Category: News

THE NEWLY formed Burren Ecotourism Network (BEN) hosted its first conservation event in north Clare over the weekend when a number of local volunteers completed a beach clean-up at Ballyryan, on the coast road between Doolin and Fanore.

The Burren region became Ireland’s second official ecotourism destination earlier this year when it was granted official accreditation last month. This is the first major event undertaken by the group since it received official ecodestination status and hopes are high locally that the new development could mean an increase in the number of ecotourist attracted to visit Clare.

More than 40 geologists from Leeds University volunteered to join the weekend’s clean-up and future conservation events will involve local schools as well as members of the wider community.

With their help, more than a quarter of a tonne of rubbish was collected from the beach and taken for disposal to the Central Waste Management Facility at Ballyduff beg.

“It was great to be involved in preserving the Burren Landscape,” said Dr Jeff Peakell from Leeds University.

“We have been coming to the area for 20 years and witness the increased volumes of tourists and inevitable impacts on the landscape. We ourselves have a ‘leave no trace’ policy and are happy to be part of this new exciting initiative by the Burren Ecotourism Network.”

The Burren Ecotourism Network is made up of a large group of local businesses and other organisations, each of which have an interest in protecting the Burren and creating a sustainable future for people and businesses of north Clare.

Local members who also took part in the clean-up included representatives from the Burren Painting Centre, the Boghill Centre, Kilfenora Hostel, Heart of Burren Walks, Burren Outdoor Education Centre, Burren Fine Wine & Food, Burren Coaches and the Cliffs of Moher.

THE new Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan (FG), is to be tackled my members of Clare County Council on the issue of extending the Limerick boundary into Clare when he visits Clare in the coming days.

This follows recent activity on the part of Limerick County Council who it is feared are attempting to reignite the boundary debate. It had appeared that the question of the Clare/ Limerick border had been shelved after both Fine Gael and Labour gave commitments not to change the counties dividing line in the run up to this year’s General Election.

However, following recent contact between Minister Hogan and the new Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Maria Byrne (FG), it is feared that the possibility of a boundary debate may be put back on the table.

The debate centres around more than 5,000 Clare people who live on the border with Limerick City and County. Under the Brosnan report, commissioned last year, it was recommended that a new super local authority be created by combining Limerick City and County Councils as well as a section of South East Clare.

In a motion put forward by Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council calls were made for Clare to stand up for themselves in relation to the boundary issue.

“Every time there is a new mayor down in Limerick something seems to happen and this comes up again,” he said. “We thought this was all dead and buried but it doesn’t seem to be the case. We need to stand up for ourselves on this issue.”

The motion was support by Shannon Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) who said that Clare County Council needed to be “watchful and vigilant” of the threat posed by Limerick. She also called for an urgent meeting to be arranged between Clare County Council and Minister Hogan.

Speaking on the motion Cllr James Breen (Ind) said that all Labour and Fine Gael councillors should threaten to resign their seats or resign from their parties if the boundary issue is put back on the table.

A 39-YEAR-OLD Ballyvaughan man charged with the murder of Deirdre McCarthy apologised for what had happened when charged and cautioned by gardaí.

Colm Deely, with an address on School Road in Ballyvaughan, was remanded in custody to appear before Ennistymon District Court, sitting in Kilrush, by Judge Joseph Mangan, tomorrow morning, April 13.

Detective Thomas Molloy of Ennistymon Garda Station said the defendant replied, “I’m very sorry for what happened” when he was charged.

The father of two, who wore a navy jumper, navy slacks and a white shirt, sat silently with his eyes lowered during the brief hearing.

An application for legal aid was made by solicitor Gearoid Geraghty on behalf of Mr Deely. He said the defendant was a married man with two young children and was on a part-time FÁS course three days a week.

A number of members of Deirdre McCarthy’s family, as well as relatives of the defendant, sat on either side of the courtroom during the hearing.

The body of Deirdre McCarthy was found at Fanore beach on the morning of March 31, three days after she was reported missing from her home. She was last seen alive on March 27 around 11.30pm, when she returned home after a night socialising with friends in Ballyvaughan.

Her disappearance prompted one of the largest searches undertaken in North Clare in recent time. Family and friends joined with members of the gardaí and the Doolin and Killaloe Units of the Irish Coastguard to begin a painstaking three-day search for missing woman.

CLARE County Council has said it is constantly monitoring the situation regarding outstanding rent payments.

It follows concerns raised at yesterday’s monthly council meeting over the level of rent arrears in local authority housing.

Commenting on the council’s annual report for 2010, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said he was concerned that “certain sections” of local authority tenants are not paying rent.

He told the meeting that from his own analysis, the council was in arrears of around € 1.2 million.

He said this was not down to the performance of the council but rather to, “certain sections of society that just don’t want to pay”. He added that rent arrears are having an impact on the council’s cash flow and ability to provide services.

Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) said there was a problem for the council when tenants start accruing debts that run into thousands of euros. He urged the council to take a more pro-active approach and to start meeting with tenants as soon as arrears start to become an issue.

“Once its gone over the edge to € 4,000 or € 5,000, the horse has bolted,” he added.

Bernadette Kinsella of the council’s housing section said that the council has a policy of meeting and, if needs be, re-adjusting rent agreements with tenants if payment problems arise. Ms Kinsella agreed that the council needed to move as quickly as possible to communicate with local authority housing tenants that are finding it difficult to pay rent.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said the issue of homeowners seeking to have unfinished housing estates taken over by the council was a growing one in Clare.

Figures released in September 2010 showed that Ennis Town Council had taken over the running of two housing estates, while a further nine had applied to be taken in charge by the council. Cllr Flynn estimated that development bonds for estates in Ennis alone totalled around € 5 million. “This is an area of huge concern for many people,” he explained.

FRESH from becoming the biggest party in Clare General Election politics for the first time in the party’s near 80-year history in the county, Fine Gael are on the cusp of more electoral success in the coming week.

That’s the battlecry from the local organisation this week as Fine Gael’s 24-strong team of county and town councillors prepare to cast their votes in the Seanad Éireann election this coming Monday.

“We have two TDs and we have three candidates in the Seanad elections and can win three seats to give five Oireachtas members for the party in Clare,” Cllr Joe Arkins, the leader of Fine Gael group of councillors for the elections to the Upper House of the Oireachtas.

“That’s what we’re aiming for,” added Cllr Arkins, “and it’s a realistic goal because Fine Gael have enough votes around the country to get 23 or 24 Seanad seats. Having five Fine Gael Oireachtas members in Clare would be unprecedented.”

Councillor Martin Conway flies the Clare flag in the Administrative Panel, in which there are seven seats up for grabs. Cllr John Crowe contests the Industrial and Commercial Panel, in which there are 11 seats, while Cllr Tony Mulcahy is in the running for the Labour Panel that also has 11seats.

“Cllr Conway’s panel is a difficult one,” admitted Cllr Arkins, “because there are only seven seats, but there are still three Fine Gael seats to be won.

Clare Fine Gael has never had more than two members of Seanad Éireann at the same time. The last time they had two members was between 1993 and 1997 with Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, who was elected on the Labour Pane,l and Michael Howard, who was returned on the Industrial and Commericial Panel for the sixth successive Seanad election.

ILLEGAL parking on cycleways is forcing cyclists onto the carriageway and blocking visibility at junctions.

That’s according to Shannon Town Council, in response to concerns over public parking and traffic congestion in the vicinity of Bothar Linn in Shannon.

At a meeting of Shannon Town Council last week, Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn asked for the issue to be debated.

In a written response from senior executive engineer Eugene O’Shea, it was stated, “Traffic congestion in this area is not an issue. However, illegal parking of vehicles on cycleways is forcing cyclists onto the carriageway and blocking visibility at junctions.

“Much of this illegal parking oc- curs during school drop-off and pickup as well as patrons of the leisure centre puling up on the cycleway.

“The solution to this problem is for motorists to utilise the drop-off area at the school, the parking facilities provided at the leisure centre or those beside the Gaelscoil as appropriate,” added the council’s statement.

In response, Cllr Flynn said, “I would have to agree with the response from the senior executive en- gineer. For people to park on a cycle lane, we have already established that is illegal.

“This is an overall problem. It is about solutions,” he said.

“There is a potential danger for health and safety,” he said.

Fine Gael Councillor Seán McLoughlin said, “I’d like to see some kind of a plan brought forward.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Cathy Mc- Cafferty said, “Public safety is paramount. This is one of the busiest roads in the town.”

Labour Councillor Greg Duff said that the best should be achieved from cycle lanes in the town, given that efforts were made to obtain them in the first place.

“Cycle lanes . . . We campaigned for them, we got them, we should monitor them in some way that people get the best out of them,” he said.

A NORTH Clare group claims that it will be prevented from celebrating Easter Sunday Dawn Mass at the Killenagh Graveyard this year because of opposition from within the local parish organisation.

Dawn Mass has been celebrated at the graveyard for the past three Easter Sundays, with more than 200 local people turning out for the celebration last year.

In previous years, the Mass has been presided over by a locally born priest, who is currently stationed outside the Diocese of Galway and Kilfenora.

However, according to the Killenagh Graveyard Committee, they are being prevented from celebrat- ing the Mass this Easter, even if they find a willing priest from outside the diocese.

“The group came together to try and fix up the cemetery and, thanks to voluntary labour and a number of FÁS Schemes, we were able to do that.

“We started these Masses as a way of celebrating the work that was done and they have been very successful community events,” said Robert Bennett of the Killenagh Graveyard Committee.

“A priest from outside the diocese has hosted the Mass for the past three years but this year, out of courtesy, we decided to contact the local parish. They said that they would not be in a position to celebrate the Mass and they would not be allowing the Mass to take place at all.” The Clare People attempted to contact local priest Fr Derek Feeney in relation to this but were unable to reach him at the time of going to press.

According to former Ennistymon priest and current PRO for the Diocese of Galway and Killaloe, Fr Sean McHugh, however, there are currently not enough priests to cover existing Masses in the area.

“I remember when I was serving in Ennistymon four years ago, I was asked about a cemetery Mass early on Easter Sunday. I disagreed on the grounds that we, the priests, were very stretched on Easter Sunday.

“Additionally, another Mass would take the congregation away from the later main Easter Sunday celebration in the nearby church,” he said.

“There are a number of other cemeteries in that area that could not all be supplied with Dawn Mass on Easter Sunday if it was requested.

“I wasn’t in favour of a priest from outside the parish coming in to cel ebrate the Mass because, with the shortage of priests, the direction being taken [by the Church] is to rationalise Masses and not to timetable extra Masses.

“In general, parish priests would prefer to celebrate cemetery Masses themselves with their own congregations whom they serve with week in and week out.

“For this reason, it was usual to celebrate mid-week Mass in each of these cemeteries in each of these parishes mid-week during the summer.”

TEENAGE drinking marred an otherwise celebratory occasion to mark St Patrick’s Day in Shannon.

The organisers of the parade were delighted with the response, which saw more than 30 floats take to the streets. However, teenagers who gathered to drink alcohol dampened spirits somewhat, according to Independent Councillor Patricia McCarthy.

“This year the colour was fantastic. Everybody puts in a big effort to dress up,” she said. However, she said there was disappointment in relation to the behaviour of a small number of youths. “A little sad note was the amount of teenagers that were drinking. We had no control over that. We brought in the by-laws. . . A lot of people were disappointed by that,” said Cllr McCarthy.

“It was a fantabulous day,” remarked the chief organiser of the parade, Councillor Mike Fleming, speaking at a meeting of Shannon Town Council last week.

“There were 30 floats last year and 35 this year. I hope we can get it up by another five floats next year,” said Mr Fleming.

Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn said, “It’s a community family day. Everybody involved in the community comes out and participates.”

Labour Councillor Tony McMahon agreed, saying, “It has become established as a great community day and a great family day. It went very well. We were without a parade for so long. It is great to see it being so well supported.” Fine Gael’s Mary Brennan said, “I think it’s a day that adults can dress up like children. There is no inhibitions.” She said the parade injected “income and life” into the town centre for the day.

A NORTH Clare woman has set her sights at bringing the coveted Rose of Tralee title back to the Banner County for the first time in the history of the competition.

Rineen woman Claire Keane was last week selected as the Galway Rose for the 2011 edition of the competition. Despite togging out in the colours of her neighbouring county Claire says that she will do her utmost to bring success to Clare and Galway in this year’s competition.

“Obviously you would love to represent where you are from but in a way it is even nicer to have been chosen to represent Galway. The fact that I was chosen to represent Galway, even though I’m not originally from Galway, shows that they really must believe in me. I’m very humbled and very happy to have been chosen,” said Claire, who has been living in Galway for the past eight years.

“Of course I’d love to be representing Clare and in a way a part of me will be representing Clare but I am very happy to be going forward as the Galway Rose. Galway is a great spot and it is joined onto Clare so hopefully I can do well for both counties in the competition.”

Clare was chosen out of a field of 27 girls to become the Galway Rose. Her entry into this year’s competition was sponsored by the Central Park Night Club, who supported her on the night along with her brothers Damien and Brian.

“I grew up watching it but I never dreamed that I would be taking part myself. I always loved watching the competition but I never thought I’d enter and a never thought I’d have a chance of winning,” she continued.

“The competition itself isn’t anything like what people would see on TV. What people see on TV is just the final part of it – before that there is a whole series of interviews with the judges, both individual and in groups. It has been quite a long proc- ess already.”

Claire attended Rineen National School and Scoil Mhuire in Ennistymon before completing a business studies degree at the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology. She also completed a marketing post graduate at NUI, Galway, and now works for American software company Brightwork and the Central Park Nightclub.

AN ACCIDENT blackspot in Shannon must be tackled urgently, in an effort to make it more safe.

That’s according to Sinn Fein Councillor Cathy McCafferty, who has called for immediate works to be carried out at the roundabout adjacent to St Patrick’s Comprehensive School.

At a meeting of Shannon Town Council last week, she asked for an update on the measures to be taken to improve safety at the location and she also sought details of a timescale for completion of the works.

In a written response, senior executive engineer Eugene O’Shea stated, “While I am aware of two accidents at this location in recent times, it is not, in my opinion, an accident blackspot.”

He stated that he has requested the council’s design office to look at the junction with a view to examining possible improvements, adding, “Due to resource issues, it has not been possible to-date to progress this matter.”

Cllr McCafferty said she was not happy with the response and said that this issue must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

“The reply to me is not adequate at all. I brought this motion forward in September 2009. There is an accident there nearly every week. It is too important. I would like the senior executive engineer to have another look at it,” she said.

Labour Councillor Greg Duff said, “It is a safety issue. There is a repeat of accidents.”

Labour Councillor Tony McMahon said, “It should be ensured that an engineer or a design team should look at it and see can anything be done.”