Category: News

THE head of the Clare Garda Division has pledged to set up Neighbourhood Watch and Community Alert Schemes in every pocket of the county.

These programmes, along with Business Watch schemes, are springing up all over the county and Chief Superintendent John Kerin is promising to continue to expand the initiative.

Currently there are 47 Neighbourhood Watch schemes in Clare, 11 of which were established last year. There are 37 Community Alert schemes in the county, two of which were set up last year, while two new schemes are currently being established. There are nine Business Watch schemes in Clare, five of which were set up in 2010. Two new schemes are in the process of being set up. Gardaí are also involved in a Hospital Watch scheme in Ennis. The aim under the schemes is that neighbouring families and neighbouring businesses link up with each other in an effort to prevent crime.

“Our ideal objective would be to have a Community Alert scheme in every rural part of the county and to have a Neighbourhood Watch scheme in every town and several in bigger towns. That would be our hope and our ambition. Two and three parish- es have joined in some areas,” said Chief Superintendent Kerin.

“It is one of my objectives to have as many Community Alert, Neighbourhood Watch and Business Watch schemes as possible in the county. They are crime prevention and crime solving measures. They are our eyes and ears as resources dwindle in the coming years,” he added.

“Right across the county, it is essential to have schemes like this. It is amazing the amount of crime solved in the past couple of months by people ringing in to the Garda stations. There can’t be a garda on every street corner. A lot can be prevented by vigilance,” he said.

Two Business Watch schemes were set up in Shannon last year, in an effort to curb the theft of machinery from various businesses. Businesses in the industrial estate got involved in the schemes and are working well together. “More than 120 businesses are involved. They have been very successful,” he said.

“There has been an escalation in the theft of copper and lead throughout Ireland. There was a huge escalation in the theft of home heating oil and arrests have been made,” he added.

“It is all about people keeping an eye out for each other. It’s amazing how people can help us and help themselves and help their communities,” he said.

LOCAL authority housing tenants in Kilrush are being given the chance to buy their houses at knockdown prices, as the town council has endorsed a new purchase scheme putting houses up for grabs at 45 per cent of their market value.

The go-ahead for this groundbreaking initiative was given by councillors at last Thursday night’s monthly meeting of Kilrush Town Council, but the town authorities have been warned that confronting the problems in John Paul Estate is key to the success of the new purchase scheme.

“I could see this being very attractive,” Cllr Stephen O’Gorman told the council executive, “but only if we get our house in order. When you go into John Paul Estate with 36 boarded up houses, you won’t see a queue of people wanting to buy them.

“We have a massive problem. It’s a town council problem. There are 40 houses vacant in the town, with 36 of them vacant in John Paul Estate. People are waiting for rents to come down so they can move out of John Paul Estate,” added Cllr O’Gorman.

Under the new scheme which will operate until December 31 this year, tenants must be in local authority housing for over ten years.

“We all welcome the scheme, but the big elephant in the room is market value,” said Cllr Tom Prendeville.

“I know three people who went looking for loans to the banks and the answer that came back is that ‘we have no money’,” revealed Cllr O’Gorman.

A CLARE artists is on the verge of getting his first major international break through a major solo exhibition which will open in Australia later this month.

East Clare artist Thomas Delohery has spent much of the last 15 years painting about the horrors of the holocaust and the millions who perished in the Nazi concentration camps.

This latest exhibition, which is entitled “Shipwrecked in the Death Camps of Europe”, will be officially opened by renowned artist Victor Majzner on Tuesday, March 29, at the TACIT Contemporary Art Gallery in Melbourne.

Thomas has more then 40 solo exhibitions to his name in Ireland, England, Germany and Canada but this is his first time making it to Australia.

Thomas’ obsession with the Holocaust began in the mid-’90s when he first visited Camp II at Auschwitz-Birkenau. That day he became a pilgrim, visiting ever concentration camp in Europe over and over again, searching for something, drowning in the horror and the beauty.

“I was in the Flossenbürg Camp one autumn with two Germans – one whose father supplied meat to the camps and the other whose father was a high ranking officer in the SS,” he said.

“They walked with me through the camp. I remember looking at this horrific watch tower one minute and I’d turn away and see all of these beautiful blues and yellows. Bavaria at that time of the year, when the trees start to fade, is so beautiful, so full of colours.

“But one of my German friends started to get annoyed with me, he couldn’t understand how I could see the beauty in such an awful place. He was confused by it or maybe even perturbed,” he says.

“It was amazing to be in the camp with these guys, people whose family has such a real connection to it all. I’m always trying to make a connection to it.

“Besides my wife, whose grandmother was through the camps and thankfully managed to survive, I have no real connect to them.”

For information or to view a sample of Thomas’ work visit www.thomasdelohery.com

THERE will be a feast of St Patrick’s Day parades this Thursday, with the action in Clare starting at 11am with the Ennis Parade.

From there, both east, west and north there will be parades everywhere as Clare turns green for the day.

In east Clare the action starts in Killaloe at 2pm, before moving to Scariff for 3pm, while the Tulla Parade has a 4pm start.

In west Clare the Kilrush Parade has a 3pm start, but beforehand over 200 St Patricks will converge on the Town Square at 1pm in a bid to win a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

The Shannon Parade has a 2pm start, while events in Gort get underway with the traditional drowning of the Shamrock after 12.15pm mass.

FINE GAEL in Clare will be making a three-pronged attack to win representation in what could be the last Seanad Éireann in the history of the state, if the Government presses ahead with a pre-election promises to abolish the Upper House of the Oireachtas.

Former Mayor of Clare, Cllr Tony Mulcahy, who polled 6,827 votes in the recent General Election has been nominated by the party in Clare, with his candidacy being copper-fastened at a meeting in the Auburn Lodge last Thursday night.

Cllr Mulcahy was nominated by 12 branches of Clare Fine Gael and will now represent the party on the Labour Panel as an Oireachtas nomi- nee.

Fellow Shannon electoral area councillor, John Crowe has been nominated for the Industrial and Commercial panel, while Ennistymon electoral area councillor Martin Conway will contest the Administrative Panel. Both councillors Crowe and Conway received outside nominations to contest the election.

There will be 60 members of the Seanad, three each from the National University of Ireland and Dublin University panels; Industrial and Commercial (9), Administrative (7), Culture and Education (5), Labour (11) and Agriculture (11) where the electorate is made up of councillors and Oireachtas members, while Taoiseach Enda Kenny will make 11 nominations.

A POLISH man who drowned after falling into the sea near Kilkee last May had fished in the area over “30 times” previously, an inquest into his death has heard.

A verdict of accidental death was returned at Clare County Coroner’s Court last Wednesday, in the case of Andrej Marek (29) who died after falling into the sea at the Bridges of Ross on May 16, 2010.

Mr Marek, who had been living in Nenagh, had been out fishing with a friend at the time.

Sea conditions were rough while it had also been very windy on the day the accident occurred, the inquest was told.

After a two-day search of the area, Mr Marek’s body was recovered from the sea near Kilkee.

The inquest heard from Ian Coll who had been fishing with friends near the Bridges of Ross when he noticed two men fishing at a piece of flat rock along the cliff face.

Mr Coll described the area as a “dangerously exposed” piece of rock particularly when the sea is rough. “The sea was particularly rough that day,” he said.

Mr Coll said that it looked like one of the men was going to lower ledge on the cliff. He added that after the man made his way down the cliff he was “nowhere to be seen”. Mr Coll told the inquest that a Polish man who was with Mr Marek came over and asked them for help. Mr Coll said he rang the emergency services and the Coast Guard helicopter arrived after 30 minutes.

Wladyslaw Filar was fishing with Mr Marek on the day in question. Clare County Coroner Isobel O’Dea was told that Mr Filar has since returned to Poland. Mr Filar’s deposition was read out in court by Insp Tom Kennedy.

According to Mr Filar’s deposition, he and the deceased had fished off the Bridges of Ross “30 times” before the accident occurred.

He said that Mr Marek had been standing 15 metres away from him on a cliff, five metres above the water.

Mr Filar then said that he saw his friend, who could not swim, in the water. Mr Filar threw a life buoy towards Mr Marek. He added that he had not seen how Mr Marek had ended up in the water.

Mr Filar recalled it had been a very windy day and the waterfalls running of the cliffs were very strong. He added that it had not been raining.

In his deposition, read to the court by Insp Kennedy, Garda Ken O’Day said that when he arrived at the scene, he spoke with Mr Filar, who he described as being in a very distressed state.

Garda O’Day said the initial search for Mr Marek was called off at around 6.30pm.

The inquest heard that a search and rescue team recovered Mr Marek’s body from the sea and taken ashore at Kilkee Rescue Centre on Monday May 17, 2010.

Autopsy findings were presented in court by Dr Peter Fawl on behalf of Dr Stephen Finn. Dr Fawl stated that that Mr Marek had died as a result of drowning.

Giving her verdict, Ms O’Dea said that Mr Marek had been pronounced dead at Kilkee Rescue Centre on May 17, 2010.

She said that given Mr Filar’s evidence that the deceased had been familiar with the area where he died, the appropriate verdict was one of accidental death. Ms O’Dea acknowledged the work of the rescue services and gardaí.

Insp Kennedy described Mr Marek’s death as a tragic accident and said that he may have either slipped or have been “blown into the water”.

A 61-YEAR-OLD woman from North Clare died after falling down the stairs at home, an inquest into her death has heard.

The body of Patricia ‘Patty’ McDevitt was discovered at her home in Boherbue, Doolin, on September 21, 2010.

At Clare County Coroner’s Court in Ennis last Wednesday, a woman who had rented a room from Ms McDevitt for two years recalled coming from work at the Doolin Activity Lodge on the day in question.

In her deposition, the woman said she had seen Ms McDevitt playing with her three dogs when she came home at 6pm.

She said that Ms McDevitt had “seemed to drink a lot” over the past year but on this occasion she could not say if she had been drinking.

The woman left the house and when she came back she saw Ms McDevitt lying at the bottom of the stairs.

The woman said that both she and her boyfriend had been concerned about Ms McDevitt and had raised their concerns with another woman two months earlier.

The inquest also heard from Garda Deirdre Scanlon who said that Ms McDevitt was prononced dead at the scene by a local doctor. The deceased’s body was identified by Garda Andrew Monaghan to Dr Peter Fawl at the Mid Western Region- al Hospital, Limerick, on September 22, 2010.

Dr Fawl told the inquest that Ms McDevitt died from acute head injuries consistent with having fallen down stairs.

Clare County Coroner Isobel O’Dea returned a narrative verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.

THE LAHINCH based West Coast Surf Club (WCSC) has described Clare County Council’s decision not to consult with either the Irish Surf Association or the WCSC before submitting the revised plan for Doolin Pier as both “shortsighted” and “regrettable”.

Next Monday, March 21, councillors at Clare County Council will vote whether to grant the local authorities Part 8 planning application for the development of Doolin Pier. A decision of the matter was deferred by the councillors in December to allow for more public consultation and since them more than 30 submission have been made on the proposed development.

Surfers fear the development of the pier will effect the waves generated off Crab Island just beside the proposed pier.

“We request that the revised proposals are not accepted and that Clare County Council revert to the 2002 proposal to extend the existing pier to ensure that the wave environ- ment in the area is maintained,” said Cliodhna Fawl in a submission on behalf of the West Coast Surf Club.

“We again take the opportunity to suggest, as we did during a meeting with Clare County Council, their consulting engineers, the WCSC and the ISA in November of 2010, that the option of locating the pier further north in the bay, above the larger public car part be revisited. “This is the closest area in the deep water channel to the deep water channel and is likely to have the least impact on the Doolin wave environ- ment.” In the sane submission the WCSC also raised safety concerns for surfers accessing the water should the new pier be development and a positive negative impact on tourism. “Apart from the damage that the proposed work will undoubtedly do to the world famous wave environment, the design poses a serious and significant health andww safety threat to the surfers accessing the waves at Doolin Point and Crab Island,” she says. “Surf tourism is a highly important and valuable income stream for west Clare, throughout the year, and to proceed with the proposed works without any assessment of the impact on these waves or without any input from surfers sends the wrong message not only outside of Clare but also outside of Ireland.”

DOOLIN will become the main ferry port transporting an estimated 70,000 tourists to the Aran Islands each year should the planned Doolin Pier Development get the go ahead.

That is the opinion of a group representing local tourist interests, ferry operators, the Doolin Community Harbour Co-op and the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard who met in Doolin last week.

At present less than 10 per cent of the estimated 70,000 people who visit Aran travel through Doolin. According to the Doolin groups, the development of the new pier could attract more than half of these tourists to north Clare, with research also showing that 68 per cent of the people who visit the Islands from Doolin would stay at least one night in Clare.

The pier is being opposed by local surfers who believe that it will damage the famous surfing wave at Crab Island just off Doolin Pier.

According to Niall O’Dwyer of Doolin Tourism, the local people are depending on the pier to kick-start the tourism trade in Doolin and in the entire county.

“We are relying on this pier development to turn the tide for tourism in Doolin. It means we can bring large group to the pier all through the year which will give massive sustainability to the businesses lately,” he said.

“This will mean a lot to the people of the whole county. Coaches go to Galway at the moment to access the Aran Island but in reality it would be much easier for them to leave from here. More than 90 per cent of the traffic to the Aran Island goes through Galway but massive amount of that would go from Doolin if this pier is developed.”

More than 91 per cent of the entire population of Inis Oírr have signed a petition submitted to Clare County Council in favour of the pier development.

“The people of Inis Oírr have a close association with north Clare going back generations, not just in Doolin but also in Ballyvaughan and New Quay. This pier has enormous potential to reform those bonds which were formed over generations,” said ferry operator Eugene Garrihy.

“We are firmly of the belief that Clare can promote itself as a tourist location on its own if we secure this development but we must provide a better service for the people who come here.”

According to Mr Garrihy, this development is needed to prevent the emigration of the young people from the area and the eventual destruction of the old traditions in Doolin.

“I grew up in Doolin. I remember holding my mother’s hand when eight of my siblings emigrated to America and to England. I have a sister in New York who emigrated the day I was born, she is still there. I remember the tears and the suffering and the pain and all of that is happening again,” he continued.

“We have an opportunity now to do something that will create sustainable employment in the long term. We believe a good compromise has been reached and we just want to get on with it now.”

OVERCROWDING at the existing pier in Doolin is becoming an increasing safety hazard, both for tourists and water users according to the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard, who use the pier to launch their rescue crafts.

The existing pier is also believed to be too close in the shore-line, meaning that in the case of an emergency a docking boat would not have time to stop before it washes up on the rocks off the pier.

“When the new pier will be built all of the commercial traffic will be able to work off the new pier which will leave the existing pier and slipway for the use of the coastguard and leisure users – so it will take a huge amount of traffic off the existing pier and make things much safer for those using it,” said Mattie Shannon of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard.

“The coastguard would be very concerned about the amount of traffic that is currently operating off the pier as it now stands – not just for our own sake but also for the safety of the tens of thousands of tourists who will be using the pier during the summer months. It would be much better from a safety position if the new pier was allowed to go ahead.”

According to Niall Hughes of the Doolin Community Harbour Co-op, there is a large market from leisure craft owners, scuba diving and other sea uses to access the pier at Doolin.

“The existing harbour is too shallow and it dries out at low tide and the situation now is that there are so many people coming in and out at high tide that the pier gets overwhelmed.

“The pier is far too small for the needs of the community. It has gotten to the stage now that it is nearly all commercial boats coming in now and there is no room for leisure boats – but there is a big demand for leisure boats,” he said.

“There is a huge demand from scuba clubs, families, people who go fishing – to use the pier from a leisure point of view.

“If we have this deep water pier it means that the commercial boats can have safe access at all stages during the tide and the old pier can be used solely for leisure based activities. This is down to safety, there is just not enough space for everyone who wants to use the pier.”