Category: News

N E W M A R K E T- O N – F E RG US woman Sinead Corbett strengthened her claims to be recognised as Ireland’s best female plougher as she took second place in the Under-28 Conventional Category at the National Ploughing Championships in Kildare last week. Sinead, who is a nurse by profession, made history in 2007 when she became the first female to win in a mixed-gender competition at the championships.

Having competed successfully for years in the female ploughing category, known as the ‘farmerettes’, Sinead made the jump over to competing against the male farmers in 2006 and won the U-21 category outright the following year.

Her success is the latest in a long line of successes for the family in the championships, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather.

Last Tuesday’s competition saw- Sinead square up against the best young ploughers in Ireland in the final of the Under-28 Conventional Competition. Having received 80 points from her first plough, Sinead was sitting in fourth place, behind John O’Brien from Tipperary, Aiden Kelly from Longford and Robert John Barry from Cork going into the last plough of the final. The Newmarket woman showed great composure in the final minutes of the competition and was one of the few contestants to improve on her score in the second round of ploughing – registering 84 points, enough to lift her into second place overall.

Sinead is currently on a well deserved break abroad but, speaking after her previous victory, she said that she was not phased by competing against the lads. “I’m used to ploughing against the lads at this stage and I suppose they are used to me. When I started, I used to get a bit of slagging but that’s the way it goes. I guess they have changed their minds. As long as you can plough, that’s all that matters as far as I’m concerned,” she said.

Sinead’s grandfather, John, won the All-Ireland Junior Horse competition in Wexford in 1960, while her father Frank won the All-Ireland Junior Tractor competition in 1997 and 2003.

Sinead was the top-placing Clare plougher at this year’s competition but there were a number of other notable performances, including Barry Donnellan who competed in the Under-21 Conventional Class; Patrick Quinn in the 3 Furrow Conventional Class; John Joe Donnellan in the Junior Conventional Class; Eanna Cronin in the Under-40 Horse Class; Jim Cronin in the Senior Horse Class; and John White in the Vintage Two Furrow Mounted Class.

HOUSEHOLDS are being encouraged to take appropriate precautions this winter as it was revealed that demand for water in Clare increased by almost 80 per cent during the last two extreme weather events.

Speaking last week, David Timlin, Director of Environment and Water Services, said Clare County Coun cil’s resources were stretched to the limit due to the demand for services in the winters of 2009 and 2010. He told a meeting of the council’s Environmental and Water Services Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) that demand for water increased by 70 per cent or 80 per cent during the period. He said that for a number of reasons, including economic factors, the council could not legitimately be expected to provide for that level of spare capacity.

Mr Timlin said that the council had “bent over backwards” to accommodate private housing estates that had suffered interruptions to the water supply where the work was not the responsibility of the local authority. However he warned that there is a “limit” to what the council can be expected to do.

SPC Chairman, Cllr Joe Arkins (FG), said Clare County Council could not be expected to “undo the dirty work of developers”.

His comments came as Clare County Council issued an appeal to homeowners to make sure their property is prepared to deal with cold weather temperatures this winter.

Freezing temperatures caused interruptions to the water supply of homes around the county during December (2010) and January of this year.

Ennis Town Council’s helpline logged 500 calls a day during the period, while 360 leaks were repaired in the Ennis area.

A huge increase in demand for water use in Ennis resulted in production at the Ennis Water Treatment Plant reaching almost 20,000 cubic metres on December 27, 2010.

Normal demand in the Ennis area is 15,000 cubic metres. The council was also forced to turn off water in almost 70 unoccupied premises and businesses in Ennis.

During the supply shortage period, Clarecastle, including the Roche pharmaceutical plant, received water from Ennis and West Clare.

Clare County Council has launched a new campaign aimed at highlighting the importance of insulating and protecting properties this winter.

Leaflets containing advice on reducing the risk of frozen pipes will be made available from the council.

Cllr Arkins said property owners should be aware that responsibility for pipes leading from the water main to the meter box lies with the local authority while all pipework within the house boundary is the responsibility of the homeowner.

THIRTY people officially defected from the Catholic Church in the Killaloe Diocese in the 12-months before Canon Law was changed to prevent the process from taking place. The Cla r e People understands that 30 people wrote to the diocese offices in Ennis, asking to be removed from the Catholic Church between May of 2009 and May of 2010.0

This process was brought to a close by the Church through a change in Canon Law at the end of 2010 but the “Count Me Out” organisation say that they are on the verge of finding a new way of allowing Irish people to leave the Church – and could be up and running again in a matter of weeks.

“We had a lot of people contacting us about leaving the Church before the change in Canon Law. It was around the time of the Ryan Report so there was a lot of angry people out there. We had thousands of people contacting us in the first couple of days but of course all of them did not go through the formality of actually leaving the Church. Most people are happy enough just to stop going to mass but some people out there are keen to formally disassociate them from the Church,” said Paul Dunbar of Count Me Out.

“After the change in Canon Law the Church in Ireland said that they would no longer accept formal letters of defection, instead they would only keep a register of people who wanted to leave the Church. Since then we have been trying to get around this and we have been working with a Canon Law expert to find a way around this. But at the moment you effectively can’t leave the Church,” he said.

Count Me Out have been working with Canon lawyer Fr Tom Doyle who has just completed a report on the options now available under the new Canon Law.

“We are hoping to have something up and running again in a matter of weeks. It will be a trial and er- ror process and there is no guarantee that that what we do first will work but we are hopeful,” continued Paul.

“We are hoping to do it through Canon Law but if we can’t do that we might look at a civil way of trying to find a way of allowing people to leave the Church.” The Cla r e People contacted the Killaloe Diocese in relation to this story but no official comment was forthcoming at the time of going to press.

A SECOND work stoppage will take place in the Emergency Department of the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick this week as an ongoing dispute between nurses and the Health Services Executive (HSE) looks set to continue.

The dispute, which centres around budget cuts in Ennis, Limerick and Tipperary hospitals, since the reconfiguring of emergency services in the region last year, saw nurses down tool for three hours last Wednesday.

This week marks an escalation in the action as an extra hour has been added onto the time for the work stoppage by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) with the stoppage due to take place from 8.30am until 12.30pm.

The INMO have restated that they stand ready to treat any emergency cases that presents from Clare during the work stoppage and will not be putting patient safety at risk through their actions. The nurses union will have a skeleton staff in place to manage any emergencies that may take place.

Since reconfiguration any Clare emergency instances in which require an ambulance, such as car accidents and heats attack, are redirected to Limerick. As well as this any general admissions to the emergency room between 8pm and 8am must be made in Limerick and not in Ennis.

The INMO have declined to con- firm or deny whether these actions will spread to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Ennis in the coming weeks.

The organisation have blamed the moratorium on the recruitment of registered nurses, the closure of 100 beds in the acute hospital services in the Clare and Limerick region as well as the failure of the reconfiguration process to transfer all day surgery to Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals for the work stoppage.

“It is simply not possible for this hospital to continue to provide regional services in surgery, trauma and emergency with further reduced budgets, closed beds and approximately 70 nursing posts unfilled,” said Clare INMO spokesperson Mary Fogarty.

The organisation also claims that some € 13 million in investment, which they say was promised to Ennis, Limerick and Tipperary as part of the reconfiguration process, has never materialised.

OPPOSITION to proposed changes in retail policy which could pave the way for the development of large out of town shopping centres will be outlined at a meeting in Ennis tonight.

Ennis Chamber of Commerce has called the meeting to discuss its submission on a proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

The submission, prepared by architect Michael Leahy on behalf of Ennis Chamber, sets out the case against changing the zoning laws to facilitate the development of a new a “district centre” at the junction of the Limerick Road and the Tobertascáin Road.

Mr Leahy states, “Our main concern in respect of the proposed modifications to variation number 2 are in respect of what we see as a significant change of retail policy embodied in the proposal to dramatically change the zoning provision for proposal site number PS7, located at the junction of the Limerick Road and the Tobarteascaun Road. We are also concerned at certain other proposed changes to wordings in the development plan which we believe will have a negative impact on the manner in which future retail proposals are to be assessed.”

The site is currently the subject of a planning application from Michael Lynch Ltd, who is seeking to develop a retail park with Tesco as the anchor tenant. It is estimated that the project could create 500 jobs.

Mr Leahy states that Ennis Chamber “are not making specific comments in regard to that application other than for purposes of illustration or where it appears to us that elements of the proposed modification are being introduced to facilitate that application.

The main concerns of Ennis Chamber, as listed in the submission, are as follows:

(1) The proposal to incorporate a “district centre” into the zoning for proposal site PS7; (2) The proposal to permit direct access and egress on to the Limerick road from proposal site PS7; (3) The proposal to delete the requirement, as contained in na- tional guidelines for the carrying out of a sequential test in the assessment of planning applications for retail uses.

Mr Leahy adds, “We are particularly concerned that the above proposals will have a severely detrimental impact on the retail vitality of the central shopping area of Ennis and that as such it contradicts many aspects of the existing development plan as well as the National Spatial Strategy, the Retail Planning Guidelines and accepted planning principles.”

THE management of the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience have issue a call to patriotic action in their bid to make the iconic tourism location one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

A day of action, designed to get Irish people to vote of the North Clare tourist attraction, is being organised for next Friday week, October 7, and management are asking people to support the cliffs, in “the national interest”.

A place as one of the final Seven Natural Wonders of the World is estimated to be worth tens of millions to the tourism industry in Clare – and it is estimated that success in the competition could bring thousands of extra tourists to Ireland each year.

“The vote isn’t looking too bad at the moment. It is not possible to see what position we are in at the moment but voting trends are recorded by the competition organisers and we have been going up in the voting trends in recent weeks,” said Geraldine Enright of the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience.

“We have been doing very well at attracting international votes but we need to keep it up. We are going to have a national vote day and we will be encouraging everyone to vote for the cliffs on that day, in the national interest.”

A series of events, talk and media stunts have been organised for October 7, which is hoped will kick off a major run of votes before the completion of the competition on November 11.

“We are contacting all primary

and secondary schools

in the country, we are

doing some promot

ing with Fáilte Ire

land and there will be

a number of national

radio broadcasts on

October 7 to promote

the voting,” continued

Geraldine.

“There will also be a

abseil down the side of

the National Conven

tion Centre in Dublin

to promote the voting. Someone will come down the side of the building with a big banner saying ‘Vote for the Cliffs’.

“The Cliffs are an iconic site in Ireland and we are pretty confident – we have made it to the top 28 so we are really hopeful that we can make it into the top 7. The spin-offs of this are massive. Fáilte Ireland have suggested that this could bring a 35 per cent increase to visitors not just to the Cliffs but to Ireland as well.”

On October 7 anyone who shows that they have voted for the Cliffs via text message will be admitted for free to the site.

A SURVEY carried out by Ennis Chamber of Commerce indicates that there are currently 44 vacant units in the town centre.

The survey, which excludes Parson’s Quay, hotels, public houses and community buildings, appears to show an approximate vacancy rate of 15.3 per cent in the county capital. The figures are taken from a survey carried out on September 4 and are included as part of Ennis Chamber’s submission to a proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

The submission, prepared by architect Michael Leahy, states;

“This alarming level of vacancy represents an approximate vacant area in the ground floor premises of the town centre of some 3,600 sq meters.”

Mr Leahy states that it is generally accepted that a vacancy rate of 15 per cent “is not sustainable into the medium to long term” and could lead to the development of “ghost shopping estates”.

He explains, “As we all know the period 2002 to 2008 was a period of unprecedented building activity across all sectors and we are now facing the consequences of excessive construction in the housing market in the form of ghost estates with the real possibility that many construction projects will have to be demolished. Can we not draw a similar conclusion in regard to the overprovision of retail space within County Clare and a likely development of “ghost” shopping areas particularly at town centre locations?”

The Chamber says they have prepared the submission to highlight modifications to the plan, which the business community feels “will have a significant negative impact on the vitality of Ennis town centre”.

The submission states that the changing of zoning provisions in the existing plan, which could facilitate the development of a proposed new district centre at the junction of Tobertascáin Road and Limerick Road, “will tend to attract traffic from the existing town centre”.

The submission also highlights concerns over access to and from the proposal site, which is currently the subject of planning application. The Chamber argue that “Any develop- ment of “ about 10,000 sq m” at an out of centre location would clearly have a devastating effect on the retail vitality of the centre of Ennis”.

In conclusion, Mr Leahy states, “It is our opinion that the modifications implemented have the potential to have a significantly detrimental effect on town centre retail.

“This will in turn lead to great difficulties in ensuring the survival of the building fabric in the historic town centre. Decreased viability of the town centre will in turn lead to negative effects on the sense of community within the town of Ennis.”

A FOCUS on the importance of road safety will be one of the main features of the Ennis Auto Fest, according to organisers.

The event, takes place at Ennis Showgrounds next month, will include a 110ft demonstration and display space hosted by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

The RSA Shuttle allows members of the public to interact with road safety campaigns.

Participants can practice driving skills on simulators, test hazard perception skills, test brake reaction time and take the driver theory test.

The shuttle is designed to include an interactive, educational road safety experience presentation area, with lectern, projector, screen and seating for an audience of 25 people.

Ennis man Kevin Mulqueen who is helping to organise the Ennis show explained that the display will also feature a “rolled over Audi” which will re-create the experience of road crash.

“People can experience what its like to be in a car crash. I’ve done it be- fore and it certainly makes you think about things differently,” he said.

Kevin said the demonstration will emphasize the importance of safe driving and driver responsibility.

The event is being organised to raise money for Ennis cubs and scouts, which caters for almost 200 children in the Ennis area.

Other attractions will include a display of custom, vintage and classic cars and bikes along with trade displays and kids events.

Kevin, who is Chairman of Ennis scouts and has also organised prodrift racing events in Ennis, said the festival has received support from car enthusiasts throughout Clare.

He added, “Most of the things we do are church gate collections or flag days so we wanted to do something where people are getting a bit of value for donating money. The committee at the Showgrounds have been good to us, they have given it to us for free for the day.”

Ennis Auto Fest takes place at Ennis Showgrounds on Sunday, October 2, from 1pm to 5pm. For further information contact Kevin at 086 0850015 or Darren at 085 2054032.

CLAIMS by a former Fianna Fáil councillor about alleged Fine Gael interference in the selection of Clare Vocational Education Committee’s (VEC) representative on the Standing Council of the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) have been rejected by the committee chairman.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) was responding to comments made by former Mayor of Clare, Flan Garvey, at the September meeting of Clare VEC.

Mr Garvey claimed that he had been told by a Fianna Fáil councillor “not to bother” seeking the nomination to the IVEA standing council, as it was a “Fine Gael seat”.

Mr Garvey, who formerly served as Clare VEC’s representative to the IVEA, said he was disappointed to hear about this alleged arrangement. He said the seat was not the property of Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.

Earlier this year committee member, Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) was chosen to replace then Fine Gael councillor Tony Mulcahy as Clare VEC’s representative to the IVEA. The vacancy was created when Mr Mulcahy was elected to the Seanad. Cllr Brennan told last Thursday’s meeting that the decision to select Cllr Keating had been made by Clare VEC and not by any political party. He rejected Mr Garvey’s claims about political interference in the work of the committee. Responding to Mr Garvey’s claims about a political deal, Cllr Brennan said that he had served on Clare County Council since 1985 and was well aware of how political parties acted. “That’s democracy, that’s they way it goes,” he added. Cllr Brennan said apparent arguments between political parties should be dealt with by parties and were not the business of Clare VEC.

A SINGLE father ran along the bonnet of his car before jumping feet first at another man during an incident outside Supervalu on Main Street, Tulla last year.

Terry Cassells (42) with an address at Magherbawn, Feakle pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and dangerous driving in March. Details of the incident involving Mr Cassells and another man were heard at Ennis Circuit Court yesterday.

The court heard that on February 20 (2010), a man was exiting the Supervalu store when he was struck on the leg by a car driven by the accused. The court heard that the accused then ran across the bonnet of the car and jumped at the complainant, knocking him against the window of the store. A garda told the court that the window broke during the incident causing € 1050 worth of damage. The court heard that a fight developed between the men. CCTV footage shown in court also showed that another man was present during the incident. The Garda said that Mr Cassells and the complainant knew each other prior to the incident. The court heard that the accused man had expressed regret for his actions and had written a letter of apology to the other man. In a victim impact statement the man said he had felt terrified during the assault. He said he had been out of work for 13 months. Judge Carroll Moran was shown a medical report stating that the victim had sustained a fracture to the base of his skull. Counsel for the accused, Pat Whyms BL, disputed the cause of the victim’s injuries. He said there was no evidence to suggest that the fracture had been the result of the incident outside the store.

Mr Whyms said his client’s judgment had been clouded by the break up of his relationship and an allegation he had heard about the com- plainant. Judge Moran said that the victim had suffered a serious injury. He said he was satisfied the fracture had been caused during the incident, either when the man fell against the window or further up the street when he was knocked to the ground.

He ordered that the accused bring € 1050 to court on January 9 (2012). He disqualified Mr Cassells from driving for 12 months. He adjourned making a decision on the assault charge until January 9.