Category: News

RAPE Crisis Midwest says it is “truly humbled” by the public support received since announcing the forced temporarily close of its centre in Ennis.

In May, the centre cited “significant cut-backs” as the reason for closing offices and services in Ennis, Nenagh and Limerick.

Rape Crisis Midwest provides a confidential one-to-one counselling service to both male and female survivors of rape and childhood sexual abuse. The service sees approximately 80 clients a week in the entire mid- west.

Between 12 and 14 people a week attend the service at the Tracklands business park in Ennis.

“There is no reasonable prospect of meeting our shortfall, estimated to be in the region of € 120,000 in the entire mid-west. The current fundraising programme in place will not satisfy that shortfall,” explained at the time.

Many of those are adults who suffered sexual abuse as children. The Ennis centre is due to close on a temporary basis in September.

But in its latest newsletter, the service has paid tribute to the support it has received from the public in Clare.

“It has been a busy few months here at the centre. We were truly humbled by the support, publicity and donations we received when we regrettably announced the news of our onemonth temporary closure. Thank you”.

A spokesperson continued, “Once again, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every person who got in touch, donated, organised events, and shared the news of our temporary closure. We are truly grateful for your support and generosity.

Rape Crisis Midwest says it is also in the process of starting a new ‘Friends of Rape Crisis’ fundraising campaign to help address the € 120,000 shortfall.

“This campaign is designed for long-term giving. It will enable people to donate to us regularly and automatically without the hassle of having to physically donate every month. If you would like to get involved in the preparations or join our Friends of committee please get in touch.”

Members of Rape Crisis Midwest in Clare are also preparing for the third annual Dainty Daisy competition.

The event will take place at Treacy’s West County Hotel on Saturday, November 1.

CRATLOE Post Office Action Group have been given two weeks to put forward a plan to improve business at the post office or face possible closure.

The group met with senior officials from An Post in East Clare last Friday, in an effort to convince the postal company to retain the local service.

The meeting, which was described as “positive” by Jim Enright of the action group, was also attended by three Clare TDs as well as Mayor of Clare, John Crowe (FG).

The future of Cratloe Post Office came into doubt two week ago when an An Post review of operations found that the post offices was not generating enough income to justify keeping it open.

The Cratloe Post Office Action Group has gathered more than 1,000 signatures locally from people and businesses who are pledging to use the post office more often.

The action group have proposed a five-year trial period with An Post, to allow local people to support their post office and increase usage numbers.

“It was a good worthwhile meeting. We have until Friday week (July 11) to put in our submission on behalf of the action group and we have asked all the local organisation to support the submission. We need to put forward as strong a case as we can,” said Jim Enright.

“We need more business to take place at the post office to make it viable from An Post’s point of view. A lot of people live in the parish but work in Limerick or Shannon and they use the post offices in these towns. We need people to change their habits and support their local post office.

“We asked An Post to give the post office a five-year trial provided there was a concerted effort by the local community.”

The Cratloe Post Office Action Group say they will take to the streets if necessary to protest for the retention of their post office.

“We would protest if that is neces sary – whether to the GPO or wherever. We will do it but hopefully we won’t need to,” said Jim.

“I am hopeful that we might be a five year reprieve.”

The mid-west representative of the Irish Postmasters’ Union, Kildysart native Tom O’Callaghan, has called on the Government to allocate more services to post offices in a bid to maintain their viability in a time of increased pressure.

A CLARE father who “sacrificed the welfare of his children for alcohol” has been given a four year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for the neglect and ill treatment of six children.

The eldest victim described how she was ten when she was left to care for her six week old sister. She said the baby slept beside her in a single bed and when she was unable to stop the infant crying during the night the accused hit her in the face.

The now 19-year-old woman also described coming home from school to find the baby alone strapped into a car seat when her parents had gone drinking. She also cared for her other siblings and forged her mother’s sig- nature in shops in order to feed them. The foster parents of some of the children, aged between two and 12 years-old at the time they went into care, said they were unable to use cutlery, were not toilet trained or able to shower or use a toothbrush.

The 54 year-old man pleaded guilty to eight counts of child cruelty against six children on dates between 2001 and 2010. He is the father of the five younger children.

His former partner and mother of all of the children has already received a four year suspended sentence for the same charges.

“In effect the children were rearing themselves without any parental guidance,” noted Judge Mary Ellen Ring.

ILLEGAL hunters, using high powered rifles capable of firing bullets for more than a quarter of a mile, could pose a serious risk to public health.

Gardaí in East Clare are investigating an incident in which a horse was shot dead on private property near Whitegate earlier this month.

The animal, an Irish Draft Yearling, was shot at night with a high pow- ered gun, with the bullet travelling so fast that it passed clean through the animal. The owners believe that their horse was shot accidentally by hunters at night, who were in the area shooting deer.

With deer shooting season over until the autumn, local landowner Geraldine Jones believes her animal was killed by ‘lampers’ or hunter operating at night using flashlight.

“There has been incidents here before of cattle being shot. There are houses in the area but there is also deer, and when there is deer there are hunters. We’re out of pocket [because of the shooting] but that isn’t the point really, we have more horses down there and we don’t want to go down there and find them shot – or worse still, see someone walking on the road get shot, she told The Clare People .

“These weapons are very powerful and some people just seem to shoot and not worry about where [the bullet] is going to end up. I’m not antihunting or anything like that, but they [high powered rifles] should not be in the hands of careless people.

“The animal was shot on the [Sunday, June 15] evening or later that night – we can’t pinpoint the exact time. He was our animal but to others he was only a horse. We don’t think that it suffered.

“There was no marks on the ground where the animal might have scratched if it was in pain, but it looks like it was dead before it hit the ground.

“It is distressing. I go down there now and if I see one of them [the horses] lying down I automatically think that they are dead.

“The worst we thought would happen was the horses getting frightened and maybe breaking out onto the road. We never expected to find one with a bullet in it.”

Clare dog warden Frankie Coote says that the rifles used by some of these hunters are very powerful.

“It has happened but not at this time of year. These are people who are lamping and shooting deer out of season.

“A bullet shot from one of those rifles could travel up to a quarter of a mile and kill whatever it meets.

“They are so powerful that the bullet will keep travelling until it hits a target. We have had similar cases in this area in the past and it is a real problem,” he said.

Margaret (Olive) CULLINAN (née
Tuohy) , 77Turnpike Road, Ennis. Funeral Mass Tuesday, July 1, at 11amat Ennis Cathedral, followed by private cremation. Family flowers only, donations if desired to Milford Hospice, Limerick. May she rest in peace.

Kevin MALONE
, 3 Aiden Park, Shannon. Late of Burnham, Dingle Co Kerry. Funeral Mass onTuesday at 12 noon at St John and Paul’s Church, Shannon. Burial afterwards in Lemenagh Cemetery. May he rest in peace.

John (Jack) MCINERNEY
, Scart, Kilkishen. Laid to rest in Clonlea Cemetery. May he rest in peace.

Aine FITZGERALD (née Fennell)
, Renton, Washington, USA, and formerly of Henry Street, Kilrush. Laid to rest in All Saints Cemetery, Shanakyle. May she rest in peace.

Robert GODZISZ
, 15 Ard Caoin Gort Road, Ennis. Laid to rest in Cork. May he rest in peace.

Denis JONES
, Clonloum, O’Callaghans Mills. Peacefully at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital. Laid to rest in Clonlea cemetery. May he rest in peace.

John (Johnny) MALONE
, Clareview, Ballybeg, Ennis. Peacefully at the Galway Clinic. Laid to rest in Clareabbey. Donations, if desired, to Slainte an Clair. May he rest in peace.

Derek (Dobber) O’BRIEN
, Rivendell, Pass Road, Meelick. Peacefully at his residence. Laid to rest in Ballycannon Cemetery, Meelick. Donations, if desired to the Oncology Department, of Limerick University Hospital. May he rest in peace.

Patrick (Pa) O’SHAUGHNESSY
, Knockdonagh, Kilmore. Laid to rest inTruagh Cemetery. May he rest in peace.

Patrick BUCKLEY
, 126Tradaree Court, Shannon. Laid to rest in Illaunamanagh Cemetery. May he rest in peace.

Sister Baptiste CASEY
, Kilkenny/Ruan. Late of Rinneen, Ruan. Laid to rest in Foulkstown Cemetery, Kilkenny. May she rest in peace.

Mary DONNELLY (née Burke)
, Kilmacduane, Cooraclare. Laid to rest in Kilmacduane cemetry. Donations if desired to Milford Hospice. May she rest in peace.

FIVE apartments and three retails units right in the heart of Ennis could be yours for as little as € 180,000. That’s according Allsop Space Estate Agents, who will be putting such a property in county capital under the hammer this Tuesday at its latest sale of distressed properties.

What has been advertised as a “detached modern mixed use block” that’s located on the Mill Road in Ennis will be auctioned in the RDS, with Allsop, which has already sold a number of properties in the area giving a guide price of € 180,000 to € 200,000.

According to the auctioneers, the block is “internally arranged to provide five two-bedroom apartments and three retail units” and it is being advertised as an “ideal investment opportunity”.

The property is located along the Mill Road close the junction with Pound Lane and the Old Mill Road, while Allsop have revealed that first floor offices are not included in the sale as they have previously been sold.

Rental income on the property at present amounts to over € 25,000 per annum, a figure made up of € 18,000 from three of the apartments while one of the retail units is bringing in € 7,380 per annum for the present owner. Two of the retail units are vacant at present as are two of the apartments.

A MAN is recovering in hospital today after being involved in the latest of a spate of serious accidents involving motorcyclists in Clare.

The German tourist sustained multiple injuries when his motorcycle collided with a car at Mountrivers Bridge on the outskirts of Doonbeg on Wednesday afternoon. A second motorcyclists was also hurt in the incident but her injuries are understood to be less serious.

The car, which was being driven by an American tourist, is though to have clipped another vehicle, before colliding with the bridge itself and then the two motorcycles.

The motorcycle being driven by the male tourist became embedded in the front of the car during the crash, while the second motorcycle was thrown over the car. Both of the motorcyclists were taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.

This incident comes just weeks after a two motorcyclists died in a horrific collision just outside Lisdoonvarna. That incident saw the sad deaths of Ferdinand “Ferdi” Waidel, a 55-year-old German national who had been living in Clare for more than a decade and Ricardo ‘Ricky’ Godoy, a Chilean television presenter and motorcycle enthusiast.

A MAN whose family-run business was hit by a daring smash and grab raid in Ennis last week is urging businesses to be extra vigilant.

High value electronic goods worth up to € 20,000 were stolen when two men broke into Ennis Electrical in the early hours of Wednesday morning last.

A number of Apple devices including iPads, iPods, Samsung tablets, computers and a television were stolen.

Eric Flynn of Ennis Electrical said the premises on Quin Road had previously been targeted by thieves but this is the first time the shop on Parnell Street has been hit.

“You get the odd broken window there on a Saturday night with people being out but we’ve never had anything like this.

“The window that was broken was the only one that wasn’t shatter proof. The rest are.”

He continued, “It was a bit of a shock alright but to be honest it’s more of a disappointment. You would get the odd small minor thing but nothing on this scale. We’re in business in town for 40 years and something like this never happened.”

Eric believes there is very little that could have been done to prevent the robbery.

“The reality is there very little we could have done to prevent it. These guys don’t care about the law. They don’t care about the guards. They don’t care about alarms, security cameras, anything. They are on a mission. They were only here for 90 seconds. This was well planned and well thought out. They were probably watching the place beforehand. They used a sledgehammer to break in the window and they left that behind them. They left a fine mess.

“We have CCTV but they had hoodies up. They don’t care about cameras. It’s only a minor obstacle to them. It was unlucky in one way. The guards had passed the area a few minutes beforehand and they were there about three minutes after it.

“In fairness, the CCTV system in the town is second to none. The guards were able to tell me what route they took out of town where they were at a certain point.”

Eric is urging businesses to be vigilant of any suspicious behaviour around their premises.

“Businesses and that goes for everything from retail, pubs, newsagents, it’s important to be vigilant. If you see anyone hanging around the shop it might be no harm to make a note of it and tell the guards. From a day-to-day perspective, if you notice anything suspicious, it’s no harm to tell the guards. Hopefully that can be helpful down the line.”

The six laptops stolen from the shop were taken without power supplies.

“They don’t have a power supply so if someone is offered them that should raise a red flag,” Eric added.

A LEADING security analyst has described Shannon Airport as a “tempting” target for terrorists.

Dr Tom Clonan, a retired Irish army captain, was giving evidence at the case of two peace activists at Ennis District Court on Tuesday.

Dr Clonan, who is a security analyst with the Irish Times, said that 2.25 million US troops have passed through Shannon since 2002 “making it the largest invading force to have ever passed through Ireland in its history”.

He said 70,000 US troops transited through Shannon Airport in 2013. In evidence, Dr Clonan recalled a conversation he had with a senior politician with Hezbollah – an Islamic militant group based in Lebanon.

He told the court he was attempting to speak about the situation in Syria to Dr Ali el Mekdad. He said Dr Mektad told him that he did not want to talk about Syria but about “your airport over there in County Clare. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

Dr Clonan said it would be a concern to him that one of the most high profile Islamic resistance groups knows about the use of Shannon Airport by the US military.

He said it could subject Irish troops serving in the Golan Heights and other areas to “hostile scrutiny”.

Later in his evidence, Dr Clonan said the fact that Hezbollah are referring to Shannon mean Irish people abroad could be subject to hostile scrutiny. He said the airport could be seen as “soft” or “tempting” target for Jihadists returning from Syria. He said this was an increasing cause for concern in the Irish intelligence community and among senior gardaí he had spoken to.

Dr Clonan was asked about the term ‘Teeth to Tail’, which refers to the ratio of logistics support to the front line. He said, “Shannon is an integral part of that teeth to tail ratio.”

He described how Shannon has entered the aural culture of the US military. Dr Clonan said US soldiers refer to trips to hostile environments as “a pint of Guinness in Shannon” followed by a “wake up”.

Dr Clonan was giving evidence on behalf Margaretta D’Arcy (80), with an address Woodquay, Galway.

Ms D’Arcy and co-accused Niall Farrell (60), with an address at Ballynacloghy, Maree, Oranmore, Galway, were convicted September 1 (2013) of interfering with the proper use of Shannon Airport by going on the runway without permission on September 1, 2013. The pair denied the charge. After a lengthy hearing, Judge Durcan found Ms D’Arcy and Mr Farrell guilty. He imposed a two-week prison sentence on each accused; suspended on condition they refrain from entering unauthorized areas of the airport.

INVESTIGATIONS are continuing into the latest smash and grab raid on a business in Ennis town centre.

The latest break in occurred at around 3am on Wednesday morning when two men used a sledgehammer to break through a glass door panel at Ennis Electrical on Parnell Street.

High value good estimated to be worth € 20,000 were stolen before the gang made their escape in a silver car.

A vehicle was later found burnt out near the Ballyhannon area of Quin. Gardaí are investigating if the car is linked to the break in.

A senior garda said yesterday no one has yet been arrested but investigations are continuing.

He also denied suggestions that Ennis is being targeted by criminals, pointing to a spate of similar smash and grab raids against businesses in Clonmel, Charleville and Limerick.

Gardaí are also examining the similarities between the latest break in and another smash and grab raid at a pharmacy in Ennis two months ago.

In May, Cassidy’s Pharmacy in En- nis was the scene of a raid occurred at around 2.30am.

Two raiders, believed to be males, used a sledgehammer to smash in the reinforced glass panelling on the front door of the premises.

The thieves filled bags with stock, mainly brand name men’s fragrances and cleared several shelves before leaving the scene in a black Volkswagon Golf.

The incidents have sparked concern among businesses in the town.

Clare Labour TD Michael McNamara said, “This incident is the latest in a series of similar break ins in the town and these robberies are a challenge to the Gardaí as well as to business owners and employees.

“They are not just an attack of property but potentially on the livelihoods of people who work in the town centre.

“Ennis has an enviable reputation as a friendly town that welcomes visitors from near and far.

“Break ins and anti-social behaviour cannot be allowed to damage this reputation or the business life of the town which needs all the support it can get in these difficult economic times,” Mr McNamara added.

THE first in a series of controlled explosions at the site of the new Doolin Pier took place last Wednesday, without any significant harm coming to local sea mammals, including Dusty the Dolphin.

The blasting, which is being carried out by Clare contractors, L&M Keating Ltd, had been scheduled to take place on a number of occasion earlier this month but had been delayed because of weather.

The explosions took place just after 9.10pm last Thursday evening. A number of members of the Clare based, Irish Whale and Dolphin [IWDG] were in the area to over see the explosions.

With Dusty basing herself on the Aran Islands for the last number of months, no sea mammals were harmed in the explosions – with a small number of fish the only reported casualties.

“The Marine Mammal Mitigation Plan was successfully delivered by IWDG and no marine mammals were affected. Despite heavy rain, sea conditions were very favourable,” said a spokesperson from the IWDG.

“Visual and acoustic monitoring 60 to 150 minutes pre-blast detected no marine mammals or otters and blasting went ahead. Post-blast monitoring recovered two dying pollack which were thought to have been killed by the shock wave but no other affected marine life was observed.”

More blasting in expected to take place in Doolin later this week provided that weather conditions are suitable. The blasting is to clear rock for the construction of a new start of the art pier at Doolin and an exclusion zone will also be put in place on land to ensure that no humans stray too close to the blast site.

During Wednesday’s scheduled explosion, a number of volunteers were also with Dusty the Dolphin on the Aran Islands, ensuring that the bottle nose dolphin did not stray too close to Doolin or be effected as a result of the shock wave.