Category: News

ENNIS’ traffic problems are set to be alleviated with the completion of the long-awaited inner relief road, the final phase of which is set to be completed this September.

Ennis Town Council has revealed that work on the completion of the road is set to commence in July, after the announcement that the local authority has signed a € 360,000 construction contract with Gildoc Limited.

The contract provides for the con- struction of 180 metres of single carriageway road, footpaths and services, including new traffic lights at Station Road and Clare Road.

The Ennis Inner Relief Road Section E contract, which will be delivered by Ennis-based Liam O’Doherty Building Contractor on behalf of Gildoc Limited, has a completion deadline for late September.

“I would like to compliment Ennis Town Council for delivering this project which many had feared would not go ahead due to the current fiscal constraints,” said outgo- ing Mayor of Ennis, Michael Guilfoyle.

“However, the necessary funding has been secured to ensure the delivery of what will be a very beneficial infrastructure project for Ennis Town Centre.

“It will complement similar road projects in recent years, including the section of the Inner Relief Road from Station Road to Francis Street and the Ennis Bypass, in further reducing traffic congestion in the Clare County capital.

“Once completed, the new road will link Station Road at Mad- den’s Furniture to Friar’s Walk, the Causeway, Clare Road at Cathedral Court,” explained Eamon O’Dea, Ennis Town Engineer.

“This section of the Inner Relief Road will improve traffic flow to the town centre for customers and visitors to Ennis, and will reduce traffic congestion in the Station Road and Upper O’Connell Street area of Ennis,” added Mayor Guilfoyle.

THE development of a maritime and angling centre at Doonbeg Pier may soon be back on the agenda as MEP Marian Harkins (IND) last week committed to finding funding for the project at European level.

More than half a million euro of funding had been allocated to the project in 2008, but this funding was never drawn down because of a difficulty in obtaining a foreshore license for the area.

The MEP, who visited the pier last week and met with representatives of the Doonbeg Fishermen’s Association, says the Doonbeg Pier is in bad need of development which could mean a major boost for the local fishing and tourism industry.

“It seems extraordinary that a project which was approved funding of € 525,000 in 2008 and is deemed strategically important by Clare County Council has not proceeded,” said the MEP.

“I will be doing whatever I can to bring a fresh focus on a project which will be of great benefit to the economy of West Clare.”

It is, as yet, unclear what “fresh focus” Ms Harkins will be able to bring to the project but some funding from the European authorities could possibly be used to kickstart the project.

Responding to Ms Harkins comment, Senior Engineer with Clare County Council, Tom Tiernan, said that the council did grant the development Part VIII planning permission more than four years ago.

“Clare County Council has never referred to Doonbeg Pier as a strategically important project, as claimed by Ms Harkin.

“However, Doonbeg Pier is zoned for maritime use in the West Clare Local Area Plan 2012-2018,” he said.

“The harbour area on Doonbeg Bay is reserved for the future development of the pier and land-based facilities to accommodate waterbased commercial activities, subject to compliance with all environmental considerations and legislation.

“Clare County Council approved development under the Part VIII at Doonbeg Pier in 2007. The proposal at the time also needed Foreshore Lease approval and this was also sought in 2007.

“Unfortunately, this was never approved and therefore the allocation referred to by Ms Harkin could not be availed of.”

During her visit to Clare last week, MEP Harkin was given an “extensive briefing” on the development.

She said that she would be investigating what sources of funds might be available for what she described as a “very justified project” utilising the uniquely safe and sheltered characteristics of Doonbeg Pier.

IRELAND’S first ever mainland ferry commuter service will begin in Ballyvaughan this Monday, June 25, with the first official sailing of the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop.

The service will run a week-long trial service to coincide with the final of the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway, with plans to extend the service to a full-time commuter sailing if the demand exists.

Early indications are encouraging for the organisers, with a number of sailings already booked out. The service is designed to a business model which would see Clare commuters using the ferry to get to work in Galway City, with tourists making the return leg of the sailing.

“It is very exciting. We have been waiting a long time for this to happen so it is very exciting now,” said founder of the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop, Gwen Ryan.

“It will be running for a week but already we can see that the demand and the interest is there. People have been booking tickets already, especially coming from the Clare side. To date, we only have a few tickets booked from Galway across but the main target audience for this is tourists who may not even have arrived in Galway yet to book their tickets.

“We have heavy booking on the service from Clare over to Galway and a couple of sailings are already booked out.

“For instance, the Saturday sailing, over in the morning to the Volvo Ocean Race, and back again in the evening is already fully booked out.”

A number of tourist operators in Ballyvaughan are offering discounts to people who use the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop during the trial week in operation.

The “fast ferry” service will be operated by Rib West who are a fully licensed enclosed passenger rib provider.

The vessel can hold just 10 people during each crossing, which makes early booking a priority.

The Ballyvaughan Bay Hop will run three return services each day between Monday and Friday, June 25 to 29. These services will depart the New Pier in Ballyvaughan at 7.45am, 12.30pm and 5.30pm, with the return sailings coming from Galway Harbour at 8.45am, 1.30pm and 6pm.

Three sailing will also take place on June 30, to coincide with the Volvo Ocean Race.

For more information on the service or to book tickets, visit www. ballyvaughanbayhop.com, email res erveyourseat@ballyvaughanbayhop. com or ring 086 8102090.

THE successful Clare rally navigator Gráinne McEnery remains in a critical but stable condition in a Dublin hospital more than a week after a rallying accident in Portlaoise.

The Ennis woman sustained serious head injuries when the car she was co-driving lost control on a turn during the sixth stage of the Heartlands Mini-Stages Rally on Sunday week last.

Her family and driving partner Mike Quinn have been keeping a bedside vigil since.

Clare Motor Club held a prayer service for Gráinne on Tuesday last, led by Fr Harry Bohan in the Auburn Lodge Hotel, Ennis.

Grainne, who is one of the most successful rally navigators in the country, secured the 2011 Top Part West Coast Rally Championship the first Clare person and woman to do so.

She has also won the Michael Farrell Memorial Trophy.

Gráinne, who works as service manager with O’Sullivan & Hansbury Motors in Ennis developed an interest in rallying from a young age as her dad Joe, a keen rally spectator and her brother Charlie, a championship-winning navigator brought her to various events around the country.

Gráinne has been competition with Kerry driver Mike Quinn since 2009 and immediately they were a successful team coming second overall in the West Coast Rally Championship and winning the Rally.ie National 2wd Drive Championship. They won numerous other rallies that year and in 2010 finished third overall in the West Coast Rally Championship.

WHATEVER Steele’s Terrace can do, so too can St Flannan’s Terrace on the other side of the ‘Rhine’.

That’s message that will be delivered a public meeting that takes place this Tuesday night in the Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis as residents past and present prepare to mark the centenary of St Flannan’s Terrace.

Earlier this year current and former residents of Steele’s Terrace marked the centenary of the row of 30 houses that were built in 1912 with the publi- cation of a commemorative booklet.

Now, St Flannan’s residents are doing the same, with former St Flannan’s Terrace resident, Brian Dinan spearheading the drive to mark the centenary celebrations this autumn.

“Help us compile an illustrated booklet to mark the centenary year – the history of your house and where your family lived or where you live today,” Mr Dinan told The Clare People this week.

“Perhaps some former occupants and current occupants would get together to produce a commemorative booklet. We would like people who wish to help in this worthwhile project to come to the Temple Gate for the inaugural meeting that will launch the project,” he added.

The purpose of the meeting is to generate an interest in those with a St Flannan’s Terrace connection, urging them to come forward and contribute in whatever way they can.

“It is hoped to form a working committee to find ways of marking the 100 years. Celebrations will take the form of a social evening in October when an illustrated souvenir booklet containing memories and histories of past and present residents will be launched,” said Mr Dinan.

The foundation stone for St Flannan’s Terrace that comprises of 46 houses was laid at number 11 by the then sitting MP for East Clare, Willie Redmond, and the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Michael Fogarty.

“As many as 300 families may have lived on St Flannan’s Terrace,” revealed Mr Dinan.

“There are many memories locked away or scattered to the four winds, which deserve to be recorded and celebrated in recognition and respect of these past generations of wonderful people,” he added.

SEVEN out of every 10 Clare families have had to sacrifice their teeth in order to see them through the recession.

A survey completed by DentalCover.ie has revealed that 73 per cent of Clare families have decreased the number of yearly visits to the dentist since the recession started in 2007.

Indeed, only 32 per cent of Clare people surveyed said that they were able to visit the dentist at least once a year.

Money was indicated as being the biggest factor for preventing Clare people from attending the dentist with 64 per cent of those surveyed, saying that a check-up fee of € 60 would prevent them from visiting the dentist.

One of the main areas to be cut back has been dentistry for children, with the majority of young Clare people not visiting the dentist until after they begin primary school.

“Worryingly, more and more children are now presenting with large cavities that can only be dealt with by extraction and often requiring general anaesthetic,” said Ger Gavin, Chief Dental Officer at Dentalcover. ie.

“As well as being an unnecessary ordeal for young children and expense for the family, it can make children reluctant to attend the dentist in the future. All children really need to attend a dentist in the first two years of their lives.

“It’s at this stage that the dentist can identify and remedy any unhealthy dietary habits or inadequate oral hygiene routines. This establishes a healthy relationship where children are associating dentistry with preventive dental care.”

Separate research has also indicated that the recession may be having another negative impact on Clare teeth as a result of an increase in the frequency of teeth grinding.

More than 30,000 Clare people suffer with bruxism, more commonly known as tooth grinding, and dentists have reported a dramatic increase in the number of patients presenting with the condition since the economic downturn.

“Those figures mean up to 1 million people in Ireland alone may grind their teeth. This is a much higher figure than many people would expect and one that is likely to rise if present trends continue,” said Dr Padraig McAuliffe.

“As many of these people mainly grind their teeth during sleep, they may not realise it is happening until they start to notice some signs – most commonly, tenderness or stiffness of the jaw in the morning, headaches and wear or damage to the teeth.”

MEMBERS of the public have been invited to a meeting on Monday night aimed at drawing up a communityled development plan for Clarecastle. Organised by Clarecastle Community Development Ltd, the meeting will take place in the Abbey Hall on Monday, June 25 at 8pm.

Clarecastle Community Development Ltd (CCD) is a non-profit-making company that was established six months ago. Its main objective is to promote the educational, cultural, social and economic wellbeing of all the members of the community of Clarecastle and its environs

The first phase of mapping out a new blueprint for community-led development in Clarecastle was launched in January. At the time, the company sought feedback from local people.

A CCD spokeswoman explained, “Clarecastle Community Development Ltd has finally concluded a lengthy consultation process with the people and organisations of Clarecastle through which it aimed to establish the community’s future vision for the village. It has received input from individuals, the business community, schoolchildren, youth and individuals. It has met with over 40 organisations within the community and has received useful feedback from them.”

She continued, “From this feedback, Clarecastle Community Development Ltd will put together a development plan for the next few years but, in the meantime, certain projects have been identified as being of significant importance to the community. CCD Ltd is now considering how best to develop these.” She added, “The interim Board of Clarecastle Community Development Ltd would like to share some of the feedback and ideas for potential development with the community of Clarecastle, identify some priority projects and look at our next steps.”

In May 2011, a public meeting was held which identified positives and negatives about Clarecastle and produced ideas for developing the village and its environs. The then Acting Development Group made a recommendation in September 2011 that a Selection Committee would nominate a new Development Committee. An interim Board of Directors of the new development company was nominated and met for the first time in October 2011.

DESPITE flooding in many parts of the county, 2012 will go down as a the record-breaking year for sunshine in County Clare.

Friday, May 25, and Saturday, May 26, have been recognised as possibly the finest ever 48 hours seen in the county during the month of May.

According to new data released by Met Éireann, the highest temperature recorded anywhere in Ireland last month was recorded at Met Éireann Shannon Airport station which recorded a high 27.8 degree Celsius on May 25. This was the highest May temperature recorded at the Shannon Airport station since it was opened in 1938.

The longest day of sunshine was also recorded at Shannon Airport on May 26 when a total of 15.6 hours of sunshine were recorded. This was the joint highest daily sunshine rate to be recorded at Shannon Airport in the station’s history.

For once, the good weather seems to have favoured the west coast over the east with both rain levels and temperatures indicating a much better month on the Atlantic coast. An example of this was the highest average temperature for the month, 12 degrees Celsius, being recorded at Shannon Airport, compared to the lowest average was recorded at Dublin Airport where the mean was just 9.6 degrees.

The rain also seems to have stayed clear of the Banner County last month with the Shannon Airport station recording the lowest months rain total in Ireland at just 38.8mm. This amounts to less than 60 per cent of the normal average rainfall recorded at Shannon Airport in the month of May. This amounts to just more than half of the rain that fell at Met Éireann’s Newport station where 74.9mm were recorded.

Nationally, rainfall was below average nearly everywhere, with the exception of most stations along the East coast which reported above average rainfall. These stations all attributed at least a quarter of their monthly rainfall total to the heavy rainfall on May 1.

MORE and more distressed Clare families are seeking legal assistance new figures have shown.

One in every three queries to Clare’s Legal Advice Centres last year was on matters of family law according to the Free Legal Advice Centre Report.

The centre in Ennis also proves to be the busiest centre in Munster attracting 449 people last year alone.

As many as 497 people received legal advice from the three centres in County Clare last year.

And while one third of the callers were concerned about family issues, 14 per cent had enquiries about employment law and their rights.

Money matters in the form of debt problem made up 11 per cent of the calls in Clare, nine per cent were concerned about housing and property and eight per cent about consumer law. Just four per cent of the calls related to crime.

FLAC noted a particular development around increasing debt prob- lems intersecting with issues such as family, employment and housing.

“FLAC has focused on reforming laws around personal debt because we have seen the terrible impact of over-indebtedness on people contacting us, having dealt some 83,000 legal queries since the start of 2008,” said Noeline Blackwell, FLAC Director General. “We have kept it simple: we need an independent, out-of-court debt settlement structure that will examine people’s personal debt in a holistic way and where possible aim to keep people in their homes.” Clare has three of these NSO centres in conjunction with the Citizens Information Centres in County Clare. The busy Ennis centre is open every Monday afternoon, Thursday evening and Friday evening at the Ennis CIC on Bindon Lane, while there are also evening clinics in Kilrush on the first and third Tuesdays of the month and an evening clinic in Shannon on the last Monday of the month. FLAC is an NGO that relies on a combination of statutory funding, contributions from the legal professions and donations from individu als and grant-making foundations to support its work. FLAC offers basic legal information through its telephone information line and free legal advice through its network of 80 volunteer evening advice centres. It also campaigns on a range of issues including personal debt, fairness in social welfare law, public interest law and civil legal aid.

LISDOONVARNA woman Birgitta Hedin-Curtin has been appointed as Ireland’s leading authority on organic fish.

Birgitta, who operates the Burren Smokehouse in Lisdoonvarna along with her husband Peter Curtin, was appointed by the Junior Minister at the Department of Agriculture, Shane McEntee (FG), to the newly formed Organic Focus organisation.

The organisation aims to coordinate business and government policy in the organic sector and Birgitta will have a key role in the way that the organic fish sector develops over the next few years.

According to the Burren Smokehouse funder, organic fish could become a major growth area in Clare in the years to come and could generate a large number of jobs.

“It is essential that you have a thriving organic sector, it showcases the entire food sector to foreign markets. The organic sector is a big focus for this and really does help to promote Irish foods abroad generally,” she said.

“Organic food is very important for County Clare but also for all of Ireland. The board is mainly made up of representatives from the business sector of the organic industry and the work will focus on helping to shape Government policy.

“Irish salmon production would not exist today if it wasn’t for the organic sector in the mid-1990s which kept it going. The weather conditions are difficult for salmon on the west coast but that gives us a higher class of salmon which means that we can charge a premium.

“Irish organic salmon has become a leader in the world market. It is being sought after worldwide at the moment. This can be built on. We have problems at the moment with licensing issues and that is holding things back at the moment but there are plans from the Department of Agriculture to address that.

“It needs to be addressed if there is to be a growth in the market. There is room for widening the production in the future and that can only be a good thing for the industry.”