Category: News

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.

THE power and importance of the local media in giving a voice to people throughout the county was highlighted at the annual Merriman Summer School which was staged in Lisdoonvarna last week.

Ennis woman Fiona Stack, who is general manager of Radio Kerry, showcased the significance of the local media in her lecture to the 45th Merriman Summer School that had as its theme ‘Thriving at the Crossroads: Rural Ireland in a Globalised World’.

Ms Stack said that local media fulfilled an important part of community life in rural Ireland, because it has “always been more answerable, had to be more responsible, had a sense of being around for the long haul”.

“Local media provides access to groups and voices that would never make it onto the national radar,” said Ms Stack. “All local issues are discussed and debated more, whether its concerns over cutbacks, local authority meetings, changes planned in local development plans, public meetings, or attempts to attract industry or tourists,” she added.

“It provides an important connection for exiles, a daily link to home and a means by which even if you do have to go away you can still stay part of the conversation, and when you do come home you can slip straight back in. Those links abroad can be called on for practical networking purposes for the benefit of an area.

“For anybody that doubts it, rural Ireland still has energy, still has community spirit, still has laughter, still has a future and still has many many stories to tell,” she added.

Ms Stack was one of number of keynote speakers at the Merriman School, which was chaired by former Director General of RTÉ, Bob Collins.

THE future of the Burren Farming for Conservation Project (BFCP) is one of the key goals outlined in the draft Burren Charter, which was published last week.

The project, which formed part of the pilot BurrenLIFE project last year, currently supports 266 Burren farmers to farm in a way that will protect the Burren natural limestone pavement, control pollution and prevent the encroachment of scrub.

According to Michael Davoran of Burren IFA, the way of life for the people of the Burren can be saved through this charter.

“This is ground-up management for the Burren. It is about preserving the way of life for the people at the Burren and that is not something that the farmers of the Burren can do by themselves.

“We need help, we all need to work together, that is what this charter is about,” he said.

“It started off with farmers working with the National Parks and Wildlife and that is to broaden out through the Heritage Council to the management of all aspects of the Burren.

“Everyone needs to have a voice in this – it is people in once-off houses, people who live in villages around the place, people who earn a living locally through the service industry and tourism. We all interact with each other and we all need to realise that,” said Mr Davoran.

Along with the preservation of the BFCP, the charter also advocated the development of a one-stop Burren shop and helpline to support and help farmers, as well as increasing the opportunities for local farmers in the areas of conservation, tourism and enterprise to help supplement farm income.

“This is the people of the Burren managing the Burren for the betterment of all. It is the people of the Burren asking themselves, what can we do for ourselves, instead of having something imposed from above,” said Mr Davoran.

“The Burren is managed by the farmer. The archeology, the geology, the flora and the fauna are all a product of the farming which has gone on for generations. ‘If we want people to continue to support us in projects like the Farming for Conservation Programme, the more people who are playing a role in managing the Burren – farming and non-farming bodies – the better.”

A NEW constitution has been drafted for the people of the Burren – a document which, it is hoped, will help preserve the environment and way of life of the area for future generations. After more than two years of consultation with the local people, the first draft of the Burren Charter was released last week. The charter contains a set of aims for all sections of the community involved in the area and the hope is that the entire local population will sign up to uphold it.

The draft document was compiled by the BurrenBeo Trust, The Burren Farming for Conservation Group, Burren Connect, Burren IFA and both Clare and Galway County Councils.

“This has been developed through contact with the local community and it is about the people who live here deciding what they want for the future and what they can do to make this happen,” said Áine Bird of the Burrenbeo Trust.

“This is a draft charter at the moment and a lot of research has gone into it. But it is still a working document and we really want to the local people to get stuck into the document and tell us if they think we are going in the right direction.

“We need to get the community’s input into this and for them to tell us if we are going in the right direction with this or not.”

It is unclear at present whether members of the general public in the Burren will be asked to physically sign up to the Burren Charter once it is completed but the charter will have no legal standing.

“We are already working on different projects that have come about through the work already done on the charter.

“One of these is a community festival for the Burren which will take place in October and should be a great event but we are also working on a series of recordings of the farm- ing tradition with the Cuimhneamh an Chláir,” said Áine. “We are also looking at creating a one-stop-shop resource centre for the people of the Burren and also an audit of the heritage courses which are available in the Burren to see is there a gap in the market. This isn’t just a book exercise, things are going to happen ot of this.”

Anyone who wants to comment on the Burren Charter can download it at Burrenbeo.com or in the North Clare libraries.

CLARE will now have two respesentatives at this year’s Rose of Tralee Festival – and both of them will be named Flanagan.

Despite Clare Rose, Orla McDonagh, not making it through to this year’s final, the county will be represented by London Rose, Nóra Ní Fhlannagáin, who hails from Corofin, and also the New Zealand Rose, Alana Marshall, whose family comes from Ennis.

Alana, whose great-great-grandfather, Michael Flanagan, left Ennis for New Zealand in 1864, was among 15 overseas Roses who gathered in Dublin yesterday to be presented with a certificate of her Irish heritage.

Sporting the Clare jersey, Alana was presented with her certificate by leading Kerryman, Dick Spring. The Certificate of Irish Heritage is a Government document, signed by the Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore, as an official recognition of a person’s Irish ancestry by the Government of Ireland.

“From a young age, I was very aware and proud of my Flanagan Irish connection. My parents took me to Clare when I was 11 and I returned again when I was 18, during my gap year.

“I felt an amazing sense of belonging and felt so at home. I am delighted to honour my ancestors and the sacrifices they made through the Certificate of Irish Heritage,” she said yesterday.

Each Certificate of Irish Heritage is a personal record of the recipient’s Irish roots, showing the name of their Irish ancestor and the town or parish in Ireland from which they came.

It is as yet unclear whether Clare’s two Flanagan representatives are in any way related to each other but they will be able to assess their family histories when the Rose of Tralee festival gets underway later this week.

Nóra Ní Fhlannagáin is an Oxfordbased PHd student but her roots are very much in County Clare, with her father, John Flanagan, living on the main street in Corofin and a collection of cousins and friends all over the county.

Indeed, Nóra even has a connection to this year’s Clare Rose as her uncle, Tom Flanagan, is a next-door neighbour of Orla McDonagh in Clouna.

ONE million euro has been donated to the Diocese of Killaloe to promote vocations and to help fund the training of new priests in the diocese.

The money was a bequest to the diocese in the will of an unknown local person, on the condition that it only be used to promote new priests entering the ministry.

The cash windfall was yesterday described by diocesan spokesperson, Fr Brendan Quinlivan, as a sign of “new hope” for vocations in the diocese.

The Killaloe diocese currently has one person studying to become a priest, while a number of other men are currently considering entering formal studies.

“This is a sign of great hope for the diocese. The person who made this donation must have been someone whose life was greatly impacted on by the priesthood,” said Fr Quinlivan.

“The money will be used for the promotion of vocations and also to help fund the studies of anyone from the diocese who decides to study to become a priest. Between accommodation and the cost of studies it can cost between € 15,000 and € 20,000 a year for a person to train to become a priest and this could take between five and seven years.”

According to Fr Quinlivan, the type of people who decide to join the priesthood these days are very different from the people who joined in the past. New entrants are generally older, and must undertake psychological testing as well as a period of deep reflection before they are allowed to begin their studies.

“We had two ordinations in the parish this year, we currently have one person in studies and we have a number of people who have expressed an interest in becoming a priest and are currently in a period of discernment,” continued Fr Quinlivan.

“It is different from how it was in my day when people came straight from school. These days we are finding a lot of older men, who have lived through the Celtic Tiger and have come to the conclusion that there is something different out there for them.

“Many of these people may have to give up jobs to begin their studies so it is a total change of life for them.”

The diocese will receive the € 1 million in three different payments over three years. Pic kin g u p to wa rd s th e we e ke n d bu t e a rly in d ic a t io n s a re n o t gre a t , m o re c lo u d wit h o n ly spo ra d ic su n sh in e .

CLARE County Council received complaints against 60 of its tenants last year in relation to anti-social behaviour.

According to figures received from the local authority, complaints were made against 60 of the council estimated 1,500 tenants in 2012.

It is unclear, however, how often each of these 60 tenants were complained, with some people complained on several or even dozens of occasions.

According to Liam O’Connor of the Housing Section at Clare County Council, the complaints are evenly distributed around the council’s properties and there are no anti-social blackspots.

Mr O’Connor also said that the local authority takes a proactive approach to dealing with anti-social behaviour by any of its tenants.

“A small proportion, approximately four per cent, of all tenancies would be reported during any one year as creating a problem in their neighbourhood,” he said.

“The council investigates in each case and works to resolve the issues. In very serious cases, where there is no improvement in the situation following the council’s intervention, eviction proceedings are taken by the council. One or two such proceedings would be underway during the course of any year.

“The council has formed a network of residents’ associations in which there are now 46 residents associations participating. Periodic network meetings are arranged with training and help being provided to the associations, whose voluntary work in their neighbourhoods is highly valued by the council.

“There is also active participation in the council’s ‘best kept estates’ awards each year, with 25 groups receiving awards at various levels last year.

“Notwithstanding this preventative and positive work with residents which contributes to a higher quality of life in those estates, the council also takes an active role in addressing tenancy breaches where those are reported. The council also liaises with statutory organisations including An Garda Siochána and the Health Service Executive on a regular basis, with regard to anti-social behaviour and related issues.”

A FORMER Clare County Council worker who was found dead at his home in Kilrush last May died as a result of misadventure, an inquest has heard.

The body of Michael Noel Blunnie (61) was discovered by gardaí at his home at 2 O’Gorman Street on May 1, 2011.

An inquest into his death heard that Mr Blunnie died from positional asphyxiation, with alcohol intoxication and heart disease as contributory factors.

County Coroner Isobel O’Dea ruled that Mr Blunnie died by misadventure.

Door-to-door enquires were car- ried out in the area following the death and CCTV footage was also obtained.

Supt Gerry Wall of Kilrush Garda Station told Clare Coroner’s Court on Friday that “no evidence of criminality was established from these lines of enquiry”.

The inquest heard that an ambulance was called to the house on April 30 after Mr Blunnie complained of stomach and chest pains. Mr Blunnie refused to get into the ambulance. A friend, Paul O’Connor, said he placed a blanket over Mr Blunnie when he fell asleep that evening. When he left, he also placed a rag in the front door to jam it shut because there was no lock.

Mr O’Connor said, “He drank a naggin of whiskey while I was there.”

The inquest heard that Mr Blunnie’s house was in poor condition, with no electricity, heating or running water.

Michael Sweeney told the inquest that he had left his family home in Kilrush at around 6am to look for a lighter. After trying a number of houses, Mr Sweeney called to Mr Blunnie’s house. He told the inquest that he had known the deceased for a number of years. Mr Sweeney walked in, took the lighter and noticed Mr Blunnie lying down. He added, “I did not stay there. I panicked and left. I hate dead bodies.”

After calling to his brother’s house, Mr Sweeney phoned the gardaí, the inquest heard.

Of Mr Sweeney’s demeanor, Garda Gander said, “He appeared to be distressed and upset and struggled to get across what happened at 2 O’Gorman Street….He was very forthcoming.”

Deputy State Pathologist Dr Kahlid Jaber told the court that blood and urine analyses showed that Mr Blunnie “was drinking heavily at the time he passed away”.

He said the primary cause of death was positional asphyxiation with acute alcohol intoxication and hyper cardio-vascular disease as contributory factors.

Ms O’Dea said, “It is quite clear from the evidence there was no suspicion of foul play.” She paid her condolences to the deceased’s family and friends.

Retired garda Michael Ryan also paid his condolences to the Blunnie family. He said, “Mick Noel was nice, gentle man.”