Category: News

SUICIDE continued to take a large number of lives in the county in 2013, with a number of local organisations being formed to deal with the issue.

In February it was reported that a person living in Clare is 10 times more likely to die by suicide than on our county roads, yet preventing death by suicide seemed to be way down the Government’s list of priorities when it came to funding.

There was just one resource officer for suicide prevention in the mid-west region – looking after three counties including Clare.

This professional with a vast wealth of experience was described by HSE area manager Bernard Gloster as “one of the HSE’s most valuable resources”.

However those dealing with people at risk of suicide on a daily basis said more resources are needed.

Concerns had already been raised that the psychiatric nurse specialising in assessing patients out of hours is often redeployed due to staffing issues in other areas of the mid-west region’s hospitals.

Pieta House said that not only should that specialist nurse not be redeployed, but more were needed.

As the recession ate more into public funding, figures suggest that there were also more people at risk of suicide, as life got significantly more difficult.

The Samaritans in Clare received more than 40 calls in confidence every day from people in crisis.

The organisation, which received no Government funding and is manned by up to 100 volunteers in Clare, also met in confidence with 295 people face to face last year.

The newly-appointed director of the local branch said that the numbers of calls have increased significantly since the recession.

“Everyone is different. Some people are very anxious, distressed, lonely, in financial difficulties or have relationship problems,” she said.

Pieta House – the suicide and selfharm crisis centre – received just 15 per cent funding from the Government.

Tom McEvoy, Funding and Advocacy Department, for the organisation in the mid-west said that the charity is being strongly supported by the community, an indication of how much the service is needed.

Pieta House opened four more houses in the coming year, bringing the number of houses to nine. However more needed to be done at national level to tackle the issue, according to former psychiatric nurse and member of the HSE West Health Forum Cllr Tom McNamara.

“We are going to have to take it on the same way as we tackled the road deaths.

“There are more people losing their lives through suicide than ever died through the road deaths,” he said. The councillor said that an organisation similar to the Road Safety Authority needs to me employed to deal with the issue,” he said.

THE parents of a three-year-old boy, who waited for hours in Accident and Emergency at the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick with a head wound in June, told The Clare People that it was the longest, most stressful time of their lives.

Little Colm Murrihy, who was four years old in July, waited for five hours to have his head wound glued and dressed, while blood seeped through the interim first aid bandage his father Leslie had treated him with.

Mother Elaine said she was frustrated and annoyed by the Sunday evening wait but most of all she was worried as the wound continued to bleed. “He was losing so much blood. The bandage was thick and it was still coming through it,” said Elaine from Ennis.

Colm had been playing on his toy car at his grandparent’s house in Kilmihil on Sunday afternoon last when he stopped a bit too suddenly and went over the top of his car. The adventurous toddler landed on his head, resulting in a deep cut on his forehead.

“I had first-aid experience so I knew it was a deep cut. I bandaged it up and we drove to the A & E in Limerick,” said Mr Murrihy.

A while after registering at the hospital Mrs Murrihy accompanied the wounded toddler through to triage to be assessed. There began the mother’s first cause for concern as the bandage was not removed and the wound assessed by the nurse.

“I was just asked about what happened but no one looked at the cut. I was told we would probably be waiting a while. I was expecting an hour or two,” she said.

After a while spent back out in the waiting room the blood began to seep through the home-made bandage, causing the parents of two to worry. Mrs Murrihy said she asked that the little boy be seen so that the bandage could at least be changed but said she was told that was not necessary, as the blood “was not dripping”.

“I was very worried, and as we waited we could see people who came in after us being taken in. They had wounds to arms and legs but I was really worried because Colm had a head injury,” she said.

NEWS of a major data security breach in Ennis travelled around the world in November after it was revealed that a cyber attack had taken place on the Station Road-based company LoyaltyBuild.

The Data Protection Commissioner said the credit card details of over 500,000 people across Europe may have been compromised by the data breach at Loyaltybuild.

The company was sold in 2008 by businessmen Dominic Considine, Domhnal Slattery and Sean Lyne for € 25 million to American company, Affinion.

Suspicion about a possible breach emerged on Friday, October 25, and a team of “expert forensic investigators” was appointed to determine what had happened.

On Wednesday, October 30, it emerged that a breach may have occurred and it contacted the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) on November 1.

An inspection team from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has also confirmed that the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of around 1.12 million clients were also taken.

Billy Hawkes said his office has now made contact with colleagues across Europe to inform them of the security breach.

Loyaltybuild runs special offers and incentive schemes for major retailers, utilities and service providers in Ireland, the UK, Scandinavia and Switzerland.

The ODPC said an inspection team has confirmed that the full card details of over 376,000 customers were taken.

Of this figure, over 70,000 were SuperValu customers and over 8,000 were AXA Leisure Break customers.

The details of another 150,000 clients were also potentially compromised. It said initial indications are that the breaches were the result of an “external criminal act”.

Managing director Peter Steenstrup has said he is deeply sorry for what is described as a major security breach at the company.

He urged customers to check their bank account statements and report any suspicious activity.

Mr Steenstrup said Loyaltybuild takes data security very seriously and the company is working to ensure that this will never happen again.

The Data Protection Commissioner said the criminals who breached security have all the information they need in order to use the payment cards.

LoyaltyBuild stated that the system breach was discovered last month, and that they have been working around the clock with their security experts to get to the bottom of matter.

“From the moment we first detected a suspected security breach on Friday, October 25, we immediately engaged the services of an expert forensics security team and have worked tirelessly to try to rectify this situation,” they noted.

“The DPC and the Gardaí will be kept informed of any further developments.”

CLARE’S dark history at the centre of the Magdalene Laundry system was laid bare by the McAleese Report, which was published in February.

The report identified 261 Clare women who spent time as unpaid slaves in these institutes between the 1920s and 1980s – the fifth highest of any county in Ireland.

The real number of Clare women in these asylums was likely to have been far higher, however. No Clare laundries were identified in the report, despite the insistence by many Clare people, including the Kildysart-born former trainee nun Patricia BurkeBrogan, that a laundry operated in Ennis for many decades.

Two decades ago, Ms Burke-Brogan turned whistleblower on the Magdalene system through her acclaimed play ‘Eclipsed’ and in February she claimed that the McAleese Report only scratched the surface of a nationwide problem, where women were subject to slave labour conditions by Church and State.

According to Ms Burke-Brogan, the report failed to “grasp the real horror” of what went on in laundries around the country.

“This report went into what happened in 10 or 11 laundries – there were 42 of them around the country. They were in Galway, they were in Clare, they were everywhere,” she said.

“It softened the story. That’s my main complaint. For someone who hasn’t experienced or seen what was going on in those places. I find it distressing. In some ways what’s in this report makes it worse.” The Clare People also discovered an account given by one woman, who claimed to have been physically apprehended by nuns at St Joseph’s Hospital in Ennis when she was just 15, and brought away to work in a Magdalene Laundry.

This woman’s story was part of a submission by the Justice for Magdalenes Group to the United National Committee Against Torture. The woman, who was not identified in the report, said she had worked as an unpaid maid in the hospital at the time and was targeted by the nuns when she was discovered speaking to a male hospital porter.

“One nun came in this side entrance [of the chapel in St Joseph’s] and she calls out to me. And I could see the other nun coming in the other door. And I felt strange – somehow I felt, something within me, something was going to happen to me,” she said.

“They grabbed me. And they bundled me into this car outside the chapel… I was crying. And I remember them saying to me, ‘you’re going to the Magdalene Laundry’.”

The McAleese Report also detailed the stories of three Clare girls, age 16 and 17, who were ordered to a Magdalene Laundry because their foster parents no longer wanted them. According to the report, this was common at the time as State payment for foster children ended once the child turned 15.

A SKULL discovered in Quin almost five years ago may have belonged to a compulsive pipe-smoking woman, who died in her 40s more than 300 years ago.

The human remains, which were discovered in Quin in August of 2008, have been shrouded in mystery for the last five years. However, research carried out by TVAS Ireland, who discovered the remains, had shed some light on the historic discovery.

While many questions remain unanswered, the possible life story of the Quin body began to emerge in June.

“We now know that the jaw bone had typical female traits, so we can cautiously say that the body was a female. We know that the person also suffered from arthritis; part of the bones discovered were from the spine and there was evidence of the bones rubbing together. So we are fairly sure that the person would have had severe neck pain,” said Edel Ruttle of TVAS.

“From the jaw bone we noticed a third molar or wisdom tooth. So we are confident that the body was aged somewhere between 21 and 40 years of age. Interestingly, we also saw a clay pipe semi-circle on the body’s teeth, this is consistent to a person holding a clay pipe in her mouth almost constantly.

“So not only was this person a smoker – they would have had to hold the clay pipe in their mouth for hours and hours every day to make marks consistent with the ones we have discovered,” she said.

Despite these discoveries, it is still unclear why the body was buried in that spot and what religion the woman was. One theory maintains that the woman was a social outcast of some sort, which is why she was buried on the edge of a disused Catholic grave and not in the regular Catholic or Protestant grave- yards, which were in use in Quin at that time.

“She is buried in an East/ West liewhich suggest that it was, at least, a partially standard burial, but the she is buried on the very edge of the cemetery, probably after the cemetery went out of use. So it’s difficult to know,” continued Edel.

“It is possible that she was a marginal figure. Maybe she wasn’t buried in the graveyard in Quin Friary because of some social standing or lack of social standing.

“These are possibilities, but we don’t know for sure. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding this body.”

IN NOVEMBER a Clare mother pledged to take her case against the Heath Services Executive who took away a medical card from her son to the gates of Dáil Éireann and straight to Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Noreen Keane from Cratloe outlined for case to The Clare People , saying that she was on the brink of having to stop buying essential medication for her eight-year-old son following the loss of his discretionary medical card.

To highlight her case Ms Keane outlined plans to stage a protest in Dublin – her last ditch attempt to force the HSE to reverse the decision.

Her son Ronan Woodhouse (8) was born with Down Syndrome and suffers from 13 related conditions including acute asthma, a cardiac condition as well as sight and hearing difficulties.

According to Noreen, the cost of medication, therapy and doctor visits for Ronan costs an average of € 2,300 per month. The HSE contacted Noreen last February, informing her that Ronan’s discretionary medical card was to be revoked.

This decision was upheld after an appeal, prompting Noreen to begin a campaign last month to highlight her son’s situation. In the last number of weeks the “Ronan’s Cause” site on Facebook has gained more than 4,000 friends.

Noreen and Ronan also protested outside the Fine Gael Ard Fheis in Limerick in October, at which time Taoiseach, Enda Kenny (FG), committed to meeting her. This meeting has yet to take place.

“They are putting my child’s life at risk by taking away this medical card. I just can’t provide all these services for him so how am I supposed to prioritise things? Should I reduce the medication that he needs or do I stop bringing him to the doctor?” she told The Clare People .

“I’m going to keep fighting for this. I’m tired, I’d be lying if I said otherwise. I am a single mother. But I am going to keep fighting for this. I don’t have any other choice. Should I stop buying oil for the house or should I stop buying his medication? Then if the house is cold he is going to get sick.

“I work full time and I’m being penalised because I work. We are a oneincome family. When the medical card was issued to Ronan eight years ago we were a two-income family so we are much worse off now than when the card was originally issued. So how can they [the HSE] say that the system has not changed?”

CLARE’S six TDs and senators declared a variety of commercial interests to the Dáil in 2012, including eight rental properties, two farms and a trip to France paid for by the Alternative Iranian Government in Exile.

North Clare senator Martin Conway (FG) listed a trip to an international conference in Paris, paid for by the Iranian group, in the official list of interests submitted to the Dáil for 2012.

The conference, which cost € 395 between hotels and flights, was attended by former Taoiseach John Bruton (FG) as well as members of former US president John F Kennedy’s family.

“It was an informative and important event but it didn’t cost the Irish taxpayers, high up or low down, for me to attend,” Senator Conway told The Clare People yesterday.

“We stayed in extremely basic accommodation. We flew in on Friday night, spent all day Saturday at the conference, and flew home early on Sunday. So it certainly wasn’t a holiday.”

Senator Conway also declared his interests in Conway’s Shop in Ennistymon, in addition to four rental properties in Quin, Tobertascain in Ennis, Woodview in Ennistymon and Ard Donagh in Ennistymon as well as his family home in Ennistymon. Fellow senator Tony Mulcahy (FG) lists two rental properties in Shannon and a property for sale in Bal- lycasey among his commercial interests. Senator Mulcahy also listed his business property in Smithstown Industrial Estate in Shannon and his directorship of Clare School Meals and Catering Ltd among his assets. Senator Mulcahy also amended his declaration in November of this year to include statutory gratuity payment received from his time as a member of Shannon Town Council and Clare County Council. Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley listed two rental properties in Dublin among his declared interests. The properties are located in Charlotte Quay in Dublin 4 and Moyville in Rathfarnham. Deputy Dooley did not list any Clare properties among his interests. East Clare Deputy Michael McNamara (Lab) declared income from occupation as a barrister at law and from his farm in Tuamgraney amongst his declared interests. Deputy Pat Breen (FG) listed the income from his farm in Lisduff, Ballynacally amongst his assets while Deputy Joe Carey (FG) listed no commercial or property interests besides his family home at “the Land” in Clarecastle.

THE sun began to shine in Clare in June and once it started, it just wouldn’t quit. As the county spent much of June soaking up the rays, the tills in north and west Clare were busy ringing as tens of thousands of tourists descended on Lahinch, Kilkee, Spanish Point, Liscannor and Fanore.

The heat-wave has been described as a Godsend for tourism industry in the county, with ‘no vacancies’ signs being dusted off in hotels and B&B’s all along the Atlantic Coast.

All of last week the roads leading to our coastal resort towns and villages were filled with families in search of the beach. Those visiting Lahinch, Spanish Point and Kilkee were forced to park a long way from the beaches as throngs of people made their way to the Clare coastline.

According to Lahinch hotelier Michael Vaughan, the past week was a reminder of the good old days. “Last week was reminiscent of the heady days of the 1970s. It was tremendous, there were droves of people coming from all over the country to rediscover seaside fun and there wasn’t a room to be had in north Clare.

“I think everyone up here went off the Prozac for a week and enjoyed the sun instead,” he said.

Michael Vaughan went on to explain that any issues arising from the hot weather were competently dealt with locally.

“We had a lot of traffic issues in the area but they are issues that we’d be happy to have any day of the week. Credit to the local gardaí, they were out on point duty and managed an unexpected situation really well.

The Cliffs of Moher is on line to record its busiest ever year, which could see the county’s leading tourist attraction hit one million visitors.

According to year-to-date figures obtained by The Clare People , number visitors to the Cliffs are up by more than 10 per cent on last year – and are predicted to hit 961,400 by year end.

“For the Cliffs of Moher and larger towns like Ennis, the tourist number are very good at the moment, mainly because the American bus tourists are really back this year.

“So a 10 per cent increase in numbers at the Cliffs wouldn’t surprise me at all. The number wouldn’t be quite as good for local provider however – we would be aiming for a 5 to 6 per cent increase in number overall this year.”

The Cliffs of Moher is now expected to record its busiest every year in 2013 – passing out the 939,772 who visited the centre in 2007.”

MONEYPOINT Power Station continues to power the West Clare economy and contribute to the national electricity grid in a significant way, but in December concerns were expressed for the future of Kilrush and the environs if and when this station closes.

“A power station that was built in the 1980s would have probably been designed at that time to run for maybe 30 to 40 years or what ever would be typical enough for a plant,” said Brendan Kennedy, Station Manager at the ESB plant when addressing a meeting of Kilrush Town Council.

“I suppose we have done the maintenance over the years to keep that in line. I would be surprised if the station didn’t have it running for another decade anyway. I would expect Moneypoint to run on a high merit in the national grid for the next number of years,” said the Ennis native.

The ESB company pays up to € 12 million in rates to Clare County Council every year, as well as supporting sport facilities, clubs, organisations and the Christmas lights in Kilrush and West Clare.

“I hate to think what Kilrush would be like if Moneypoint never came,” said former mayor of Kilrush Liam O’Looney.

Cllr Mairead O’Brien is what is known locally as a Moneypointer, having moved to Kilrush when her father was transferred to the power station.

“Even if you see that is might last 10 years, that is a shock to me that it might not last any longer. I suppose I would have never contemplated West Clare without it,” she said.

“I would certainly hope there is a way for it to diversify,” she said adding that she hopes the company remains part of West Clare. Mr Kennedy said he did not wish to alarm people and that despite a very competitive market Moneypoint continues to be one of the main suppliers to the national grid.

There are currently 192 full-time people working at the plant, follow- ing 34 voluntary redundancies this time last year. At its peak in the 1980s there was an average of 450 people working there.

Having completed a € 360 million retrofit on site during the last decade the ESB plan to complete re-engineering work on the ash storage area next year as well as further investment in the coming years.

UNITS of Clare County Fire Services were called to deal with a major blaze at a well known eco-farm near Clarecastle last week. No one was injured in the fire, which broke out at a farmhouse in IM Eco Farm at around 8pm on December 23. Units from Ennis and Shannon Fire Stations attended the scene. Four pumps, two water tankers and a Bronco hoist vehicle attended the fire at the family run business. It took fire crews almost four hours to bring the blaze under control. Extensive damage was caused to a farmhouse. Gardaí are now investigating the blaze, which is believed to have been accidental in nature. It is not thought the fire was started for any malicious reasons. Set in 100 acres of countryside, ‘Im eco farm’ is an eco workshop and exhibition located near Clarecastle on the town land of Islandmcgrath along the Fergus estuary. The popular farm offers visitors the opportunity to experience renewable energy hands-on by displaying step-by-step guides and full-scale working models of wind, solar and waterpower as well as offering DIY courses for a more environmentally friendly future. The eco-farm, which opened inc 2009, is the brainchild of Clarecastle native Eddie Connors – a local farmer who obtained a Bachelor of Technology in wood and building technology. The farm was featured on the RTE tv series Higher Ground in 2010 and was recently booked out for a special Christmas event at Santa’s Farm. It is also a very popular venue for school tours.