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LOCAL authorities in Clare may be asked to provide housing for a wheelchair bound amputee who pleaded guilty to setting fire to a nursing home in Killaloe.

In February, James Sherlock (24) pleaded guilty to causing arson at the Lakes Nursing Home, Killaloe on August 20 (2010).

At his sentencing hearing, Ennis Circuit Criminal Court heard that gardaí and members of the Fire Services were called to the private nursing home on the outskirts of Killaloe to deal with a fire started by Mr Sherlock in his locked first-floor room. Staff and all residents were evacuated after the fire which caused € 5425 worth of damage.

The court heard that the damage was confined mainly to Mr Sherlock’s room.

A 94-year-old resident died on the same night. A post mortem later showed the woman died from natural causes.

An inquest in December 2011 heard there was no evidence that her death was related to the fire.

The court heard that Mr Sherlock, formerly of 16 Childers Road, Ennis, stuffed materials under his wheelchair before setting the chair alight.

Mr Sherlock later told gardaí he set fire to his bedclothes with a lighter after drinking neat vodka. He said it was an accident and that he had been in a bad mood.

The court heard Mr Sherlock had his right leg amputated from the knee down six weeks prior to the incident. The procedure was necessary due to a “historic heroin addiction” the court heard.

Urging the court not to impose a prison sentence, Defence Counsel, Pat Whyms BL said in February, “In terms of punishment, this man’s life is a living hell.”

The case was adjourned until April for reports from the Probation Services.

On Wednesday, Ennis Circuit Criminal Court heard that Mr Sherlock is currently in hospital receiving treatment.

Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Stephen Coughlan said the Probation Services had indicated they are “looking to the local authority” to find ground floor, wheelchair accessible accommodation for Mr Sherlock.

Mr Coughlan said the hospital were unwilling discharge Mr Sherlock until a plan for accommodation is in place.

Mr Coughlan added, “It is a bit of a chicken and an egg situation.”

Judge Gerard Keyes said, “There has to be facilities made available…. This man just can’t be abandoned.” Judge Keyes adjourned the case until tomorrow (Wednesday, April 24).

THE Ennis man who concealed the dead body of Frank Hassett in his shower has said he did not give the deceased methadone prior to his death.

Frank Hassett’s badly decomposed body was discovered at Lifford Lodge, Ennis, on July 3 (2011) in a bedsit rented by Bernard Flaherty (38).

The 25 year old from 70 Drumbig gle Road, had been missing for 19 days, resulting in a major search operation in Ennis.

Frank Hassett died sometime between the hours of June 14 and June 15 (2011) at Lifford Lodge.

He was reported missing by his brother Ian on June 20 (2011).

Mr Flaherty, with an address at 3 Lifford Lodge, Ennis, was questioned yesterday over the presence of methadone in Mr Hassett’s body.

At the end of Mr Flaherty’s deposition at Clare County Coroner’s Court, the deceased’s brother Ian Hassett asked if his brother had consumed methadone in the hours prior to his death.

Mr Flaherty said, “We didn’t take it in my flat…He didn’t take it off me.” Mr Flaherty said they smoked cannabis and some prescribed drugs.

The inquest also heard from Patrick Ballard, a homeless man who lived with Bernard Flaherty at Lifford Lodge for a while during June 2011.

Mr Ballard said Bernard Flaherty told him he could not use the toilet because it was blocked. He said the smell got worse day by day and Mr Flaherty used “body spray” and “opened windows to get rid of it”.

Mr Ballard said he never saw Frank Hassett in the apartment. He added, “I didn’t know Frank Hassett’s body was in the toilet.”

Det Gda Kieran Kelleher told the inquest that he called to the bed-sit twice, on June 24 and July 3 (2011). He said on the second occasion Bernard Flaherty started crying, saying Frank Hassett’s body had been the shower for the past three weeks.

Det Kelleher added, “Bernard opened the bathroom door and the smell was overpowering.”

He said Patrick Ballard was in the sitting room “watching a match on television”.

Kevin Collins, the landlord who owns Lifford Lodge, told the inquest that he visited Bernard Flaherty’s bed-sit on June 29 (2011). Mr Collins said he went as far as the door and did not notice anything unusual or get any smell.

Clare County Coroner Isobel O’Dea said the appropriate verdict was one of misadventure. She said the collection of drugs found in his system “may have caused Mr Hassett’s death”.

Ms O’Dea extended her sympathies to the Hassett family. Insp John Galvin offered condolences on behalf of the gardaí.

A BLITZ hero living in Coventry has been refused a telegram from the Queen of England for his 100th birthday next Tuesday for a very specific reason – he was born here in County Clare.

It is not clear what part of the banner county Dr William Navin was born in, but as he is not considered a British citizen, he has been refused the traditional telegraph by Buckingham Palace.

The retired GP carries an Irish passport, even though he is also entitled to a British one.

Buckingham Palace said the Clare native does not qualify for the telegram without a British passport as proof of citizenship.

A British passport will not come through before his birthday on April 30 however.

A campaign has begun in his hometown of Coventry to have him reinstated on the list of centenarians who are to receive a message from the monarch. The petition is being signed online via a local newspaper, The Coventr y Telegra ph , in shopping malls and a Conservative council member has even signed it.

Described by the newspaper as a “devoted royalist” Dr Navin arrived in Coventry from County Clare in 1939 to work with the ear, nose and throat specialist at Walsgrave Hospital. This was not to be however and he ended up in general practice as the war broke out.

During World War II he was a medical officer and served with the Home Guard, earning him seven medals for service.

After the war, he took over a GP practice in Walsgrave Road, Coventry, where he continued to work until the age of 72.

He also worked as a police doctor with the city force in the 1950s and as a doctor for the Ministry of Labour’s medical board.

Those campaigning for him to be recognised as British and receive the royal honour have argued he has lived in Coventry for more than 70 years and “risked his life for the country during the Second World War”.

“As a lifelong royalist, he was looking forward to receiving a card from the Queen for his 100th on April 30. But his application has been rejected because County Clare in Ireland now forms part of the Republic of Ireland, even though it was still under British rule when he was born in 1913,” they argued.

THE family of Ennis man Frank Hassett whose dead body was concealed in a shower for 19 days say questions remain unanswered about the circumstances of his death.

Mr Hassett’s badly decomposed body was discovered by gardaí in an apartment at Lifford Lodge on July 3, 2011.

The 25 year old had been reported missing in Ennis by his family on June 20, 2011.

He died sometime between the hours of June 14 and 15, 2012, in a bed-sit rented by Ennis man Bernard Flaherty (38).

In February, Mr Flaherty, with an address at 3 Lifford Lodge, received a three year suspended sentence at Clare Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to making a false statement to gardaí on June 24, 2011.

An inquest into the death of Mr Hassett yesterday returned a verdict of death by misadventure.

Speaking afterwards at Ennis Courthouse, the deceased’s brother Ian Hassett said; “In one way it’s good it’s over, but we still have a lot of questions we don’t have the answers for.”

Asked about the suspended sentence handed down to Bernard Flaherty, Ian Hassett said the family are ‘not happy with it but what can we do’. He added; “The whole justice system in Ireland is a shambles.”

During the inquest, Mr Flaherty said; “I apologise to the Hassett family for the hell I put them through and the guards for wasting Garda time…If I could turn back the clock, I would. I really would.”

Mr Flaherty told gardaí that he panicked because he didn’t know what to do when he discovered Frank Hassett was dead.

TWO homeless men who were sleeping rough in an Ennis toilet until last week plan to resume living rough in Clare next month.

The men, Czech national Josef Pavelka (58) and Polish man Peter Baram (35), were admitted to a hostel in Galway City last week, following a appeal for help by Judge Patrick Durcan at Ennis District Court.

The men’s living arrangements were disclosed in a report by the Probation Services at Ennis District Court where Mr Pavelka appeared on charges of public intoxication.

On viewing the report, Judge Patrick Durcan commented that it was a “scandal” that a person is “living in a toilet in a prosperous nation.”

Mr Pavelka’s solicitor Daragh Hassett said that if it wasn’t for the help of the church, his client “would be dead.”

The court heard Mr Pavelka has chronic problems with alcohol. However, according to Josephine O’Brien of the Help the Homeless in Clare charity, the move is just “papering over the cracks” and the men will be living rough in Ennis again in a matter of weeks.

“The are paid up in Galway until the first week in May, but after that they will back on the street in Ennis again. We need a proper solution to this problem,” she said.

“The situation is actually worse now that it was. They receive breakfast at the hostel and nothing else – so we have been going up and down to Galway every day to feed them.

“They don’t like it in Galway and they have said that they won’t be staying there.

“This is just papering over the cracks and it won’t change anything. When this is over they will be back on the street in Ennis – no different then before.

“I know both of these men have serious problems with addiction but sending them away like this isn’t going to cure anything.

“They need real help getting over the problems. This would be better for them and cheaper for everyone in the long run.

“There is no point moving them on from one place to the other and not dealing with the real issue.”

Mrs O’Brien also refuted a statement made by Ennis Town Council last week which said that there was no evidence that the two men were living in an Ennis toilet.

“I posted pictures of the toilet on Facebook more than a month ago. At that stage I was trying to get sleeping bags that they could use [in the toilets].

“They were certainly staying there,” she said.

In a statement to The Clare People last week, the Council said it “had no evidence of any parties using public toilets in Ennis as accommodation facilities”.

The statement continued; “Having checked with the gardaí, a similar view has been expressed.

“Furthermore, the company contracted to maintain the public toilets says there is no evidence to suggest that the toilets are being used in such a manner.

The Council says the toilets are “subject to an intense maintenance regime which involves a daily inspection by the said company”.

CLARE County Council last week secured a court order restraining a former DJ from harassing local authority staff at a gala tourism event.

At Clare Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday, the Council sought an injunction preventing Ennis man Tommy Kelly from attending the Clare Tourism Forum, a networking event held at the Clare Inn, Dromoland on Thursday night.

Mr Kelly, with an address at 6 An Páirc, Quin Road, Ennis was also ordered by the Court to restrain “from communicating directly with Clare County Council, two named employees, or any other officer of employer of Clare County Council”.

Mr Kelly, a former Clare FM DJ, was not present in court when the order was granted.

Prior to the hearing of the application, Counsel for Clare County Council, Michael Collins BL, asked if the plaintiff was in court.

Judge Gerard Keyes said Mr Kelly had come to court earlier in the morning.

He said Mr Kelly had expressed unhappiness at being in court. He said Mr Kelly also expressed unhappiness with the judicial system.

Judge Keyes said he advised Mr Kelly to stay in court until the application was heard. He said Mr Kelly declined and left the court.

The court heard that a named Council employee who works as a marketing executive with the Clare Tourism Forum, organised the event in the Clare Inn.

Mr Collins explained that Mr Kelly had been nominated to operate a stand for the Ennis Fringe Festival at the Forum.

The court heard that County Solicitor John Shaw wrote to the festival organisers advising that Mr Kelly could not attend.

The court heard that the Council employee was concerned Mr Kelly would “focus” on her.

Mr Collins told the court that Mr Kelly sent “unnecessarily abusive emails” to the Council in April, stating his intention to attend the Forum and document proceedings.

Mr Collins said that in further communication with the Council, Mr Kelly denied sending any abusive emails.

Mr Kelly, the court heard, accuses the Council of “stealing” photographs from him for use in a tourism brochure, called, ‘Clare Live the Life’.

This is denied by the Council. In an affidavit, the Council employee states that the Council invited photographic submissions for the brochure.

They stated that the rules of the competition entitled Clare Tourism Forum to reproduce all or part of the entered material free of charge for use in relation to promotional activity.

Mr Kelly, an award-winning photographer, was called prior to the application being heard but was not present in court.

Expressing concern over the Council’s authority over the Clare Tourism Forum, Judge Keyes said he was reluctant to grant a “blanket injunction” preventing a person from attending the Forum event.

The case was adjourned for a brief period. On resumption, County Solicitor John Shaw, told the Court that the Council employee is the “sole person responsible for running the event.”

Judge Keyes granted the order, “restraining the plaintiff from interfering or harassing or in anyway impeding the first named defendant in the performance of their duties as organiser of the Clare Tourism Forum Gala Tourism Networking Evening”.

Mr Kelly was also ordered not to interfere, harass or impede in any way Council employees from doing their duties.

The court ordered that the order be served on Mr Kelly by personal service and by email.

HUNDREDS of Clare farmers face the possibility of a total wipe-out as the fodder crisis threatens to bring the county’s farmers to their knees.

More than 200 farmers attended an emergency meeting organised by Fianna Fail in Ennis on Friday, where the full extent of the fodder crisis in the county became apparent. Scores of farmers across Clare have completely exhausted their stock of fodder, with many also unable to get credit from banks to buy feed.

With many Clare farmers already at breaking point it looks likely to be between two and four weeks before any significant grass growth will take place to alleviate the shortage.

Clare IFA last week distributed 12,000 bales of hay and roughly 50 tonnes of silage to animal welfare hardship cases in the county.

“Many farmers face running out of fodder.

“There is talk of emergency funding but that isn’t going to be of any help for the people who don’t have fodder to get through the next few weeks,” said Clare IFA chairperson, Andrew Dundas.

According to Clare ICMSA, hundreds of Clare farmers have already spent their entire Single Farm Payment (SFP) in the first three months of the year.

“People have gone right through their Single Farm Payment – it’s all used up. I know some farmers in Clare have gone to the bank looking for money for feed and have been turned down. They are under serious financial trouble,” said Clare ICMSA chairperson Martin McMahon.

“There is no way that farmers are going to be able to survive until next year’s SFP is made available – they just won’t be able to pay their bills, it is as simple as that.”

According to the Clare United Farmers Association (UFA), animals are beginning to starve to death on some Clare farms.

“We are dealing with one Clare farmer at the moment who has 30 friesian cattle – he has no feed, no money left to buy feed and no chance of getting finance to buy feed. He advertised these cattle for sale and he was offered € 200 a piece for them – which is maybe half what he would have got last year.

“People are trying to take advantage of the situation,” said Joe Corbett of the Clare UFA.

“This is this man’s way of making a living. He can’t afford to keep these animals because he has no money to buy feed for them and he can’t afford to sell them at the price he is being offered. He has to get help. People’s backs are to the wall and all they want to do is keep their animals alive.”

Farmers can contact the Teagasc help line on 091-845852.

AS hundreds of Clare farmers look set to run out of fodder over the next two weeks, the ICMSA is blaming Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney (FG) for not seeking emergency funding from Europe when this crisis first emerged.

County ICMSA Chairman and O’Callaghan’s Mills Farmers, Martin McMahon, says that his organisation urged the Agriculture Minister to seek once-off emergency help more then a month ago, but they are yet to receive a reply from Minister Coveney.

“It is nearly impossible to source fodder at the moment. I was talking to a man last week who has around 100 cows and four bales of silage left. He has tried all his neighbours and nobody has any feed to give him,” he said.

“There are a lot of people really struggling at the moment. Some sort of a solidarity fund or a hardship funds need to be put in place for these farmers. We have asked the minister to go to Europe and look for this fund and he has not responded at any stage to say that he will do this. We had all of our MEP’s at a Clare ICMSA meeting about a month ago and they said that if the Minister looks for it, they will row in behind him and support it.

“The situation is much worse than it was a month ago when we first looked for this. This fund should be being paying out now – but they are still talking about it. There is a real shortage now on all farms.” Martin has also blamed the recent poor weather condition on the effects of Climate Change. “We have been struggling with the weather now since last May. Climate change is really playing havoc with farming. Last summer was so bad that some farmers in Clare didn’t even manage to get silage in. We all praying for an early spring and then we get this.”

PARANORMAL researchers have discovered more than 24 ‘spirits’ at one of Clare’s best know landmarks – the lighthouse in Loophead.

Anthony Kerigan of GhostÉire, a modern day ghost-buster service, said that during a two-day inspection of the 19th century lighthouse and the surrounding area, the researchers conducted several experiments at the World War two-lookout point behind the lighthouse, the lighthouse itself, the modern day keepers cottage and the reception cottage, which was the site of the old lighthouse in the 1600s.

And it seems the investigators were not alone during their work at the popular tourist attraction, as they reported that up to two dozen ‘spirits’ made contact with them.

The spirits were particularly active in the keeper’s cottage they maintained.

As part of the investigation the paranormal investigators placed audio equipment, which was turned off in the Lighthouse.

Mr Kerigan explained a Full Spectrum camera (all colours including ultra violet and infra-red visual) was also left switched off on a chessboard and a compass dial board in the re- ception cottage.

It was this reception cottage that provided a lot of paranormal activity and was the site of a séance carried out by the team.

“Loophead was a friendly ‘ultracommunicated state investigation’, over 24 ‘spirits’ were in contact with us. With this taking into account, it will take a couple of weeks to look back on our recordings to make a pattern of what was caught to comply with the lighthouses past,” said the founder of GhostEire.

“In no means did we feel frightened; maybe this was due to the lifestyle the keepers lived.”

Referring to the Taoiseach’s link to the lighthouse Mr Kerigan said, “Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s grandad, like so many that lived there were lifesavers. So at this moment in time ‘did we see Enda Kenny’s granddad?’; like a true politician I would have to say ‘no comment’.”

Rhiannon Cremins another of the investigators working in the lighthouse at the permission of Clare County Council and the Commissioners of Irish Lights said, “a feeling of being watched with curiosity complemented the inquisitive taste of the venture.”

It will be a number of weeks before a full report on the group’s findings will be available.

PRESSURE is mounting on the Minister for Agriculture to “put his money where his mouth is” and bring forward an emergency aid for the Clare farmers worst hit by the fodder crisis.

Addressing a meeting of more than 200 farmers in Ennis on Friday, Fianna Fáil’s agriculture spokesperson, Eamon Ó Cuiv, said an aid deal in needed urgently if Clare farmers are to be able to continue feeding animals over the next two to four weeks.

Deputy Ó Cuiv said that plan of Minister Coveney to fast-track payments under some farm scheme would have little or no effect in tackling the current crisis and a € 10 million aid package was need immediately to tackle the current problem.

“Steps taken yesterday by Minister Coveney to fast-track payments under various farming schemes will not help the most urgent cases,” said Deputy O’Cuiv.

“What is now needed is straight cash to assist farmers who cannot get credit and do not have enough money to feed their cattle.”

The former Fianna Fáil minister was speaking at an emergency meeting which took place at the Auburn Lodge Hotel in Ennis on Friday night last.

Speaking ahead of last Friday’s emergency meeting in Ennis, Minister Coveney said that access to credit was key for farmers to see themselves through this difficult period.

“Access to credit is crucial at this time and flexibility from both banks and merchants is vital. I will be speaking to banks to highlight the challenges facing farmers as a result of the weather, and insisting they take a flexible approach to dealing with short term credit issues,” he said.

“I have also been in contact with co-ops and grain and feed merchants to urge them to be flexible during this difficult time. This is an occasion when solidarity is needed among the farming community.

“I would ask those that have fodder to be proactive in making it available to neighbouring farmers who are encountering severe problems.”