Category: News

A TRIAL involving an East Clare doctor has heard details of how an “intensive” course of treatment failed to halt the spread of a malignant tumour in a 15-year-old cancer sufferer.

It is alleged that Dr Paschal Carmody (62), of Ballycuggeran, Killaloe, defrauded the family members of two cancer patients concerning photodynamic therapy treatment at his clinic in Killaloe.

Dr Carmody has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

On Friday, Ennis Circuit Court heard expert evidence from Dr Finn Breathnach, a former consultant oncologist, who treated the late Conor O’Sullivan in 2001 up until prior to his death in November 2002.

Conor’s parents, Derek and Christina O’Sullivan, attended Dr Carmody’s clinic in Killaloe in June 2002.

The court heard that Conor had been referred to Dr Breathnach at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin because of severe back pain brought about by a tumour.

A biopsy carried out in March 2001 revealed that damage had been caused to Conor’s sacrum by a highly malignant tumour, a condition known as ‘Ewing’s Sarcoma’.

Dr Breathnach said that the sacrum lies between the two halves of the pelvis and is such an important bone that it cannot be removed.

Dr Breathnach said the pain was so severe and dehabilitating that it had forced Conor to miss school and to give up playing sport. “He couldn’t concentrate because of the constant pain,” he said.

Dr Breathnach said that it was decided that Conor be treated with a course of chemotherapy as per an agreed European-wide protocol of highly detailed patient treatment guidelines.

He said that the treatment had been progressing “reasonably well” up until May when further tests showed that a residual tumour was still present.

Subsequent tests showed the tumour “had strengthened and was highly resistant”. Dr Breathnach said that it was almost as if the tumour “ignored the chemotherapy”.

The tumour then spread throughout Conor’s body and, despite what Dr Breathnach said was a heavy course of radiation therapy, it was decided to end Conor’s treatment in June 2002.

Dr Breathnach said a board of medical experts at the hospital had come to the conclusion that Conor’s tumour was “not cureable”.

Conor died, aged 15, in November 2002.

The court also heard from Rosalyn Carroll, a faculty administrator at the school of medicine at the National University of Ireland, Galway. The court was told that Ms Carroll was working at the university when Dr Carmody was a student there.

Under questioning from Counsel for the State, Stephen Coughlan BL, Ms Carroll said photodynamic therapy had “never existed” as a course in undergraduate medicine at NUIG.

Counsel for Carmody put it to Ms Carroll that Dr Carmody had been a student of a doctor with an interest in photodynamic therapy.

The trial continues.

A BID to bring Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann back to Ennis for the first time since 1977 officially got underway on Saturday.

Members of the Fleadh Working Group presented the case for Ennis to host Ireland’s largest festival of traditional music, dance and song in 2012 to the standing committee of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann (CCE).

Speaking at the presentation, Labhras Ó Murchú, Director General of CCE, hailed the Ennis bid, describing it as an “exceptional and impressive presentation”.

The presentation, which took place at the offices of Clare County Council in Ennis, was backed by a network of organisations including local authorities, Shannon Development, the Vintner’s Federation of Ireland, local business groups, the GAA, the Gardaí and the emergency services.

The working group’s proposal document states that 200,000 people would visit Ennis during the event, which is estimated to be worth up to € 20 million to the Clare economy.

The document has identified 25 venues where events could be held while the working group say that Ennis town centre will be pedestrianised during the course of the weeklong festival.

The bid to bring the Fleadh to Ennis was initiated by the local Abbey branch of CCE.

Branch chairman Risteard Ó’Conail said, “We understand the dedication and hard work required to stage Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann but we are confident that, with the assistance of all 18 branches of Comhaltas in Clare together with the support and goodwill of many other organisations and individuals throughout the town and county, we can make it a huge success.”

The hour-long presentation heard video testimonials from well-known musicians and singers including Maura O’Connell and Martin Hayes, while members of the working group outlined the details of the Ennis bid.

Mayor of Clare Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) told the meeting that the rich tradition of traditional music that exists in the county made Clare the ideal venue for the Fleadh. “We own it, we love it and we cherish it,” he added.

County Manager and working group vice chairman Tom Coughlan said no effort would be spared to make the 2012 Fleadh a success.

Working group chairman Mícheal Ó Riabhaigh said, “We would be honoured to have the opportunity again to host Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann and to share our cultural and natural treasures with the 200,000 music lovers that make the Fleadh the greatest tradtional arts festival in the world. Our goal will be to build on the benchmarks set by Tullamore and Cavan and to have it said of Ennis, It was the greatest Fleadh ever.”

Gerard Lynch of the finance subgroup told the meeting that the cost of running the event was likely to be € 700,000. He said that the group are aiming to secure € 250,000 through corporate sponsorship. Mr Lynch said this process would have to be completed by mid-June. Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann was first held in Ennis in 1956. Ennis faces competition from Sligo, Mullingar and Kilkenny.

A COMMUNITY transport initiative which makes it possible for 3,600 passengers to get about every month is under threat because of rocketing fuel prices.

The Clare Acessible Transport (CAT) initiative may have to apply the brakes and cut routes if something is not done to help them with the cost of keeping the fleet of buses on the road.

“The cost of fuel went up by 20 per cent on the last quarter of 2010 alone. The increase on this time last year is now 30 per cent which is a significant cost for an organisation like ours, as it will be for all sectors of public transport. The positive thing is that the demand for the service is so great that we should be growing. But we can’t do that unless we can fund the service,” said Laura Ward, Manager of CAT.

The not-for-profit public transport service now has nearly 4,000 registered members and makes an average of 3,600 single passenger journies each month.

The service is for anyone who wants to join, but the eight easy-access buses are particularly helpful for those with mobility difficulties because of age or an existing condition.

It is also a vital link for people living in isolated areas which might never merit a commercial bus service and scores of CAT members who might otherwise have to be cared for in hospitals or nursing homes can live independently using the routes to get to doctors and other appointments. The service provides transport all over the county.

As an ‘on-demand’ service it ams to cater for the routes which its members want and can pick up and set down in areas where no other public transport is likely to go.

Putting up the cost of membership and journeys could put the cost of travel out of the reach of some members, as many have signed up to CAT because they cannot afford their own transport. But the company’s pleas for help with fuel costs which are outside their control have so far gone unanswered.

“We have been lobbying on the issue but so far, there has been no response. Staff here have done everything they can and have been extremely dedicated and flexible to try to keep the service going but if this continues we will have no choice but to cut routes,” Laura said.

CAT staff are also already struggling with the fact that they still do not know what their funding levels will be for the coming year and they have no help with the capital cost of adding to, or maintaining, a fleet which is coping with some of the worst roads in the county.

“We urgently need support for capital funding as well. We have got to the point where the organisation is very strong, the demand from the community is there – there are waiting lists in Shannon. We should be growing,” said Laura.

THE number of people signing on the unemployment register in Clare fell for the second month in a row last month – but March still represents the fifth highest Live Register figures in the history of the county.

A total of 10,623 people were on the Live Register in Clare last month – a drop of 189 people on the February figures. The latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the number on the Live Register in Clare shrank by 260 peo- ple or 2.3 per cent since the highest figures on record were recorded in January of this year.

However, it is still unclear whether the drop in Live Register numbers since its all time high in January is the result of an increase in employment or an increase in the number of Clare people who have been forced to emigrate in search of employment abroad.

The standard seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the county remained at 14.7 per cent of the workforce in March.

This latest decrease in the numbers signing on was largely down to a sizable decrease in the numbers signing on in East Clare with the Tulla regional office recording 1,517 people on the Live Register last month – an overall drop of 51 people or 3.2 per cent in just a month.

A similar decrease was recorded in Ennistymon when there were 1,697 people signing on – down 50 people from the 1,747 who signed on in February of 2011 or a drop of 2.8 per cent.

A large decrease was also recorded in Kilrush where 1,458 people signed on the Live Register in March – 43 fewer people or a drop of 2.8 per cent on the February figures.

The news was not as positive in Ennis last month with the county town lagging behind the rest of the county in terms of reductions in the Live Register figures.

The official figures for March showed that 5,998 people signed on in Ennis last month. This represents a month on month drop of 47 people or 0.7 per cent in the numbers signing on in the county town.

SIX years ago this June, The Clare 10k took it’s first tentative steps. As we begin to look forward to the event on June 25, it is the hope of the organising committee that we will welcome back many old faces and say hello to many more new ones.

2010 saw our biggest numbers to date and we are confident that 2011 will see another rise in participants.

Over the coming weeks we will furnish you with training plans, tips on how to stay healthy and more importantly information for the day itself.

Clare Sports Partnership have come on board for 2011 and with their links to the sporting community we will follow the progress of six people who will run 10k for the first time.

It is now 11 weeks until The Clare 10k so there is no more time to be wasted. Get your training gear out, put that extra daylight to good use and get ready for The Clare 10k.

For more information check out www.clare10k.com.

CUIMHNEAMH an Chláir, the Clare oral history and folklore group, is preparing to spread its wings as far as the nation’s capital in an attempt to track down and interview older Clare people living in Dublin.

The voluntary local group has recorded and saved the stories of countless Clare people over the last two years. The group have recorded the stories of a number of Clare people who have sadly since passed away including recordings of Ireland’s old- est man, 106-year-old Paddy Gleeson, before his death in September.

The new initiative, which is entitled ‘A part of what was Dublin’ was launched by the group last week.

Two Dublin-based Clare natives have been trained by the group in recent months and are ready to start documenting the lives of older Banner natives who are based in Dublin.

The work is to be carried out by East Clare natives Bríd McNamara and Tara Sparling, who have been trained under the Cuimhneamh an Chláir Cuairteoir programme and have also conducted their first interview with 91-year-old Ennis native Mai McNamara.

“It’s great to be involved in documenting the history of Clare lives in Dublin. As a Clare woman, I’m delighted to be working with Cuimhneamh an Chláir on this project,” said Brid.

“It can’t have been easy for these people to leave their homes to find work in Dublin when they did and I’ve no doubt that they all retain a strong sense of identity as Clare people and will be happy to tell us their story.

“The recording with Mai McNamara, who left Clare for Dublin in the 1950s, already demonstrates the wealth of memories that exist among the elderly Clare natives in Dublin.”

Immigration from Clare to Dublin was at its highest level since the Famine in the 1950s and the group is hoping to tell the stories of many of the Clare people who were forced to leave during this period.

“We are very conscious that Clare people who migrated or emigrated in the past often retain a strong connec- tion to the county and also have picture perfect memories of their youths in Clare,” said Cormac McCarthy of Cuimhneamh an Chláir.

“We have gotten strong support from the Clare Association in Dublin and hope that with a media campaign in the capital that we will hear from many Clare natives who should be recorded.”

Anyone who wishes to nominated elderly Clare people in Dublin are asked to contact clarememories@eircom.net or telephone 087 9160373.

TOURISM interests on the Clare side of Lough Derg are banding together to create a range of activities and packages to take advantage of the imminent launch of seaplane services into Mountshannon.

A meeting of tourism providers in Pepper’s Pub in Feakle heard from Seaplane CEO Emyly Heapes that plans are running on-schedule for the first commercial flight to land in Mountshannon in mid-May.

“We hope to have the airstrip up and licenced by then,” he told The Clare People .

Mr Heapes told the meeting of more than 20 Clare tourism providers that he wants them to be creative and give people cause to stay in the Lough Derg area and spend their money.

“We’ll bring them in but the business people need to give visitors a reason to come here. Flyfishing classes, packages, horse-riding, golfing – whatever it takes to bring people in. We have to pull together and help ourselves, because if anyone is waiting for the Government to bring business in for them, they’re out of their minds. It won’t happen,” Emylyn said.

Gary Pepper, a member of the East Clare Tourism Forum, said that he is very optimistic about the new service bringing extra vistors and revenue to East Clare. “We would like to see a scaled down version of Shannon Airport in East Clare when these planes arrive. Anything which brings people in is to be welcomed. We need every advantage we can get.”

The Feakle publican said that the area “has fantastic things to offer. We have walking trails, boating, water sports, fishing, golf, music, food – everything and Lough Derg is the nerve centre of all that. Now we have to work together to attract people to use the new service and to come here.”

It’s envisaged that the seaplane service will ferry passengers between Mountshannon, Cork and Galway.

The proposal ran into stormy waters when it was originally proposed, with objections from a number of bodies and individuals who feared that landing planes would interfere with boating and wildlife on the lake.

LAHINCH Cricket Club hope to be able to play their first ever home match later this year following the outcome of last week’s AGM of the Lahinch Community Field Committee.

Following a stormy meeting in the Claremont Hotel in Lahinch last Monday night, none of the eight members from last year’s committee were returned for 2011.

The cricket club, along with a number of other local sports clubs, claim to have been denied access to the field in recent years. They have been training at the North Clare Amenity Park in Lisdoonvarna for more than a year now but they confirmed to The Clare People yesterday that they will make an application to use the Lahinch facility in the coming days.

Sporting Ennistymon, who also claim to have been denied access to the field in previous years, presented an application to use the field to the new committee after Monday night’s meeting.

“Now that a new committee has been elected, we feel that the door has been opened to us to play home matches and bring the Lahinch Cricket Club home to Lahinch,” said Colm Humpreys of the Lahinch Cricket Club.

“I would be very reluctant to pull out of Lisdoonvarna because they were so good to us there when we needed them but we are the Lahinch Cricket Club and we want to play our home matches in Lahinch.

“Ideally, we could continue to train in Lisdoonvarna and play our home matches in Lahinch.”

Sporting Ennistymon have applied for its Under 11, Under 13 and Junior members to be allowed to use the field. Spokesperson Tom Nestor yesterday wished the newly elected committee well and said that it was still possible that some of this year’s FAI AGM could take place in Lahinch.

“From Sporting Ennistymon’s point of view, we are looking forward to working with this new committee and to getting back to our ancestral home,” he said.

“We owe a lot to the wonderful facility in Lisdoonvarna – the club would have been forced to basically disband had it not been for them, and we are very thankful for all their help. We have made an application for three teams to play in Lahinch and we are hopeful that this will be looked upon favourably.”

The new committee in full are Eddie Crowe, Marie Vaughan, Adam Coleman, Brendan Scales, John Clair, Beatrice Ryan, Kenneth Kenny, Deirdre Murphy, Denis O’Sullivan, Michael Rouine, Bill Slattery and Tommy Rush.

RESIDENTS in Fergus Park have “significant concerns” over plans by the Office of Public Works (OPW) to build a new river walkway at the rear of the estate, a meeting has heard.

Speaking yesterday, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said that residents are opposed to the new footpath and handrail to be installed as part of amendments to the River Fergus lower (Ennis) certified drainage scheme.

The changes were discussed at yes- terday’s monthly meeting of Ennis Town Council.

In a letter to the council, Brendan McDermott, OPW flood project management services, said it has been necessary to amend the original scope of the drainage scheme.

Mr Long said, “This work is due to commence shortly and these amendments will have an impact on your property.”

According to the notice, reinforced concrete floodwalls with natural limestone cladding will be constructed along the visible faces, along the left riverbank in the Fergus Park to Knox’s bridge. Works will also include the reinstatement of surrounding ground while all existing surface water outfalls are to be fitted with a tidefex valve.

The notice adds, “New footpath and hand railing to be installed. Wall and footpath approximately 1.25m above garden levels.”

Cllr Flynn said local residents were concerned about the development. He told the meeting that the nearby CBS primary school had successfully objected to the walk being extend- ed along the rear of the premises.

“A lot of the residents don’t want the river walk,” he said.

Cllr Flynn called for the river wall to be improved at the 1916 memorial near the Club Bridge. He said he had heard of an incident where a man had fallen over the wall at the weekend. Cllr Flynn said the wall should be raised or railings should be installed.

The notice of works for the Fergus (lower) draining scheme was welcomed by Cllr Peter Considine (FF).

FRIDAY was a special night for one of Clare’s best-known musical clans as four generations of the O’Donoghue family shared the stage in Ennis. Paddy O’Donoghue (83), his son Cyril, granddaughter Leanne O’Donoghue and great-granddaughter Aoibhinn Begley performed together at ‘The apple didn’t fall far from the tree’, the first in a series of concerts due to be performed at Glór, Ennis, which celebrate Clare musicians who have inherited their love of music from their parents. The family performed the ‘Rose of Killagh’, a song that appeared on bouzouki player Cyril O’Donoghue’s 2008 album. “Leanne actually sang on the album when she was 10. It was great to get everyone together on stage. Four generations, it’s unusual that you’d get them altogether,” explained Cyril. Paddy O’Donoghue, a founding member of the Tulla Céilí Band is one of Clare’s best-known musicians. Cyril said Friday was a very proud night for his father. He added, “He was delighted, over the moon of course. He brought his first album three years ago. He has been sick so it was great to get to get the album done. There was a book of his music that came out a few years ago, Ceol an Chláir .” Cyril, who now lives in Shannon, recalled how he learned to play music from his “father and grandfather and all the musicians around east Clare”. He added, “The whole family is nearly involved in music. We’ll always be playing something. You come into the house and there are instruments all over the place.”