The Clare People Archive

atives aimed at preventing crime, reducing the fear of crime and pro moting community and road safety,” Crime Prevention Off cer, Sgt Joe Downey explained.

“We hope to achieve this objective, by visible, accessible, and proactive involvement with the various com munity partnerships and crime pre vention initiatives operating in their local areas.”

Sgt Downey said these measures will include: proactive foot patrols, mountain bike patrols and increased high visibility marked Garda car patrolling; erection of information stands at strategic locations such as supermarkets and festivals.

Gardaí will also meet with elderly residents of the area and multi agen cy community partners to promote interaction and joint approaches to common problems.

Sgt Downey explained that burgla ries tend to increase over the winter months.

He said security measures such as a properly working alarm and keep ing an unrestricted view of their property especially from the front in order to deprive would be criminals of cover, are essential to preventing burglaries.

He continued, “Report all attempt ed burglaries and burglaries immedi ately on discovery. Over half of all burglaries are through the rear of the property so extra security measures are required. In one f fth of burgla ries entry is gained through an un secured door or window. Keep them securely locked when the property is vacant. “The most common property stolen is jewellery, cash, laptops, tools and hi f equipment like cameras games consoles etc. Keep your most expen sive items hidden from obvious plac es and keep a record of them (photo) and mark large items in case they are recovered after being stolen. Be aware that keys left on a table close to the door can be ‘f shed’ out through the letter box,” Sgt Downey said.

A TEENAGER has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for making hoax phone calls to the emergency ser vices in Clare. In calls made on November 13, 2013 and June 16, 2014, Nathan Coughlan ( 18) claimed a male had jumped into the River Fergus, Ennis District Cour t heard on Wednesday. Both claims turned out to be false and the calls were subject to a garda investigation. Mr Coughlan, with an address at Mallow Road, Doneraile Cork but who is from Ennis, pleaded guilty to two offences contrar y to

A GROUP of women who have given their lives to serving the Catholic Church in Clare said they were hurt, upset and ignored following a pastoral letter calling for male only deacons to serve the Diocese of Killaloe.

At the weekend Bishop Kieran O’Reilly shelved the plans saying he would “not now proceed with the introduction of the Permanent Deaconate at this time in the diocese.”

Weeks earlier in a pastoral letter he asked for “men married or single, and who are already involved in some aspect of lay ministry or leadership in the community,” to apply for the position of deacon. No women could apply.

Among the jobs listed for these men were charity work, liturgy work, and becoming ministers of the Eucharist – roles currently being undertaken in the main by women in the diocese.

At a forum at the Inn at Dromoland last night (Monday) these women asked for their voices to be heard and a more inclusive deaconate to be developed.

“In 2014 is it appropriate that they bring in another male only ministry? What impression does it give of the Church?” asked Kathleen MacDonald from Cross.

Ms MacDonald is a co-ordinator of the sacraments, prepares creative liturgies, gives retreats to Conf rma tion children as well as being on the pastoral council and f nancial com mittee in her local parish.

Mary Hanley from Ennis who was part of the Diocesan Pastoral Council and involved in the two year long “Listening Process” introduced by the bishop and resulted in the pastoral plan said the document was about empowering lay men and women to do more work.

The Pastoral Plan of the Diocese of Killaloe 2013 to 2020 outlined plans to “empower men and women to live their baptismal calling in the Church at local and diocesan levels” and “To call forth the variety of gifts present in our communities and put them at the service of all.”

Ms Hanley explained that the pastoral letter was then “dropped in” and was “hugely hurtful for women”.

Rita O’Brien from Scarriff, a midwife by profession, was hoping to do masters in pastoral care and was excited in getting more involved in the Church as a layperson until she saw the letter.

“This was an ad for something I knew I had a vocation to do and have the academic ability to study for,” she said. “I was deeply upset on a personal level.”

Martina Meskell from Clonlara, the facilitator of the meeting, said this group of women were not radicals or even feminists.

“We do not want any negativity or divisiveness over this,” she said, adding that they just wanted the pastoral plan implemented to include everyone irrespective of gender.

“We are all ordinary women who give our time voluntary because we care and have a strong faith.”

“It took a lot of courage to speak out with passion and dignity.

“There was a fear of speaking out because there was a fear of damaging relationships with parish priests or jeopardising employment for those women working for the dioceses,” she said.

“We really welcome Bishop Kieran’s decision to put this on hold and acknowledge his commitment to dialogue.”

THE late Jim White has been recalled as a “dynamic and generous man” who made an “immense” contribution to the tourism industry in Clare.

The former Fine Gael TD and businessman passed away aged 76 last Tuesday. Originally from Donegal, he has a long association with the hotel industry in Clare.

He purchased the Hydro Hotel in Lisdoonvarna in the mid-seventies, which laid the foundations for what is now known as White’s Hotel Group, comprising the King Thomond, the Burren Castle Hotel and the Imperial Hotel. The Group also runs hotels in Donegal and Kerry.

Chairman of Lisdoonvarna Fáilte Ltd, Paddy Dunne, said Mr White was an “extremely popular and wellrespected man who will be greatly missed both at home in Donegal and here in North Clare”.

He continued, “Since the 1970s Jim’s contribution to the promotion of tourism in Lisdoonvarna has been immense. The White family’s investment in the town created, and continues to create, much needed employment in the local area. Indeed from the moment Jim arrived in Lisdoonvarna, following the purchase of the Hydro Hotel and the Moher Inn, which is now the Burren Castle Hotel, he employed locals. Initially during the renovation of the hotels he employed local trades people and then subsequently hotel staff.

“There are not many families in Lisdoonvarna who haven’t had at least one member employed at one of the White’s hotels. Jim was a dynamic and generous man who will be remembered fondly, particularly in September when the hotels are full and Lisdoonvarna really comes alive to the sounds of music and dancing,” Mr Dunne said. “Lisdoonvarna Fáilte would like to extend their sympathies to Jim’s family, in particular to his son, Marcus, who is a great supporter of Lisdoonvarna.”

Taoiseach Enda Kenny also paid tribute to Mr White, “a man of enormous positivity and generosity with huge credibility in the area of tourism and business”.

Mr Kenny continued, “In particular, his hard work led to an increase in tourism – spend in the north west of Ireland. He was a man of enormous popularity in Donegal and the North West in general and even managed to head the poll against Neill Blaney in a general election.”

Mr Kenny added, “I would like to extend on my own behalf and on behalf of the Fine Gael party my sincere condolences to all his family, especially his children Caroline, Bettina, Marcus, Sinead, James Jr, Megan and Mitchell. I called to see him only last Sunday in the Mater hospital where I met and spoke with his family as Jim approached his last days.”

THE community of Ballyea was plunged into mourning last week following the death of father of five Gerard O’Connell.

Mr O’Connell died following a farm accident in Ballyea last week.

Just before 10pm on Wednesday night, Gardaí and emergency services were called to a farm in Ballyea where the 57 year old was fatally injured in an incident, believed to have involved a tractor and trailer.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, which was sealed off.

The Health and Safety Authority were informed of the incident and an investigation commenced when a HSA inspector visited the site on Thursday.

It is understood the deceased was loading cattle into the trailer at around 7pm when the accident occurred.

His body was later discovered at the scene by a family member.

One local described Mr O’Connell as an “absolute gentleman”.

“It’s an awful thing to happen. He was a lovely man, a hard worker and an absolute gentleman.”

Mr O’Connell’s son Gearóid is a member of the Clare U21 hurling side that will play in the All-Ireland final against Wexford on Saturday. Another son, Paddy, is also well known club hurler and footballer.

The tragedy is the second to take place on a farm in Clare in a fortnight.

On August 20, a 38-year-old single man died while he was fitting a wheel to a vehicle near his home in Liscannor.

The chairman of the Clare IFA, Andrew Dundas, expressed his condolences to the O’Connell family on their tragic loss.

“This was certainly a very sad case,” he said.

Mr Dundas said farm safety has been at the top of the IFA’s agenda in recent months.

Mr Dundas said it is important farm families get together and compile a safety audit of their farm and farm practices to identify areas that may be of concern.

Mr Dundas said the association is also concerned by the growing number of farmers who are working longer hours in order to earn a living.

“Certainly that is something that we are hearing again and again. People feel that they have to work longer and longer. Very few people can make a living directly from farming so you find people are working a lot longer,” he explained.

SHANNON Airport’s strong revival continues according to figures released by the Irish Aviation Authority, which show a 27 per cent increase in flights from this time last year.

With an average of 71 flights dai- ly during the month of August the number is significantly up on the same month last year.

According to the figures, August saw 1,835 flights in Irish airspace, including approximately 700 flights at the three main airports – Shannon, Cork and Dublin.

Dublin is also continuing its steady climb with 528 daily movements up 2.6 per cent in August.

Cork figures were down however with a total of 63 flights using Cork each day in August and to date the airport traffic is down 3.7 per cent on August 2013.

The overall figure for Irish airports increased by 5.2 per cent in August over the same month last year, with Shannon’s success impacting significantly on that number.

The summer season saw strong growth in flights using Irish airspace, with air traffic up 6.5 per cent in August on 2013. North Atlantic traffic mirrored this trend with a 7.3 per cent increase on 2013.

CLARE County Council have no responsibility for Cregg Beach, in Lahinch. According to senior executive engineer Cyril Feeney, the only ac- cess to the beach is through private lands, making any potential public repair work there difficult for the council. Last month Cllr Bill Slattery (FG) asked that the local authority clean up the beach by pulling back the stones and gravel after the January storm to allow access for the general public onto the beach. He was told that the beach in question is not a beach routinely maintained by Clare County Council and is also situated on private property. Since then Mr Feeney has confirmed two registered landowners adjacent to the beach, with no public right of way recorded. “Where we have registered owners we should not or could not go in to do work,” he said. “So Clare County Council has no responsibility for Cregg beach?” Cllr Slattery asked at the West Clare Municipal District meeting. “Not that I am aware of,” replied the engineer. “I am not saying it is a private beach but that we have no presence there. “We would have to go through private land to access the beach,” he said. The local councillor maintained that; “For hundreds of years locals had gone up and took gravel and sand and seaweed from the beach.” It was suggested by some councillors that perhaps the work could be complete if the landowners would give permission for access.

BLINGING up the chairpersons of two of the county council’s new districts is estimated to cost just under € 20,000.

Both the chair of the Ennis Municipal District, who will be referred to as Mayor of Ennis, and the chair of the Shannon Municipal District, who will be known as Cathaoirleach of the area, will both get a shinny new chain of office.

The councillors of the West Clare Municipal District and the Killaloe Municipal District have opted, in principal, to work without a chain of office, with the West Clare councillors suggesting they borrow the “county mayoral chain” for any official busi- ness that may require it.

The councillors in the west have not completely ruled out a new chain however as they await official confirmation that their colleagues in the east will also remain chainless.

It is understood that the Killaloe area councillors voted to do without a chain, which would ensure just two of the four municipal districts will have a chain.

A spokesperson for Clare County Council said that while the Shannon Area has not to date acquired its new chain, Ennis has footed a € 9,471 bill for the jewellery. This is a once in a generation cost however, he maintained. Ennis Town Council was abolished on June 1.

“The chains of office in use had the words Ennis Town Council inscribed on the medallion together with the Mayors of the Town Council over the years. The chains are an important emblem of office and together with the chains of other town authorities will be displayed here in Áras Contae an Chláir reflecting the history of the times,” said the council spokesperson.

“With the creation of a new municipal district titled Ennis Municipal District and most importantly the area being authorised to retain the title of mayor – the only area of the county now permitted to use that title – it was necessary to obtain a new chain of of fice. A procurement process was undertaken and the project was awarded to a local jeweller. The total cost involved, including VAT, was € 9,471.”

“The acquisition of a chain arises once in a generation or when a change in structures such as that which took place in June last comes into effect. It is important that the first citizen of the Municipal District can represent the area at formal and other ceremonies with the emblems of office that are associated with the mayoral function,” he added.

On Tuesday the councillors of the West Clare area agreed that a separate chain of office would not be required to represent their area, if the Killaloe district was in agreement.

Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) proposed that the chair did not require a chain. “I am sure the county cathaoirleach of the day would deputise someone from the area [for special occasions in West Clare] and that would allow the chain to be present.”

The current chair Cllr PJ Kelly’s (FF) suggestion that the councillors could break the retired Kilrush Town Council chain out of the display in the Town Hall was met with strong opposition from the other members.

Cllr Kelly said that while he personally does not want a chain he suggested, “we will see what East Clare do. We don’t want to be caught off side. I suggest we agree to defer.”

Meetings Administrator, West Clare Municipal District, John Corry said, “My understanding is that East Clare will not have one.”

“We will confirm that and it will make it easy for us,” said the father of the council.

Meanwhile the former town council chains of Ennis, Kilrush, Shannon and Kilkee are to be put on display in their respective towns.

THE majority of teenage girls in Clare are now availing of the cervical cancer vaccination programme introduced in 2010.

A total of 88.9 per cent of first year students in Clare secondary schools have received the three vaccines as part of the human papillomavirus vaccination (HPV) programme, which ensures Clare is well above the HSE target of 80 per cent up take.

Overall, the figures show that 680 girls received the vaccine doses in the 2012/2013 academic year.

The vaccine protects against seven out of 10 cervical cancers, so health expert maintain that it is still important for girls to have regular smear tests when they are adults.

Critics of the vaccine programme maintain that it does not go far enough as it only targets 50 per cent of the population, even though the sexually transmitted infection that can lead to cervical cancer affects 80 per cent of the population both male and female.

As well as contributing to cervical cancer, HPV also contributes to rare cancers such as penile cancer and anal cancer in men.

Meanwhile 42,000 girls have benefited from the vaccine nationwide last year.

Labour TD Michael McNamara said he was glad the vaccine has been so well received in the county.

“It goes a long way towards ensuring our young girls are effectively immunised against the causes of cervical cancer.

“While we don’t have any com- prehensive data in Ireland yet as to the effectiveness of the HPV programme, we do know that in Denmark, where it has been widely used since 2007, there has been a 50 per cent reduction in pre-cancers, which are required to develop cervical cancer,” he said.

The 2014/2015 HPV programme will see the number of doses reduced from three to two doses, as new data has shown that two doses are just as effective as three. In addition, a Meningococcal C (Men C) booster is being introduced this year for first year boys and girls. The booster is recommended because immunity from the vaccine routinely given to babies can wane over time, so this provides additional protection.

As many as 250 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and 80 women die from the disease.

A MAN who illegally parked in a disabled parking space at Ennis Courthouse has been disqualified from driving for three months.

At Ennis District Court on Friday, father of five Luan Heta, with an address at Park Avenue, Ennis, was also fined € 300 by Judge Patrick Durcan who has imposed stiff penalties on drivers convicted of such offences in recent months.

Mr Heta pleaded guilty to parking in a disabled person parking bay at Ennis Courthouse, Lifford Road, Ennis on March 26, 2014.

Defence solicitor Daragh Hassett told the court his client had business in the Courthouse on the day but could not get a parking spot. Mr Hassett said the court was particularly busy on the day in question.

He said Mr Heta forgot to pay the fixed charge penalty notice because of family difficulties he was experiencing at the time.

“He is very, very sorry,” Mr Hassett said.

Mr Hassett said he was aware this was a serious offence that the court has a particular view on. Asking the court not to disqualify his client from driving, Mr Hassett said his client has young children in school and any disqualification order would impose a hardship on the family.

Garda Liza McDonagh told the court that Mr Heta has eight previous convictions including for breach of the peace, assault and assault causing harm. Judge Patrick Durcan said that in his experience Ennis Courthouse is unique in the amount of parking spaces available for drivers.

Judge Durcan also noted that Mr Heta is a man with a “very violent history”.

In response, Mr Hassett acknowledged there was a time when Mr Heta “used to raise his fists regularly in this town” but he has matured with age.

Judge Durcan imposed a € 300 fine and by way of ancillary order, disqualified Mr Heta from driving for three months. Mr Hassett said he had been instructed by his client to appeal the decision.

Judge Durcan fixed recognisances at Mr Heta’s own bond of ˙€ 300 and an independent surety to be approved by the court of € 600.