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A RUAN publican in his late fifties, who was beaten repeatedly with his walking stick in a frenzied random at- tack, has told how he feared he would be beaten to a pulp.

Michael Moloney was giving evi- dence in the case of Fergus Casey (23), of Ruan, who pleaded guilty to assault- ing the publican and also assaulting Donal Brohan, in Ruan on September 7, 2004.

Gda Brian O’Donnell said Mr Molo- ney was going for a walk, shortly after closing his pub, when he heard a noise.

He went to see where the noise came from and saw the accused, Fergus Ca- Seas

Casey took his stick from him and struck him up to 30 times. Some of the blows were to the head and he was still being beaten while he bled.

Fr Pat O’Neill went to the assistance of the man being beaten as did another man, Donal Brohan, who was hit with a rock to the head.

The accused said to the publican: “you think that you own the village,” the court heard.

“There was no obvious cause to it. It was a frenzied attack that happened when he was out waking his dog,” said Gda O’Donnell.

Casey’s barrister said his client was involved in two altercations with Mr Moloney prior to this incident, but Gda O’Donnell said he had no knowledge of that.

Casey, who has four previous convic-

tions, including two for burglary and one for assault causing harm, took his victim by surprise.

“I know Fergus Casey since he was a child and I wouldn’t expect he would do this,” said Mr Moloney, adding that the accused was in his pub earlier that night.

“He was in a frenzied mood. It was very frightening.

“From that day to this, I get night- mares. Only for Fr O’Neill I wouldn’t be here.

‘He would have beaten me to a pulp.”

When the accused’s barrister apolo- gised to Mr Moloney, he replied, “‘apol- ogies aren’t much good to me if I was found dead in Ruan, part of the stats. This man needs to get help.”

Casey’s sister told the court he has en- dured considerable difficulties through- out his life.

‘Fergus needs help. It’s been a con- tinuous cry for help,” said his sister, who accepted that Mr Moloney could have been killed.

Judge Carroll Moran said, “Mr Molo- ney got a dreadful hiding and whether or not there was something behind it, there was certainly no need for it.

“It was a cowardly, mean thing to do … nasty.”

He said a lengthy prison sentence might go nowhere towards solving the accused’s problems.

He adjourned the case for a year to see how he behaves and said he would not rule out a prison term of three to four years.

PRESIDENT of Ireland Mary McAleese will visit Clare today (Tuesday), where she will address three functions in Ennis and one in Newmarket-on-Fergus.

Mrs McAleese’s first port of call will be at Glor at llam, where she will address Ennis parish “Trid- uum celebrating community” on the theme of “Young people — the hope of our tomorrows.”

The triduum of prayer and cele- bration will honour everybody who

contributes to a sense of belong- ing and community. The President will address Leaving Certificate students in Ennis and meet young people from primary schools at a liturgy at Ennis Cathedral.

She will then deliver the keynote address at the eighth Céifin confer- ence, “Filling the vacuum,” at the West County Hotel at 2.15pm.

This conference will address the vacuum in Irish society, amidst a warning that more and more young people are growing up alone in the midst of great economic prosper-

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Organiser Fr Harry Bohan says the Céifin conference aims to chal- lenge leaders from every walk of life to confront the reality around them and take steps to fill the vac- uum. The event will highlight the facts surrounding this challenge and explore possible responses.

The President’s third function will be the official opening of homes for people with intellec- tual disabilities, at the Brothers of Charity Clare Housing Association at Dormer’s Lane on the Gort Road

in Ennis, at 3.30pm.

This initiative will allow every adult with an intellectual disability in the county to have his or her own room, and supports people in living independently in their own commu- nity or location of their choice.

The Housing Association sup- ports adults with an intellectual disability in acquiring good quality housing, and ensures they have full tenants’ rights.

Mrs McAleese’s final function will be the official opening of the Obair family centre in Newmarket-

on-Fergus at 4.30pm. Her visit fol- lows preparation and planning over the years at the facility, which of- fers a wide range of services for the local community.

“It is one of very few centres in the country, owned by the commu- nity,” said Jackie Bonfield, Manag- er of the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme (LDSIP) in Newmarket-on-Fergus.

“The community benefits from everything we do. We are trying to support the community in every area that we work in.”

AN ENNIS man who held an elderly woman and a 23-year-old girl at knifepoint before rob- bing them, in separate incidents, did so because he was on heroin, Ennis Circuit Court has been told. Robbie Nestor (25), with an address at Tulla Road, Ennis, and formerly of Hermitage, Ennis, pleaded guilty to two charges of robbery in En- nis in September 2004.

Det Gda Jarlath Fahy told the court that a 75-

year-old woman was sitting in her car in the car- park of the VEC building in Ennis, on Septem- ber 16 when she was approached by the accused. He produced a knife and said he wanted her bag. She handed it over and he left the scene with the bag and its contents, which included €600.

Ten days later, the accused was buying match- es in Liddy’s Gala in Ennis. He held a knife to the 23-year-old shop assistant and held her by the shirt, before getting away with more than €500 in cash.

When asked about the circumstances which led to the robberies, Dt Gda Fahy replied, “the fact that he was on drugs.” He said Nestor has 21 previous convictions.

Defending barrister Mark Nicholas said his client’s real problem is his addiction to drugs.

“If he takes drugs, that seems to be it. He gets into trouble and commits crime,’ replied the garda.

“TI think this was hardly the work of a pre- planned criminal brain,” said the barrister.

Judge Carroll Moran pointed out that Gda Fahy had been extremely fair to the accused.

‘This was a despicable crime, particularly tar- geting a 75-year-old lady,” said the judge.

“Garda Fahy is of the view, if this man stays off the drugs he will not get into trouble. Let’s put it to the test,” he added.

He said he would adjourn the case for 12 months and will impose a three or four year sentence then. He may consider suspending the sentence, he said.

HAND hygiene in the accident and emergency department of Ennis General Hospital is one of the poor- est in the country, and the worst in the Mid-West Region, at 32 per one

According to the first national au- dit of hygiene practices in the coun- try’s hospitals, published in the past week, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis, has a 100 per cent cleanliness rate when handling and disposing of linen from ICU. This unit was rated the cleanest area of the hospital and described as hav- ing a “fair” standard of cleanliness.

Ennis was also found to have a “good” method of disposing of and handling sharp objects, with a rate of 89 per cent.

However, the remaining areas of the hospital were regarded as hav- ing “poor” hygiene, with A&E re- cording the lowest standard at 62 per cent.

Hand hygiene at the hospital was found to be worryingly “poor” in all areas except ICU, which record- ed an 86 per cent cleanliness rate. Hand hygiene in the surgical and medical wards was only rated at 59 per cent.

The handling and disposal of de-

partmental waste was also low at 57 per cent, while disposal of waste from the ICU recorded a low 47 per cent. The 88-bed hospital was also recorded in the audit as having 94 beds.

While in-house cleaners cater for the hygiene needs of Ennis, the au- dit insisted that whether cleaning

was carried out in-house or con- tracted was no guarantee of good or bad hygiene.

The national audit was conducted over July and August 2005, and vis- its by auditors were random and un- announced.

Hospitals were given an overall score, indicating a good (85 per cent

or above), fair (76 per cent to 84 per cent) or poor (75 per cent or below) standard. Accordingly, nine per cent of hospitals visited received a good rating, 43 per cent were rated as fair and 48 per cent were consid- ered poor.

Two further national audits are due to be carried out in 2006.

HEALTH services in the Mid-West have de- scribed the “poor” hygiene findings in the re- gion’s hospitals as “a wake-up call” for every- body working in the hospital service.

In the first ever national acute hospitals hy- giene audit, undertaken by Desford Consultan- cy Limited on behalf of the National Hospitals Office, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis, received a rating of 68 per cent, with the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, re- TORY Data On Ooo) 81m

The HSE Mid-West region said it fully ac- cepted the findings of the report and would immediately intensify efforts to make hospital staff of all grades more hygiene-conscious.

Among the audit’s suggestions to combat hygiene problems are training of staff in hand hygiene, basic cleaning techniques and the use

of cleaning chemicals and dilution rates.

Patient groups across the country have been calling for stricter hygiene regulations in hos- pitals for over a year in an attempt to control the antibiotic resident MRSA virus, which is rampant in hospitals.

Acute Hospitals network manager for the Mid-West, Mr John O’Brien, said, “We have to put our hands up and say that the results are disappointing and, clearly, we are going to have KoMClOMoloiiKompeMAUIAUD use

“On the positive side, Croom and St John’s received a ‘fair’ rating and Ennis, Nenagh and the Regional Maternity, while being classed as ‘poor’, were close to achieving ‘fair’ rat- ings. Our objective now is to ensure that all our acute hospitals are categorised as ‘good’ next time out.”

He continued, “We have to acknowledge, however, that the performance of the Mid-

Western Regional Hospital, Dooradoyle, was particularly disappointing, and that action must be taken to remedy the deficiencies identified by the auditor, particularly in surgical, medical and ICU. I will be taking immediate steps to prepare an action plan to address the findings of the audit.”

Dr Nuala O’Connell, consultant microbiol- ogist at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick said, “Considering the amount of ex- penditure in terms of resources and effort, the results give no room for complacency. We have to go back to the drawing board over the next few weeks and get everybody on board so we can do better.

‘Hygiene is the business of every single per- son working in our hospitals and it is also the business of patients and the public. All of us must work together to achieve a behavioural and cultural shift.”

THREE young men who assaulted a man after he refused to give one of them a ciga- rette, have been remanded in custody for a week at Ennis Circuit Court.

Ryan Haran (21), of Lahinch Road, En- nistymon; David King (20), Doora, Ennis and Noel Mullane (23), of Ardnaculla, En- nistymon; each pleaded guilty to a number of offences, arising out of an incident at Teach Ceol, Deerpark, Ennistymon, on June 13, 2004.

Sgt Michael Gallery told the court the in-

jured party Sean O’Flaherty (33), was stand- ing at O’Brien’s Corner in the early hours of the morning, when he was approached by Noel Mullane. He was asked for a cigarette and he obliged but when asked for a second cigarette he refused. He was punched in the nose.

Some time later, as he walked up Church Street, he was grabbed by a number of men and brought to the grounds of Teach Ceol. He was kicked, thrown on the ground and punched. His shirt was ripped open and his trousers was cut. The hairs on his chest were singed by a cigarette lighter, he was cut on

the face and leg and was called names.

His pockets were searched and his wallet, which contained money, a bank card and credit card, was stolen.

The three accused men were seen around this time by a garda in a boisterous mood and under the influence of some form of in- toxicant.

There was evidence of loose gravel and loose change on the ground, where the in- cident occurred.

The injured party suffered trauma and shock but has since recovered and has moved to another county.

The court was told the three were unem- ployed at the time of this incident.

Judge Carroll Moran said he would ad- journ the case for a week and remanded the three in custody.

‘This is a very bad assault committed by three people very badly out of control. I know they pleaded guilty .. . but they in- flicted appalling injuries. He [the injured party] was kicked, thrown on the ground and kicked in the ribs.

“It’s about as bad as you’d get and it seems there was no motive,’ said Judge Moran.

A KILLALOE man has lashed out at a situa- tion wherein he would have to make a 30 mile round-trip to drop off sick certs in the the event of a postal strike.

With the strike looming last week, the De- partment of Social and Family Affairs wrote to Tom Clifford, telling him that he would have to drop his sick certs to the nearest department office.

‘“That’s in Limerick — a 30 mile round trip for me’’, said ‘Tom.

While the Killaloe man was stunned to hear that a trip to Limerick City was the only way

he could send his cert in, he was even more shocked to learn that to collect any money, he would have to “go to my nearest welfare of- ficer on the day after I would normally be paid. I’m supposed to be paid on Friday but the wel- fare officer only sits in Killaloe for a couple of hours mid-week”.

And while some recipients of disability ben- efit might be able to have payments made di- rectly into their bank accounts, Tom says this is not an option for him or the many others who have building society accounts.

“Tt can take up to 11 days for money to clear with the building society and the department

won’t pay into credit union accounts,” he said.

“It’s the usual story — a Dublin department thinks nothing exists outside The Pale. There’s no thought about how something like this af- fects people in other areas.”

There were delays following yesterday’s strike action, which went ahead as it was too late to inform Communications Worker Union members that pledges had been given.

The action was taken on foot of the com- pany’s refusal to implement the full terms of Sustaining Progress to the union’s 8,500 mem- leo uce

Having suffered heavy losses for several

years prior to 2004, it pleaded inability to pay the terms of the national agreement.

While workers did get a five per cent increase in January as recommended by independent as- sessors, they have been due to receive a cumu- lative total of more than 13 per cent. Another contentious issue 1s company plans to imple- ment major changes in its operations.

On Sunday night, the national Implementa- tion Body persuaded An Post chief executive, Donal Curtin, to back off from his refusal to have an independent assessment of the cost- ings on which the Labour Court had previously based a peace formula.

THE BROADFORD man whose body was found washed up on the shore at Doolin had just begun a new life in the home which he built with his fiancée.

31-year-old Mick Doran moved a cou- ple of weeks ago into the house which the couple had built on a site overlooking sce- nic Lough Doon, in Ballykelly, Broadford. Yesterday, saddened neighbours in Broad- ford offered prayers at a special evening Mass which local priest, Fr John Bane, said for the tragic man and his family.

Mick got engaged to his fiancee, Kit, last Christmas and together they had planned their new home in East Clare. His body was found washed up at Tra Leathan yesterday morning, one week after he and two friends from Tulla and Ennis went missing.

The body of Ennis man, Martin Grif- fin (24) was recovered off the same beach last Tuesday but the search for Joseph O’Callaghan (34) from Tulla continues.

All three had been socialising in Doolin the night before the tragedy, in which their jeep plunged off the cliff face.

A friend of the young carpenter described him as “a real character. He was a hoot – just larger than life. This is a terrible thing to have happened.”

Described as “‘an absolute master crafts- man,’ by his boss, John O’ Donovan, Mick was working on the restoration of Cool- reagh House at the East Clare Golf Club in Bodyke.

“He was a lovely fellah, as amiable a chap as you would meet,” said John. “He was a very hard worker and he is a huge loss to us in every sense – irreplaceable.”

Building work on the house and on a new golf village project at the club has stopped since the tragedy and will remain at a standstill for the rest of the week as a mark of respect. Many of the three men’s work colleagues joined the search parties combing the coast at Dollin in recent days. Residents of Tulla as well as friends and members of the O’Callaghan family also joined the search parties, as did people from Broadford.

Born in Waterford, which was his fa- ther’s native place, Mick lived for some time in England. His family moved back to his mother’s home town of Ennis after the death of his father at an early age.

He is survived by his fiancee, his mother, Anna , older brother Mark and sister, Ann- Marie. It is understood that the funeral will take place in Ennis.

NORTH Clare conservationist and co-ordinator of the BurrenLife farm- ing organisation, Brendan Dunford was appointed to the national Herit- age Council by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Dick Roche, last week.

The council is the statutory body whose main responsibility is to pro- pose policy to government for the preservation and enhancement of heritage in Ireland.

It is funded by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Lo- cal Government, and it was allocated more than €10 million in funding last year. “I am delighted with the appointment,’ said Mr Dunford.

“It not only signifies the impor- tance of the Burren but it also shows the value of the partnership between conservationists and farmers that the Burren is leading the way on.”

Mr Dunford moved to the Burren nine years ago to write his doctorate ‘The importance of farming practic- es on the natural heritage’.

After completing this work he es- tablished the not for profit Burrenbeo group and website with his partner Ann O’Connor in 2002.

His latest project BurrenLife, which was officially launched by Minister

Roche earlier this year, is focussed on examining sustainable farming methods for Burren farmers.

“The Heritage Council has an im- portant role to play in promoting best practice in protecting our national and local heritage when he appointed new members to the Heritage Coun- cil,” said Mr Roche at the announce- ment.

“It has established itself as a rec- ognised centre of excellence, and I want the Council to continue and build on the good work of the outgo- ing members across the whole range of heritage values that it has a role in promoting and protecting.”

The council will be chaired by former director-general in the Eu- ropean Commission Tom O’Dwyer, who is taking up his second spell on the council. Others to serve for the second time are; Dublin City librar- ian Deirdre Ellis-King; archaeologist Maurice Hurley; former senator Nio- clas O’Conchubhair and director of the Hunt Museum, Virginia Teehan.

Aside from Brendan the new mem- ber announced by Minister Roche are; Betty Coffey, the former Ca- thaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire Rath- down County Council; Billy Colfer, chairman of Wexford Historical Society; Professor Gabriel Cooney of UCD; broadcaster Ted Creedon;

artist Rhonwen Hayes; landscape horticulturalist Mary Keenan; gar- dening expert Finola Reid; Louth

County Manager Martina Maloney; Dr Caro-lynne Ferris, of the Coun- tryside Access and Activities Net- work in Northern Ireland; former

Cathaoirleach of Bray Town Council Noel Keyes and the Department of the Environment’s principal of herit- age policy, Donal Enright.

A LOCAL councillor is calling on Clare County Council to make Brennan’s Cross in Meelick safer for motorists and pedestrians.

Cllr Cathal Crowe has tabled a motion for the upcoming Killaloe area meeting of the council to have safety measures installed at the Cross. Brennan’s Cross is located on the Knocklisheen Road, one of the main arteries from Limerick

City into South-East Clare.

‘The junction is staggered with one approach road leading to the residential area of Elton

Court, Kilavoher, Ballycannon Heights and Glenn Abhainn and another leading to Meelick church and school. Traffic at Brennan’s Cross junction is particularly congested at morning and evening times when parents are bringing children to and from school and people are co- muting to work,” said Cllr Crowe.

The councilor said that he called “more than a year ago” for safety measures such as rumble strips and increased signage to be put in place on the approach roads to the junction.

‘ T don’t think enough has been done to make the junction safe and this time I will be asking the Council to carry out urgent repairs on the four approach roads, to remove earthen banks that limit visibility and put an extended rumble area in place,’ Cllr Crowe said.