The Clare People Archive

A MAJORITY of students in the classroom of a now retired teacher accused of indecently assaulting young school girls would say he was a “good teacher”, a court has heard.

The statement by defence counsel Roderick O’Hanlon SC was put to a woman who alleges the man indecently assaulted her on a weekly basis when she was in fourth, fifth and sixth class.

The woman was giving evidence on the second day of the trial of the 80year-old man who is charged with 67 counts of indecent assault at a Clare primary school between 1964 and 1985. He denies all charges.

The 48 year-old woman told prosecuting counsel Anthony Sammon the accused had “good days and bad days” as a teacher.

She said if the man was having a bad day, “somebody usually got hit really hard”. The woman said she recalled the man sitting down beside her and putting his arm around her.

She said the man would touch her breast area, thigh and inner thigh and genital area. She said all touching took place outside the clothes.

She said on more than one occasion she was brought to the front of the classroom where the man held her between his legs as he sat on a high stool. Under cross-examination from defence counsel Roderick O’Hanlon SC, the woman denied her recollection of the accused as violent man was “incorrect and untrue”.

Counsel put to it to the woman that the man “ran a classroom where the vast majority of students, their recollection is a good teacher”.

“It is an untrue account that you were ever sexually assaulted in this fashion”, he said.

“I was”, the woman replied.

When Mr O’Hanlon put it to the woman that the “atmosphere in the classroom was one of a normal happy classroom”, the woman said this was not true.

The accused, an 80-year-old man who cannot be named for legal reasons, replied not guilty to each of the 67 counts when they were put to him at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday. A jury of seven women and five men has been sworn to hear the trial, which is expected to last between two and three weeks.

A WOMAN has recalled the fright and hurt she felt as a young girl when her primary school teacher allegedly pushed her on a desk and forced his body on top of her.

The woman was giving evidence at the second day of the trial of an 80year-old retired teacher accused of 67 counts of indecent assault.

The man denies all charges, which relate to allegations between 1964 and 1985 at a Clare primary school.

The allegations concern 11 women who say they were assaulted by the man.

On Thursday at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court, the woman recalled an incident she alleges happened in sixth class.

She said the man pushed her on a desk and forced himself on top of her as she faced him.

“He was pushing his whole body weight down on me”, she said.

“My sister shouted stop, you’re going to break my sister’s back”.

The woman told prosecuting counsel Anthony Sammon SC that the incident was “very frightful” and “very hurtful”.

Defence counsel Roderick O’Hanlon SC put it to the woman that the incident at the desk never happened and that her memory is simply an “incorrect recollection”.

Under cross-examination, the woman maintained she had been assaulted by her former teacher.

“We were country children when we were subjected to this behaviour”, she added.

She said the children did not know what sex was but knew their teacher’s behaviour was “horrible” and “wrong”

She said they were “country children in a country school” when they were assaulted by the man.

She said it was a “no win” situation for the children because this was man in “power, all power” who knew their parents.

A 45-year-old woman told the court she recalled that when she was in fifth class, the teacher would sit beside her at her desk and touch her inappropriately.

She also recalled that the man used to admire her clothes.

She said the man used to hold her between his legs as he sat on a high stool at the front of the classroom.

She said she knows now the man was getting aroused.

“He had an erection and it was sticking into my back”.

In cross examination, defence counsel, Mr O’Hanlon SC, put it to the woman that his client never engaged in the type of inappropriate touching as detailed by her.

He told her she was “constructing a narrative” about what happened.

The fifth female complainant to give evidence told the court the former teacher was “very cross” and “very violent”.

She said she remembered one day when the man allegedly pulled one boy from his desk and proceeded to bang his head on every desk.

“I’ll never forget that. It was horrific”, she added.

Prosecuting counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Anthony Sammon SC, put it to the woman that corporal punishment was permitted at the time.

The woman told Mr Sammon she thought the accused’s behaviour was “excessive”.

The woman detailed assaults committed against her by her then teacher. She said they occurred with greater frequency, as she got older in fifth and sixth class.

Defence counsel Roderick O’Hanlon SC put it to the woman, the aggravated assault on the boy never happened.

He said no complaint had been made to the gardaí in respect of that time. The trial before Judge Gerald Keys commenced on Wednesday last and is due to continue today.

ENNIS is facing a housing crisis over the next two years with the cost of family homes set to double – and with little or no development in the pipelines. The average cost of a three bedroom semi-detached house in Clare has risen by 30 per cent over the past 12 month – with Ennis, Shannon and Sixmilebridge driving the increases.

Indeed, according to figures compiled by the Real Estate Alliance (REA), the average cost of a three bedroom semi-detached house in Clare has risen by more then 13 per cent so far this year. With little or no construction of new developments in Ennis over the past four years, and few major developments at the planning stages, the current trend looks set to increase in the medium term.

According to Ennis auctioneer and REA Clare spokesperson, Liam Browne, the price increase is being driven by certain house types in certain areas – while prices in many parts of the county remain flat.

“We are seeing prices increasing in certain houses in certain urban areas, but the increase does not apply across the board. There has been a surge in sales over the past six months and that is definitely having an impact on prices – when houses do come up they are going well,” he said.

“More and more mortgages are being approved, but the houses are not coming on the market. You will see house shortages in the Ennis area over the next year or two, no houses have been built for the past four or five years. This will possibly see house prices continue to rise as there is a lack of supply.”

With the level of planning permis- sion in Clare still at a record low, it looks unlikely that a major increase in house supply can be realised in Ennis in over the next few years.

“Fundamentally it is going to create a shortage of certain kinds of homes in Ennis over the next 18 months or two years. If you go outside the urban areas like Ennis, Shannon and maybe Sixmilebridge – the market is still flat,” continued Liam.

“Any increase in house prices will help those people who are in negative equity, but whether it will get a large number of people out of their situation is not clear.”

A MOTHER of two has warned people to be on the look out for bogus tradesmen who were operating in the West Clare area at the weekend.

The men removed a number of roof tiles from the home of Ruth Gilhool and her family.

The roof of the family’s home near Ballyncally was damaged following storms earlier this year. The family had been saving to get the roof repaired when two men in a blue Ford Transit van called to the house on Friday.

The men offered to fix the damage for € 350. Ruth said she accepted the offer as it sounded like a good price and she was desperate to have the roof fixed.

She said rain had already fallen into one of the bedrooms. Ruth was at home on her own Friday when the men called. Her nine-year-old son, who is moderately autistic, was last year diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma cancer. Ruth’s husband was away with the couple’s son on a trip to Barrettstown – a specially designed camp in Kildare that provides therapeutic care for seriously ill children.

Ruth said that after examining the roof, the men told her further work was required. They said they needed to purchase materials worth € 300 from the Dock Road, Limerick.

The man said they would take € 300 for materials now and the additional € 350 required for the work could be paid over the following week.

Ruth paid the money, which she had originally intended using to tax her car.

When the men returned on Saturday, they told Ruth the cost of completing the work had jumped to € 3,250. When Ruth and her husband protested, the man said he would ring his boss. After making a phonecall, he said he could do the job for € 1,650.

The man said he needed € 1,000 upfront for materials. After Ruth asked for identification and a business card, the man said another van in the area had all the documents.

Ruth said the van left and did not return. It was after inspecting the roof she noticed some of the tiles were missing. “I was afraid to be in the house if they came back. I was afraid to be on my own. I locked my- self in the house.”

Ruth contacted the gardaí about the incident and published photos of her house and van and details of the encounter on Facebook.

Since then, friends have rallied around and offered to help with repairs.

“People have been so wonderful. I had a really heavy heart after this happened after I’d let people do this to our house and exposing us to dan- ger. But after seeing the kindness of people in Clare, my heart had lifted so much,” she said.

There have also been reports of a similar van calling to homes of elderly people in the Ballynacally and Lissycasey area.

THE allegiances of many in West Clare will be tested when the lights go up in the Festival Dome in Tralee next month, as a New Zealand Rose with impeccable West Clare connections, goes up against this year’s Clare Rose, Joanne O’Gorman.

Indeed, it has emerged that this year’s Kiwi Rose, Liza Bazalo from Wellington, has Miltown Malbay blood coursing through her veins. While Bazalo is by no mean a common West Clare name, Liza’s mother’s side of the family are Taltys, a name very familiar in Miltown, Quilty and all indeed all over West Clare.

Liza’s grandparents, Michael and Colleen Talty, left Miltown Malbay in the 1958 and settled in New Zealand. Indeed, Michael’s brother, 93-year-old Senan Talty, still lives in Miltown, in the same house where the brothers grew up, while his sister, 88-year-old Mary, also lives in Miltown.

It is expected that Liza will visit her relations at the the family home in Carhuduff, on the Hand Road outside Miltown Malbay, where the Talty family have been living for more than 400 years.

The 24-year-old lawyer is very active in the Irish community in New Zealand and holds a number of awards for her Irish dancing.

“Three of my dancing teachers were national roses. They have all been role models for me,” she said.

“I enjoy expressing my heritage through Irish dance, and cherish the time I spend with my grandparents talking about home over cups of tea. My paternal grandfather was born in Croatia, and I consider myself lucky to live in New Zealand, which is a melting pot for many cultures.

“I studied law and land planning, and work as a lawyer at Buddle Findlay. I specialise in environmental and Maori law. A particularly rewarding aspect of my work is volunteering at a centre providing free advice to people in the community.”

PLANNING permission for the construction of a park and ride service to the Cliffs of Moher has been refused by Clare County Council.

The application, which sought to retain a planning permission granted to Atlantis Development in 2009, was submitted earlier this year by a new company, Lazarus Investments.

According to documents lodged with the Company Registration Office (CRO), both Atlantis Development and Lazarus Investments list Clare businessman John Declan Flanaghan as their director.

The proposed retention of planning permission was refused by planners on Friday, with changes to the Clare County Development Plan cited as the main reason for the decision.

Lazarus Investment are currently objecting to upgrade work planned by Clare County Council on the parking facilities at the Cliffs of Moher. The objection states that according to the original planning permission granted for the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience, a park and ride service and not a permanent car park should be provided.

In recent weeks, Lazarus Investments have also lodged a number of planning applications with Clare County Council in relation to properties connected to the Atlantis Development.

An application, which would have involved a major redevelopment to Egan’s and McHugh’s in Liscannor, including the construction of a seven-bedroom hostel, has also been refused by Clare County Council, while a proposal to construct a 11 houses at Teergonean in Doolin has been given the go ahead.

There are decisions pending on a number of other projects including the construction of a supermarket, crèche, medical centre and a chemist at Killilagh in Doolin.

Meanwhile, a Liscannor hotel, which once formed part of the Atlantis Development collection of properties in North Clare, has been offered for sale with a price tag of € 550,000.

The Cliffs of Moher Hotel, which was built in 2006, is being offered for sale by receiver Michael O’Regan of PriceWaterhouseCooper. The hotel, which is located a stone’s throw from Liscannor Bay, sleeps 22 and includes a fully-fitted out bar and restaurant.

THE auction of the year was to have been the sale of the correspondence between Jackie Kennedy and a priest in All Hallows College in Dublin, but they were withdrawn at the 11th hour because a dispute over their ownership.

Now, the seminary which is closing has come back for more with another auction that will take place over three days, with one of the lots providing an historic link with Clare.

It’s contained the collection of art that will go under the hammer at Sheppards Auctioneers from Durrow in Laois – a portrait of the Clareborn Archbishop of Perth Patrick Joseph Clune.

Archbishop Clune was born in Ruan in 1864, educated at St Flannan’s College and All Hallows College. He was ordained a priest in 1886 before his first appointment was to St Patrick’s College in New South Wales.

From there he rose through the ranks of the Church and became Bishop of Perth in 1911 before being elevated to archbishopric in 1913, a position he held until his death in 1935.

Though he lived nearly all of his adult life in Australia, Archbishop Clune was given a key part to play in War of Independence in Ireland when British Prime Minister, Lloyd George turned to the Ruan man to act as a mediator with Irish leaders to secure a cessation of violence.

This was despite the fact that at the time Archbishop Clune made no secret of the fact that he was a keen supporter of the Sinn Féin movement. “I admire their gallantry. When Mr Lloyd George termed them assassins I was content to reply to him: ‘No not murderers but the cream of their race’,” he said.

Archbishop Clune’s portrait is one of 14 ecclesiastical paintings that will go under the hammer in the highly anticipated auction and could fetch up to € 2, 500.

YOUNG disabled people in Clare have been ignored for nearly 18 months as a result of government inaction, according to local campaigners.

The government backed down on a decision to scrap both the Mobility Allowance and Motorised Transport Grant in March of last year, follow intense local media attention. At that time the Department of Health decided to conduct a review of both grants and produce a workable solution which would meet the needs of disabled people.

While the review is taking place, no new Clare applicants have been granted access to either scheme – resulting in a number of disabled Clare people being left without a suitable transport options. According to local campaigner Ann Marie Flanaghan, who herself was able to take up employment as a result of the schemes, if a person took a suit against the Government under the Equal Status Act, they would most likely win.

“A number of people who were in the process of applying for the schemes and that has been stalled and their application have not been processed. There is a whole other group of people, who have no other means of transport, and cannot apply for any scheme at the moment,” she said.

“There is a whole group of people, with quite significant disabilities, who are not being provided with help while others are. The government promised that this review would be a fast turnaround, but as we know there has been no news and there is no prospect of news.”

At present there are more than 300 disabled Clare people in receipt of the Mobility Allowance or the Motorised Transport Grant Scheme. While there is currently no figures of how many Clare people have been prevented from entering the scheme over the past 18 months – it is though that the number could be between 10 and 20.

“In my opinion the Government are abusing their position and not supporting a vulnerable group of people. Those who are accessing those schemes are the people with the most significant disabilities and are also unfortunately the poorest in society, as the financial cut off point was very low to begin with,” continued Ms Flanaghan.

“People are always using the expression ‘prisoners in their own home’. In 2014 is is sickening to have to use that expression but that is the reality.”

INVESTIGATIONS are continuing into the latest smash and grab raid on a business in Ennis town centre.

The latest break in occurred at around 3am on Wednesday morning when two men used a sledgehammer to break through a glass door panel at Ennis Electrical on Parnell Street.

High value good estimated to be worth € 20,000 were stolen before the gang made their escape in a silver car.

A vehicle was later found burnt out near the Ballyhannon area of Quin. Gardaí are investigating if the car is linked to the break in.

A senior garda said yesterday no one has yet been arrested but investigations are continuing.

He also denied suggestions that Ennis is being targeted by criminals, pointing to a spate of similar smash and grab raids against businesses in Clonmel, Charleville and Limerick.

Gardaí are also examining the similarities between the latest break in and another smash and grab raid at a pharmacy in Ennis two months ago.

In May, Cassidy’s Pharmacy in En- nis was the scene of a raid occurred at around 2.30am.

Two raiders, believed to be males, used a sledgehammer to smash in the reinforced glass panelling on the front door of the premises.

The thieves filled bags with stock, mainly brand name men’s fragrances and cleared several shelves before leaving the scene in a black Volkswagon Golf.

The incidents have sparked concern among businesses in the town.

Clare Labour TD Michael McNamara said, “This incident is the latest in a series of similar break ins in the town and these robberies are a challenge to the Gardaí as well as to business owners and employees.

“They are not just an attack of property but potentially on the livelihoods of people who work in the town centre.

“Ennis has an enviable reputation as a friendly town that welcomes visitors from near and far.

“Break ins and anti-social behaviour cannot be allowed to damage this reputation or the business life of the town which needs all the support it can get in these difficult economic times,” Mr McNamara added.

A MAN whose family-run business was hit by a daring smash and grab raid in Ennis last week is urging businesses to be extra vigilant.

High value electronic goods worth up to € 20,000 were stolen when two men broke into Ennis Electrical in the early hours of Wednesday morning last.

A number of Apple devices including iPads, iPods, Samsung tablets, computers and a television were stolen.

Eric Flynn of Ennis Electrical said the premises on Quin Road had previously been targeted by thieves but this is the first time the shop on Parnell Street has been hit.

“You get the odd broken window there on a Saturday night with people being out but we’ve never had anything like this.

“The window that was broken was the only one that wasn’t shatter proof. The rest are.”

He continued, “It was a bit of a shock alright but to be honest it’s more of a disappointment. You would get the odd small minor thing but nothing on this scale. We’re in business in town for 40 years and something like this never happened.”

Eric believes there is very little that could have been done to prevent the robbery.

“The reality is there very little we could have done to prevent it. These guys don’t care about the law. They don’t care about the guards. They don’t care about alarms, security cameras, anything. They are on a mission. They were only here for 90 seconds. This was well planned and well thought out. They were probably watching the place beforehand. They used a sledgehammer to break in the window and they left that behind them. They left a fine mess.

“We have CCTV but they had hoodies up. They don’t care about cameras. It’s only a minor obstacle to them. It was unlucky in one way. The guards had passed the area a few minutes beforehand and they were there about three minutes after it.

“In fairness, the CCTV system in the town is second to none. The guards were able to tell me what route they took out of town where they were at a certain point.”

Eric is urging businesses to be vigilant of any suspicious behaviour around their premises.

“Businesses and that goes for everything from retail, pubs, newsagents, it’s important to be vigilant. If you see anyone hanging around the shop it might be no harm to make a note of it and tell the guards. From a day-to-day perspective, if you notice anything suspicious, it’s no harm to tell the guards. Hopefully that can be helpful down the line.”

The six laptops stolen from the shop were taken without power supplies.

“They don’t have a power supply so if someone is offered them that should raise a red flag,” Eric added.