Category: News

THE cost of sending children to school has become too much for many Clare families, with large numbers turning to charities such as the St Vincent de Paul for help and record numbers applying for Government supports such as the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.

With the cost of kitting out a child for primary school now as high as € 700 for some families, anecdotal evidence indicated that money lenders have began door-stepping some houses, offering money to cover school expenses.

With primary schools also suffering budget cuts from central government, many parents have found themselves unable to pay voluntary contribution towards the operation of their children’s primary school.

Indeed, according to Clare teachers and former head of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), Bernie Ruane, in many schools only one in every five families are in a position to make a voluntary contribution.

Large delays have also been seen in the processing of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. According to Clare Citizens Information Services – parents from every walk of life are getting in contact with questions about the grant.

“Our main queries at the moment are concerning the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Grant and we are getting questions from all varieties of parents about this – but particularly from parents who have had a change of circumstance over the past year. We are getting a lot questions for Clare parents who have lost a job of who have changed from over payment to another over the last 12 months,” continued the spokesperson. Any parent who is in receipt of a social welfare payment is entitled to apply for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear grant.

BUSINESS people from the West Clare peninsula are now hoping that the Loophead Lighthouse will remain open until the end of September. The landmark has proven a popular tourist attraction so far this year, with more than 12,500 people visiting between May 18 and August 13.

The historic lighthouse is scheduled to close its doors to the public on September 3, the end of the official tourism season, but Clare County Councillor Gabriel Keating (FG) said the promise of fine weather is prompting a local call for it to remain open until the end of the month.

“The business people are hoping the stakeholders will come together and keep it open for another month with the impending fine weather,” said Cllr Keating.

“It is a huge success. Today (Tuesday) up to 60 visitors from New York are coming to the lighthouse – that will give you an idea of the interest. It has created up to 35 parttime and spin-off jobs and is worth € 1.3 million to the local economy,” he said.

The lighthouse is proving popular among all age groups. Up to Monday August 13, 9,691 adults and 2,870 children had visited the historic West Clare landmark.

Clare County Council, along with Shannon Development, Loop Head Tourism and the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL), opened the 19thcentury lighthouse to the public for the second successive summer season in May. It is estimated that the 11-week trial opening scheme in 2011 was worth approximately € 400,000 to the local economy.

LABASHEEDA is the safest place to live in Clare, at least according to the latest crime statistics revealed for 2011. The West Clare parish recorded only 5 incidences of criminal activity last year. There was one reported incidence of threat/intimidation, two burglaries, one of criminal damage to property and just a single drug offence for the entire 2011.

Carrigaholt is the next ‘quietest’ community with only ten crimes reported in 2011, although the West Clare outpost lost its garda presence due to cutbacks earlier this year.

As expected Ennis (1750) and Shannon (534) are the top two when it comes to criminal incidences, with Kilrush (357), Killaloe (270) and Kilkee (151) rounding out the top five. * For a full list of ever y one of the 27 a rea s in Cla re repor ting cr ime figures for 2011, see pages 16 & 17.

A CLAREMAN who holds a special and unfortunate place in the annals of the Easter Rising has finally been remembered through a special ceremony in Dublin that has honoured the nearly 600 policemen killed during the 1916-22 period. Tullycrine man Michael Lahiffe was singled out for special mention at the ceremony which took place in Glasnevin Cemetery on Saturday for the estimated 563 Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and Dublin Met- ropolitan Police (DMP) members killed in the 1916 rebellion and subsequent War of Independence.

Constable Lahiffe was a member of the DMP, having joined the force in 1910 aged 22 and was on duty at the entrance of St Stephen’s Green on Easter Monday, April 24.

When confronted by the Citizen Army, he was ordered to leave his post, but stood his ground and was shot three times and died from his injuries.

“He was an unarmed policeman, but was shot dead because he was doing his job,” said retired Garda, Gerry Lovett, who was one of the organisers of the wreath-laying ceremony along with other retired members of the Garda Siochána and Royal Ulster Constabulary.

“It is only right that Constable Lahiffe be remembered, because he was one of the first shot in 1916,” he added.

The ceremony came on the back of a local campaign in Clare mounted over a number of years by former detective sergeant, Michael Houlihan, who also hails from Tullycrine.

Growing up, Mr Houlihan knew Constable Lahiffe’s brother Tom and sister Nell, who lived in Tullycrine until their deaths in the early 1970s.

“They never talked about their brother,” revealed Mr Houlihan. “It just wasn’t something people talked about back then. A brother of Michael’s named John was in the RIC in Cork. There were eight of them in the family and they had a holding of about 30 acres in Tullycrine.

“It was only after they were all gone that I started gathering the information about what happened to Michael.

“A cousin of mine bought the house in which the Lahiffes were brought up and it was there we found bits and pieces,” he added.

These included a photograph of Constable Lahiffe in his police uniform, a postcard home to his mother proclaiming his love and a pledge to write again soon and a mass card.

Constable Lahiffe is the only person buried in the Dublin Metropolitan Police plot who has an individual headstone, on which reads the following inscription:

“Sacred to the memory of Constable Michael Lahiffe, who died on the 24th of April, 1916, from wounds received whilst gallantly doing his duty as a member of Dublin Metropolitan Police. Erected by his sorrowing parents, brothers and sisters and by the members of the Irish Police and Constabulary Recognition Fund.”

ONE of the diocese of Killaloe’s longest serving priests passed away at the weekend.

The retired Parish Priest of Tubber and Boston, Very Reverend Charles Navin died on Saturday at the Bons Secours Hospital, Galway, after a short illness.

He served as priest of the Killaloe Diocese for 69 years and was in his 94th year.

Born in March 1919, Fr. Navin was a native of Clarecastle.

He studied for the priesthood at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, where he was ordained in 1943.

He began his priestly ministry in the parish of Killanena/ Flagmount and later that same year was appointed to Whitegate.

After a period of illness, he was appointed to Scariff in 1950 and was then appointed curate in Ballywilliam, County Tipperary, in 1959.

In 1965, he became the curate in Sixmilebridge, before moving to Borrisokane, County Tipperary, in 1969.

In January 1973, he was appointed parish priest of the County Clare parish of Tubber and Boston, a position he held until his retirement in July 1995.

He continued to live in Tubber, the parish he had served for 22 years, until his death.

Fr Navin’s remains were returned to the Church of St Michael, Tubber, where they reposed from 3pm until 8pm yesterday (Monday).

Funeral Mass will be celebrated today (Tuesday), August 28 at 2.30 pm.

Fr Charlie will be laid to rest in the grounds of the Church of St Michael, Tubber, immediately after the Requiem Mass.

A MAN will stand trial for the alleged robbery of a 71-year-old woman in Kilrush earlier this year.

Kieran Hall, with a previous address at 15 Crawford Street, appeared at Ennis District Court on Monday. It is alleged that he did rob a woman on Moore Street Kilrush on May 15 (2012), taking a purse containing € 100 and bank cards.

Jurisdiction of the matter was refused in the District Court.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had consented for the accused to be returned for trial to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on October 16. Insp Kennedy made an application to have Mr Hall returned for trial.

Judge John O’Neill made the order returning the man for trial to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court. He delivered the alibi warning. Mr Hall was remanded in custody to appear again in Court on October 16.

CLARE fishermen have been urged to take advantage of new opportunities for funding following the creation of the county’s first Fisheries Local Action Group or FLAG.

While the number earning a living from fishing has dwindled in the county over the last 20 years, with only a small number of professional fishermen still in operation in west and north Clare, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) are hoping to restart the local industry and create employment in coastal Clare villages.

The western FLAG, which covers Clare and Galway, met for the first time earlier this month and have been tasked with drawing up a strategy to encourage jobs in the fisheries sector in the two counties.

Clare representation on the group includes Ger Concannon of the West Clare Lobstermen’s Association and Ballyvaughan’s Patrick Mullins of the Galway Bay Inshore Fisherman’s Association.

To qualify for funding under the FLAG scheme, projects must satisfy a number of specific conditions and must be located no more than 10 kilometres from the Clare coastline. This means that suitable projects in towns such as Kilkee, Kilrush, Doolin and Ballyvaughan can all look to take advantage of finding under the programme.

It is as yet unclear how much funding will be made available through the FLAG scheme but it is likely that projects that promote new jobs or the expansion of existing operations will be the most likely to receive funding.

In order to qualify, projects must have a clearly identifiable marine connection or provide a specific benefit to a fishing region. In many cases, beneficiaries of support will be required to be either workers in the fisheries sector or persons with a job linked to the sector.

Bord Iascaigh Mhara has requested suitable companies or individuals in Clare to come forward with proposals to facilitate the drafting of the strategies on behalf of local stakeholders.

For further information on the Clare FLAG programme, or to make a submission to the action plan or a tender application, visit www.bim.ie.

A NEW blueprint showing how Clare is set to play its part in the Government’s ‘Gathering’ initiative is set to be produced in the coming months and will become a key promotional and marketing tool for the county.

The recently established steering group for ‘The Gathering Clare’ has announced plans for a calendar of events for 2013 that is set to be distributed nationally and internationally to try and encourage more tourists to choose the county as a holiday destination.

The steering committee has challenged community groups across the county to organise events that can become part of ‘The Gathering’ and thereby piggyback the Government initiative to bring over 300,000 extra tourists into the country in 2013.

“We are asking all groups/individuals who are planning events next year to submit details, as a Calendar of Events for 2013 is currently being prepared,” said Monica Meehan, coordinator of Clare’s County Gathering steering group.

“We hope to focus on a number of headline events during the year and the steering group is continuing to work through all the suggestions that have been received to date. Our key task is to mobilise and drive The Gathering throughout the county by engaging, planning and coordinating community-based activity,” Ms Meehan added.

The inaugural Daniel O’Connell day is one high-profile event that’s already emerging as a key part of Clare’s commitment to the ‘Gathering’, with July 5, 2013, being the 175th anniversary of ‘The Liberator’s’ historic election as MP for Ennis.

Other events in the pipeline include the revival of the Festival of Finn in Corofin, while the Clare Roots Society is organising a conference, entitled ‘Gathering the Scattering’, which will take place in the Temple Gate Hotel on April 6, 2013, and will be preceded by a week-long programme of events.

Anyone organising a festival or event during 2013 or planning a specific event for ‘The Gathering 2013’ is asked to submit event details by Friday, September 14, to: Monica Meehan, Senior Executive Officer, Tourism & Community Development Department, Clare County Council, New Road, Ennis, or by email to mmeehan@clarecoco.ie.

THE cost of sending children to school has become too much for many Clare families with large numbers turning to charities such as the St Vincent de Paul for help and record numbers applying for government supports such as the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. With the cost of kitting out a child for primary school now as high as € 700 for some families, anecdotal evidence indicated that money lend ers have began door-stepping some houses, offering money to cover school expenses. With primary school also suffering budget cuts from central government, many parents have found themselves unable to pay voluntary contribution towards the operation of their children’s primary school. Indeed, according to Clare teachers and former head of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), Bernie Ruane, in many schools only one in every five families are in a position to make a voluntary contribution. Large delays have also been seen in the processing of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. This follows a situation last year when a large number of families were refused payments under the scheme – which has created a backlog in processing claims with a large number of people reapplying for the scheme.

THE Ennis branch of the Citizens Information Service (CIS) say that it has been inundated with calls from parents in recent weeks – who are struggling to afford the cost of preparing their child to go back to school.

The majority of the queries are in relation to families gaining access to the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Grant, with parents in Clare experiencing long delays in finding out whether they are eligible for the grant or not. A large number of familes were denied the grant last year and a backlog has arisen with as many parents are re-applying for the grant this year.

“Indeed there is a lot more people getting in contact with us that there would have been last year and two years ago.

“A lot of people are on reduced working hours or have been dealing with a lay-off and factors like this that have been on the increase,” said a spokesperson from the Ennis Citizens Information Service.

“People are finding it very difficult and we have had to refer certain families to different charities like St Vincent de Paul and other organisations – we have had to refer quite a few families to the different charities.”

Any parent who is in receipt of a social welfare payment is entitled to apply for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear grant.

According to Clare CIS – parents from every walk of life are getting in contact with questions about the grant.

“Our main queries at the moment are concerning the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Grant and we are getting questions from all varieties of parents about this – but particularly from parents who have had a change of circumstance over the past year.

“We are getting a lot questions for Clare parents who have lost a job of who have changed from over payment to another over the last 12 months,” continued the spokesperson.

“A lot of parents were rejected for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Grant last year and a lot of them were onto us.

“But if you have qualified for the payment in recent years it is fairly automatic so there should be much of a delay in these cases.

“But for people who may have come off unemployment and changed maybe to family income supplement, they have to reapply and that is creating quite a lot of a back log.”