Category: News

A BARMAN was punched in the face by the best man at a wedding as he attempted to close the bar, a court has heard.

Details of the assault were heard at Ennis District Court on Tuesday. Anthony O’Grady (34) with an address at Phairs Road, Meelick, was charged with assaulting barman Neil O’Gorman at the Bunratty Castle Hotel, Bunratty on June 27 (2010).

Mr O’Gorman told the court that he had pulled the shutter halfway down the bar at around 2am.

He said at that point Mr O’Grady attempted to push the shutter back up.

He recalled that when he said the bar was about to close, Mr O’Grady told him, “we’re paying for this f****** wedding and we’ll say when it closes.”

Mr O’Gorman said that as he attempted to close the bar , Mr O’Grady struck him in the side of his face with his fist.

The court heard that Mr O’Grady had been the best man on the day. Judge Patrick Durcan remarked that in this case, “The best man was the worst man.”

Solicitor Stiofan Fitzpatrick said his client had been heavily intoxicated. “He’s normally a light drinker. This was completely out of character.”

The court heard that Mr O’Grady is a father of three currently working in Poland. He has no previous convictions.

Mr Fitzpatrick added, “He is extremely apologetic and has been very anxious about this matter.”

Judge Durcan described Mr O’Grady’s behaviour on the night as “abominable.”

Referring to Mr O’Gorman, the judge said:

“Those who enforce the law in a peripheral manner shouldn’t be faced with loutish and ignorant behaviour.”

Noting Mr O’Grady’s good record, Judge Durcan ordered that he pay € 750 to Childline. No conviction was recorded against Mr O’Grady.

UP to 100 additional aircraft maintenance jobs are expected to come on stream in Shannon after the launch of Transaero Engineering Ireland by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny on Friday last.

The new company marks the official take over of the former Air Atlanta Aero Engineering facility at the airport by Transaero Airlines, the second largest airline in Russia.

In heralding the new company, the Taoiseach said he was “delighted that a significant global airline such as Transaero has chosen Shannon as a location for its maintenance facility.

“It is a major vote of confidence in the workforce of Transaero Engineering Ireland, the Shannon region and in the continuing economic recovery of Ireland. It highlights the value of economic stability in attracting new investment to Ireland. I am delighted that the maintenance company with its skilled workforce will continue to operate in Shannon and that the addition of new aircraft types to their product range will result in more skilled and qualified staff being added in the near future. This deal very much fits within the Government’s focus on developing strategic trade relations into devel- oped markets such as Russia. This investment can showcase the capabilities of Irish companies within the Russian Federation,” he added.

“Shannon Airport and the surrounding infrastructure offer excellent opportunities for expansion which was one of the key drivers in the acquisition of AAAE,” said Transaero Airlines, Managing Director, Alexander Krinichanskiy. “Currently a number of Transaero Engineering Ireland’s staff are undergoing EASA 147 training for line/project maintenance on the Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft to enhance the product range of the facility and we will also seek to increase interior, engineering and training capabilities and we would expect to increase the staff numbers from the current 241,” he added.

Dr Vincent Cunnane, Chief Executive, Shannon Development, said, “Air Atlanta Aero Engineering is a key client of Shannon Development in the Shannon Aviation cluster and we are delighted with today’s announcement. We welcome Transaero Airlines acquisition of Air Atlanta and look forward to working with the company to support them to grow their business at Shannon. Transaero is a globally recognised progressive airline and represents a significant addition to the aviation base at Shannon.”

A NORTH Clare student has lost out in her bid to reverse changes made to the third-level grant system and now stands to lose as much as € 4,000 each year in cut-backs to her maintenance grant.

Ballyvaughan woman, Medb McCarthy, was one of three students who challenged the legality of the Department of Education last week. The legal challenge, which was brought in conjunction with the Un- ion of Student of Ireland (USI), failed as Mr Justice John Hedigan last week ruled that the cuts were in the public interest given the dire financial circumstances facing the country.

The students and USI are due in court again this Wednesday, May 2, when they may decide to appeal the ruling. Last year the Department of Education announced the Student Services Act which introduced changes in the criteria used to assess non-adjacent maintenance grants for third level students.

Non-adjacent grants are paid to stu- dents whose family home is located too far away from their university to make commuting an option. According to the Department of Education, improvement in the country’s road infrastructure and public transport has made commuting to universities easier for students.

The Student Services Act increasing the distance that a student has to live away from the educational institution from 24 kilometres to 45 kilometres. Mebh, who lives 43 kilometres away from NUI, Galway, in a country area between Ballyvaughan and New Quay, is currently in receipt of a grant of between € 6,100 and € 6,700 per year.

This grant will now be cut by as much as € 3,900 – making living in rented accommodation very difficult. Despite the reasons given for introducing the Student Services Act, the area is not supported by a public transport network that would make commuting from North Clare a viable option for Mebh.

This case was consider a test case for the estimated 25,000 students who will see their grant cut by the Department of Education from next September. The other students involved in the case with Mebh were Galway native Iesha Rowan and Robert Johnson who studying at Dundalk IT.

Mebh is a third year arts student who is currently studying abroad. She is due to return to complete her final year at NUI, Galway, in September.

Speaking after the ruling, USI president Garry Redmond said that they were not ruling out the possibility of appealing the case.

HUNDREDS of potential West Clare jobs will be lost if Shannon LNG pulls plans to develop a € 1 billion gas terminal along the Shannon Estuary.

The company has reached an impasse with the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) over tariffs the regulator claims it will be liable for.

The company estimates this could cost it up to € 83 million per year.

Following a meeting between the Kilrush area members of the council and Shannon LNG last week, Clare County Council has also invited the energy regulator to address the members on the issue.

Kildysart councillor Oliver Garry (FG) said that the issue must be resolved in the interest of job creation and the provision of gas to Ireland.

It is estimated that the building of the terminal between Tarbert and Ballylongford, across the estuary from Clare, will create more than 650 construction jobs and more than 100 permanent jobs.

Cllr Garry said that many of these jobs will be available to Clare workers.

“This is the biggest project to come to the estuary since the building of Moneypoint in 1980,” he said.

The chair of the Kilrush area councillors said that just as many of the workforce at Moneypoint came from Kerry on the ferry, so too would Clare workers be travelling to Ballylongford.

“We have to see where a solution can be found. It is so important that we develop industry on the estuary,” he said.

Shannon LNG has already invested € 45 million in the project that is already four years in the making.

Planning permission for the terminal was granted in March 2008, while permission for the pipeline from Ballylongford to Foynes was granted in February 2009.

Shannon LNG now maintains that just as it was getting all major consents for the project, such as a foreshore licence and third party access exemption, the CER proposed changing the pipeline tariff structure, introduced by a Government directive in 2001 to encourage new infrastructure.

The company said it needs Government support, not subsidy, if it is to continue as well as regulatory certainty.

“Indecision and delay will further postpone project progress,” it said.

A TOTAL of 32 volunteers worked diligently at the weekend to restore some forgotten West Clare history and adding to the number of tourist attractions on Loop Head.

Among those white washing the Kilbaha Éire sign was Peter Keane from Cross, whose father Corporal Keane was the last man to under take the whitewashing task more than 60 years ago.

Due to the hard and unfunded work of volunteers, the old Éire sign at Kilbaha has been restored to its former glory, and can now be seen by all passengers flying into Shannon.

On Good Friday last year, the venture to bring back the Éire sign began with a few volunteers using rods to mark out the 150 foot by 50 foot sign carved into the grassy shore.

Some inventive local men then took the blade off an old plough and attached it to the back of a tractor so that they could cut away the sod that covered the sign designed and built at the onset of World War II in 1939.

The top layer was removed under the supervision of archaeologist Terry Barry of Trinity College Dublin.

The original flat stone was still in place when the layer of clay was removed, looking almost as good as it did when it was placed there in 1939.

The volunteers then filled in any few gaps in the stone and white washed them.

These Éire signs were cut into the coastline every 10 miles to declare to fighter pilots that they were flying over a neutral country during World War II.

The American pilots requested that each sign be numbered so they knew exactly where they were flying, and the sign in Kilbaha got the number 45.

Volunteer Ailish Connolly said that the group now hope to restore the number 45 and the associated look out post in Kilbaha, before moving on to develop the Carrigaholt sign.

All new work is dependent on Leader funding.

To date, the sign has been restored without any funding.

The leading expert on the subject of protecting Ireland’s neutrality, Dr Michael Kennedy gave all of his services for free as he advised the group on the work.

Diggers, equipment, food and even overnight stays were also donated by local people and businesses.

“The only cost to me was the price of three bags of lime at € 8.99,” laughed Ms Connolly.

The project was under taken as a result of the combined efforts of the Kilballyowen Development Committee and Loophead Tourism.

It will feature on the RTÉ programme Nationwide next Monday, which will be all about West Clare.

THE HSE spent more than half a million euro on wheelchairs for Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary last year.

It was unable to say how much it spent on other aids such as walking frames and crutches last year stating they were included in “a generic cost centre of either beds and hoist or medical surgical equipment”.

In 2008 the HSE spent € 1,121,193 on aids and appliances in Clare.

However the cost of wheelchairs in the former mid-west area was recorded at € 511,260.84 in 2011 and € 491,231.07 in 2010.

Green Party councillor Brian Meaney raised concerns that aids such as crutches and wheelchairs were not being recycled by the HSE.

He asked if it was still the policy of the HSE not to return such mobility aids.

In its reply the HSE said it has recently signed a contract with the company Homecare Medical.

“This contract award supports and supplements existing recycling services and will ensure high standards in infection control and appliance service and maintenance. This contract will also support the movement of aid and appliances to ensure equity of service for clients in the community,” said Philip Browne from the HSE’s Procurement Department.

“It will increase current recycling levels and reduce the need for purchase of new appliances,” he said.

It is still unclear what equipment and aids will be recycled and how much will be saved each year under the project.

A NEW organisation dedicated to providing employment services for people with illness, injury or disability has been established in Clare. The launch of EmployAbility Clare represents a rebranding of the former Clare Supported Employment Service.

The new identity was unveiled by Caroline Casey, a well-known campaigner for people with disabilities, while addressing an audience of almost 190 people at Dromoland Castle last Wednesday.

Speaking to a theme, ‘Impossible is an Opinion’, Ms Casey said the new name, which “puts the focus on a person’s ability to work, rather than their innate or acquired disability, describes what supported employment is about”.

“While our service centres on supporting people with an illness, injury or disability to secure employment, we’re also concerned with assisting employers,” said EmployAbility Clare team leader, Alice O’Carroll.

“People are living longer, and as the population rises, more and more people acquire disabilities. People in the older age groups hold most of the wealth in society and naturally have more purchasing power. It makes sense for businesses to attract as broad a range of customers as possible. They can learn how best to be accessible to people with disabilities by finding out, first hand, from people with disabilities how to make their products and services attractive and accessible,” she added.

EmployAbility Clare, which offers a range of supports, including workplace adaptation grants, wage subsidies and on-site employment facilitators, is key in supporting people with an injury, illness or disability overcome the challenges of adapting to employment and to being accepted in the workplace. It also works with employers to ensure new recruits make a meaningful contribution to the business’s bottom line.

“We strive to reassure employers and give them the confidence to see the benefits of working with us. The new identity, which focuses on the positive benefits of ‘employing ability’, rather than ‘supporting employment’, will help to address any existing misconceptions,” aid Ms O’Carroll.

The launch was organised by EmployAbility Clare in conjunction with Shannon, Ennis and Limerick Chambers, IBEC, and co-sponsored by UCB Manufacturing Ireland Limited, Shannon Development, Vitalograph, Dromoland Castle Hotel, ZAGG International, and the Cregg Group.

THE mother of a Clare toddler who had feared that her daughter would die in her arms following a brutal dog attack, was last night relieved that her three-year-old was sitting up and entertaining nursing staff.

Little Abbey O’Donoghue from Ballynacally received 60 stitches to her head, arms and under her ear after the canine attacked her at a family birthday party on Saturday afternoon.

Her worried father Cathal said it was a sight he will never forget and will haunt him and his family for years to come.

Cathal and his wife Caroline, along with their children Jonathan (6), Kelsey (5), Abbey (3), Jake (2) and baby Ruby, aged five months, had visited his sister’s home that day to give his niece a card for her 21st birthday.

The children had decided to go outside to the garage with their cousin to get some crisps, but as little Abbey was leaving the house, the family Siberian husky ‘Red’ unexpectedly pounced on her.

“She was just outside the door and we heard the screaming of her cousin.

“Abbey was also screaming and telling the dog to stop biting her. My brother-in-law ran out past me and jumped on the dog.

THE Clare TD who admitted his party had its eye off the ball when it came to the first Lisbon Treaty will be hoping that his team is playing as one in the run up to the Fiscal Stability Treaty referendum as he receives the captain’s arm band.

Fianna Fáil’s Timmy Dooley has been appointed Director of Elections for the May 31 referendum by party leader Deputy Michéal Martin.

The Clare TD will now be hoping that his home constituency will fol- low in the tradition of previous European referenda and return a yes vote.

The Banner county had the largest acceptance on the western seaboard of the second Lisbon Referendum with 72.3 per cent vote in favour of the referendum.

It was also one of the few counties to support the first Lisbon referendum.

Deputy Dooley admitted at the time that the FF focus wasn’t total: “There was a lot going on within the Fianna Fáil organisation on the occasion (of Lisbon 1.)”

This time around, the Fianna Fáil party leader has entrusted the Clare TD with a strong yes campaign for the Fiscal Stability Treaty.

“Timmy, as a member of the SubCommittee on the Stability Treaty, has been making a constructive and positive contribution to the debate so far and I have no doubt he will continue to add to the standard of the debate in the weeks ahead,” said Mr Martin.

The newly appointed Director of Elections has been critical of the current Fine Gael-Labour Government’s approach to the referendum.

He said, “The debate in the Dáil and public comments by ministers show that the government is presenting the Treaty as part of its economic recovery plans.

‘This is a foolish approach almost designed to turn away people who support the Treaty but do not endorse the government’s strategies.

“Allied to the fact that the Government has abandoned past practice of active coordination with other proEU parties and a picture is developing of a government more committed to getting a political boost than maximising the chances of a large yes vote,” said Deputy Dooley.

A LARGE number of North Clare community groups and tourism providers will travel to Limerick this week to show off everything that the Burren has to offer. ‘A Burren Evening’, which is organised by the BurrenBeo Trust, will take place at the Hunt Museum in Limerick this Thursday.

This is the second time that local groups in North Clare have taken it upon themselves to travel to another location and show off exactly what the Burren has to offer.

Last year, a large group from North Clare travelled to Dublin to market the Burren directly to the people of the capital.

The theme of this week’s event is ‘Landscape, Memory and Friendship’ and it aims to be a celebration of life in the Burren as well as the work of the BurrenBeo Trust and other organisations.

Some of the organisations taking part in ‘A Burren Evening’ include St Tola’s Cheese from Inagh, the Burren Smokehouse in Lisdoonvarna and the Aillwee Caves in Ballyvaughan.

BurrenBeo Trust is Ireland’s only landscape charity and is dedicated to ensuring that the unique yet fragile Burren landscape is sustained for future generations to enjoy. The Limerick event will also include the launch of the fourth edition of the annual flagship magazine, ‘Burren Insight’, as well as a new set of Burren field guides.

“The Burren has long been admired its rare habitats, geology, archaeology, rich culture and traditions. Burrenbeo Trust is actively engaging with the local community and other stakeholders in managing this unique landscape,” said Brigid Barry of the BurrenBeo Trust.

“The field guides have been developed as part of Burrenbeo’s ‘learning landscape’ initiative, which is just one of a number of exciting programmes that Burrenbeo Trust are currently concentrating on.

“The Burren is the perfect outdoor classroom for young and old and the Trust’s Ecobeo programme has already seen over 700 children take part in their experiential learning courses.

“As well as facilitating children in becoming Burren experts, the Trust is also the main providers of information to local and visiting communities through a range of cutting edge media and more traditional walks and talks,” she said.