Category: News

DRUGS charges against a long-term cancer sufferer are likely to be struck out if she does not come to the attention of gardaí over the next six months, a court has heard.

Jacquelene Corris (40) appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Ms Corris, with an address at 4 Connolly Villas, Ennis, previously pleaded guilty to cultivating, without license, 13 cannabis plants. She was also charged with unlawful possession of cannabis

The plants, with an estimated value of € 5,200, were found during a garda search of 4 Connolly Villas on October 24, 2011.

The court previously heard that Ms Corris, who has suffered from cancer since her teens, could only get relief from the condition by taking cannabis.

A judge had earlier ordered a report from the probation and welfare services.

That report was handed into Judge Patrick Durcan at Ennis District Court Court last week.

Her solicitor Joe Chambers said the report had been very favourable towards his client.

He said Ms Corris, who has no previous convictions, had fully co-operated with gardaí during the investigation and had offered an early plea.

He added, “It is accepted by the State that she is not part of any criminal network.”

Mr Chambers said the incident had been a salutatory lesson for his client. He added;

“There is a strong likelihood that she will not re-offend.”

Judge Durcan said, “The report is very positive and one must compliment Ms Corris on the efforts she has made to remedy the situation.”

Noting her early plea and good record, he added, “She was not part of a ring.

“What was grown and cultivated was for personal use.”

He remanded Ms Corris on continuing bail to appear at Ennis District Court on October 10.

He said that if no further matters arose in the next six months, he would strike out the charges.

A SHANNON woman has appeared in court on charges of deception and possession of a stolen cheque.

Amy Tracey (20) with an address at 65 Inis Eagla, Shannon, appeared at Ennis District Court last Wednesday. It is alleged that at AIB Shannon on December 15 (2010) Ms Tracy did dishonestly by deception induce an AIB bank official to lodge a cheque to her account with intent of making a gain.

It is also alleged that on the same date at Rineanna, Shannon, Ms Tracey did without lawful excuse possess a stolen Bank of Ireland cheque worth € 6966.

Detective Paul Coleman told the court that he arrested the accused in Ennis on April 10 (2012). He said Ms Harty was conveyed to Ennis Garda Station where she was cautioned and charged. Detective Coleman said the accused made no reply to either charge after caution.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed summary disposal of the matter on a plea of guilty only. After hearing a summary of the alleged facts, Judge Patrick Durcan refused jurisdiction. He remanded the accused on continuing bail to appear at Ennis District Court on May 16 for DPP’s consent and service of Book of Evidence.

HUNDREDS of parents of young children in the Shannon town area are to be surveyed to determine what kind of education they would like for their children.

Shannon was the only part of Clare mentioned in the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector Report, which identified it as an area that required immediate action. If the findings of the report are carried out, it will see one of the town’s five primary schools being transformed into a multi-denominational school.

Shannon already contains one Gaelscoil and one Church of Ireland school as well as a number of other national schools. It is, at present, unclear which of the town’s national schools will be asked to change its patron should the recommendations of the report be followed through on.

The possible changes in Shannon are the first step in a series of steps advocated by the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector Report. Other changes could see changes brought into some of the counties’ rural schools that will remain under the patronage of the Catholic Church.

The report recommends promoting more inclusiveness in all schools, but especially in standalone, rural schools – where divesting patronage to another body is not an option. The majority of Clare schools has been identified as standalone schools because the nearest alternative school is more than 3km away.

The report recommends that the school boards of these schools are given the responsibility to uphold the rights of children and parents with regard to own religious education regardless of their faith.

It has also been recommended that the law be changed to prevent a child from a certain faith being given a preferential position when applying to enter the school. The Clare People contacted each of the five primary school in the Shannon area in relation to this story but no official was forthcoming from any of the schools at the time of going to press.

A MAN has pleaded guilty to having 59 ecstasy tablets outside an apartment block in Ennis last year.

At Ennis District Court on Thursday, David Cooley (25), with an address at 20 Rathbawn Tulla Road, Ennis pleaded guilty to possession of ecstasy and having the drugs for sale or supply at Mill House Apartments on January 23 (2011).

Detective Gary Stack told the court that gardaí had obtained a warrant to search the apartment when they observed Mr Cooley exiting the building. Inspector Tom Kennedy said that the accused admitted selling the drugs to friends.

The court heard Mr Cooley has a previous conviction for a road traffic matter but none for drugs offences.

Solicitor John Casey said his client is no longer involved in drug dealing. He told the court that Mr Cooley previously worked as a stonemason and is actively looking for work.

He said Mr Cooley had cooperated fully with gardaí. Mr Casey added, “It gave him a good shock.”

He said Mr Cooley’s partner is currently expecting a child. Mr Casey asked the court not to impose a custodial sentence.

Referring to the nature of the offence Judge Patrick Durcan said, “His retail activity was probably doing a lot of damage to a lot of people.”

He noted Mr Cooley’s plea of guilty and clean record in relation to drugs.

Judge Durcan adjourned the matter until November 28. He granted liberty to the state to re-enter the case at 24 hours notice.

THE announcement last week that Ennistymon will play host to the first ever Dylan Thomas Literary Weekend has already ruffled a few feathers across the water in Wales with one Welsh newspaper suggesting that the poets link to Clare are “tenuous” at best.

The Dylan Thomas tourism “industry” is worth an estimated € 4 million to the economy of Swansea – where Dylan Thomas was born. Welsh tourism expert, Anne Haden, who runs the Dylan Thomas House in Swansea, believes that the Clare festival will not damage the local business in Wales.

“Those who go to this literary festival in County Clare and become fascinated by Dylan will no doubt want to come and see where he was born in Swansea and that can only be good for us,” she said. “What we should be doing is putting trade stands up at the festival to let people know there is plenty going on in Swansea to remember this writer of ours.

“This is a fantastic advert for the life of one of Wales’ greatest exports. We are not only famous for rugby, football and choirs – a short little man from Swansea proved he was a brilliant writer and a great character and became renowned across the world.”

Swansea-based Dylan Thomas expert Jeff Towns says he may even travel to the Falls Hotel for the festival.

“I remember when the hotel was creating a Dylan Thomas room they asked me for some memorabilia which I sent on the grounds I would get a free night there. I never took it so now might be a good time to go,” he said.

“I don’t think the Irish event will harm what’s going on here and in many ways could create some new Dylan fans in Ireland.

“It’s also true Caitlin Thomas had a strong love for Ireland. She was born in London but her father’s links to the Irish arts scene led her to meet Augustus John, then Dylan himself. After Dylan’s death she travelled in Ireland to discover her roots.”

THE first PhD ever awarded on Clare soil will be handed out in Ballyvaughan this Wednesday as the Burren College of Art breaks new ground for education in the county.

Having studied in North Clare for almost five years, Eileen Hutton has been giving the honour of receiving the first PhD ever awarded on Clare soil. Her work is heavily linked with nature and she has used material produced with the help of Burren birds and bees as part of her PhD.

President and cofounder of the Burren College of Art, Mary Hawkes Greene, says the conferring will be a big day for the college.

“The awarding of the first PhD in Studio Art at Burren College of Art is a significant milestone not only for the recipient Eileen Hutton, but also for the college itself,” she said.

“The location of the college has been integral to the focus of Eileen’s work, investigating reciprocal relationships between artists and the natural environment. Her sculptural collaborations with the blue tits and honeybees in the Burren has not only strengthened their natural habitats but has provided valuable insight into the positive ways environmental art can impact on its surroundings.

“We are delighted that the first PhD studies conducted at the college have focused so specifically and benefitted immeasurably from the Burren itself, the very reason for the college’s existence.”

The PhD itself will be awarded by the National University of Ireland, Galway – who are the Burren College’s academic partners. Eileen’s final exhibition at the Burren College of Art was entitled ‘Being in the Land’ was included a series of shaped honey combs formed by Burren bees and hexagonal birds nests made by Helen and 20 families of local blue tits.

“I wanted to interact with the ecology of the Burren and ask what is ecology and what is biodiversity in the Burren context. I am aware of the different focuses that people have in the Burren between the eco-tourists and the farmers, the work that BurrenBeo is doing and also BurrenLIFE,” said Eileen.

“There are a lot of people trying to develop a contemporary relationship with the Burren that is beneficial both the people and the environment.”

THE family of a Clarecastle Christian Brother accused on RTÉ of child abuse while serving a missionary in Africa have renewed their call for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) for an inquiry to be launched by the Minister for Communications, Pat Rabbitte.

This demand for justice for Brother Gerard Dillon has been sounded out in the wake of the leaking of the BAI report into RTÉ’s defaming of Galway priest, Fr Kevin Reynolds, in the Primetime Investigates ‘Mission to Prey’ programme.

This programme also aired a claim by South African man Tyrne Selmon that he was abused by Brother Dillon.

Amanda Dillon, a grand-niece of Brother Dillon who died in 2005, has said there needs to be a full investigation into the research carried out by RTÉ.

She also reiterated her family’s call on the State broadcaster to provide evidence of the accusations made against Brother Dillon.

“We’ve had no solid evidence come back to us about how they managed to source this abused person who has never made his allegation in the public domain ever before, nor to the school, nor to the brothers, nor to the police.

“That allegation has just never, ever been made,” said Ms Dillon.

A spokesperson for the BAI has said it is “in correspondence with the family” and “it doesn’t comment on the correspondence as it relates to the families only”.

However, the Dillon family have been told that their complaint would not be investigated because it was made over 30 days after the RTÉ programme was broadcast last year.

“To not look at our complaint on the basis of what we would perceive as a small technicality, that really doesn’t feel fair and doesn’t seem balanced against the huge fallout from the programme,” said Ms Dillon.

A TALENTED young hurler sustained serious injuries after he was “rolled over” by a car in Ennis last year, a court has heard.

Clarecastle man Aaron Considine (20) suffered multiple fractures after being rolled over by a car driven by Stefan Coustrain (20).

On Wednesday, Ennis District Court heard that Mr Coustrain initially fled the scene before presenting himself at Ennis Garda Station, one hour and 20 minutes after the incident.

Mr Coustrain, with an address at 23 Ballymoneen, Tulla Road, Ennis pleaded guilty to failing to keep his vehicle at the scene of the occurrence at College View, Ennis on July 8, 2011, and also to having no tax.

Mr Coustrain was ordered to complete 175 hours of community service in lieu of five months in prison. He was also disqualified from holding a license for four years.

The court heard that, on the night, gardaí received a call about a man lying on the hard shoulder of the road outside St Flannan’s College.

Garda Sarah Murphy said Mr Considine, who had been on his way to his girlfriend’s house at the time, couldn’t move and had no re-collec- tion of what had happened.

Mr Coustrain stated that he had been driving home from the shop with his partner and young child when he felt the car “shake”.

The court heard that the incident occurred sometime between 00.51am and 00.59am.

In a statement to gardaí, that was read in court, Mr Coustrain said that when he realised he’d hit a person, he stopped the car and turned around. He said he then drove home, returned to the scene where he saw the ambulance and left again.

A driver who passed by shortly after Mr Considine was struck, stopped, administered CPR and rang the emergency services, the court heard.

The court heard that Mr Coustrain called to the station at around 2.20am. Garda Murphy said he was “distraught, pale and very upset.” She added, “There was no evidence that he was under the influence of any intoxicant.” The court heard that he told gardaí that he was not tired when the incident occurred.

Garda Murphy said the street lighting was not working well on the night.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said that it was accepted that Mr Considine had been lying on the road when the accident happened and had not been standing up.

His solicitor requested that the court not impose a custodial sentence as it would harm Mr Coustrain’s ability to keep his family together. “When he realised what happened, he panicked,” she added.

The court heard that Mr Considine is still recovering from his injuries. He was described as “academically bright” and a “skilled sportsman” involved in sport at a high level.

The court heard that Mr Coustrain has previous convictions for road traffic offences Judge Patrick Durcan said, “This is possibly the most serious driving case I have dealt with since my appointment six months ago.” He noted that this was not a case of dangerous driving.

He said the accused had “absented” himself from the scene for one hour and 20 minutes. He described Mr Coustrain’s beahviour on the night as “flagrant, ignorant and abusive disregard for the law.” He said the issue of lighting was “irrelevant” in this case. He said alcohol and tiredness were not issues either.

He imposed a community service order and ordered Mr Coustrain to appear in court on May 9. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

THE first meeting of Ireland’s newest political party, The Irish Citizens Party, will take place in Ennis in the coming weeks.

The party, which was founded last week by West Clare man, Jim Connolly, has styled itself as a humanitarian party which promises a number of “radical ideas” on how to approach the future of Ireland.

Mr Connolly, who has ran both as an Independent and Labour candi- date in previous elections, says he will not be putting his name forward for election again, but says that he hopes to have a number of candidates in Clare and other counties in time for the local election in 2014.

“I will extend an open invitation to everyone who wants to attend that meeting. There will be no membership fees charged, nothing like that. The meeting will be about throwing the idea of the party around and seeing what people think of it,” he said.

“I need people to get involved for this to progress. This is entirely peo- ple-orientated but there are a lot of radical proposals to it that people may need time to absorb.

“In my view, there is no alternative but to go back to basic humanitarian values, and a system based on rules that the people are happy to live under. I have decided to launch this party long in advance of any election. I have declared that I will not be running again for politics. I think there is need for this party, but it is the party itself that will select the candidates and I won’t be one of them.

“What I am bringing is the drive to set it up but also I have a track record for setting up organisations that work. This is not for financial gain or any other motivation like that; this is about me trying to respond to what is going on in Ireland over the next few years, however long I am alive. I want to combat what has been happened and where it is going.”

Mr Connolly, who is also the founder of the Rural Resettlement Ireland and the man behind the Open Fairs – which are designed to promote new small businesses – believes that his party can spread beyond Clare before the 2014 local election.

“Democracy starts at a local level but I have seen how quickly an idea can spread. The Open Fairs have spread so quickly, due largely to the internet, and they are now taking place throughout the country. We are in a new era and things can happen faster and bigger than ever before. We are talking about this in Ennis today but there is no question that this can be talked about in Donegal or Dublin next week,” said Mr Connolly.

A MOTION for a full moratorium on fracking in Ireland was not carried at this weekend’s Labour Party conference in Galway – with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, saying that the motion was not necessary.

The motion, which was put forward by the North Clare branch of the Labour party, was one of two motions concerning a ban on hydraulic fracturing heard at this weekend’s conference.

“Both motions were discussed and Minister Pat Rabbitte actually responded directly to both motion during the conference.

“The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) are currently producing a major report on fracking and he pointed out that nothing will decided on in relation to fracking in Ireland before that report is completed,” said North Clare party member, Seamus Ryan.

“The minister admitted that we don’t have expert opinion on the effects of fracking in Europe. He was very much of the opinion that we should not progress with anything until a time when the reports from the US EPA is completed.

“The North Clare branch were seeking a full moratorium on fracking and that motion was referred back to the National Executive of the part until such a time as more information in available.”

Meanwhile, a motion put forward by the Shannon branch of the Labour Party referred back to the party’s National Executive for “fine-tuning” before it become party policy.

“We are very much in favour of a debt-free Shannon. Shannon Airport has very much been the poor cousin of Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) for some time. Slowly the number have been falling off in Shannon as air traffic has been diverting towards Dublin. We want to see Shannon given the best footing that it can possibly get and that means that it gets the best possible deal that it gets.

“Eamon Gilmore has been in Ennis and Shannon on a number of occasions and he has always reiterated the Labour Party’s commitment to Shannon Airport.

“You could even see that last year when Clare was the first constituency visited by Eamon Gilmore when Labour began its General Election campaign.”