The Clare People Archive

THUGGERY, allied to intimidation, is preventing people going out walk- ing in Shannon at night-time, it has eLoeMO EBEDAee

The suggestions came during a de- bate last week among Shannon town councillors on anti-social behaviour.

A number of the local elected representatives expressed concerns about anti-social behaviour, with one councillor, Sean Hillery, stating that he no longer walks at night, given the intimidation around the town.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy (In- dependent) asked for an update on the implementation of the by-laws on

drinking in public places.

She was told that four people were summoned to-date for breaches of the by-law – three in 2006 and one last year.

“We are all aware about the amount of drinking done in open areas. It is visibly on the increase. Now, more than ever, these by-laws should be called into force,’ said Cllr McCa- ua OWs

“Gardai should use their powers. Certainly the evidence is there to show the by-laws are not used,” she AYO Ce(eren

Councillor Gerry Flynn (Independ- ent) said there were problems in the town and while some of it was due to

alcohol, a lot of it was as a result of “thuggish behaviour”.

“There is something happening in Shannon at the moment and it isn’t good. We need to arrest it, pardon the pun, before it goes any further,” lntemcy-B(e

Fianna Fail councillor Sean Hillery said he no longer walks at night, be- cause he is aware of the “intimidat- ing attitude of some groups”.

“There is a lack of respect for the law. I’ve given up walking at night and I loved walking. You hear so much of this. It’s the attitudes of these groups to the law,” the council- lor said.

Councillor Tony McMahon agreed

that “people are afraid to go walk- rhea

“In a town like Shannon, we shouldn’t have this attitude prevail- ing. If we are going to have thuggery to the extent that we cannot go out of our homes at night, we have reached a very Serious state,” he said.

The mayor of Shannon, councillor Sean McLoughlin (Fine Gael) said, “There is anti-social behaviour all over town. We need to work with the gardai.”

He called for a meeting between councillors and senior gardai in the town, to discuss anti-social behav- iour issues and other such matters in SJervepeceyee

TWO thousand householders in the Quin and Ennis area will be target- ed, in a fundraising campaign for the primary school in Quin.

A major initiative, aimed at raising more than €200,000 for the Quin school field, 1s well underway.

The Scoil na Mainistreach school development committee has pur- chased a field, at a cost of £100,000. It will cost another €100,000 to de- velop the pitch and the local commu- nity is being asked to help out with the funds.

€140,000 has been collected for the development projects to-date and hopes are high that the remainder will be gathered.

One of the biggest fundraisers, ‘Who wants to be a thousandaire’ was launched at the Monks Well last Thursday night. The event will take place at The Clare Inn on April 18.

The organising committee is seek- ing businesses and professionals in- terested in advertising on the night of the big event. A booklet is currently being designed and will be distribut- ed to more than 2,000 homes in the Quin and Ennis area.

The committee, under the chair- manship of Conor O’Neill, is hoping that the package will encourage many businesses to sponsor the event.

This is a particularly busy time for management, staff and students at the school.

In the past few weeks, a delegation

from the Board of Management held a meeting in Tullamore with officials from the Department of Education, to discuss the current status of the extension to the school.

As a result of this meeting, a long- awaited technical visit has been promised and this will take place within the next few weeks.

While much work is taking place outside of the school walls, the class- rooms have also been buzzing with activity.

Most classes have been taking part in the Wow reading challenge, over the past four months. As part of the challenge, pupils are encouraged to read as many books as possible. The students of Scoil na Mainistreach have read no less than 4,082 books

over the past four months. The read- ing will continue for another month, until the challenge comes to an end.

Meanwhile, the first two interac- tive boards have been installed in the junior and fifth/sixth classrooms.

OW atom olor: due hw-Ducne (osha sloremKOnoeler-nelee teaching and learning in the school. The boards were funded by the par- ents association, much to the delight of parents and pupils alike.

FUNDRAISING targets at Caher- calla Community Hospital are set to rise to €500,000 per year.

Speaking at the opening of the new €2.7 million extension at Cahercalla on Friday, fundraising co-ordina- tor Mary Moloney said a decision had been made to increase the target from €300,000 to €500,000.

She said, “All in all, we estimate that there are about 1,000 people giving time and effort in voluntary Support to the cause and its funding. With hospice care expanded to 10 beds, each of which costs €75,000 in overheads, the fundraising target has now increased from €300,000 to half a million euro per year.

“This presents us with an immense challenge and we are now, more than

ever, dependent on our volunteers, supporters and fundraisers to rise to this enormous task with us.”

Ms Moloney also revealed some of the unusual approaches to giving she has encountered in her seven years as fundraising co-ordinator for the Cahercalla hospice initiative. Caher- calla and a children’s hospital both benefitted substantially when a cou- ple decided to mark the occasion by donating their wedding gifts to the two good causes of their choice.

She said, “People are also making happy occasions a time for giving and thinking of those whose lives have been plunged into sadness.”

The mainstay support for Cahercal- la Hospice is the weekly draw which has been running for seven years and is supported by over 1,400 people every week.

THE new €2.7 million extension to Cahercalla Community Hospital of- ficially opened its doors in Ennis on JDulerne

The development at Cahercalla Community Hospice and Nursing Home will bring the number of beds at the facility to 129, consisting of 103. nursing home/convalescence beds; lO hospice beds, seven set- down hospice beds and nine beds for the day surgery and out-patients clinic.

The facility provides a_ state-of- the-art hospice unit with 10 private rooms, social space looking out onto gardens, a family room which can provide overnight accommodation for relatives of patients and a kitchen.

Ten further beds are being pro- vided for the nursing home and the seven beds, which previously served as hospice beds, are now to be used as step-down hospice beds.

The extension was officially opened by Minister for Older People, Maire Hoctor.

Paying tribute to the dedication of

all volunteers who contributed to the project, Ms Hoctor said the extension could only serve to enhance Caher- calla’s already excellent reputation. She said, “I would like to acknowl- edge the generosity in terms of time and money invested by all those in these fundraising activities. I am deeply impressed by the commit- ment and dedication of all those working here. I congratulate each and every one of you involved in this development. The increased capacity will allow Cahercalla to build on its good name and, most importantly,

enhance its caring role and make a difference to the lives of even more individuals and families.”

Demand for hospice care has been a key feature of the growth of the hospital and its services. In 1999, the number of hospice admissions was 50 and that figure had risen to 70 per year by 2002. To date, over 1,000 people have received hospice care at Cr toerlee

Fr Harry Bohan, Chairman of the Board of Directors said Cahercalla Community Hospital said, “A com- munity 1s looking after its own by

providing within reach services for our ailing and old. The quality of the services here at Cahercalla 1s re- flected in the number of admissions from counties Sligo, Mayo, Kerry, ANIC Me Blo) oo e-v as

Cahercalla is chosen because pa- tients can be treated faster than in their own areas. So the process at Cahercalla is easing the waiting lists pressures on other areas.”

Built by O’Brien’s Builders of Mil- town Malbay, construction started on the extension in November 2006 and was completed in December 2007.

A FATHER-OF-THREE who sold heroin to feed his own habit has been ANU Cere ms Key mcsFcdnlmmneloyeldetcn

Gerard Curtin (27), of Castlerock, Tulla Road, Ennis, pleaded guilty to possession of heroin for sale or sup- Oa

Inspector Tom Kennedy told En- nis District Court the accused’s bed- Sit was searched under warrant, on March 13, 2007.

He said that four bags of heroin – valued at €100 – were recovered from a shoe in his room.

“It was a small amount. He did con- fess he would have sold the drugs in

those packets for €25,” he said.

Defending solicitor William Cahir told the court that Curtin has used heroin since 2005.

‘He showed gardai where he had his heroin, inside his shoe. He told gardai he would smoke it and sell it,” said Mr Cahir.

He said his client sold “a small bit” to feed his own habit.

“He is not using heroin now. He feels he has cured it. He has dealt with his addiction by his own steam. He has managed to clean himself up and come off drugs,” he said.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed an eight-month jail sentence and fixed a bond in the event of an appeal.

TWO women who invested in a Kil- laloe bed and breakfast business to- gether appeared before the Circuit Court last week to settle a row about entitlements to the house they had shared.

The Ennis Circuit Court heard that plaintiff, Margaret Barnett and respondent, Maureen Ryan began a relationship when they met while working in a Limerick hotel and lat- er, moved in together.

Ms Barnett told the court that she raised a number of mortgages on her home at The Green in Killaloe to help refurbish Ballyheefy House in Killaloe and to pay debts which

arose out of their business there.

Ms Barnett told her legal counsel, Philip Moloney BL, that she had con- tinued to work outside of the bed and breakfast business and had let her house at The Green so that the couple would have an income.

Judge Rory MacCabe heard that Ballyheefy House had been pur- chased by Ms Ryan out of the pro- ceeds of the sale of another house.

Ms Barnett applied to the court for relief because, she said, she had raised money through mortgaging her own home to finance Ballyheefy and she wanted this money back now that the relationship had ended.

Ms Ryan counter sued, alleging damage and tresspass against Ms

Jeybwsteam

Judge MacCabe said that Ms Bar- nett could not succeed in her claim, as even allowing for all her evidence of the money she had spent “this was money which had been spent on the LURID AL ehiSiae

Peter Clein BL for Ms Ryan said the counter-claim was withdrawn. The judge said that he would make no order as to costs.

“In a different situation, if people had a personal relationship which broke down, the case would be heard in camera. Matters which would normally have been heard in pri- vate have been vented in public and both parties have suffered because of this,” he said.

TWO members of the Travelling community have appeared in court, A ik-NEKeCO MAINO MBE OL Sseec DUN am Oy: Du On ITcam belo caravans on Ennis Town Council erounds almost six years ago.

The two men, aged 34 and 24, were prosecuted under the Housing Mis-

cellaneous Provisions Act, which was introduced in 2002.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that this case dated back to 2002 and related to the parking of caravans on lands owned by Ennis seam eeiiale

The court heard that both men pleaded guilty to two charges each,

of parking their vans at Drumbig- gle, Ennis, without the consent of the owner of the lands.

Their solicitor said they had no- where else to go.

“My clients didn’t have anywhere to live at the time. They found it dif- ficult to find accommodation,” he Said.

“They were living on the side of the road at the time. They lived as Trav- ellers always had done, on the side of the road,’ he added.

He said that the two men now lived with their families in houses and want to “move on”.

‘Was this in the form of a protest?” Judge Joseph Mangan asked.

The solicitor replied, “No, there was no protest involved.”

Inspector Kennedy said the legisla- tion was brought into effect because of illegal parking.

“This was one of the first cases,’ he said. The judge dismissed the charg- es under the Probation of Offenders aoe

THE actions of aman who broke into a church and beauticians in Sixmile- bridge were fuelled by his addiction to heroin, according to his solicitor.

Michael Desmond (26), of St Munchin’s Street, St Mary’s Park, Limerick, pleaded guilty to enter- ing St Finnachta’s church, Sixmileb- ridge, as a trespasser with intent to commit theft, on May 22, 2007.

He also admitted breaking into a beauty salon in Sixmiulebridge on the same date.

Desmond also pleaded guilty to possession of a knife and two counts of criminal damage.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told En- nis District Court on Friday that at 1.30pm on the date in question the church caretaker found Desmond in the sacristy.

He fled from the church when he saw her and had kicked the door of the sacristy, said the inspector.

“Gardai had a description of Mr Desmond and his accomplice and had a number of a car. Gardai discovered Mr Desmond on the street. At that stage he had broken into a beauty sa- lon,” said Inspector Kennedy.

He said that at the beauty salon, Desmond had tried to force open a door, but did not take anything.

“He was found in possession of a Stanley knife, the type of knife you’d use for cutting carpet,’ he said.

Desmond had 57 previous convic-

tions, the first of which was regis- tered in 1996. They included convic- tions for burglary, criminal damage and motoring offences.

“I can’t say anything really positive about Mr Desmond. He has a des- perately bad record,” said Inspector Kennedy.

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client was “probably about 13 when he first got into trouble.”

She said that when asked by gardai why he committed the offences, he said, “to try and help my habit, until I get treated.”

She said her client had been free of heroin for the past seven or eight months.

‘He is undergoing urine testing at the moment at Limerick Prison. It’s not impossible to get heroin in Lim- erick Prison, but he is not using it,” she said.

She said when he went into custody last year, he was just seven stone but now weighs 15-and-a-half stone.

‘He is off the heroin. He’s doing his best. Physically he is recovering,” she said.

“It was a day of complete madness, which was fuelled by his heroin ad- diction,’ she added.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed jail sentences totalling 15 months and fixed a bond in the event of an ap- peal.

AN eight-month jail term has been handed down to a man who lashed out at two cars in Kilkishen, caus- ing more than €3,500 damage in the Reet

Before Tulla District Court was James Delaney (21), of Waterpark Heights, Ennis, charged with damag- ing two cars, on May 20, 2007.

Garda Michael Mulryan told the court that when he arrived on the

scene, a row was in progress, involv- ing two men and two women.

He said two cars which were near- by had been damaged. The owners approached the garda and told them that Delaney was the culprit.

He said that the accused was intox1- cated and had his shirt off.

The owner of one of the cars, Tommy Bentley, told the court he heard commotion outside his house. He looked out and saw a row taking je e-leror

He said that more than €3,000 damage had been done to his car.

He said his two young children were also looking out the window and saw the incident.

Ms Godfrey apologised to Mr Bentley on behalf of her client. He replied, “I know that but this car is after costing me €3,000.”

Denise Marsh, whose car was also damaged by Delaney, said she looked out the window of her home and saw the accused “circling the cars.

He was pounding on my car. He kicked out with his legs.” €240 dam- age was caused to her car.

The court was told that the total damage to the cars amounted to €3,561.54. Ms Godfrey said her cli- ent “had something of a blow-out.”

Judge Joseph Mangan jailed De- laney for eight months and fixed a bond in the event of an appeal.

He was unable to meet the recog- nisances of €2,000 and was taken to prison.

A MOTORIST who drove at a speed of 183kph on the dual carriageway between Ennis and Limerick has been convicted of careless driving.

Daniel McAuliffe (28), of Clontem- ple, Ballingarry, Limerick, was con- victed of the offence, relating to an incident at Carrigoran, Newmarket- on-Fergus, on November 16, 2007.

Garda Shane Kavanagh told Ennis District Court that he was operating a speed checkpoint at 11.20am.

He said that McAuliffe was driving a red Honda Accord at 183kph in a

100kph zone, on the dual carriage- way on the N18.

The garda activated the blue lights and siren and pursued the vehicle.

‘He was on the outside lane. The car broke heavily and drove into the left lane. There was a large volume of traffic on the road at the time,” he Sr HKOe

Some four kilometres down the road, the garda caught up with the Honda.

‘He pulled in immediately when he saw us. I showed him the speed on the speed gun.

‘He was shocked. He said he genu-

inely didn’t realise he was doing that speed. He said something about the speedometer not working properly,” said the garda.

The accused was initially charged with dangerous driving, but sought to have this reduced to careless driv- ing.

Judge Joseph Mangan asked, “Was the manoeuvre he executed while pulling in dangerous?” and the garda said it was.

Defending solicitor Siobhan Mc- Mahon asked the garda did any of the other cars veer or brake and he replied that they didn’t.

“I’d ask you to consider a plea to careless driving as it didn’t affect the other cars on the road,” said the so- licitor to the judge.

Judge Mangan said he was not ac- cepting a plea to the lesser charge, but he later did accept it.

Ms McMahon said her client, who had no previous convictions, said the incident “was a moment of mad- ehSiiae

‘“He’s not one of your typical boy racer young people who don’t pay any heed to the road traffic laws,” she said. Judge Joseph Mangan fined him €1,500.