Category: News

AT 3pm on Sunday, the news bulletin said an Taoiseach Brian Cowen would announce a decision about his future at 5pm.

It had been another tough week for the leader of Fianna Fáil and his party. Many had spoken in defeatist tones on the national airwaves; others, even within the party, had said Fianna Fáil would not survive.

In the West County Hotel, Ennis, at the same time, almost 500 delegates gathered to nominate their candidates for the next General Election, and the atmosphere was much further from the feelings in Dublin than the 150 miles.

Although everyone knew there would not be a contest, they still came in their droves in cars and mini buses from all over the county.

As former politicians such as Brendan Daly were welcomed back, the new politician on the block was being keenly welcomed among the people who had supported his father decades before.

Dr John Hillery was the great hope of the Fianna Fáil party in Clare. It was now possible to fill Killeen’s seat they believed and the fight was on.

While some, who had already been to the doors and knew the tough reception that was waiting behind most, they believed that all was not lost. The soldiers of destiny had risen and no one had known from where.

It did not reflect the polls and defied all predictions. The question now remained – would the party faithful come out and vote on election day.

If the words of the speakers were heeded, even the dog would be brought to the ballot box.

Standing ovations praised outgoing Minister Tony Killeen.

The delegates took on the media, the opposition and the critics.

And while some left at five – yes they spoke for that long – to hear the Taoiseach’s long awaited statement, the majority remained committed to the cause.

At 5.10pm Minister Killeen, who was making his final convention speech, was handed a document by PRO Michael McTigue.

“The note says, Tony will you tell them the Taoiseach is staying,” he read.

With that the crowd were on their feet, leaving them in no doubt as to where their loyalties lied.

After listening to Minister Eamon Ó Cuiv rallying the troops the delegates prepared to leave.

More than three hours after the 3pm bulletin and Fianna Fáil had begun fighting.

They left the convention with the final words of chairman of the Comhairle Dáil Cheantair Patrick Moloney ringing in their ears.

“We can win this election. We can win these two seats. We can hold these two seats.”

THERE are four members of Dáil Éireann charged with representing the interests of County Clare. Unlike other countries, Irish parliamentarians are all well known to us. They live in our localities, attend our funerals and are available, quite literally on a 24/7 basis for constituents. Their offices and clinics are visible to us and come election time we will meet them all at least once.

But what is it they actually do? How do they spend their time? How are they helping the county of Clare? How are they working for us? How are they delivering for you?

We decided to ask them.

From this week on The Clare People will host the four TDs in four separate weekly columns side by side. The parameters are simple enough. We asked each TD to describe their working week for the people of Clare. Where were they? How will this benefit Clare? What did they get done? They have four hundred odd words to fill – how they do that is their own affair. We will not be editing their copy, but we will be rating them on their contributions. We invite you to do the same.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind. Firstly and most importantly,

THE number of weekly Aer Lingus regional departures from Shannon is set to jump by 36 per cent this year, the national carrier has revealed after unveiling details of the latest new direct route from the airport under the terms of its franchise agreement with Aer Arann.

From Sunday, March 27 Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Aer Arann, will provide flights to Shannon from Edinburgh in addition to the current Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Glasgow services. Flights to Edinburgh will operate five days per week with fares starting at € 29.99 one way including taxes.

Shannon’s Aer Lingus Regional Summer 2011 schedule, also beginning on March 27, will include additional flights to Manchester on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. The Birmingham service will oper- ate daily on a business-friendly slot, while the Shannon to Glasgow route will operate three times per week.

“Combined with the recently launched Glasgow route, the addition of our new Shannon-Edinburgh service demonstrates the continued success of our franchise agreement with Aer Lingus,” said Aer Arann chief executive Paul Schütz said

“This is the fifth Aer Lingus Regional route launched from Shannon since our partnership with Aer Arann began in April of last year. We look forward to welcoming customers onboard the Edinburgh service in March,” said Aer Lingus director of communications Declan Kearney.

SUPPORTERS of a proposed wind farm in east Clare say the project could potentially generate up to 300 jobs in the area.

Local landowners and farmers are due to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the possibility of developing two wind farms in the Broadford and Ardnacrusha areas.

The project was lent extra impetus by last week’s decision by Clare County Council to keep its existing wind energy strategy in the new County Development Plan.

Councillors had argued that a re- vised strategy would place a number of proposed wind farm projects, such as the one in Broadford, in jeopardy.

Though still in the early stages, landowner PJ Donnellan said that if successful, the project could help revitalise the local economy.

He explained, “There would be one starting in Broadford, going into Ardnacrusha and there’s another one from the Windy Gap going down into Ardnacrusha. It’s a co-op project. We set up the co-op to create jobs for people in our area. We hope it could create about 300 jobs.”

Mr O’Donnell continued, “We’re trying to get jobs for that area and keep everything going. Farmers would be getting an income out of it. The local GAA clubs, sports clubs would benefit out of it. The big companies would just want the land to set up and they would put nothing back. There are complaints about noise and that but I’ve been down at other wind farms and they don’t have any noise out of them. All the councillors supported it the last day. We’re only just at the early stages. We will be looking for planning. Our biggest thing was to get the land re-zoned again.”

Mr O’Donnell said that as many as 30 farmers are looking to get involved in the project which he said has been supported by the local branch of the Irish Farmer’s Association (IFA).

He added, “We’re looking to create jobs for the local area, number one. They would have an income out of it. The local sports teams would all benefit. Young fellas wouldn’t have to go Australia; you wouldn’t have all these guys forced out of the country. And we would be producing energy for this country, we wouldn’t have to be going around the world, to Iraq or wherever to buy oil. The money for oil and diesel, that goes out of the country, back to Dubai or wherever…With wind power, it’s produced in Ireland, the money stays in Ireland. That’s the way it should go.”

Another supporter, Joe O’Connell, cautioned that the project was still very much in the early stages and that there is a “long road” to travel before the area could see any real benefit.

He explained, “We’ve got a group of farmers together and we’re trying to put up a wind farm but it’s at the very early stages. It would be a clean supply of energy but there is a long road to go yet, before you even get planning permission. And even if you got that, the biggest problems can be getting on the grid. You have to wait and wait.”

MEMBERS of Clare County Council have argued that the retention of the council’s existing wind strategy will aid job creation in the county.

The Clare wind energy strategy will form the basis of development plan policy on wind energy and will assist in the assessment of planning applications and in the decision making process.

Last week a majority of councillors voted to retain the existing strategy under the County Development Plan

A total of 18 councillors spoke on the issue when it was raised by Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) at last week’s meeting of Clare County Council.

Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) urged the council to keep the existing wind energy strategy, saying the effect of windfarms on rural areas was minimal.

Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) said he supported keeping the existing wind energy strategy as proposed. Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) argued the existing wind energy strategy was “very robust”.

He added, “Any watering down of the strategy will do a tremendous disservices to the county and to renewable energy in Clare.”

Councillor PJ Ryan (Ind) said that it was very important that the council retain the existing wind energy strategy.

In a reference to east Clare landowners who sat in the public gallery at last week’s council meeting, Cllr Ryan said, “These people in the gallery are dependant on a very meager income from farming”.

Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald (Lab) said he supported the retention of the existing strategy while Cllr Tony Mulqueen (FG) also expressed his support, saying, “jobs are number one”.

Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) said he strongly supported the strategy, as did Cllr Pat Burke (FG) and Cllr Paul Murphy (FG).

HE DIDN’T want to go. He was never as sure of a seat entering an election having seen poll after poll declaring him a shoe in. He was at the peak of his political career and was preparing for the fight.

But medical advice and “appraisals” of his health meant Minister for Defence Tony Killeen was forced to bow out of contesting the General Election on Wednesday last.

The Corofin man does not hide his disappointment at having to retire from politics, and said the decision was so sudden and so against what he wanted to do in his heart that he has no plans for after the votes are counted.

“It is a question that has completely stumped me. I had a lot of work done and a huge election team lined up,” he told The Clare People .

He will not be returning to teaching, having retired from the profession, and will spend some time rest- ing before he makes up his mind.

Having battled with cancer for the last number of years, Minister Killeen’s decision was made he said on health grounds.

“The medical stuff was not encouraging and family were adamant when they told me to cop on,” he said.

Prior to Christmas he had begun work on the election determined to be a candidate but having agreed that an election would be difficult given his health, he said he feared that if he stayed in the race he would have to pull out at the last minute and scupper a new candidate.

Despite being disappointed that he is now out of one the most hotly contested general elections in Clare in years, he has promised to immerse himself in campaigning for other Fianna Fáil candidates.

And despite all the national opinion polls, the out-going Minister for Defence is confident that Fianna Fáil in Clare can still win two seats in the Banner County, against most odds.

A 10-MONTH baby boy living in Shannon is recovering in hospital, having sustained serious injuries including a burn mark, two broken arms, a broken leg and multiple bruising.

The baby was taken to hospital a week ago and the circumstances surrounding the injuries is the subject of a major garda investigation.

The extent of the injuries sustained by the baby were revealed during a weekend court sitting, where a man was charged with assaulting the boy’s mother.

While nobody has been charged with assaulting the baby, the matter is being investigated by gardaí and the HSE.

Larry Connors (18), with an address at Town Court, Shannon, is facing three charges of assaulting his 18-year-old partner in Shannon on various dates in December. Two of the incidents are alleged to have happened at Tullyvarraga, Shannon; one on December 31 and the other between December 1 and 31.

The other incident is alleged to have taken place at the library in Tullyvarraga, Shannon, on December 2 last.

He was brought before a special sitting of Ennis District Court on Saturday, where bail was granted despite garda objections on the grounds that the alleged victim would be “terrorised” by the accused.

Garda David Laing told the court that Mr Connors was arrested in Shannon last Thursday evening. In reply to charge, he said: “I didn’t do it.”

Defence solicitor Caitriona Carmody was granted free legal aid for her client, who is unemployed.

She also applied for bail, pending the hearing of the matter.

However, Inspector Tom Kennedy said gardaí were opposing this for two reasons.

KILKEE woman Marina Keane has ruled herself out of the race for the Dáil, but hasn’t ruled out running in the future.

The 30-year-old solicitor is heavily involved in the Fianna Fáil party in Clare and was approached by party officials to run in the forthcoming election.

While she did consider contesting the election – in the aftermath of sitting TD Tony Killeen announcing his retirement from politics last week – she decided over the weekend that she would not run.

“I’ve ruled myself out. I’ve made the decision not to go. I did give it serious consideration after Tony Killeen stepped down. I did come under pressure last week and was asked to stand. There is an appetite there for a candidate from west Clare and I think people did want a west Clare name on the ticket, but you have to take personal circumstances and work circumstances into account,” she told The Clare People .

She has chosen to concentrate primarily on her career as a solicitor, in the short-term at least. She currently works as a solicitor with Michael Houlihan’s office in Ennis, having graduated from Blackhall Place four years ago.

“I’m still young enough and I am fairly early starting out in my legal career and I want to progress that. I also want to work on reform within the party. I’d like to work with the party on a national level. There has obviously been some damage done to the party over the past couple of years. We need to work on communications in the party,” she said.

Marina grew up in a Fianna Fáil house in Kilkee. Her father Pat has been a county councillor since 1991 and is a former mayor of Clare. She has been a key member of his election campaign team for several years. It’s not the first time that Marina’s name has been linked to the political stage. Her name was mentioned as a possible candidate in the 2007 General Election, but she similarly took the decision at that time not to stand.

She became a member of Ógra Fianna Fáil in Clare at the age of 19 and is currently a Kilrush Comhairle Ceantair representative to the Comhairle Dáil Ceantair.

She is highly regarded in Fianna Fáil circles in Clare and recently worked on the party’s county strategy, aimed at bringing about reform. She has also worked on various subcommittees in the county.

“That’s something I would like to continue to work on in the future; reform in the party,” she said.

“I would never rule anything out. However, my priorities are now on progressing my legal career and working in the Comhairle Ceantair,” she said.

“I’d never say never. It is something that might arise in the future. You can only assess things as they arise,” she said.

PLANS to introduce new charges at the Lees Road Sports and Amenity Park are an attempt to “stop a couple of cute hoors” from not paying for the use of facilities there, a meeting has heard.

The comments were made last week by councillor Brian Meaney (Green) as Ennis Town Council heard calls for and against the introduction of charges for use of the Lees Road cross-country track.

Draft byelaws containing the new charges have gone out for public consultation, as confusion exists over what area of the 29-acre woodland site the charges relate to.

While the cross-country track follows a path through the woods, Town Clerk Eddie Power explained that the track also encompasses a “green landscaped area” at the rear of astro turf pitch and synthetic running track.

Speaking at the January meeting of Ennis Town Council, Mr Power said that some clubs and individuals are using the lighted area to train but were not paying for it.

Clubs and individuals are currently charged for the use of the synthetic running track, playing pitches and astro turf facilities but not for the cross-country track. Mr Power said new charges are being considered in the interests of fairness and consistency.

“Organisations are using that area because it is free, deliberately. Clearly that’s unfair,” he said.

Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said that given the availability of shower and dressing room facilities, the proposed € 2 charge for individuals is “not a whole lot to pay”. He added, “I may not be too popular asking people to pay € 2 for a facility we’ve never had before.”

Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said he supported no change in current system of charges but later added that he had “serious concerns” if lighting at Lees Road was facilitating night-time access to the cross-country track.

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) proposed that the council consider introducing a new method of payment for use of facilities at Lees Road. He said there had to be a “charge of some description” for the cross-country track.

Cllr Meaney asked if the track in its current form could accurately be described as a cross-country running track.

“Until we correct the design deficiencies, I don’t think we could charge for it. Unless people wanted to give a voluntary charge,” he said. Cllr Meaney said the charges were an attempt by the council to stop “a couple of cute hoors” from not paying. He added, “We have to find a different way of dealing with it.”

AN INCIDENT in which a quilt was set on fire while a woman was lying on it was described yesterday by a judge as “unique”.

Judge Carroll Moran made the comment after hearing that were it not for gardaí who fought smoke and fumes, two people would have been killed in an apartment fire in Ennis. The woman lying on the quilt when it was set alight suffered what was described in court as “horrific” injuries.

Michael Keane (44), of Cappamore, Barefield, admitted setting alight a quilt, which created substantial risk of death or serious harm, at Childers Road, Ennis, on July 2, 2008. He also admitted causing harm to Josephine Moloney and pleaded guilty to arson, on the same date.

Sergeant Mark Murphy told Ennis Circuit Court that gardaí received a call indicating that people were trapped in a house fire. On arrival gardaí heard a male voice calling.

“Visibility was nil. Garda Derek Williams couldn’t see. He was using touch. Because of the smoke and heat, his only sense was touch. He went in at least three times. He had to come out to catch his breath,” said Sgt Murphy.

He said that the accused was living in the apartment and Ms Moloney was co-habiting with him. Both had been drinking and an argument took place in relation to a missing mobile phone.

He said that Ms Moloney lay on a quilt on the floor in the bedroom and the accused threatened to set fire to it, if he wasn’t given the phone. He then set fire to a thread of two inches on the corner of the quilt with a cigarette lighter.

“He stamped out the flame. He said he thought it was quenched. He then went in to the bathroom and read The Irish Times for 10 to 15 minutes,” said Sgt Murphy.

When he came out of the bathroom, Keane smelt smoke and saw that the living room was full of smoke. He called Ms Moloney and tried to get water from the bathroom to quench the fire, said Sgt Murphy, but “he didn’t make the bathroom. We assume he fell unconscious at that time”.

Keane and Ms Moloney were both rescued from the house and were tak- en to hospital with serious injuries.

Ms Moloney (41) sustained serious injuries. She suffered second degree burns to several parts of her body, including to her face, ear, neck, chest, arm, hand, abdomen and thigh.

Judge Moran said: “I have been sitting as a judge for over 13 years and have been doing crime (cases) for most of that time. I really haven’t come across a case like this before. It’s quite unique. I really don’t know how to approach this. I’ll sleep on it.”

He adjourned sentencing until March.