Category: News

THE long-running saga of Blake’s Corner in Ennistymon look an unexpected twist in May when a vigilante painter struck at Clare’s most dangerous traffic junction, with a zebra crossing being painted at the notorious Blake’s Corner in Ennistymon.

The zebra crossing was painted in the early hours Tuesday morning, May 21, on the Lahinch side of dangerous junction. The identity of the vigilante painter is unknown, but some local people have started using the new zebra crossing.

Blake’s Corner has been the site of ongoing difficulty for Clare County Council, who have had to shelf long-awaited plans to create a new traffic flow system at the junction. Local group, Saving Ennistymon Heritage, opposed the new junction on the ground that two listed building, known as Blake’s and Linnane’s, would have to be demolished as part of the joint National Roads Authority (NRA)/Clare County Council project.

The process has been stalled for the last two years as Clare County Council have been unable to secure funding from the NRA to complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed development.

More than two million people use the tiny junction every year to access the Cliffs of Moher and Lahinch beach. Council engineer Tony Neville yesterday describe the vigilante action as a “dig” against the council.

“We have to take it out. It is emulsion so white spirits won’t take it out. We are scrubbing it at the moment,” he said.

“It is a bit of a dig. We have to condemn it and to note that is dangerous. People are using it and it is causing confusion. If anyone has information we would urge them to contact the gardaí.”

Local councillor Joe Arkins (FG) said that the action was a direct prompt from the local community, aimed at the council.

“The community are prompting us to take on certain works here. We have a real problem there [Blake’s Corner] and the sooner we can apply outselves to solving this the better,” he said.

In an official statement yesterday Clare County Council urged local people to forward any information on the new crossing to the Gardaí. “We will be removing the zebra crossing as soon as possible. If any member of the general public is aware of the identity of the person or persons who did this, they should report it to the Ennistymon Area Office or directly to the gardaí. Unauthorised surface markings can cause confusion for road users and can be hazardous for both pedestrians and motorists,” said senior engineer Tom Tiernan.

AN ALLEGATION that planning has gone wrong because of the role that politicians play in the process was levelled in October, with the charge coming a former chief planning officer with Clare County Council.

Brendan McGrath, a consultant planner with Clare County Council, said that clientelism has become endemic in the Irish planning system and has come to supersede the public good as a planning consideration.

In his new book, ‘Landscape and Society in Contemporary Ireland’, Mr McGrath conceded that “something has gone wrong” in the Irish planning system, which he argues does not serve the common good.

“The political system functions to support individual landowners. Clientelism gets in the way of consideration that are more supportive of the broader community. It [political interference in planning] is an obstacle to the common good, which is what the planning system should be about,” he said.

“Even at a very local level clientelism is not helpful. The decisions are not made with the landscape in mind, instead decision are made because of who owns what land. That is not about the wider best interests.

McGrath argues that it is not individual politician who are to blame for this process but rather the planning system, which allows for rampant clientelism.

“It’s not as though politicians are looking to make lots of money on these things [planning decisions], but it is putting personal interests before decisions that effect more people,” he said. “If things were being run properly, if there was no clientelism, the real planning arguments would hold sway rather than these local influences that get in the way.

“Councillors have a duty to the people that they represent, so if someone comes to them an says they want something zoned X, Y or Z, then the councillor is quite entitled to take that on board.

“When these type of considerations override the way that decisions are made then it is contrary to proper planning and development. That is the order of the day in local government where zoning decisions are made.

“Even with simple planning application, when the decision lies with the county manager. But even in these situations representations are made to managers and to their offices. And on occasion these representations can be given excessive weight.”

Brendan McGrath’s book, ‘Landscape and Society in Contemporary Ireland’, was published in the first week of October by Cork University Press.

HUNDREDS of members of the leisure centre at Woodstock Hotel learnt for the first time they could be out of pocket to the tune of between € 200 and € 400 following the shock closure of the four-star hotel last Friday.

This fear was raised by a number of leisure centre members who contacted The Clare People and voiced their anger that membership fees for the pool, spa and gym facilities were accepted into the weeks leading up to the hotel’s closure.

“We don’t know if we will get our money back,” one member of the leisure centre told The Clare People . “We paid money in good faith, but now don’t know if there’s any comeback and our money could be lost,” another member added.

Membership rates for the leisure centre ranged from € 200 to € 400, while it’s believed that over 100 people may have already paid their fees for 2013.

No spokesperson from Fort William Ltd, the operating company behind the management of Woodstock, was available for comment but a former employee revealed; “There is going to be a director’s meeting called on January 23 and the directors will have to give a statement of affairs at that meeting.”

It has also emerged that many of Woodstock’s 60 employees were only given a half-hour’s notice of the emergency meeting that announced the closure of the hotel.

Staff were called to a meeting at 3pm where they were told that the hotel was to cease trading with immediate effect.

The hotel had built up a reputation as a popular wedding venue over the last number of years, but it’s understood that no wedding was due to take place the weekend of the story, while none are booked in for the following weeks either.

Woodstock Hotel was developed in 2000 as a standalone development separate to Woodstock Golf and Country Club which was designed by renowned golf course architect Dr Arthur Spring and opened in 1993.

This year, Woodstock Golf Club celebrates 20 years and is unaffected by the latest demise of the adjacent Woodstock Hotel.

THE accolades keep coming for Davy Fitzgerald after the Clare manager was announced as Clare Person of the Year.

The Sixmilebridge man was named the recipient of the annual award given out by the Clare Association Dublin. It was a bumper year for Fitzgerald and Clare hurling. The former Clare goalkeeper guided Clare to the All-Ireland hurling title. The Banner captured a fourth title after a thrilling victory over Cork in a replayed All-Ireland final.

Fitzgerald was last week honoured by RTÉ when he was named Manager of the Year, while his Clare team won the ‘Team of the Year’ award.

“It’s been a fantastic year for Clare and for Clare hurling and we’re delighted that Davy is the Clare Person of the Year,” says Association PRO Gerry O’Reilly.

The Clare Association Dublin 2014 Yearbook was launched in Dublin earlier this month in Glasnevin by businessman and former Clare Person of the Year, Martin Donnelly.

Readers can expect the usual great mix of stories, reflections on events throughout 2013 and several personal accounts of what the year’s great sporting accolades have meant for parishes and county alike.

“To much applause, Davy Fitzgerald was revealed as this year’s successful nominee following a year in which he, together with his players and management team, brought so much pride to the county,” stated Mr O’Reilly.

The Clare Association Dublin Hall of Fame Award 2014 was also announced as going to another very worth recipient, Fr Harry Bohan.

To mark another successful year’s running of the Martin Corry Memorial Walk, a cheque was presented to Mary Crawford-Barry, Principal of St Joseph’s Secondary School, Spanish Point.

Details were also announced of the upcoming Annual Dinner Dance. The event will take place on January 25, at The Clyde Court Hotel (formerly The Berkley Court Hotel) from 8pm. The presentation of the Clare Person of the Year and Clare Association Dublin Hall of Fame awards will be made on the evening and entertainment will be provided by the Brian Boru Band. Tickets are available from any member of the committee. (Liam O’Looney 087 2377957; Gerry O’Reilly 086 8498192; Pauline Cummins 01 8531037; Mary Barry 087 2244343).

IT WAS Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald who memorably told the Troika, Angela Merkel, Mario Draghi and anyone of our European partners who were watching the Clare homecoming celebrations in Ennis on September 29 that “the recession can go to hell”.

Well, come October it was revealed that the recession did just that around All-Ireland time and that the words of Clare’s All-Ireland winning manager were proving prophetic.

Early estimates of the spending power of the Clare public during those heady September days into early October suggested those memorable celebrations were worth € 1m to the local economy alone.

Meanwhile, while players’ attention turned to the club championship in October, it was also time to look forward to the end of year celebrations.

The team holiday destination of Mexico was decided in October, while as part of the fundraising drive for this trip of a lifetime for players and mentors an official team and team calendar were organized dur- ing the month to go on general sale around the county and beyond.

The Clare Hurling Supporters Club asked members of the public to be wary of pirated versions of pictures or calendars on sale, as none of the proceeds of this merchandise would be going to the hurlers’ holiday fund.

Chairman of the Clare Hurling Supporters Club PJ Kelly told The Clare People that the fundraising for the player’s holiday fund would be stepped in October and continue for the rest of the year.

“Of course the players and man- agement deserve a holiday for all their incredible achievements and the sacrifices they made this year,” he said.

“We would ask the Clare public to get behind the team as we try to raise money for that trip. With this in mind we will be making an official team photograph with the Liam McCarthy Cup available for sale shortly. It will sit perfectly beside the pictures of the 1995 and 1997 All-Ireland winning squads,” said Kelly, a former treasurer of the Clare County Board and father of All-Ireland winning goalkeeper Patrick Kelly.

THE number of civic receptions and other civic functions ordered by councillors at Clare County Council skyrocketed in 2012 – reaching its highest level on record, it was revealed during the first week in February.

Councillors ordered eight different social events in the year, compared to just three in 2011.

These eight ceremonies included four civic receptions, two civic recognitions, one mayoral reception and one civic welcome.

Figures obtained by The Clare People showed that the number of civic ceremonies asked for by elected members has increased year on year since the beginning of the recession.

According to Clare County Council’s own annual reports, councillors hosted three civic receptions in 2006, four in 2007 and five in 2008.

In 2009 there were six ceremonies, including four civic receptions and two civic welcomes, with seven events in 2010, including five civic receptions and two mayoral receptions.

This number fell to just two civic receptions and one civic recognition in 2011 before the eight different events which were hosted by councillors in 2012.

The events were generally hosted in the offices of Clare County Council, Áras Contae an Chláir, and involved an amount of food and drink and sometimes entertainment. It was unclear what the costs are from staging these civic events.

The largest civic reception held in 2012 took place on June 14 when President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, was officially welcomed to Clare following a motion put forward by Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind).

Other ceremonies in 2012 were held for the Inagh Camogie Team, the Environment Committee of the Committee of the Regions and a civic welcome to those taking part in the Shinty Hurling/Camogie International Festival.

There were also events to honour the Samaritans for 30 years of service in Clare, to the unveiling of a plaque in memory of the passengers from Clare who were on board the Titanic, a reception to honour Keeva Corry who won the Under 11 and Under 12 World Dancing Championships and a civic recognition ceremony to honour Noel Pyne who has competed in the South of Ireland Championships each year for the past 50 years.

IT PROVED to be a bumper Christmas for returning emigrants, with Shannon Airport recording a 21 per cent increase in passenger numbers over the festive season.

Some 43,000 passengers will have flown in and out of Shannon over the Christmas period from December 21 to January 2 – up almost 8,000 on the same period last year when over 35,000 travelled.

This makes it the first Christmas in five years that passenger numbers at the airport have shown an increase.

“We are having a very busy Christmas,” said Niall Maloney, Airport Operations Director at Shannon Airport.

“This is the busiest period of the winter season and we also had our free Santa Flights with Ryanair so it it’s all hands on deck.

“An airport is an emotional place anyway as families and friends reu- nite or say goodbye but it is particularly so at Christmas. This weekend is probably the happiest of the year, though, and the buzz is fantastic as there are so many flying in to be home for Christmas.

“The arrivals area is where it all happens, particularly for US and London flights as they are full of people flying back from the States or, via London, from the likes of Australia, the Middle East, Far East and elsewhere,” he added.

The boost in passengers numbers in Shannon over the Christmas period comes at the end of the airport’s first full year of independence.

On January 31 last year Shannon was formally granted its independence from the Dublin Airport Authority – a move that came into affect on the back of a pledge by the Fine Gael/Labour government to put a new blueprint in place for the airport after the 2011 General Election.

A SUB group of the Regional Drug Taskforce was established in Kilrush in November amid fears a growing heroin problem in the West Clare capital.

The Garda move is seen as a move by law enforcement agents to see if there is a serious deep-rooted heroin problem in the town.

Gardaí in Kilrush, in conjunction with the National Drugs Unit, have been tackling the supply issue with a special five-month undercover operation spanning the end of last year and the first quarter of this year.

A total of 1,400 Garda man-hours were used in the investigation and sting that resulted in at least eight arrests that have come before the courts so far. The Clare People learned that a special “drop-in clinic” for drug addicts was opened in the town eight weeks ago, to deal with the sociocriminal problem that has taken hold for the last year.

Regional drugs coordinator with the HSE Rory Keane said a heroin issue in a town of this size is usually attributed to a social-economic issue and supply.

Meanwhile Mr Keane said the health service has been aware of a problem in the town for the last year. He added that a specialist team made up of the HSE Drug and Alcohol Service, Mid Western Regional Task Force, Bushy Park and the Commu- nity Substance Misuse Team, were now working in the town to examine the general drug issues including heroin.

The special drop-in clinic will close in the next few weeks and the body will regroup to assess the situation.

“It has been a concern for the last 12 months that there does seem to be a pocket of heroin use in Kilrush that would not be on other parts of the county,” said the drugs specialist.

“Availability would be an issue. The other concerns would be social-economic factors and issues of unemployment, motivation and poverty.

“A drug problem might come up centred around a few individuals or a supply issue in a rural area,” he explained, adding that the concern in Kilrush was the problem was established for longer than would be expected in a town of its size.

“It is too early yet to say if it is a deep-rooted problem or a long-term episodic issue. We are not in a position to predict what will happen,” he said. “My sense from talking to people is it is definitely a social and economic issue here,” said Mr Keane adding that it is no coincident that you see an increase in drug use at times of economic difficulties.

TOOTHLESS, € 10,000 talking shops were taking place in this HSE region every two months, while stressed and worried older people watch powerlessly all over County Clare as their home help hours are savagely cut. In figures released to The Clare People under the Freedom of Information Act 1997 and 2003, expenses paid out to councillors in the HSE West region who attend forum meetings were as high as € 8,600 per meeting.

One member of the forum admitted to The Clare People that the cost of one meeting would pay for the lifetime home help needs of one older person.

Under the FOI request, The Clare People learnt that the bi-monthly meetings of the HSE West Regional Health Forum cost € 154,104.92 during the last three years in councillor expenses alone.

Of this, € 12,179.29 was collected by the four Clare members on the 40-person forum covering the nine counties in the HSE West.

Clare councillors received up to € 240 per meeting in expenses, with one councillor in Donegal claiming as much as € 625.87 per meeting.

Members travel to meetings in Galway, Limerick and Manorhamilton, but have no say in health legislation, nor can they propose changes or make any representations. They can merely question the health authority.

Former Clare members of the health forum resigned from the body put in place to replace the former health boards as they described it as no more than a “talking shop”.

Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) found it “very frustrating because we couldn’t get answers or information from the HSE. I saw no point in travelling that far and claiming those expenses when we couldn’t actually get any- thing done.”

Even current members of the forum admited it is far from value for money.

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) argued that the HSE must be kept accountable through some public forum, but said there must be a more cost-effective and efficient way of making this happen. And while councillors continue to claim for their expenses, it also emerged that at least two meetings in the last three years were abandoned, as they did not have a quorum – in other words not enough councillors stayed until the end of the meetings to make them viable.

A FORMER fisherman who was pepper sprayed three times by gardaí as he tried to evade arrest, received a seven month suspended sentence for obstructing Gardaí and criminal damage at the last hearing of Kilrush District Court in 2014.

Judge Patrick Durcan said he “thought spray was more affective than that” as he listened to the evidence against Colin Haugh (24), 7 Barrack Road, Kilkee.

The court heard that just before 2am on July 7, 2013 Mr Haugh left O’Mara’s Public House carrying a chair over his head, walked down the street and smashed it into the wall of the AIB bank.

Garda Conor Flaherty gave evidence that he and his colleague Gda Heather McGovern were on duty on the night in question. They asked Mr Haugh to return the chair and for his details.

“He told me to I knew who he was and to f*@k off. He then pushed me backwards and started punching at us,” said Gda Flaherty.

The gardaí used pepper spray on the defendant. They then restrained him on the ground and he was sprayed again by Gda McGovern.

Mr Haugh broke free and ran down the alleyway and was chased by Gda Flaherty.

“I used my personal issued baton on his legs and he fell to the ground,” said the garda, adding that Mr Haugh was again sprayed.

Solicitor for the defence Fiona Hehir said that her client was not currently working, but previously worked as a fisherman and for a carpenter.

“On the day of the incident he had broken up with his long term girl- friend,” she said adding that he also apologised to Gardaí and paid the € 30 cost for the damage to the chair. Mr Haugh had 11 previous convictions. Ms Hehir said the convictions go back to 2011 when he worked in Kinsale. Judge Durcan sentenced him to three months in prison for the damage to the chair and four months for obstructing Gardaí in the line of their duty.

He suspended both sentences for two years.

Judge Durcan said he wanted to cut out “thickish boozy behaviour” in Clare as much as he possibly could.