Category: News

AN Ennis photographer has followed in her father’s footsteps in more ways than one with her latest award-winning images.

Louise Brooks was among the winners at the Irish Professional Photographers Awards, claiming two gold and three silver medal prizes.

Louise was honoured in three categories – bridal, wedding reportage, fashion and classical portraiture. And the connection between Louise and the people in her photographs, in some cases, goes back a long way.

Suzanne Clear is the happy bride featured in the winning bridal image taken by Louise. In 1964, Louise’s father, Paschal, was the photographer for the wedding of Suzanne’s parents.

A similar connection links Orla O’Donnell’s family, featured in the prize-winning wedding reportage photo. Paschal took photos of the wedding of Orla’s parents in 1980.

The Brooks’ first studio opened in Ennis in 1961, with Louise taking over from her father in 2001. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the studio opening and Louise is inviting anyone who has featured in Brooks’ photographs over the years to visit the studio’s extensive archive.

She added, “The archive goes back to 1961, so there are a lot of photos there from over the years. People can come in, if they are looking for old photos, and search through.”

A MAN accused of the murder of a North Clare woman earlier this year has had his bail approved by the district court in Ennis.

Colm Deely (39), of School Road, Ballyvaughan, appeared in court on Friday in connection with the death of Deirdre McCarthy (43), whose body was found on Fanore beach on March 31 last.

Solicitor for Mr Deely, Ciara Macklin, told Ennis District Court on Friday that the High Court had previously approved bail for her client in April but that an issue regarding where Mr Deely was going to live remained outstanding.

She said this issue had now been resolved, the High Court order had been finalised and that an address for the accused had been agreed. She told Judge Joseph Mangan that while she would not be able to bring the order before the court until next week, she had received confirmation that the order had been approved at the High Court.

Insp Michael Gallagher said he too had received confirmation that the bail conditions had been amended.

Under the bail conditions, the accused must live with a relative at a stated address in Corofin, must observe a curfew and must sign on at Ennis Garda Station.

Mr Deely was also ordered to stay out of Corofin village and not to come within a 30km radius of Ballyvaughan village.

The High Court approved bail on condition of the accused’s own surety of € 1,000 and independent surety of € 21,000, with € 7,000 to be lodged.

Insp Gallagher said there was no objection from the Gardaí.

He requested an extension of time for the service of the book of evidence, which he said should be brought to Ennis District Court on July 8.

Insp Gallagher said that if there was any delay in the matter, Gardaí would contact Mr Deely’s legal team. Judge Mangan remanded the accused on bail to reappear before Ennis District Court on July 8. CHARGES have been brought against two young men arising out of an incident in Shannon earlier this year. The accused, aged 18 and 17, are charged with assault causing harm to one man and assault to another, at Finian Park, Shannon, on March 12, 2011. The 18-year-old is also charged with possession of a hurley at the same address on the same date, while the 17year-old is accused of possession of a hockey stick. He is also accused of intimidating through a text message, on March 14 last. Garda Roddy Burke told Shannon District Court on Thursday that he arrested the 17-year-old youth that morning. He was brought to Shannon Garda Station, where he was charged with four alleged offences. The court heard that he did not reply to the charges after caution. Detective Garda Stephen Ryan told the court that he arrested the 18-year-old in Ennis last Thursday morning. He said that when charged, he did not reply. HEROIN was found by Gardaí during a search of an apartment in Ennis last year, a court has heard. Donough Malone (44) with an address at Clare Road, Ennis, is charged with having drugs for sale or supply at a Mill House apartment, Mill Road, Ennis on February 11 (2010). Ennis District Court heard on Friday that when Gardaí entered the apartment on the Mill Road, they discovered two quantities of heroin. Insp Gallagher told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had recommended summary disposal of the matter. Judge Joseph Mangan accepted jurisdiction. He adjourned the matter until May 27 for either a plea or a date for a hearing.

CAR SALES were marginally down in Clare in April, but those working in the industry in the county believe they will increase again during this month. According to the SIMI (the Society of the Irish Motor Industry), there were 174 new cars registered in Clare during April, compared with 186 in April of last year. This reflects a decrease of 6.45 per cent.

It follows an increase of almost 20 per cent in March. There was also an increase in January – of more than 25 per cent – while there was a slight decrease in February, compared with February of last year.

To date this year, new car sales have increased by more than 12 per cent in Clare. During the first four months of the year, 1,394 new cars were registered, compared with 1,241 in the same spell last year. According to www.motorcheck.ie, the vast majority of car buyers in Clare are choosing hatchbacks and saloons, while small numbers of MPVs, estates, coupés and convertibles are also proving popular.

Declan Haugh, a director with Cahercalla Motors in Ennis, said he believes that April was a “blip” and envisages more positive months ahead.

“We found April was not as good as we would have hoped for. We found the first quarter of the year was good. There was a bit of confidence there. It was affected by two bank holidays,” said Mr Haugh.

DINGLE business interests’ success in making the West Kerry town a haven for tourists on the back of the bay being home to one dolphin over the past 28 years contrasts sharply with West Clare’s failure to cash on the tourism potential of Shannon Estuary dolphins.

The May monthly meeting of Kilrush Town Council heard councillors bemoan the fact that West Clare is the poor relation to Dingle when it comes to dolphin-watching tourism.

“Dingle have one dolphin and they’ve managed to make a multimillion euro industry out of it over the years,” said Cllr Ian Lynch.

“The Shannon Estuary has a family of dolphins, but we don’t seem to be able to market this properly and we haven’t exploited the resource that we have.”

This has led to calls for the Gateway to Shannon Dolphins Committee to make renewed efforts to kickstart the dolphin-watching industry on the estuary.

This committee was established a number of years ago but last Thursday’s meeting heard that it has been inactive over the last number years.

“The committee is led by Paul Edson, with the help of Dr Simon Berrow [Irish Whale and Dolphin Group], but it hasn’t met for the last couple of years,” revealed town clerk, John Corry.

“There is huge potential for the Shannon dolphin project and it should be developed, because it’s something that’s unique to the estuary and we should do everything to market this,” said Cllr Tom Prendeville.

WEST Clare tourism is set to get a huge boost in the coming season as Kilrush Town Council spearheads an initiative that will see Knockerra Lake opened up to anglers once more after an interval of many years.

Details of a local authority plan of action for the 50-acre lake north east of Kilrush that comes under the council’s jurisdiction were unveiled at Thursday’s monthly meeting, which has opened up the prospect of the facility being open for use in time for the peak tourist period of July and August.

“It was used as a recreational facility for a long number of years, but hasn’t been in the last ten years,” revealed Kilrush Town Clerk John Corry, “and to open up the facility again has involved a process of engagement with anglers and landowners. It has been a long process, but there is now light at the end of the tunnel,” he added.

Knockerra Lake hasn’t been open to public use for ten years, but in recent years Kilrush Town Council has made moves to re-open the facility, setting aside money is its annual budget for fencing and signage, while also making the lake more accessible. The lake is also set to be restocked with fish.

“There has been negotiations with the landowners and we hope to see the restoration of facilities provided at Knockerra,” Mr Corry told town councillors. “We are now at an advanced stage of finalising a lease agreement between the Town Council, the West Clare Angling Association and landowners.

Mr Corry also revealed that as part of the process “a local committee involving Kilrush Town Council, representatives of the angling association and landowners will be put in place” to oversee the operation of the facility.

“We will be meeting all the parties over the coming weeks and for the June meeting of the council we will have a update on the situation.”

SCHOOLS days are about to become dramatically different for the pupils of Barefield National School as they prepare to open a new 16classroom school later this month.

Construction work at the school has now finished and the final touches are being put on a large eight-classroom extension, six special education teaching rooms, a general purpose and sports hall and the refurbishment of six classrooms built in 1995.

According to the school principal, John Burns, the new extension will be of great benefit not just to the pupils and staff of the school, but also to the wider community in Barefield.

“Ultimately, this is a gift to the children in our care and so we are absolutely delighted with this news, both for the current and future generations of pupils,” he said.

“The parents, teachers and children deserve this opportunity as they have always shown the enthusiasm and goodwill to respond positively regardless of circumstances.

“Crucially they and the whole local community had already shown their commitment and foresight in having the local contribution for this project at the ready when the time arrived.”

The Chairperson of the Board of Management, Ronan Connolly, said the new extension was the culmination of a committed campaign to provide the best possible facilities at the school and he expressed his appreciation of everyone who had been involved in bringing the project to fruition over the years, including the Parents Association, the Board Of Management, parents and teachers.

The school-going population has grown rapidly in the area in recent years and the new classrooms will help meet the needs of the growing area into the future.

The school has grown from a fourteacher school in 1984 to today where it employs a total staff of 40.

The extension and refurbishment work was completed by local contractor Martin Fitzgibbon and Company along with architects Simon J Kelly and Partners.

The new school will be officially opened at 2pm on Sunday, May 29. A full programme of events are planned for the opening starting with a mass, celebrated by Bishop Kieran O’Reilly.

COUNTY Clare has missing out on millions of euro in annual funding allocated by the European Union (EU) because Clare County Council has not had a presence on the Southern and Eastern Regional Authority.

According to Cllr PJ Kelly (FF), more than € 440 million has been allocated to Irish projects over the last three years – but none of that money has come to County Clare.

“Last year Kerry, Cork and Waterford got a huge investment and we got none of it. We don’t seem to at the races for this funding. We need to have people who can see what is coming down the track and see what other people are getting and what we are not getting. We have got to look at this in the future,” said Cllr Kelly.

Speaking on this subject last night, the Mayor of Clare, Christy Curtin (Ind), said that Clare has not got its fair share of money down the years. Cllr Curtin also said that while successive county managers have made sure that the county has done well in terms of funding generally over the years, the employment of a person to directly interact with the Southern and Eastern Regional Authority would help the local authority to get a larger share of funding.

“The manager and his team of directors are very vigilant in terms of the money which is coming down the stream but we need someone who can tap into these organisations directly and see that we get our fair share of funding, which we haven’t got down the years,” he said.

This information came to light following a motion by North Clare Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) in which he asked what was being done to protect the Clare coastline from coastal erosion and in particular a section of road between Lahinch and Liscannor.

“I have a particular concern over a road entering the village of Liscannor. We have a situation now where there are more then 700,000 people visiting the Cliffs of Moher every year on this road and there is a large section of this road which is in danger of disappearing,” he said.

In response to this motion Director of Service for Clare County Council, Nora Kaye, said that a national directive on coastal erosion is expected to be issue in the coming weeks.

GOING back to education has the ability to become a life changing experience and become the agency for new job opportunity in the county, the co-ordinator of the ground-breaking programme training programme that operated throughout the county over the last nine months has claimed.

Speaking to The Clare People ahead of this Thursday’s finale to the 2010/11 Labour Market Activation Programme operated by Clare VEC, Rita McCarthy has said that the continuation of the programme would be a huge boost to providing job opportunities for hundreds of people across the county.

“In the current climate, when you listen to doom and gloom every day, back to education courses are key,” said Ms McCarthy. “The Labour Market Activation Programme covered a wide range of area and at different locations around the county and represented an opportunity for people,” she added.

The courses included outdoor recreation studies, renewable energy, heritage studies, health and community care and the catering and hospitality sector.

“Doing these courses have helped people make changes in their lives. They see a way ahead – this programme has made a difference to a lot of people,” said Ms McCarthy. “If you’re without work, you still have to do something, you still have to get up and get through the day.

“To have programmes like this in place for people is of huge benefit and gives people new hope. It gives structure to their day for a start, while also providing opportunity and ideas for new businesses, for work,” she said.

“We have a government jobs initiative coming out this week and we would hope that there will be funding for the Labour Market Activation Programmes under that. This was a special fund that was put aside for the government to generate training and education opportunities for people. It was strictly for unemployed people.”

CLARE County Council is not yet in a position to provide a date for completion of a contentious housing development in Shannon. That was the message delivered by the town manager at a meeting last week, where councillors expressed concern that the 22-unit development at Cluain Airne is at a standstill, much to the anger of local residents.

Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) placed a motion on the issue, in which he sought an update on the project. In a written response from the council, he was told that, following liquidation of the initial contracting com- pany, the process to secure a completion contractor has taken longer than expected.

Cllr Flynn told the meeting: “I’m only looking for two simple questions to be answered. When is the start date and when is the finish date?

“We are talking about a small site – 22 houses. That’s the least the residents of Cluain Airne deserve,” he said. He added that anti-social behaviour was taking place on the unfinished site.

Sinn Féin councillor Cathy McCafferty also raised concerns and said that “kids as young as five and six are swinging off scaffolding. It’s ridiculous the way it’s left at the moment.”

In response to a query she tabled, she was informed that security costs have reached € 15,000, while additional costs of € 75,000 had also been incurred by the council in surveying, site security and consultants fees. These costs are recoupable from the guarantor.

Fine Gael councillor Seán McLoughlin said the houses were started in June 2009 and it was envisaged they would be completed within 12 months. “Nobody seems to know what’s happening since. I’m beginning to wonder is there going to be enough money to finish the site,” he said.

Independent councillor Patricia McCarthy said the situation “has been allowed to drag on far too long. We seem not to be able to give a time limit. We need to get answers. We need to get action; get people on site and get people into the houses.”

Fine Gael councillor Mary Brennan said that the people of Cluain Airne were “living their worst nightmare”.

The Shannon town manager, Bernadette Kinsella, told councillors: “I share your total frustration. Without a doubt, it is a nuisance for the residents in the area. We have a significant level of expressions from people who are looking for a home.”

She said that the completion period from the time the work recommences until completion is 16 weeks, adding, “but what I don’t have is a start date”.

“There were delays in the retendering process. It had been our intention that we were expecting a nomination in January. The whole process is taking longer than anticipated,” she said.

“The funding for the scheme was always through means of department contributions and a council loan which would be funded then by way of sales,” said Ms Kinsella.

She said she hopes the project will be completed as soon as possible.

ONE OF the legends of traditional music in Clare was laid to rest in Doolin on Thursday when “Uncle Jerry” – John Joe Lynch – heard his final tune at the Holy Rosary Cemetery in Doolin.

Jerry, who has been synonymous with the great Kilfenora Céilí Band for more than seven decades, passed away last Tuesday, May 3, on the day before his 77th birthday. Jerry’s father, who was also christened John Joe, was a fiddle player and a founder member of the Kilfenora Céilí Band in 1907. After beginning his musical life on the mouth organ Jerry, influenced by the late great Joe Cooney, took up they accordion in his teenage years, before joining the Kilfenora’s officially in the late 1940s.

He was a member of the band during their famous three-in-a-row AllIreland successes in the 1950s and was the inspiration behind the current band repeating the same feat in the 1990s.

After collecting the third All-Ireland title in Ennis in 1956 Jerry, like so many others of his generation, moved to New York in the early 1960s where he worked on construc tion. He returned home in the 1990s and became the link between the old Kilfenora Céilí band and the modern band.

Jerry’s siblings Noreen and PJ were also in the band over the years as were his nephews Pat and John.

He gained the name “Uncle Jerry” because of his relationship with his nephew and current band leader John Lynch, and also to distinguish him from his nephew, the popular singer also called Jerry Lynch.

“Jerry was a wonderful character but he was also the last link between the great band of the 1950s and the modern band. He was always there to share his knowledge with us and was happy to share tunes with us or with anyone that he played with,” said current band leader John Lynch.

“He played music right through his entire life – he kept playing while he was in New York and was still playing. He started on the mouth organ but switched to the accordion because of the influence of Joe Cooney. This would have been unusual as everyone in the house would have played the fiddle but the band needed an accordion player at that time.”

Jerry’s influence on traditional music in Clare was immense – he helped to preserve the great heritage of tunes from earlier times and also the repertoire he learnt on his travels and from other great musicians such as Jimmy Shand.

He is survived by his wife Betty and daughter Tara as well as his wider family and many friend in Clare and all over the country.