Category: News

LARGE crowds will gather in Spancilhill at the weekend to celebrate one of the landmark occasions in Irish rural life.

The annual Spancilhill Fair begins on Monday June 23 with horse traders from across the country expected to descend on the fair green.

A busy programme of events is also organised for the days prior to the world famous fair.

Michael Duggan of the local organizing committee says huge numbers of people are again expected to attend this year’s event.

“For the fair, we’d get massive crowds.

“It’s midsummer. You have people planning their year around it. It’s one of those big landmark events in rural life in Ireland”

“The horse trade would not be fantastic anymore but you’re still getting big crowds every year”, he adds.

The festivities kick off on Friday June 20 with a music session in Duggan’s Pub from 9.30pm.

Local historian Joe Queally will lead a walk through Spancilhill area on Saturday.

The walk starts at 6pm from Duggan’s pub and finishes with a singsong afterwards. No charge applies but contributions will be donated to Cahercalla Hospice.

The ‘Eve of Fair Family Fun Day’ on Sunday, June 22 will feature a vin- tage horse drawn carriage, donkey derby, tug of war and lots of other fun activities.

Michael says. “The day before has become a big part of the whole occasion.

“The family day is a good way of introducing a younger generation to Spancilhill and what it’s all about”.

Gardaí will oversee a traffic management plan in the area during the fair. Michael is appealing to those coming to the fair to park in the allotted car parks and keep approach roads to the fair green clear.

The first charter for the historic fair was granted by King Charles over 300 years ago. In the past the fair lasted for a week or more with people coming from all over the world.

In recent times it has evolved into a one-day show and fair where the leading horses in the country are presented.

Buyers from all over Europe are still attending and purchasing horses that have gone onto make their name on the international stage in both the show jumping and pony circles.

In 1913 it was recorded that 4,000 horses were present and a feature of that fair was the purchasing of horses as cavalry horses for the British, Belgian and French armies. 1,175 horses were purchased on that day on behalf of the British army.

DESPITE being battered by an unprecedented series of storms this winter only 35 Clare residents have been granted humanitarian aid from the government under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme.

This is in stark contrast to Limerick where a total of 531 people have received assistance under the same scheme.

According to figures obtained by the Department of Social Protection, just over € 70,000 has been paid to the 35 Clare residents to date in 2014.

This is despite Clare being the hardest hit county in the devastating series of storms which struck the western seaboard in January and February of this year. Damage was inflicted to scores of houses in North and West Clare which caused severe floods, which flood waters yet to fully recede in some areas.

A total of € 888,916 has been paid out through the scheme for the first five months of 2014.

Of this total the vast majority, € 518,104, was paid to Limerick – the home county of Finance Minister Michael Noonan (FG).

A further € 104,263 was paid to Waterford with the remaining € 250,000 being shared by 14 counties including Clare.

It is unclear whether Clare’s low level of successful application is due to a lack of applications from Clare or a high level of refusals.

A spokesperson from the Department of Social Protection yesterday encourages any Clare person who has not submitted an application to do so as soon as possible.

“The Department of Social Protection is continuing to engage with Local Authorities and other bodies to ensure that all households that require assistance are identified and provided with access to supports,” said a spokesperson.

“The Department is encouraging anybody, affected by the weather events of earlier this year, who has not yet contacted the Department to do so by contacting their local Community Welfare Service, details of which are available on the Department’s website.”

The storm damage in Clare was estimated to cost the county in excess of € 35m for repairs and some parts of Clare are still suffering the effects of the high winds and flooding.

THE NUMBER of Clare women travelling to the UK for abortions dropped by 14 per cent last year, however more than one woman from Clare every week makes this journey according to British Department of Health figures.

Reasons given for the decrease in the number travelling for the 12th consecutive year vary from better sex education to the availability of the morning after pill, and post abortion remorse to the cost of the procedure.

While “Pro-Life” and “Pro-Choice” groups disagree about the reason for the fewer abortions, both agree that the number of Clare women andgirls travelling is higher than the 55 officially recorded in notification forms returned to the Chief Medical Officers of England and Wales.

They also agree that the overall number opting for abortion is de- creasing. CEO of the Irish Family Planning Association Niall Behan said that for certain more than 55 women from Clare travelled for an abortion last year.

Many of these women did not register their address with the clinic or gave an English address.

Others travelled from Clare to the Netherlands.

According to the HSE’s Crisis Pregnancy Programme 1,503 more women present to them for post abortion care following a termination in the Netherlands between 2005 and 2011.

This number too is expected to be higher in reality.

In 2013, 3,679 Irish women in total travelled to England and Wales for abortions, down from 3,982 in 2012, a 7.6 per cent decrease.

The number of women who travelled from Clare for an abortion has decreased by 14 per cent from 64 to 55 in the same period.

In a statement welcoming the con- tinuing reduction in the number of Irish women travelling to Britain for abortion, Cora Sherlock of the Pro Life Campaign said;

“While it is difficult to draw firm conclusions, a recent report from the HSE/Crisis Pregnancy Programme showed an increase in the number of women expressing abortion regret.

“In that study, 44 per cent of women expressed varying degrees of regret about their abortions up from 33 per cent in a similar HSE study in 2003,” she said.

Speaking to The Clare People the IFPA said it could not say for certain why the number of recorded Irish abortions abroad had decreased but there was evidence to suggest that better sex education and a change in attitude to sex and contraception played a major role.

Welcoming the reduction in numbers Mr Behan said a decrease in the number of new teenage mothers in Ireland also pointed to better sex education in Ireland.

The availability of contraception, especially emergency contraception such as the morning after pill, as well as the establishment of the Crisis Pregnancy Programme by the HSE in 2001 also played a role, he said.

He raised concerns for women living in the county who could not travel for a termination for reason of expense, lack of a visa or women with a disability that made it difficult to exercise this option.

“So what happens theses women with an unwanted pregnancies? Many resort to buying medication on line, which is unsupervised and very dangerous,” he said.

The cost of an abortion in England and Wales is estimated between € 600 and € 2,000 – depending on the clinic cost, travel cost, procedure cost and accommodation.

During recession many women cannot find such money and resort to finding cheap and medically unspervised solutions online, according to the IFPA.

HUNDREDS of Clare people may be buried in a series of unmarked graves located close to Cree village in West Clare. Local historian, Batt Crowley, has been investigating a small site close to the Cree River for a number of months and now believes it be the site of an unofficial burial ground.

While no headstones or grave markers are visible at the site, the ground works and layout are similar to those seen in children’s graveyards in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mr Crowley has also discovered a map from the 1840’s in which the area is described as the Kilroe burial ground.

There is currently no way on knowing who was buried at the site but Mr Crowley believes that the site may have been used for unbaptised, stillborn and murdered children, “unchurched” mothers, beggars or people who took their own life. It is also possible that Kilroe may have been the site of a mass grave used during the famine or during the outbreak of plagues.

“I heard about this place when I was a child. I knew about it but I would say that most of the people who have heard about it are probably dead now,” said Batt. “You can see ridges at the site where the graves would have been. These are consistent with other graves of this type. I know from the people I spoke to when I was a child, that this is a burial ground. It all the markings of one. This whole area around here would have been filled with houses as one stage but things have changed over the years. Who knows who could be buried there.

“These people are human beings like you and me. They probably suffered more then any of us. No one can say that they don’t have relatives inside in it, we just don’t know. We are all survivors of the famine.” Mr Crowley is hoping to have a special mass said at the site in the weeks ahead but there is currently no plan to exhume any bodies that might be buried at the site for reburial in consecrated grounds.

“There is also no evidence to suggest that this burial ground was used by religious or other authorities such as the Clare County Nursery in Kilrush, which had a child mortality rate of nearly 50 per cent between 1922 and 1932.

PEOPLE charged with criminal offences who are released on bail are now facing more regular inspection under a new regime of bail enforcement.

Gardaí in Clare have taken what has been described as “systematic approach” to the enforcement of bail conditions set down by the court.

The number of applications to the District Court from the State seeking to revoke the bail of persons accused of breaching conditions has markedly increased in recent weeks.

A senior garda last week told Ennis District Court there has been a “seachange” in the monitoring of people released on bail.

Insp Tom Kennedy was speaking after a man accused of burglary told the court that gardaí are calling to his home on a daily basis.

Judge Patrick Durcan asked Insp Kennedy if a daily level of vigilance was not counterproductive in terms of ensuring people on bail abide by conditions.

Insp Kennedy said it is unlikely inspections are carried out on a daily basis. But he said gardaí in Clare are maintaining a high level of vigilance.

“It wasn’t too long ago that we were being abused for not enforcing bail conditions but you can see there has been a sea-change,” he added.

His comments come in a week when a local Fine Gael councillor said more restrictive bail conditions could help address the issue of antisocial behaviour in the town.

“Really as a community we should be looking at very restrictive conditions put on every bail for offences on public order, theft or anything that is a threat to the quality of life in our community,” said Johnny Flynn.

Cllr Flynn added, “In our business we have 11 people employed and one day a seven year-old took out a knife demanding quicker service. That was about two years ago.”

He was speaking at a public meeting in Ennis on Thursday night. Ana Bella Alvarez, the Director of the upcoming Ennis Street Festival, said anti-social behaviour by teenagers is affecting tourism.

“When tourists come to the town and they see all this messing in the town, their experience is not positive, it’s negative,” she said.

Chairman of Promote Ennis, Brian O’Neill told the meeting “it is a statistical fact that Ennis has a very low rate of crime in comparison to other towns of its size and population in the country.

“It does superbly well. I think the gardai need to be applauded for the fantastic work they are doing. I suppose we also note that we would like to see an additional presence on the streets and additional community gardaí to assist in the reduction of anti-social behaviour,” he added.

AN application to revoke the bail of a Limerick man accused of breaking into a house in Ennis has been refused. However Judge Patrick Durcan warned Gerard Gammell (22) that he must continue to abide by the terms of his bail.

At Ennis District Court last week, gardaí sought to revoke the bail granted to Mr Gammell in April.

Mr Gammell, with an address at Ivy Home, Barrack Street, Ennis, is one of two people accused of entering a home at Glenview Road Cappahard, Tulla Road, as a trespasser and committing theft therein on April 12.

Mr Gammell’s co-accused had his bail revoked in April after a Judge found he had breached the terms of his bail.

On Wednesday, Inspector Tom Kennedy said the new application related to an alleged breach of Mr Gammell’s curfew. The accused was granted bail in April subject to a number of conditions including the observation of a curfew between 10pm and 7am.

Garda David Hannan told the court he called to Mr Gammell’s home at 11.20pm on May 18. He said he knocked on the door and received no response.

Insp Kennedy told Judge Durcan that under the terms of bail Mr Gammell has to make himself available for inspection to gardaí during curfew hours.

Mr Gammell told the court he was at home when Garda Hannan called. He said he was asleep after taking medication that helps him sleep.

“I was asleep that night. I was on cloud nine that night”, he said.

Mr Gammell claimed gardaí are calling to his home on a daily basis.

The court heard Mr Gammell was at home on other nights when gardaí called during curfew hours.

Judge Durcan asked Insp Kennedy if a daily level of vigilance, as outlined by Mr Gammell, was not coun- terproductive in terms of ensuring people on bail abide by conditions.

Insp Kennedy said it was unlikely inspections are carried out on a daily basis. But he said gardaí in Clare are maintaining a high level of vigilance on accused persons released on bail.

“It wasn’t too long ago that we were being abused for not enforcing bail conditions but you can see there has been a sea-change”, he added.

Judge Durcan said he was refusing the State’s application to revoke bail. He told Mr Gammell he must continue to abide by his bail conditions.

He remanded the accused on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court tomorrow, June 18.

A MAN who admitted driving a car with four bald tyres in Ennis last year has received fines totaling € 975 .

At Ennis District Court on Friday, Judge Patrick Durcan also banned Stefan Coustrain from holding a driver’s license for six months.

He told the 22-year-old he “was driving around the town of Ennis a most dangerous vehicle” when he was stopped by gardaí in the town on October 7 last.

He said the motoring offences occurred at a time of the year when conditions are wet and roads are covered with fallen leaves.

Mr Coustrain, with an address at Aisling, Shanaway Road, Ennis, was convicted of failing to wear a set belt, having a type that was not maintained in a condition so as to be fit for use.

He was also fined for unpaid excise duty on a vehicle contrary to the Finance Act.

The court heard Mr Coustrain has a number of previous convictions including one for a hit and run offence in Ennis

Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client had previously worked as a chef and a computer repair man but is now out of work.

She said he is currently doing a training course in Limerick.

Acknowledging her client has a “bad record”, Ms Godfrey said any disqualification would hurt Mr Coustrain and affect his ability to support his family.

She said her client was going through a difficult period in his life when he committed the offences.

Judge Patrick Durcan struck out a number of road traffic offences against Mr Coustrain.

However he imposed fines totaling € 975 for the remaining charges. He also disqualified Mr Coustrain from holding a license for six months, by way of ancillary order.

Judge Durcan said he was cognizant the accused had a young family. “He just has to wake up”, he added.

The Judge said Mr Coustrain had shown total disregard for his children by driving them around in a “rattletrap”.

He said parents who behave in such a way should be referred to the Child and Family Welfare Agency (CAFA).

MANY of the storm repairs announced by Clare County Council earlier this year will not be done – unless the government allocates a second wave of money to fund damage done during the February storm.

Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan yesterday expressed his frustration with a lack of information and clarity from government concerning a second allocation of money sought by the local authority.

Just over € 16 million in funding was allocated to Clare County Council to fund repairs sustained during unprecedented storms in January of this year. However, Mr Coughlan yesterday said that repairs works are being frustrated because of lack of information coming from the government regarding the second wave of funding.

Indeed, he also confirmed that some of the money allocated in respect of the January storm has been used to fund emergency repairs cause during the February storm. If no allocation is made by government in relation to the February storms, Mr Coughlan confirmed that the council will not be in a position to complete all of the work previously announced in relation to the first € 16.8 million in funding.

“The second allocation [in relation to the February storm] has been on the agenda for cabinet on a number of occasions but has yet to be decided on. We have sent a number of reminders to the Department [of the Environment] but we haven’t had a response to our request yet,” said Mr Coughlan.

“We’ve done works at Kilkee and a number of other areas hit by the February storm without funding being allocated. That’s fine if funding comes through, but if we don’t get funding for the February storms, then all we can do is use the funding for the January storm. That is not a satisfactory situation. We need to see the overall level of funding.”

Clare Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan, also said that a lack of clarity from government is hindering the repair works.

“We need clarity for government, that’s the nub of the issue,” said Mr Tiernan.

“We have taken half steps in some areas, but we can’t take half steps without going to full hog. We can’t engage consultants at the moment because we don’t know what work they will end up doing [because of a lack of information from government].

“We were allocated a programme, we want to produce that programme but we can’t do it because of a lack of clarity about the bottom line.”

THREE marine experts from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) will be in Doolin this Wednesday evening to oversee explosive detonations at Doolin Pier and ensure that Dusty or any other marine mammals are injured.

The detonations, which are part of the construction process for the new Doolin Pier, were due to take place last Thursday and Friday but were delayed for operational reasons.

This is the first time that the sonic impact of major coastal blasts on marine mammals has been taken into account during maritime construction and follows new guidelines being put in place by the Irish Wildlife Services in December of this year.

According to recent sighting, Dusty the dolphin has been basing herself on the Aran Islands in recent days and should be safe from harm unless she decided to return to the mainland.

Although based in Doolin, Dusty follows the local ferries to and from the Aran Islands and often spends a number of days off shore.

“Dusty is off the Aran Islands at the moment and she should be very safe out there but there are a whole array of marine mammals in the area.

“Dusty is just one, granted she is the most famous, but there are a large number of mammals that we are looking out for,” said Simon Berrow of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.

“Our objecting is to make sure that no mammals are harmed in the explosions.

“It is a good plan, we have spent a lot of time working on it, and we are hopeful that it will be successful.”

An exclusion zone will be put in place around Doolin Pier on Wednesday evening to ensure that no one gets too close to the detonation works.

Construction work on a new € 6 million pier got underway last month and it is expected to be completed by the middle of next year with Kilmaley based construction company, L&M Keating, carried out the complex build.

A new pier for Doolin has been in the pipelines for more than a decade but the development was subject to an extended planning process following objections by local surfers who felt the pier would damage local waves.

The new pier will also ensure that Doolin is accessible in all tidal conditions, which will be of particular benefit to Doolin Search and Rescue as well as the ferry operators, who currently have to trans-ship passengers onto their boats during low tide.

THE number of front-line outdoor workers employed by Clare County Council will remain broadly the same as the numbers previously employed by the local authority and the now defunct authorities Ennis, Shannon, Killaloe, Kilrush and Kilkee.

At yesterday’s June meeting of Clare County Council, County Manager Tom Coughlan said that the council has been instructed to put in place a single management system for the entire county but services will continue to be delivered by workers based in their own municipal area.

The change will see some of the management functioned centralised to Ennis, while the front-line services will be delivered by staff based out of local offices.

“We are very clearly directed by government that there will be a single authority.

“There has to be a county-wide structure, without duplication of services. That is the bottom line,” said Mr Coughlan.

“There will be no reduction in the outdoor staff.

“The outdoor staff will be working in the same areas as they are at the moment.

“There is no suggestion that staff in Loop Head, for example, will be assigned to work in other parts of the county.

“There is a limited number of staff in the organisation. My job is to manage the staff that I have as best as I can.

“We are recording the levels of activities in each municipal district and if there is insufficient staff in some areas, then we will have to deal with that.

“Let’s see how things work out for the first six months – if it is necessary to take staff from the central area and redeploy them to the municipal districts then that is what we will do.”

It was confirmed yesterday that large-scale projects, such as road works, will not be bound by the municipal boundaries.