for around 40 per cent of global humanitarian aid.

Committee Chairman, Pat Breen TD said, “We would like to thank Commissioner Georgieva for a clear, thought-provoking and insightful statement on the EU’s role in international co-operation, humanitarian aid and crisis response. The Commissioner outlined in some detail the extent of the EU’s humanitarian aid programme and its area of operations.”

According to the Clare Fine Gael TD, Commissioner Georgieva also said she looked forward to the feasibility study on the possible development of a humanitarian aid hub at Shannon, adding that in a time of increasing fragility around the world, there was always a need for more humanitarian capabilities. The committee heard how anticipating crises, moving quickly and targeting the most vulnerable not only saved lives and avoided the preventable misery of hunger and malnutrition, but provided for a more efficient and valuable hu- manitarian response at a much lower cost.

Deputy Breen stated, “Our meeting also provided us with an opportunity to consider the current crises in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and South Sudan and the response by the EU and Ireland to the humanitarian needs in these areas. Commissioner Georgieva provided a valuable contribution to our understanding of the EU’s role in responding to crises, as well as outlining key priorities in the coming years.”

He added, “This is particularly important given Ireland’s Presidency of the European Union from January to June 2013 when we will be expected to lead discussions within the EU on humanitarian issues and Irish officials will chair the council’s Working Group on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid.”

THE special report into the future of Shannon Airport is to be published by the Government before the end of the month, the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar has revealed. However, Mr Varadkar has revealed that the report carried out on behalf of the Government by international consultants Booz and Company will be censored before publication because of “sensitive information” contained in what is the new blueprint for the development of Clare’s international airport.

“The report contains commercially sensitive information, much of which was provided on a confidential basis,” Minister Varadkar has revealed. “For this reason, it will not be possible to publish the report in full. However, I intend to publish a redacted version of the report before the end of the month, once I am satisfied that the confidential information is protected.

“I have brought the Booz report to the Government for the information of my Cabinet colleagues. I have also commenced a process of engaging in detail with relevant stakeholders. When that process has been completed, I will bring proposals to the Government on the future of Cork and Shannon airports,” he added.

Minister Varadkar was responding to a Dáil question tabled by Clare TD and Fianna Fáil spokesperson on transport, Deputy Timmy Dooley, who said that the Booz & Company report was “causing great consternation and concern among workers and tourism interests in the Shannon region”.

“They are deeply concerned that the report has not been published almost 12 months after the Government came to office on the back of expectations that it would introduce important measures to assist Shannon Airport and the wider region which would increase the number of routes at the airport and consequently boost passenger numbers.

“Expectations in the region were raised by statements and comments made by the Fine Gael Party and its partner in government. I am disappointed it is taking so long to publish the Booz report.

“I am also concerned by some of the leaks emanating from the Government or individuals who are familiar with the contents of the report. It is clear that some external interests are seeking to privatise, part-privatise or franchise in some manner the activities at the airport,” Deputy Dooley added.

“Shannon Airport has been in limbo since 2008 and I intend to end uncertainty about the airport this year,” countered Minister Varadkar.

“I appreciate that tourism and employee interests in the region are concerned about Shannon Airport. I have visited the region twice and will do so again in the next few months.

“I met representatives of trade unions and business and tourism interests and while there is legitimate concern, there is also great ambition and excitement about the opportunities that could be provided as part of a new approach to Shannon Airport.

“The status quo is not working and substantive change is needed in the way the airport operates,” Minister Varadkar added.

DOMINIC Moloney was hailed a hero who fended off a mob of thugs, as his account of the morning of September 21, 2009, was supported by the majority of witnesses both for the prosecution and defence.

For many of the witnesses that took the stand in Ennis Courthouse it was an emotional and difficult time, recalling the events that led them to flee their homes in fear.

Robert Maxwell described his neighbour as a hero. The young man told how he was woken up on the morning of September 21, 2009, to the sound of glass smashing and people “roaring up the stairs. It was like a nightmare. It was scary.”

He told how he went downstairs and got the sweeping brush to protect his mother who was being attacked by a man and a woman.

Mr Moloney’s car then came into the estate and the attackers left the house thinking it was the gardaí.

Mr Maxwell told how the assailants continued to abuse his neighbours. “They looked up to my neighbours and said ‘You are next if you are looking out the window.’ It was like a pack of animals. Everyone in the estate was frightened, not just us.”

“All I can say is he [Mr Moloney] is a hero to me. He saved my mother’s life,” he said.

Mary Maxwell, a woman who had suffered a brain tumour and a stroke, struggled to get to the witness box. Describing her age as 50 and a bit, she spoke slowly but determinedly as she battled the affects of ill health.

“I remember all this breaking noise when I was in bed and I came out on to the hallway. I didn’t even bring my walker with me that morning. I thought someone might have fallen down the stairs,” she said.

She said as she looked out into the hall she got a shock as she was hit with a weapon and pinned to the stairs. She told how she was terrified as she was hit in the side with an Shook after already receiving a blow to the head. She received 20 stitches to her face following the attack.

Mr Moloney’s daughter, Ciara (20), struggled to keep the tears at bay as she recalled her fear. She told how she was woken by the sound of breaking glass and after ringing the gardaí, she rang her father who had already left for work.

“I rang my father because the people outside were shouting up at different windows saying you would be next,” she said.

Ms Moloney broke down as she said she was petrified when her father left the estate after the windows in his car were smashed. She called him again and he returned.

“My father was only trying to save people. He has lived there for 25 years,” she said through her tears.

Her father was equally distressed as he watched his daughter give evidence in his trial.

Caroline O’Sullivan, 63 Cappa Lodge, said she was delighted that Mr Moloney had fired his gun, describing the two men and woman attacking the houses as “vicious”.

“He fired a shot which I was delighted for because they retreated back into the house. This had been going on a while. I was terrified to look out the window never mind go outside,” she said.

Lorna McDonald, 35 Cappa Lodge, fought back the tears as she recalled the scene that greeted her in her mother’s – Mary Maxwell – house later that morning. “It was unreal.”

She was visibly emotional as she described how her mother was sitting on the stairs covered in blood. “It was horrible. It was a nightmare.”

Mrs McDonald’s husband Michael McDonald was next to take the stand as a prosecution witness.

“I hadn’t seen anything like that since I was a child. I grew up in west Belfast,” he said of that morning in Cappa Lodge.

“I shot myself and I definitely saw he [Mr Moloney] wasn’t shooting [at] anyone.”

Darragh Devaney, 63 Cappa Lodge, recalled how his father locked all the family into an upstairs room on the fateful morning. Darragh had woken up to the sound of “smashing glass” and two men breaking the windows of the house. There were nine people in the house in total including his father, mother and siblings.

He described how when he went downstairs he saw a slash hook coming through the front door. He was attempting to get his blind brother out of his downstairs bedroom when their father came down and brought them all upstairs.

“He locked us all into an upstairs room,” said Mr Devaney.

Aaron Doherty, 26 Cappa Lodge, known as Dots, was called to check on Mary Maxwell that morning. A gun owner himself, Mr Doherty said there was no question in his mind. He was sure Mr Moloney was not shooting at anyone.

THE State’s chief witness was labelled a liar by counsel for the defence in his closing arguments.

In her evidence to the court Jessica Kelly (23), of Lilac Court, Keyes Park, Limerick, told how on the night of September 21, 2009, she was staying in the house of Barbara Lynch. She was going out with her brother Michael Lynch who was also staying there as was his brother Gerard.

She said that during the night the back window was broken in the house. “The boys got weapons and run out the front door. I looked down [the road] and there was a man with a long gun and I didn’t get to see him clearly. Then I got shot,” she said. “I was standing out by the wall.”

She said she received a wound to her leg and went back into the house and lay down.

Defence Counsel Pat Whyms BL reminded Ms Kelly that she faced four charges following the night in question.

The 23-year-old was charged with aggravated burglary, violent disorder, criminal damage and assault causing harm following the night in question and pleaded guilty to the first three halfway through her trial. She said she did so because her solicitor told her to.

Mr Whyms told the court how, yielding an s hook, Ms Kelly had hit Mary Maxwell. He said her evidence to the court differed from her statement to Gardaí.

“You said a BMW car drove down, hit Ger Lynch and knocked him down,” he said.

He recalled how Ms Kelly told gardaí that she was picking up Gerard Lynch when the car returned and a man jumped out with a gun and directed it at her.

“Which of these two cock and bull stories about this incidents do you want the court to believe today? Was what you told the gardaí true?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Ms Kelly, “I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“No you were not,” said Mr Whyms.