Category: News

THE ORGANISERS of The Outing matchmaking festival in Lisdoonvarna are aiming to host Ireland’s first gay wedding at the festival over the next two or three years.

The festival, which is the world’s first gay matchmaking event, attracted nearly 3,000 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people to North Clare – where Lisdoonvarna matchmaker, Willie Daly, and Irish Gay icon Panti, matched couples together.

Last year was the first time that a gay element was included in the 157 years of the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival and according to Outing organiser, Eddie McGuinness, the event produced a number of long term couples.

“We had a nice few matches last year, not just by Willie Daly himself but also Panti, who tried her hand at some matchmaking.

“I personally know three couples who are still together from last year, which isn’t a bad result at all,” said Eddie.

“It is brilliant that real, long-term relationship are coming out of this festival. We have teamed up with the Marriage Equality organisation this year to get the message across that it all about love, commitment and finding the right person.

“Hopefully in a few years we will be able to go out and have a good old wedding in Lisdoonvarna.

“Hopefully next year or the year after we will be able to have a wedding in Lisdoonvarna, during the Outing. That would really be something amazing.

“The people of Lisdoonvarna and the surrounding villages really opened their arms and embraced The Outing last year.

“It was amazing to be in Clare for the weekend. My mother is originally from Clare and to be in Lisdoonvarna and such a great Clare welcome was something very special.”

This years event will run from October 3 to October 6 and will be the last weekend of the five week long Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival. TV personality, Brendan Courtney, will host blind date as part of the festival while singer Brian Kennedy will also perform.

For more information visit www. theouting.ie THE CEO of Irish Water Safety, John Leech is urging the public to use Local Authority manned lifeguarded bathing places in Clare to ensure that they avoid being stung by two of the most venomous jellyfish that visit Irish waters. The warning has been issued after a Lions mane Jellyfish was spotted in Dublin last week. The Portuguese man-o-war jellyfish was also reported in Wexford and Waterford last Tuesday. Meanwhile, a young girl was taken to hospital after suffering an allergic reaction to a jellyfish sting at Barleycove beach in West Cork last week. “The Lifeguards ensure your safety on our beaches and will be patrolling on their surf rescue boards and on the beaches to ensure that they do not pose a threat to members of the public,” stated Mr Leech. The CEO is also alerting the public that due to the high temperatures in our waters, the prevailing westerly winds and the north Atlantic current, these potentially dangerous jellyfish are likely to appear on more of our beaches in the coming weeks.

LISCANNOR man, Thomas Cusack, could move one step closer to becoming a Saint this week as Pope Francis is expected to mention the martyred Clare priest when he undertakes the first visit of any siting Pope to South Korea in more than 25 years.

Last September the Korean Church applied to the Holy See to begin the process which could one day lead to the Columban priest being beatified.

If successful, Fr Cusack ([ictured right), would become only Ireland’s fourth saint of the past thousand years; joining Cellach of Armagh, Saint Oliver Plunkett and Charles of Mount Argus.

Fr Cusack was killed by communist forced in Korean in 1950 and the Korean Church are seeking his beatification as a martyr.

The Liscannor man’s 15 years in Korean were marked by intense bravery and hardship.

He refused to flee the county during the Japanese invasion in World War II and as a result spend a number of years in a brutal prisoner of war camp.

He again refused to leave the country when the Korean War erupted and was captured in 1950 but a communist troops as the retreated north of the border following a battle on July 24, 1950.

Fr Cusack, along with a number of other Catholic priests were martyred in “the massacre at Taejon Prison” with took place on September 24, 1950.

To mark the 80th anniversary of the arrival of the Columban in Korea in 1933 – the Korean Church has put forward a number of priests martyred during the Korean War for sainthood.

As part of the anniversary Korean Church leaders are set to lobby the Pope during his visit this week for the cause of Fr Cusack and seven other Columban priests who lost their lives at Taejon Prison.

“One of the gratifying things is that this process has been initiated by the two dioceses in which the seven men worked,” said Fr Donal O’Keeffe, Regional Director of the Columbans in Korea.

Father Cusack was born in Ballycotton in Liscannor on October 23, 1910. He was educated in Ballycotton National School before going on to attend St Mary’s College in Galway.

He entered the Columbans in 1928 and was ordained in 1934. The following year he was sent to Korea and at the time of his death he was serving in Columban mission in Mokpo.

At presents Ireland boasts a total of 166 saints. The vast majority of these saints were lived during the fifth, sixth and seventh centuries which Ireland was known as the Island of Saints and Scholars.

have signed up to a website which promises to get them dates with wealthy older Sugar Daddies. Of the ten women who have signed up to the website, seven say they are based in Ennis while there was one user in Kilkee, Clarecastle and Fanore. They range in age between 18 and 31 and many had detailed profiles with a large amount of personal information and pictures. The owners of the website told The Clare People this week that young women are not paid directly to go on dates with older men – but they often receive lavish gifts from their older male suitors. Spokesperson for the Seeking Arrangement site, Angela Jacob Bermudo, said the site is designed to connect struggling college students, described as ‘Sugar Babies’, with ‘Sugar Daddies’.

A NEW countywide music education programme part funded by rock giants U2 kicked off in Ennis yesterday.

Scoil Chríost Rí in Ennis is playing host to Clare’s newest summer music camp. The camp, which runs until August 15, is the first project rolled out under the Clare Music Generation project.

In January, Clare secured a € 400,000 funding boost from the U2 and Ireland Fund’s supported National Music Education Programme.

The overall aim is to provide the first countywide music education service in Clare.

Clare Music Education Partnership will receive close to € 435,000 in seed funding which will enable high quality, accessible music education programmes to be provided for children and young people in their local communities.

Clare/Limerick Education and Training Board (formerly Clare VEC) is the lead statutory agency for the programme.

Scoil Chríost Rí in Cloughleigh has been chosen as the launch-pad for this new era in music education following the success of the school’s 5th and 6th class students in the Pan Celtic Music Competition in Derry in May.

“Scoil Chríost Rí are very proud of their musical endeavors and believe in the power of music to develop a child’s confidence, wellbeing an feel good factor when playing music in whatever genre they like” said Karen Vaughan of Scoil Chríost Rí. She continued, “Music crosses all boundaries and is a gift for life, which is why we are passionate about the teaching of music of all genres, in particular traditional Irish music which instills in a child a strong sense of cultural identity which is at the heart of musical ethos for this camp. “We wanted to see what when you mix six genres of music together rap, hip-hop, percussion classes with djembe, bodhrán an samba drumming, rock classes with drums, electric and bass guitars, acoustic and all the different traditional Irish music instruments”. The camp is sponsored and supported by Clare Local Development Company and Music Generation Clare in association with the music team at Scoil Chríost Rí. Adrian Healy Development Officer with Clare Local Development Company said, “Clare Local Development Company is delighted to get involved with Scoil Chríost Rí in this initiative. “The school has a strong musical education ethos, which we felt would yield benefits for those in the local RAPID area. “We were happy to come on board the project and to fund the purchase of musical instruments for the school. “Clare Local Development Company believes that the investment in the musical education of young people is hugely beneficial for the holistic development of younger people, both from an individual and community point of view.”

FURTHER evidence of an impending housing crisis in urban parts of Clare has emerged with Clare Citizens’ Information Service last year recorded a dramatic rise in queries from people worried about becoming homeless.

According to figures obtained from Clare Citizens’ Information Service, nearly 2,500 Clare people experiencing housing difficulty contacted the service in 2013.

With rents on the increase in urban areas such as Ennis and Shannon, fears have been raised that of a surge in families becoming homeless in Clare, as rent supplement is no longer enough to cover rents.

This has prompted the Clare Citizens Information Service and Focus Ireland to team up to launch a new Information Guidebook aimed at tackling home- lessness before it become a widespread problem in the county.

The guidebook, which is entitled ‘A Guide to Information Givers on Preventing Homelessness’ is aimed at helping front line staff to deal with the increasing volume of queries relating to homelessness.

“Citizens Information Services have experienced a surge in the numbers of clients with housing problems related to financial issues.

“In 2013 there were 1287 housing queries to CICs in Clare in addition to 1002 queries related to Rent Supplement.

“The booklet will support information advisors in assisting individuals and families who come to our services who may be homeless or at risk of losing their homes,” said Paul Woulfe of the Clare Citizens’ Information Service.

“The combination of escalating rents, rent allowance caps and unwillingness among many landlords to accept rent supplement, is forcing lower income households out of the housing market.

“However, we know through our work that it’s possible to help families and individuals from losing their home through early intervention and support.

“This new guidebook will play a part in helping efforts to prevent homelessness at a local level nationwide in areas where there is currently no specialty housing advice service.

“Many problems have been associated with the Rent Supplement rent limits set in Budget 2012.

“Primarily they were set at levels that did not enable eligible households to secure and retain basic suitable rented accommodation.

“Many callers to our centres could not find suitable accommodation within the limits outlined.”

TRIBUTES have been paid to the late Dr Frank Counihan, a man recalled as the “very essence of a good doctor”. Dr Counihan, who lived in t he Golf Links Road area of Ennis, died peacefully at home on August 5, surrounded by his loving family.

Dr Counihan (91) worked as a GP in Ennis for nearly 40 years, as well as in the former maternity section of Cahercalla Hospital. He was involved in a number of sporting and community organizations including the Samaritans and Lahinch Golf Club. At his funeral mass in Ennis Cathedral on Thursday, Fr Tom Hogan said Dr Counihan lived a full life, “a life that made a difference”.

Canon Bob Hanna, Rector of St Columba’s Church of Ireland described Dr Counihan as a “true renaissance man” who was generous to all people he met in Ennis.

“I look upon him honestly as one of great influences in my 20 year ministry here in the town”, Canon Hanna added. Dr Counihan’s daughter Caroline said her father was a man who lived life to the full in so many different ways. She continued, “He had a curious enquiring and always original mind. He loved to get to the bottom of things and his analysis of interesting questions was always swift clear and to the point. He was no intellectual snob or worldly academic but a humane and wise man”.

“He was very slow to judge anyone. He was a bit swifter to judge institutions who were uncaring or un-responsive. He felt that was absolutely out of order”, she said.

Caroline said her father “was the essence of a good doctor, someone whose presence alone was healing, calming and comforting”.

She continued, “The centre of Frank’s professional life was selfless, selfless and extraordinary unstinting service. He was tireless in attention to his patients and in this he was an inspiration to us and to others.

“He has asked us to express his apologies to the community for any mistakes he made. Frank had the highest standards of professional probity and it was allied to a great sense of inner spiritual and intellectual freedom and extraordinary positivity about life”.

He will be sadly missed by loving wife Mimi, daughters Caroline, Francesca, Rachel, Helen and Eve, son in law, grandchildren, sisters Mary, Honor and Ruth, brother Roger, nephew, nieces, relatives and a wide circle of friends.

THE government has not allocated any money for more than 30 Clare storm defense projects needed to prevent further devastation should storms threaten Clare coastal communities this winter.

The Office of Public Works wrote to Clare County Council last Friday, August 8, informing them that they cannot consider any new coastal protection works until funding has been released by the Department of the Environment.

Clare County Council had been waiting on news on a € 12.1 million submission for more than 30 new coastal protection structure, including those at the devastated area of Clohaninchy in Quilty, since February of this year.

The council made the submission as part of an overall funding allocation sent to the Department of the Environment in February.

At the time, the department re- ferred the situation to the OPW for consideration.

Last Friday’s admission by the OPW has created a chicken-and-egg situation regarding the € 12.1 million – with the OPW saying they cannot consider the submission until the Department of the Environment makes funding available, and the Department of the Environment referring the matter to the OPW.

The money allocated to Clare County Council to date is only to cover repair of flood defenses and other infrastructure.

No money has been allocated to build any of the 35 new structures required – following the previous flood defenses being completely swept away.

The Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Tom Coughlan, wrote to all councillors last Friday informing them of the situation.

This revelation comes after a series of communications between the OPW and Clare County Council in recent days, including a behind closed doors meeting which took place in Ennis on Thursday.

This revelation comes despite a number of assurances given by former Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan (FG) and Minister with responsibility for the OPW, Brian Hayes (FG) that all steps would be taken to avoid any “cash-flow issues” slowing works.

Both former minister are currently serving at the EU.

“We don’t know what is going on. Hayes [former Minister Brian Hayes] and Hogan [former Minister Phil Hogan] were back here promising money but it turns out that this money has never been signed off on,” said Kilkee Cllr Ian Lynch (IND).

“The councillors are blue in the face trying to bring about some movement on this issue.

“The Chief Executive [Tom Coughlan] and Senior Engineer [Tom Tiernan] are doing everything they can. The whole situation is incredibly frustrating for everyone involved.”

On March 11, former minister Bri- an Hayes (FG) announced funding to “immediately assist local authorities” in the repair for coastal defenses.

“The physical damage will take time to repair and I am pleased that my Office has responded so quickly. The amounts being made available, together with the guidance provided by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government on works and development consents required will greatly assist local authorities in these works,” he said March.

“Furthermore, I am also conscious of the urgency of these works and in order to assist local authorities in a practical way and avoid any potential cash-flow issues, my Office will con sider advance funding requests of up to 80 per cent where a contract for works has been made.” The Clare People contacted the OPW in relation to this story but a spokesperson declined to make any specific comment on last Friday’s revelation.

“The matter of both multi-annual funding for storm damage and further funding for the February 2014 storms is a matter for Departments of Environment, Community and Local Government and Public Expenditure and Reform,” a spokesperson said.

A spokesperson from the Department of the Environment yesterday declined to have any role in relation to the allocation of funding to the OPW.

“The Department of the Environment doesn’t fund coastal protection works so we wouldn’t be making funding available to the OPW. The department’s role in this matter was to co-ordinate the submissions from LAs [local authorities] in respect of the estimates of the cost of damage to public infrastructure caused by the second period of severe weather from January 27 to February 17 and these have been compiled.

“A Government decision on funding for damage caused by this second period of severe weather has not yet been made,” said a Department of Environment spokesperson.

THE Director of the upcoming Merriman Summer School in Ennis believes the event remains relevant and important in shaping discussion in Irish society.

Speaking ahead of the school, which runs in Ennis from August 1317, Professor Patricia Coughlan says the events such as the Merriman still have a future.

“I absolutely think so. I’m a huge fan of them.

“I think it’s a place to thrash things out where people can have an input into what is a national discussion. I think it is a more thoughtful medium”, she says,

“The radio is very good. Television tends not to be so good for this because it tends to be soundbites.

“There are good discussions on radio but the constraints of time on a radio are very narrow.

“This is something more leisurely and something where you can draw things out a bit more”.

This year’s theme – Emotional Life in Ireland – will be discussed and debated by authors, academics and musicians.

Prof Coughlan, who is Professor Emerita in the School of English at UCC, says summer schools have a relevance beyond academic and literary circles.

“They do. I’m really a fan of summer schools, generally. It’s an Irish invention that doesn’t exist elsewhere.

“I think it’s one the things that we do really well. I hugely respect the people that attend summer schools because they are not necessarily people with influence.

“They are serious people who want to hear things trashed out and discussed. They take issues seriously and I think that’s a very positive sign of our culture”, she explains.

Prof Coughlan said she also made a conscious decision to invite more young speakers to the school.

She explains, “One of the parts of the brief was to engage some younger speakers and I very much sought to do that.

“That’s not to outlaw the older speakers. But looking at the programme, most of the speakers are actually under 50 and probably under 40, between the poets and all the other speakers.

“They are younger scholars and critics primarily. To be honest it was easier to find people doing this kind of research in the various disciplines and who were interested in discussing. It was actually easier to find younger people. It’s a topic that’s only coming into being discussable now.”

FAMILY, friends and many clergy members turned out in Ennis last week to celebrate the life of the late Canon Frank Mulvey (pictured above).

Born in 1935, Canon Mulvey was the son of the late George and Margaret Mulvey from the Clonroad area of Ennis. He studied for the priesthood at St Patrick’s College Thurles and was ordained on Thurles Cathedral on June 14, 1959.

He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Cardiff and in August 1959, his first parish was in Gendros, Swansea. He had a brief spell in Cardiff before serving for 12 years in Tredegar in the Welsh Valleys.

After a number of years in St David’s parish in Newport, he moved to Rumney, Cardiff where was attached to the Blessed Sacrament Church for 28 years.

In 2009, he was joined by family and friends to celebrate his 50th year in the priesthood. To mark the occasion, he was made a Canon.

Canon Mulvey was on his annual summer break back home to Ennis when he became ill.

He died peacefully in the company of his family at University Hospital Limerick on August 6.

At his funeral mass in Ennis Cathedral on Friday, family and colleagues recalled a warm and generous person who loved sport, particularly golf, the Clare hurlers and the Munster Rugby team.

“Canon Frankie despite his many years in Wales never lost his love of his native county and especially rejoiced in their wonderful success down the years”, recalled Fr Brendan Quinlivan.

He told mourners, who included members of the clergy from Wales, how Canon Mulvey’s house was often a ‘haven’ for people travelling to rugby games Cardiff Arms Park.

Fr Quinlivan said Canon Mulvey was a man of “deep prayer and reflection” who came to love Wales and it’s people.

Shane Mulvey shared with mourners memories of his Uncle Frankie’s much-anticipated visits home to Ennis. “He was always thinking of others such was his nature”. Shane told mourners his uncle was a keen photographer who lived for his visits home to see his sister Rita and brother Tony. “We were so happy to have him home for the last few days and we got to hear him sing one last time. I’d like to thank him for everything he’s done for us. A very special man to the end. We’ll miss you very much Frankie”, Shane added.

A MAN allegedly ran onto a public road in East Clare carrying a samurai sword during a dispute between members of the traveling community, a court has heard.

Gardaí received two calls to deal with a disturbance involving travelers camped along the side of the road at Bohatch, Mountshannon on July 25, Ennis District Court was told yesterday.

Details of the alleged incident were outlined as a 22 year-old man appeared in court charged with an offence contrary to the firearms and offensive weapons act.

Bernard Ward, with an address at Bohatch, Mountshannon, is charged with having a sword which had a blade or which was sharply pointed contrary to the firearms and offensive weapons act.

He is alleged to have committed the offence at Bohatch, Mountshannon, on July 25.

Inspector Tom Kennedy handed in a schedule of the arrest, charge and caution of Mr Ward to Judge Grainne O’Neill yesterday.

Defence solicitor Daragh Hassett applied to be assigned legal aid and handed in a statement of means for his client.

Insp Kennedy said the State had no issue with the granting of legal aid to Mr Ward.

Mr Hassett said he required time to seek disclosure from the State.

Judge O’Neill asked if the issue of jurisdiction – what court the case will be heard in – had been decided.

The Judge said she could not make an order for disclosure unless she knew if the case is fit to be tried summarily in the District Court or not.

Insp Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the case in the District Court.

He outlined a summary of the alleged facts of the case.

The court heard gardaí were called to deal with a disturbance involving members of the traveling community at Bohatch, Mountshannon on the day in question.

Insp Kennedy said it would be alleged that a garda who was at the scene saw Mr Ward exit a caravan and arrive on a public road carrying a “samurai sword”.

The court heard that it is alleged that when Mr Ward saw the gardaí, he ran back into the caravan.

It is alleged that when gardai searched the accused’s caravan they found the sword under a bed.

Mr Ward did not indicate yesterday how he intends to plead to the charge.

Judge O’Neill accepted jurisdiction and made an order for disclosure. She remanded Mr Ward on bail to appear again in court on October 7.