Category: News

CLARE councillors will attempt to block the transfer of the county’s water infrastructure to Irish Water. This news comes in the wake of the revelation that Clare County Council, and not Irish Water, are still the legal owners of the vast majority of the county’s multi-million euro water infrastructure.

Shannon Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND), who proposed a motion to abolish Irish Water at this months meeting of the local authority, says he will investigate ways to prevent the transfer of the water assets, and may bring forward a new motion at next months meeting of Clare County Council.

The revelation came to light following a motion about the Castlecrine Reservoir discussed at the November meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District.

“This is a big revelation and the transfer of assets to Irish Water is something that we were particularly interested in.

“I will be investigating the situation and if there is something that could be done about this transfer I will bring it forward,” said Cllr Flynn.

The council’s ownership of the wa- ter infrastructure came to light following a motion put forward by Cllr Alan O’Callaghan about the status of the approach road to the Sixmilebridge reservoir.

Responding to questions, a council spokesperson conf rmed that the Castlecrine reservoir was still legally the property of Clare County Council – before going on to conf rm that all the major water infrastructure in Clare is still owned by the local authority.

Speaking on the motion, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) said he was “astonished” that Clare County Council still owned the water infrastructure.

“I’m kind of astonished to be honest, to learn that the handover [to Irish Water] will happen in the future. Over € 1m is being spent down in Killaloe. Have Irish Water been given control of certain reservoirs but not others? There is a lot of money being spent.

“How can Irish Water be spending money is areas that they don’t own? Who is spending the money?” he said.

The council spokesperson conf rmed that money currently being spent on water and sewage projects is being spent by Clare County Council, on behalf of Irish Water.

GARDAÍ believe a black Subaru car was involved in an eight-hour burglary spree against properties in rural parts of Clare last week.

Five properties in north and west Clare were broken into on Wednesday and gardaí believe that the same gang is responsible for the offences.

“All of the following burglaries were committed on the same date and we believe involved the same culprits who were using a black Subaru hatchback with three males on board”, a garda spokesman said.

A house at Drumnagrown, Ennistymon was the targeted when thieves forced their way in through a rear door between 8.25am and 2.30pm.

Rooms in the house were ransacked and a gold ring, engagement ring, six pairs of gold earrings, an iPod touch, a pair of men’s shoes and a pir of blue sport shoes were stolen.

The gang gained access to the Grove, Main Street, Kildysart between 8.50am and 5.05pm. The rear window was forced open, rooms were ransacked and a sum of money was stolen. Another burglary occurred between 9am and 3pm at Shandrum, Mullagh when a sum of money was stolen.

Between 10am and 2pm the rear door of a property at Dereen Car- ragh, Fanore was forced open. The rooms were ransacked and a sum of money in euros and sterling was stolen.

A property at Furoor, Kilkee was also ransacked when it was broken into between 1.40pm and 5.10pm but nothing was stolen on this occasion. MEANWHILE gardaí are hunting a gang who carried out an armed at a business in Shannon last week.

The XL stores shop in Drumgeely was the target of the robbery that took place on Wednesday, November 19. Two masked men were involved in the incident, which occurred around 9pm. One waited outside and the other entered the shop brandishing a knife demanding money. He is described a wearing a white mask with blue red and pink colours in it, a grey hoody black tracksuit pants, brown boots and grey socks.

He was about 5’8” in height and very thin. The other person is not described. They came from the direction of Fergus Road dual carriage way and left in the same direction empty handed.

A silver van, possibly a ford transit with three males in it, was seen acting suspiciously in the Drumgeely area before the robbery. Gardaí in Shannon are appealing for information

AN ENNIS man who admits striking a former Clare hurler in the side of the head with a pint glass walked free from court last week after his case was adjourned for a year.

Alan Markham suffered serious head wounds when he and a friend were the victims of a violent attack in Ennis on the night of December 21, 2013.

Mr Markham was socialising with friends when he was struck in the head from behind with a glass by Jordan Whelan (19) as he walked in the Abbey Street car-park.

Mr Markham, a Munster title winner with Clare, and a friend Sean Hogan chased three teenagers to the grounds of the Coláiste Muire secondary school.

Mr Markham was struck a number of times in the head and legs with a stick before being knocked to the ground.

Mr Markham was knocked to the ground where he was repeatedly kicked

“I just lay on the ground and covered my head”, he later told gardaí.

Three friends who had been drinking in Ennis on the night pleaded guilty to their respective roles in the robberies against Mr Markham and Mr Hogan.

Shane McCarthy (19), with an address at Shalee Drive, Ennis and Jordan Whelan (19), with an address at Dun na hInse, Ennis, admitted robbery of money from Alan Markham at the Coláiste Muire, Ennis on December 21.

Evan Toomey (18), with an address at Oak Park, Ennis, pleaded guilty to the robbery of € 100 from Sean Hogan, also at Colásite Muire, Ennis on December 21.

Mr Toomey and Mr Whelan both appeared before Ennis Circuit Crim- inal Court on Friday for sentencing.

Judge Gerald Keys said aggravating factors in the case were the fact that the robberies were “a joint enterprise, violence was used”.

He said mitigating factors in the case were the accused’s cooperation with gardaí and early admissions which saved the exchequer the cost of a trial.

The Judge said all three men had also expressed regret for their actions.

In respect of Jordan Whelan, Judge Keys noted his previous good record and his positive engagement with the Probation Services. Adjourning the case for a year, Judge Keys told Mr Whelan that if he stepped out of line again over the next 12 months he would send him to prison.

“That I promise you, I will do”, added the Judge.

Judge Keys continued, “I hold the view that when one gets into trouble for the f rst time, one should be given an opportunity. I am now giving you that opportunity.”

He said, “If you step out of line, I am telling you, you will go to jail.”

In respect of Evan Toomey, Judge Keys noted his bad record and the fact that he had committed further offences the commission of the offence on December 21, 2013. He imposed a two year sentence.

Mr Toomey also received an 18 month concurrent sentence for a theft related offence committed in Ennis on January 12, 2104.

He received a further two year consecutive sentence for theft and robbery offences committed in Ennis on March 2, 2014 while on bail.

Judge Keys said members of the public must feel safe walking the streets of Ennis, day or night, without fear of being “mugged or robbed”. Sentencing of Shane McCarthy was adjourned to a later date.

prison off cers were required to quell the latest disturbance that occurred in Ennis Courthouse on Friday evening. Three gardaí and two pris on off cers left the courtroom to pro vide assistance to their colleagues after loud banging and shouting was heard from the cells.

Following the incidents a prison of f cer told the court from the witness box that a man had become “quite agitated and violent” after another man allegedly passed him some ille gal substance while in court. He was subsequently removed from the cell to a prison van.

The court heard that a prison of f cer was accidentally injured during the disturbance.

Flanked by f ve prison off cers and two gardaí, the accused returned to the court. In May, the same man, a Mr Eddie O’Sullivan with a Limer ick address, appeared in court wear ing just his boxer shorts after strip ping in protest at getting chicken nuggets and not a snack box for his lunch, while in custody.

AN organisation that provides assistance to homeless people in Clare says an increasing number of fami lies are seeking their help.

HELP the Homeless and Vulnerable says it has provided food and sup port to three families in Clare in the past 10 days.

The Clare organisation, which helps homeless people in Clare and around Ireland, is holding a number of events in Ennis over the next few weeks to highlight the issue of home lessness.

Volunteers will hold a soup run at O’Connell Square, Ennis tonight at 9pm.

“We are going to have a stand and we will be giving out soup to people that need it.

“We are in touch with quite a lot of people at this time of the year”, a spokeswoman for HELP said.

The event will be followed by a sleep out in memory of the late Josef Pavelka in Ennis town centre on December 22.

In 2013, Mr Pavelka’s plight received national attention when a district court judge described it as a “scandal” that Mr Pavelka was liv- ing in a public toilet in the Market in Ennis. Five weeks after the remarks of Judge Patrick Durcan, Mr Pavelka’s body was found in a lane-way behind Supermacs on Ennis’s O’Connell Street late on a Saturday night.

Mr Pavelka’s remains were buried at Drumcliffe cemetery in Ennis af ter his family did not seek the repa triation of his body.

An inquest subsequently found that the Czech national had toxic levels of alcohol in his system when he died of a heart attack in May 2013.

Volunteers will sleep out in Ennis in memory of Mr Pavelka.

“Its not a fundraiser, its just some thing we’re doing to highlight homelessness and remember Josef.

“There will also be a few musicians playing on the night”, the spokeswoman said.

HELP volunteers will provide Christmas dinner to homeless people at an event in Roslevan on December 25.

Further details are available on the HELP the Homeless and Vulnerable Facebook page.

There are also plans to provide a drop in centre for homeless people in Ennis.

A BURREN girl, whose pet goat was stolen more than three months ago, is to write to Santa Claus asking for her safe return.

Nine year-old Rosa O’Dea has been searching for her pet goat, Hazel, since she was stolen from a farm close to Carron in mid-August.

According to Rosa’s mother, Regina O’Dea, a number of goats have been stolen in the area in recent month and her daughter is still hopeful that her pet goat may be returned.

“She is still really upset, but she is mad as well. She is quite cross that anyone would think of stealing her goat. She has written to Santa Claus, asking will he be able to help and bring Hazel back,” said Regina.

“We are just hoping that someone will recognise Hazel and get in touch. It’s a long shot we know, she could be anywhere in the country by now. She may have been passed on to people who wouldn’t realise that she has been stolen. Rosa is still really bothered about it and still speaks about it all the time.”

Hazel and a male goat Bill, were both bottle reared by Rosa since they were kids. After searching locally for months, the family are hopeful that someone may recognise the goat and return her before Christmas.

“Rosa bottle reared both the goats. Hazel and Billy, and now Billy just follows everyone around the farm, he just misses Hazel so much.

“He has even followed walkers and gone off the road looking for her. He has never done that before,” said Regina. There is no way that Hazel would have roamed off. She has been there for the past four years with Billy and they stay together all the time. When goats are bottle fed and kept as pets, they don’t tend to stray.

“They took the female goat and left the male – the male would not have been much use to them. We are convinced that she was stolen, this has happened to a lot of people in the area. We’ve heard from a lot of the local people. Besides, she would not have gone on her own – the two of them have been together since they were born and they probably really miss each other now as well.”

Anyone with any information about Hazel’s whereabout is asked to ring Regina on (087) 4143598.

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny (FG) will receive a hot reception when he visits Shannon next Monday with hundreds of anti-water charge campaigners expected to take to the streets in protest.Clare Says No To Water Charges and the Right to Water group will host separate protests in Shannon on the day, with the Taoiseach in Clare to open a new facility at Genworth.

In the wake of violent scenes in Dublin over the weekend, both Clare groups said yesterday that they want the Shannon protests to remain peaceful.

“We don’t want to see what happened in Tallaght. We don’t want things getting out of hand or any problems occurring. We want this to be completely peaceful,” said Shannon councillor and member of the Right To Water group, Mike McKee (SF).

“I would condemn any riotous or overly boisterous behaviour. You get that in certain places and I would certainly hope that it will not happen here.

“We would demand that the people who come out keep it peaceful, oth- erwise we don’t want them with us.” These sentiments were echoed by Paul Whitmore of the Clare Says No To Water Charges group, who also announced a third protest march for Ennis on November 29.

“We are planning a peaceful protest. We want to get the message across that Irish Water should be abolished and the powers should go back to the county council,” he said.

A TEENAGER who robbed a handbag from a female pensioner in Shannon has been spared a criminal conviction.

At Ennis Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, Judge Carroll Moran applied the Probation Act in respect of the 17 year-old after being told of the teenager’s clean record and “excellent engagement” with the Probation Services. An 18 year-old man, who admitted a charge of handling stolen property, also received the benef t of the Probation Act. The charges arose following an incident at Tullyvarraga Hill, Shannon on July 9, 2012.

At a sentencing hearing in March, Detective Garda Roddy Burke of Shannon Garda Station told prosecuting counsel Stephen Coughlan BL, that an elderly woman was walking on a private footpath when the then 16 year-old came up behind her and snatched her handbag.

The woman gave chase but slipped on a step and fell. She was hospitalised for eight days and treated for a cracked pelvis and chipped hip.

A then 16 year-old pleaded guilty to robbing the woman’s handbag, con- taining € 45. A then 17-year-old boy, with no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to handling stolen property.

Final sentencing in the case was adjourned to allow for the preparation of reports from the Probation Services. Neither of the accused have any previous convictions.

Judge Carroll Moran said, “This was a serious matter. The injured party was 73 years-old at the time and was targeted in a handbag snatch”. He said the woman showed “great fortitude” in giving chase to the accused. He said the targeting of elderly people is a serious matter, that in normal circumstances would warrant serious punishment.

But Judge Moran noted from the report that there had been an “excellent engagement” from the now 17-yearold with the Probation Services.

He said the services are of the view the accused will not offend again.

Judge Moran said he did not want to criminalise this young man anymore than he had to. Neither accused has come to Garda attention since the incident. He applied the Probation Act in respect of both teenagers and. Both accused entered into bonds to be of good behaviour.

A NEWLY-appointed High Court Judge has said time spent staying in Kilkee ranks among his most treasured memories of working in Clare.

Judge Carroll Moran recalled his time on the bench in Clare on his last day presiding over circuit court business in Ennis Courthouse.

The judge, who has sat in Clare on a permanent basis on the southwestern Circuit since 2004, has been promoted to the High Court.

Yesterday he recalled the period when the circuit court sat in Kilrush to facilitate the re-development of Ennis Courthouse.

Judge Moran said he stayed at the Stella Maris Hotel in Kilkee. He told the court that most people are familiar with Kilkee in the summer but “to be in Kilkee in February is quite an experience” as the Atlantic waves crashed against the cliffs. Judge Moran said he would “treasure” those memories of Kilkee for a long time.

Judge Gerald Keys, the circuit court Judge in Clare, led tributes to Judge Moran, saying, “This court has lost an extraordinary good Judge.”

Judge Keys said Judge Moran’s “appetite for work is quite extraordinary” and set down quite a precedent for others to follow.

Speaking on behalf of the Clare Bar Association, Michael Collins BL, said Judge Moran was a man of “administrative f air”, of “courtesy” and “compassion”.

He said Judge Moran is an “unfathomable font of patience”.

President of the Clare Law Association, William Cahir, said the people of Clare had been well served by Judge Moran’s efforts to reduce the long delays in circuit court lists that had existed in the county in 2002.

State solicitor for Clare Martin Linnane said, “You deserve your elevation judge and I wish you all the best.”

Chief Supt of the Clare Garda Divi- sion, John Kerin thanked Judge Moran for the courtesy he had shown to all gardaí.

He praised the judge for the “humane” manner in which he had dealt with cases. Court off ce manager, Josephine Tone said it had been a pleasure to work with Judge Moran and to see him work.

Judge Moran said he was “overwhelmed” by the compliments and “delightful lies!” he had heard.

He paid tribute to all court services staff, past and present, he worked with and his predecessors on the bench, Judge Kevin O’Higgins and Judge Sean O’Leary.

A SHANNON man who admitted stealing a phone at a house party has escaped an immediate jail sentence.

However Judge Patrick Durcan told Kenneth Ryan (21) that he would have no hesitation in sending him to jail if reoffends over the next two years.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Judge Durcan imposed a a two month sentence on Mr Ryan after he pleaded guilty to the theft of a mobile phone from a house in Ballycasey, Shannon on July 27, 2014.

The court heard Mr Ryan, with an address at Tradaree Court, Shannon, committed the offence two months after being placed on a probation bond.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court the phone was discovered on Mr Ryan after he was arrested by gardaí for a public order offence in Shannon. The court heard the phone had been stolen from a woman who had attended a house party in the hours prior to Mr Ryan being detected.

Mr Ryan has previous convictions for drugs, criminal damage and public order. Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client developed quite a signif cant problem with alcohol at an early age but has taken steps to address the issue.

“I would say this is very much a falling off the wagon situation”, she added.

Urging the court to be lenient, Ms Godfrey said her client is a young man with a future.

Judge Durcan imposed a two month prison sentence, suspended on condition Mr Ryan enter into a bond to be of good behaviour.

Mr Ryan entered into the bond. Judge Durcan warned Mr Ryan that if he fell off the wagon again over the next two years, he would serve to full two months.