Category: News

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.

CLARE County Council, acting as agents on behalf of Irish Water, says it has recorded significant improvements in the quality of drinking water being provided by the Kildysart water treatment plant, but has advised that water restrictions will remain in place until today (Tuesday, August 12th) at least.

The Local Authority said a water quality testing programme will be carried out during next week, and that a “satisfactory sequence of test results” will be required before the existing restrictions can be fnally lifted.

The HSE, in conjunction with Irish Water and Clare County Council, imposed water restrictions on the Kildysart Public Water Supply scheme a forthnight ago, on Tuesday 29th July.

Approximately 1500 customers were advised as a precautionary measure that water on the scheme was not suitable for drinking due to the discolouration of the water caused by increased Manganese levels.

A Council spokesperson said:

“There has been a further significant reduction in manganese levels in the treated water due to remedial works carried out this week at the treatment plant, but a sequence of good results over a number of days will need to be demonstrated before the restriction can be lifted.”

“In the interest of public health, it is recommended that all users on the Kildysart Public Water Supply and the Coolmeen Group Water Supply should not use tap water until further notice.

“The exceptions to this can include flushing of toilets, flushing of internal house plumbing systems, dishwashing, personal hygiene and laundry as high manganese may lead to staining of clothes but is not a public health risk.

“Customers are also advised to discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers.

“We are unable to determine when normal service will be resumed, but Irish Water and Clare County Council will continue to liaise with the HSE with a view to lifting drinking water restrictions as soon as practicable,” the spokesperson added.

In the meantime, drinking water tankers are being deployed daily outside Kildysart Secondary School and the Hilltop Bar in Coolmeen up until to and including this Tuesday (today, 12th August), at least.

Further information will be disseminated via the media, on www. water.ie and the Irish Water Customer Contact Centre: 1890 278278.

Customers are requested to advise Irish Water or Clare County Council of elderly or disabled people who may require special assistance.

THE NUMBER of children being baptised in West Clare has dropped significantly in recent years as the effects of emigration further impacts on rural Clare.

According to figures produced by the Diocese of Killaloe, the number of baptisms in the west of the county fell from 170 in 2010, to just 157 in 2013 – this equates to a drop of almost 8 per cent.

The worst hit areas were Kilmihil which recorded a 39 per cent decrease (from 23 to 14) and Doonbeg which saw a 33 per cent decrease (from 21 to 14).

Despite losing all of it’s government funding in 2012, Kilrush based Rural Resettlement Ireland continued to rehouse urban families in rural areas.

“Indeed, according to founder Jim Connolly, the organisation has brought three new families to West Clare so far this year.

“Where we see the drop in population most is in requests from schools, who are desperately needing two or three students who need students to save a teachers job.

“We get requests like this from families from all over the west – it’s like they are ordering families off a fence.

“We have three villages in West Clare who are getting new families this summer, all with young children. I know that in each of these cases they are saving a teachers job,” said Mr Connolly.

“It seems to me that all over the West [of Ireland] a generation has been lost.

“The spin at the moment that Ireland is pulling out of recession applied only to Dublin and to the East coast.

“I’m not a doom merchant, I’m a very positive person, but as far as I can see it every rural town in Ireland is as dead as a dodo.”

Rural Resettlement Ireland has also began taking requests from homeless families who are currently being kept in emergency accommodation by ur- ban local authorities.

“None of the current situation makes common sense. We have a housing crisis in Dublin.

“For the first time ever we are now taking inquires from people who are homeless – people who had a mortgage, Mr and Mrs Average who had a mortgage and couldn’t keep up with it.

“We were dealing with one family last week who were being put in a Travelodge by a local authority,” continued Jim.

“You have hundreds and hundreds of families who need a home, and on the west coast we have thousands of homes with no-one in them.

“It just doesn’t make sense.”

A CLARE stonemason has secured a € 223,000 write-down on his € 346,390 family home mortgage as part of a Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA).

The arrangement was approved by Judge Patrick Meaghan at the Circuit Court in Ennis on Tuesday.

A separate PIA in respect of the man’s wife was also granted by Judge Meaghan

The court heard the man was left with debts of almost € 2.3 million following the collapse of the man’s stone products business which went into liquidation last year.

Judge Meaghan said he recalled the case because the size of the debts involved. He complimented all sides for finalizing the agreement.

He said this represented “quite a feat” given the difficulties surrounding the titles of some of the man’s properties.

Earlier this year the man was granted court protection to allow his Personal Insolvency Practitioner (PIP), Jim Stafford, time to negotiate with secured and unsecured creditors.

Judge Meaghan said all creditors voted 100 percent in favour of the PIA at a creditors’ meeting.

The Judge said that because of the man’s low income he was unable to engage in a multi-year payment plan to his creditors.

Judge Meaghan said the man did not have to sell his home. He explained that KBC Bank have agreed to reduce the mortgage on the family home from € 346,000 to € 123,000 subject to a dividend of € 15,000 being paid to the bank as an unsecured creditor.

There is a reduction in the term of the mortgage of three years and three months.

The man is to pay a revised monthly mortgage payment of € 1,200 on the family home for 10 years and three months up to his 70th birthday.

In order to pay a dividend to his creditors the man is to sell the following assets; a farm and stables totaling 31.86 hectares; a residential buy-to-let property; a residential buy-to-let apartment; a commercial buy-to-let property and several other plots of land.

The man will also make available a lump sum to pay the PIP’s fees.

According to the arrangement no other assets of the debtor will be sold pursuant to the PIA.

Judge Meaghan said, “I am pleased to approve this arrangement.

“It was a particularly difficult case given both the size of the debts and the complexity with regards the security in respect of the assets”.

Judge Meaghan said the debtor’s banks may have legal claims against the debtor’s former solicitor for breaches of undertakings provided to the banks.

He said it is accepted this arrangement does not prejudice these potential proceedings

The unsecured creditors are listed as KBC € 333,683; EBS € 423,428; Ulster Bank € 829,982; Bank of Ireland € 8,926; Bank of Scotland € 85, 536; Emberon Finance Ltd € 29,928; Vanguard Auto Finance € 195,343 and Niamh Perrotta € 75,000.

have signed up to a website which promised to get them dates with wealthy older Sugar Daddies. The owners of the Seeking Arrangement website told The Clare People

UNEMPLOYMENT figures rose for the second month in a row in July, despite a reported increase in the numbers being employed in the county’s tourism sector.

With good weather bringing a large number of visitors to Clare beauty spots, especially on coastal areas, a significant drop in the number of people signing on the live register had been expected for July.

However, the number of people signing on increased from 8,717 in June to 8,796 in July – an increase of 79 people or just under 1 per cent.

While the June increase in the live register figures was understood to be a result of a large number of university students being unable to find summer work after the end of the college year – it is as yet unclear what has caused the negative trend to continue into July.

As in the previous month, the Ennistymon Area Office was the only area to record a reduction in the live register last month with numbers falling from 1,314 to 1,310.

The largest personnel increase in the live register was felt in Ennis where the number signing on increase from 4,934 in June to 4,968 last month.

This increase of 34 people represents a 0.6 per cent jump in just a month.

The largest percentage increase was recorded in West Clare however with the Kilrush office recording a 2.6 per cent increase in the numbers signing on.

A total of 1,255 signed on in West Clare last month, an increase of 32 on the 1,223 who signed on in June.

East Clare saw a similar trend with the numbers increase by 17 from 1,246 in June to 1,263 – an increase of 1.4 per cent.

While the recent months have shown a downward turn, the numbers recorded on last months live register is still far smaller than those recorded in of July 2012 and 2013. Indeed, last months figure represents a reduction of 1,641 people or more than 15 per cent when compared to the same month in 2012.

This recent negative turn on the county’s live register comes after consistent reduction saw the number drop it their lowest levels since the start of the recession in May of this year.

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.