Category: News

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.”

INCREASED financial pressures on struggling families mean that a growing number are unable to pay volountary contributions.

According to a former President of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), Bernie Ruane, some Clare schools are receiving contributions from as few as 20 per cent of students.

Ms Ruane, who teaches at St Patrick’s Comprehensive School in Shannon, says families and schools are both bearing the brunt of cutbacks to the education sector.

She explains, “Some schools ask for € 50 but others ask for sums of of € 200 or € 250. Parents aren’t really able to afford that”.

Ms Ruane adds, “Parents don’t have it and the schools are not getting it in. I know that in some schools there are only 20 per cent of students paying a voluntary contribution. It’s not unwillingness. It’s just that people don’t have it. If schools don’t charge a voluntary contribution they don’t have money for games, photocopying, things like that. There’s no funding given for that other than what the parents give.”

“Schools are doing their best to cope but there are no year heads or anyone for students to talk to if they have financial problems. It’s very disheartening. You can’t keep paring back and you certainly can’t expect parents to fund education.

Ms Ruane urged schools to operate book rental schemes to help ease the burden on famillies. “Books are getting more and more expensive. You’re talking about € 200 to € 300 for books for kids going to second level. Uniforms are another big expense and it’s hard to know what value parents get from the uniform. They are not that hard wearing. Clothes can be bought cheaply but uniforms seem to be more expensive. ”

Ms Ruane continues, “Every school should make a conscious effort to operate a book rental scheme. Then they end up getting all the books for € 100, € 150. The price of books is really prohibitive. You could be talking about paying € 35 for one book. Most students would be doing 10 subjects for their junior cert alone.”

Coláiste Muire in Ennis has introduced Apple iPads for first years and Ms Ruane believes that it is inevitable that technology will replace books in years to come. “It will have to go that way and we will be talking about a paperless learning system. Schools have already gone that way in the sense that most schools are using interactive whiteboards.

“All the colleges are using systems like Moodle, which is a platform where they can put up the notes and student can access that from their own home. It will have to go that way but for it to go that way, we’re going to need very effective, high speed reliable broadband and not every area in Clare has that”.

AN EAST Clare man has won a prestigious scholarship to the worldrenowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — including a $40,000 (€ 32,000) presidential prize to cover his tuition while he is there.

James Long, who comes from Parteen, is celebrating this week following the news that he has won a scholarship to MIT in Boston, where he will do a masters in Civil Engineering.

MIT is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.

Just four years after completing his Leaving Cert, James has made the leap to MIT, which is regarded as the best university in the world for engineering.

James completed a four-year degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Limerick earlier this year and will study for a Masters in the same subject in MIT.

Despite this, he does admit that Civil Engineering was not always his chosen career part.

“I wouldn’t say I always wanted to do civil engineering, but I always liked maths and science,” he said. “I liked the sound of the UL course because there is a lot of project work, and when I was coming out of the Leaving Cert it was very appealing – you don’t want to be stuck in books all the time.”

As he entered his final year at UL, James decided to explore opportunities for Masters courses in both the US and UK and filled in countless applications.

“I was looking for a new adventure, I wanted to do something different,” said James, who admits to having been “very surprised” when MIT came back to him. Soon after receiving the news that he had been accepted to study at MIT, he received a second unexpected boost with the news that he has been granted the Presidential Scholarship which will cover his tuition fees and living expenses.

As he heads off Stateside, James’s only regret is that he is going to miss his graduation from the University of Limerick.

THE book launched last week, The Ennis Atlas has been hailed as an “impressive monument” to the history of the town.

The book was written by local man Brian O Dálaigh as part of the Royal Irish Academy’s series of historic town’s publications.

It was officially launched at a civic reception in Waterpark House, Ennis on Friday night.

According to Professor Howard Clark, joint Chairman of the Historic Town Atlas Project, the comprehensive level of information provided in the book will provide a “reliable baseline” for future historical studies of Ennis.

He said, “Brian O Dálaigh proved himself to be an energetic researcher. This is an impressive monument to the history of Ennis.”

Prof Clark said the Atlas could not have been completed without the support of Clare County Library Services, Ennis Town Council and staff at the Royal Irish Academy.

He also commented on the high level of interest in the history of Ennis, saying,

“The general interest and pride of the townspeople is evident in this room tonight.”

County Librarian Helen Walsh said the value of the Atlas to the history of Ennis is “substantial.”

Tom Brassil, secretary of the Royal Irish Academy, said the project could not have been brought to realisation without the support of local authorities and library services.

He added, “This kind of local support is crucial to these projects.”

Brian O Dálaigh, who edited the Corporation Book of Ennis, told the launch that he had been first ap- proached to compile the Atlas in 1990 but had been unable to do so due to work commitments.

He started researching the Atlas in 2007, adding that the project had reignited memories of his childhood growing up in Carmody Street.

Mr Ó Dálaigh, whose father worked as a cooper, recalled many of the tradesmen who worked in Ennis at the time including Jack Darcy (forge), Frank Malone (farrier) and Tom Clohessy (stone cutter).

He added, “My research has brought me back into an Ennis that has unfortunately disappeared.”

Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Daly (FF), who grew up in Parnell Street, said the Atlas was a “very impressive project” that would help to keep alive memories of “old Ennis.” Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said the Atlas shows the extent of interest that exists in the history of Ennis.

He added, “It is broad on reach and depth and will be of invaluable assistance to people who plan the town in future.”

Cllr Considine said the Atlas would provide a use reference point for Ennis Town Council, who had recently initiated the Ennis 2020 public consultation visioning process.

THEY were friends. They were second-next-door neighbours in Sea View Park in Quilty. They were fishermen.

Symbols of this bond between Michael Galvin and Noel Dickinson were much in evidence on Friday last afternoon when Quilty village came to a standstill as locals and visitors paid their respects to the two fishermen who tragically lost their lives the previous Monday when their trawler, the Lady Eileen, sank off Spanish Point.

Both coffins, carried shoulder high, by family, friends, fishermen and footballers made the journey from Sea View Park to the Star of the Sea Church.

First it was for Noel Dickinson, the 33-year-old whose partner, Helen, is due to give birth to their first child in three months’ time.

Gifts representing Noel’s life were brought to the altar by family members – a fishing rod symbolising his love of the sea, a claret and blue Aston Villa scarf, a Limerick flag to signify his love for his native county and a bar of chocolate to mark his love for his nieces.

Michael Galvin’s coffin was draped in the colours of his beloved Kilmur- ry Ibrickane as it made the 700-yard journey from his residence in Sea View Park to the church just after 3pm.

Gifts brought the altar included photographs of his family, a Kilmurry Ibrickane jersey, his Australian hat, a fishing net and a violin, which symbolized his deep love for traditional Irish music.

Mr Galvin’s wife was Liz was comforted by her children, Michelle, Aidan and Brian, who returned from Australia for the funeral mass.

Meanwhile, Michael Galvin’s brother Martin told mourners that he had walked away uninjured from a serious car accident in San Francisco, only to hear a few days later that his younger brother was missing at sea.

Speaking in Clare on Friday, where he was attending the Merriman Summer School, Marine Minister Simon Coveney said, “My heart goes out to all the families who are struggling to deal with the loss of their loved ones.

“This has been a shocking and tragic week with fives lives lost in as many days in a year that has seen so much loss and sadness at sea.”

HE died 210 years ago, but renowned Ennis poet Thomas Dermody has been brought back from obscurity thanks to the work of University of Limerick academic Dr Michael Griffin, which was celebrated at the Merriman Summer School on Friday.

The Romantic-era poet, who was Clare’s answer to Robert Burns in the destructive lifestyle that he led and his literary genius, had his work republished and launched at the Merriman Summer School.

A critical edition of the Selected Wr itings of Ennis poet Thoma s Der mody (1775-1802), edited and introduced by Dr Michael Griffin of the School of Languages, Literature, Culture and Communication, and published by Field Day, was formally launched at the Royal Spa Hotel, Lisdoonvarna.

“He was much admired in his own time by leading figures in the political and literary cultures of Dublin and London for his prodigious tal- ents in poetry,” says Dr Griffin. “He published his first volume of verse in 1789 at the age of 14, but Dermody was also infamous for his selfdestructive lifestyle and he died in London at just the age of 27,” adds Dr Griffin.

According to Professor Seamus Deane, Dermody “is now seen in a more chastened spirit as a figure who flits uncertainly between Robert Burns and Thomas Moore, the great exemplars of those in whom a romantic nationalism and a liberal politics were key ingredients in the production of the new poetry”.

Professor Deane also said that the edition of his Selected Writings, edited by Dr Griffin, “defines his achievements and status with an unprecedented authority and precision”.

Dermody’s biographer James Grant Raymond said of him, “There is scarcely a style of composition in which he did not excel. The descriptive, the ludicrous, the didactic, the sublime — each, when occasion required, he treated with skill, with acute remark, imposing humour, profound reflection and lofty magnificence.”

In addition to a volume of verse published when he was 17, Dermody also published a pamphlet on the French Revolution in 1793, ‘The Rights of Justice or Rational Liberty’.

In 1806, James Grant Raymond published the ‘Life of Thomas Dermody, interspersed with pieces of original poetry’. He then went on, in 1807, to publish ‘The Harp of Erin, or the Poetical Works of the late Thomas Dermody’.

A 29-YEAR-OLD South East Clare woman, who fought bravely for more than two years to recover from a horrific crash in the United States, was laid to rest on Saturday.

On February 8, 2010, Nicole RyanGraham from Meelick suffered severe head injuries in a car crash in Kansas, which left her in a coma for 100 days.

Following a lengthy recuperation and with the financial support of family and friends, she entered a rehabilitation programme in the States, but she lost her fight for life last June.

Graham, who had been living in the US since 1998, was a passenger in the car involved in the accident which took place on February 8, 2010. She suffered multiple injuries, including severe head injuries, in the incident, which took place in extremely poor conditions for driving.

Locals in Meelick rallied around Nicole and her family following the accident and raised a considerable about of money to help fund her treatment. Nicole’s health insurance ran out on February 3, 2010, five days before the accident which left her in a coma.

In mid 2010, Ms Graham was transferred to the Meadowbrook Rehab Center in Gardner, Kansas. She is survived by her three children Kendra, Katie and Keslley, who was just 22-months-old when the accident took place.