Month: December 2013

IT WAS Bah Humbug and goodbye to any curse that Biddy Early might have over the Clare hurling on the last Saturday of September when the All-Ireland was won, but there was no keeping the bould Feakle woman down in the earliest days of October.

All because while the county was still on a natural high following the All-Ireland final victory over Cork, the county was preparing to enter the stratosphere with the news that a new form of cannabis has been named after famous Banner witch, Biddy Early.

The seed, one of five new strains developed in recent years by Magus Genetics in Holland, was described as growing to between 1.8 metres and 2 metres high and is ready for harvest in early October.

Selling and buying cannabis seeds is currently legal in Ireland but cultivating these seeds for person use of sale is a criminal offense. The Biddy Early strain has been specially bred to allow it to grow outdoors in a European climate.

Biddy Early is synonymous with Clare hurling because of the 81-year curse which the East Clare woman placed on the Banner county.

According to the Marijuana.com website, the Dutch company chose the Biddy Early name because her connection with witchcraft.

“Biddy Early is named for a 19th century woman accused of witchcraft, whose story became the subject of folk ballads and entered Irish legend. Magus, from the Latin for ‘priest’ or ‘sorcerer’, felt kinship with Biddy Early’s plight given the similarity between the witch hunt hysteria in times past and the current war on drugs.

“Biddy Early is the first variety that Magus Genetics specifically formulated for outdoor gardening in temperate regions. Although an even mix of sativa and indica, this plant exhibits the strong lateral growth typically seen in sativas.

“Biddy likes to branch out. The branches are very elastic and pliable, easily trained or tied like vines to suit the available space. Outdoors, this suppleness makes the plant storm proof or resilient to harsh weather,” the website stated.

The seeds are no longer available from Magus Genetics who have transferred distribution rights for Biddy Early to another Dutch company, Serious Seeds.

RYANAIR never left Shannon but its presence in Clare’s international airport was back with a big bang in October thanks to the low-cost airline’s new target of one million new passengers as it geared up to reach 2007 levels when its traffic numbers reached a record 1.9m.

This vision and commitment of the low-cost airline for Shannon was sounded out at the airport on October 24 by deputy chief executive Michael Cawley, at the announcement of eight new Ryanair flights out of Shannon that will commence in April 2014.

“My ambition for Shannon,” said Mr Cawley, “we talked about one million passengers. I wouldn’t lessen that in any way. We can move on. 300,000 is a very good start – this is a very significant step, almost doubling our business,” he added.

In 2011, Ryanair pledged to grow traffic numbers in Shannon by one million, provided it secured the same incentive deal that was being afforded to Aer Lingus by the Dublin Airport Authority at Dublin Airport.

Now the commitment of delivering 300,000 new passengers to Shannon as early as 2014 comes on the back of the announcement of new routes to Berlin, Munich, Krakow, Paris, Nice Fuerteventura, Warsaw and Faro as well as increased frequency on the Stansted route.

“I think we have to walk before we run. I would characterise the an- nouncement as running fairly fast,” said Mr Cawley. “As the economy grows from a very low level, we would see great opportunity as well as putting new spots on the map. It provides us with a platform. “Once these can be bedded down and successful we can grow more. We take one step at a time. That is critical in our business too. We bed down what we have and we move on. This is a very big step,” he added. The Ryanair deputy chief refused to disclose the terms of the new deal, but said, “Shannon wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t good for them; Ryanair wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t good for us. All we want is Shannon to be competitive and they have been competitive on this issue and we have a very good understanding. We have met in the middle on that – the tax has been a critical ingredient in making it happen. We are committed for a good number of years under this deal, so is the airport. “We have 30m more passengers that we want to allocate to airports over the next six/seven years – we want to be with people we can ring up and say ‘are the terms the same as the last time’, ‘can we extend it further’. “I would be very disappointed, now that the shackles of the Travel Tax are removed, that Shannon doesn’t participate, at least pro-rata or possibly more so, in that 30m expansion. We are here to stay, we are here to grow,” he added.

CLARE erupted in celebration as the county’s hurlers were crowned AllIreland champions after an epic two game series against Cork.

Darach Honan’s goal in the dying seconds ensured a 5-16 to 3-16 win for Clare over the Rebel County in the All-Ireland final replay played under lights on an unforgettable Saturday night in Croke Park.

Teenage forward Shane O’Donnell became an overnight sensation after scoring a first half hat trick. O’Donnell also scored three points as Clare’s pacy and skillful brand of hurling illuminated a final hailed by many as the greatest of all time.

Cratloe’s Conor McGrath scored a wonder goal at a crucial period in the second half to put Clare on the road to victory.

All this after the first game between the counties ended in a draw earlier in the month. Despite dominating the game, Clare could not shake off a dogged Cork side who edged a point ahead in the final moments.

But in one of the most dramatic passages of play in All-Ireland history, corner back Domhnall O Donovan burst up field to swing over the eqaulising point deep in injury time to leave the sides all square (Clare 025 Cork 3-16) at the end of a pulsating encounter.

It meant the counties had to do it all over again three weeks later. By the time the replay rolled around, Clare had already secured a second successive All-Ireland under 21 title following a comfortable victory over Antrim.

Thousands of Clare fans mobbed the pitch as captain Paul Flanagan was presented with the trophy. Days later Clare were celebrating again as the county claimed its fourth senior All-Ireland title.

Goal scoring hero Shane O’Donnell was the man everyone was talking about afterwards.

“If I had a dream last night that I was going to score 3-3, I’d have woken up and said that’s ridiculous. I’d have been happy with one. It’s the stuff of dreams since I was five or six when I picked up a hurley,” he said.

The Éire Óg player was only told he would be starting instead of Darach Honan when the team gathered for their pre-match meal in St Patrick’s College.

“The last few weeks in training have been good to me. The week before the 21 match and from then I’ve been going well. You just hit a patch of form and I got it at the right time and I got put on,” he added.

Ballyea superstar Tony Kelly was superb on the day, scoring three vital points.

“The saying goes, ‘make hay while the sun shines’ and it’s been shining now for the last couple of years and long may it continue,” he said

Patrick Donnellan joined the short but illustrious list of Clare men who have captained their county to AllIreland glory.

“Surreal, absolutely surreal, you feel like you’re watching yourself do it. It’s the only way I can describe it,” said Donnellan of climbing the steps to receive the Liam McCarthy trophy.

“It absolutely unreal and just rewards for the amount of effort that those lads have put in all year to get their day in the sun and we had it this day.”

Close to 30,000 people packed into the Fair Green in Ennis to welcome home the All-Ireland champions. “The recession can go to hell” declared Davy Fitzgerald to the jubilant crowd.

“In 1995 I was privileged and honoured to be part of something special in the Banner County. I was lucky to play with a bunch of players that were exceptional. I was lucky to be led by a manager that was exceptional, so I was. Them guys are what led the way to this success,” said Fitzgerald.

“But the one thing I want to say tonight, we enjoyed our time in 95 and 97 but it’s now the time for 2013 and these exceptional players.”

CLARE farmers were warned to be vigilant in August following a marked increase in cattle rustling – as fears grew that an organised gang could be targeting farms in the county.

An incident of suspected cattle rustling took place in Quin when more than € 10,000 wor th of cattle was taken from the farm of Anthony Flannery.

The raid specifically targeted high value animals which the thieves would likely attempt to re-sell rather than slaughter.

But to sell the animals the criminals would need to provide valid documentation and tags for the animals, which led to a belief the theft could have been part of an organised operation rather than opportunistic.

Clare ICMSA Chairman, Mar tin McMahon, told The Clare People such crimes could be enough to put already stretched farmers out of business.

“The value of this stock now to a farmer is huge. After such a costly winter farmers have been tr ying to get cattle in shape so they could get as much money from them as they could. There are loans to banks and credit to be paid and a theft life this could put someone out of business,” he said.

“These people [cattle r ustlers] would have to have a knowledge of farming and a way of disposing of these animals. If there is someone out there who is helping dispose of stolen animals then this is a very serious risk to farmers in Clare and something that needs to be brought to an end quickly.

“The Guards and the Department of Agriculture need to row in behind this quickly and bring an end to this situation,

Gardaí in Ennis investigated the incident in Quin. Among the cattle stolen were a six-year-old black Limousin cow, two other in calf cows and an Aberdeen Angus.

AUGUST was the month when Clare’s dreams of capturing an historic All-Ireland double started to gather real momentum.

The Banner’s golden year took flight in Thurles on August 7 when they swept aside Tipperary to win a second successive Munster under 21 title.

Clare’s 1-17 to 2-10 scoreline was built on a solid defensive performance from man of the match, full back David McInerney. The Tulla man was imperious throughout, illuminating his hour with spectacular catches and launched clearances. Tipperary’s much vaunted forward division never got going thanks to dominant displays from Clare’s half and full back lines.

The victory marked the completion of an historic ‘double/double’ for joint manager Gerry O’Connor and Donal Moloney. Having guided Clare to back to back Munster minor championships in 2010 and 2011 the pair followed that achievement with Munster under 21 titles in 2012 and 2013, not to mention and All-Ireland title in 2012.

“I have never seen a bunch of guys to set out a standard in terms of behaviour and in terms of how to work, and anything that strays from that standard, to them is totally unacceptable”, joint manager Donal Moloney told The Clare People afterwards.

Ten days later Clare’s journey to hurling’s summit hit top gear as they produced an outstanding performance to beat Limerick in the All-Ireland senior semi-final.

The brilliance of Tony Kelly, Podge Collins and Colin Ryan inspired Clare to a 1-22 0-18 win over the Munster Champions and prematch favourites.

Captain Patrick Donnellan was hugely influential in a sweeper role that was the platform for Clare’s dominance.

“The way we have to rank this is that Clare have only been in six finals over 120 years and that’s a pretty big achievement whatever happens” said jubilant Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald afterwards.

“I’m so proud of these young lads. They are an example to everyone playing the game because they work so hard and never die,” added Fitzgerald.

“It’s great to be here, great that we played well and great that we have another day to look forward to,” said Patrick Donnellan.

That win sparked a rush for AllIreland final tickets. The hunt began in earnest when clubs across the county received an initial allocation of 9,000 tickets.

The second allocation of tickets to be administered by the Clare County Board via the clubs was predicted to be 3,000, which meant that a total of 12,000 were made available to GAA clubs.

With tickets proving to be scarce many fans took to the internet to source tickets.

Clare fans got the opportunity to meet their heroes when the gates of Cusack Park were thrown open for an open training session.

On the field, Clare kept on winning as the county’s under 21s beat Galway 1-16 0-7 in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Clare blew away the Tribesmen thanks to another dominant performance at full back from David McInerney and a 1-6 haul from corner forward Cathal O’Connell.

CASH strapped parents facing back to school bills of more than € 700 per child were being forced to turn to moneylenders and charities such as St Vincent de Paul in desperation.

The Clare Citizen Information Service surveyed stressed parents who sought their advice and assistance and discovered the cost of one second level student starting school in Clare had reached € 800.

“The € 200 Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance was not taking the pressure off,” warned Clare Citizen’s Information Development Manager Paul Woulfe.

He raised concerns that the financial pressure is forcing people to turn to “legal and illegal moneylenders in desperation”, who charge exorbitant interest rates and in the case of illegal moneylenders can resort to threatening and abusive behaviour when collecting debt.

Parents were also finding some solace in organisations like St Vincent de Paul.

“It is easy to see how the costs add up. Shoes cost about € 250 because you need runners too, € 200 for school uniforms and tracksuit, books cost anything between € 200 and € 250 with miscellaneous classroom costs at least € 50.

“The volountary contribution to schools is usually between € 100 to € 125,” explained Mr Woulfe.

The Citizen Information development manager said many parents find themselves in debt at the start of the school year, especially the Back to School Footwear and Clothing Allowance and children’s allowance is reduced as costs increase. The cost of school tours and extra curricular activities or tuition can also be very high.

“Though not compulsory, such activities are often essential with re- gard to social an educational inclusion,” said Mr Woulfe.

He continued, “Children from lower income families are likely to benefit most and yet be most at risk of exclusion from costly extra curricular activities and supports. Additionally a child who has to opt out of school tours or outings is likely to experience social stigma.

“Evidence from MABS suggests that parents may opt to ensure that their children do continue to par- ticipate in extra curricular activities, school tours etc, but that this brings with it the risk of deepening household poverty, which carries with it not only health risks associated with food and fuel poverty but also the stress of household indebtedness and social exclusion of the parents and family within the broader community or socio-economic context.

“They have so many costs it is crippling and they face a great burden,” said Mr Woulfe.

THERE were increased sightings in Ennis during August of a “rogue” fox blamed for killing three dogs in a housing estate in recent weeks.

Authorities issued a warning over the behaviour of the fox amid fears it could attack small children. County dog warden and Clare ISPCA officer Frank Coote said he has received numerous reports of sightings since highlighting the fox attacks last week.

The animal is believed to be moving through land in the Tobertascáin area of the town. Mr Coote said the fox was responsible for attacking and killing the dogs.

“To be honest I didn’t really believe it at first. It’s rare enough for something like this to happen. But I have the evidence of it, these dogs were half eaten. I interviewed the families. I took photos. These dogs were all attacked in properties,” explained Mr Coote.

Though instances of fox attacks against humans are rare, Mr Coote said there is evidence in England that it has happened before.

The long-serving animal welfare officer says this is the first time that he has encountered a “rogue fox” in the Ennis area.

“I’ve met a rogue badger before up in Lees Road when it opened. It was chasing people up and down the path but it had eaten a poison. I’ve seen one rogue fox in Tulla before but never around Ennis,” he said.

Mr Coote said he would be con- cerned that the fox could attack small children. A trap has been laid in the area where the fox is though to travel through. But so far it hasn’t been caught. Mr Coote is liaising with officers from the National Parks and Wildlife Services. He said efforts would continue to trap the fox.

“It has quite bad mange and I was talking to a vet who said he would probably die during the winter anyway. But this fox is a danger and I will stay out there to try and catch it”, Mr Coote added.

DESPITE repeated warnings, a second person was hospitalised after being injured Dusty the Dolphin.

Local organisations and Clare County Council have told people not to swim with the dolphin who had taken up residence at Doolin pier.

Clare County Council lifeguards stationed at Doolin Pier had taken to raising the red flag, which indicated it is not safe to swim when Dusty is in the area.

Despite this people continued to swim close to the dolphin with re- ports of people covering Dusty’s blowhole and pulling her fins.

The latest took place when a female swimmer was charged as she left the water after a swim.

The dolphin is believed to have struck the woman in the kidney, knocking her over and leaving her winded.

The woman received treatment at the scene by the Doolin Unit of Irish Coast Guard and was taken by ambulance to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick for treatment.

Her injuries were described as not serious but she was badly bruised and shocked by the incident.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group put up posters in the area recommending that people not swim with Dusty.

The posters were distributed to premises in Doolin while additional posters were placed on the Doolin ferries.

“IWDG acknowledges that many people have had a fantastic encounter with Dusty and have built up a person relationship with the dolphin. However IWDG is very concerned that any visitors, especially in the summer, do not recognise the signals Dusty sends out when she is not happy with behaviour,” a spokesperson said.

“Ignoring such signs or behaving inappropriately had led on a number of occasions to aggressive interactions with some people being severely injured. If this continues it may lead to a fatality and then there will be strong pressure to remove or destroy the Dolphin.

“If you really are concerned about Dusty you will not swim with her or at least if you do, you will show her the respect a wild dolphin is entitled to.”

GUILTY verdicts were returned at the murder trials of two Clare men at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.

North Clare man Colm Deely (41) had pleaded not guilty to murdering Deirdre McCar thy (43), between 11pm on March 27, 2011, and noon the following day.

But a jury of seven women and five men found the father of two guilty by unanimous verdict in just under three hours of deliberation.

Mr Justice Barry White said he was handing down a mandatory life sentence and that he had no discretion in the matter.

Ms McCarthy was socialising in a local pub with friends including Deely on the night she went missing. The cour t heard Ms McCarthy’s body was found on Fanore Beach four days later and that and that Deely did not take part in the search to find her. It also heard that after her body was found, Deely, of School Road, Ballyvaughan, attempted to take his own life by stabbing himself in the stomach.

Deely told gardaí they were “fooling around” in Ms McCarthy’s bed and he put his hands around her neck but did not mean to kill her.

FAS worker Deely claimed Ms McCar thy tried to blackmail him. Mr Patrick Giblin SC, defending, told the court his client was sorry for what he had done but “intended no harm”.

In a victim impact statement, the deceased’s sister, Helen Geoghean said, “I don’t think we will ever be able to tr uly put into words the devastation that we still feel each and every day.

“Dee was a happy easy-going person who lived as very simple life. She didn’t have much need for the material things in life but she was a very caring person who loved life,” she added.

Also at the Central Criminal Court, Barefield farmer Joe Heffernan (33), of Cappagh Beg, Barefield, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of law student Eoin Ryan (21).

Heffernan pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ryan at Cappagh Beg, Barefield, on June 7, 2011.

The trial heard that Heffernan told gardaí he killed Mr Ryan because he made a pass at him, adding that the devil had been in the man’s eyes.

The court heard Mr Ryan sustained multiple injuries to his head and body and that his blood was found on a socket wrench at the scene.

The trial had heard that Mr Ryan was gay and that both men had left the pub together hours before his death.

The prosecution said that Heffernan’s motive was his abhorrence with himself that he might be homosexual or have engaged in a homosexual act that morning.

The defence asked for manslaughter verdict arguing that Heffernan’s adjustment disorder following his father’s death caused him to think he was killing the devil.

However a forensic psychiatrist who interviewed Heffernan three time said he knew what he was doing was wrong.

Eoin Ryan’s brother, Daniel Ryan delivered a powerful victim impact statement. “Our world ended on the 7th of June 2011. Each morning is begun with a jolt of pain as the memory of what happened to Eoin returns to us” he said.

“All our hopes for Eoin were destroyed in minutes by the barbaric actions of another just kilometres from our home.”

THE sun began to shine in Clare in June and once it started, it just wouldn’t quit. As the county spent much of June soaking up the rays, the tills in north and west Clare were busy ringing as tens of thousands of tourists descended on Lahinch, Kilkee, Spanish Point, Liscannor and Fanore.

The heat-wave has been described as a Godsend for tourism industry in the county, with ‘no vacancies’ signs being dusted off in hotels and B&B’s all along the Atlantic Coast.

All of last week the roads leading to our coastal resort towns and villages were filled with families in search of the beach. Those visiting Lahinch, Spanish Point and Kilkee were forced to park a long way from the beaches as throngs of people made their way to the Clare coastline.

According to Lahinch hotelier Michael Vaughan, the past week was a reminder of the good old days. “Last week was reminiscent of the heady days of the 1970s. It was tremendous, there were droves of people coming from all over the country to rediscover seaside fun and there wasn’t a room to be had in north Clare.

“I think everyone up here went off the Prozac for a week and enjoyed the sun instead,” he said.

Michael Vaughan went on to explain that any issues arising from the hot weather were competently dealt with locally.

“We had a lot of traffic issues in the area but they are issues that we’d be happy to have any day of the week. Credit to the local gardaí, they were out on point duty and managed an unexpected situation really well.

The Cliffs of Moher is on line to record its busiest ever year, which could see the county’s leading tourist attraction hit one million visitors.

According to year-to-date figures obtained by The Clare People , number visitors to the Cliffs are up by more than 10 per cent on last year – and are predicted to hit 961,400 by year end.

“For the Cliffs of Moher and larger towns like Ennis, the tourist number are very good at the moment, mainly because the American bus tourists are really back this year.

“So a 10 per cent increase in numbers at the Cliffs wouldn’t surprise me at all. The number wouldn’t be quite as good for local provider however – we would be aiming for a 5 to 6 per cent increase in number overall this year.”

The Cliffs of Moher is now expected to record its busiest every year in 2013 – passing out the 939,772 who visited the centre in 2007.”