Category: News

A LOCK of hair belonging to Irish revolutionary hero, Peadar Clancy, has resurfaced – 92 years after the Clareman was shot dead by British soldiers in Dublin Castle.

The hair was presented to relatives of the executed revolutionary in Cranny on Sunday, after spending most of the last hundred years lost in an envelope in America. It was discovered by Irish Historian, Professor Eunan O’Hailpín, who is himself a grandnephew of executed revolution- ary, Kevin Barry.

The hair was given to Professor O’Hailpín by an American relative – who was disposing of a collection of family artifacts from Ireland, and had no idea of the significance of the hair or its owner.

Clare man, Pat Shannon, accepted the hair on behalf of the decedents of family and says that he has no intention of selling the lock of hair to collectors.

“We were shocked when we heard about the hair. This all came from a relation of Kevin Barry’s in America. Kevin Barry had served under Peadar during the War of Independence and when Peadar died a relative of Kevin Barry must have taken the lock of hair from him – along with a lock of Kevin Barry’s own hair,” he said.

“It is incredible for this to come back to us but there was a tradition in those days to take a lock of hair from someone when they died young – as a momento.

“We are certainly going to hold onto this lock of hair ourselves – we wont be selling it on ebay or anything like that. There are a number of descendants of Peadar Clancy still in Clare and our plan would be to use the hair to mark the hundred anniversary of his death here in Cranny.

Peadar Clancy was shot and killed by British soldiers on Bloody Sunday, November 21, 1920, as a reprisal for the murder of a network of British spies by the IRA. Also killed on that day were fellow prisoners Dick McKee and Conor Clune as-well-as 14 people attending a football match at Croke Park.

A WEST Clare man has been found not guilty of the alleged rape of a teenager in the county two years ago.

A jury of six men and six women returned a unanimous not guilty verdict at the end of the six day trial before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Ennis last Wednesday.

Defence solicitor Patrick Moylan, of O’Kelly Moylan Solicitors, stated afterwards that the not guilty verdict returned by the jury was a just and appropriate one. “The accused has been vindicated”, he added.

It had been alleged that the man forced the then 16-year-old to have sex with him in the bedroom of her home in 2009.

It took the jury one hour and 51 minutes to acquit the 23-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The court heard that forensic evi- dence of the accused’s DNA had been found on a bed sheet.

Prosecuting counsel, John Aylmer SC said that when interviewed by gardaí, the man denied ever being in the house.

He said the DNA evidence should remove “any reasonable doubt as to the complainant’s statement.”

The court that the man and the alleged victim first met in 2007 and that there had been “considerable” phone communication between them around the time of the alleged assault.

A complaint was first made to gardaí a week after the alleged assault. The court heard that threats had been made against the girl around the time of the alleged assault because of text messages she had sent to another man.

Mr Aylmer said the girl had been “petrified” and had attempted to put the rape to the back of her mind.

Defence Counsel, Brendan Grehan SC, said that the alleged victim had admitted lying in her original statement to gardaí. He told the jury that she had also tried to persuade a friend to lie to the gardaí.

Citing the example of former US president Bill Clinton, Mr Grehan said his client not the first man in history to lie about a sexual experience.

Mr Grehan said the fact that no “fresh complaint” had been made should set the jury’s “antennae twitching”.

He added, “The bottom line is that there is simply none of the indicators that a violent sexual assault took place, none whatsoever.”

He said the girl had falsely claimed that his client and others had stolen money from her house. Mr Grehan said she had admitted deleting text messages sent from the accused to her. He said the scientific evidence proved that ejaculation had taken place but not intercourse. He added, “I suggest there is a glaring gap in the prosecution’s case.” The jury returned a not guilty verdict.

TWO Kilkee community groups were prevented from providing 20 nights of local entertainment due to what has been described as “exorbitant” costs charged by the theatre at Cultúrlann Sweeney. According to Kilkee town councillor Paddy Collins (FG), Kilkee Amphitheatre was quoted € 4,200 to stage 10 shows at the Clare County Council-run theatre. They would also be required to pay up to seven per cent of ticket charges. “They usually make € 1,000 to € 1, 500 when they were in the community centre,” he said.

Likewise the Kilkee Civic Trust was prevented from using the theatre for its popular summer talks due to high costs. Cllr Collins said the voluntary group that hosts the talks free of charge were asked to pay € 1,500 for the use of the theatre.

“The two groups wanted to use the theatre for 20 out of the 60 nights in July and August,” he said. “Both had to pull out. There are now just four nights booked for the remainder of July and August.”

He said that Kilkee National School also wished to hold a presentation night at the theatre but could not afford to, due to costs.

The Kilkee councillor told a meet- ing of the West Clare County Councillors last evening (Monday) that there are now fears that the theatre, which was opened in February, will be “moth balled”.

“The theatre is state of the art but it is not being used due to the exorbitant cost.”

He said it was being run as a commercial business rather than a community facility. “I don’t feel that Clare County Council and the Arts Council are suitable to run this,” he added calling for a board of management to take over the role.

Since the library and theatre opened five months ago it has been run by Clare County Council.

Director of Services Anne Haugh said that the last meeting of Kilkee Town Council was advised that the local authority would review the rates at the end of the season. She added that it is being operated on a full cost basis.

Cllr Collins argues however that as the theatre and library was funded by donations from a Kilkee emigrant the building also belongs to Kilkee.

It was agreed that he would meet with the Director of Services responsible for Cultúrlann Sweeney Bernadette Kinsella, mayor Claire Haugh (FF), and local county councillors Pat Keane (FF) and Gabriel Keating (FG) in a bid to find a resolution.

ORGANISERS appear intent on pressing ahead with plans for an impromptu Project X style party in Ennis despite Garda concerns.

Invitations have been issued on the social networking site Facebook for people to come to the unlicensed party planned for Ennis on Saturday, August 4.

The event was advertised for Tim Smyth Park in the centre of Ennis on a Facebook events page over the past two weeks with 2,600 people indicating that they would come.

The site attracted thousands of comments as well as the attention of local Gardaí who visited the Ennis teenager believed to be responsible for posting the invitation online.

The invitation encouraged people to bring as much alcohol as possible and to ignore the concerns of emergency services. There was also reference to bonfires being lit.

Speaking last week, a Garda spokesman said the person was “inviting people to infringe on the law”. “It isn’t on and it’s something that we would take a very stern view on.”

He added, “The Fair Green had been put forward as one location and there was some talk of it going on in the GAA field in Lissycasey. We know who the individual is. We will be visiting that person in relation to what is being planned.”

The original Facebook page appears to have been taken down from the website.

However a different Facebook page – titled Project X Clare – seen yesterday by

A LIMERICK teenager who engaged in “blaggardly behaviour” in Killaloe and Clonlara has been sentenced to eights months detention for theft and criminal damage offences.

Thomas Kiely (19), with an address at Barnakyle, Patrickswell, Limerick, pleaded guilty to the theft of a car stereo at Twomilegate, a popular viewing spot, on May 27. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage arising out the same incident.

Mr Kiely also pleaded guilty to stealing € 50 of diesel from a farmer at Kildooras, Clonlara in the early hours of July 20.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the matter.

After hearing a brief outline of the facts, Judge Patrick Durcan accepted jurisdiction.

Insp Kennedy told the court that Mr Kiely had driven to the farm at 1.50am and started to fill his car with diesel. He said the farmer saw the accused from his house.

The court heard that the man and his son, who is a member of the gardaí, tackled Mr Kiely and prevented him from leaving the scene.

Insp Kennedy told the court that Mr Kiely had broken into a car at Twomilegate, near Killaloe, and taken a car stereo valued at € 250.

He said Mr Kiely, whose fingerprints were found at the scene, was arrested and subsequently made admissions.

Solicitor Shiofra Hassett said her client had made full admissions in respect of both incidents. She said, “He is not trying to hide. He is extremely apologetic”.

Ms Hassett said her client is living at home with his family and is aware of the negative influence he is having on his younger siblings. The court heard that Mr Kiely has 11 previous convictions.

Judge Patrick Durcan said that the accused had broken into a car while “some innocent citizen went for a leisurely stroll.” He said, “This is blag- gardly behaviour of the worst kind, breaking into this car.”

In relation to what he called the “more serious incident”, Judge Durcan said a farmer “had the misfortune to look out the window and see, in a blaggardly fashion, his diesel being stolen.”

He continued, “Someone who violates someone’s private property commits a most serious offence”.

He said, “I regard this as one of the most serious offences I have adjudicated.”

Judge Durcan imposed a threemonth sentence for the theft of the stereo and three months for criminal damage, to be served concurrently.

He imposed a five-month sentence for the theft of diesel, to be served consecutive to the three- month sentence.

He also disqualified Mr Kiely from driving for a period of two years. Judge Durcan warned that offenders who attack the farming community or violate the domestic privacy of a home would be dealt with in the most forceful fashion by the court.

A “SIGNIFICANT” number of school-goers in Clare could be affected in September by changes in the school transport policy, a meeting has heard.

Chief Executive Officer of Clare VEC George O’Callaghan was speaking after the matter was raised at the July meeting of Clare.

Responsibility for post primary school transport was transferred from VECs to Bus Éireann in January.

The issue was raised at last Thursday’s VEC meeting by Councillor Cathal Crowe, who requested an overview of the policy.

Mr O’Callaghan told the meeting that children would now only be eligible for bus transport to the nearest post primary school. He said students would have to pay or find other means of transport to travel to other schools.

He explained, “A lot of people won’t notice the change but a significant number will.”

According to Bus Éireann, from the commencement of the 2012/13 schoolyear, the use of the Catchment Boundary Area (CB) System as a means of determining eligibility will cease for all pupils newly entering post primary school.

From the 2012/13 school year, school transport eligibility for all pupils newly entering a post primary school will be determined by reference to the distance they reside from their nearest post primary education centre having regard to ethos and language.

To be considered eligible for school transport, pupils must reside 4.8 kilometres or more from and be attending their nearest post primary education centre, as determined by the department and Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

Bus Éireann state that pupils who are not eligible for school transport, under the above criteria, may apply for concessionary transport subject to a number of terms and conditions. These concessionary pupils will not be exempt from paying the annual charge, nor will they count for the establishment or retention of a service, the company say.

HUNDREDS of jobs are set to be created in the North Clare area in the coming months following the Government’s decision to go ahead with the completion of the M18 motorway from Gort to Tuam.

The decision to complete the motorway, which currently stops at Gort, is expected to create 2, 500 jobs over three years of constructions – with 500 of those jobs coming in local services sector.

The proposal is conditional on the Government securing private investment to match funds from the National Pension Reserve Fund and a € 170 million loan for the scheme secured from the European Investment Bank.

The announcement was broadly welcome in Clare with Clare County Council, the Ennis Chamber of Commerce and all saying it will drive employment in the county. Providing private sector investment is forthcoming, construction on the motorway should begin in early 2013.

“This project will further enhance the road infrastructure in the West and Mid West providing further access to County Clare and playing an important role in attracting more customers to Shannon Airport,” said Rita McInerney, CEO of Ennis Chamber of Commerce.

Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan described the Gort to Tuam motorway as “critically important” for the development of the county.

“Like the Gort-Crusheen scheme, a project that Clare County Council was centrally involved in, the Gort to Tuam motorway will further enhance regional connectivity between Limerick, Shannon, Ennis and Galway,” he said.

The Director of Shannon Airport, Mary Considine, described the goahead for the completion of the M18 as a “significant boost” for Shannon Airport.

“The completion of the motorway to Galway and further to Tuam will significantly enhance travel times to and from Shannon Airport for our existing catchment and also open up a wider market for our services,” she said.

“Today we remain the only airport on the entire western seaboard with transatlantic services and connectivity into one of Europe’s four major hubs, Heathrow so this improvement in the road network will benefit many people accessing our services.”

A BUSINESSMAN has reached an agreement with Clare County Council over fire safety concerns at an apartment block in Ennis.

Oliver Moylan, with an address at Golf Links Road, Ennis, was brought to court after failing to comply with a fire safety notice issued by the Council in January.

The notice was issued to rectify deficiencies at a 10-room apartment building owned by Mr Moylan on O’Connell Street, Ennis.

The court previously heard that an inspection of the premises highlighted a number of deficiencies including inadequate means of escape and the placing of cooking facilities adjacent to doors.

The court had heard that individual apartments were not fitted with fire alarms while there was no central fire alarm for the apartment block. Both systems are required under fire safety regulations. Mr Moylan, who owns the Ennis Cash Company, had been given until last week to agree a schedule of works with the Council.

On Friday, Ennis District Court heard that an agreement had been reached between the parties.

Solicitor for the Council Rachael Leahy said the proposal put forward by the defendant’s engineer was “perfectly acceptable” to her client. She told the court that the fact that the building was now vacant meant the safety notice had been met.

The court heard that the premises are not to be occupied until approved by the fire officer. Ms Leahy made an application for costs. Judge Durcan struck out the matter with no order for costs. Judge Durcan had previously criticised evidence given in court by a Council witness.

Speaking on Friday, Judge Durcan said, “I was very unimpressed by the evidence of Clare County Council. I was quite appalled.”

A MAN described as a “good skin when he’s not fuelled up on drugs” has been sentenced to five months in prison for the theft of power tools from a garage in Kilrush earlier this year.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Jonathan Kenny (23), with an address at 1 Elm Drive Kilrush, pleaded guilty to theft of the items from a shed alongside a family home at Cappa Road, Kilrush on April 4.

Detective Garda Donal Corkery of Kilrush Garda Station told the court that Mr Kenny was spotted entering woods in Kilrush with items taken from the shed.

All of the property was recovered and Mr Kenny made a full admission to gardaí. The court heard that the garage was unlocked at the time.

Detective Corkery said that Mr Kenny has a total of 41 previous convictions. Solicitor Michael Ryan said the offence had been carried out in a “haphazard and disorganised” manner. He said that all of the items had been recovered. Mr Ryan said the murder of his client’s older brother in Kilrush in 2009 had a major effect on him. He said that Mr Kenny has a “very serious drug habit.”

He added, “When Jonathan Kenny is not fuelled up on drugs he is a relatively good skin, and I think the gardaí would agree on that point.”

He told the court that his client’s personal circumstances had been made more difficult by the availability of drugs in Kilrush. Mr Ryan said that despite the best efforts of gardaí in the West Clare town, “there is a willing availability of drugs”, a point acknowledged in court by Detective Corkery.

Mr Ryan added, “Given the circumstances, I do think the deck was stacked against him.”

He said there are situations in Kilrush where dealers are coming to people’s doors to push drugs on them.

“And then you get into trouble when you don’t have the money to pay for them”, he added. He urged the Court in passing sentence, to consider offering Mr Kenny “some light at the end of the tunnel.”

Judge Patrick Durcan said that he did not view life in terms of tunnels. “I see life in terms of day and night and in terms of good and evil”, he said. Judge Durcan said people are entitled to live their lives in peace and tranquility and to leave their tool sheds unlocked.

Referring to Mr Kenny’s offence, Judge Durcan said, “He was very anxious to get the goods that he had had stolen and he was eager to get them out of the way.”

He imposed a five-month prison sentence. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

Judge Durcan added, “I want the message to go out, not to the good skins of Kilrush, but to the bad skins that they will be met by this court with the harshest of penalties.”

FOUR architects from the University of Limerick have been living and working in the village of Crusheen for the past week as part of one of the most unique architectural projects ever undertaken in the county.

The four architects will remain in the community until this Sunday, July 22, meeting the local community and immersing themselves in the life of the village. At the end of their stay in the village, the four will complete a design for the Crusheen Community Centre, which is currently being redeveloped by the local community.

The four architects set up outside of mass in the village on Sunday and will host an open evening in the village later this evening – where local people can see how the design is progressing and suggests possible changes and additions. The four are also working in an open office where any member of the local community is invited to call around at ant time and make suggestions for the makeup of the new centre.

This is the first time that this sort of “live-in” approach has been taken to a community project in Ireland. It is hoped that this will produce a unique building, tailored exactly to the needs of the local community.

“A group was set up in Crusheen last March to tackle the situation with the community centre in Crusheen – which is no longer fit for purpose. The community has grown massively in the last 10 to 15 years and the current centre is an old school building, which was first built in 1884. The centre is still being used by the local community but really a new building is needed,” said Keith Walsh of the Crusheen Community Centre group.

“We wanted to come up with a really good design for the centre, something that would produce the best building for the local community, so we approached UL who formed a partnership called ‘Start-Design Crusheen’, which is four, fourth-year architects who have agreed to live and immerse themselves in the local community out there and then design us a community centre that exactly fits our needs.”

The architects of the Start-Design Crusheen group have been living with members of the local community in Crusheen since last Friday, July 13. Part of the inspiration behind the design team is to find a way that they can use their skills in Ireland in the current economic climate and not be forced to emigrate.

“Part of this is about creating a path for us to be employed in Ireland in the future. This project is partly a means for us to overcome our urge to emigrate,” said architect Colin Dorgan. “We all have different approaches to how we work and we jumped at the chance to do this once the Crusheen group got in contact. We are here to get a feel for the place and the people and that will help the design of the centre in the long term. We want to meet with everyone who is using the building now and anyone who might want to use it in the future.

“We met with people after mass yesterday (Sunday) and spoke to anyone who would talk to us about the centre,” he added.

The group are working in an open studio at the site of the old dispensary in Crusheen and would be happy to speak with anyone who would like to have an input into the project. Local people living abroad are also asked to visit their website startdesigncrusheen.tk and give their opinion on the centre.

“It is an open studio and we want people to come in and take part in the design for the centre. We want to show the difference between architects really getting involved in a community project and people maybe paying a visit to the site and doing all the work somewhere else,” said architect Ray McGreal.

“Two of us are staying with the parish priest in Crusheen and two of us are being put up by the Fogarty’s – just next to the studio. So you couldn’t be more in the local community. This is a community centre for the local community and everything we do will have that in mind.”

Ray and Colin are being aided in the project by fellow architects Diarmaid Upton and Ronan O’Dea. The group are also being mentored by Peter Carr, architecture professor at the University of Limerick.

The group will finish their work by completing a full design for the Crusheen Community Centre and to apply for initial planning permission with Clare County Council.

The open evening will take place tonight (Tuesday, July 17) at the Crusheen Community Centre.