Month: August 2014

LAST week’s opening of a new state-of-the-art rescue centre at Doolin brings to an end almost 20 years of campaigning for proper facilities for the volunteers of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard.

For decades, the local volunteers have been forced to work in cramped conditioned and store valuable rescue materials in their own homes because of a lack of space at the old rescue centre. The old station could only accommodate one of the Doolin Unit’s rescue boats and was prone to flooding during the winter months.

Funding for a new station was originally announced by the Department of the Marine and the Office of Public Works (OPW) in the late 1990s but was only forthcoming in recent years. The defects of the old station came to the attention of the public in November of 2005 when a lengthy search operation was undertaken for three Clare men, who tragically lost their lives in the area.

Speaking yesterday, Mattie Shannon of the Doolin Unit said he never doubted that the new state of the art centre would be built.

“We knew that the day would come sometime – but God only knows when. We had been campaigning for it [the new centre] for more than 20 years now. I remember Liam Kirwan [former Director of the Irish Coast Guard] said to me 20 years ago that if we got a location that they’d build the new station,” he said. “It is a great addition and it definitely going to lift the spirits of the unit. It’s a great centre for people to come and see as well. We will try and have people there on Sundays and at the weekend. If people see the doors open then they are more than welcome to come in and have a look around.” Mattie also appealed to the public not to park in front of the new centre as doing so will block the launch of the rescue boats. “We have one issue at the moment and that is parking and I’d like to appeal to the public on that. We need space across the road from the centre to be able to launch the boats. We need the full width of the road in front of the centre for about 25 metres either side of the gate. It may look awful to see that place empty and people struggling to park cars on top of each other but we need it if we have to launch the boat,” he said. “We might only have to launch once a week or once a month but we need [that space] when we have to launch. We know that new parking arrangement are coming from next year and we would urge people to keep the space clear in the mean time. Vehicles will have to be towed away if they are parked in the way. I don’t think anyone would intentionally park in front of the lifeguard station but if someone wasn’t thinking they could obstruct a rescue.”

MOTORISTS are advised to expect delays in Ennis following the introduction of a one-way system aimed at alleviating traffic congestion outside one of the county’s biggest schools.

Clare County Council implementing a new one way system at Lifford Road, also known locally as Dr Daly Road.

Works to put in place the new traffic system commenced yesterday and are expected to last for approximately two weeks.

In May, members of the former Ennis Town Council gave the go-ahead for the system, which will see traffic run one way from New Road to Lifford Road.

The council proposed the system to address heavy traffic congestion at Ennis CBS primary and secondary schools around opening and closing times.

In a report to councillors at the time, executive engineer Alan Morrissey stated, “A number of near miss incidents have been reported at the school warden crossing point adjacent to this junction. Traffic congestion on New Road was cited as a major contributory factor.

“A number of cars are parking on a long stay basis at the New Road end of the L4556, which exacerbates traf fic congestion in this area at school pick up times,” he added.

In its submission to the council, CBS primary school said enrollment at the school has grown in the last few years leading to an associated increase in traffic congestion.

The school states the proposed scheme would provide a marked al- leviation to the problem. However in their submissions, residents and landowners on Lifford Road objected to the new one-way system. One resident said the proposal to “discharge traffic onto Lifford Road R352-455, will not work because it is a much busier road with restricted visibility to the right.” Another resident states, “The proposal aims to solve a traffic conges- tion issue that occurs for 20 minutes per day, 167 days a year by permanently directing traffic to a dangerous junction. The short-term congestion is far more acceptable than the proposed scheme.” Works at Lifford Road will take place typically between the hours of 8am and 6pm over the next two weeks. Traffic management control measures will be in place and will include restrictions on use of the road and the use of stop/go traffic control. Clare County Council are advising the public to reduce speed in the vicinity of the works and to expect delays, owing to the road works and traffic management controls in place. Local access will be accommodated at all times, the Council says. Dr Daly Road is the road that runs alongside the Fair Green from New Road (at the CBS Primary School) to Lifford Road (near St Joseph’s Hospital). The council states, “Under the new one-way system that traffic will be one-way northbound on Dr Daly Road, i.e. from the junction with New Road (L4554) in the direction of Lifford Road (R352-455). Informal pedestrian crossing points will be provided as part of the scheme. On street parking with a maximum stay of two hours will be provided along the western side of the road, closest to the Fair Green. Parking will be prohibited along the eastern side of the road.”

BY now a host of Clare sports stars, politicians and musical personalities have all taken the plunge this week with the Ice Bucket Challenge taking the county by storm. The challenge, which involves filming yourself while someone pours a bucket of ice and water over your head, is part of a major fundraising drive in aid of Motor Neuron Disease.

Clare’s All-Ireland hat-trick hero, Shane O’Donnell, was one of the first stars to to get himself wet during the week when he took the challenge during the inaugural Shane O’Donnell Summer Camp.

The Éire Óg club man nominated Podge Collins, footballers Colm Cooper and Jack McCaffrey as well as Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, to take up the challenge while also donating € 100 to Motor Neurone Disease Ireland (MND).

Clare TD Timmy Dooley (FF) has put himself in the firing and took the challenge over the weekend.

Deputy Dooley called out his fellow Clare TDs Michael McNamara (Lab), Pat Breen (FG) and Joe Carey (FG) – none of whom have yet posted a video (as of Monday evening). For more see page 13.

INTELLIGENCE, hard work and the Young Scientist Competition are being credited for the success of Lisdoonvarna student, Keelan McMahon, who discovered last Wednesday that he’d earned the maximum 625 points in the Leaving Cert.

Keelan, who is a student at Mary Immaculate Secondary School in Lisdoonvarna, is a veteran of many Young Scientist Competitions which clearly paid off for him as he sat a total of five maths and science based subjects for his exams.

The Lisdoonvarna student, who works at the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience, also received his first choice course of Mathematical Sciences in University College Cork when the first round of college offers were made yesterday morning.

“I think the Young Scientist really helped, it definitely influenced me a lot. Before I went up to the Young Scientists I had very little interest in science. But going up there and getting the feel for different sciences when they are done properly got me interested. The Young Scientist definitely did play a big part of it,” he said.

“I’m really happy and a little shocked as well. It’s great to have it all over with to be honest. There was a lot of stress waiting for the results. I couldn’t sleep the night before, so I got up at 9am and went straight in to get them from the school.

“I got six A1s and when you include the extra 25 points for honours math that makes 625. I got the six A1s in math, applied math, physics, chemistry, biology and in German.

“I got an offer for Mathematical Sciences in UCC which was my first choice. I’m starting college there on September 8, which is three weeks away, and I’m looking forward to it. I picket that course because it was so broad and you can go into so many careers after it. But at the moment I’m looking at actuary.”

THE body of a woman who died after she tripped and fell under a train in Dublin was returned home to Kilrush for burial.

Patricia Brennan was killed in the tragic accident on Thursday afternoon.

The Cappagh native who had been living in Dublin was blind. She was waiting on the platform at Raheny DART station just before 2pm when she tripped and fell onto the track as a fast-moving train was approaching.

Irish Rail said the driver put on the emergency brake but could not stop the train before it hit the woman.

She was hit by a train travelling from the city’s Pearse Street station to Drogheda, which was not scheduled to stop in Raheny station.

The 57 year-old was rushed to Beaumont Hospital, but later died.

It is understood a group of Spanish students were on the southbound platform at the time of the incident and witnessed the fall.

One of them broke away along the platform and tried to alert the driver of the oncoming train.

Ms Brennan’s family came originally from Scattery Island but have lived on the main land in Cappagh for more than 50 years.

Local man Sean Dunleavy, who went to school with the late Ms Brennan said she was a lovely woman who returned regularly to the town to visit her mother.

She is survived by her mother Bridget, sister Maria, brother-inlaw Jim, aunts, uncles, relatives and friends and was predeceased by her father and her brother.

Irish Rail offered its sympathies to the Brennan family and Ms Brennan’s friends for their tragic loss.

“Despite the efforts of the driver who applied the emergency brake and a young woman on the southbound platform who also alerted the driver to the incident, it was not possible to stop the train before it struck the woman,” a spokesman said.

Irish Rail said the driver of the train would receive counselling and support following the incident.

“Customers on board the train remained on board throughout, but were moved to the rear of the train away from where the emergency services were assisting the woman,” the spokesman added.

Patricia was laid to rest in New Shanakyle Cemetery Kilrush yesterday (Monday), following 10am Mass in St Senan’s Church.

ONE hundred and fifteen jobs at one of Clare’s leading employers are safe – following the buyout of Ennistymon’s Data Display by US firm Daktronics yesterday.

The buyout, which was announced to the US stock market yesterday morning, could see an increase in employment in Ennistymon with an investment promised by the NASDAQ-listed company.

Data Display has been a landmark company since it was founded by local businessman Kevin Neville in 1978. While Mr Neville took a step back from the company in 2007, both Paul and Ann Marie Neville retain a senior management role within the company and are expected to remain in their roles as the company passes to Daktronics.

According to a company spokesperson, careful negotiations have been underway between Daktronics and Data Display for the past 12 months.

“Daktronics have given a firm commitment to the company here and the employees in Ennistymon. They have a long-term view of the facility here and they want to bring investment here for production and engineering,” said Paul Horan of Data Display.

“A growth in employment is certainly possible but I would not want to overstate it at this point. There is talk about the future but everyone is being very careful not to overstate anything. My own personal view is that there is good potential for growth here in the future.”

In a statement to The Clare People yesterday, Daktronics confirmed that they would retain the Data Display workforce.

“We believe Daktronics and Data Display complement each other well. Daktronics is active in the transportation business, mainly in the United States, and we have a global presence with offices and people in many countries, currently focused on sports, third-party advertising and video solutions,” said Daktronics CEO Reece Kurtenbach.

“Adding the strengths of Data Display will allow our combined organisations to better serve transportation customers worldwide and broaden our leadership position on a global scale. Daktronics looks forward to further expanding its customer and market focus in Europe and surrounding areas.”

ENNIS has moved up the litter free league table by 10 places, retaining its “Clean to European Norm” status. The awarding body, Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL), said yesterday that it would prefer to see this town push on to a higher position on the table.

According to the report carried out by An Taisce for IBAL, “the top ranking sites in Ennis were not just clear of litter but well presented and maintained”.

The sites that made the A grade included Clare Leisure World, Garden of Remembrance and Recycle Facility at Ennis Shopping Centre.

St Patrick’s Terrace and the road from the town centre at Carmody Street out to square at Dalcassian Avenue were also given the top grade, as were Dalcassian Avenue and the N68 / N67 Kilrush – Kilkee Approach Road to Ennis.

The An Taisce inspector was less impressed with the Mill Road River Walk giving the area a poor C rating.

“This is an extensive site incorporating the river walk, hurling monument and Ennis Civic Trust Amenity Project at the Weir. It is a lovely environment, which has been poorly treated. The area beside the hurling monument was clean and tidy but across the road at Civic Trust Project garden was a different story – there were heavy levels of a wide variety of litter at the sluice gates. Throughout the rest of the area surveyed cigarette butts were very pronounced along the paving and there were several separate incidents of graffiti, including on one of the statues,” the report said.

Ennis Shopping Centre received a grade B. “This was a freshly presented and generally quite well maintained environment – car park surface / signage / markings were in good order and the interior was spot- less. However, cigarette butts and chewing gum were very prevalent throughout the exterior,” the inspector maintained.

The Clare County Council Recycle Bank at the Leisure Facility also got a B.

“This was a somewhat littered site but certainly much improved on previous IBAL Anti-Litter survey. The area to the base of the bins and surrounding shrubbery harboured a variety of food related litter and bottles tops. Two clothing recycle bins were overflowing. Extensive and colourful signage was very clear about not leaving items if bins were full,” the report said. MAUREENO’GORMAN(née O’ Shaughnessy) , Corbally, Kilkee. Peacefully. Reposing on Wednesday evening, August 20, at Lillis’Funeral Home in Kilkee from 6.30pm, with removal at 8pm to Kilkee Parish Church. RequeimMassonThursdayat 11.30amfollowed by burial in Lisdeen Cemetery. May she rest in peace.

THERE are more than 100 extra vacant commercial premises in Clare compared to this time last year – despite anecdotal evidence of improvement in the local economy.

The latest report from the Geo Directory tracker has found that the rate of vacant premises has risen from 11.4 per cent last year, to 12.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2014 – meaning that 904 of Clare’s 7,030 premises are now vacant, compared to 801 last year.

The chairperson of Ennis Cham- ber of Commerce, Rita McInerney, described the figures as disappointing but stressed that sections of the Clare economy are experiencing a recovery.

“I am disappointed that the rate has gone up because the general feeling within business is that things are broadly improving. I think it reflects the challenges that the retail sections are facing at the moment,” she said.

“This is indicative of the pressure that the retail trade is under. Retail is the sector that will always require premises when new businesses start.”

The Ennis Chamber is keen to forward new approaches to retail, such as the creation of a Business Improvement District, to allow businesses to win back customers from large retail parks and online shopping sites.

“The creation of a Business Improvement District is one of the weapons we can use to tackle vacant units in Ennis and other town centres. These districts strive to reenergise town centres and ensure that there is the right mix of shops and facilities to give customers what they want,” continued Rita.

“There is a real possibility of challenge online shopping by giving people a different sort of shopping experience. Online shopping is clinical, it’s unsocial and people are looking for that social kind of shopping experience.

“It’s about being able to offer people a complete experience. Online shopping serves a purpose, people are social by their nature and a lot of people are looking for an experience when they shop.”

Discussions on the creation of a Business Improvement District in Ennis are ongoing amongst businesses involved in the Ennis Chamber of Commerce.

GOOD news keeps landing at Shannon Airport as as new figures from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) confirm another impressive month of growth at the Clare Airport.

After passing out Cork Airport just last month, and reclaiming its position as Ireland’s second largest airport, Shannon begun to pull away from its Munster rival.

According to the new Air Traffic Figures for July, compiled by the IAA, Shannon Airport recorded an 18 per cent growth in the number of daily commercial flight coming through the airport compared to July of 2013.

More impressive than the percentage growth however is the number of commercial flights which are landing at the Clare airport each day.

An average of 74 daily commercial movements were recorded at Shannon Airport in July – the largest monthly average for more than four years. This compares to 66 daily commercial movement in Cork for the same period.

While commercial movement do not necessarily translate directly to passenger numbers, it is expected that Shannon Airport will also have passed out Cork Airport when those figures are released later this year.

This growth in traffic through Shannon Airport comes in the way of the decoupling of the airport from the Dublin Airport Authority. During 2012 Shannon Airport was close to being passed out by Knock Airport in Mayo as Ireland third busiest airport.

Meanwhile, the Central Statistic Office have compiled detailed figures for Shannon last year which show that the airport hosted 1,308,242 passengers last year – with four out of every ten passengers travelling to or from London.

The most popular route was Shannon to Heathrow which carried 258,000 passengers while Shannon-Stansted and Shannon-Gatwick hosted 183,000 and 104,000 respectively.

In the same year, more than 200,000 people travelled between Shannon and New York with 107,000 travelling from Shannon to Newark and 102 travelling from Shannon to JFK.

ENNIS is facing its worst ever rental property crisis – with prices set to rise by at least 10 per cent over the next 12 months.

The rental market in the county town is on the verge of grinding to a standstill – with just 29 properties available for rent in Ennis today, and only 12 three-bedroom, family style homes.

Rental property prices rose by 2.2 per cent in the the second quarter of this year – with the lions share of this rise being driven by Ennis.

A normally functioning rental market should see more than five per cent of the total property stock on the rent- al market at any time. Ennis requires a 1600 per cent increase on current stock levels to get close to that level.

“The last six months has seen a sharp decline on the number of properties available to rent in Ennis. We had a property last week which was rented after its first viewing for a increased rent, a lot of properties aren’t making it to the property websites they are going so fast,” said Mairead Carrig of Location Location in Ennis.

“Properties are being snapped up very quickly and there are very few new builds coming through. It would not be unrealistic if we saw price increases of 10 per cent of more in the year ahead. The powers that be need to make it easier for builders to get back to work in Ennis.”

The divisions between Clare’s two speed rental market also appears to be deepening with a large number of properties still available for rent outside of urban areas.

According to Ronan Lyons of Daft. ie, Ennis is just six months off a property shortage similar to those currently being experienced in Dublin and Cork.

Unlike Dublin and Cork however, there are few building projects planned for Ennis in the short and medium term.

“The figures for Ennis are really dramatic. A healthy market should have between 5 or 10 per cent of properties for sale at any one time but there is nothing close to that at the moment,” he said.

“Ennis is in the same boat as Cork and Dublin, there is just a lack of available accommodation, but it just on a small scale. Ultimately, this can only lead to large increases in rents.

“We have seen rent rises in four of the last five quarters in Clare and I could see rent rises significantly in the county over the next six months. It is very difficult to predict but I wouldn’t be surprising to see rents for the whole of the county rising by between 5 and 10 per cent in the year ahead.

“The places will see this the most is in Ennis and the parts of Clare which are close to Limerick and Galway. More and more now people want to be closer to jobs and services.”