Category: News

TRADITIONAL Irish music could have a marked benefit for the children and adults who have been institutionalised as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Ennistymon based charity, the Burren Chernobyl Projects (BCP) is looking for traditional musicians, singers and dancers to travel to Belarus later this year. The musicians will firstly play alongside some local musicians before visiting the organisations orphanages and playing for people in the children and adults.

“We are looking for a group to travel to Belarus for a week in the middle or the end of November. Firstly there will be a series of workshops with Belorussian musicians and then the most important element is to get them in the orphanages to play,” said Brian O’Sullivan of the Burren Chernobyl Project.

“Music is something that we feel is important to our work with in the orphanages. There is always music on in the background and we are hoping that getting the musicians in the orphanages, engaging with the residents, would be very beneficial for the residents.

“The Burren Chernobyl Project is involved in a lot of settings at the moment and the hope would be to get the group to visit as many of these places as is possible.”

The BCP is hoping to put together a group including traditional musicians, singers and dancers to travel to Belarus.

“We are keen to keep it as varied as possible, we would prefer it wasn’t all musicians or all dancers. Of course, being from Clare, we would be very keen to have some Clare musicians travelling with us,” continued Brian.

“The musicians would be brought over on the same terms as any of our normal volunteers – the only difference is that they would have a slightly different focus during their week in Belarus. I think this is definitely something that we could come back to again and again and maybe this could develop into an ongoing musical volunteer trip to Belarus.”

Anyone musicians, dancers or singers who would like to volunteer can email medical@burrenchernobyl.ie or call 087 7874609.

THE voice behind one of the most memorable songs of Clare hurling’s glory years is now calling on fans to ‘Stand for the Banner’.

Kieran McDermott, who famously sang ‘The Banner Roar’ in Clare’s Munster and All-Ireland winning year of 1995, has released a new song to celebrate the Banner County’s latest march on Croke Park.

‘Stand for the Banner’ sees Kieran team up with sound technician Matt Purcell, world famous fiddle player Martin Hayes and Ennis chamber choir Cantare.

Kieran’s son Tiernan and Matt Purcell’s father also contribute to the song which had it’s first airing on Clare FM on Thursday.

“It’s a kind of an anthem rather than a ‘Banner Roar’ type song,” explains Kieran, “It’s a Clare anthem we’re angling at rather than a hurling song. It’ll either take off or it won’t. It’s not as jumpy as the ‘Banner Roar’ but it’s more of a rallying march. That’s the idea anyway!”

The song, along with other wellknown Clare hurling hits, will be available to download on iTunes. Proceeds raised will go towards the Clare Hurling Supporters’ Club.

Kieran explains, “‘The Banner Roar’ is now defunct, you can’t buy it anywhere and the one from 1997, ‘You’ll never beat the Banner’, you can’t get that anywhere either. In ‘95, I flew around the county trying to get all the songs into one place. We brought out an album of all the songs that were out at the time called the ‘Banner Rises And Sings’. Things like ‘How’s it Goin’ Lohan?’, Aaron Esley’s song, a mix-up of Matthew McMahon’s commentaries called ‘Weird on the Wireless’. You can’t get that stuff anymore. The idea now is that we’ll put the new song, ‘The Banner Roar’ and ‘You’ll Never Beat the Banner’ on iTunes and people can download it. But all the money from that will go the Clare Supporters’ Club.”

If ‘Stand for the Banner’ can replicate the success of the ‘Banner Roar’, the coffers of the Clare Supporters’ Club could soon be overflowing.

Kieran says, “Back in 1995, I was running around the county to places with tapes. We had tapes in Anthony Daly sports, Feakle, Kilkishen, Maxol Stations, everywhere. It was nightmare of a fortnight before [the AllIreland] trying to keep them stocked but things have moved on from that with technology. It would be nice as an alternative fundraiser for the lads. Hopefully it might build up.”

TWO Meelick lads reckon the Liam McCarthy trophy is Banner Bound in the latest song to celebrate Clare’s appearance in the All-Ireland hurling final.

Eanna Mulvihill and Oisín Hickey have teamed up for their acoustic anthem, ‘Banner Bound’.

The song’s lyrics reference some of the Banner’s summer heroes such as David McInerney and Darach Honan. “ ’Cos you’ll never bea t the Ba nner Boys in saffron a nd blue”, sing Oisín and Eanna, “ So sing along with us from Ennis to Killaloe. When Da vy Ma c a nd the Duck a tta ck, the rest will follow suit, ‘Cos you’ll never bea t the Ba nner boys on sa ffron a nd blue”. The lads look back at Clare’s victories so far this summer. They sing, “ We’ve hea r d it a ll, hea r d it a ll before – The Ba nner won’t be hea rd a nymore. But we showed the Déise, We showed the Tr ibes, We showed the Trea t y up on Liffeyside.

“ So ga ther a round, let’s hea r you roa r – Lia m McCa r thy’s Ba nner Bound once more.” Eanna and Oisín also predict that Clare captain Patrick Donnellan will have one final journey to make come the final whistle on Sunday. “ In Croke Pa rk, we’ll hea r the roa r. Hill 16 ha sn’t seen the likes of us before. When the fina l whistle blows – up the Hoga n Pa ddy Donnella n he will go.” Meanwhile the band behind ‘The Banner’s Back Again’ are working on a statue of Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald.

MC Banner, the singer with MC Banner and Killaloolas plans to erect the statue on his lawn in time for Sunday’s All-Ireland final.

The singer said, “I think it’s going to look a lot like Davy but my wife doesn’t think so.

“She’s not mad about the idea at all at all but she understands my devotion to the Clare team. I checked with all the neighbours and they have no problem with it.

“One of them is knitting a jumper for it for the winter.”

MC will rig an MP 3 player to the statue and when a person touches Davy’s hand it will play ‘The Banner’s back Again’.

MC continued, “We will unveil it on Friday, September 6, at dawn and I am hoping to have a Clare legend to do the unveiling.

“I hope Davy will visit it after the All Ireland. I think it’s the image of him, my wife says it looks more like Marty Morrissey.

“If I had time I would make a statue of Marty too, I am a huge fan of Marty’s.”

MC Banner and the Killaloolas are heading out on their tractor pulled stage. They plan to perform ‘The Banner’s Back Again’, in every Clare town this week.

THERE have been calls for the Government to assist families with the cost of transporting children to the new Ennis National School.

The new school at Ashline opened its doors for the first time to pupils last week. The school was previously located at a site on the Kilrush Road closer to the town centre.

In a motion due to be discussed at yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle urged the council to contact the Minister for Education and the Minister for Finance to allocate a grant to assist families, that are being asked to pay to transport children to the new school.

Cllr Guilfoyle said, “A lot of families now have an extra journey to make and I think the Departments should make some contribution to the cost of travelling to the school.”

The future of the former site of Ennis National School is unknown though it has been earmarked as a potential site for a major town centre retail development in the future.

In a submission to Clare County Council, Ennis Parish, the owners of the site, say it would be an ideal location for the future development of a commercial retail centre. Prepared by engineering firm Paddy Coleman and Associates, the sub- mission states, “It is their opinion that Proposal Site PS1 is ideal and should be promoted by the council through the Ennis and Environs Development Plan to cater for the identified retail deficiency. It is stated that they own part of the said site (the land associated with the Boys National School) and that the land will be available in the short term when it is vacated for the new school currently under construction at Ashline.” Supermarket giant Aldi have also emerged as potential purchasers of the site after signalling their intent to develop a second store in Ennis. However Cllr Guilfoyle says residents on the Kilrush Road would have concerns about any potential development in the area. He explained, “It seems it has been earmarked for a shopping centre. That may be a good bit down the line, if it happens, but I would have concerns. And there are people living there in peace for a long time that would have concerns about it.”

GARDAÍ are investigating the circumstances of the latest fire at a € 2.2 million Traveller accommodation site in Ennis.

Three housing units were damaged following an incident of alleged criminal damage at the Beechpark halting site last week. Gardaí say an accelerant was used to douse the buildings but it did not ignite for some reason. However considerable smoke damage was caused to the building’s interiors. No one was hurt in the incident as the Beechpark site is currently vacant. Clare County Council was in the process of a € 15,000 refurbishment of the property when it was damaged

In a statement, a council spokesman said the costs the damage had yet to be ascertained. He explained, “The site was vacant at the time. The council was in process of refurbishing the property when it was damaged. The contract value was € 15,865 excluding VAT.

The contractor had just commenced on site therefore the actual cost of works undertaken will be substan- tially less than the contract value. The cost of the damage has yet to be ascertained. However, the roof and parts of the interior ceiling were badly damaged by fire.”

The Beechpark development was completed in 2004 at a cost of € 2.2 million.

In February, Clare County Council revealed that it had no plans to refurbish or rebuild Beechpark following a series of arson attacks on Traveller accommodation.

The council had been forced to install CCTV cameras to prevent against further attacks.

The latest incident at Beechpark comes just days after a separate suspicious fire at another vacant Traveller accommodation site in Ennis.

The incident occurred at around 1.50am on Saturday, August 17, when a vacant house at the Ashline site on Kilrush Road caught fire in what Gardaí described as “suspicious circumstances”.

The fire service attended the scene and the Gardaí in Ennis are investigating the circumstances of the fire. This is the second time this year that fire has broken out at the Ashline site, which cost € 1.7 million to build.

FAMILY, friends and former colleagues gathered to pay tribute to retired Garda Superintendent, Frank Doris, who passed away in Ennis last week. A native of Longford, Mr Doris worked in Kilrush and Ennis during the seventies and eighties. The 89-year-old father of three retired from the force in 1986.

Prior to coming to Clare, Mr Doris was a highly respected Detective Inspector with the Garda Fraud Squad in Dublin. He worked on a number of high profile cases during his time in Dublin and was one of the lead investigators on the Shanahan Stamp auction case in 1959 when a businessman was arrested for fraud after thousands of investors lost money in a huge scam involving the sale of Irish Free State Stamps. He was well known in legal circles and during his time in Clare, Mr Doris is said to have brought a deep knowledge of criminal law to his role as a Garda prosecutor in court.

Mr Doris, who lived in Roslevan, had a strong interest in sport, fishing and shooting. He played for the Longford senior footballers in the fifties and retained a keen interest in horseracing.

At his funeral mass in St Joseph’s Church in Ennis on Sunday, Mr Doris was recalled as a loving father, good friend and respected colleague. Burial took place in Newtownforbes, Longford. He is survived by his loving wife Rosaleen, daughters Elizabeth and Yvonne, son Thomas, grandchildren, family, extended family and many friends. JUSTAFEWWORDS . . . Colin Ryan is surrounde d by me dia at Clare ’s official p re ss night ahead of t he All-Ire land se nior hurling final in t he Temple Gat e Hot e l last Tue sday.

PILOT inexperience has been identified as one of the possible causes of a plane crash which took place at Shannon Airport in 2011.

According to investigators at the Department of Transport’s Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU), excessive speed as well as pilot inexperience caused a major issue aboard an Aer Arann flight.

There were 21 passengers and four crew on board the Aer Arann Manchester to Shannon service when its nose wheel collapsed, controls jammed and it left the runway on July 17, 2011.

Nobody on board was seriously injured in the incident, which resulted in the plane scraping along the ground for 1,200 metres before coming to a stop on a grass verge.

According to one witnesses, smoke or steam could be seen billowing from the front of the 17-year-old aircraft while its left propeller crashed through and demolished a sign on the runway.

The aircraft was so badly damaged that it has been taken out of service and has not been repaired.

In its report, the AAIU states the plane approached the runway on two occasions in excess of the recommended speeds.

The then newly-promoted pilot was a “relatively inexperienced” captain according to the report, and had little experience handling the aircraft in difficult conditions.

Investigators said this inexperience was a contributory factor in the accident, along with inadequate information being provided to both her and her co-pilot about landing in crosswinds.

The likely cause of the incident was excessive speed and inadequate control of the aircraft during the blustery conditions, it was found.

The AAIU has ordered Aer Arann to review its training of pilots in landing aircraft in crosswinds as a result.

A ROCK climber cheated death in the Burren on Friday afternoon after falling almost 25 feet from a sheer cliff and landing on his back. The climber, who has not been identified, is recovering in hospital after miraculously surviving the fall at a popular climbing spot between Doolin and Fanore.

The man, who is in his thirties, sustained serious injuries to his lower spine and arms in the incident – which took place around 3.15pm at Ailladee, close to the famous Mirror Wall.

The man was wearing a climbing helmet and harness and was saved by his equipment, and by the quick thinking of his friends who immediately contacted the emergency services.

The Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard responded to the incident and administered first aid. The Shannonbased coast guard helicopter arrived at the scene minutes later but was unable to find a secure landing space.

Instead, a paramedic was lowered from the helicopter and spinally immobilised the man and transported him, with the help of the Doolin Coast Guard, to a clear area where he was winched into the helicopter and transported to University College Hospital in Galway.

The extent of the mans’ injuries are unknown but he had complained of severe lower back pain and other injuries.

“We responded to a call and discovered a seriously injured 32-yearold man close to the Mirror Wall between Doolin and Fanore. The climber had fallen between six and seven metres and was was severely injured,” said Mattie Shannon of the Doolin Coast Guard. “He was wearing a climbing harness and a helmet, which probably saved him, but it appears that the ropes may have come away from the wall somehow. He was suffering from severe pain to his lower back and injuries to his shoulders and arms.”

The cliffs at Ailladee and Ballyreen, located on the coast road between Doolin and Fanore, are some of Ireland’s premier climbing cliffs. They are a popular destination for climbing groups and are also used for Irish Army training as well as training for the coast guard and other rescue services.

Earlier this year a man was struck by the falling stone while climbing in the area and was airlifted to hospital for treatment.

AS THE countdown begins to the Clare hurlers’ date with destiny in Croke Park there are growing calls for the All-Ireland final to be shown on a big screen in Ennis.

Local authorities in Ennis are considering the suggestion to erect a big screen in the town centre, a proposal that could be done in conjunction with local businesses and Clare GAA.

Council officials met yesterday to discuss possible plans to mark Clare’s meeting with Cork in the All-Ireland final on September 8.

Abbey Street car park is the most likely venue for any pubic screening of the big match.

The area previously hosted celebrations to mark the ‘homecoming’ of sports legend Muhammad Ali to Ennis in 2009 and the recent Love Live music events.

Local community activist and member of the Disabled People of Clare support group Dermot Hayes proposed the big screen idea last week. He says the final is a great opportunity for communities across Clare to celebrate and come together.

He explains, “When Ennis hosted Muhammad Ali some years ago, a big screen was put up in the Abbey Street car park. It was just brilliant. I was there and still remember the buzz. In Limerick in 2006 when Munster played in the Heineken Cup, thousands came out on the streets of Limerick to enjoy the event. These memories are appreciated. So why not do it for the big match. Not everyone will be able to get a ticket and people who are living alone will want to share the joy of Clare playing in an All-Ireland final.”

Dermot is promoting the proposal as the ‘Big Idea’ through YouTube and Facebook.

Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn has called for Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council to “actively consider the installation, in partnership with others, of a large screen in Abbey Street car park, Ennis, or the All Ireland hurling final”.

Cllr Flynn says that subject to public demand, there may even be a need to site the screen in Cusack Park.

The Ennis councillor says the event would allow families unable to get tickets be part of the Banner County’s big day. Cllr Flynn added that a big public event would also be a good “tourism marketing opportunity” for the town.

CLARE families in mortgage difficulty could face a double blow should a a family member pass away unexpectedly. Spancilhill financial aid charity Dealing With Debt (DWD) says that hundreds of Clare families could face eviction from should a wage earning family member pass away – as the insurance will not cover the full cost of mortgages in arrears.

With more than 2,000 Clare families in arrears or in interest-only payment schemes, research from DWD indicated that the vast majority of these are under insured.

The insurance difficulty comes about when a mortgage goes into arrears as the life insurance cover associated with the mortgage is tied to the additional payment schedule.

Should a mortgage holder who is in arrears pass away, the insurer would only pay out the portion of the mortgage which is scheduled to be out- standing – according to the original mortgage timeline.

“If you had a € 400,000 mortgage lets say, and you run into financial difficulty and have to pay a reduced rate – maybe even interest only. After a while you would find yourself in a situation where you owe € 400,000 of a mortgage, but you only covered for € 300,000,” said Joe Corbett of Dealing With Debt.

“So you have situation of a family who is already struggling, gets hit with tragic death, and then they also face maybe € 100,000 in debt that they didn’t know they would have.

“We are seeing more and more of this. People are taking the risk that nothing will happen to them – and hopefully nothing will. People don’t take the insurance into account when they are in difficulty.

“When families are struggling to pay a mortgage then the insurance can be the last thing on their mind. It is a worrying situation and something that is becoming more and more common in Clare.”