Month: September 2012

A 79-YEAR-OLD farmer was confused when he drove the wrong way up the dual carriageway near Bunratty earlier this year, a court has heard.

Stephen Costelloe had been driving to Shannon Airport to meet his son when the incident occurred on the N18 at Bunratty on January 27, 2012. At Ennis District Court on Wednes- day, Mr Costelloe, with an address at Busherstown, Moneygall, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of careless driving.

Garda Barry Doherty of Shannon Garda Station told the court that Mr Costelloe drove in the wrong direction after becoming “confused”. The court heard that the incident occurred at around 6.50pm.

Defence solicitor Tom Stamp said his client had been “very confused” on the night.

He said Mr Costelloe was very “lucky” not to have been involved in an accident.

Garda Doherty told the court that he had seen “numerous” incidents where drivers had travelled the wrong direction on the dual carriageway and motorway.

Noting Mr Costelloe’s good record, Judge Patrick Durcan ordered him to pay € 250 to the court poor box by January 9, 2013. No conviction was recorded against Mr Costelloe.

Judge Durcan said that there is an onus on drivers to drive responsibly.

However Judge Durcan added that if the fine was not paid by January, then Mr Costelloe would be convicted of careless driving.

Addressing Mr Costelloe, Judge Durcan said, “I understand completely what happened. I wish you a safe journey home.”

A LIMERICK man, who stole a television and games console from a hotel in Lahinch and then promptly returned them, has been ordered to make a contribution to the court poor box.

Christopher Murphy (41) was told by a judge that he had engaged in “bizarre” behaviour in the seaside town last year.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday Mr Murphy, with an address at 2 Sheelin Drive, Caherdavin, Limerick, pleaded guilty to stealing a Black Phillips flat screen TV valued at € 500 and a Nintendo Wii valued at € 200 from the West Coast Lodge, Lahinch, on November 26, 2011.

Inspector John Galvin said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the case. Judge Patrick Durcan accepted jurisdiction.

Insp Galvin told the court that the manager of the hotel contacted gardaí alleging that the accused had taken the television and games console from the hotel. The court heard that Mr Murphy had checked into the hotel under the name John Ryan.

Insp Galvin said Mr Murphy drove back to the hotel a few hours later and returned the property.

Mr Murphy admitted to gardaí that he had taken the property.

Defence solicitor Daragh Hassett said his client had been staying in the hotel with his partner.

He said Mr Murphy didn’t know why he stole the items.

“It was a spur of the moment thing,” he added.

Mr Hassett told the court that Mr Murphy had become involved in a “show of bravado” with another guest, after which he drove of with the television and the Wii.

Inspector John Galvin described the sequence of events as “very unusual”. Judge Patrick Durcan said, “This was bizarre behaviour.” He ordered Mr Murphy to pay € 250 to the court poor box. The case was adjourned to October 24.

A MAN and a woman charged with the neglect and ill treatment of seven children have been returned for trial.

The two appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday. In separate charges, it is alleged that the man and woman did willfully assault, ill-treat, neglect, abandon a child in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to the child’s health or seriously affect their well being, contrary to Section 256 of the Children’s Act.

The woman is facing eight charges of neglect. The man is facing six charges of neglect and two charges of sexual assault.

The alleged offences took place on dates unknown between March 2001 and July 2010. The charges relate to seven children.

The man and woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, both have addresses in Clare. Inspector John Galvin requested an amend- ment concerning the wording of two charge sheets in relation to the man.

Defence solicitor John Casey consented to the amendments. Garda Irene O’Flynn of Ennis Garda Station gave evidence of having served the books of evidence on both co-accused.

Insp Galvin said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had consented for both persons to be returned for trial to the next sittings of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on October 16.

Legal aid was granted for Mr Casey, one junior counsel and one senior counsel. Mr Casey said, “They are very serious charges.”

Mr Casey requested a change in his client’s bail conditions to allow him to meet two of his sons.

Insp Galvin said he had “reservations considering the nature of the charges.”

Judge Durcan refused the application. The man was remanded on continuing bail, on the same terms heretofore, to appear at the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court.

Solicitor for the woman, Tara Godfrey, requested that the court impose reporting restrictions. Judge Durcan said reporting restrictions had previously been imposed.

He said the restrictions would continue to apply. Legal aid was approved for Ms Godfrey and one junior counsel.

The woman was remanded on continuing bail to appear again at the next sittings of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court.

A DRIVE to revitalise vacant buildings in Clare has stalled due a lack of interest from landlords, a meeting has heard. Co-ordinated by Ennis Town Council, Clare County Council and Ennis Chamber of Commerce, the Ennis Access to Spaces Initiative (EASI) aims to revitalise Ennis town centre by facilitating the use of unoccupied spaces for commercial, creative and community use. The scheme was launched in May. However a meeting yesterday heard that plans to implement similar schemes around the county have yet to take off. Majella MacNamara of Clare County Council’s Economic and Planning Development Section was speaking at a meeting of the Council’s Community, Enterprise, Tourism and Emergency Strategic Policy Committee (SPC). The issue arose during a presentation on the council’s Economic Development Strategy Action Plan. Ms MacNamara explained that it is one of the council’s objectives to develop Clare’s towns and villages. She said the main aims are the improvement of business works, infrastructure, signage, occupancy and business. The council is also investigating pilot schemes for improving retail activity in town centres. She explained that while there has been strong interest from the artistic community, “landlords have been slow to come forward”. The strategy outlines the council’s attempts to generate income from landbanks and to identify key strategic development sites in the county. The meeting heard that the council is also hoping to use Clare people living abroad to act as ambassadors for the county. High profile individuals are being sought to promote the interests of Clare to a wider international audience. Ms MacNamara told the meeting that the ambassadors could be living in any part of the world.

FÁILTE Ireland has been urged to remove the word ‘traveller’ from material for a new € 2 million tourism initiative.

The tourism body has launched a new drive aimed a bringing more tourists to the west of Ireland.

‘The Wild Atlantic Way’ aims to increase tourist numbers and mobility through a renewed emphasis on visual and historical amenities.

However a Clare councillor is urging Fáilte Ireland to remove the word, ‘traveller’, from any reports or material associated with the Wild Atlantic Way.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said yesterday that by leaving the word in, Fáilte Ireland was issuing an “open invitation” for anyone to abuse the route.

Cllr Brennan was speaking at a meeting of Clare County Council’s Community, Enterprise, Tourism and Emergency Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) where members were given details of the new tourism drive.

Cllr Brennan’s comments came during a discussion on the lack of facilities for tourists with camper vans.

Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) described the absence of camper van facilities as a “very distinct gap” in Clare’s tourist offering.

He added, “Not alone are we not servicing it, we are actually deterring it.”

Committee Chairman Richard Nagle (FF) said Clare had suffered during summer months from illegal encampments along the county’s roads.

He said the council and gardaí had expended huge resources and time on trying to deal with problems arising from illegal encampments.

He said a change of legislation is urgently needed to deal with the issue.

Cllr Nagle added, “It creates a hugely negative impression of the tourism product on offer. We have brought it to the attention of our Oireachtas members and nothing has happened.”

Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Daly (FF) proposed that all local authorities in the west of Ireland put pressure on the Government to bring in new leg- islation.

Director of Service Ger Dollard said it would be useful to carry out an audit of existing camper van facilities.

He said there could be opportunities for the private sector to further develop facilities in Clare.

Senior planner Gordon Daly told the meeting that the council recognized that there is a gap in the market for camper van tourism.

He added, “It’s up to the private sector to develop. If people have ideas they should come to us. We would be very happy to talk with them.”

AN INDEPENDENT Shannon Airport is crucial to redressing the imbalance in tourism numbers between the East and West of Ireland, a meeting has heard. The comment was made yesterday at a meeting of Clare County Council’s Community, Enterprise, Tourism and Emergency Strategic Policy Committee (SPC).

Committee chairman, Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) said the airport must be marketed as a “point of entry” for tourism in the west of Ireland.

He added, “We’re going back to the days when we were reliant on tourism and agriculture…we have to arrest decline of visitor numbers.”

He was speaking during a presentation on the Wild Atlantic Way – a new tourism drive from Fáilte Ireland aimed at re-packaging and promoting the west coast of Ireland.

Director of Service Ger Dollard told the meeting that the initiative is aimed at increasing visitor numbers and increasing the movement of tourists around the west of Ireland.

Last week a majority of councillors backed a motion calling for a clear plan for Shannon Airport to be in place by the end of September.

Cllr PJ Ryan (Ind) said a decision on the airport is vital to the tourism industry in the region.

He added, “If it’s a thing that the American soldiers pull out of Shannon, we’ll have no traffic at all.” He said “aggressive marketing” of the airport is required.

Flann Quilligan of Shannon Development said that discussions are underway to separate Shannon from its parent body, the Dublin Airport Authority. He said the seperation would end the “stifling” of the airport.

Mr Quilligan added, “It is not happening as fast as we would like but it is happening.”

The meeting heard that € 2 million would be allocated to local authorities along the route for signage and other infrastructure.

Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) said the initiative was welcome as the region is “undervalued and underutilised”.

Ennis hotelier John Madden said the venture would fail if not marketed properly. He said many tourists coming to Ireland “don’t have a clue” about many of the towns and areas in the West of Ireland.

He told the meeting that in recent months he had noticed an increase in the number of tourists visiting Ireland to trace their family roots.

Mr Quilligan told the meeting that Fáilte Ireland are aiming to place the Wild Atlantic Way on a par as internationally known scenic areas such as Australia’s Great Coast Road.

Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Daly (FF) said he hoped the entire Clare coastline would be included on the route.

Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) urged Fáilte Ireland not to concentrate solely on international visitors at the expense of Irish tourists.

RESCUE services recovered a body from the foot of the Cliffs of Moher on Friday, five days after the body was initially sighted.

A number of attempts to recover the body from the bottom of the 600-foot-high cliffs had been attempted last week but dangerous conditions created by high winds had prevented a number of attempts made by the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard.

The body, believed to be that of an Eastern European woman, was spotted at the foot of the Cliffs of Moher on Monday evening last, September 10, by a group of tourists walking north of Hag’s Head.

The Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard made several unsuccessful attempts to reach the body by boat last week and had been planning to abseil down the 600-foot-high cliff on Friday morning, but discovered that the tide had washed the body off the cliff edge.

Search teams continued to walk the cliff tops conducting visual searches of the waters below in the hope that the body would surface. Just before 2pm on Friday, a Cliffs Ranger from the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience, spotted the body in the sea and raised the alarm.

The body was located and recovered from the water by the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard in an area about 200 metres north-west of the main viewing platform at the Cliffs of Moher.

The body was recovered from the water and taken to the pier at Doolin from where it was taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick for a post mortem examination.

A number of other rescue services, including the Killaloe Unit of the Irish Coastguard and the Shannon- based rescue helicopter, had taken part in the recovery attempts.

If the body had not been washed free of the cliffs, two members of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard had planned to abseil down the cliff on Friday and collect the body.

A large abseil like this could have taken more than six hours to complete and is considered dangerous in fine weather and extremely dangerous if any wind or poor weather takes place.

A MAJOR event of national significance will be coming to Kilrush next May if Clare County Council’s bid to bring the National Famine Commemoration to the West Clare capital in 2013 is successful.

The local authority has formally backed Kilrush’s bid to host commemoration day, which was originally floated at a meeting of the Kilrush Town Council last May by the local historical society.

Last month the county council invited local and community organisations, historical societies, local Famine Commemoration Committees, schools and other interested parties to propose a location in County Clare to host this event in 2013.

Three submissions were received from Killaloe/Ballina, Tuamgraney/ Scariff and Kilrush, and were assessed by a specially appointed panel.

“Kilrush’s well known links with the Famine will make it a solid con- tender to host the National Famine Commemoration next year,” explained council official Congella McGuire.

“There were 20,000 people evicted in the Kilrush Poor Law Union between 1847 and 1850, representing one quarter of the entire Union population. The majority of the evictees suffered dreadfully in the work house and subsequently died. Illustrations from Kilrush at the time of the famine featured in the London Illustrated News and these illustrations are the best recognised images of the famine conditions in Ireland.

“A formal submission on behalf of the county will now go forward for Kilrush as the bid to host the 2013 National Famine Commemoration in County Clare. We will work with Kilrush to submit a very strong expression of interest to the National Commemoration Committee before the 5th October 2012. I have no doubt there will be other bids from the Munster area but Kilrush certainly has very strong credentials to be the host for 2013,” she added. 30/09/2012

WOULD-be barbers, hairdressers and stylists are being offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – the chance to shave or dye the hair of an Ennistymon barber.

Barber Ed has offered his head in a good cause, with all money raised going to the William Winder Rainbow Foundation.

Tickets are on sale locally for just € 5 and the winner will be able to shave the barber’s head with any design they wish or shave their name on to his head.

There is also the option of dyeing his hair any colour they wish on September 21.

This event will be the highlight of the ‘Barber Ed’s head to cut, to shave to dye and to make Ed cry’ event.

The night is in aid of a foundation set up in memory of a local schoolboy William Winder who took his own life last June.

His heartbroken parents, Mark and Caroline, have set up the foundation to help other struggling teenagers and make them aware of the different options and support groups available to them.

The foundation aims to provide a safe and confidential counselling service to teenagers, and provide support to families.

Its website, which is a one-stop shop for teen support and counselling, is www.williamwinderrainbowfoundation.ie and is currently being completed, but people can also log on to the organisation’s Facebook page for more information.

THE Department of Health said no date has been set for the downgrading of the former Accident and Emergency Unit at Ennis General Hospital to a Local Injuries Unit, similar to that opened in Nenagh yesterday (Monday).

It added that any decision to make changes to the hospital would be subject to yet another report – the Smaller Hospital’s Framework Document.

Changes to the role of the County Clare hospital within the Mid Western hospital group are already been included in numerous reports such as HIQA’s report into safety at the Ennis hospital and the acute medi- cine programme.

All reports point to what the HSE say is now policy, the changing yet again of the role of the former A and E.

However the announcement last week of the changes due in Ennis, led to political unrest.

Fine Gael Clare deputies, Joe Carey and Pat Breen, said they received confirmation from the Minister for Health, James Reilly, that no final decision has been taken in relation to services at Ennis hospital.

“I wrote to Minister Reilly seeking clarification on a number of issues, following reports locally that changes were to be made at Ennis hospital. The Minister has assured me and Deputy Carey that final decisions will not be made in rela- tion to changes at Ennis before the publication of the Small Hospital’s Framework Document,” said Deputy Breen.

“I believe our focus needs to be on improving services in the mid-west region, in order to support patient care and ensure the services provided at both Ennis and Limerick hospitals complement each other. For example, upgrading ambulance services across the county will ensure people can be transported quickly and receive the treatment they need.”

Deputy Carey said, “The reality is, despite the claims being made by Timmy Dooley [Fianna Fáil TD], people with major traumas have been treated at Limerick Regional Hospital for the past three years, since Fianna Fáil downgraded services at Ennis. What we need to do now is push ahead with acute improvements at Limerick Regional Hospital together with the development and enhancement of current services at Ennis General and the provision of those which are proposed.”

In a joint statement the deputies said, “Our health services are going through a major period of change, and there will be huge challenges ahead. We cannot shy away from hard choices, but what we can do is demand patient care is not compromised.” The Clare People asked the Department of Health who would make the final decision on the role of the current Local Emergency Centre and former A and E – the HSE, the minister or the cabinet?

It said the change would be subject to a final decision made on foot of the publication of the Smaller Hospital’s Framework document.

“In advance of the publication of the Smaller Hospital’s Framework Document, final decisions have not been reached,” a spokeswoman said.

“The information provided by the HSE locally in Limerick (related to Ennis hospital) is informed by the categories articulated by the National Clinical Programmes and is also informed by exigencies related to standards required by HIQA. The response sets out respective relationships between three hospitals. It also adds that no date has been set for such changes,” she added.