Month: November 2012

A 14-YEAR-old boy has appeared in court charged with offences in connection with an alleged violent incident at a primary school in Ennis.

The teenager was before Ennis District Court on Friday. He is charged with violent disorder at the Holy Family Primary School on March 20, 2012.

He is also charged with the production of a machete contrary to the firearms and offensive weapons act on the same date and location.

The court heard that jurisdiction of the case had previously been refused. Inspector Tom Kennedy requested an extension of time for the service of the book of evidence.

The teenager was remanded on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on December 19.

Another man charged in connection with the same incident is also due to appear in court on that date.

Conor Mahon (21), with an address at Ballaghboy Halting Site, Quin Road, Ennis, is alleged to have committed violent disorder at the Holy Family School, Station Road, Ennis on March 3.

He is also charged with unlawful production of an article contrary to the firearms and offensive weapons act at the same date and location.

Mr Mahon appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday. Inspector Kennedy said State were seeking an extension of time to allow for the service of the book of evidence.

Defence solicitor Daragh Hassett said he would consent to December 19.

Mr Mahon was remanded on continuing bail to appear at Ennis District Court on December 19.

GARDAÍ found a man selling quantities of beer, cider, Guinness and whiskey from the boot of a car in Clarecastle, a court has heard.

Kevin Maughan (20), with an address at 42B Lissadyra, Ballygaddy Road, Tuam, Galway, is charged with handling stolen property at Clarehill, Clarecastle on October 5.

The case came before Ennis District Court on Wednesday. Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the case. He said it would be alleged that Gardaí found Mr. Maughan selling alcohol valued at € 539 from the boot of his car on the date in question. It is alleged that Mr Maughan had 72 cans of Bulmers, 72 cans of Budweiser, 48 cans of Carlsberg, 48 cans of Guinness, two bottles of Huzzar vodka, one bottle of Tequilla, one bottle of liqueur, two bottles of Powers whiskey and cigarettes valued at € 132. Judge Patrick Durcan said, “We’ve all heard of the mobile bank and the mobile library but this is the first time I’ve heard of the mobile shebeen.” Mr Maughan was not present in court. His solicitor Daragh Hassett handed in a medical certificate to the court. Judge Durcan said he did not accept the contents of the certificate. A bench warrant was issued for Mr Maughan’s arrest.

TWO men charged with damaging a house in Ennis are due to appear again in court next month.

Michael Molloy (19), with an address at 2 Ballymaley Halting Site, Ennis and Patrick McCarthy (19), with an address at 2 Ballaghboy, Quin Road, Ennis are both charged with committing criminal damage at Westbourne Court, Watery Road, Ennis on October 28.

It is alleged that both accused did without lawful excuse damage two car windows, two glass door panels and a 51” flat screen TV and glass stand intending to damage such property or being reckless as to whether such property in question would be damaged.

Both cases came before Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

In respect of Mr McCarthy, Inspec- tor Tom Kennedy said directions are still being awaited from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey said she would consent for the matter to be adjourned to December 5.

The court heard that DPP’s directions are also being sought in respect of Mr Molloy.

He was remanded on continuing bail to appear again in court on December 19.

GARDAÍ are to continue to investigate the circumstances of an alleged nightclub assault in Ennis, a court has heard.

The investigation relates to a North Clare woman who is alleged to have assaulted another person with a glass at the Queens nightclub, Ennis.

Nora McCormack (23), with an address at Glanquin, Kilnaboy, is charged with assault causing harm at the Queens on May 13, 2012.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Inspector Tom Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), had directed summary disposal of the case.

Insp Kennedy told the court that the alleged injured party would allege that she was struck by a small glass allegedly thrown by Ms Mc- Cormack.

Insp Kennedy said the person had to receive four stitches for the wound.

Solicitor John Casey said his client was prepared to take a certain course of action based on a version of events.

However he said no CCTV was available of the alleged incident. Mr Casey told the court that CCTV would back up his client’s version of events.

Mr Casey told the court that CCTV was a requirement for all pubs and nightclubs.

He added, “I find constantly when I look for CCTV, unless it is the Garda system, there is never CCTV footage.”He said his client did not agree with the version of events outlined by the alleged injured party.

Mr Casey said his client had never been in court before and had come back from America to deal with the case.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said he would be anxious to look into the matter of CCTV.

Judge Patrick Durcan adjourned the case until Friday to allow for disclosure matters to be resolved and for him to consider the jurisdiction.

He also requested further details of the injuries to the alleged injured party. On Friday, Mr Casey told the court that gardaí are continuing to investigate the case.

He requested that the matter be adjourned until January.

Insp Kennedy said the person had not suffered any permanent scarring.

Judge Durcan said he “reluctantly” accepted jurisdiction. He adjourned the case for mention until January 23, 2013.

THE DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is expected to issue directions in January in respect of four people charged in connection with an alleged public order incident at a roundabout in Ennis.

Bernard McDonagh (45) and Christopher McDonagh (38), Bernard McDonagh Jnr (22) and a 16-year-old boy are alleged to have committed a number of offences arising out of the incident at the Maid of Erin on October 14.

Bernard McDonagh (45), with an address at 1 Ashline, Kilrush Road, Ennis is charged with the assault of John Doherty. He also faces three charges of criminal damage and one charge of dangerous driving.

It is further alleged that Bernard McDonagh (45) drove a vehicle in a dangerous and reckless manner, which created substantial risk of death or serious harm to another.

Christopher McDonagh, with an address at 1 Davitt Terrace, Cloughleigh, Ennis, is charged with production of an iron bar and possession of an iron bar with intent to cause injury to John Doherty, Martin Doherty and Jimmy Doherty.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with possession of a hatchet with intent to cause injuries to John Doherty, Martin Doherty and Jimmy Doherty.

He is also charged with the produc- tion of a hatchet.

Bernard McDonagh Jnr (22) is charged with possession of an article with intent to cause injury and the production of an article in the course of a dispute.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Inspector Tom Kennedy said DPP’s directions are expected in January. All four people were remanded on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on January 13, 2013.

THERE are now more than 5,000 unpaid carers in the county who are providing help to friends or family members who are aged or are suffering from long-term illnesses or disabilities.

These figures have been revealed by the Central Statistic Office from the 2011 census returns, which show the amount of carers in the county has grown immeasurably over the past number of years.

The CSO figures show that the county now has 5,315 unpaid carers, with the majority of these people providing up to 14 hours a week looking after their loves ones and friends.

The proportion of the population of Clare now involved in providing unpaid care runs at 4.5 per cent, a percentage that places the county ninth in the national league of un- paid carers that is headed by Mayo with 5 per cent.

The majority of Clare carers are women – 3,252 women provided unpaid care to relatives and friends as against 2,064 males.

A breakdown of these figures reveal that 1,357 women provide up to 14 hours of unpaid care a week, while at the other end of the scale 771 women, as against 336 men, provide over 43 hours of unpaid held per week.

These figures for the county, which were gleaned from the census that was taken in April 2011, have been released against the backdrop of a drastic cut in home help hours in the county, which has kicked in over the last number of months.

In September it was announced that there would be a 5.5 per cent cut in the number of home help hours and a 3.7 per cent cut in home care packages – decisions taken by the Minister for Health, James Reilly that led Clarecare director, Fiachra Hensey, to say that many families across the county would be in a “very vulnerable” position.

“The level of vulnerable people out there is huge. I think funding for home help and home care packages should be increased, instead of decreased,” he said.

Clarecare delivers 180,000 hours of home help across the county through 400 part-time home helps, which benefits about 1,000 families.

THE women of Clare place a far greater emphasis on education than their male counterparts, the latest bulletin report of the 2011 National Census of Population has revealed.

The ninth report published by the Central Statistics Office since the census was taken in April 2011 presents a profile of the education and skills of the county’s population of 117,196, focusing in detail on age leaving education and field of study in which qualifications are held.

The Clare figures show that there are 17,533 people in the county with a third level qualification, but that a much larger proportion of these graduates are women. There are 10,084 women graduates to 7,449 male graduates.

A breakdown of these figures reveals that 58 per cent of graduates in the county are female, as against 42 per cent of males. Meanwhile, the percentage of female graduates in the county runs two per cent higher than the national average, with males graduates are two per cent lower than the national average.

“Twenty nine per cent of people aged 15 and over in the county in 2011 had a third level qualification, with 24 per cent were college graduates. The figure of 29 compares with 31 per cent for the State as a whole,” a CSO spokesperson told The Clare People .

“Twenty one per cent of all men aged 15 and over who had ceased full time education men were third level graduates compared with 28 per cent of women. A total of 398 people aged 15 and over who had completed their education held a Doctorate (Ph.D.) level qualification in April 2011.

“The social sciences, business and law category was by far the most popular field of study among all those with post-secondary school qualifications in the county in 2011, with 6,809 persons holding a qualification in this area,” the spokesperson added.

CLARE’S hopes of gaining bilingual status from the Department of the Gaeltacht have been boosted significantly this week on the back the 2011 National Census of Population report which says that nearly half of the county’s population are able to speak the language – the second highest ranking of any county in Ireland.

The findings, published by the Central Statistics Office as part of the latest bulletin report on last year’s census, called ‘What We Know – A study of education and skills in Ireland’, have revealed that the number of Irish speakers in the county is now running ahead of the average for the rest of Munster.

“A total of 53,853 persons in County Clare, accounting for 48 per cent of the population aged three and over, indicated that they could speak Irish. This compared to 41 per cent for the State as a whole,” a CSO spokesperson has revealed.

The breakdown of these figures has revealed that only Galway, with 51 per cent of its population being able to speak Irish, has a higher ranking than Clare. This means that Clare has a high percentage of its population speaking Irish than Gaeltacht counties such as Kerry and Donegal.

A further breakdown of these Clare figures has revealed that the majority of Irish speakers are females, with 29,145 females proficient in the language as compared to 24,708 males.

Meanwile, the upsurge in knowledge and interest in the language has been reflected in figures which show that there are now Irish speakers in over 60 per cent of households in the county. The figures show that of 42,648 households in Clare, 25,704 of those have Irish speakers in them, a figure which represents 60.3 per cent of households throughout the county.

However, a breakdown of these figures has revealed that only 1,539 people in the county speak the language on a daily basis outside of the education system, a figure that accounts for just 1.4 per cent of the total population aged three and over, compared to the state average of 1.8 per cent.

The largest concentration of Irish speakers is in the county capital of Ennis, with 11,277 of the town area’s population of 25,360 claiming to be speakers of the language. This trans

lates into ?? per cent of the population, a figure that represents a boon to local hopes the ‘Inis Dom’ project will see the town granted bilingual status by 2018. “We have a five-year plan to make Ennis a bilingual town and we think we can do this,” said local language activist, Domhnall Ó Loinsigh when launching the Inis Dom project last year. “As a town, Ennis would very much be to the fore as an urban community that is promoting Irish. We are very confident that through Irish, something can be done to make Ennis a place apart.

“This is about enhancing the visibility and use of Irish in the town and there is no cost involved. It is also about promoting the cultural image of the town, making it a more attractive place for visitors and as a more attractive shopping destination,” he added.

The second largest number of Irish speakers is located in Shannon, with 3,759 of the town’s population of 10,058 able to speak the language, while third and fourth in the county’s league table of Irish speakers are Kilrush and Sixmilebridge with 966 and 895 respectively.

THERE will be a contest for the top job in Clare GAA, with Noel O’Driscoll (O’Callaghan’s Mills) and Michael McDonagh (St Joseph’s Miltown) going head-to-head for chairman’s position being vacated by Michael O’Neill at the County Convention on December 18.

O’Driscoll has told The Clare People he will be in the race, while it has also been confirmed by sources within St Joseph’s Miltown that McDonagh, who served as chairman from 2003 to 2007, will be allowing his name go forward for the position.

A 14-YEAR-old boy has appeared in court charged with offences in connection with an alleged violent incident at a primary school in Ennis.

The teenager was before Ennis District Court on Friday. He is charged with violent disorder at the Holy Family Primary School on March 20, 2012.

He is also charged with the production of a machete contrary to the firearms and offensive weapons act on the same date and location.

The court heard that jurisdiction of the case had previously been refused. Inspector Tom Kennedy requested an extension of time for the service of the book of evidence.

The teenager was remanded on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on December 19.