Month: July 2012

WATER levels on the River Shannon rose by a massive 500 centimetre in just 10 days in June, raising fears of unprecedented summer floods affecting parts of East and South Clare. Water levels on the river are currently on a par to the levels normally seen in October and November.

This has sparked concerns that an unprecedented summer flood could hit East Clare communities who are sometimes affected by winter flooding from the Shannon.

Concern has also been expressed that waterlogged area in parts of the county could be more susceptible to winter flooding this year – if the backlog of water doesn’t get a chance to clear.

The overall water levels on the River Shannon last month were more than 300 centimetre higher than the average for June of 2011.

According to figures released by the ESB, who control water flow at Ardnacrusha, water levels on the river rose from 37.7 metre on June 6 to 38.2 metres on June 16 and stood at 38.3 metres at the end of June.

The June water level was on a par with the November 2010 level, while it was marginally higher than the peak level in October 2009 – when many Clare towns were devastated by flooding.

It is as yet unclear how much of this massive backlog of water can be cleared by the ESB’s management of the Parteen Weir and Ardnacrusha.

A build-up of water which began in October of 2009 eventually contributed to widespread flooding across many areas in South East Clare later that year.

RIVER levels in Ennis remain under constant observation amid rising concerns from local businesses over flooding.

A senior official with Ennis Town Council said yesterday that rainfall and water levels in the Ennis area probably the most “watched pieces of data in the county”.

Eamon O’Dea was responding to concerns sparked by recent heavy flooding in Clonakilty, Cork.

Cllr Tony Mulqueen (FG) told a meeting of councillors in the Ennis West Electoral Area that businesses in the Abbey Street area fear a repeat of damage suffered during unprecedented flooding in November 2009.

He said, “When people saw what happened in Clonakilty, it made them more conscious of flooding.”

Mr O’Dea said council staff had recently conducted round-the-clock observation of water levels around Ennis.

He said an alert system is in place and that measures such as sandbags and electrical pumps are on standby in locations around the town.

However Mr O’Dea warned that there are certain extreme rainfall events that could not be planned for.

The meeting also heard that work on the lower Fergus Certified Drainage Contract is anticipated to commence in October.

The information was released in response to a motion tabled by Cllr James Breen (Ind).

“I am asking the up to date position in relation to the elimination of future flooding at Abbey Street Car Park. When will work on the river begin?” he said.

In his reply, Mr O’Dea stated, “The Office of Public Works (OPW) are presently carrying out a tender assessment on the lower Fergus Certified Drainage Contract. The works include the Abbey Street car park and area behind houses opposite the Abbey. The OPW anticipate that work will commence on the scheme in October 2012. The Council has requested that the work in this area is prioritised by the OPW contractor.”

The project was delayed earlier this year after the OPW was forced to abandon its tender process.

Mr O’Dea said that process had now re-commenced but that it may take some time before a contractor is appointed. “It is a fairly laborious process,” he added.

Cllr Breen said, “Its disappointing. This is the third year that this project has not started. Rate payers in the area are very concerned.”

The scheme will see improvements to river walls and other flood defenses on the Fergus from Bank Place to Doora Bridge. Phase one of the scheme is credited with preventing floods in large areas of the town centre during November 2009.

THE inclement weather put a dampener on the fun in Kilrush at the weekend as almost all of the Féile Sona festival had to be postponed.

Organisers decided on Thursday night to call off all the outdoor family events as the weather forecast pointed to a complete wash out.

The brainchild of Cllr Ian Lynch (FG) and Christine Murphy, the successful family fun weekend was in its third year.

“We hope to run the Saturday and Sunday events again later in the summer when the weather improves,” said Cllr Lynch.

Describing the weather so far this summer as a disaster, he said a heavy rainfall would make family entertainment such as the bouncy castle very dangerous.

As well as a health and safety risk, running the event under such circumstances was causing a headache for the event’s insurers.

It was therefore decided on Thursday evening to call off most of the events.

Cllr Lynch said it was very disappointing to have to make the decision especially as the weekend had grown so much in the last year with the FAI coming on board this year.

Not all was lost however as two of the indoor evening events went ahead.

The seven-aside soccer competition took place as did the singing pubs competition.

The competition involved all of the local pubs putting on a 30-minute act, with four pubs taking part in the final on Sunday night.

CLARE has officially suffered its wettest June since 1947, with farmers across the county facing major bills this winter as grass growth and fodder harvesting are both well behind normal.

According to new figures produced by Met Éireann, June 7 was the wettest June day recorded at Shannon Airport in 65 years.

These record rainfalls have been compounded by unusually low levels of sunshine in the county – which have been disturbing beach users and holiday makers, as well as the county’s farmers.

Indeed, according to the the Irish Meteorological Service, Shannon Airport recorded its dullest June since 1993, 19 years ago, with average temperature for the month also below normal. This is despite the average temperature for the month being higher in Clare, at 13.6 degrees, than anywhere else in the county.

This unseasonably wet June has created a situation where many Clare farmers have yet to harvest their first cut of silage. A number of dairy farmers in the county have been forced to return cattle to shed at night and supplement their feed in order to keep milk supply up.

“This is adding serious cost to Clare farmers. They are keeping them inside and there is a big extra cost on meal in order to keep cows milking. If you let cows back this time of the year it is impossible to get them back again,” said Martin McMahon, Clare President of the ICMSA.

“This is a disaster for farmers. The ground conditions are unbelievable we never saw land as wet before as we are seeing it now. The big problem is coming down the line. A lot of farmers need two week of good fine weather before some farmers in the county will be able to cut anything.

“They are in trouble now but that is going to put them in serious trouble this winter when they don’t have the feed to feed their cattle. There are some farmers who would normally do two cuts of silage and they haven’t even got their first cut in yet.

“Farmers don’t know whether to chance cutting the land or not. Farmers are getting desperate and taking chances and they are needing up with fodder down for maybe a week or more and that means that the quality in the fodder will not be there.

“There is going to be a big scarcity of fodder over the winter – and the quality is going to be very poor,” he said.

A NEW website has been launched to help promote the folklore and oral history of County Clare, with the story tellers taking centre stage.

The site, www.clarememories.ie, is a result of the work of Cuimhneamh an Chláir, the Clare Oral History and Folklore Group, who have been documenting the memories of Clare’s oldest citizens for the last two years.

The voluntary group have already amassed considerable collection of material amounting to more than 330 interviews with people aged between 65 and 106.

The website, which was supported by the Clare Local Development Company, provides information on Cuimhneamh an Chláir’s collection programme as well as their outreach and education initiatives. Viewers can also play samples of the groups recordings as well as learn about aspects of Clare’s folklore, like old Irish words used by older people in Clare as well as Biddy Early, Bríd Uí Choisteala and other folklore figures in the county. An interactive map shows an example of where the group have conducted interviews across Clare and a sample of the summaries conducted for each interview can be read. Of the 300 plus people interviewed by Cuimhneamh an Chláir, more than 40 have passed away, including ten people who were over one hundred years old when they were interviewed.

According to Frances Madigan of the Cuimhneamh an Chláir Executive Committee, the group aims to continue with its intensive collection programme in the coming years andwill also maintain their ambition of taking the material back out the public at every opportunity.

“It’s vital that we make the material as available as we can to the people of Clare in the short term through our listening room concept, ‘Come here till I tell ya’ and through radio programmes as well as public workshops. However in the long term, we aim to make all the material available to the people of Clare and are working towards that on a continuous basis. Features will be added to the website over the coming months based on collected material all across County Clare, exploring themes such as farming in the old days, electrification, beliefs, and calendar customs.”

Former Mayor of Clare and founding member of the group Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) said, “Just three years ago, Cuimhneamh an Chláir was an idea. Now we have built one of the largest and most successful folklore collection groups in the country.”

CLARE’S newly elected mayor wants “Michael O’Leary to come to Shannon and negotiate a deal”.

At his inaugural speech as mayor of County Clare, Ennisman Pat Daly (FF) said he would like to see Ryanair back in Shannon International Airport as “a positive customer”.

“Some years back the airline brought in hundreds of thousands of visitors from England, France, Spain, Germany and Italy to County Clare, and it created a financial bonanza for businesses in the county,” he said.

The mayor added that Clare County Council should be included in the marketing of the airport that must be undertaken by its new management company.

He said the airport must also play a central role during ‘The Gathering’ next year.

He made the remarks in front of a crowded gallery, which included family and supporters who had gathered to see him named first citizen of Clare – the fifth man from “the town” to hold the honour.

There was no doubt as to who would be elected when outgoing mayor Pat Hayes (FF) handed back the chain on Friday.

As alluded to in his nomination of Cllr Daly to the post, Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) paid tribute to a unique selection formation brokered by then mayor Tommy Brennan (Ind) as far back as 2004.

Under this agreement, currently supported by all of the members with the exception of Independent councillor James Breen, Cllr Daly was to be selected for the 2012-2013 period, with Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) to take over the reigns when he steps down.

For now, however, all eyes are on the former tailor from Ennis, who spent 18 years working for former TD and Minister Tony Killeen (FF), a position he believes has given him the experience and expertise to carry out his new role.

The new mayor is optimistic about the future despite the harsh econom- ic times.

“It is clear to me that in these challenging times, opportunities will arise to move this county forward both in social and economic terms,” he said.

The Eire Óg chairman is also keen to see Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann come to what he described as “the home of traditional music”.

“Council management, Clare Comhaltas and councillors have been working very hard to deliver the fleadh to Ennis. And I hope, before I leave office, a date would be confirmed. An injection of € 30 million to the local economy would be a great positive boost, particularly at a time when businesses are under serious financial pressure,” he said.

Mayor Daly was also upbeat about the future of the hospital.

“At Ennis General Hospital in recent times, there has been a big increase in day care procedures, while huge numbers are using the outpatient facilities. I welcome the new state of the art 50-bed unit, which will open shortly.”

The new mayor and chairman of the council also has plans to make changes to the councillors’ monthly meetings – the details which have yet to be announced.

“It is important that we continue to deliver an efficient and quality service to the people whom we represent, that is the people of Clare,” he said.

The new mayor will be supported during his year in office by his wife Tikki and his three children Ciarán, Niall and Elen.

THE Clare unemployed who previously worked in middle management or in a supervisory capacity are finding their new job-seeking status particularly difficult, so much so that the local St Vincent de Paul has set up a support and information network targeted at this group.

Clare Connect will support people as they write a CV, prepare them to search for jobs in a changing economy and, most of all, according to facilitator John Quinlivan, “help them out of the feeling of hopelessness”.

He explained that a number of people began work a long time ago in jobs where they could work their way up the corporate ladder.

Many of these people worked all their lives in the same company and, when the recession hit, they were unprepared when they lost their jobs.

They then discovered that they were over-qualified for many positions they wished to apply for, or potential employers had concerns about the financial cost of employing someone with such experience.

“Even coming to terms with the whole thing can be difficult,” explained Mr Quinlivan.

However, he maintains there is help and hope out there through Clare Connect. Through this support, people can learn how to retrain, rethink their job-seeking tactics and, just as importantly, according to the group’s facilitator, meet other people in a similar situation so that they can support each other and learn that they are not alone.

On Thursday, July 12, Clare Connect will hold a meeting in the Information Age Park, Shannon Development Offices, Ennis, at 10am.

During the meeting, Liam Horan of Sluath Nua will help people plan their CV and work out the best plan for them. All are welcome to attend and it is free of charge.

Mr Quinlivan asked that those wishing to attend would let the organisers know by emailing clareconnect123@gmail.com.

The Clare Connect programme is part of the work carried out by the St Joseph Conference of the St Vincent de Paul. This conference specialises in education and helping people back into the work place.

It is supported by the Clare County Enterprise Board, Shannon Development, Clare Local Development Company Ltd (previously Leader) and Clare County Council.

CRATLOE is the most expensive part of Clare for house hunters.

According to the real-estate website daft.ie the average asking price for a house in the southern part of the county, on the border with Limerick city and stretching up towards Sixmilebridge, is now at € 181,698.

However the prices here have dropped significantly since peak prices, from April to June 2007.

Back then the asking price for an average family home was € 371,091, over twice the current asking price.

As of June this year, the average price for a two-bed property in this area was € 114,577, a three-bed property € 161,458, and a four-bed property € 273,758.

On average house prices in Clare have dropped by 50.6 per cent since the height of the boom, but while almost all of Munster was showing an evening out of prices during between March and June, Clare and Limerick City were the exceptions.

Asking prices for house in Clare continued to drop by as much as 2.8 per cent during these last three months, with the average price now at € 151,211. The average four-bedroom house in the county has an asking price of € 186,000 however with five-beds reaching € 261,000.

Those wishing to become home owners can also expect to pay above the county average in Flagmount, Feakle and Caher where there is an average asking price of € 158,911, down 49 per cent since peak prices and Tulla and O’Callaghan’s Mills has an average asking price of € 153,599 down 45.6 per cent.

Prices are also relatively high in Doolin and Kilshanny at € 154,833, down 48.7 per cent in five years.

And if you want a bargain buy in County Clare your best bet is West Clare where houses covering an area from Kilmurry McMahon, up towards Connolly and Quilty and west to Cree have an average asking price of € 91,959.

LOCAL hellraisers are turning to God in their droves with the foundation of Ireland’s first ever Bikers Church in Gort. The church, which is located in an industrial building on the Kinincha Road in the town, attracts more then 50 motorcyclists to service which takes place on the last Sunday of each month.

The service is run by the Christian Motorcyclists Association of Ireland, who were invited to base the Biker Church in Gort by local man John Joe Finn.

According to the Pastor, motorcyclist Graham Stephens, many bikers can feel uncomfortable entering more traditional churches.

“We invite everyone to come as they are. It doesn’t matter who they are of what they have done, we invite everyone to come and join in God’s love,” he says.

“Some churches wouldn’t be very biker friendly, they would see bikers coming in with tattoos and piercing and they might hold back and not really show true love to them.”

The church does not belong to any particular denomination of Christianity but instead bases their religious views on the words in the bible.

“If you are looking for something that is very traditional, this is not the right place for you. People [Christian bikers] have been hurt by things that have happened in the past and they are fed up with it. We just want a place where we can be ourselves,” continued Graham.

“We have a music team in the service on Sunday, so we have contemporary music with some heavy guitar and drums. We would start off with some Christian songs and worship music. We would start off with some Christian songs, some worship music, so the same thing that you would find in any other church. We also get people standing up and sharing their own stories so it is very relaxed and very easy going.

“A lot of bikers would not feel comfortable going into a traditional church but there is nothing in this church that would frighten anybody off. It’s just about the person themselves and God and we are trying to facilitate people getting to know God.

“We have people coming along to the services and some of them have very colourful backgrounds. But at the end of the day they are people just like us, they might not have made all the right decisions in their life but they are no different. We all screw up, it’s just that some of us do it more publicly than others.

“That is the thing about God, he forgives no matter what. That gift of forgiveness is one of the biggest gifts that mankind has ever gotten.”

For more information on the Christian Motorcycle Association and the Bikers Church visit www.cmaireland.ie.

AN ENNIS man who wanted to bring the stars of European football to Thomond Park says he is considering legal action against the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).

Damien O’Brien claims the FAI blocked his plans to stage a soccer tournament at the well-known Limerick venue at end of July.

Mr O’Brien’s Iconic Company in association with Endemol sports last year staged a tournament involving Inter Milan, Celtic and Manchester City at the Aviva stadium.

The Ennis native says the FAI scuppered his plans to host a similar event this year because they say it clashed with their plans for a tournament in Dublin.

He says, “I don’t know any tournament that’s taking place in Dublin in four weeks time. Madonna is playing alright but I don’t think she’s played for any team.

“I’d been in touch with the likes of Celtic, Chelsea, Lazio, Spurs, clubs like that about coming to Limerick. It was estimated that this would have been worth € 80 million to the local economy. Those aren’t my figures. Those are the figures from Thomond Park. Think of all the hotels and bars and restaurants and how well they could have done from something like this. I think its crazy what has happened.”

Mr O’Brien, who is originally from McNamara Park in the Turnpike area of Ennis, adds, “I’m looking at my options legally. They don’t have the authority to do this.”

The 38-year-old former Turnpike Rovers player says he has also pulled his sponsorship from the FAI’S flagship Emerging Talent Programme.

An FAI spokesman yesterday said the association had “no comment” to make on the matter.

Six years ago Mr O’Brien devised the format for Football’s Next Star a reality TV show that offers young footballers the chance to earn a professional contract with clubs such as Inter Milan and Chelsea. In 2009, Tulla United teenager Sunny Jay qualified for the final 40 of the competition.

The show will be screened on Irish television in September.