Category: News

TRAGEDY has turned into triumph at the Cliffs of Moher, as more than 200 sick or injured people benefited from the facilities at Nicholas’ Room at the North Clare tourist attraction last year.

Usage of the first aid room increased dramatically last year, with poor weather conditions and a general increase in visitors understood to drive the increase.

The facility was established in the memory of baby Nicholas Kelly, who was born prematurely at the Cliffs of Moher in 2006, before passing away on route to hospital.

Nicholas’ parents Delia GarciaStokes and her husband Kelly Stokes, raised the money to fund the first aid room at the cliffs in memory of their son.

“The hurt never goes away but we have had an opportunity to make something very positive from those circumstance, and that’s been our miracle. It didn’t work out the way we prayed [when we became pregnant], but in a way our prayers have been answered,” said Delia last week.

A total of 87 people received first aid in Nicholas’ Room last year – up from 55 in 2012 – and more than 150 people borrowed a wheelchair from the room for the duration of their visit to the Cliffs of Moher.

“This was an increase on the volumes in the last year which is due to both the increased volume of visitors to the centre and the higher incident of extreme weather events, usually wind, during the year,” said Katherine Webster of the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience.

“The majority of first aid incidents are minor cuts, bumps and scrapes but we have also treated visitors for broken bones, sprains and allergic reactions. It’s not just visitors who benefit from the facilities provided in Nicholas Room but staff also.

“Visitors from as far field as India, Russia and Israeli were treated on site. On top of providing valuable services to those in need the story of Nicholas Room also continues to provide inspiration to both staff and visitors alike.”

SENIOR HSE management has admitted that there are less home help hours available to the elderly in Clare compared to other counties, but it has already begun work to address the historical deficit.

HSE area manager Bernard Gloster said the HSE delivered more home help hours in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary last year than were funded or set out in projections at the end of the year.

In 2012 the HSE was ordered to cut home help hours and meet new targets.

“There is a significant challenge about the distribution of home help hours across the country and here within the mid-west across the counties,” Mr Gloster said during a special meeting to unveil the costings and general plans for community health services in the region this year.

“I have been the first to recognise there is a difference per head of population in Clare compared to the other two counties,” he added.

However he said that the HSE was addressing the disparity by providing 20,000 more hours last year.

In 2013 in Limerick the HSE midwest provided 17,000 less hours than the previous year, but above the year’s target, and 12,000 hours less in North Tipperary but again above target. In Clare it delivered 20,000 more hours.

“I hope that is indicative to our commitment to fair and equitable balance, while not allowing you to think at the same time we can go and turn the tap off in another county and correct an historical balance,” he said. “You can not look at home help in isolation however. You must also look at the available bed profile. The public bed profile in County Clare is 224, in Limerick it is 192, in North Tipperary it is 114 so you have to balance other emphasis that were based historically.”

AMONG those lining up to have their heads shaved or their hair dyed in Cooraclare at the weekend is local man Noel Morrissey who has agreed to lose hair that has been years in the growing, if he gets 1,000 likes on the charity’s facebook page.

The brainchild of local men Declan Meaney, Fergus Conway and Seamus Hehir this one-off event – ‘West Clare Shave or Dye’ – features up to 26 heads from Cree, Cooraclare, Kilmihill, Kilrush, Kilkee, Doonbeg and Quilty that will go under the blade or the hair dryer on Saturday night, March 29, from 9.30pm at the Danganelly Tavern.

A dozen of those signed up are having their hair dyed by stylists from Lover Your Hair, while Jimi’s Barbers in Kilrush will take charge of the razors.

People can also donate on the night for the chance of shaving part of some of the charity raisers’ heads.

All money raised will do to the Shave or Dye Irish Cancer Society Campaign.

Declan has already had his hair dyed for the last three weeks, green, blond and blue, which has proven to be a less than appropriate look as he has had to attend funerals and other more sombre occasions.

“Sure it is all for a good cause,” said the man who will have his head shaved on the night.

Three women are among those lined up to lose their lovely locks.

Tickets for the event are € 5, which includes a raffle and music by In Tune. Masters of Ceremonies on the night are Joe Garry and Bernie Kelly.

NINE schools that cater for 1,600 students in Clare will get a face lift this year as the Government announced its first round of the Summer Works Scheme for 2014.

The seven primary schools and two post-primary schools include Cratloe NS, Scariff Central NS, Killaloe Boys NS, Cooraclare NS, Scoil Mhichil Cahermurphy, Connolly NS, Kilnaboy NS, Ennis Commu- nity College and St Michael’s Community College, Kilmihil.

The nine Clare schools are among 387 schools nationwide to receive funding under this year’s scheme, which covers projects such as electrical, gas and mechanical works.

A second round of the scheme is expected to be announced in coming weeks. This round will cover other types of improvement works, with applications still being assessed.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn (Lab), said, “These works will be carried out in schools over the summer months, when the pupils are on holidays, so the disruption to schooling will be kept to a minimum.

“In this Year of Jobs, I and the department are committed to doing everything we can to ensure as many people as possible get back to work. These projects will stimulate economic activity by supporting 2,160 direct and 430 indirect construction jobs in the local economy,” he concluded.

NEARLY a quarter of million euros worth of funding announced on Friday for the repairs of four Clare piers is part of the € 16.8 million previously announced by the Government, despite reports to the contrary.

The funding – which amounts to € 130,950 for Liscannor Pier, € 65,700 for Ballyvaughan Pier and € 18,000 for Seafield Pier and Kilbaha Pier in West Clare – will not come from fresh government funding.

Councillors at yesterday’s North Clare Meeting of called for an end to the Government “spin” in relation to the Government funding for the storms, which they say is creating confusion amongst the public.

“We should not have any further announcements of this kind, this is very misleading. The very least that could be done is that we should know where we stand. This sort of confusion is not acceptable,” said Cllr Richard Nagle.

A spokesperson from Clare County Council said that the most recent announcement was supposed to indicate the exact locations where the funding would be spent and not to indicate that new funding was being made available.

Cllr Michael Kelly (FF), said that the most recent statement represent “spin” from the Government.

“There should be clarity, this is all spin. We would all be as well off to get a clear statement and leave it at that,” he said.

“This is the second time that there has been a misunderstanding like this. There is a lot of misinformation coming out about this funding.”

The four piers were severely damaged by the successive storms which rocked the Clare coast in January and February.

“This is no extra money, it is just clarification of where that money is going. My understanding is that this money has already been included in the general fund and that is that,” said a council spokesperson.

THE famous Lahinch ‘loo with a view’ – a tiny plot of land on the promenade which was sold for more than € 400,000 at the height of the property bubble – could soon revert to previous function as a public toilet.

The tiny property, which was sold by Clare County Council in June of 2008, could yet be purchased back by the local authority and redeveloped as toilets, using the same € 400,000 which the council received from the sale of the property more than five years ago.

Plans to develop a new state of the art public toilet facility at Lahinch have been shelved for a number of years. The money raised from the sale of the old toilets has been ringfensed for the project but Clare County Council has been waiting for matching funding from Fáilte Ireland before gong forward with the project.

Council officials at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting of Clare County Council said that the possibility of purchasing back the “loo with a view” would be examined. The property has not been developed since it was purchased at auction in 2008.

“Surely to God we could buy back that block at the top of the prom- enade and put in place a state of the art toilet. How much do you want to spend on these toilets?” said Cllr Bill Slattery (FG) yesterday.

“I am very frusratrated with the situation. Nothing has been done by Clare County Council or Fáilte Ireland. The criticism that we are getting in Lahinch because of the lack of toilets is unreal. We can’t walk down the promenade without being criticised. We have no public toilets in Lahinch and I think that is an absolute disgrace.”

At present the public is provide with access to toilets at Lahinch Seaworld, which councillors yesterday said were not adequate to deal with the crowds who descend on Lahinch beach each summer.

Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) also said that the council should not spend any more money on consultants reports.

“There were no less than three different consultants involved in producing the report and since the report was produce nothing has been done,” he said.

“Every year, every councillor in inundated with complaints about the toilets in Lahinch because they are not fit for purpose.”

The possibility of using the € 400,000 to extend and develop the current toilets at the Lahinch Seaworld will also be examined.

A COTTAGE industry in the cultivation of cannabis seems to be forming in West Clare according to a District Court Judge.

Judge Patrick Durcan made the comments during the case of a 44year-old man who appeared before him charged with growing six cannabis plants in his Tullycrine home.

Stephen McMinn of Tullycrine, Kilrush pleaded guilty to the cul- tivation of cannabis plants without a licence contrary to Section 17 of Misuse of Drug Act 1977 and the unlawful possession of a controlled drug contrary to Section 3 and Section 27 (as amended by section 6) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1984.

The court heard that on May 23 gardaí searched the defendant’s home in the presence of his wife and discovered six potted plants.

Defence solicitor Fiona Hehir told the court that he was growing the plants for his own recreational use.

“He is on social welfare and doesn’t have the money to go out at night and grows it as a pastime,” she said.

She added that he no longer smokes the drug and was “not a man typically involved” in this crime.

“It was more of an experiment,” she said.

Judge Durcan questioned if this did not make the issue more serious.

“You seem to have a bit of a cottage industry here in Clare,” he said to Gardaí.

“There is a bit of it,” replied pros- ecuting Garda Supt Seamus Nolan.

“More than a bit,” replied the judge.

The superintendent pointed out that there were a number of similar cases before the court.

“You don’t have a poitín problem down here?” queried Judge Durcan.

“More sale and supply,” replied the Garda Superintendent.

He added that it was “not something we take lightly.”

The judge ordered a probation report for Mr McMinn for May 20.

CLARE County Council reached settlements totaling € 8,837 on pothole related public liability claims since 2012.

The figures for public liability and employee liability claims settled or in process for 2012 and 2013 were revealed at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council.

Cllr Brian Meaney requested the information in a motion submitted to the adjourned March meeting.

He stated, “I request a case by case listing of all public liability and employee liability claims lodged settled or in process against Clare County Council for the year 2012, 2013”.

The Fianna Fáíl councillor also requested details of any legal costs arising from the claims.

The figures supplied by Clare County County Council show € 4,269 was paid out in pothole settlements in 2012.

Almost half of the settlements re late to a pothole in the Claureen area of Ennis.

In 2012, the council agreed settlements of € 2,117 for claims made in relation to potholes in Claureen.

Cllr Meaney questioned what measures the council is taking to ensure it doesn’t have to make further payments for pothole related claims.

He said in the case of Claureen pothole, it might be more accurate to call it the “Claureen chasm”.

Cllr Meaney also questioned what work had been done to repair a pothole in Fanore, which he said seems to have become more of a “fissure”.

The figures show that the council agreed a settlement of € 3,369.24 in 2013 for a claim arising from a pothole on the Fanore Coast Road.

“Did the car fall in, in its entirety to the thing or what happened”, asked Cllr Meaney.

He also sought further information on why the council paid out a settlement of € 10,912 in 2012 for a defective public litterbin in Shannon town.

Senior Executive Officer, Michael McNamara told the meeting that he did not have the information to hand.

A FAMILY were “terrorised” at their home in Shannon when a gang of 12 people arrived for a confrontation in the early hours of New Year’s morning, a court has heard.

Grandfather Michael Murphy (45) suffered cuts to his face, lip and knee during the incident at the Cluain Alainn estate in Shannon at around 4.30am on January 1, 2012.

Mr Murphy and his then 19-yearold son Kieran had to run a “gauntlet” of kicks and punches during the ordeal, the court heard.

Garda Colm Moriarty of Shannon Garda Station told the court that as many as 12 people were outside the house at during the incident which was sparked by an alleged assault at Finian Park in Shannon earlier that night. Four people appeared before Ennis Circuit Criminal Court yesterday having pleaded guilty to violent disorder. Schoolmates Daniel Larkin (22), from Mount Ivers, Sixmilebridge, Jake Egan (22), from Aidan Park, Shannon, Shane O’Connor (23), from Ballycasey Manor, Shannon and Gearoid Condron (22) from Drumline, Newmarket on Fergus, were among a large gang of people that traveled in cars from Shannon and Ennis to the quiet residential area near Hurler’s Cross.

Mr Murphy, his wife, son, daughter and young granddaughter were in the house at the time.

Garda Moriarty told the court that at one point a person, not one of the four men before the court, threatened to burn down the house.

When Mr Murphy Snr pleaded that there was a young child in the house, the reply from the person was “F*** the kids”. Garda Moriarty agreed with prosecuting counsel, Stephen Coughlan’s view that the Murphy family were “terrorised” on the night. The court heard Mr Murphy’s daughter was afraid to stay in the house for weeks after the event.

Garda Moriarty said Daniel Larkin organised people to go to the Murphy home to confront Kieran Murphy.

He said Mr Larkin alleged that he had been “jumped” by Kieran Murphy in Shannon at around 1.30am that night. The groups had been socialising in the Shannon Knights Pub. The court heard Michael Murphy found Mr Larkin and Jake Egan standing outside his front door at 4.30am. They were roaring for Ki- eran Murphy to come outside, the court heard.

Mr Egan, who plays rugby with St Senan’s rugby club, used his foot to prevent Mr Murphy from closing the door, an action that forced Mr Murphy to hit Mr Egan.

Counsel for the DPP, Stephen Coughlan told the court that Michael and Kieran Murphy went to the edge of the property and asked the gang to leave. Counsel said the men were “harried, circled and struck from behind”.

“It was like running a gauntlet. They were struck by one person, then another and then another”, he added.

At one point Kieran Murphy brought a knife to the door but was persuaded by his mother to leave the weapon in the house.

Garda Moriarty told the court Gearoid Condron and Shane O’Connor arrived at the house having been driven from Ennis in a black Audi car.

The court heard that Mr O’Connor, a rugby player, shouted “C’mon so you f*****, swing for me” at Mr Murphy Snr. Gearoid Condron, the court heard, pushed his way into the hallway and engaged in a fight with Michael Murphy. Mr Condron denies entering the house. At this point, the court heard that Kieran Murphy struck Mr Condron with a golf club.

Garda Moriarty said Daniel Larkin kicked the taillights of two cars parked in the driveway.

Jake Egan and Shane O’Connor have no previous convictions. Daniel Larkin has 16 previous convictions for road traffic offences.

Gearoid Condron has three previous convictions for road traffic offences. Judge Gerald Keys said he was willing to adjourn sentence to April 29 to allow the men time to come up with compensation for the victims. He ordered the four men to pay the money from their own pockets.

“This is money you are going to have to earn for yourself for the outrageous conduct of all four of you”.

Judge Keys said this was a case where Mr Murphy Snr had been kicked in the face. He said the accused were all educated men from good family backgrounds.

“None of you will walk away from this court without living up to your responsibility to Mr Murphy”, he added. The men were remanded on continuing bail to appear again in court on April 29. Judge Keys said he was not ruling out a custodial sentence.

A NUMBER of Clare motorists alleged to have been detected speeding by the Go Safe speed vans have had their cases adjourned after a judge requested clarity on the prosecutions being brought to court.

At Ennis District Court on Friday, Judge Patrick Durcan adjourned eight cases to May 2. He struck out cases against two motorists after the State applied to have them withdrawn.

Judge Durcan has requested the State look at the legislation underpinning the prosecutions brought by Go Safe.

After hearing evidence in one al- leged speeding case, Judge Durcan raised concerns over the evidential basis of photographs taken by the vans’ cameras of alleged speeding motorists.

Following the judge’s direction, it is unlikely that any Go Safe prosecutions will proceed in Clare over the next six weeks.

In one case, Go Safe official Paul Bennett gave evidence that the speed van camera detected a woman driving at 66km in a 50km zone at Ballymulcashel, Sixmilebridge, on September 2, 2013.

Inspector John O’Sullivan told the court that as a result of information downloaded, a fixed charge penalty notice was issued and went unpaid.

Judge Durcan asked Mr Bennett, “Are you observing or is the machine continuously recording?”

Mr Bennett said the camera machine was continuously recording.

Judge Durcan told Insp O’Sullivan that “the reality of it is, is that Mr Bennett doesn’t know what vehicle went by”.

“What evidence do I have for the picture that is taken and downloaded? There has to be a clear chain of evidence,” he added.

Insp O’Sullivan said he would have Insp John McDonald of the Garda Fixed Charge processing unit in Thurles to give evidence on the adjourned date on May 2.

Judge Durcan said the role of the man in the speed van “has been shrouded in mystery for too long”.

Judge Durcan has been strongly critical of Go Safe prosecutions.

At Kilrush District Court on Tuesday, the Judge dismissed two Go Safe cases and struck out the remaining two.

He said, “The sooner this is highlighted the better – the appalling waste of public money by these people who come into court and don’t know or don’t happen to be told how to prosecute simple road traffic matters.”