Category: News

A SPECIALISED drug and alcohol initiative aimed at helping those addicted to drugs and alcohol in the West Clare area is to be officially launched next month.

The multi-agency support service for people affected by substance misuse and their families was set up six months ago as a “trial”.

Since then it has helped 22 people, and the five agencies involved in the programme now plan to extend its reach.

Margaret Nash from Bushy Park, one of the organisations involved in the programme, said the majority of the people seeking help are dealing with polydrug use – an addiction to both drugs and alcohol.

As many families in West Clare are reaching out to the service as individuals with addictions, she explained, adding that the service is open to helping not just addicts but their loved ones.

Ms Nash who has years of experience working with people with addictions said it is impossible to say what it the most prevalent drug in the area.

“To say ‘drug of choice’ is very simplistic. They may have a favourite drug, but any drug will do,” she said.

The new service is a drop-in service at the Clarecare Offices, Toler Street, Kilrush, and is free of charge.

“It is a safe and confidential area in Kilrush to find help,” said Ms Nash.

She added that isolated areas of the West Clare needed this service to be brought closer.

“It is to cover the whole of the south west area.”

The drop-in service is free of charge and is open every Thursday from 12.30pm to 2pm.

As well as Bushy Park, the service is also supported by the Mid West Regional Drugs and Alcohol Task Force, the Community Substance Misuse Team, HSE and Anna Liffey Drug Project.

EIGHT people have appeared in court charged in connection with an unofficial night-time car event in North Clare last month.

The event took place March 7 and March 8 in locations around North Clare.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, seven young males – including one juvenile – and one female appeared on various charges.

Wayne Danaher (19), with an address at Snipe Lodge, Knockagulla, Lisdoonvarna, is charged with participating in the organisation of an unlawful event, which involved a threat to the public peace, safety and good order through the use of high powered vehicles in a public place.

Mr Danaher is also charged with willfully preventing or interrupting the passage of persons or vehicles at Lislorkin North, Liscannor, near the Cliffs of Moher on March 7 and at Doonyvarden, Ballyvaughan, on March 8. Mr Danaher is also charged with having in his possession a false driver’s licence and false ID.

Two others are also charged in connection with organising the event through the use of high-powered vehicles – Declan Sweeney (20) with an address at Doonagore, Doolin, and Jennifer Cannavan (20) with an address at Derrymore, Lahinch. Both are also charged with wilfully preventing or interrupting the passage of persons or vehicles at Doonyvar- den, Ballyvaughan, on March 8.

Shaun Larkin (27) with an address at Inis Carraig, Ennis, faces two separate charges of dangerous driving at Corkscrewhill, Doonyvarden, Ballyvaughan, after 1am on March 8.

Sean Keane (19) with an address Ballyhannon, Quin, is charged with dangerous driving on March 8 at Corkscrewhill, Doonyvarden.

Rory Downes (21) with an address at Clonakilla, Kilmilhil, faces three separate charges of dangerous driving from March 8 at Toomullin, Doolin, Roadford, Doolin, and Gortaclob, Doolin.

Gabriel Week, with an address at Bealcragga, Connolly, is charged with dangerous driving at Corkscrewhill, Doonyvarden, on March 8.

A 17-year-old boy is charged with dangerous driving at Lislorkin North, Liscannor, near the Cliffs of Moher on March 7 and dangerous driving at Doonyvarden, Ballyvaughan, on March 8.

Judge Early remanded the Leaving Cert student on bail to re-appear before court on July 25 on account that he will be sitting his Leaving Cert in June.

In respect of the other seven accused, Judge Early remanded all seven on bail to re-appear before court on June 11 next to hear how all four intend to plead to the various charges.

Judge Early also directed that where the State has video evidence of the alleged offences to make it available to the defence solicitors.

A NORTH Clare family has been hit by tragedy for the second time in six months, following a fatal house fire that occurred in Ballyvaughan at the weekend.

Patsy O’Loughlin died in the house fire at her home in Derrynavahagh, Ballyvaughan on Sunday evening, just months after her brother Brian McMahon was killed in a road traffic accident in San Francisco.

The mother of two, originally from Kilfenora, had been alone in her home at the time of the fire, which is being treated as accidental.

It is understood that that fire started in the kitchen of her bungalow home, while Ms O’Loughlin was in the bedroom at the time.

Her son who lives next door raised the alarm at 7.15pm.

Three units of Ennistymon Fire Brigade were dispatched and arrived at the scene at 7.46pm.

The ambulance service was already in attendance and was attempting to resuscitate the victim.

Unfortunately the emergency services were unsuccessful in their attempts and Ms O’Loughlin who was in her fifties died at the scene.

Her brother Brian was laid to rest in the family cemetery in Kilfenora after he was hit by a car while out walking during a sunny October morning in San Francisco just over six months ago.

Ms O’Loughlin is survived by her father, her son and daughter who lives in South Africa, relatives and friends.

This is the first fatal fire in the county this year, and records show there were no deaths due to house fires last year in Clare.

FIANNA Fáil leader Michéal Martin has responded to criticism from within elements of the party in Clare that no new blood was introduced during the selection process for its local election candidates.

The Corkman was the first of the party leaders in town for the local and European election campaign, visiting Kilrush, Shannon and Ennis. “It is a very challenging campaign as the number of county councillors have been reduced from 32 to 28. If you had a larger county council it would be easier to bring in new blood,” he said.

The party leader also responded to criticism relating to gender balance with just two female candidates among the 16 Fianna Fáil candidates contesting the election.

“Despite the loss of large numbers of councillors in the 2009 election, Clare held quite well, so we have the best balance we could realistically have,” he said referring to the fact that the five candidates in the eightseat West Clare area are all out going councillors.

“In West Clare six would have been too many to run in an eight-seater, and some would say even five is too much,” he said.

“We want more women participants at party level and particularly at election. The change needs to come at a cultural level. It is an awful pity we don’t have the urban councils. They are a great option for women and indeed young people to test the water,” he said.

“Clare is losing out, meanwhile Dublin is getting 60 new seats. I believe rural Ireland could be under represented and could suffer,” he said.

He admitted that the party had to “refine” its selection process, which again came under criticism this year for not informing the delegates how many candidates would be selected until after they voted at convention.

Deputy Martin also denied that any deal was done with former Green Party Councillor Brian Meaney, when he joined Fianna Fáil.

Cllr Meaney was added to the Ennis ticket after convention, and Mr Martin said that the party was anxious “sitting councillors would get to run wherever possible”.

TWO new candidates have entered the race to represent their respective areas on Clare County Council.

The county’s first candidate from the Fís Nua (New Vision) party, Niamh O’Brien will contest the Killaloe Municipal Area, while Noleen Moran will take up the mantle for Sinn Fein in West Clare.

Ms O’Brien said she found herself in politics more by accident than a burning political career.

“I never had an interest in politics, but politics took an interest in me. I wanted to be able to tell my grandchildren in 30 years time when they complain about how bad things are that I tried my best, rather than just sitting there shouting at the television,” she said.

From O’Callaghan Mills, this East Clare woman is a founding member of the first Women’s Shed in the northern hemisphere.

She was also involved in the Know Your Number Campaign and works in a voluntary capacity supporting people with debt issues.

She went to primary school in Kilkishen and secondary school in Tulla and has an honours degree in Law and Business.

In the west, Ms O’Brien from Ballyvaughan has been a member of Sinn Féin for ten years and is the current county secretary.

Throughout her time in Sinn Féin she has been involved in campaigning on a range of different issues and is particularly concerned about the lack of women public representatives, because she believes that “the consequences of austerity and emigration are having a significant impact on the lives of women”.

She was educated at Lisdoonvarna Secondary School and worked in agriculture and in tourism for a time, before continuing to third level, where she attained a degree in Public and Social Policy from NUI Galway and an LLM from the Irish Centre for Human Rights.

WITH a reduction in council staff of almost 20 per cent in just over five years, councillors fought hard to retain what they could in their own areas at a hotly-contested meeting on Tuesday.

Suggestions from four members that a special workshop should be set up to decide where staff should be employed once the town councils are dissolved on June 1 was met with a firm rejection by the council’s most senior executive.

Sharp exchanges continued between the county manager Tom Coughlan and members, as Mr Coughlan pointed out that staffing issues were not the responsibility of the elected members.

“If that is the kind of system you want then you don’t need a county manager,” he said.

“I have to deal with staff and unions. Staff is not an issue for the council members and that is the law.”

Staff from Kilrush are to be moved to Ennis once the Kilrush and Kilkee Town Councils cease to exist, but 20 members are to remain in the Kilrush office to deal with local issues.

Shannon is to go through a similar process.

Concerned about the Ennistymon office, Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) argued that it would be humanly impossible to continue a service in the North Clare area if more staff were redeployed to Ennis.

Mr Coughlan said that the staffing levels should be sufficient in Ennistymon once some members are moved to Ennis to work in the Environment section. He said he would keep the situation under review.

He said he was already going “against the grain” by keeping two council offices open in the West Clare Area – one in Kilrush and one in Ennistymon.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said that this move was acceptable by the Government due to the huge geographical West Clare area, and was not against any policy.

And it was not just the county manager that came under fire at the meeting.

Cllr McCarthy said of Minister Phil Hogan – “This Minister should be shot”.

Minutes later on reflection the Shannon councillor said, “I would like to withdraw the action that should be taken against the minister and use the word sacked.”

FIVE North Clare teenagers will take the trip of a lifetime later this year to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

The students, who are members of the North Clare No Name Club, will travel to Africa in August.

As well as the gargantuan task of climbing the world’s highest freestanding mountain, the team must both mentally and physically prepare for such a challenge.

They are also busy raising funds for a charity in Tanzania. Each year, the Kilimanjaro Achievers focus on two charitable projects within Tanzania, which they feel could strongly benefit from their help. This year the two selected projects involve raising funds to expand an orphanage school in Cheti, Tanzania, and sponsor a number of children in the same orphanage in Tanzania.

Cheti School is a non-profit, nonreligious, non-government organisation with the dream of providing free education to children in the poorest areas and villages of Arusha, Tanzania.

As part of the trip, the No Name Club group will visit Cheti and help out for a few days at one of the school, gaining first-hand experience of volunteering with a charity abroad. It will be an amazing personal achievement for these North Clare youths and every level of support will be greatfully appreciated.

The No Name Club is a youth club specifically designed for teenagers from the ages of 15 years up, to cater for the gap between Junior Cert and Leaving Cert. It enables young people to organise and enjoy a positive alternative to alcohol and drug-centred activities, building selfconfidence and increase awareness of the effects of alcohol and drugs, thus helping young people make informed choices when they are older. The North Clare No Name Club was established last year, with it’s base in Lahinch and is still welcoming new members to this day from all parts of Clare.

The five club members travelling to Kilimanjaro include Dominic Talty, Declan, Ashling Talty, Naomi Harvey, Rachel Harvey and the club chairperson, Edel Harvey.

The club will hold a fire walk at the Falls Hotel, Ennistymon, on May 9. Support is greatly appreciated. Further information is available at 085 7551721.

There will be a fundraising night at the Galway Greyhound Stadium on May 10. Entry tickets for the night are € 10 per person, with under 12s entering for free.

THE issue of mental health should be higher on the political agenda, a prominent Clare-based social worker has said.

Paul Guckian also praised community groups for stepping in to plug the gap in the mental health services created by cutbacks in public service spending over the past five years.

Mr Guckian, who is the Principal Social Worker with Clare Mental Health Services, was speaking at the ‘No Man Is An Island’ conference in Ennis on Saturday.

In a talk on men’s mental health, Mr Guckian outlined the sign and symptoms associated with depression.

“At the severe end of depression, people can have serious thoughts of suicide, worthlessness, thinking life would be better for me or my family and friends if I committed suicide. That’s not uncommon. A lot of people would have that ideation but it is a warning sign and it is not uncommon.”

He called on politicians to bring the issue of mental health higher up he political agenda.

He said, “The other interesting thing about suicide, and I think this is important for a county like Clare, is that in Ireland, suicidal activity and suicides are a rural phenomenon. It’s much higher instance than in urban areas.

“These are the sorts of issues that are going to have be addressed by everybody in society. I see some of the candidates for the local elections in this room today and there are other people engaged in politics. But it is important this is put on the political agenda,” he added.

Mr Guckian praised the role played by community groups, such as the Ennis Men’s Shed, for the role they have played in assisting people af- fected by depression.

He said, “There are a huge number of community support groups and they really have stepped into the breach in this country since the crash, since the cutbacks in statutory and public services so we have groups like the Men’s Shed movement to help out.

“Unfortunately in the North West area of Clare, there are no social workers in those primary care teams again due to resource issues. For councillors in Clare, maybe that’s an issue they [politicians] could raise on the canvass to have properly funded primary health services,” he added.

THE provision of a safe space where men can talk openly about issues of mental health can help address such as isolation and depression, a meeting has heard.

Frank McNamara, facilitator of the Ennis Men’s Shed, was speaking at the opening of the ‘No Man an Island’ conference in Ennis on Saturday night.

The conference, the first of its kind to be held in Ireland, was organised by members of the Ennis Men’s Shed. Mr McNamara was one of those who set up the Ennis Men’s Shed in Hermitage last year.

Outlining the aims of the initiative, Mr McNamara said, “It is hoped that the well being of its members will be improved and issues such as isolation and lack of self esteem and self worth can be addressed. In tackling these issues it’s not just the shedders that benefit but also their families and the wider community. It gives the men something to focus their time and energy on, which in turn promotes healthier more productive relationships with their partner and / or children.”

Mr McNamara said a meeting at the West County Hotel in May 2013 kickstarted the movement in Ennis. With support from a Clarecastle businessman and Ennis man Tony Mulqueen, who supplied premises, the shed was established at Centrepoint, Hermitage.

“We are now 10 months on and the Ennis Men’s Shed wouldn’t be where it is today without the support and backing of Tony and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him.”

Mr McNamara told the conference that the shed is open to all men over 18. He said the Ennis Men’s Shed committee has received fantastic support from the community, the Clare / Limerick Education Training Board and Clare Arts Council.

He added. “With the Ennis Men’s Shed going from strength to strength and in order for the shed to have the positive impact on the local community that its committee and members envisage, it is vital that we link in fully with other community support groups and government agencies so they have a confidence in suggesting Ennis Men’s Shed as an option to those presenting with issues such as depression isolation, exclusion etc.”

A BOOK of evidence has been served on a man accused of causing over € 13,000 worth of damage to a house in Ennis almost two years ago.

Bernie Mongan (26) is charged in connection with an incident that occurred at the Dun Na hInse housing estate in 2012.

Mr Mongan, with addresses at Dun Na hInse, Ennis, and Leim An Bhradáin, Gort Road, Ennis, is charged with criminal damage.

It is alleged he caused € 13,580 worth of damage to the walls, windows and structure of a house in Dun na hInse, Ennis on June 29, 2012.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed the case proceed to trial on indictment meaning it will be heard in the circuit court.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had consented to the accused being returned for trial to the next sittings of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on April 29.

Garda Irene O’Flynn of Ennis Garda Station gave evidence of serving the book of evidence on the accused. Judge William Early delivered the alibi warning and made the order returning the accused for trial on bail. He granted legal aid going forward for defence solicitor Tara Godfrey and one junior counsel.

Mr Mongan is due to appear before the Circuit Court in Ennis tomorrow.