Category: News

FINE Gael town councillor Mary Brennan has been elected Mayor of Shannon. The election came about after the sitting mayor, Councillor Tony Mulcahy, was elected to the Seanad.

Cllr Brennan – who was first elected to the council two years ago – was elected mayor after she was proposed by Independent councillor Patricia McCarthy and seconded by Fine Gael councillor Seán McLoughlin, at a meeting of Shannon Town Council last Tuesday.

She will hold the position for just a fortnight as a new mayor is to be elected on June 28. However, Ms Brennan is widely expected to hold onto the post for the next 12 months.

In accepting the chain of office, Cllr Brennan described it as a “unique honour”.

She took the opportunity to pay tribute to the town’s retired town clerk Tomás MacCormaic, who passed away a fortnight ago. She said that a golf classic organised as a fundraiser for the senior citizens club in the town should be in memory of Tomás, who had a great love of golf. The golf classic will take place at Shannon Golf Club on June 27. “It would be a nice honour if we made it in memory of him,” she said.

Independent councillor Gerry Flynn wished Ms Brennan well as mayor, while Labour councillor Greg Duff said he hoped that all councillors would work in “partnership”.

Cllr Seán McLoughlin (FG) said that Ms Brennan was an excellent deputy mayor when he was mayor last year and wished her well in her new role.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) congratulated Cllr Brennan and said, “Hopefully you will stay longer than two weeks. I’m satisfied you will be an extremely impartial chairperson.”

Cllr Brennan was the chairperson of the MPC on Tourism for the past two years and has been succeeded in this role by Sinn Féin councillor Cathy McCafferty.

THE Ennis Youth and Community Resource Building in Cloughleigh, Ennis, was officially opened on Friday by Frances Fitzgerald, TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, and Councillor Tommy Brennan, Mayor of Ennis.

The Junction, which was constructed on land owned by Ennis Town Council, features a youth café/drop in centre and will be used as a base from which youth services and programmes to targeted groups will be delivered.

The project costs amounted to € 645,000, of which € 357,000 was allocated to the Council under the Social and Community Facilities Capital Scheme 2006. The balance of the capital expenditure was provided from the Council’s own resources. The Council was the contracting authority for the construction of the building and has leased the completed building to Clare Youth Service.

Mayor of Ennis Cllr Tommy Brennan described the new youth and community facility as a major addition to the town’s community and recreational infrastructure.

He added: “The Council has worked closely with the Clare Youth Service to bring this project to fruition. A range of youth programmes will be delivered from this building and in addition the facilities here will also be available to the wider community.”

“I would like to compliment and congratulate the contractor Liam O’Doherty of Gildoc Ltd and the design team, which was led by Richard Rice of Healy and Partners, on completion of an attractive, modern energy efficient building.

Michael Byrne, Chairperson of Clare Youth Service, commented: “This new initiative will see the development of youth-led community facilities for the benefit of all. It will bring all sections together building the relationships which are the foundation of strong communities.”

He said the youth service was aware of the “myriad” of social problems affecting young people such as addiction, unemployment and youth emigration.

Mr Byrne added that communities around Ennis had recently been marred by “violent death and suicide”. He said, “There are still enormous needs as a community we need to respond to.”

Speaking at the official opening Ger Dollard, Ennis Town Manager, stated that extensive negotiations had taken place since the project was first mooted almost 10 years ago. He highlighted the roles played by Youth Service CEO, Margaret Slattery, and local young people in the development of the centre.

He added, “We have established an advisory board comprising of representatives of the Youth Service, local community, Town Council and Gardaí to oversee the development of the facility. Ennis Town Council looks forward to continuing to play its role in what we expect will be a very successful community facility.”

Clare Youth Service has been at the forefront of the development of many initiatives in its 42 years of working with young people and their communities throughout the county. Set up in 1969, Clare Youth Service today provides direct services to over 3,000 young people aged 12 to 25 years around the county.

CLARE has missed out on a multimillion euro tourism boost with the news that the Cois Fharraige music festival will not be returning to Kilkee this year.

The festival, which was hosted by the West Clare village in 2008 and 2009, will take place at another Irish location this September, with promoters MCD believed to be looking at venues in both Wexford and Kerry. The Clare People has learned that MCD held talks with members of the Kilkee business community in January of this year. The promotions company requested that local businesses shoulder some of the cost associated with the festival’s operations but, when the Kilkee group were unable to raise the required money, all talks were shelved. The Clare People contacted MCD in relation to this story but received no reply at the time of going to press. At statement on the MCD website however confirmed that Cois Fharraige would be taking place on September 9, 10 and 11 of this year but gave no indication as to where the festival would take place.

The president of the Kilkee Chamber of Commerce, John Redmond, told The Clare People that losing the festival was a blow to the village and that Kilkee would welcome Cois Fharraige back in the future.

“Cois Fharraige was made for Kilkee; the festival always worked very very well here,” he said.

“We held meeting with MCD back in January and they were looking for the town to contribute an amount of money towards the festival. Times are difficult at the moment and the businesses in the town just didn’t have the money to invest this year. We haven’t heard from MCD since. We don’t know where the festival is taking place this year but we know that it won’t be taking place in Kilkee.

“Cois Fharraige has been such a huge benefit to the town over the years – especially in 2009. We had a particularly bad year that year and the festival was a great boost to the local tourism businesses at the end of the season.

“We would definitely welcome back Cois Fharraige in the future the festival was made for Kilkee.”

Major international acts such as Supergrass, Travis and the Coronas came to Kilkee for the 2008 and 2009 festivals, which generated an estimated € 12 million for the town over the two years.

THE contribution of young people in Cloughleigh to the development of a new youth and community facility was hailed at the official opening of The Junction on Saturday.

A team of volounteers, comprised mainly of young people from the area, played an important role in determining the need for such a facility when it was first proposed in 2006.

Among those present at Saturday’s opening were Clare Youth Service volounteers Victoria Hart, Aishagh Faithfull and Barry McDonagh.

Work on the project started in 2006 with the group conducting surveys and gathering the views of teenagers in Cloughleigh.

Aishagh (21) explained, “We’ve been involved since the start in planning the building and deciding where it was going to be and what is was going to be for. We were trying to get the young people on board to help us out. We knew from the start that there was a need for it.”

According to Barry (22), there was a clear need for more youth and community facilities in the Cloughleigh area. He said, “We knew ourselves because there wasn’t really anything around for us. I’m delighted with the way it turned out. I think it looks lovely. We can’t wait to get everything going; all the programmes up and running. It’s for the whole town and county not just the area around here.” Youth worker Tommy O’Hara has worked with the project’s core group of volounteers, helping them to get young people from the area and around Ennis to participate in programmes run at The Junction. He said, “The next step really is to try and get young people into the building and develop the café. My own specific job is to develop smaller project groups within the actual centre, to go out and physically recruit them [young people] and bring them up through in much the same way as the core groups came up through the youth service. That’s what we always aim and strive for, to bring young people to that level.” Tommy, who is also from the Cloughleigh area, said the building will serve a wider community purpose. He explained, “We definitely are looking at an inter-generational programme as well that would incorporate older people and young people together, such as gardening, computers or whatever that might be.”

SHANNON town has been compared to a “mini Ballymun” and has become “ghettoized”, due to the development of multiple apartments.

Independent councillor Gerry Flynn made the comment during a debate on a motion in which he called for Rineanna Park in Shannon to be rededicated as a public park for the people of Shannon and surrounding area. He suggested that a rededication ceremony be arranged and that the former Minister for State Donal Carey be invited, as he was the Minister that officially opened Rineanna Park in September 1996.

In a written response to the motion, senior executive engineer Eugene O’Shea stated, “This proposal is premature as the council is currently clarifying issues that need to be finalised prior to take-over, including access from Bóthar na Rinne to the park and title of the park itself. Once these issues are resolved then a recommendation can be made for the park to be formally taken in charge by the council.”

Cllr Flynn told a meeting of Shannon area councillors, “I don’t think Shannon was ready for a mini Ballymun which is what it is. It has become ghettoized.”

He said that the development of apartments led to the town park being lost, which, he said was “an insult to the people of Shannon”.

Cllr Flynn told The Clare People , “Shannon was not ready for the amount of apartments we got in the development plan for the town centre.”

He said that several apartments in the town are vacant. “They [planners] got it wrong. The development we wanted wasn’t blocks of apartments half empty. It is turning into not a very nice place,” he said.

A NEWMARKET-ON-Fergus national school hit the national airwaves twice last week – thanks to the good spelling practices of its young pupils.

Scoil na Maighdine Muire took part in the Ryan Tubridy Show Eason’s Spelling Bee, a nationwide compe tition aimed at encouraging young people to focus on their spelling. More than 600 schools participated and the Newmarket school was one of 12 schools selected for the final stages last week.

To mark the achievement, the Tubridy Show on 2FM broadcast the Munster final live from the school last Wednesday, in which one of the school’s pupils 12-year-old Amy O’Halloran competed with students from Cork and Kerry in a spelling competition. Amy won on the day and sealed a place for herself and her school in the national final of the competition. She travelled to Dublin with her parents Des and Bernie, along with classmates, school principal Ann McMahon and Amy’s sixth class teacher Eamon Curley. She took part in the national final on Friday in the RTÉ studios. Although she was not the outright winner, Amy did her family and school proud.

She received a € 200 voucher for Eason’s and a commemorative medal for the school, in honour of her achievement.

As part of the selection process for the prestigious competition, schools were invited to write a 200-word explanation as to why they should be selected. Mark Corbett, a sixth class student, wrote a piece based on the flood in the school on St Stephen’s Day, which destroyed the library, entitled ‘Reading is a good thing especially on a wet day.’

Ann McMahon paid tribute to both Amy and Mark. “In the eight years that Amy has been in the school, she has never missed a spelling in her spelling tests. We are so proud of her and so proud of Mark,” she said.

“It was a wonderful opportunity for the school. What a high to finish the year on. We are absolutely thrilled,” added the principal.

The group, which travelled to the capital by bus, thoroughly enjoyed the day in RTÉ and all students received a special pack from the state broadcaster as a memento of the special occasion.

THE estimated 2,000 people who took part in the Tour de Burren cycling race over the weekend were able to drink the local tap water when they were finished after a decision by Clare County Council and the Health Service Executive (HSE) to lift a boil notice on the North Clare village. North Clare locals reacted angrily last year when the 2010 Tour de Burren, one of the areas biggest annual tourist events, was marred by an outbreak of pollution in the local water system. A number of boil water notices have been in place in the area over the last 12 months – the latest one lasting from February of this year until just last week. However, after the completion of the Ballyvaughan Water Supply Scheme, which collects the local water system to the Ennistymon water system, the boil water notice was finally lifted. “It is great news to have a new water supply for Ballyvaughan, we are delighted. It was a long trek for the businesses and people up here but now we have a fresh water supply coming from Licheen Lake, thanks to the council and all the work by the engineers. The funding was made available to the scheme and now the businesses have good water – we really welcome this development, it’s great news,” said Patrick O’Donoghue of the Ballyvaughan Community Development Group and the Burren Cycling Club.

“This time last year we had a boil notice and the council supplied us with a tank. This year we have the fresh water supply which is even better.”

The removal of the boil water notice applies to all water consumers on the Ballyvaughan Public Water Supply as well as people on the Muckinish, Gleninagh, Gregans, Knocknagrough and Newtown group water schemes.

In a statement last week, Clare County Council welcomed the completion of the € 5 million scheme.

“Clare County Council continues to work towards provision of sustainable services, which meet the highest standards expected and required by our customers. We are obliged to comply with the Drinking Water Regulations of 2007 as well as the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive,” it said.

“A major element in the Council’s overall water strategy is the Water Conservation Strategy, which sets out the need to conserve water in order to minimise costs of wastage as well as reducing the demand on sources. This strategy is being implemented through the Council’s Water Conservation Programme, which is continuing its work of identifying and rectifying major leakages in the water distribution system. Assistance, as always, in conserving water is greatly appreciated and contributes to a more efficient service to all.”

HE’S the Government’s assistant Chief Whip, thanks to Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s latest round of key appointments to his Fine Gael/Labour coalition, but another honour has come Deputy Joe Carey’s way this week.

All because the assistant chief whip has been voted the sexiest Clare TD in Dáil Éireann, with the Clarecastle deputy topping the poll in the Clare constituency when it comes to sex appeal.

Deputy Carey, who has been a member of Dáil Éireann since 2007, edged out his government party colleagues in the county for the title of Mr Clare Dáil Éireann in an on-line opinion poll that rates the sex appeal of all 166 members of the lower house of the Oireachtas.

The www.sexytd.com rates Deputy Carey, who turns 36 this Saturday, as the 45th sexiest member of Dáil Éireann, a rating that places him ahead of party colleague Pat Breen, who also in the top 50 with a rating of 49.

Hot on Deputy Breen’s heels is Labour’s Michael McNamara – the first time TD, who was in the same St Flannan’s College class as Deputy Carey, coming 52nd in the sexy TD roll of honour, while Fianna Fáil Timmy Dooley, much like that party nationally received a disappointing poll rating, coming at 106 in the online survey.

THREE Clare schools had their ingenuity rewarded when they collected silver awards in a national engineering competition.

Shragh National School, Kilrush, Scoil na Mainistreach in Quin and Parteen National school were given silver cert awards to mark the fact that they made it to the final and were in the top 20 schools in the country in the Engineers Ireland Xperience Engineering Competition 2011. The finals took place on Thursday last in The Helix in Dublin.

Parteen National School were entered in the final with their project entitled ‘Inventions in Sewage – the Toilet’.

Scoil na Mainistreach, reached the final in the junior category for their project entitled ‘Engineering a cleaner world with windmills’.

Shragh NS, in the same category for their project entitled ‘Wind Farms’.

Congratulating the teams, John Power, Director General of Engineers Ireland, said, “The Xperience Engineering project has a long history with schools around Ireland.

“This is the third year of the competition and each year I’m delighted with the level of interest and enthusiasm as well as the high calibre of projects that were entered.”

Last December all registered primary schools were sent out a pack from Engineers Ireland highlighting the theme for this year’s competition which was ‘Engineering a Cleaner World’. Over a four month period participants worked on their projects.

The competition is divided into two categories, the first targeting third/ fourth class and the second focusing on fifth/sixth class.

“As Ireland moves out of recession and progresses as a nation in areas including engineering, science and technology it’s important that we continue to nurture our students and provide them with the right environment to develop their talents.

“With this in mind I’d like to thank all the teachers who helped their students to develop their ideas to enter the competition.”

THE phrase ‘give us this day our daily bread’ will have particular significance at one mass service in Ennis over the coming months.

Renovations to Fahy Hall in Roslevan means that from June 25 onwards, Saturday mass will be held at O’Connors Bakery on the Tulla Road, Ennis.

A note in the Doora Barefield parish newsletter explained that final mass took place in Fahy Hall on Saturday, June 18.

It added, “Fahy Hall will then close until further notice to facilitate major development. From Saturday, June 25, onwards. Mass will take place each Saturday at 6pm at O’Connors Bakery, Tulla Road, Ennis. Ample parking available.”

Speaking yesterday, parish priest Fr Jerry Carey confirmed that Saturday mass would now be said on the grounds of O’Connors.

He explained, “O’Connor’s are facilitating us by welcoming us into a building attached to the main bakery to facilitate 6pm mass on Saturday.”

Work on Fahy Hall is expected to be completed by December. The project will see the complete re-development of Fahy Hall, including the addition of a kitchen, meeting rooms and toilets. Fr Carey explained that a new oratory would essentially provide a “24/7 church” for the local community.

The oratory, which will accommodate 95 people, will be linked with the community hall to facilitate larger crowds for Saturday mass and other, larger church services.

Fr Carey added, “The community centre will then be retained, almost as a separate part of the building, for the rest of the week.”

The project involves renovating and extending the existing community hall for community and ecclesiastical use, constructing a new site entrance, access road and carparking together with all associated site development works and services.