Month: April 2012

THE mother of a Clare toddler who had feared that her daughter would die in her arms following a brutal dog attack, was last night relieved that her three-year-old was sitting up and entertaining nursing staff.

Little Abbey O’Donoghue from Ballynacally received 60 stitches to her head, arms and under her ear after the canine attacked her at a family birthday party on Saturday afternoon.

Her worried father Cathal said it was a sight he will never forget and will haunt him and his family for years to come.

Cathal and his wife Caroline, along with their children Jonathan (6), Kelsey (5), Abbey (3), Jake (2) and baby Ruby, aged five months, had visited his sister’s home that day to give his niece a card for her 21st birthday.

The children had decided to go outside to the garage with their cousin to get some crisps, but as little Abbey was leaving the house, the family Siberian husky ‘Red’ unexpectedly pounced on her.

“She was just outside the door and we heard the screaming of her cousin.

“Abbey was also screaming and telling the dog to stop biting her. My brother-in-law ran out past me and jumped on the dog.

INDEPENDENT thinkers such as Ann Cronin, Madeline McAleer and Sarah Ferrigan would be welcomed into the newly formed Irish Citizens Party, according to party founder Jim Connolly.

Mr Connolly, who secured 978 firstpreference votes in last year’s general election, says that he would welcome the inclusion of anyone in the Irish Citizen’s Party but he hopes especially to give a voice to groups that currently lack political leadership.

“It is possible that a lot of the candidates [who ran in the 2011 General Election in Clare] would have similar views to the ones set out for the Irish Citizens Party. This party is open to everybody. I think if you look into it, you’ll find that the current political system does not give a voice to a lot of different groups and we would hope to address that,” said Mr Connolly.

“I think one of the great scandals of my lifetime is the tens of thousands of people who are locked into urban disadavantage and the endless cycle of despair and are never ever given a political voice. These people would be more than welcome in the party. I want it to cater to every group. There is no party in Ireland based on humanitarian principles and that is the gap that I wish to fill.”

According to Jim, one of the main motivations for setting up the party is to make Ireland better for his eight grandchildren, all of whom live in rural West Clare.

“I set up organisations that have involved thousands of people and brought thousands of people to live in the West of Ireland. But also, I have eight grandchildren who are now living out in West Clare; they are the people I am living for. They are the people who make me want to try and build a better Ireland,” he continued.

“I think you need to try. If you sit back and complain, then you have lost before you start. If you say no, maybe you are avoiding the possibility of failing down the line but you’re also making sure that nothing will change. If you say yes to something, then something may happen.”

THE first meeting of Ireland’s newest political party, The Irish Citizens Party, will take place in Ennis in the coming weeks.

The party, which was founded last week by West Clare man, Jim Connolly, has styled itself as a humanitarian party which promises a number of “radical ideas” on how to approach the future of Ireland.

Mr Connolly, who has ran both as an Independent and Labour candi- date in previous elections, says he will not be putting his name forward for election again, but says that he hopes to have a number of candidates in Clare and other counties in time for the local election in 2014.

“I will extend an open invitation to everyone who wants to attend that meeting. There will be no membership fees charged, nothing like that. The meeting will be about throwing the idea of the party around and seeing what people think of it,” he said.

“I need people to get involved for this to progress. This is entirely peo- ple-orientated but there are a lot of radical proposals to it that people may need time to absorb.

“In my view, there is no alternative but to go back to basic humanitarian values, and a system based on rules that the people are happy to live under. I have decided to launch this party long in advance of any election. I have declared that I will not be running again for politics. I think there is need for this party, but it is the party itself that will select the candidates and I won’t be one of them.

“What I am bringing is the drive to set it up but also I have a track record for setting up organisations that work. This is not for financial gain or any other motivation like that; this is about me trying to respond to what is going on in Ireland over the next few years, however long I am alive. I want to combat what has been happened and where it is going.”

Mr Connolly, who is also the founder of the Rural Resettlement Ireland and the man behind the Open Fairs – which are designed to promote new small businesses – believes that his party can spread beyond Clare before the 2014 local election.

“Democracy starts at a local level but I have seen how quickly an idea can spread. The Open Fairs have spread so quickly, due largely to the internet, and they are now taking place throughout the country. We are in a new era and things can happen faster and bigger than ever before. We are talking about this in Ennis today but there is no question that this can be talked about in Donegal or Dublin next week,” said Mr Connolly.

THE family of a Clarecastle Christian Brother accused on RTÉ of child abuse while serving a missionary in Africa have renewed their call for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) for an inquiry to be launched by the Minister for Communications, Pat Rabbitte.

This demand for justice for Brother Gerard Dillon has been sounded out in the wake of the leaking of the BAI report into RTÉ’s defaming of Galway priest, Fr Kevin Reynolds, in the Primetime Investigates ‘Mission to Prey’ programme.

This programme also aired a claim by South African man Tyrne Selmon that he was abused by Brother Dillon.

Amanda Dillon, a grand-niece of Brother Dillon who died in 2005, has said there needs to be a full investigation into the research carried out by RTÉ.

She also reiterated her family’s call on the State broadcaster to provide evidence of the accusations made against Brother Dillon.

“We’ve had no solid evidence come back to us about how they managed to source this abused person who has never made his allegation in the public domain ever before, nor to the school, nor to the brothers, nor to the police.

“That allegation has just never, ever been made,” said Ms Dillon.

A spokesperson for the BAI has said it is “in correspondence with the family” and “it doesn’t comment on the correspondence as it relates to the families only”.

However, the Dillon family have been told that their complaint would not be investigated because it was made over 30 days after the RTÉ programme was broadcast last year.

“To not look at our complaint on the basis of what we would perceive as a small technicality, that really doesn’t feel fair and doesn’t seem balanced against the huge fallout from the programme,” said Ms Dillon.

THE announcement last week that Ennistymon will play host to the first ever Dylan Thomas Literary Weekend has already ruffled a few feathers across the water in Wales with one Welsh newspaper suggesting that the poets link to Clare are “tenuous” at best.

The Dylan Thomas tourism “industry” is worth an estimated € 4 million to the economy of Swansea – where Dylan Thomas was born. Welsh tourism expert, Anne Haden, who runs the Dylan Thomas House in Swansea, believes that the Clare festival will not damage the local business in Wales.

“Those who go to this literary festival in County Clare and become fascinated by Dylan will no doubt want to come and see where he was born in Swansea and that can only be good for us,” she said. “What we should be doing is putting trade stands up at the festival to let people know there is plenty going on in Swansea to remember this writer of ours.

“This is a fantastic advert for the life of one of Wales’ greatest exports. We are not only famous for rugby, football and choirs – a short little man from Swansea proved he was a brilliant writer and a great character and became renowned across the world.”

Swansea-based Dylan Thomas expert Jeff Towns says he may even travel to the Falls Hotel for the festival.

“I remember when the hotel was creating a Dylan Thomas room they asked me for some memorabilia which I sent on the grounds I would get a free night there. I never took it so now might be a good time to go,” he said.

“I don’t think the Irish event will harm what’s going on here and in many ways could create some new Dylan fans in Ireland.

“It’s also true Caitlin Thomas had a strong love for Ireland. She was born in London but her father’s links to the Irish arts scene led her to meet Augustus John, then Dylan himself. After Dylan’s death she travelled in Ireland to discover her roots.”

HUNDREDS of parents of young children in the Shannon town area are to be surveyed to determine what kind of education they would like for their children.

Shannon was the only part of Clare mentioned in the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector Report, which identified it as an area that required immediate action. If the findings of the report are carried out, it will see one of the town’s five primary schools being transformed into a multi-denominational school.

Shannon already contains one Gaelscoil and one Church of Ireland school as well as a number of other national schools. It is, at present, unclear which of the town’s national schools will be asked to change its patron should the recommendations of the report be followed through on.

The possible changes in Shannon are the first step in a series of steps advocated by the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector Report. Other changes could see changes brought into some of the counties’ rural schools that will remain under the patronage of the Catholic Church.

The report recommends promoting more inclusiveness in all schools, but especially in standalone, rural schools – where divesting patronage to another body is not an option. The majority of Clare schools has been identified as standalone schools because the nearest alternative school is more than 3km away.

The report recommends that the school boards of these schools are given the responsibility to uphold the rights of children and parents with regard to own religious education regardless of their faith.

It has also been recommended that the law be changed to prevent a child from a certain faith being given a preferential position when applying to enter the school. The Clare People contacted each of the five primary school in the Shannon area in relation to this story but no official was forthcoming from any of the schools at the time of going to press.

DRUGS charges against a long-term cancer sufferer are likely to be struck out if she does not come to the attention of gardaí over the next six months, a court has heard.

Jacquelene Corris (40) appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Ms Corris, with an address at 4 Connolly Villas, Ennis, previously pleaded guilty to cultivating, without license, 13 cannabis plants. She was also charged with unlawful possession of cannabis

The plants, with an estimated value of € 5,200, were found during a garda search of 4 Connolly Villas on October 24, 2011.

The court previously heard that Ms Corris, who has suffered from cancer since her teens, could only get relief from the condition by taking cannabis.

A judge had earlier ordered a report from the probation and welfare services.

That report was handed into Judge Patrick Durcan at Ennis District Court Court last week.

Her solicitor Joe Chambers said the report had been very favourable towards his client.

He said Ms Corris, who has no previous convictions, had fully co-operated with gardaí during the investigation and had offered an early plea.

He added, “It is accepted by the State that she is not part of any criminal network.”

Mr Chambers said the incident had been a salutatory lesson for his client. He added;

“There is a strong likelihood that she will not re-offend.”

Judge Durcan said, “The report is very positive and one must compliment Ms Corris on the efforts she has made to remedy the situation.”

Noting her early plea and good record, he added, “She was not part of a ring.

“What was grown and cultivated was for personal use.”

He remanded Ms Corris on continuing bail to appear at Ennis District Court on October 10.

He said that if no further matters arose in the next six months, he would strike out the charges.

CLARE planning is in the dock this week after the county capital of Ennis has been held up by heritage watchdog, An Taisce, as being “an example of some of the most senseless zoning excesses of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ era”.

This damning indictment has been delivered in an Taisce’s hard-hitting annual report, ‘ State of the Nation – A Review of Ireland’s Planning Sys- tem 2000-2011’ that was published on Monday.

Ennis and wider Clare have been singled out for special mention in the 45-page report that turns the microscope on 32 planning authorities throughout the country.

Clare has been ranked 23rd out of the 32, the planning in Ennis coming in for special mention because of a range of decisions that were made during the 11-year timeframe covered by the report.

“Clare was the most over-zoned county in the State with 3,208 hectares allowing for an overall additional population of 273,000,” the report says, while noting that between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of all planning decisions in the county was for one-off housing in unzoned land.

In Ennis, An Taisce have said that “almost 4,500 acres of land was zoned for development, sufficient to increase the population of the town from 26,000 people to over 100,000”.

And in turning the microscope on Clare, An Taisce mentions one high profile planning case – the 48 acres of zoned land sold by Clarecastle man JJ McCabe to a Galway developer for € 18.8m that was subsequently re fused planning permission because it was located on a flood plain.

“Despite the fact that Ennis was one of the worst affected areas by flooding in 2009, and that the town only needed a maximum of 175 acres, the Department of the Environment encountered significant difficulties from local councillors in seeking to get this land de-zoned,” said An Taisce.

Commenting on the report, Clare County Council has said that “through its Clare County Development Plan 2011-2017, was one of the first local authorities in the country to adopt a ‘Core Strategy’ as required under the Planning & Development (Amendment) Act 2010”.

And the council has also stated that as part of local area plans in east, north, south, west Clare and Shannon “hundreds of hectares of lands previously zoned for residential use have been dezoned”.

“In addition, in 2011 Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council adopted variation No. 2 of the Ennis & Environs Development Plan 2008-2014 to introduce a phasing of zoned lands to bring the amount of zoned land in Ennis fully in line with agreed national and regional population targets for Ennis”. Tue17April12

A MAN’S explanation for how he came to possess a stolen laptop in Ennis was described in court last week as a “cock and bull story”.

At Ennis District Court on Thursday, Shane Constable (23), with an address at 24 Toormore, Ruan, was convicted of handling a stolen Sony laptop valued at € 600, knowing that the property was stolen or being reckless as to whether it was stolen.

Detective Garda Kieran Kelleher told the court that he carried out a search under warrant of 24 Toormore, Ruan on January 7 (2012). He said he found the laptop on the floor of the accused’s bedroom.

Detective Kelleher said that Mr Constable told him that he bought the computer “off a retard in Ennis for € 100”.

Detective Kelleher told the court the laptop had been stolen from a Polish woman in Ennis.

He said he arrested Mr Constable on January 16. Mr Constable told the court that he bought the laptop from a red-haired man in Ennis who needed money to pay his rent. He said he was told the laptop was

for sale by a group of people he met in the riverwalk area of Ennis. He said he did not know any of the people in question.

Mr Constable said that he did not tell Detective Kelleher that he bought the laptop off a “retard”.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that Mr Constable had struck up a conversation about buying a laptop with a group of people he did not know.

He described this version of events as a “cock and bull story”.

Speaking to Mr Constable, Insp Kennedy said;

“What you are saying is nothing short of incredible.”

The court heard that the accused previously paid € 599 for a new laptop.

Judge Patrick Durcan said the issue in this case was whether or not the accused was reckless as to whether the property was stolen.

He said the fact that Mr Constable knew the value of a new laptop indicated that he was “reckless in the extreme” when he purchased the stolen item.

He said, “Dealing recklessly is an attack on every retailer.”

He fined Mr Constable € 500 and gave him six months to pay. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

PLANS to development a major new visitor attraction at the Vandeleur Walled Garden in Kilrush has now gone to “part-eight planning”, Kilrush Town Council has revealed.

The move comes only five months after ambitious plans for a redevelopment of the visitor facility on the old landlord estate were unveiled by Clare Council architect Ruth Hurley at a meeting of Kilrush Town Council that took place at the Vandeleur Walled Garden.

The news was relayed to members of the local authority on Thursday night, in tandem with a confirmation that Kilrush Amenity Trust which oversees the management of the Vandeleur Walled Garden has voted to allowed free access to visitors for the rest of the year.

Plans to develop enhanced visitor facilities at the Walled Garden, which was opened to the public in 2001, hinge on a successful application to the Clare Local Development Company for Leader funding.

“An application has made to Leader to seek funding,” said Town Clerk, John Corry, “and it is something that we’re excited about as we’re hopeful that our application to Leader for funding will be successful,” he added.

“We have to a little bit of work on the theme of the project,” said Town Manager, Nora Kaye. “We got an informal response from Leader that we have to develop the theme of what we’re trying to do at the Vandeleur Garden. Leader need to see the planning application before they can consider funding,” she added.

“They are very exciting plans and every effort should be made to secure the funding”, said Cllr Liam Williams (FG), who as a member of Kilrush Amenity Trust proposed that free access be given to visitors to the Vandeleur Walled Garden for the rest of 2012.

“We had free entry into the Vandeleur Garden last August and it proved very successful in what ever money we lost from ticket sales, we generated extra money in sales in the coffee shop,” revealed Town Clerk, John Corry.

“It was decided by the board to extend the option during the off-season, when traditionally the numbers of visitors to the facility would have been minimal and then at our meeting in March it was decided to offer free entry to the Garden until the end of the year.

“You are losing out on ticket sales but the wider picture is that you are providing access to the facility and we’re hoping that the people visiting will bring along friends and neighbours and will spend money at the centre. We will take it on a trial basis until the end of the year to see how it progresses,” he added.