Category: News

VICTIMS have told how they battled addictions and attempted suicide after the abuse they suffered at the hands of Ennis man James ‘Tony’ Maher.

One of the men stated that he was afraid to speak up after he was first assaulted by Mr Maher (69).

Detective Garda Beatrice Ryan read out the man’s victim impact statement in Ennis Circuit Criminal Court. The man stated, “It’s sad that I was always blaming myself and family for what this paedophile was doing to me.”

The man first met Mr Maher through his involvement with the Banner GAA Club. He recalled how he started to drink alcohol heavily at an early age.

He stated, “At 15, I was hospitalised for drink and I tried to commit suicide.”

The court heard that the man again tried to kill himself aged 18 and almost ended up taking the life of another person.

The man stated that he had battled addictions to alcohol and gambling.

He described Mr Maher, of Clonroadmorebeg, Ennis as a “monster” and said the abuse had a “dramatic effect” on his life.

He said he had never told his wife and children about the ordeal he had suffered. The man said his life had been robbed. “I hope that if there is a God, he (Mr Maher) will burn in hell.”

Another victim of Mr Maher read his victim impact statement in court yesterday.

He told the court that he was 11 when Mr Maher first assaulted him. He said the incidents had a “horrific impact” on his life.

He said he sank into a deep depression after Mr Maher “robbed” him of an ability to trust anyone. The man, whom the court heard grew up in poor circumstances in a rural part of the county, said he had attempted suicide.

He added, “I suffered enormous pain and I will always remain scarred by the actions of this man.” Mr Maher will be sentenced on January 14, 2013.

THE exploits of the “fighting priest”, Ballyvaughan’s Father Cornelius Sexton, have been revealed for the first time in a new book soon to be released.

Father Cornelius, or “Con”, joined the Australian army in 1940 and spent five years in combat areas in Malaya and Singapore.

During that time he suffered many injuries, was wounded in a Japanese shelling and was also captured and served time as a prisoner of war.

His story is now told for the first time in a new book, Hard Times, Decent Men by Neil Richards, which has just been published.

According to Richards, one of Father Sexton’s most dangerous nights came on February 8, 1942, when he was witness to a major Japanese offensive which forced a general retreat by Australian forces on Malaya.

During the ill-fated retreat, the truck that Fr Sexton was travelling in was hit with a Japanese shell.

“We had several wounded brought in during the night from the shelling and the colonel of our battalion sent up men to try and stop the enemy landing.

“It should never have been ordered, it was a massacre” he said in interview after the war.

“They didn’t stand a chance. The first two who were brought in were Chinese who were fighting with our forces.

“The doctor said to bring them down to the hospital so we loaded them on the back of the truck.

“The truck was struck with a mortar and myself and Jack [Australian soldier Jack Bowman] were blown out of the truck.

“I remember Jack said to me ‘are you alive, Father?’. And I said. ‘I am, are you?’”

Later that year, Fr Sexton was on a Red Cross truck bringing wounded men to the Selarang Barracks in Singapore which was fired on by Japanese soldiers.

Fr Sexton managed to make it through to the barracks only to become a prisoner of war when Aus- tralia surrendered the island on February 5, 1942.

During his three years as a prisoner of war, Fr Sexton continued in his ministries and delivered sacrament to both allied and Japanese soldiers.

He was eventually released in August of 1945 and was diagnosed with neurotic beriberi, a condition of the nervous system brought about by a lack of vitamins.

After the war, Father Sexton returned to Australia where he served as a parish priest until he retired in January of 1978.

FURTHER discussions are expected in the coming weeks over plans to erect a memorial in Ennis to Irish people who fought in wars in South East Asia.

Councillors and officials from Ennis Town Council held preliminary discussions with representatives from business groups and American war veterans in recent weeks.

It follows a contentious proposal tabled at the July meeting of Ennis Town Council calling on the authority to commemorate Irish men who fought in the Vietnam War.

The motion, tabled by Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn, provoked strong opposition.

Cllr Flynn said the council should consider marking the contribution of soldiers of Irish descent who served in the United States armed forces during the Vietnam War.

Cllr Flynn said, at the time, that such a memorial would send out a positive signal to ex-soldiers about Clare as a tourism destination.

According to Cllr Flynn, the Vietnam veteran tourism market num- bers close to 1.9 million people.

It is estimated that 2,500 Irish people served with the US armed forces in Vietnam.

However, some councillors were wary of the proposal.

Cllr Paul O’Shea (Ind) said that Vietnam is a “sensitive issue”, while Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) has expressed concern about the actions of some American soldiers during the war.

However, it is understood that following recent meetings, councillors are close to agreeing on a memorial for Ennis.

It is thought that any memorial would honour Irish people who fought for the Allied Forces in conflicts in South East Asia from the 1950s to ‘70s.

Meetings have also taken place with representatives of a group of Vietnam veterans who have been travelling to Clare in recent years to attend the Ennis Trad Festival.

The talks are still at a preliminary stage and no decision has yet been taken.

Friars Walk in Ennis has been mooted as one possible location for any memorial.

A PROMINENT North Clare hotelier believes that local surfers will have to be “held to account” if funding for a new pier in Doolin is lost.

John Burke, of the Burke Group of hotels, said yesterday that the majority of local surfers are in favour of the pier in principle but have been “misinformed” about the impact that the current design will have on the Crab Island wave.

The Burke Group currently employs 125 people in the area between the Armada Hotel, Hotel Doolin and Tír Gan Éan and believe that the development will be good for everyone in the area, including surfers. In a statement to The Clare People yesterday, he said that surfers will be “held to account” for their opposition, if plans for the pier are rejected by An Bord Pleanála and the funding is lost. “The surfing community is being misrepresented and perhaps misinformed by a number of people, as most surfers I’ve encountered claim that they do not in principle object to the development,” he said. “Some are misguided in believing that this pier will have a significant negative impact on the Crab Island wave, when in fact there will be no impact in most [weather and tidal] conditions on the most surfed portion on the wave. “The surfing community needs to be made aware of the facts of the situation and they need to assess their position based on those facts.

“If, after that, they still wish to object to the proposed pier development, that is their prerogative, but the current position taken by their representatives – that they don’t object to the pier but rather the level of research undertaken – does not represent a fair and honest approach.

“It’s now time to either object on clearly stated grounds, while accepting this may be to the detriment of the piers development, or apply pressure to their representatives to move forward with this.

“This pier will not have another opportunity for development, its funding will be taken, and there will not be energy or drive by any promoters to develop the pier. In this case, the surfing community will have to be held accountable for their position, it is imperative that they are comfortable with where they stand, they are obliged to the broader community and interests in the pier to satisfy themselves with their position.

“If they can’t do this, and can see the work and investigation, and that this can satisfy them, then now is the time to stand side by side and voice their opinion of support.

“The weight of history will rest on their shoulders.” The Clare People contacted the Lahinch-based West Coast Surf Club in relation to this story but no response was forthcoming at the time of going to print. We t fo r t h e e a rly p a rt o f t h e we e k b u t c le a rin g t o d ry a n d c o ld w it h t e m p s st a yin g we ll a b o ve fre e zin g

ELEVEN fire and rescue service personnel from Clare who, between them, have a combined service record of 260 years were the toast of the 11th annual National Long Service Awards Ceremony that took place in Dublin at the weekend.

At a ceremony hosted by the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Fergus O’Dowd, two fighters from the county were presented with 30-year awards, while the remaining nine received 20-year awards.

The 30-year award winners were Martin Rodgers, who is a Sub Station Officer with Killaloe Fire Brigade and Joe McMahon, a firefighter with Kilkee Fire Brigade.

The 20-year award winners were Clare’s Chief Fire Officer, Adrian Kelly; firefighters Cormac Quinlivan, Brian Rudd, Frank O’Gorman, Paddy Doyle and Joe Tuohy; as well as Killaloe Fire Station Officer Paul Mollaghan and Sub-Station Officer Robert Fitzgerald.

The National Long Service Awards scheme is administered on behalf of the Department of the Environment by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management.

The award in recognition of 20 years’ service takes the form of a medal bearing the traditional logo representation of the fire service – a helmet and crossed axes; the medal ribbon bears the Irish national colours, with a central column in red to represent the fire service.

The 30-year award is a representation of a flame in emblematic form. Both awards are accompanied by an appropriate certificate. Presenting the awards, Fergal O’Dowd TD, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment stated that awards scheme is the State’s way of honouring local au- thority fire service personnel for “being there over all the years, for being prepared to respond to calls for help, at all times, and in all weathers.”

“The commitment and professionalism of these long serving fire fighters is indicative of the highly experienced personnel employed by Clare County Fire and Rescue Service,” said Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald in congratulating the award recipients.

“Clare County Fire and Rescue Service has a proud tradition of Serv- ice to the people of Clare. Presently, our fire and rescue staff are among the most highly trained in the country and we are continually pushing to raise staff training levels even further,” said Chief Fire Officer Adrian Kelly.

“We remain fully committed to providing a multi-skilled approach not alone to the areas of fire fighting, but also to rescue and fire safety engineering. We are available for emergency response to the Community 24 hours a day seven days a week,” he added.

THE young woman who lost her life in a road accident on the M18 near Barefield on Sunday afternoon has been named locally as Vicky Courtney from Athenry.

The young woman, who was due to celebrate her 27th birthday later this week, was driving home from Shannon Airport with her mother Pamela when the accident took place.

It is understood that the car collided with the motorway crash barrier before continuing for more than 20 metres and smashing into a timber fence.

Ms Courtney was thrown from the car and suffered extensive injuries. She was treated for her injuries at the scene by a doctor who happened upon the accident but her injuries were too severe.

Her mother was trapped inside the vehicle for a number of minutes before she was freed by the Ennis fire brigade.

Gardaí from Ennis are investigating the tragedy, which was the sec- ond fatal road accident in Clare this year. On February 24, a 30-year-old man died when the car he was driving struck a wall near Clooney.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Gort are appealing for witnesses after an elderly man died in an apparent hit and run on the N-18 on Friday evening.

The incident took place just after 7.30pm on Friday evening when a 65-year-old man was attempting to cross the road and was struck by a vehicle.

The man, who has since been named as Gerry Keane from Ardrahan, was taken to University College Hospital in Galway where he died early on Saturday afternoon.

Gardaí in Gort are looking to speak to the driver of the car, who did not remain at the scene, or anyone else who may have witness the incident. It is understood that the incident was captured on CCTV but Gardaí are appealing for the driver to come forward.

Anyone who witnessed this collision or who can assist with the investigation is asked to contact Gort Garda Station on 091 636400.

CLARE County Council have spent € 571,000 on legal expenses for the first 10 months of this year, according to figures released at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council. It now appears likely that the total legal fees paid by the local authority for 2012 will be substantially lower that the € 1,083,000 paid out by Clare County Council in 2011.

Despite the likely reduction of legal expenses for 2012, a number of councillors raised the issue of Clare County Council employing its own in-house legal team, instead of sourcing outside legal representation. Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) referred to a motion put forward by former county councillor, Senator Martin Conway (FG), on this issue a number of years ago.

“I think the costs of legal fees are quite considerable. One wonders is there value in the argument that the council should have in-house legal expertise instead of having to buy it in in this way. I don’t think that the local authority can continue in this way. The public are looking for value for money and I don’t know does this represent value for money,” said Cllr Arkins (FG).

County Manager Tom Coughlan said that despite a previous motion by Senator Conway being approved by the council, this was not implemented because the council could not afford to take on an in-house legal team.

“The motion put to council by Senator Conway asked if it would be more efficient to outsource our legal services or to employ people in-house. Every motion adopted by the council can’t be implemented, because there is not funding for it. Just because a motion is put forward and seconded by the council, doesn’t mean that we have the ability and the money to actually do it,” said the county manager.

“Savings and value for money is something that we are looking at very closely. I wish we didn’t have any legal costs at all. Life would be much simpler for us if people didn’t take cases against us. It would also be much more helpful for us if these cases were resolved as quickly as possible. But that is the legal system.

“It is not that we just accept a bill and say we will pay it. Many of our bills, especially the larger bills, are assessed independently to determine if we are being charged fairly. I would prefer to drive down the legal costs in the system that we have and not change the system.”

The meeting also heard that total architectural, civil and mechanical engineering fees from January to October of 2012 came to € 930,000, auctioneering came to € 48,000 and energy came to € 3,228,000.

LAY Clare people involved in the Killaloe Diocese’s listening process, believe that change in the church must begin locally, even if many of the recommendations suggested by the process can only come from The Vatican.

West Clare woman Maureen Kelly, who is part of the steering committee for the listening process, believes that local engagement in relation to issues like ordaining women priests can have a knock-on effect on overall church policy.

“Any change must begin with what we can influence ourselves – our sphere of influence as those who write about change put it. We may not be able to effect all that people are asking. There are issues on which the wider Church must decide,” said Maureen.

“There is however much we can do locally to ensure that the issues people have raised are addressed. Change begins on the ground and that has a wider impact.

“The issue of ministry of women is frequently raised as one we cannot change. There is much we can do locally to enhance the participation of women and their input into decisionmaking at local level.”

While Bishop Kieran O’Reilly has prompted this process to take place – he has not taken an active steering role to order to allow both lay people ad parish priests to express their opinions in freedom.

“Listening is the first step in engaging with people. Bishop Kieran made this clear when the process began. He wanted to give people an opportunity to express their views on the present reality of the Diocese. He wanted to give space to people to say what is on their minds. The working out of a response will take time but there is a commitment to doing so,” continued Maureen.

“It is also important to give people who are involved on a regular basis to speak their truth. As the conversations go on people gain confidence in speaking the truth of what is important to them, in speaking about how important a faith dimension to life is.

“A comprehensive report has been prepared on the collated findings from the conversations we’ve had to this point. An outline of findings will soon be available for distribution throughout the diocese for those who might not have the time to read the full report.

“We are presently going back to the Parish Councils in the Clusters to present the report and it is being warmly received. The Report is also available on the Diocesan webpage.”

ENGINEERS in Ennis may request that the speed limit be reduced in the town centre to ensure greater pedestrian safety.

Senior executive engineer Eamon O’Dea said yesterday that he may consult with gardaí over the speed limit. It comes after concerns were raised over the layout of pedestrian crossings.

Cllr Tony Mulqueen (FG) said elderly people are having difficulty crossing the street. At yesterday’s meeting of councillors in the Ennis West Electoral Area, he called on the council to restore the pedestrian crossings at O’Connell Square. Mr O’Dea told the meeting that the council had been forced to alter the crossings to comply with the latest traffic signs rules.

Mr O’Dea stated, “The crossings are uncontrolled crossings and the road markings comply with the latest traffic signs manual. The provision of lines across the road at a pedestrian crossing can only be provided at controlled pedestrian crossings in accordance with the traffic signs manual.”

He continued, “Therefore a set of amber pedestrian lights would have to be provided at each crossing point which would both be very confusing to the drivers and would detract from the centre of the town. Ennis Town Council consulted with the road safety engineer of the NRA before the present markings were put in place.”

Mr O’Dea told the meeting that he is “not totally happy” with the current layout at the Square. He said one possible solution would be to request that gardaí consider reducing the speed limit in the town centre.

He said slight alterations could be made to the current layout but that a system of numerous lighted crossings would confuse drivers and detract from the visual amenity of the town.

Town Manager Ger Dollard said the council accepts there is an issue with the current layout.

The meeting also heard calls for pedestrianisation to be introduced on a trial basis in May, June and July. Cllr James Breen (Ind) called for the system to be put in place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during summer 2013.

He told the meeting that pedestrianisation had the potential to revitalise the town.

Mr Dollard said it remains the objective of the council to pedestrianise the town centre.

He said a bid to achieve Purple Flag status for the town’s nighttime economy and the opening of the inner relief road could boost plans for pedestrianisation.

“It’s [pedestrianisation] considered a matter of when it’s achieved and not if it is achieved,” added Mr Dollard.

A LARGE number of parish priests in the Killaloe Diocese have given their backing to a revolutionary new document which calls for an end to clerical celibacy, the ordination of female priests a radical change to how the diocese is operated.

The diocese has just published its first report of a series of “cluster” meeting involving more than 700 priests and lay people in Clare and Tipperary.

The process, which was set in mo- tion by Bishop Kieran O’Reilly, has resulted in the creation of a new blueprint for the future of the diocese – as envisioned by local parish priests and lay people and not by The Vatican.

The process started in October of 2011 with two large open meeting one involving the parish priests of the Killaloe Diocese, the other involving representative of the lay community. These meeting led to the creation of 12 “cluster” groups in different areas across the diocese where priests and lay people have been regularly meeting for months.

This process has been directed by Bishop O’Reilly, Fr John Kelly, Fr Pat Malone, Fr Donagh O’Meara and Sr Clare Slattery alongside lay members Leonard Cleary, Sean Conlan, Michael Geaney, Maureen Kelly and Marie O’Connell-Quinn.

A report into the clusters operations to date was published on the Killaloe Diocese earlier this month. Of the 12 clusters who took part in the report, 11 indicated that allowing priests to marry, ordaining women into ministries, creating a new role of lay people in the church and fostering appreciation for local priests were priority issues.

Nine of the clusters cited the ordination of women as an important issue, with three citing the promotion of vocation and two raising the issue of priests from abroad coming to the diocese to preach.

The report also found that a crisis of faith among young people, a disconnect with the church itself and the development of the clusters system to be important issues in the diocese.

“One of the most striking impressions from these conversations is that many people feel a strong affinity and connection, a sense of iden- tity and belonging with their local parish community, despite feelings of disconnect with the institutional Church,” said the report.

“However, it is also true that hurt or anger with stances or decisions taken by the institutional Church impacts negatively at local parish level and leads to people walking away.

“It is clear that these are days of immense change. There are new needs to be met and new challenges are set before us. These conversations set out the reality of these challenges.”

The report can be read in full at www.killaloediocese.ie.