Month: December 2013

A SKULL discovered in Quin almost five years ago may have belonged to a compulsive pipe-smoking woman, who died in her 40s more than 300 years ago.

The human remains, which were discovered in Quin in August of 2008, have been shrouded in mystery for the last five years. However, research carried out by TVAS Ireland, who discovered the remains, had shed some light on the historic discovery.

While many questions remain unanswered, the possible life story of the Quin body began to emerge in June.

“We now know that the jaw bone had typical female traits, so we can cautiously say that the body was a female. We know that the person also suffered from arthritis; part of the bones discovered were from the spine and there was evidence of the bones rubbing together. So we are fairly sure that the person would have had severe neck pain,” said Edel Ruttle of TVAS.

“From the jaw bone we noticed a third molar or wisdom tooth. So we are confident that the body was aged somewhere between 21 and 40 years of age. Interestingly, we also saw a clay pipe semi-circle on the body’s teeth, this is consistent to a person holding a clay pipe in her mouth almost constantly.

“So not only was this person a smoker – they would have had to hold the clay pipe in their mouth for hours and hours every day to make marks consistent with the ones we have discovered,” she said.

Despite these discoveries, it is still unclear why the body was buried in that spot and what religion the woman was. One theory maintains that the woman was a social outcast of some sort, which is why she was buried on the edge of a disused Catholic grave and not in the regular Catholic or Protestant grave- yards, which were in use in Quin at that time.

“She is buried in an East/ West liewhich suggest that it was, at least, a partially standard burial, but the she is buried on the very edge of the cemetery, probably after the cemetery went out of use. So it’s difficult to know,” continued Edel.

“It is possible that she was a marginal figure. Maybe she wasn’t buried in the graveyard in Quin Friary because of some social standing or lack of social standing.

“These are possibilities, but we don’t know for sure. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding this body.”

THE parents of a three-year-old boy, who waited for hours in Accident and Emergency at the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick with a head wound in June, told The Clare People that it was the longest, most stressful time of their lives.

Little Colm Murrihy, who was four years old in July, waited for five hours to have his head wound glued and dressed, while blood seeped through the interim first aid bandage his father Leslie had treated him with.

Mother Elaine said she was frustrated and annoyed by the Sunday evening wait but most of all she was worried as the wound continued to bleed. “He was losing so much blood. The bandage was thick and it was still coming through it,” said Elaine from Ennis.

Colm had been playing on his toy car at his grandparent’s house in Kilmihil on Sunday afternoon last when he stopped a bit too suddenly and went over the top of his car. The adventurous toddler landed on his head, resulting in a deep cut on his forehead.

“I had first-aid experience so I knew it was a deep cut. I bandaged it up and we drove to the A & E in Limerick,” said Mr Murrihy.

A while after registering at the hospital Mrs Murrihy accompanied the wounded toddler through to triage to be assessed. There began the mother’s first cause for concern as the bandage was not removed and the wound assessed by the nurse.

“I was just asked about what happened but no one looked at the cut. I was told we would probably be waiting a while. I was expecting an hour or two,” she said.

After a while spent back out in the waiting room the blood began to seep through the home-made bandage, causing the parents of two to worry. Mrs Murrihy said she asked that the little boy be seen so that the bandage could at least be changed but said she was told that was not necessary, as the blood “was not dripping”.

“I was very worried, and as we waited we could see people who came in after us being taken in. They had wounds to arms and legs but I was really worried because Colm had a head injury,” she said.

A FORMER fisherman who was pepper sprayed three times by gardaí as he tried to evade arrest, received a seven month suspended sentence for obstructing Gardaí and criminal damage at the last hearing of Kilrush District Court in 2014.

Judge Patrick Durcan said he “thought spray was more affective than that” as he listened to the evidence against Colin Haugh (24), 7 Barrack Road, Kilkee.

The court heard that just before 2am on July 7, 2013 Mr Haugh left O’Mara’s Public House carrying a chair over his head, walked down the street and smashed it into the wall of the AIB bank.

Garda Conor Flaherty gave evidence that he and his colleague Gda Heather McGovern were on duty on the night in question. They asked Mr Haugh to return the chair and for his details.

“He told me to I knew who he was and to f*@k off. He then pushed me backwards and started punching at us,” said Gda Flaherty.

The gardaí used pepper spray on the defendant. They then restrained him on the ground and he was sprayed again by Gda McGovern.

Mr Haugh broke free and ran down the alleyway and was chased by Gda Flaherty.

“I used my personal issued baton on his legs and he fell to the ground,” said the garda, adding that Mr Haugh was again sprayed.

Solicitor for the defence Fiona Hehir said that her client was not currently working, but previously worked as a fisherman and for a carpenter.

“On the day of the incident he had broken up with his long term girl- friend,” she said adding that he also apologised to Gardaí and paid the € 30 cost for the damage to the chair. Mr Haugh had 11 previous convictions. Ms Hehir said the convictions go back to 2011 when he worked in Kinsale. Judge Durcan sentenced him to three months in prison for the damage to the chair and four months for obstructing Gardaí in the line of their duty.

He suspended both sentences for two years.

Judge Durcan said he wanted to cut out “thickish boozy behaviour” in Clare as much as he possibly could.

IT PROVED to be a bumper Christmas for returning emigrants, with Shannon Airport recording a 21 per cent increase in passenger numbers over the festive season.

Some 43,000 passengers will have flown in and out of Shannon over the Christmas period from December 21 to January 2 – up almost 8,000 on the same period last year when over 35,000 travelled.

This makes it the first Christmas in five years that passenger numbers at the airport have shown an increase.

“We are having a very busy Christmas,” said Niall Maloney, Airport Operations Director at Shannon Airport.

“This is the busiest period of the winter season and we also had our free Santa Flights with Ryanair so it it’s all hands on deck.

“An airport is an emotional place anyway as families and friends reu- nite or say goodbye but it is particularly so at Christmas. This weekend is probably the happiest of the year, though, and the buzz is fantastic as there are so many flying in to be home for Christmas.

“The arrivals area is where it all happens, particularly for US and London flights as they are full of people flying back from the States or, via London, from the likes of Australia, the Middle East, Far East and elsewhere,” he added.

The boost in passengers numbers in Shannon over the Christmas period comes at the end of the airport’s first full year of independence.

On January 31 last year Shannon was formally granted its independence from the Dublin Airport Authority – a move that came into affect on the back of a pledge by the Fine Gael/Labour government to put a new blueprint in place for the airport after the 2011 General Election.

THE accolades keep coming for Davy Fitzgerald after the Clare manager was announced as Clare Person of the Year.

The Sixmilebridge man was named the recipient of the annual award given out by the Clare Association Dublin. It was a bumper year for Fitzgerald and Clare hurling. The former Clare goalkeeper guided Clare to the All-Ireland hurling title. The Banner captured a fourth title after a thrilling victory over Cork in a replayed All-Ireland final.

Fitzgerald was last week honoured by RTÉ when he was named Manager of the Year, while his Clare team won the ‘Team of the Year’ award.

“It’s been a fantastic year for Clare and for Clare hurling and we’re delighted that Davy is the Clare Person of the Year,” says Association PRO Gerry O’Reilly.

The Clare Association Dublin 2014 Yearbook was launched in Dublin earlier this month in Glasnevin by businessman and former Clare Person of the Year, Martin Donnelly.

Readers can expect the usual great mix of stories, reflections on events throughout 2013 and several personal accounts of what the year’s great sporting accolades have meant for parishes and county alike.

“To much applause, Davy Fitzgerald was revealed as this year’s successful nominee following a year in which he, together with his players and management team, brought so much pride to the county,” stated Mr O’Reilly.

The Clare Association Dublin Hall of Fame Award 2014 was also announced as going to another very worth recipient, Fr Harry Bohan.

To mark another successful year’s running of the Martin Corry Memorial Walk, a cheque was presented to Mary Crawford-Barry, Principal of St Joseph’s Secondary School, Spanish Point.

Details were also announced of the upcoming Annual Dinner Dance. The event will take place on January 25, at The Clyde Court Hotel (formerly The Berkley Court Hotel) from 8pm. The presentation of the Clare Person of the Year and Clare Association Dublin Hall of Fame awards will be made on the evening and entertainment will be provided by the Brian Boru Band. Tickets are available from any member of the committee. (Liam O’Looney 087 2377957; Gerry O’Reilly 086 8498192; Pauline Cummins 01 8531037; Mary Barry 087 2244343).

THE long-running saga of Blake’s Corner in Ennistymon look an unexpected twist in May when a vigilante painter struck at Clare’s most dangerous traffic junction, with a zebra crossing being painted at the notorious Blake’s Corner in Ennistymon.

The zebra crossing was painted in the early hours Tuesday morning, May 21, on the Lahinch side of dangerous junction. The identity of the vigilante painter is unknown, but some local people have started using the new zebra crossing.

Blake’s Corner has been the site of ongoing difficulty for Clare County Council, who have had to shelf long-awaited plans to create a new traffic flow system at the junction. Local group, Saving Ennistymon Heritage, opposed the new junction on the ground that two listed building, known as Blake’s and Linnane’s, would have to be demolished as part of the joint National Roads Authority (NRA)/Clare County Council project.

The process has been stalled for the last two years as Clare County Council have been unable to secure funding from the NRA to complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed development.

More than two million people use the tiny junction every year to access the Cliffs of Moher and Lahinch beach. Council engineer Tony Neville yesterday describe the vigilante action as a “dig” against the council.

“We have to take it out. It is emulsion so white spirits won’t take it out. We are scrubbing it at the moment,” he said.

“It is a bit of a dig. We have to condemn it and to note that is dangerous. People are using it and it is causing confusion. If anyone has information we would urge them to contact the gardaí.”

Local councillor Joe Arkins (FG) said that the action was a direct prompt from the local community, aimed at the council.

“The community are prompting us to take on certain works here. We have a real problem there [Blake’s Corner] and the sooner we can apply outselves to solving this the better,” he said.

In an official statement yesterday Clare County Council urged local people to forward any information on the new crossing to the Gardaí. “We will be removing the zebra crossing as soon as possible. If any member of the general public is aware of the identity of the person or persons who did this, they should report it to the Ennistymon Area Office or directly to the gardaí. Unauthorised surface markings can cause confusion for road users and can be hazardous for both pedestrians and motorists,” said senior engineer Tom Tiernan.

A BALLYVAUGHAN grandmother who says she was ‘butchered’ by doctors when giving birth to her first son in 1965, is appealing to the Health Service Executive (HSE) to locate records of the birth, The Clare People reported in May.

Elizabeth “Ellen” Moore says that she has wanted to die on a number of occasions over the past 48 years following her symphysiotomy, which has left her in near constant pain and completely incontinent.

This procedure, which involved breaking a woman’s pelvic bone during labour, was conducted without her knowledge or permission in September of 1965. Mrs Moore has recently obtained all her medical records from the HSE under Freedom of Information, but records of the birth of her first son and the controvertial symphysiotomy have been lost. Ellen, who has five grown up children now living in Shannon and East Clare, says she wants the records so she can finally explain to her children why their mother was the way she was.

“My family are so supportive, they always have been. Sometimes I just curl up on the bed and hope that the pain will go away. It is difficult, [but] I had to get up every morning. I had five children, I had to keep going,” she said.

“There were times when I wanted to die, I wanted to get into bed and never get out of it, after I’d had an accident down the town or something.

“Nobody can give me back the years of my life. I should have had a good life, I should have been able to go places and do things but I’ve been tied to pain. I think if I felt sorry for myself, I’d start to crack up.

“It is so strange that they don’t seem to have the records I want considering all the other records that they gave me. I am still hopeful that they can be found. If I could get my years back, if I could look at these and ask what they were doing. I was butchered, that’s what happened, like a lot of other women.

In April, Ellen and other members of the Survivors of Symphysiotomy (SOS) group received the news they were waiting for. The Government passed a bill which would see some redress provided to the victims of symphysiotomy. It is unclear what form this redress will take and whether the full release of HSE records will be part of the redress process.

THE number of young Clare girls who are purposely cutting themselves every day has increased dramatically since 2009, prompting fears of a epidemic of self harm in the county.

According to figures obtained by The Clare People in May, the number of Clare girls deliberately cutting themselves jumped dramatically in 2010 and has remained high ever since. This has prompted fears of a self harm epidemic amongst Clare school girls, with fears also being raised about the possibility of copy cat cutting.

According to the National Register for Deliberate Self Harm, 100 Clare girls and women received hospital treatment because of self harm in 2009, with 186 hospital visits taking place in total. In the same year, 96 Clare boys and men required hospi- tal treatment, with a total of 172 hospital visits taking place.

These figures are broadly in line with national and international averages, with girls generally engaging in self harm slightly more than boys. However, in 2010 and 2011 the number of Clare girls self harming jumped dramatically, with 124 and 120 girl receiving hospital treatment respectively.

Cutting is the most common form of self harm, however poisoning and alcohol abuse is also common, especially amongst males.

“It has become more and more common among school girls,” The Clare People was told.

Girls as young as 12 years old are cutting themselves, or injuring themselves in some other way, with hundreds requiring hospital treatment for their self acquired injuries each year.

THE body of the 52-year-old Czech National was found in a laneway beside Supermac’s fast food restaurant on O’Connell Street in May. Mr Josef Pavelka died on a Saturday night, just days after leaving a homeless shelter in Galway. Josef and his friend Piotr Baram came to national attention earlier in the year when it was revealed they lived in a public toilet in Ennis. “Josef is my best friend and he is dead, he is dead. I am sick. I am sick about that,” said Mr Baram.

A Garda spokesman said at the time that gardaí are liaising with Interpol to contact the deceased’s family in the Czech Republic. Mr Pavelka had recently underwent surgery and had severe difficulties with alcohol. He walked with the aid of a crutch.

Recalling his friend’s final hours, Piotr said, “We drink together Saturday. After that he go to sleep in church. Later the church is closed, he must go out. I go to my place to sleep. He go to his place, I don’t know where, O’Connell Street somewhere.”

Mr Pavelka came to Ireland in 2007 and worked in construction industry and as a painter. He and Piotr Baram were fixtures on the streets of Ennis. They could be seen every morning standing in the laneway near Fawl’s Pub on O’Connell Street. The pair lived for a period in a tent in the Fair Green.

They received food and assistance from the Church and the St Vincent de Paul. They were firm friends for seven years. Piotr Baram said his friend had been married with children in the Czech Republic.

He said he thought Mr Pavelka liked football back at home. Mr Pavelka’s plight came to national attention last month after a report from the Probation Services disclosed that he lived for a period in a public toilet. Mr Pavelka appeared in court on public order charges. Judge Patrick Durcan described the situation as a “scandal”. As a result the men secured emergency accommodation at a tourist hostel in Galway. They returned to Ennis two weeks ago where, Piotr says, they slept rough on the streets.

APRIL began with bad news for Clare primary schools with the news that 60 schools could face closure or amalgamation. According to a leaked Department of Education, small school across the county face an uncertain future.

The ‘Value for Money Report’ recommends the all primary schools should have a minimum of 80 pupils and four teachers. This, according to Irish National School Teacher’s Organisation (INTO) Clare Executive Sean Mc Mahon puts almost 60 schools in Clare at risk of closure, which is 50 per cent of all the primary schools in the county.

According to the most up to date official Department of Education figures for the school year 2011-2012, there are 59 rural schools in Clare with less than 80 pupils.

When asked about the proposal and its impact on the county’s primary education ahead of the INTO congress meeting in Cork in April, Mr McMahon described the suggestion as an April Fools joke.

“Considering today is April 1 and we hear news that a Minister is seek- ing to close down 50 per cent of the schools in Clare and hundreds across the country, it must be an April Fools joke,” said the Mullagh School Principal who is tipped to be elected that next national vice president of the primary teachers union.

“A Value for Money Report is a very narrow way to determine the future of rural schools and their value to the community. It does not take into account location or distance students must travel for an education,” he added.

Should the report get the support of the Minister for Education and the Department of Education and Skills it will mean the closure of more than 1,000 schools across the country, 600 of which have less than two mainstream teachers.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said however that the report’s findings did not mean it would be Government policy to close schools with fewer than four teachers.

Information from the report is emerging as teachers from all over the country meet for their traditional trade union congresses this week.