Category: News

PADDY O’Beirne could be considered the ultimate contradiction – American by birth yet 100 per cent Irish, a man with a strong nationalist upbringing whose father and grandfather were both members of the RIC, a scientist with a steadfast belief in God, a psychiatrist who once had a serious mental illness.

On December 20, 2013, the retired chief psychiatrist at the former Our Lady’s Hospital, Ennis, best known for his fight against a smoking ban in the country’s prisons and mental health institutions, went to meet that God after a long battle with illness.

For those unfamiliar with the retired chief psychiatrist, the make up of his being may seem a contradiction, but for Dr Patrick O’Beirne, one part of his life could not be without the other.

From the darkest parts of his life he found light, from the most painful and horrific he eventually found peace, and from his questioning patients he often found answers to his own uncertainties.

He was one of the first to work to break the stigma associated with mental illness, speaking openly about his own battle with depression and publishing his memoirs.

Dr O’Beirne was born in New York in January 1933 of Irish parents.

He was brought to Ireland as an infant and reared by his grandmother in Mountshannon, following his mother’s death from TB.

Educated in the local primary school in Mountshannon, he later attended St Flannan’s College, Ennis, from 1946 to 1951. Although he once considered the priesthood – following in the footsteps of his two uncles – Paddy opted instead to help his fellow beings through medicine. In 1951 he began studying at the University College Dublin, and graduated with a medical degree in 1958. From January of 1958 to July of the same year he worked as a house surgeon in St Vincent’s Hospital Dublin, before transferring to Portlaoise hospital where he was employed as a house surgeon. In November 1958 he began working in Dr Steven’s Hospital as a house surgeon. It was there he met his wife Marie, a young nurse from Cork. In August 1959 he embarked on a medical career in America, specialising in gynaecology, oncology and general practice before studying psychiatry. Patrick O’Beirne eventually returned to Clare to become chief psychiatrist at Our Lady’s Hospital, Ennis. Through his impressive career, he battled with depression an illness that would see him hospitalised numerous times. He also campaigned for the rights of those with mental health issues and was to the forefront in bringing treatment clinics into the community. Through it all he raised a family with his ever-supportive wife Marie, and maintained a robust sense of humour. He is survived by his beloved Marie, his children Fionnuala, Caimin, Deirdre, Padraig and Grainne, sonsin-laws, daughter-in-laws, grandchildren, family and friends. He was laid to rest in Templemaley Cemetery, Barefield on Christmas Eve.

IT WAS unhappy beginning to the New Year for one Crusheen business when it was the target of a burglary last week.

Thieves failed to remove an ATM from the Mace Supermarket but damage was caused to the premises during the incident, which occurred between 2am and 6.30am on Friday, January 3.

Gardaí explained that the culprits firstly broke into the warehouse and they tried to gain access to the supermarket but failed and they then went and tried the roof but failed again.

Eventually they breached a sidewall and gained entry. They tried to remove the ATM machine but failed and then fled the scene.

Gardaí have issued descriptions of three individuals they believe were involved in the burglary.

One suspect was wearing a shiny jacket with the word “jeep” in yellow writing on the back; he also wore a blue hoody. Another suspect was wearing a grey jacket and a black hoody. Gardaí say the business was damaged in the incident.

The supermarket is open for business but owner Brian Clark said this is not the first time the shop has been targeted by thieves.

Mr Clark said that while nothing was stolen damage was caused to a wall. “It’s intimidating really,” he said of the break-in.

“It’s not nice. You have to go into your office in the early hours of the morning and get down on your hands and knees and clean up this mess,” added Mr Clark.

Separately, gardaí in Ennis are investigating the theft of equipment from a service that provides psychological supports to Clare schools.

The break-in at the National Educational Psychological (NEPS) building on Francis Street occurred between 10.25pm and 10.30pm on Saturday, December 28, 2013.

Three youths seen acting suspiciously in the multi-storey car park at Dunnes Stores fled when they saw gardaí. A check of the area where they ran from found computer equipment in a shopping trolley, which had been stolen earlier.

The NEPS supports the personal, social and educational development of all children through the application of psychological theory and practice in education.

The service is organised on a regional basis with psychologists being assigned to a group of schools.

A MAN has been charged after he was stopped by gardaí in an area of East Clare in possession of a fuel siphon pump.

It is alleged that Ennis man James Connors (33) had the pump for the purposes of theft, Ennis District Court heard on Friday.

Mr Connors, with an address at Achabaille, Lahinch Road, Ennis, was stopped by gardaí in an area of O’Callaghan’s Mills on November 26, 2013. The offence he is charged with states that when not at his resi- dence, Mr Connors had in his possession an article – to wit – a siphoning pump and equipment with intention that it be used in the course of or in connection with a theft.

Mr Connors denies having the pump for purpose of theft. During the course of a bail hearing, Mr Connors told the court he uses the pump in his work scrapping cars.

“The pump was my own and not used for any crime,” he said.

Garda Darren McLoughlin of Scariff Garda Station gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution. He told the court he arrested the accused at his home on January 2, 2014. The father of six was later charged and made no reply to charge after caution, the court heard.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said the State would consent to bail on condition Mr Connors abide by a curfew between 9pm and 7am.

Insp Kennedy said the State does not accept Mr Connors’ reason for having the pump.

Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client objected to the curfew condition. Ms Godfrey said her client intends to contest the case. She said a curfew would be “excessively punitive” given the length of time it would take for her client’s case to be heard. She said it was open to the State to re-enter the case if Mr Connors came to Garda attention.

Insp Kennedy said the curfew was a “reasonable request”.

Judge Aingeal Ni Chonduin granted bail on condition the accused observe a curfew between midnight and 7am.

Insp Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the case, meaning it will be heard in the District Court.

Mr Connors was remanded on bail to appear at Killaloe District Court on January 7, 2014.

SHANNON Airport became the unlikely battleground for the Soviet Union and America in 1983 as the Irish Government yielded to pressure from America to ban Aeroflot civilian flight from landing at the airport.

Records released last week under the 30-year-rule show that then US president Ronald Reagan sent a direct request to Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald (FG) to ban Aeroflot stopovers in Shannon.

The blanket ban was ordered after the Soviet Union shot down Korean Air Line Flight 007 on September 1, 1983, near Sakhalin island in the Sea of Japan after it strayed into Russian air space.

All 269 passengers and crew, including US congressman Larry McDonald, were killed in the attack. In a strongly-worded two-page letter, Mr Reagan tried to rally international opposition to the Soviets and called for co-operation and support among friends.

“The Soviet action represents a challenge to the international com- munity. It would be a tragedy if we do not collectively respond in a resolute and clear manner to this action,” he wrote.

According to reports, the world was on the verge of a nuclear World War Three after a Russian army early warning missile detection system gave a false alarm that the US had launched a strike.

Mr FitzGerald confirmed Aeroflot would be banned from Shannon on September 16, 1983, 10 days before the fault in the Oko missile detection system in Moscow.

Irish and US officials had already had private talks on the issue and considered a ban should initially be 60-90 days or until “the Soviet Union responds to our very real concerns”.

Dr FitzGerald wrote a four-page letter back to Mr Reagan to confirm that Aeroflot would not be allowed to pick up or set down passengers at Shannon Airport on flights destined for Moscow.

He also said the Government had deferred a decision on an application by Aeroflot for landing rights at Shannon for flights coming and going from Lima in Peru and Havana in Cuba.

UP TO 14 homes approximately two miles south of Quilty were evacuated during the early hours of Friday morning, as the sea engulfed their homes.

Families living in the coastline houses, some less than 10 years old, broke down yesterday (Monday), as they recalled how they may never again be able to return home so severe is the damage.

Older members of the Tromoroe Castle, Seafield, community whose homes were also flooded in the storm are reportedly terrified of going home again, as a section of land mass has been taken by the unforgiving sea.

This makes the properties very vulnerable according to construction worker Danny McCarthy who was one of the people evacuated.

“The water has gone into the houses and they are afraid of their lives that the sea will break and the ocean will go into them now. We are vulnerable now because the body on the land is gone, it is pulled out to sea and we are open,” he told The Clare People .

“We didn’t expect it,” he said add- ing that the majority of the homes were occupied at the time of the storm.

Debris from the sea continued to float around the rooms of some houses as neither the wind or the sea was ready to relent. There was a great sadness and anger in the community who felt that their plight had been overlooked over the past few days.

“Do you know the saddest thing about it? It felt like we were on our own. No publicity or anything, or no highlights at the amount of destruction created here,” he said.

“Fourteen houses have been affect- ed. Half of my land is gone,” said Mr McCarthy.

Half of the wall at the three and a half year old council water pumping system has also been eroded.

It will take thousands and perhaps millions to repair the physical damage the community maintain, but it will take much more than that to repair the psyche of a community now exposed to the whims of the sea.

Questions have also been raised regarding plans to reinforce the coastline as far back as 2011, if they had been carried out, would the damage have been so severe.

UP TO 10 metres of the land bank of the five star Doonbeg Lodge and Golf Course was lost to the Atlantic Ocean during the weekend storm.

“We got a right bashing but we are living to tell the tale,” said General Manager Joe Russell, who was confident that the Greg Norman-designed golf course would be playable again by Thursday. The picturesque resort was at the mercy of the high winds gusting up to 120 kilometres an hour, but the superintendents at the course were confident that all damage could be repaired.

“We have lost some land back into the ocean, but we have 18 holes in play. It has thrown up a lot of debris from the ocean but that does not affect play,” said Mr Russell.

He said that a clean up is been planned for tomorrow (Wednesday) once the full damage has been assessed and the weather monitored.

The high tides have also taken a few metres of sand from the dunes, which will naturally repair themselves in time.

Mr Russell has warned however against walking over the dunes however as there is now a sheer drop on one side, almost like a cliff, which is extremely dangerous.

MONITORING of sections of the River Fergus described, as a “concern” will continue in Ennis after the town was spared the worst affects of flooding.

Water levels peaked in the river on Saturday after heavy rainfall on St Stephen’s Day sparked fears of a repeat of the widespread flooding that hit the town in December 2009.

On that occasion residential areas and parts of the town centre suffered major flood damage when the river burst its banks.

Ennis Town Council says that while river levels were “significant” in recent weeks, they were below those recorded during flood events in 1999 and 2009.

Senior executive engineer with Ennis Town Council, Eamon O’Dea explained, “If we have no heavy rainfall over the next two to three days, it will drop off. The Fergus peaked two days ago, but if you look at levels in Ballyalla Lake, it is slowly starting to decline.”

However the council, working alongside Clare County Council and the Office of Public Works are implementing precautionary flood measures along the lower section of the Fergus, below Knox’s Bridge.

“The Ennis area is at a precautionary level. We are implementing measures such as over-pumping at different locations on the lower River Fergus. We have one or two areas of concern along the lower section,” Mr O’Dea said.

Spring tides did result in brief flooding on a section of the old N18 road in Clarecastle on Friday morning.

Work on phase two of the Ennis Flood Relief Scheme between Bank Place Bridge and Doora Bridge is ongoing at locations around Ennis.

It is anticipated that when completed, the works will lead to the protec- tion of 849 residential and 425 nonresidential properties on completion.

Defences including enhanced river walls, pumping stations and new drainage systems are included in the project, which is aimed at protecting Ennis against a 100-year flood event.

Works carried out during phase one at Mill Road and Woodquay are credited with preventing widespread flooding of Ennis town centre in 2009.

Though it is thought the works so far prevented major flooding in the town centre, the exact areas to have directly benefited from the improved defences will not be known until the scheme is certified as completed by the OPW.

Under the latest scheme of works, new ramps and walls are to be constructed at the two entrances to Clare Mart, while a new wall is to be constructed at the rear of properties between Aldi and Clonroad.

AT AROUND 6.30am on Friday morning John O’Connor grabbed his two children and ran upstairs to safety.

It was pitch dark, so all the young family knew for certain was that there was water waist high in their home.

The former Kilmurry Ibrickane footballer’s family were terrified, and unsure himself what had just happened, he called his next door neighbour Danny McCarthy.

It was only then that Danny realised that the sea had engulfed the homes along the coast road at Tromoroe Castle, Seafield. He waded through the water, which was now waist high on a man, and towards the next-door house. The whole of the downstairs of the house, which had just been fitted with a new extension, was under water.

“We didn’t know was the sea still coming because we were up to our waist because it was dark. It was frightening. It was terrifying for the children,” said Mr McCarthy.

“John, his wife and the children were up stairs and that is what saved them. This really, really was seri- ous.”

The men called the Kilkee Coast Guard, who brought a raft in the front door and took the children to safety.

“Since then I can’t sleep or nothing,” said a very upset Mr O’Connor, who has still not been able to return home as the sea continued to break on the back of his house, his gardens and the nearby field he had transformed into a football pitch for his children gone.

“The kids keep asking when will they go back into their house, I don’t know will we ever be able to go back in,” he added, the enormity of the situation hitting home.

Danny and his partner and daughter were also evacuated, and he remains hopeful the sand bags will safe some of the rooms from the flooding.

He praised the work of the Kilkee Coast Guard.

“They were here in half an hour. They gave us confidence and a sense of security,” he said.

The local community of Kilmurry Ibrickane has also rallied around offering sheltered to those displaced with the natural disaster.

LAHINCH businessman Antoin O’Looney, who was pinned by raging waves against the wall of his bar for almost half an hour on Friday morning, braved the elements again last night to protect his business through the last of the storm.

Mr O’Looney, who owns O’Looney’s Bar on the Lahinch Promenade, risked his life in the early hours of Friday morning to enter his premises, which had been breached by the storm.

Just after 6am on Friday, he tried to enter his premises but became trapped as heavy waves and storm surges pinned him against the outside wall of O’Looney’s Bar and Restaurant.

“I ran over but I was pinned to the door, I couldn’t get in. The waves were so powerful, I was pinned there for about 20 or 25 minutes. If I had stepped out to try and get in any of the door I would have been swept away; it was that big. There is a wal kway between our two buildings on the prom; the water in that walkway was up to chest level at this time,” he said.

“The storm had popped the two front door of the bar. So in came the water, which covered the bar area and then it filled up the basement. The crew from the fire brigade helped me to close back the doors and secure them.

“They [the fire brigade] were incredible. Within an hour or two hours they had the basement fully pumped out. There was a lot of damage done, especially to the electronics. The basement contains the public toilets, the prep kitchen and the offices and there were a lot of computers, cameras, alarms, things li ke that which were severely damaged.

The storms is the worst to hit Lahinch in recent years and has been described by many as a Perfect Storm.

“It was a combination of three different things: you had a very high spring tide, which is a 5.2 metre tide; you had a very strong gale behind it; and you had a massive surf running as well. Those three things rarely happen altogether, and when they do they can cause savage distraction,” he said.

“I don’t remember a storm li ke this ever. It’s funny though, this building has been built to withstand a lot of punishment and only for the doors opening I would have come out of this scot-free.”

Mr O’Looney said last night that he plays to ride out the remainder of the storm in his premises.

“I will be here tonight [Monday night] for sure. I need to. If anything breeches and you can get to it quickly and stop 80 per cent of the water from getting in, you can save yourself a lot of trouble in the long r un.”

A LUCKY young surfer has a miracle escape on Thursday evening after getting into difficulty in the waters off Lahinch, just as the storm began to hit.

The Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard and the Irish Coast Guard Helicopter were tasked to investigate a report of someone in the water just after 5pm on Thursday evening. A search of the bay and shoreline revealed nothing and no surfers was reported missing as the storm began to touch ground after 6pm.

However, minutes after the search was stood down, a surfer was washed ashore on the promenade. The surfer was treated at the scene by coast guard and transported to hospital where he was treated for hypothermia.

“The sea washed him on the promenade and he was able to climb up the last bit himself. It was a pure miracle. He was very very lucky, his stars were certainly out that night,” said Matty Shannon of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard.

“He had a few bumps and bruises but, considering what he come through, he was very very lucky.”

The Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard responded to a large number of emergencies over the storm weekend. They assisted local fire services on Friday morning to help evacuate people from Lahinch. They also help the Irish Coast Guard with a number of evacuations in the Quilty area on Friday afternoon.

According to Matty, it is very rare to get two such powerful storms one after another.

“In 1991 we had a similar storm to this and before that there was something similar back in ‘63. I suppose every 20 or 30 years we get a storm like this, but not two of them in a row like we’ve just had,” he said.