The Clare People Archive

ENNIS man Brian Howe was among the thousands of climbers who braved the steep climb and awkward terrain to conquer Croagh Patrick last week.

Walking in his bare feet, it took taxi driver Brian close to five hours to reach the summit but at no point did he think about turning back.

Whenever the going got tough, and it was tougher than he had antici- pated, Brian recalled his reason for climbing.

Two of Brian’s friends, Pat Tuttle and Michael McInerney, died six

months ago. When Brian decided to climb Croagh Patrick, he decided to do so in memory of Pat and Brian.

Brian explained, “Michael died on New Years eve. Pat had died a week before. Myself and Pat used to do eve- rything together and I knew Michael through a friend of mine, Catriona. I was glad I made it up there and I was glad I was able to do it for the lads”.

“I’m glad I did it,’ added Brian, ‘When I had it done I was very hap- py, its good to be able to do some- thing to show your appreciation of a lifetime.

Brian first climbed Croagh Patrick

eight years ago but found the climb a whole different proposition this time around.

“T definitely found it a lot harder than the first time I did it. The first time there seemed to be a lot more rocks and boulders that you could hold onto and get across. This time, the stones were a lot looser. It was like gravel, very sharp, and it would cut into your feet. In saying that the weather wasn’t too bad. The rain was kind of misty but it wasn’t too bad.”

Still, at the halfway mark, Brian didn’t think he was going to make it to the top.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I was go- ing to do it. I thought I was going to have to be airlifted down. My feet were in bits. But I kept going and got to the top”.

Brian, who keeps fit by jogging every morning, is keen to return to Mayo next year.

This year’s Reek Sunday event at- tracted close to 20,000 people and was marked by the first ever tel- evised mass on the summit of the 2510ft mountain. The mountain, a place of pagan worship before it was christened by St Patrick, is regarded as one of the holiest sites in Ireland.

A CAMPAIGN by two Ennis fami- lies is helping to heal the hurt caused by the “devastating effect” of suicide. The Molloy and O’Brien families and the local community in Cloughleigh have just completed the third annual Suicide awareness and fundraising event.

This year’s event, organised by Keith Molloy, Gerard, Sasha and Sheree O’Brien is dedicated to Peter O’Brien and Sara Finn and all other community members who have died by suicide in recent times.

Clare Living Links, a volountary organisation that offers practical, confidential support and information to families bereaved by suicide, are the recipients of this year’s funds.

A spokesperson for Clare Living

Links thanked the families for their support.

“Due to the generosity of the Mol- loy and O’Brien families and indeed the many other individuals and or- ganisations who generously support us, Clare Living Links will be able to continue to provide much needed Support and continue to recruit and train new volunteers”.

The spokesperson added, “Keith Molloy, Gerard, Sasha and Sheree O’Brien would like to extend a huge thank you to all who supported them and helped to make this year’s event a great success once again. Clare Living Links would also like to work more in the community to increase awareness of and understanding of suicide and the devastating effect, which such events have on individu- als, families and communities’.

Trained volunteers working with Clare Living Links are available to offer confidential, practical support and information to families who have experienced a death by suicide. At the request of the family, the Sui- cide Outreach Support Person will call to the home or meet at a loca- tion appointed by the individual or eUNOUU As

Along with a listening ear the vol- unteer will offer help and advice on practical matters such as funeral ar- rangements, the inquest, and entitle- ments and how to break the news to children. The volunteer will continue to liaise with and provide families with support and information on relevant services available in the re- gion.

A very popular aspect of the serv- ice provided by Living Links is the

eroup-healing programme, which brings together individuals and fami- lies with similar experiences and en- courages them to establish and foster ongoing support among themselves.

Clare Living Links welcomes new volunteers to train as out-reach sup- port workers or to join the commit- tee. The organisation is constantly evolving and would like to support all families and individuals in Clare who are touched by suicide.

To contact Living Links or to be- come a member, call the confidential phone line on 087 0565373 or write to the Co-ordinator C/O Kincora House, Kincora Pk, Ennis, Co Clare.

THE success of the Ballybeg Com- munity Alert scheme will be marked by a community summer festival on August 24.

Launched in April, the scheme sees the local community liaise closely with the gardai on the issue of crime prevention.

In building on the success of the scheme so far and in a continued effort to increase the community awareness and participation, the Bal- lybeg and Rockmount community alert group are facilitating the festi- val for all the community young and old. The event will take place on the

grounds of Clarecastle GAA club.

The community alert programme was established by Muintir Na Tire in 1984 in partnership with An Garda Siochana, with the aim of providing an effective Community Policing and Crime Prevention Network.

There are now 1250 Community Alert Groups throughout the coun- try.

It evolved in response to a rise of crime in rural Ireland, particularly attacks on vulnerable people (in- cluding the elderly) living alone. It is a voluntary crime prevention pro- gramme for rural communities and it encourages the community to pro- actively participate with Muintir na

Tire and An Garda Siochana in im- proving the quality of life and safety of the community in general.

There are now 1250 community alert groups throughout the country. Each group is organised on a rec- ognised local community basis and has an elected committee, a Liaison Garda and Community Relations/ Crime Prevention Officer who link the garda and local communities to- gether to provide an effective Com- munity Policing and Crime Preven- tion Network.

Community alert is community driven and is absolutely flexible in serving the needs of local communi- ties. Local volunteers identify com-

munity needs and collectively ad- dress them in a holistic way.

It is hoped that the community fes- tival will build to an annual event that the whole community can par- ticipate and contribute to.

The festival programme will reflect old traditions and emerging cultures, new businesses, arts, crafts, music, dance and exhibitions.

The organising committee would like to hear from all community members that would like to exhibit, demonstrate, dance, play music, or- ganise games or participate.

You can contact Joe Murphy on 087 6777178 or Martin McDonnell on 087 7637899 for futher information.

CLARE farmers could loose out on essential grant payments if the De- partment of Agriculture does not adopt a flexible approach to the man- agement of the Farm Waste Manage- ment Scheme.

The scheme, which was brought in to allow farmers to complete works in order to bring their farms up to the standards set out by the nitrate regulations, is set to wrap up this December.

However, many farmers have in- vested money in farm improvement but now fear that they wont be able to complete the work and collect the grant in time.

Last week IFA Rural Development Chairman Tom Turley said that the momentum of completed work un- der the Farm Waste Management Scheme can be sustained if flexible arrangements are put in place at the end of the year to allow all farmers who commence work to secure grant zaTen

‘A record number of farmers have completed work with €160 million already paid out in grant aid to over 5,000 farmers this year,” he said.

“IFA predict that a further 20,000 farmers are currently carrying out work under the scheme but many will have difficulty in completing their work by the end of year dead- line.”

The IFA Rural Development Chair- man called for flexible arrangements to be put in place by the Department of Agriculture to ensure that any farmer who has commenced work is not denied grant aid. Completing work by the end of the year is going to be very difficult due to a lack of capacity of farm builders.

“The recent Teagasc National Farm Survey clearly highlights the scale of investment on Irish farms with €1.4 billion spend in 2007 and at least an equivalent amount in 2008.

‘This investment can be continued if the Government show flexibility to the end of year deadline, which in turn will have a huge knock-on effect in sustaining employment in the con-

struction industry in rural areas.

“Tf all farmers are allowed to com- plete work it will generate further investment in 2009 and will have a knock-on effect in the wider econo- neha Meanwhile, the Road Safety Au- thority is advising the public that the deadline for the submission of views on the use of agricultural vehicles on public roads has been extended.

The closing date for receipt of com- ments is now Friday September 26, 2008.

The Road Safety Authority is invit- ing the public to submit their views on a consultation document regard- ing the use of agricultural and works vehicles on public roads.

FARMERS in Clare may no longer be able to afford health insurance for themselves and their family due to the collapse of community rating.

SUITE KMOelomm Yc DUObrOrcamseKOee me Daa Farm Family Chairperson, Mary Sherry, who last week called on the Minister for Health and the Govern- ment to urgently take “whatever leg- islative steps are necessary” to pro- tect community rating in the Health Insurance market.

“The recent Supreme Court ruling in relation to risk equalization has left every family with health insur-

ance in Ireland vulnerable to inflated and unaffordable health insurance, as they get older,” she said.

“It is wrong to suggest this ruling will benefit younger people in favour Ome) G

“We all get old and while our chil- dren today may benefit marginally from cheaper health insurance, they will face the same dilemma of not being able to afford to maintain their health insurance cover, as they get Oeloe

“In effect, health insurance will be- come the prevail of the minority and this is totally unacceptable.

‘The only winners in this Supreme

Court ruling will be profit driven in- surance companies who will cherry pick the young, taking excessive profits out of the market place and leaving the industry starved of the necessary resources to support the old and sick in the future.”

Sherry said that IFA has approxi- mately 25,000 families in its health insurance group and because of their age profile, being in the middle to old age category, one insurance group currently operating in the Irish market showed little or no interest in quoting for the group.

“If this Supreme Court ruling is not addressed, there will be inevitable

cherry picking of customers and the vulnerable will pay the biggest price in the short term but every family will pay in the long term,’ she con- mbOLeCoem

“We have a health insurance sys- tem that has served Irish families well for decades and it is now up to the Minister Mary Harney and the Government to address the problems CAKer Kerem ON MADR MUO EDTA

“Tf risk equalization is abandoned then community rating will unravel and health insurance in this Country will become unaffordable for vast majority of families in Ireland,” she added.

THE 39-year-old woman who died in Lahinch last Tuesday after get- ting in to difficulty while attempting to save her son, was originally from east Clare.

Fiona Ring, who lived in Brutf County Limerick, was formerly Fiona McNamara from Broadford. She had gone for a swim on Tuesday evening with her businessman hus- band Diarmuid and their nine-year- OURO ser ae Xeh aN nEl(e.@

It is now believed that the child got in to difficulty while in the water and Mrs Ring shouted at her husband to take the boy ashore. Shortly before 9.30pm, as it had started to get dark, Mr Ring made his way to the beach with the youngster while Mrs Ring followed behind. However, when Mr Ring reached the beach he could see no sign of his wife behind him.

He ran to the prom where he grabbed a lifebelt before returning to the water to try and locate her. Soon afterwards he called 999 on his mobile phone and alerted gardai at Ennistymon who then notified the coastguard.

Within minutes, Lahinch Sea Res- cue had launched a boat while a request was made of a fishing boat which had been in the bay, to assist in the search. The boat made its way towards the shore and used its pow- erful lights to search for the miss- ing woman. Members of the Doolin Coastguard Unit were also scram- bled to the scene where they quickly launched two more boats. The Shan- non-based coastguard helicopter was also sent to assist in the operation.

Members of the Doolin coastguard team spotted the woman in the water at around 10.45pm and lifted her on to their boat where they immediately commenced CPR and _ continued

the procedure until the woman was handed over to the helicopter crew. Doolin Coastguard spokesman Mattie Shannon said, “The crew of the rig spotted the casualty in the water and took her on board. They then transferred the woman to an- other boat which is capable of beach- ing and they transported the victim

directly on to the beach where the helicopter was standing by.”

A medical team was on standby at University Hospital Galway when the helicopter landed at 11.13pm. However the young mother was pro- nounced dead less than twenty min- utes later at 11.30pm.

It is still not clear how she got in

to trouble but rescuers speculated that she may have been taken by sur- prise by the changing tide. It is also thought that Fiona’s surfboard got away from her and she was trying to retrieve it.

A post mortem examination was carried out in Galway on Wednesday while gardai have said a file will be prepared in due course for the county coroner who will hold an inquest in to the tragedy at a later date.

Fiona Ring was prayed for at Mass- es in Broadford on Thursday.

Lahinch is one of a number of Clare beaches which are protected by life- guards during the summer months from llam to 7pm daily. A new 25 foot high lifeguard tower 1s currently under construction and will comprise a look-out tower and first-aid room.

Clare Water Safety Officer Liam Griffin said, “As with all our guard- ed beaches, we have a flag system in place which lets people know when and where it is safe to swim. While Lahinch is a very safe beach, people must also know their own limitations and follow the safety guidelines.”

A year ago this week, a 19-year- old man from Clontarf in Dublin drowned in Lahinch after going swimming in the early hours of the morning. The young man had been staying in the north Clare town for the August bank holiday weekend and went swimming after a night so- cialising.

A fortnight ago, international rugby star Paul O’Connell helped a 22-year- old surfer to safety after her board hit rocks during a rising tide. He lifted the girl to safety after rough seas tossed her on to rocks as she tried to reach the shore.

THE Mayor of Clare has expressed disappointment that more wasn’t done by gardai to remove over 60 caravans that took over the main car park at Kilkee over the bank holiday weekend.

Up to 250 members of the Travel- ling community converged on the

west Clare resort late on Friday and many were still there on Monday night. The group took over the whole of the main seaside carpark, restrict- ing access to the slipway and local dive centre and reducing parking spaces in the town by up to half. Mayor Madeleine Taylor Quinn said that while the county council had done all in its power to have the

caravans removed, she was very dis- appointed that a personal commit- ment she received from senior gardai was not delivered on.

“What happened in Kilkee during one of the busiest holiday periods of the year is totally illegal and I thought it would be dealt with by the gardai accordingly. The council offered to cover the cost of the towing company

to remove the vehicles. Despite com- mitting to removing the caravans, the gardai have not done so.”

A garda spokesman confirmed that some of the Travellers moved on voluntarily but couldn’t comment on whether others would be moved forcibly.

“We have noted the registrations of the offending vehicles. We are pursu- ing the matter further and prosecu- tions may follow”.

While six families left on Sunday, they were quickly replaced by ten more caravans. On Monday, more vehicles left the town but as many as 60 remained despite threats from gardai of being forcibly removed and having their vehicles impounded.

Human and animal faeces, litter and broken glass have also made the area a health and safety risk, accord- ing to locals.

Kilkee Marine Rescue Service PRO Manuel DiLucia said they were very concerned about access to the slipway while business at the local dive centre was decimated and the operators were forced to close their café and juice bar.

WHILE French President Nicolas Sarkozy may not have won too many Irish friends as a result of his stance on the Lisbon Treaty, his standing within the farming community has skyrocketed this week following the breakdown of the World Trade Or- ganisation talks.

IFA president Padraig Walshe last week credited the French and current EU president with defending Irish and EU farmers and in particular the Irish Beef Sector.

Speaking following the breakdown of WTO talks in Geneva last week, the IFA president was heavily criti- cal of EU commissioner Peter Man-

delson and said that the collapse was a good thing for all sectors of Irish society.

“T want to dispel the notion that the country had missed out on an oppor- tunity as a result of the collapse of the talks. Instead, the entire country had been spared from a damaging agreement that offered no gains for the industrial or services sectors and would have cost <4 billion in losses in the agriculture and food indus- tries,’ he said. “Peter Mandelson may be a re- nowned politician, but he was an inept negotiator. I would like to re- iterated my call on the Tanaiste to support the French in now tearing up the EU WTO offer as the other parties have walked away from the table.” Reacting to the WTO collapse, Tanaiste and Minister for Enter- prise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, said that Ireland must continue to asset it’s interests in the talks process. “Irish ministers have used every opportunity, whether through meet- ings of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council or bilat- erally with various countries, includ- ing the French Presidency of the EU as well as the EU Commission, to assert Ireland’s interests,’ said the former agriculture minister. “Tam disappointment that it has not been possible for the WTO to agree a new deal but I acknowledge that the negotiations represented a very com- plex process covering a wide range of areas.” Current Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith, said that throughout the long series of meetings, he had continued to ex- press the Government’s strong con- cerns about the agriculture propos- als and, in particular, the potential impact of the proposals on the Irish beef sector. Since 2004, the Minister for Agri- culture ensured that Ireland played a central role, along with a number of like-minded countries, 1n protecting the interests of European agricul- nehden

CLARE growing organic sector is set for a boost following the an- nouncement of a multi-million euro campaign to promote organic and lo- cally grown food.

With more then 8 farmers mar- kets already in operation around the county, Clare has one of Ireland’s fastest growing organic sectors. It is hoped that this new initiative, the first major promotion of organic food in the the EU, will greatly increase the numbers attending farmers mar- kets and growing local organic pro- duce.

The move has been welcomed by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,

Trevor Sargent, who welcomed the launch of the new campaign.

The new campaign, whose slogan is “Organic farming – good for na- ture, good for you’, aims to inform consumers about the meaning and benefits of organic farming and food production.

The web-based campaign will focus on increasing consumer awareness and recognition of organic products, and especially on young people and children to carry the organic idea into the future.

According to Sargent, the launch of this campaign 1s indeed timely for Ireland. He said that the Programme for Government sets down an ambi- tious target of 5 per cent of the land area to be under organic production

by 2012.

“At present Ireland is at 1 per cent, with over 43,000 hectares being farmed organically,” he said.

“In April Minister Sargent launched the Department’s Organic Farming Action Plan 2008-2012 in response to the Government commitment. Ac- cess to information is a key driver in the development of the organic sec- tor and this new website will be a very useful addition.”

In the last few years, the number of organic operators – farmers, produc- ers, processors and importers – has erown strongly. In 2005, there was a total of 182,305 of these operators in the EU-25, a 13.4 per cent increase from 2004.

In recent years, the European or-

ganic retail market has experienced strong growth of between 5 and 30 per cent, depending on the coun- try. Increasing consumer demand is strengthening the organic market and giving farmers and processors new opportunities.

The European Commission will present the Campaign at the upcom- ing National Organic Food Confer- ence on September 4th 2008 in the Waterford Institute of Technology.

The Commission also announced a competition to develop a new EU organic farming logo that is due to become mandatory on all organic pre-packaged food from July 2010.

For more information on the Or- ganic Farming Campaign check out www.organic-farming.europa.eu.

A NUMBER of newly formed com- munity groups are likely to have a large say in the outcome of next year’s local elections, with cam- paigns starting in Ennistymon and OTM em dN icrel.e

Tonight will see the first official committee meeting of the Ennisty- mon District Community Organisa- tion (EDCO), which has attracted more than 400 people to three pub- lic meetings in the area over the last four weeks.

This committee, which contains a

number of high profile locals includ- ing retired Garda Sergeant Michael Gallery, formed as a result of local dissatisfaction with the develop- ment of the town in recent times.

“The amount of people attend- ing the meeting reflects that the public has serious concern over the way that Ennistymon is being managed,” said EDCO chairman, Patrick Clarke.

‘People have expressed their views and the strong feeling out there is that there is a real lack of amenities in the town.

“We will be putting out monthly

statements so that the local people can monitor our progress while we will be lobbying everyone up to the TD’s to make sure we are heard.

“The local people will know ex- actly what is going on and we will be lobbying everyone we can. There is a real feeling that we are being left behind here.”

The EDCO have denied that they plan to run a candidate in next year’s local election and said that they will decide at tonight’s committee meet- ing how best to move forward.

Meanwhile, in Kilrush, local busi- ness people are considering running

a candidate for the local election.

There are currently members of Kilrush Chamber of Commerce on Kilrush Town Council, with Coun- cillors Deirdre Culligan (Ind), Liam Looney (FF) and Marian McMahon Jones (FG) members of both bod- toe

It is believed that business people in the town are considering putting forward a candidate for the county council and town council election.

The west Clare capital already has two sitting county councillors, Mayor of Clare Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) and Cllr Tom

Prenderville (FF).

Talks of a business candidate emerged following the purchase of the site of the Inis Cathaigh hotel on Francis Street for the new civic offices in the town.

Local businesses feared that rates would be increased to cover the cost of the multi-million euro project.

Those being considered as the “business” candidate are not neces- sarily members of the local cham- ber of commerce, but they could put even more pressure on an elec- toral area that is already to lose one councillor.