Category: News

LOCALS and holiday-makers have been warned to be vigilant in the county’s swimming areas this week as no lifeguards will be on duty. As a result of recent good weather and the Easter falling late this year, thousands are expected to take to the county’s beaches in the coming days.

Clare County Council’s Water Safety Development Officer, Liam Griffin, has urged anyone taking to the water to be cautious and to look for advice from the local surf school before swimming at an unfamiliar beach.

“People should be aware if they are thinking about going swimming that while the air temperature may be hot, the water temperature is still very cold. But if people are going swimming, they should swim at a location that they are familiar with,” he said.

“They should swim close to the shore and not over-estimate how powerful a swimmer they are. If people are visiting Clare and want to go for a swim, they should consult with local people to make sure that they are swimming in a safe place.

“Many of our lifeguards work in the the surf schools which are now located at many of the popular beaches so a good thing to do would be to go to a surf school and ask them is it safe to swim.”

The recruitment process for the 30 lifeguards who will patrol Clare beaches this summer will begin on April 30. According or Mr Griffin, Clare’s team of lifeguards are the best trained and most qualified lifeguards in Ireland.

“To apply to be a lifeguard in Clare, you must already have an Irish National Beach Lifeguard Award. Applicants will then be tested in both first aid and CPR and those who are successful will then go forward to the interview stage. We will usually have more than 80 high-quality applicants and from them we will choose the 30 best candidates,” continued Liam.

“We feel that here in Clare we have the highest standard of lifeguards in the country. Someone from Clare generally manages to win the National Surf Lifeguard Competition, which shows the quality of applicants that we get.”

Clare’s four premier beaches at Lahinch, Fanore, Spanish Point and Kilkee will all have a lifeguard presence on the June Bank Holiday Weekend. These beaches, as well as other beaches at Bishops Quarter in Ballyvaughan, Doolin, White Strand (Miltown Malbay), Seafield in Quilty, White Strand in Doonbeg, Cappa Pier in Kilrush and Lough Derg, will have a full-time lifeguard presence throughout July and August.

THE first ever detailed history of the parish of Inagh and Kilnamona has been put into a book by former local school teacher and Mayor of Clare Flan Garvey. The book, which was launched earlier this month, attempts to bring the entire history of the area together – from before the area was settled by man right up to the current day.

The book is the fruit of years of study by Flan in the Tralee Institute of Technology, where he completed a post-graduate degree in history in 2008.

The book was officially launched by the former Bishop of Killaloe, Willie Walsh, and there was a second special guest who travelled all the way from Ennis for the launch.

“We had one very important article present for the book launch. We managed to get what is known as the Inagh Chalice. The chalice is located normally at the Friary in Ennis but we managed to get a loan of it for the day,” said Flan.

“There was a Franciscan Monastery in Inagh back in the seventeenth century and one of the Friars there was a local monk call Mortimus O’Gaoife and the chalice bears his name and the year 1671. Fr Seamus from the Friary came out with the chalice and we are hugely grateful to him for helping us out with that.”

The book bring together many different elements of local history, from the geological history of the Burren and how it was formed, to the many interesting characters who lived in the Inagh and Kilnamona areas over the last few hundred years.

“All the proceeds of the book, every single penny after the printing costs, is going to the parish. I have donated my work as a gift to the parish in my latter years. It will be of great interest to local people, I know, but also to people who don’t live in the area anymore and especially people who have lived abroad.”

The book is available locally from the shops in Inagh and from all members of the local parish council.

THE Alpine flowers of the Burren are experiencing one of their best springs in recent memory, with the rare Alpine gentian in full bloom weeks ahead of schedule.

But along with the flowers, the people of North Clare are also well ahead of season this year with the launch of the biggest ever Burren in Bloom Festival.

The festival, which runs across North Clare for the next five weeks, will be officially opened next Tuesday, March 3, at Fanore National School.

This year’s programme includes a host of large and small events each designed to show off the beauty of the North Clare Burren.

“May is probably the most beautiful month in the Burren. This year in particular, possibly because of the way that the weather has been, the Burren flowers are really coming into themselves,” said Mary Hawkes Greene of Burren in Bloom.

“For anyone who comes during the month, we have so much going on and so much information available for people. There are so many talks and so many walks going on that anyone who comes to visit will have something to do every day – and most of it is free. Burren in Bloom is working really closely with the BurrenBeo Trust and the Burren College of Art to organise events both for locals and for visitors.”

Many large events such as the Burren Challenge Marathon, the Tour de Burren cycling race and the Burren Slow Food Festival will all take place during this year’s Burren in Bloom.

There will also be a host of smaller events and this year’s programme has a particular focus on children.

“Many of the visitors who are coming down here are families so it is important to have some events that younger people can go to and learn more about the Burren,” continued Mary.

“We have a special ‘Bugs and Beasties’ walk for children; on the Saturday of the Burren marathon we are having a treasure hunt on the grounds of the Burren College of Art; and the Ballyvaughan Farmers’ Market are also having a special children’s day. It’s about attracting people down for Burren in Bloom but it’s also about showing off the Burren so that people will come back at other times and spend some time here.”

The Burren in Bloom will run from April 29 to May 31. For a full programme of events, visit www.burreninbloom.com or check out the Clare People in the coming weeks.

CLARE’S Oireachtas representation could be boosted to record levels on Thursday when the votes to make up the 24th Seanad Éireann are counted.

A record four Clare candidates are contesting the election with former Mayor of Clare Tony Mulcahy from Shannon and former Irish National Teachers Organisation National President Declan Kelleher from Corofin the two leading candidates for seats in the Upper House.

Fine Gael’s Cllr Mulcahy, who doubled his first preference total in the recent General Election, is contesting the Labour panel where 11 seats are up for grabs while independent candidate Mr Kelleher is bidding to win one of the three National University of Ireland seats.

Mr Kelleher has vowed to lead the charge towards reforming the Seanad if he follows in the footsteps of Joe O’Toole in winning a Seanad seat for the INTO.

“I believe that it can be reformed and through the presence of independent voices, can hold the government to account for its actions,” he told The Clare People . “My campaign is to bring about a reformed Seanad with just 30 members who would be elected directly by the people and would therefore be far more independent of political control,” he said this Tuesday’s final polling day.

Clare’s two other candidates are Fine Gael’s Martin Conway and John Crowe, who are contesting the Administrative and Industrial and Commercial panels respectively.

Cllr Conway is considered to be up against it being the first Oireachtas representative from Ennistymon since fellow Fine Gael man Deputy Bill Murphy served on Dáil Éireann from 1951 to ‘67. This is because of the presence of two Fine Gael candidates in the contest who lost their seats in the recent General Election – Tom Sheehan in Kerry South and Michael Darcy in Wexford.

With only seven seats up for grabs in the Administrative Panel, Sheehan and Darcy national profile as former members of Dáil Éireann could give them at a distinct advantage over Cllr Conway.

Cllr Crowe is contesting his second successive Seanad Election and could be a dark horse to win one of the nine seats on the Industrial and Commericial panel.

He narrowly missed out on election in 2007, while his profile as one of the Clare members on the General Council of County Councils could yet garner him enough votes to secure election.

HUNDREDS of Alpaca’s from all over Ireland will descend on Ennis this Sunday in search of the much coveted Anna May Driscoll Cup.

The cup, which is the premier award for Alpaca farming in Ireland, is named after the Ballyvaughan nurse and Alpaca farmer Anna May Driscoll, who died in 2007.

It is the highlight of the Alpaca Association of Ireland (AAI) national show which comes to Clare for the first time ever this year.

“We are delighted to bring the Irish National Show to Ennis. This will be our fourth national and we have been looking for an indoor arena in case of rain,” said AAI President, Damien Dyar.

“This allows us to have an early show before the alpacas are shorn. The public will be interested to see the alpacas with full fleece on as opposed to shorn. We are very grateful to the Ennis Showgrounds Committee for allowing us to use their premises.”

As well as being the President of the AAI, Damien is also the founder of Burren Alpaca – the Fanore-based company which he set up with his partner, the late Anna May Driscoll.

This year’s show will take place at the Ennis Showgrounds and will be judged by UK Alpaca expert Jay Holland, who is accredited by the British Alpaca Society as a fleece and animal judge.

The show will be open to visitors from 9am to 4pm and the judging of various classes will be in the morning.

It is expected that the Supreme Champion will be judged about mid day. As well as the judging there is also a display of fleece and alpaca products.

Alpacas are bred for their fine fleece which is as soft as cashmere. Peruvian Alpacas were introduced to Ireland only 11 years ago by Clare breeders Burren Alpaca and are steadily growing in popularity.

RENOWNED singer Paul Brady will take to the stage in Shannon this weekend, in what promises to be a concert with a difference.

That’s because the local gospel choir will provide support in what will be a source of immense pride for the choir members, at the Oakwood Arms Hotel on Saturday night.

The Shannon Gospel Choir was formed two years ago by local businessman Derek Barrett. Since its formation, the choir has played regularly at Masses in Shannon and has also performed in various churches across the county. The feedback has been hugely positive and the choir has gone from strength to strength since it was established.

Earlier this year, the group took part in a televised RTÉ Sunday Mass, which subsequently featured on YouTube. The choir has also supported Paddy Casey and the Harlem Gospel Choir and has performed at several weddings over the past two years.

Eighteen members of the choir, ranging from sopranos, tenors and altos, along with musicians, will perform with Paul Brady on Saturday.

Aoife Rice, who has been involved with the group since its formation, is thoroughly enjoying the experience.

Aoife, who is a piano teacher, was involved with the Quin choir for several years prior to joining the Shannon Gospel Choir.

“When it was starting, I felt that I would love to do something different. I am involved in music but this would be something different. I played the organ with the Quin church choir for 23 years, but I wanted a change. I wanted to get up and sing as opposed to always playing,” she said.

She is anticipating the Paul Brady gig at the weekend.

“It will be very different. We do Mass but this gig is a great opportunity for us. We haven’t even met Paul Brady yet. I am a little bit nervous,” she said.

Along with the enjoyment of taking part in gigs, the choir members are also forming great friendships. “You meet so many friends through it. There’s such a buzz,” she said.

The choir members range in age from 30 upwards. They rehearse in the Peach recording studios in Shannon town centre every week.

A FINE GAEL public representative has said the drink driving laws are threatening the “very fabric” of rural communities in taking his campaign to “save West Clare from extinction” directly to the Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan.

West Clare Electoral Area councillor Garbriel Keating has cited the drink driving laws as he told The Clare People that “it’s up to Fine Gael in Government to tackle the problems being experienced in rural Ireland, because rural Ireland has been neglected for so long.

“The very fabric of our communities are under threat. In the last couple of years the introduction of drink driving laws have resulted in many of our pubs in rural areas closing and the large supermarkets in town have forced our rural shops out of existence. Something has to be done,” continued Cllr Keating.

The Loophead representative has said that “the simple measure” of in- troducing a refurbishment grant for many derelict houses in West Clare would “kick-start economic activity and create jobs”.

“The demise of the local village is a major concern for our rural population,” warned Cllr Keating, “and something has to be done about it. Some years ago we had a campaign to save our rural post offices and Garda stations, but appeals fell on deaf ears.

“At a time when our new government is trying to create new jobs, this scheme would boost our economy by giving work to people in the construction industry,” he added.

“The demise of the local village is a major concern for our rural population. This simple measure would help address this.

“Reconstructed houses in these villages would provide holiday homes, would provide our diaspora with the opportunity to purchase a home in a rural setting. It would bring life back to rural Ireland,” added Cllr Keating.

IRISH industries can play their part in beating the recession by actively going out into the marketplace and bringing foreign direct investment into the country.

This call for companies to become proactive and do work normally left to the Industrial Development Authority or Enterprise Ireland has been sounded out this week by Clare businessman Edmund Jennings, managing director of the Cregg Group that has secured 170 new jobs for Clare with Zagg’s decision to locate in the Shannon Free Zone.

Mr Jennings’ company took the lead for industry in the region by bringing Zagg to Ireland, a major boost to the mid-west economy that he says can be a business model for industry in the region going forward.

“We recruited Leonard Kiely and sent him over to America to see if he could recruit more business for us,” Mr Jennings told The Clare People this week. “He went into Best Buy and noticed that a portion of the shop had been allocated to this company called Zagg. We contacted Zagg and told them what we did. It so happened that they had a plan to establish a presence in Europe. They had been looking at either going to France, Germany or Holland, but decided to come to Ireland,” he added.

Now, Mr Jennings has urged other companies to follow the lead of the Cregg Group. “There is huge potential there, for companies who don’t want to set up a manufacturing company in their own right but who will go into partnership with a company in Ireland.

“The opportunity is there for companies to go out and try and source companies that might find themselves in the situation that Zagg were in – a company with some sales in Europe who want to expand.

“Irish companies should consider that rather than try and compete against fellow companies in Ireland for the small amount of logistics business that’s there. They should look overseas at the possibility of offering services to US companies and Asian companies who want to get product into Europe,” he added.

THE ESB has lodged an appeal against one element of Ennis Town Council’s decision to retain a 24-metre high communications mast at St Flannan’s Drive, Ennis.

Last month, the council granted permission to retain the freestanding monopole type communications structure, carrying antennae and communication dishes, within a 2.4m high palisade compound.

The council also granted permission to attach additional antennae and communication dishes to allow for future third party co-location at ESB’s existing Cahercalla 38kV substation, St Flannan’s Drive, Cahercalla More, Ennis.

An Bord Pleanála previously granted permission for the mast in 2006, which was the subject of intense opposition from local residents and a judicial review.

In granting permission to the ESB, the council imposed a number of conditions.

In their decision, the council state, “This permission shall be valid for a period of five years from the date of the final grant. On expiry of that period the mast shall be removed and the site reinstated unless its continued use or a revised structure is allowed by reason of a future planning permission.”

The council also says that “In the event of the proposed and antennae becoming obsolete and being de- commissioned, the developers shall at their own expense, remove the mast and antennae and return the site to its original condition.”

The decision was also granted on the basis that “The developer shall provide and make available, on reasonable terms, the proposed mast for the provision of mobile telecommunications antennae of third party licensed mobile telecommunications operators.”

In total the decision was granted subject to six conditions. The council adds that “Within two months of the final grant of retention permission the developer shall pay a contribution of € 6,293 to Ennis Town Council (Planning Authority) in respect of public infrastructure and facilities benefiting the development.”

An ESB spokesperson confirmed yesterday that ESB telecoms had lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against “one condition attached to the grant”.

She added that the ESB was not appealing the “overall substance” of the council’s decision. A decision on the appeal is due in August.

THE 170 new jobs announced by the Cregg Group and Zagg in the Shannon Free Zone could be just the tip of the iceberg – says Managing Director Zagg International Brian S Packer.

According to Mr Packer, who was in Clare to officially announce the deal on Friday, the total Shannon based workforce from the deal could exceed 300 before the end of 2015.

Mr Packer, who is the overseeing the company’s expansion in the European, Middle Eastern and African market, had credited Ireland’s under threat 12.5 per cent corporation tax as one of the key reason for going forward with the Shannon investment.

“There are many reasons why we picked Shannon, but Ireland’s com- petitive corporation tax rate definitely sealed the deal for us,” he said.

“We will be manufacturing, shipping, marketing and selling our products from this base [in Shannon] and will be creating job opportunities, both directly and indirectly, over the next few years as we have at our US headquarters for Zagg.

“While we will be recruiting for a number of key positions, the majority of jobs will be created indirectly, as Zagg International will create a good number of jobs through our partnerships and key vendors such as Cregg.

“In total we expect over 300 jobs to be created over the next four years.”

Based in Utah Zagg Incorporated manufacture and distributing protective coverings for small handheld electrical such as i-pods and mobile phones.

The company had a revenue of more than $60 million in 2010 and it is hoped that this major expansion, which will be coordinated from their new European Headquarters in Shannon, could double that figure.

Zagg’s Shannon facility will carry out the sales and marketing as well as product design and administrative activities for the new expansion.

The partnership with the Cregg Group will the Clare company carry out all the manufacturing, assembly, packaging and logistics work for the expansion.

Two of Zaggs flagship products – invisibleSHIELD and ZAGGskins – will be produced by Cregg in Shannon. Cregg will also be responsible for the distribution of the full range of Zagg products in Ireland and Europe.