Category: News

A KILRUSH pensioner, who has just published his first novel at the ripe old age of 77, says he already has plans for a book of poetry and a second novel…and maybe even a film.

Jim Counihan, who is this week getting ready to officially launch his psychological thriller, To Ba la nce The Scales , says his love of books and writing came from his father, who bought him a copy of Moby Dick in Kilkee in the late 1940s.

Jim left Kilrush as a 17-year-old in 1951 and spent the next four decades working in England and Wales. He began to write in the 1980s but it wasn’t until after his retirement, in the early 1990s, that he turned his attention to fulfilling a life-long ambition and finishing his first novel.

However, it wasn’t until he returned home almost a decade ago that he decided that the time had come to get his work published.

“I was going through a divorce in the mid-1980s and because of that I felt like I needed to do something new, so I took up writing classes. I finished writing the story while I was living down in Wales in 1997 but it wasn’t until I returned home that I edited it and decided to try and get it published,” he said. “It was on my mind for years and years to finish the book and that is why I put the effort in over the last few years. It was a huge effort over the last two or three years to edit and re-edit the book but it was worth it to finally get it finished. “I remember when I was a kid my father brought me back two books from Kilkee Moby Dick and The Ma n in the Iron Ma sk . After that I just read and read everything I could get my hands on.” The book tells the story of a man living on the west coast of Ireland. The man becomes engaged to a redheaded marine biologist who disappears and the investigation into her disappearance uncovers a large and complex web of intrigue.

“It is a psychological thriller because the characters and their personalities are just as important as the plot and what is happening next. It is quite a complex story as well – so if you miss anything in the beginning you could get lost pretty quickly,” he continued.

“Over the last few years, I have written 40 or 50 poems and I am going to work on getting them published. In the story itself, there is a four or five page epilogue. I wrote that to give me some scope to go on and do a sequel in the future. I have also been told that the book itself might make a good film, because the writing is so visual. So we’ll have to see what happens with that. Writing is great escapism for me, there is a huge amount of work in it but I love it.”

The book is available to buy online at www.choicepublishing.ie.

KILRUSH Town Council has backed the introduction a new rates reduction scheme to breathe new business life into the West Clare capital, but has challenged landlords in the town to play their part by reducing rents.

This twin-track approach to attracting new business to Kilrush is set to form the basis of a new Retail Incentive Scheme being pioneered by town leaders on the back of startling figures revealed by The Clare People

A “VACANT” 41-space car park in the centre of Ennis counters the perception that the town suffers from a shortage of short-term parking spaces, senior officials with Ennis Town Council have said.

In a motion submitted to the June meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) questioned if the increase in parking charges “has had a negative impact on the revenue (from same)”, Cllr Howard said she was referring in particular to the Friary walk car park.

She told the meeting that the car park “was nearly always full but is now nearly always empty”.

Parking charges rose to € 1.30 an hour in Ennis in January. In his response to Cllr Howard’s motion, Town Clerk Eddie Power said an examination of income from parking meters to May 31 (2011) showed an increase over the same period last year.

He added, “It is clear that there are now vacant spaces in this car park throughout each day. The availability of significant number of spaces so close to the town addresses perceived deficiencies in short-term parking in the core town centre areas.”

Mr Power told the meeting that the availability of spaces “begs the question, was there a shortage at all”. He said that more customers might use the car park during the summer. He added that Council officials had been “on record” and repeatedly stated that multi-story car parks in Ennis are underutilised.

Town Manager Ger Dollard told last week’s meeting that it was still too early to if the increase in charges has led to a reduction in parking in Ennis.

He said the decision to reduce maximum parking stay at the Friary walk car park from three to two hours had been taken in response to concerns over the shortage of short-term car park spaces. He said the new byelaws delivered 41 spaces within one minute’s walk from the town centre at a time where there had been “very strong public opinion that you couldn’t get parking in Ennis”.

“If it stays vacant for the next six months, then you have to ask will we change it,” he added. Referring to the use of multi-story car parks, Mr Dollard said occupancy of private multi-story car parks is “30 per cent at best”.

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) claimed drivers are boycotting use of the car park. Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said the car park could be used to cater for the “120 buses shooting past Ennis” on a daily basis.

Mayor of Ennis Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) questioned if the car park is not being fully used because they think it is fenced off.

“People are driving around the hotel looking for spaces and the one beside it is empty,” he added.

The Council’s annual financial statement for 2010 shows that parking fees and charges collected by the Council dropped from € 1,484,957 in 2009 to € 1,407,147 last year.

FORMER employees of Shannonside Oil have said they will continue their protest until management at the company agree to enter into talks with them.

Four men – Jimmy Jones, Paddy Kelly, Pat Quinlivan and Colm Quinlivan – staged a protest at the Shannonside Oil depot on the Clare Road, Ennis, last Wednesday and Thursday. The men are claiming they were unfairly dismissed from their positions as driver/ salesmen in April.

Limerick man Jimmy Jones, who worked with the company for 20 years, said the workers were not given any reason for their dismissal. He said the group decided to protest after seeing their jobs advertised in The Clare Champion and Limerick Leader newspapers.

He added, “The same jobs. The company has refused to enter into any talks with us. They just told us to go home. We can’t get in contact with them since. We wrote letters to them. They won’t respond to them. We’re here to make the public aware of what has been done to us.”

Clare man Pat Quinlivan, a driver/ salesman for six years, said that the men had sought a meeting through their union SIPTU. He added, “We’d have worked six days a week if they wanted us to, worked late at night. All during the winter there with the bad roads, ice, slipping off the roads. We always did what we could for the company. And then this just happened like that.”

He continued, “We’re hoping to let the public know what happened to us and get their backing hopefully as well. We would look to be re-instated back with the company.”

Colm Quinlivan, driver/salesman for three years, said, “It’s only two years ago that I got a letter off the company to get a mortgage stating that the job was long term for the foreseeable future. I got that mortgage and now I won’t be able to pay the mortgage because I’ve no job.”

He added, “We’ll protest for as long as it takes to get some sort of meeting or some sort of negotiations.”

Tulla man Paddy Kelly, was a driver/sales man for eight years. He said he is worried about the future.

“I’m a married man with children. They’re at home wondering why I’m at home. It was over 20 years back in the last recession when (I last didn’t have a job). It didn’t matter that time because I was a young fella. Within six months of the last time I got a job and that was it. But now there’s nothing out there.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Corrib Oil, who took over Shannonside Oil in 2008, said they had been in talks with SIPTU and workers for the past 18 months, saying redundancies were necessary because of adverse market conditions. Management at Corrib Oil did not respond to requests on Wednesday and Thursday from The Clare People for a comment.

A CAMPAIGN to make Ennis the friendliest town in Ireland would be boosted by a twinning arrangement with the American city of Charlestown.

That’s according to local Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn, who is calling on Ennis Town Council to investigate and consider the potential benefits of a possible twinning with Charlestown, South Carolina, America’s friendliest and “best mannered” city.

In a motion to be discussed at today’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Flynn states that the ar rangement should be considered in light of the Council’s adopted resolution in 2010 to request the Government “to assist in the development of a National Irish Centre of Welcome in Ennis at Glór (or such similar alter native) and which could be used for other possible re- lated functions including issuing of cer tificates”.

Cllr Flynn explained that the proposal should also be considered in light of “Ennis Chamber and Ennis Development For um’s recent job creation and enterprise initiative to seek to position Ennis as Ireland’s friendliest town.”

The Create the Magic campaign, which was launched in Ennis in March, is aimed at raising the standards of customer service in businesses in Ennis and around Clare.

The Create the Magic initiative was developed by the Ennis Development For um and Ennis Chamber with the aim of making Ennis and Clare, Ireland’s friendliest town and county. Spearheaded by local businesswoman Aoife Madden, the project is cur rently in pilot phase with an initial 25 local businesses taking par t.

Launching the campaign in March, customer service expert and former Clare businesswoman Kathleen O’Sullivan urged Ennis to follow the example of Charlestown, which has been named America’s friendliest town for 14 of the past 30 years. She said the city had reaped a huge tourism benefit from its status.

Entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den panelist Bobby Ker r gave his backing to the campaign at a public meeting attended by over 150 business owners in Ennis last month.

THE changing role of children in Irish society will be the topic of this year’s Merriman Summer School, which returns to Lisdoonvarna for the first time in three years this August.

This year’s festival will take place just ahead of the Children’s Referendum, which is expected to take place in September or October of this year, and will include many of Ireland’s leading opinion-makers for what is expected to be an important event in shaping how that referendum will be fought.

The official line-up for the festival has not yet been announced but The Cla re People understands that DIT Professor Nóirín Hayes will be the director of this year’s school, which will include contributions from the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald (FG), along with Fintan O’Toole, Professor Sheila Greene from Trinity College and Siobhán Parkinson, novelist, and Laureate na nÓg.

“It is great to have it back in Lisdoon after three years. It is a huge boost to the community in every way and for the tourism in the area,” said Marian O’Callaghan of Cumann Merriman.

“This stimulates a lot of discussion on a range of different topics and the media coverage alone for the area is very valuable. Huge change has taken place in the area over the last three years – the development of the Pavillion Theatre where the event will be staged is just one.”

One of Ireland’s most distinguished poets, Eavan Boland, will also read from her work.

“This is a really broad-based theme which will look at how Irish childhoods have developed over the years but also at changing Irish childhoods and how we might change into the future,” Mary O’Flaherty of Cumann Merriman.

“It is great to have speakers of this calibre on your doorstep and to have this level of discussion and debate coming here. As well, Merriman is like a large extended family with people coming back year after year. There is always a great atmosphere here for it.”

The Merriman Summer School will run in Lisdoonvarna from August 17 to 21.

BALLYVAUGHAN is Ireland’s new capital of cuisine after Gregan’s Castle dominated the prestigious Irish Restaurant Awards in Dublin last week. In an unprecedented sweeps of awards, the North Clare hotel took three of the top eight awards back to the Banner county – the most successful haul of Clare winners in the history of the awards.

More than 800 industry professionals turned out to the Burlington Hotel to see Gregan’s Castle chef Mickael Viljanen scoop the much coveted Best Chef in Ireland Award, while Gregan’s Castle also won the Best Hotel Restaurant and Best Customer Service Awards.

Located at the foot of Corkscrew Hill, Gregan’s Castle is operated by husband and wife team Simon and Frederieke Haden. Although they have won numerous national and international awards in recent years last week’s three victories is by far and away the biggest competitive success that has been won by any Clare eatery in recent years.

Finnish chef Mickael Viljanen has been cooking up a storm in Gregan’s Castle for more than three years now. He also beat fellow semi-finalist Kevin Thornton on his way to the overall crown.

THERE have been calls for the town of Ennis to be made available to rent.

In a motion to be debated at today’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Green Party councillor Brian Meaney is asking that the Council give consideration to make Ennis available to rent.

Speaking yesterday, Cllr Meaney explained that the Council, working in conjunction with businesses and civic groups, should come together to make all of the amenities in the town available to use to a person or group for an agreed period of time.

He said the proposal would be at- tractive for international conferences and similar large-scale events.

Cllr Meaney added that the initiative could also involve re-naming the streets of Ennis after the person who was renting the town and allowing them to graze “cattle, sheep or goats on the post office field”.

“I think it is an innovative means by which you can market the town and bring more tourists in,” he said.

Cllr Meaney said a similar initiative exists in Lichtenstein, where the entire principality is available to rent to private clients for $70,000 a night.

Cllr Meaney said, “It has a population of around 25,000 people so it’s quite similar to Ennis in that sense.”

A LOCAL priest has called on people to make a new commitment to communication and openness.

Fr Jerry Carey was speaking at the funeral of Ennis man Niall White, who died suddenly last week.

In his homily at St Joseph’s church on Thursday, Fr Carey said Niall had been loved by his family and wide circle of friends.

He recalled visiting the White family home last week and seeing many young people who had called to pay their respects. He said it was important that friends of Niall know they are loved and valued by their community.

He said, “Some questions will be left unanswered, some questions only beg us to see the answer that’s right in front of us. To look around at the faces in the back garden these last three days, the first thing you knew was the love with which Niall is held and because of that love, the pain of his passing.”

He continued, “He is much loved and adored. There is also something that is yelling at us to recognise…. each person who stood in that back garden is much loved and adored without exception.

“Our immediate challenge is to find a new language, a new way to communicate that to each other, to make this a propriety.”

Fr Carey said people had travelled from across the world to attend the funeral.

He added, “I think it’s fair to say that when sudden death comes our way, we are forced to pause, put a lot on hold…. Over these days we have seen people fly from Canada, Aus- tralia, England, from all over, gathered around the hearth of the White family to pay our respects, not so much with words as with the mere act of presence…often in silence. Knowing that questions were forming in our minds yet knowing that answers would be impossible to come by.

“There has been much love shown these past days within family and between families, between friends and new acquaintances, between neighbours and travellers from all parts.”

Addressing Niall’s parents, Pat and Mary and his sister Ciara, Fr Carey said the ceremony would honour “Niall’s life, his spiritual being, his love of family, his loyalty to friendship, the part he played in sport through Lifford FC, St Joseph’s Doora Barefield, and Clare county teams”.

He acknowledged Niall’s capacity as a “dreamer, of who he might be”.

Fr Carey continued, “When death comes suddenly, it does force us to put our lives on pause, to consider, maybe briefly what really needs our attention, our concern and our worry.

“We’ve seen over these past days the value of the bond of family, the value of the bond of friendships. That these things have a pricelessness of unimaginable measure….yes these bonds of affection, love and friendship ebb and flow they are all part of a bigger picture that sometimes creeps in and out of focus”

Remembering Niall’s warm personality, he quoted the words of the Polish cleric, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, saying, “I believe in hands that work, in minds that think, in hearts that love. A friendly look and a smile often say more than friendly speech.”

A CLARE businesswoman, who suffers from a painful and debilitating bent spine, has begun a campaign to have medicinal marijuana legalised in Ireland.

Bunratty woman Niamh O’Brien believes that legalising cannabis could benefit thousands of Clare people suffering from a variety of medical complaints and would also help stop the spread of organised crime in Ireland.

Niamh set up LCI Clare, (the Legalisation of Cannabis in Ireland, Clare branch), just two weeks ago and has already gained more than 650 friends on the organisations Facebook site. She believes that legalising cannabis for medicinal use, as has been done in many American states, could have a positive impact on people in Clare.

“To start with cannabis is an antiinflammatory, which reduces swelling and inflammation. It is a pain relief, it is used to combat depression, anxiety, to promote appetite, to help people who have Alzheimers, MS, Parkinson’s and for a variety of other conditions,” she told The Clare People yesterday.

“As it stands at present people in Ireland are being criminalised for taking a responsible attitude towards their own health and their own care. We have researched the ingredients of some of the medications that people are legally taking in Ireland today and people would be shocked and horrified if they knew what does into it.”

The membership of the Legalisation of Cannabis in Ireland has been growing in recent time. Having traditionally drawing most of its membership from Cork and Dublin, branches have been founded around the country in recent months.

According to Niamh, the current laws are forcing law-abiding people into interacting with criminal elements in order to obtain the cannabis which allows them to overcome their illness and live normal lives.

“Having to go down to a street corner and deal with criminals is not what we should be doing. In fact, this is the only situation where cannabis being seen as a gateway drug to other harmful drugs actually makes sense. You are forced to deal with people who have other dangerous substances that they want you to buy,” she continued.

“There is no guarantee in what you are getting from people like this, who are just out to make a profit. Putting people into the position where they have to deal with dangerous people who don’t care what they are selling you is not a good situation.”

To find out more about the organisation search for “LCI Clare” on Facebook.