Category: News

GARDAÍ say efforts to track down an East Clare man suspected of the wholesale dealing of drugs in the county are ongoing.

The man was the target in 2011 of a major Garda operation against drug dealers operating in Clare.

The man, who is in his forties, fled the jurisdiction after being arrested two years ago on foot of a major drugs find on the Clare/Tipperary border. He is thought to be on the run in a Northern area of England.

The man was described at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday as being a suspected “wholesale dealer of drugs in Clare and Limerick”.

Garda Gary Stack of Ennis Garda Station told the court that the man was the target of the operation and that investigations into his whereabouts are continuing.

“We are following a definite line of enquiries,” added Gary Stack.

Judge Gerard Keys ordered that the man’s name not be disclosed in the media after Counsel for the DPP, Stephen Coughlan BL, warned that it could prejudice any potential trial against him.

Details of the Garda operation emerged at the sentencing of a Killaloe man who pleaded guilty to having cannabis for sale or supply at Ballina on November 14, 2011.

Jonathan Grimes (33), of Main Street, Killaloe, was the driver of a car carrying almost five kilos of cannabis resin, with an estimated value € 28.432.

Mr Grimes was one of two people who travelled to Dublin to collect the drugs. The court heard that the civil engineering student was asked by another man to make the journey. Garda Stack told the court that Mr Grimes had some idea he was going to collect drugs but had no idea of the quantity involved.

He said the other man may have taken advantage of Mr Grimes, who received € 150 and € 30 petrol money for driving the car. The other man has since fled the jurisdiction the court heard.

The court heard Mr Grimes had never come to Garda attention previously.

His barrister, Kenneth Kerins, said his client had developed serious drug and alcohol problems but has dedicated the last two years of his life to recovery and counselling.

Passing sentence, Judge Gerard Keys said it was accepted that Mr Grimes did not know the size of the consignment and was not the main person in charge of the transaction.

He imposed a three-year sentence, suspended on condition Mr Grimes continue his education and an rehabilitation.

A HOMEGROWN Clare company that has been in business for 34 years has been acquired by one of the world’s largest elevator companies.

In a statement last week, American giant Kone announced that it had purchased Ennis Lifts, a local company specializing in the supply, installation, modernization and maintenance of elevators, escalators and autowalks.

Ennis Lifts Limited was founded in 1979 by C.P. McGuinness. Since then Ennis Lifts has grown to become the largest national lift and escalator company in Ireland, also serving Europe and the Middle East.

A statement on the company’s website states, “The cornerstone from which the company has developed has been providing excellence at all levels to our customers, thus becoming specialists in the supply, installation, modernisation and maintenance of lifts, escalators and walkways.”

Kone’s executive vice president and area director for central and north Europe, Ari Lehtoranta said the company is “delighted” with the purchase of Ennis Lifts.

“We are very pleased to have Ennis as a part of Kone. The acquisition will strengthen our business in the challenging Irish market.”

According to Kone, Ennis will continue to operate as a separate company under its current name and brand.

Kone is one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry. In addition to manufacturing elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, it provides maintenance to its global customers. Worldwide, it employs about 35,000 people including 325 in the Quad-Cities, a group of five cities on the Illinois / Iowa border.

The company’s North American headquarters are located in in Lisle, Illinois. Kone Americas’ operations centre is at Kone Centre in Moline. The company has an escalator plant is in Coal Valley, Illinois.

No one from Ennis Lifts was available for comment when The Clare People contacted the company yesterday.

GARDAÍ remain extremely concerned that tensions between two Traveller families in Ennis could result in more violence as it emerged that witnesses are wearing protective vests to court.

The fear was expressed ahead of the expected sentencing in Ennis today of four people involved in a violent public order disturbance at the Maid of Erin roundabout last October.

A Circuit Court judge was told last week that the relationship between the families has not improved and that “tensions remain very high”.

“There are garda concerns for the potential for violent incidents,” said Detective Garda John Casey at a sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday. The court was told that the two families previously lived as neighbours and friends in the Ashline area of Ennis.

THE family of a Kilfenora man Brian McMahon, who tragically lost his life in California over the weekend, flew out to America yesterday to be with his wife and children.

Father of two Brian McMahon was killed in a car accident in the Californian city of San Rafael on Friday morning last. Mr McMahon, who is 46 years old and has been living in America for a number of years, was out walking close to his home just before 8am, local time, when the ac- cident took place.

The exact details of the accident are not yet clear but it appears that Mr McMahon was struck by a single vehicle on the street close to his home at 7.45am. Emergency first aid was given to Mr McMahon at the scene at he was rushed by ambulance to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.

“San Rafael police officers and San Rafael paramedics located an unconscious 46-year-old man lying in the roadway. Life saving measures were immediately initiated. The male sub- ject was transported to Kaiser Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival,” said a spokesperson from the local police department.

“The driver of the involved vehicle remained on scene and called 911 to report the collision. Numerous bystanders were interviewed at the scene.

“The driver fully cooperated with the investigation. At this time, it appears neither alcohol nor any other impairment was present or a factor in this collision. The involved vehicle was taken for a thorough inspection.”

Police are reportedly investigating the possibility that the driver may have been blinded by the bright morning sun and did not see see Mr McMahon out walking. Mr McMahon was home in Clare in August and was due to return with his sons for the All-Ireland hurling final but was unable to do so because of work.

Mr McMahon is survived by his Tipperary born wife and his his two children aged 13 and 11 years old. He is also survived by his father Murty McMahon, his American-based brother John and a number of siblings based in the North Clare area.

“THE RECESSION can go to hell.”

Those were Davy Fitzgerald’s words at the Clare hurlers homecoming in Ennis the night after our historic All-Ireland victory and already his words are proving prophetic. Early estimates suggest those memorable celebrations were worth € 1m to the local economy alone.

Planning for the team has now turned to the holiday, the details of which will be finalised in the coming weeks.

As part of the fundraising for the holiday there will shortly be an official team photograph going on general sale, along with an official team calendar.

These are not on sale yet and the Clare Hurling Supporters Club have asked members of the public to be wary of pirated versions of pictures or calendars on sale, as none of the proceeds of this merchandise will be going to the hurlers holiday fund.

Chairman of the Clare Hurling Supporters Club PJ Kelly told The Clare People on Monday that the fundraising for the player’s holiday fund will be stepped up in the coming weeks:

“Of course the players and management deserve a holiday for all their incredible achievements and the sacrifices they made this year. We would ask the Clare public to get behind the team as we try to raise money for that trip.

“With this in mind we will be making an official team photograph with the Liam McCarthy Cup available for sale shortly. It will sit perfectly beside the pictures of the 1995 and 1997 All-Ireland winning squads,” said PJ.

THE search for a 42-year-old man who was washed into the sea off North Clare will resume this morning. Naval divers are due to resume their search for the Latvian national around 10am this morning, October 8, after bad weather brought an end to last nights search effort.

With more settled weather expected this morning, it is hoped that the mans’ body can be located close to Ballyreen, where he entered the water in Sunday evening.

The man had been fishing with a number of friends at a spot known as Fisherman’s Climb in the popular fishing location between Doolin and Fanore on Sunday evening when he was washed into the ocean by a freak wave. A friend raised the alarm and then attempted to swim out to reach the stranded man.

However, while the friend was swimming to rescue the man, the victim – who has not yet been named – was washed under the water. Despite an intensive search led by a number of rescue agencies, including the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard, the man has not been sighted since. The man’s friend, who dived into the water to save the 42-yearold man, was assisted by emergency services and treated on site for the effects of cold. “The search has been stood down for the night because of poor weather conditions and the hope is now that the divers to be able to enter the water tomorrow morning,” said Mattie Shannon of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard last night. “We are hopeful that the divers will be able to come up with something tomorrow. It is a very exposed spot and if something is not discovered soon it could be very difficult to locate.” It’s understood that man was not wearing a lifejacket and may have been dragged beneath the waves by his heavy clothing. The area has been the scene of a number of tragedies in recent years including the death of a two men in separate fishing accident in Ballyreen in 2009.

MANAGEMENT at SkyCourt in Shannon have moved to rubbish speculation that one of the anchor tenants at the shopping centre was on the cusp of closing up shop after many years.

It was confirmed on Monday that “contrary to the expected negative outcome” Xtra-vision is to remain trading from its current location at SkyCourt in the town.

Since its announced closure earlier this year, Xtra-vision has been ‘trialtrading’ at SkyCourt and, thanks to the loyalty and support of Shannon shoppers, the level of spend at the SkyCourt outlet has sufficiently convinced the new owners that the Shannon outlet has potential.

“This is a most welcome boost for SkyCourt. It would have been a devastating blow to lose Xtra-vision as an anchor tenant,” said SkyCourt manager Pat Kelly.

“We knew that the Shannon store has always traded well and that’s why the landlord worked closely with the new owners throughout the receivership process to convince them of this fact.

“We are delighted that our efforts have been fruitful and look forward to seeing a new vibrancy and exciting developments at the Shannon store, which is now undergoing a refit to recommence trading.

“The Shannon community have to be commended for their support during the past few months and Senator Tony Mulcahy has to be singled out for his tireless campaigning to keep Xtra-vision Shannon open. With Christmas fast approaching, Xtra-vision will remain a favourite shopping stop for Christmas gifts and vouchers.”

Welcoming the news, Senator Tony Mulcahy added, “The decision by Xtra-vision to remain at Shannon demonstrates the value of shopping local. Even during the scale-down period, Shannon consumers stuck with a local outlet as opposed to moving elsewhere. All SkyCourt shops need this level of local support.

“New stores will only decide to locate at SkyCourt if they can be assured of trade. We may all have a wish list of shops we’d like to see at SkyCourt but the reality is, no amount of promotion will convince them to do so if there isn’t sufficient footfall,” he added.

THE Banner feel-good factor is spreading. Just days after the county hurlers gave everyone in Clare a reason to be cheerful, new results from the CSO have confirmed that the number of unemployed people in the county has reached a five-year low.

The number of people signing on the live register in Clare fell to its lowest level since February of 2009 last month.

In what is being seen as a big step forward for the county, this is the first time in almost five years that the number of people signing on dropped below the 9,000 mark.

September is traditionally a good month for the live register in Clare – with a large number of third level student returning to full time education and coming off the live register.

Between August and September of this year the number of people signing on dropped off dramatically from 9,613 to 8,983 – a drop of 6.5 per cent.

However, this drop is not just a seasonal drop as it also represents a year on year drop of 691 people – representing a drop of 7.1 per cent compared to 2012.

The drop in the number of people signing on was led by Ennis where the live register number dropped from 5, 528 in September of 2012 to 5,094 – a drop of 8 per cent.

While there is no concrete figures for job creation in Clare, it is understood that the tourism sector has had a good season to date, prompted in some way by the reduced VAT rate and the positive effects of the Gathering.

It is understood that the Government are likely to increase the VAT for the hospitality back up from its current two-year low of 9 per cent – a move which could threaten employment in the county’s tourism sector.

This news come hot on the heels of a survey from Hotels.com which reported that room prices in hotels were actually increasing.

These claims were strongly rejected by Lahinch hotelier and and president of the Irish Hotel Federation, Michael Vaughan, who described it as “outrageous” and said that the survey used too few hotel room prices to be accurate.

AS MANY as 30 people from Clare are taking a case against the company behind the faulty De Puy ASR hip replacement implanted in more than 3, 500 Irish patients between 2003 and 2010.

The legal firm behind the suite understands there are 170 more Clare people affected by the faulty implant and have advised them that it is not too late join the civil action.

De Puy ordered a recall of the medical device in 2010.

In a case against the company in Los Angeles, it was alleged that a Belfast surgeon emailed De Puy engineer Graham Isaac in May 2006 outlining his concerns about the device.

The New York Times also published revelations that one type of the defective devices were marketed in Europe after the US food and drug administration rejected their sale in America in 2009.

Now personal injuries law firm Peter McDonnell and Associates is holding an information meeting for Irish patients affected by the De Puy Hip Recall of 2010 on Monday week, October 21, in The Old Ground Hotel, Ennis.

Mr McDonnell, said whilst many of the 3, 500 public and private patients throughout Ireland who received the defective De Puy ASR Hip Resurfacing System – typically used in younger, more active patients – and the ASR XL Acetabular System, have already set the litigation process in motion, the vast majority of those who have been adversely affected are under the incorrect impression that the deadline, known as the Statute of Limitations, has already passed.

“Many patients whom I have spoken with throughout Ireland are under the impression that it is too late for them to submit a claim against De Puy. This, however, is not the case,” he said.

Of the 3, 516 Irish patients who received the implants, about 400 have had them replaced.

THE hundred thousand welcomes the 30,000 plus crowd gave to the victorious Clare team when they arrived back in Ennis with the Liam McCarthy Cup, was worth an estimated € 1 million to businesses in one evening alone.

It would appear that the Clare fans heeded the words of Clare hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald when he told them to forget the recession for a while, during the official homecoming at Tim Smythe Park (Fairgreen) in Ennis.

According to the CEO of Ennis Chamber of Commerce, Rita McInerney, the Sunday night homecom- ing was hugely beneficial, as people from all over the county converged in Ennis.

A conservative estimate of the money spent on the evening is approximately € 1 million said the business people’s representative.

“People had to spend money on petrol to come to Ennis, more spent it on food and drink when they were here and there was all the jerseys, flags and bunting that was purchased,” said Ms McInerney.

She estimated spending at an average of € 30 per person.

“That includes people who spent € 5 for a coffee and a snack to those that spent € 150 and stayed out until 5 in the morning,” she explained.

The build up to the All Ireland and the replay was not as profitable however, as people saved for the trip to Croke Park, she explained.

“People had to budget for the All Ireland and couldn’t spend in the run up to the game, but it was worth it because we were in an All Ireland. The businesses were happy to take in on the chin. It was such a great honour to be in the All Ireland,” she said.

“Obviously there was going to be a pull back on spending because people don’t have money, but on that night they came out in support.”

She added that the media focus on the county as a result of the team’s success was also hugely beneficial to the county.

“You couldn’t buy publicity like that,” she said.

“And the Liam McCarthy Cup is going to be here for a year so there will be plenty more celebrations I am sure.”