Category: News

THE traditional Fianna Fáil church gate collection could soon be a thing of the past with a proposal to ban the collection to be discussed at the next meeting of the party’s Financial Committee.

Over the last number of years grass roots members in Clare have contributed more through the church gate collection than members in any other county in Ireland. Indeed the party netted in excess of € 17,000 from church gate collections in Clare in 2012, compared to just € 20 collected in Dublin and € 185,000 collected in Ireland as a whole.

Church gate collections have become a divisive subject in the Fianna Fáil party in recent years with urban members viewing them as old fashioned and outdated while members from more rural constituencies view them as a good source of revenue.

A Fianna Fáil spokesperson confirmed to The Clare People yesterday that the party’s high brass would examine scrapping the collection in the coming weeks.

“The matter hasn’t yet been referred to the Finance Committee. The committee meets every quarter and it will come up at the next meeting of the committee,” he said yesterday.

The spokesperson also described the proposal to ban church gate col- lections as a complex issue and declined to give a figure for the total raised by the party in Clare in 2013.

County Clare contributed almost 10 per cent of the total raised by Fianna Fáil from church gate collections in 2012.

This was an increase on the € 16, 536 raised by the party in 2011, but represent a significant drop on the amount raised in Clare while the party was still in government.

Clare has been a consistent cashcow for Fianna Fáil with € 21,727 being raised in 2010 and € 23,594 in 2009.

A complete ban on all church gate collections in Clare received cross party support when it was suggested by Ennis Cllr Tony Mulqueen (FG) late last year.

“All of the main political parties are now funded by the State. If the State is contributing millions towards the operations of political parties, I don’t see why they need to hold collections in front of churches anymore,” said Cllr Mulqueen.

“We seem to have an industry in collecting money in this country. As it stands at the moment, political parties receive State funding based on the number of seats that they win in elections.

“It seems a fair system and I received support from all parties when I suggested a ban on collections – including Fianna Fáil.” TODAY Th a n kfu lly a d ry day, su n n y b u t bre e zy a n d c h illy, ta m ps 7c .

THE DEATH of former postman and electricity meter reader Tony McElroy who was found dead in the Ballynacally Community Centre car park on Saturday morning last was one of natural causes.

Gardaí said they are no longer treating his death as suspicious, as a post mortem carried out the University Hospital Limerick on Saturday afternoon showed he probably died from a heart attack.

Mr McElroy, who was 61 years old and from Knockatunna, Kilmaley, had been socialising in Daly’s Bar in Balynacally on Friday night.

His body was found the following morning last 9.45am beside his car.

Gardaí at Kilrush were called and began investigating the circumstances around the sudden death.

The scene was preserved and the Offices of the State Pathologist was contacted, while Mr McElroy’s remains were removed from the scene and brought to Limerick Regional Hospital where the post mortem took place.

It is understood that the results showed the West Clare man died as a result of a heart attack.

Local people paid tribute to the man they got to know well when he worked in the area as the meter reader for the ESB.

He was also recognised as a keen card player and a man who enjoyed music sessions.

Mr McElroy’s funeral Mass will take place today (Tuesday) at 11am in Kilmaley Church followed by burial in Mount Temple Cemetery, Kilmaley.

ENNIS District Court was disrupted for periods last week after a man suspected of recording court proceedings was taken into custody.

The disturbances occurred as jailed peace activist Margaretta D’Arcy (79) appeared in court charged with interfering with the proper use of Shannon Airport by going on the runway without permission in September 2013.

The veteran anti-war campaigner and playwright was arrested and brought to Limerick women’s prison earlier this month after failing to sign a court bond forbidding her from entering areas of Shannon Airport unauthorised to the public.

Dozens of supporters were present in Ennis Courthouse for her brief appearance on Wednesday.

At the conclusion of Ms D’Arcy’s hearing, four supporters were escorted from the courtroom. Some had attempted to hold up posters.

Mayo woman, Maura Harrington, a member of the Shell to Sea protest group, shouted, “Free Shannon Airport from the US military.” Gardaí immediately removed Ms Harrington from court.

Minutes later, Judge Patrick Durcan said it had been brought to his atten- tion that an individual had attempted to record proceedings in court. He asked gardaí to take appropriate steps to deal with the matter.

Sgt Paul Slattery, of Ennis Garda Station, later gave evidence that he had been told a man attempted to record court proceedings with his phone. Sgt Slattery said that when approached, the man told gardaí he was checking emails.

He said the man would not give his full name to gardaí. Judge Durcan directed the gardaí to ascertain man’s identity. He was later identified as Naoise Ó Mongáin, Maura Harrington’s husband.

Judge Durcan later ordered that Ms Harrington and Mr Ó Mongáin to be taken down to the cells. He said those responsible for the disturbances had shown “total disrespect to other citizens”. “It’s becoming impossible here”, added Judge Durcan.

Later, when a number of people were not present in court when their cases were called, Judge Durcan said, “There has been so much disturbance in court today that a number of people have left the courtroom out of fear.”

Inspector Tom Kennedy said, “I’ve never been in a court where there was so much disruption in one day.”

After 3.30pm, Judge Durcan ordered that the couple be brought up separately to court.

Judge Durcan told Mr Ó Mongáin that he did disrupt proceedings earlier, but that he was free to go.

Judge Durcan said gardaí could investigate if Mr O’Mongain’s phone was used to record the court. However he asked that this be carried out as quickly as possible as Mr Ó Mongáin was entitled to have his phone.

He then told Ms Harrington her time in custody “fairly balances out what occurred earlier”. He told Ms Harrington he appreciated she was coming to the aid of her husband in court.

Judge Durcan said: “I regard the matter as terminated.”

TWO drug barons targeted in a 25day undercover Garda operation in West Clare are understood to have fled the country.

Gardaí in Kilrush, in conjunction with the National Drugs Unit spent a total of 1,400 man-hours on the operation that spanned five-months from November 2012 through to the first quarter of 2013.

It emerged during the hearing of one of the minor “but essential cogs” in the drug sales operations, that the “principal players” were not before the court, as they are believed by gardaí to have fled the jurisdiction.

Superintendent Seamus Nolan told Kilrush District Court that Michael Burke with an address at 2 Fahy Road, Kilrush, “would not have been a principal player.”

The 27-year-old was pleading to charges relating to the under cover operation and other unrelated charges.

The court heard that he arranged the sale of € 100 of cannabis to undercover gardaí by phone before meeting them to carry out the sale at 80 Dun na Hinse, Ennis, on November 20, 2012.

He also sold a further € 50 worth of the drugs at the same address on November 22, 2012.

Garda Conor Flaherty said Mr Burke sourced the drugs and then handed them over.

“He was subsequently arrested and co-operated with gardaí,” said the Kilrush Garda.

On June 18, 2013 Mr Burke also admitted being in possession of 50 valium tablets for sale or supply contrary to Section 15 of Misuse of Drug Act 1977 and unlawfully impeding a Garda in the exercise of his duty.

In his evidence to the court Garda Flaherty said Mr Burke had the drugs concealed in a kitchen chair.

“He managed to get his hands on them and hid them,” said the garda adding that gardaí later found them on his person.

Solicitor for the defence Gearoid Williams said his client was detained to mend his ways. “He is trying to live a good life now,” he said.

In his summation Judge Patrick Durcan said; “The Garda authority decided a special target operation be set up in West Clare area to detect this illegal activity.”

Michael Burke became an essential cog in that very efficient machine the judge added.

“The drug barons are now living outside the country and have left a trail of destruction and addiction behind them,” he said.

“This would not operate unless there were retailers in the market who run the operation,” explained the judge, adding that Mr Burke fitted into the category.

Judge Durcan sentenced Mr Burke to three consecutive four-month sentences for the sale and supply of drugs and took a charge of drug possession into account.

He handed down a concurrent sentence of four months in prison for obstructing a garda.He suspended the year in prison for two years, telling the defendant “this is a belt and braces job.”

He also ordered that he be assisted by the probation services.

CLARE property prices have been hit harder than prices in any other county in Munster with the average asking price for a house in the county now 58.6 per cent below what they were at the height of the Celtic Tiger in 2007.

The prospect of a short-term recovery in the Clare property market also looks remote, as the rate at which the asking prices for Clare properties is also the highest in Munster.

According to new figures obtained from property sales website, Daft. ie, the average year-on-year asking price for a Clare stood at € 128,175, an 11 per cent on 2012 and a drop of almost 60 per cent when compared to the 2006 prices.

One-bedroom apartments in Clare was the worst performing category of any property type in the entire country last year with the average asking dropping to € 45,000, an 18.6 per cent drop on the 2012 average.

Indeed, each section of the property market in Clare recorded a significant drop in average asking prices in 2013. The average price of a two-bedroom terraced in the county now stands at € 57,000 – a 16.1 per cent drop on the previous years prices.

The were similar decreases recorded for three-bedroom semi- detached houses which recorded an 11.1 per cent decrease is asking prices in 2013 and now have an average asking price of € 86,000.

The average price of a detached, five-bedroom house was € 189,000 last year, representing a drop of 15.7 per cent since peak.

The best performing category of house in the county were four-bedroom bungalows, with an average price of € 175,000 representing a drop of just 8.7 per cent last year.

FEARS have been expressed for the safety of Dusty the Dolphin following the stranding of a pilot whale in rough seas off Doolin over the weekend.

The 12-foot long whale was washed ashore on rocks close to Doolin Pier on Friday evening, in the early stages of the weekend storm surge. The whale, which was most likely already dead when it came ashore, was taken out to sea again by the storm on Saturday, before being re-stranded on rocks close to Fishers Street on Saturday evening.

Doolin’s most well-known resident, Dusty the Dolphin has not been spotted since January 10, when she came close to shore in the wake of the New Year storm.

According to Simon Berrow of the Clare based Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Dusty has most likely moved to deeper waters to avoid the worst effects of the recent storms and will return again when conditions improve.

“The storms might seem incredibly rough to us on the surface, but once you swim down 20 or 30 metres the effects would be minimal,” he said.

“I think it is unlikely that storms like we’ve had in recent weeks would affect Dusty. She is probably safe and well out in deeper waters. Prolonged bad weather, like what we’ve experienced in recent weeks, might make it difficult for Dusty to hunt and find food. That is a bigger concern than the rough seas themselves.”

Last year the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group recorded the largest number of whale and dolphin strandings on record in Ireland. At present, there is no obvious reason as to why so many whales and dolphins were washed ashore in 2013.

“It is a puzzle and unfortunately at the moment we have more questions than answers. Last year was a record year for whale and dolphin strandings and there doesn’t seem to be any reason for it,” continued Simon.

“Sometimes you can identify trends and establish reasons as to why there would be a spike of strandings at one time or another, but the reasons behind the figures for 2013 are a mystery.

“We are hoping to put together a research group to track these strandings and see if we can establish a trend but at the moment it is a puzzle.”

To report a stranded whale or dolphin email strands@iwdg.ie.

MYSTERY surrounds how a gun came to be stored in the safe of a West Clare bank.

The colt revolver was discovered in the safe by the former manager of the Bank of Ireland branch in Miltown Malbay, it emerged last week.

The man, who is now retired, handed over the firearm to gardaí after making the surprise discovery.

Technical examinations were sub- sequently carried by experts at the Garda Ballistics Section.

It is thought the gun may have been stored in the Miltown safe for up to 15 years.

It is understood there was no record of how the firearm came to be in the bank safe.

The identity of the colt revolver’s original owner is thought to be unknown.

The presence of the gun was disclosed at Ennis District Court on Wednesday, where it was the subject of a Police Property Application.

Gardaí were seeking a court order to have the firearm destroyed.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court the application concerned the discovery of a gun in a bank safe.

He said the gun had been found after many years.

Insp Kennedy said the State were seeking possession of the gun in order to have it destroyed.

Judge Patrick Durcan made the order releasing the firearm to the State for destruction.

THE number of Clare gay and lesbian couples choosing to become legal civil partners has dropped dramatically over the past year. According to figures obtained from the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), only nine Clare couples entered into a civil partnership in the 15 months from the beginning of October 2012 to the end of December 2013.

This is contrast to the rush of civil partnership granted to Clare couples in the wake of legislation for civil partnerships being introduced. Indeed, in October of 2012, Clare had the second highest rate of civil partnerships per capita in Ireland – with only Dublin boasting more partnership per head of populations.

There has been a slowing in the number of civil partnership across Ireland over the past year. Where there is no clear data on why a slowdown has taken place, it is though possible that a rush to obtain partnerships in the months after the legislation was introduced may be the cause.

It is also understood that the possiblity of full marriage being introduced by the current government is also preventing some gay and lesbian couples from undertaking civil partnerships.

Since the civil partnership legislation became law a total of 24 Clare couples have become legal civil partners. Only four civil ceremonies have taken place in Clare to date, an increase of two on the number from October 2012.

According to Kilrush man and Di- rector of GLEN, Brian Sheehan, the uptake in civil partnerships in Ireland will prove a stepping stone to full marriage for gay couples.

The figures recorded for civil partnerships in Ireland reflect which county the partners intend to live once they have been granted an official civil partnership. Because a large portion of gay and lesbian people from Clare traditionally move to Dublin, Limerick or Galway – the true number of Clare people involved in civil partnerships is likely to be far higher than the figures suggest.

MEMBERS of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard took part in a marathon seven hour-long recovery operation at the Aill na Searrach cliff, close to the Cliffs of Moher last week.

The recovery saw six members of the Doolin unit abseil and climb down a sheer 80 degree incline on the cliff face before recovering the casualty and hiking almost a kilometre along the cliff front.

The whole operation was completed in very rough weather conditions with the coast guard members com- pleting the last three hours of the recovery in near pitch darkness.

“We were called to attend at Aill na Searrach near O’Brien’s Tower where a person had fallen from the cliffs down to the shore. Six climbers abseiled down the cliff, and carried him down the shore line for about 700 metres,” said Matty Shannon of the Doolin Unit.

“The coast guard helicopter was there at the scene but the casualty was positioned too close to the cliff for them to attempt an airlift. It was one of the more challenging operations that we have undertaken in recent times,” said Matty Shannon of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard.

“It wasn’t a sheer drop but they climbed down a drop of about 80 degrees to the foot of the cliff. Between the height of the climb and the wind is a very difficult operation. The ropes get tangled by the wind as we are lowering or hauling so it is very difficult for the climbers as they have the weight of the ropes as they abseil keeping pressure on them.

“The operation was undertaken in blustery condition with heavy showers and strong North Westerly winds.”

No details of the casualty have yet been released.

“THE traditional Irish pub as we know it will be extinct in the next few years.”

That was the fear expressed by the Clare representative on the Vintners Federation of Ireland, Charlie O’Meara as he explored the change in people’s attitudes, especially young people, to public houses.

“People get tired of hearing how difficult it is for the publican, but it is true. The rural pubs are suffering there is no doubt, but town pubs are struggling as well,” he said.

“The social scene has changed, so the next generation growing up has no allegiance to a pub,” he explained.

The Ennis publican said the new generation is drinking at home and then going straight to a late bar of nightclub.

The majority of pubs in Clare to- day are surviving by providing food also.

The operator of Moroney’s Bar in Ennis said most Irish pubs now have more in common with the traditional English pub.

He made the comments when asked about the number of licence holders in the county dropping again.

In 2005, there were 373 licensed premises in Clare according to official revenue figures.

Last year that figure had dropped to 306, a drop of just one in the last year.

Many of those licences accounted for however, refer to anyone who holds a seven day licence such as off licence, hotel or shop and do not reflect a full picture of the number of public houses forced to close due to lack of trade.

Many publicans that did call time for the last time transferred or sold their licences to businesses other than pubs.