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THERE are no new Fianna Fáil faces on the West Clare ballot paper for next year’s local elections as five sitting county councillors were returned to contest the new Municipal District election.

Cllr Bill Chambers, Cllr Michael Hillery, Cllr Pat Keane, Cllr PJ Kelly and Cllr Richard Nagle will all be on the ticket come next summer following the party’s convention in the Armada Hotel in Spanish Point on Monday night. Councillors Nagle and Hillery were selected automatically following a directive from Fianna Fáil’s National Constituency Committee that two candidates were to come from the Ennistymon area.

The remaining six candidates from the Kilrush area, that included three sitting councillors as well as Kilrush town councillor Tom Prendeville, Michael O’Neill and Rita McInerney, went before the delegates for selection.

A decisive vote saw Cllr Kelly and Cllr Keane pass the quota in the first vote and their surplus brought fellow councillor Bill Chambers safely over the mark.

The five candidates will now go forward and represent the party in the eight seat West Clare Municipal Area elections.

The longest serving member of the council, Cllr Kelly, does not believe ‘the line up’ is complete as yet, believing another candidate will be added.

Total poll: 156. Quota: 40.

First vote: Bill Chambers 32; Pat Keane 50; PJ Kelly 51; Rita McInerney 1; Michael O’Neill 15; Tom Prendeville 7.

Second count (PJ Kelly surplus): B Chambers +6 (38); R McInerney +1 (2); M O’Neill +3 (18); T Prendeville +1 (8). (R McInerney and T Prendeville eliminated).

Third count (P Keane surplus); B Chambers + 6 (44); M O’Neill +1 (19).

A SEARCH will continue today for a man who was swept into the sea off the North Clare coast at the weekend.

The man, believed to be a Latvian national in his 40s, was fishing with a friend near the lighthouse at Blackhead when he fell into the water. It is understood his friend went to get a life buoy but when he returned the man was no longer visible in the water.

The alarm was raised after gardaí at Tuam Garda Station contacted their colleagues in Ennistymon Garda Station. The Irish Coast Guard marine rescue coordination centre mounted a search operation at around 4.30pm on Sunday evening.

The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard unit was alerted and mobilised while the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter was also tasked. The RNLI lifeboat based at Inis Mór in the Aran Islands was also sent to assist in the search.

That search continued yesterday along a stretch of coastline from Fanore to Ballyvaughan.

The five-hour search, which involved the Doolin Irish Coast Guard unit, a search a rescue helicopter and some local boats, was stood down on Monday evening. It is thought the search will continue over the next five or six days. It is hoped that if sea conditions improve Navy Divers and divers from local sub-aqua clubs will be able to assist in the search.

A MAN, who was murdered while sleeping rough in the Phoenix Park in Dublin at the end of November, will be laid to rest in a family grave in Kildysart Cemetry today (Tuesday).

Gerard Donnelly will be buried along side his father after 11am Mass tomorrow.

The 36-year-old was found burned to death at Wellington Road, in the Phoenix Park, in the early hours of November 29 and it took Gardaí some time to identify the murder victim who grew up in Tallaght.

An only child, he has no remaining family in Dublin and so has been brought to West Clare to be laid to rest where his uncles and cousins still live.

His later father Flan was a native of Cranny and his mother is believed to be in hospital.

It is understood that the Gerard opted to live outdoors in the Phoenix Park on occasions as a “lifestyle” choice and was “not a typical homeless person”.

The father of one also had € 130,000 in a bank account following the sale of the family home five years ago.

Mr Donnelly’s remains reposed in Kildysart Church last night before his funeral Mass and burial today.

Ciaran Moran (27), who has an address at Camden Hall, Camden Street, Dublin, has been charged with his murder at Dublin District Court.

Two other people – a 20-year-old man and 17-year-old woman – were also arrested but both were later released without charge.

A CLARE hat maker, whose began her career as a 12 year old knitting dolls of Brian Lohan, last week sold a hat to the worlds biggest fashion icon.

Margaret O’Connor, from Tubber in the middle of the Burren, says she want to help put Irish fashion designers on the map, after Lady Gaga choose one of her hats to wear to an event in London last week.

Margaret opened her millenery business in London just six months ago and is already the talk of the town after Lady Gaga wore her creation to a public appearance at the Isabella Blow Exhibition in London last week.

It was all a far cry from hand knitted dolls of Clare hurlers in red helmets.

“It all started off with hurling. When I was 12 years old I began making little Clare men and selling them in the wool shop in Ennis. I remember I used to make so many of Brian Lohan’s red helmets – I still see those dolls around the place when I come back to Clare,” said Margaret.

“I nearly had a stroke when I heard [about Lady Gaga], I was so happy. When you make something, it’s like your child and you are putting it out to the world and all you need is for one person to like it.

“I showed that piece [that Lady Gaga wore] to lots of people and they didn’t like it. I told them to trust me, that it was a statement but they didn’t get it. That’s why it was so brilliant when someone like Lady Gaga decided to wear it. It just showed that somebody gets it.”

Margaret studied at Cluain Mhuire in Galway before continuing her fashion education in Scotland, Edinburgh and South America. Last year she worked under the watchful eye of Irish milliner Philip Treacy and worked on a number a hats for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Following last week high profile experience with Lady Gaga, Marga- ret is hoping to help Irish fashioner designers to become better know in the UK and across Europe.

“I want people to hear about Irish designers. A lot of Irish designers are not breaking through and I want to help them break through. I think there is a lot of Irish talent going under the radar in Ireland. I don’t think there is a voice for Irish designers at the moment – the struggling artist is really struggling,” she said.

BEING a card-carrying member of the Fianna Fáil comes at a cost that is too rich for some blood.

Following the fall of the last Government, it cost life-long grass root members a certain bit of embarrassment, but now as the soldiers of destiny regroup it is the monetary cost of membership that is causing concern.

Each member must pay an annual fee of € 20 to be a member of Fianna Fáil.

For this the members are to have the right to vote at convention for their preferred candidate, however as some members struggle to pay the fee their voting right is withdrawn.

This was a concern for Cllr Pat Keane at the party’s West Clare con- vention last week, during which he was selected to represent the party in the next Local Elections on the first count.

“It is sad for me to see some people turn up here tonight and they hadn’t a vote, and I say to the two deputies [Timmy Dooley and Nial Collins who were at the convention] that this is something at headquarters we have to address,” he said following his selection.

“The one person one vote is a good idea but we have to make it a realistic charge if people are to become members, and I think we can have more members if we can get that rectified and I have no doubt that ye will,” he added.

The € 20 fee was also a bone of contention at the Ennis convention where delegates questioned why they pay it after a directive to select just three candidates came from the party’s National Constituency Committee who are later to add two.

Delegates argued that their right to select candidates for the 2014 Local Election was taken away, and all that they got for their € 20 was to fundraise for the party.

It is understood that Fianna Fáil’s finance committee is now looking at “equitable ways of spreading cost on members”.

A WOMAN who claims she has fallen into debt to moneylenders in Ennis has told a Judge she will have to pay the money back from her social welfare payments.

The woman, who is facing a possible 18 month prison sentence for a string of shoplifting offences, says she owes € 1,000 to a moneylender.

At Ennis District Court on Thursday, the 19-year-old woman told Judge Patrick Durcan the moneylender will be looking for her.

Asked by Judge Durcan how she would re-pay the money, the woman said, “I’ll have to give them money out of my dole.”

Her solicitor Tara Godfrey said, “I’ve done what I can to get her to make a statement but she won’t”.

Ms Godfrey said the woman fell into debt because of her cannabis addiction.

“This is not like AIB or the Bank of Ireland, the terms are quite severe. My client was afraid to be at liberty,” she added.

Earlier this year, the teenager admitted stealing € 1,300 worth of goods from Clare businesses in an 11-month shoplifting spree.

She pleaded guilty to 14 thefts from shops and pharmacies in Ennis and Clarecastle between November 2012 and September 2013.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said the woman had committed a high number of thefts. “We’re at the sentencing stage and where to go next is a big deal. “I would be delighted to see her rehabilitate herself,” added Insp Kennedy.

The court heard the woman’s father and mother are both dead and her younger brother died when he was just three years old.

The woman was described in court as a “vulnerable person at the end of her tether, financially speaking”. The court heard she was a victim of neglect as a child.

After reading a Probation Report on the woman’s family history and apparent troubles with moneylend- ers, Judge Durcan said,

“In my time as a judge this is one of the saddest reports I have read.”

Judge Durcan told the woman she is facing between 15 and 18 months in prison.

He said if the woman shows a genuine willingness to engage with the Probation Services, he would put the matter off further.

Judge Durcan remanded the woman in custody, on consent, to appear again at Ennis District Court on January 8, 2014.

Earlier this month, gardaí launched a massive operation against suspected illegal money lending in Clare. Gardaí have urged anyone affected by money lending to contact them.

CLARE motorists have received more penalty point each over the past two year than motorists from any other county in Ireland.

New figures released by the Department of Transport show that between January of 2011 and November of this year each Clare motorists received an average of 0.28 penalty points.

This means that motorist in Clare are more than twice as likely to receive penalty points as motorists in Donegal – who had the lowest level of penalty points.

After the Banner County, the counties with the worst records of penalty points were Longford, Kildare, Wicklow, Meath and Roscommon while the safest drivers were found to be in Donegal, Monaghan, Mayo, Kerry and North Tipperary.

The figures also revealed that the rate at which penalty points are being handed out to drivers in Clare is also increasing.

“It is a short period in trying to analyse a trend but what is key is the figures are going up, it is a cause of concern and it should galvanise us all into action,” said a spokesman for the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

“We need to ask ourselves, both individual drivers and state agencies, what we can do to reverse those trends. We should be mindful of using the roads at this time of year as we don’t want any further loss of life.”

A total of 684,974 penalty points have been handed out to motorists between January of 2011 and November of this year accounting to the Department of Transport.

More than 111,000 drivers dodged receiving penalty points over this period because they did not have a driving licence or failed to bring it to court when summoned to appear for offenses that require a mandatory court appearance.

Some 177 people have been killed so far this year, which is an increase of 25 on the same period in 2013.

THE property market in Clare could be on the verge of a recovery with a number of Clare properties making far more than their reserve at auction last week.

Four Clare properties sold for a combined total of € 228,000 at last week’s Allstop Auction in Dublin, a full € 83,000 of 57.2 per cent above their reserve.

The best performing property was a three bedroom, end of terrace house in Bunratty which sold for was € 92,000. The property, which was located in the Castle Garden development, went on the market with a reserve of just € 30,000.

Another property to perform well was was an end of terrace, three bedroom house in Mountshannon. The Lakeside Close property went on the market with a reserve of of € 35,000 but went on to be sold for a total of € 46,000.

A site with planning permission for a two-story detached house at Knockanean in Ennis also exceeded its reserve at last weeks Allstop auction. The site, which measures approximately 0.25 hectares, went on the market with a € 50,000 researve but was eventually sold or € 60,000.

The only Clare property not to exceed its reserve was a two-bedroom apartment in Kilkee. The apartment, which is located in the Kilkee Bay Apartments development, went on the market with a € 30,000 reserve and was sold for the same price.

The auction attracted more than 1,000 bidders with a total of 144 properties offered for sale. This latest auction was by far the largest undertaken by Allstops with with € 25 million worth of property being sold – almost double the next largest Allstop auction in which € 13 million worth of property was sold.

Large properties sold at the auction include an 18-hole golf course at Woodlands Golf Course sold for € 650,000. The 127-acres property includes a pitch and putt course and practice area.

MONEYPOINT Power Station will be fuelling the West Clare economy for at least another decade, but concerns have been expressed for the future of Kilrush and the environs if and when this station closes.

“A power station that was built in the 1980s would have probably been designed at that time to run for maybe 30 to 40 years or what ever would be typical enough for a plant. I suppose we have done the maintenance over the years to keep that in line. I would be surprised if the station didn’t have it running for another decade any- way,” said, Brendan Kennedy, Station Manager at the ESB plant.

“I would expect Moneypoint to run on a high merit in the national grid for the next number of years,” said the Ennis native.

The ESB company pays up to € 12 million in rates to Clare County Council every year, as well as supporting sport facilities, clubs, organisations and the Christmas lights in Kilrush and West Clare.

“I hate to think what Kilrush would be like if Moneypoint never came,” said former mayor of Kilrush Liam O’Looney.

THERE is just one candidate to date declared to run in the local election from the largest urban area in West Clare.

Two of the town’s urban councillors have however indicated that they may join their colleague Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) in the race as independent candidates.

Cllr Ian Lynch (FG), who was unsuccessful at his party’s convention last October said he would take time over Christmas to consider running as an Independent candidate in the Clare County Council election.

Meanwhile Tom Prendeville (FF) has not ruled out also going it alone next May if he is not added to the Fianna Fáil ticket, having also been unsuccessful at his party’s convention.

Cllr Lynch said, “I was disappointed that Fine Gael did not add me to the ticket but as the newest member it was always going to be tough to get the nomination through convention.”

Wishing Cllr McMahon well, who was added to the ticket last week, he said, “I’m getting an awful lot of contact from people disappointed I was not added and there has been considerable advice to run independent. I do feel there is a great hunger out there for a young candidate that will represent the entire West Clare area.

“At the end of the day my role is to represent the people. A lot of support is coming in for me and I believe I can represent the people and if the hunger for a young candidate is on the ground I will have to take all things into consideration,” he said.

The councillor also admitted that dividing the town vote between a lot of candidates is a concern, and could cost the urban area a representative.

Cllr Prendeville, who failed to be selected at the Fianna Fáil party convention said he was approached by a senior member of the party and asked if he wanted to be added to the ticket. He also has not ruled out run- ning independently.

Following the announcement of the successful candidates at last Monday night’s convention, he said he was disappointed not to have made the cut and added that the party had a serious problems in urban areas.

“Fianna Fáil has a problem; and has a big problem; has an organisational problem. For example within our town of Kilrush there is no registered members within five or six miles. I know we have two beside us but they are attached to another cumann up the road. We haven’t got the members.

“People aren’t coming forward so don’t be lulled into a false sense of security and say everything is ok,” he told delegates.

“We are in trouble, big big trouble in the urban areas and tonight does nothing to rectify that.”

“We effectively tonight sent out a message that we are a rural organisation in our constituency, and it is inconceivable to think that where we have the municipal capital of the new electoral area we won’t have a Fianna Fáil candidate,” he said.

Chariman of the Fianna Fáil convnetion Nial Collins TD asked the delegates had to ask themselves why there wasn’t a strong membership in Kilrush and rectify the situation for themselves.