Month: November 2008

THE family of a Polish man who died as a result of a road accident three years ago – while working in Shannon – has secured €500,000 in damages in the High Court.

Damian Zimowski (27), an alarm technician with Active Technology in Shannon, died as aresult of an incident on September 10, 2005. He lost his life

hours after the accident in which steel rods protruding from the back of a lorry pierced into his van. He became impaled in the upper body.

The case was taken by his widow Agnieszka against Foley Contract- ing of Milltown, Askeaton, Limerick – owners of the lorry – and Brian Mc- Mahon, Ballynoe, Castlemahon, Lim- erick, who was the lorry driver.

The offer was made to the plaintiff

on the third day of the hearing before Mr Justice John Quirke at the High Court last Thursday.

Liability had been fully contested, until an engineer for the plaintiff gave evidence in court. A satisfactory offer was then made by the defendants.

Solicitor for Ms Zimowski, Gear- oid Howard – partner with Crimmins Howard solicitors in Shannon – said the case was tragic and his client was

relieved it was all over.

“Tt is a huge relief that the case has fi- nally been settled. It was a tragic acci- dent. He had come to Ireland to make a new life for himself and his family,’ he said.

Mr Howard paid tribute to the late Mr Zimowski’s employer Ultan McAvinue at Active Technology in Shannon.

“Damian sold his family car to fi-

nance his trip to Ireland. At the time he was killed, his family didn’t have the money to pay for his funeral or fly his body back to Poland. Mr McAv- inue paid for the funeral and for his body to be flown home,” said Mr Howard.

‘His employers were hugely support- ive of his widow and his child. They did everything they possibly could to help at this difficult time,” he said.

The Courts Service has released documents that show how the Su- perintendent for the Killaloe area expressed considerable opposition to the move. Supt Tony Kennelly’s view prevailed and the Tulla sittings will now be held in Killaloe.

The Courts Service board recently ratified the re-organisation of the Clare Courts Service, which involves the the abolition of a number of sit- tings in the county.

The moves will see sittings taking place in three venues from the New

Year: Ennis, Kilrush and Killaloe. When additional courthouses are provided in Ennistymon and Shan- non, the number of venues will in- crease to five.

The plan — which will be effective from January | — will see Kilkee sittings take place in Kilrush and Lisdoonvarna and Miltown Malbay being relocated to Ennistymon. The re-organisation will also see Scariff sittings being relocated to Killaloe.

Ennistymon sittings are currently being held at Kilrush pending the provision of a new courthouse in the north Clare town.

A spokesman for the Courts Serv- ice said that it may be one more year before courts are held once more in Ennistymon. Negotiations are ongo- ing in relation to a proposed site in the north Clare town.

The spokesman said that next on the priority is a new courthouse for Killaloe.

An internal Courts Service memo stated that the former courthouse building in Killaloe was being used by the county council “as a store for everything from straw to wheelbar- rows. The courthouse is in a ter- ribe state. However, there is at least room there to constitute a proper court venue, preferable with a local partnership input to best utilise this building”.

A spokesman for the Courts Serv- ice said that it’s hoped that the court- house will be shared with the Family Support Centre in Killaloe and that the two would share maintenance costs.

The spokesman couldn’t put a time- frame in relation to the provision of a new courthouse in Killaloe or Shan- non. The Shannon sittings are cur- rently held in Ennis.

An internal memo anticipated that there would be resistance to the move from Kilkee to Kilrush. The memo stated that “conditions are very poor at Kilkee and Kilrush has good fa- cilities eight miles away”.

However, no opposition to the Kil- kee move materialised.

AN Bord Pleanala has given the go- ahead for a wind-farm that will meet almost half the energy needs of an east Clare company.

Located near the village of O’Callaghan’s Mills, Olympus Diag- nostica secured planning permission earlier this year for the 200 high ft turbine which will be the third wind- farm erected in the county.

The company will use the entire output from the wind-turbine and have stated that their decision was prompted by spiraling energy costs which make financial planning more eluenceueim

The decision was appealed by Mr and Mrs JP Murphy of Rosslara, O’Callaghan’s Mills who claimed that the proposal would be at vari- ance with the Clare County Develop- ment Plan and the East Clare Plan.

They did not accept that the devel- opment would not impact negatively on the local bat population and in the

absence of substantive evidence that there would not be negative impact, the precautionary principle should apply and permission should be re- fused.

In relation to the bat population, the Murphys stated that the proposal to fit ultrasonic scarers to discourage bats at risk was not proven as a suc- cessful mitigation intervention and there were question marks over the viability and availability of the pro- OOo MOU UC RED Roe

In his assessment, the Bord Pleana- la inspector stated: “In this case an established industrial user seeks to provide sufficient power from a re- newable energy source to cater for its base load electrical needs. I consider this to be an inherently desirable ob- jective, and something to be encour- aged if there is not direct conflict with soundly based policy objectives for vulnerable landscapes.”

On the visual impact, he con- cluded that “the erection of a single wind turbine as proposed would not

detract from the landscape. If per- mitted and developed it should ap- pear as no more of less than a crisply presented utility structure in the rural landscape and would not seri- ously injure the visual amenities of the area.”

The inspector noted that the devel- opers would not proceed with the ul- trasconic scarers for bats.

The appeals board gave the propos- al the go-ahead, stating that having regard to the nature and scale of the proposed development and the pro- visions of the development plan for the area, the proposed development would not seriously injure the ameni- ties of the area or of property in the vicinity and would not adversely af- fect the natural heritage of the area.

IT WAS in memory of a Dub, who made Miltown Malbay his adopted home and final resting place, that hundreds gathered in the Bellbridge, Spanish Point at the weekend.

In the singing workshop specifi- cally aimed at encouraging young people to become involved in tradi- tional singing at the Clare Festival of Traditional Music, Tom Munnelly’s spirit over Saw a new generation in- troduced to a part of Irish culture he held so dear.

It was after the world-renowned folk song and folklore collector died last year following a long illness, his friends and family decided to re- introduce the festival to west Clare after an absence of six years.

It was under the stewardship of the late Mr Munnelly the festival origi-

nally ran in Ennistymon for 13 years and for a further two years in the Belbridge Hotel in Spanish Point.

Shortly after Tom passed away in August 2007, friends and fam- ily started work on relaunching the festival, in what they felt was a fit- ting tribute to his life and work. The singing workshop for younger people was the brainchild of Roisin White, the chairperson of the festival, as a fitting tribute to Tom.

“Getting young people involved in traditional singing is a very difficult task, as our culture has changed so much in the past 50 years, but Tom always took enormous pleasure in inviting young singers down to En- nistymon to take part in the week- Xe F

‘He understood that younger peo- ple could be intimidated by the close-knit community of ‘estab-

lished’ singers, particularly if they didn’t know anyone involved in the world of traditional singing.

“The Singing Workshop for Young People is our way of recognis- ing Tom’s work in that area, and of continuing his work of encouraging young singers,” said Annette Mun- nelly, Secretary, Féile Amhranaio- chta an Chlair.

The Dublin native who made Mil- town Malbay his home for almost 30 years was laid to rest in Ballard Coilatoa

The 63-year-old folklorist, recog- nised for compiling the most com- prehensive collection of traditional folk songs in Ireland, had numerous credits to his name.

Mr Munnelly was prominent in the Dublin folk scene of his youth, and found his niche as a collector of songs through his work with Univer-

sity College Dublin’s Irish folklore department.

It was his passion for recording and collecting traditional songs that brought him to Clare in 1978, where he set up home.

The adopted Clare man soon be- came involved in the local art and festivals.

Not only was he chairman of the Clare Festival of Traditional Singing he played a strong role in bringing the Willie Clancy Summer School to prominence, and was a founder and chairman of the Lahinch Folklore School.

He received an honorary doctorate from NUIG.

Mr Munnelly served on the Arts council from February 1986 to De- cember 1988 and was a board mem- ber of the Irish Traditional Musical Archive.

CLARE hurling legend and Water- ford senior hurling manager, Davy Fitzgerald has made a fresh bid to kick-start his plans for a €4 million boutique hotel near Newmarket-on- Woeauke

Earlier this year, the Sixmilebri- dge man lodged plans to convert the Bellsfort Inn public house on the link road between Newmarket-on-Fergus to Shannon into a 23-bedroom hotel.

The proposal encountered local op- position and An Taisce stated that because part of the hotel would over- look an adjacent graveyard, it would “impose on the privacy of those

praying at graves’.

However, in September, Clare county council stated that it has a number of serious concerns in rela- tion to the proposal and were not fa- vourably disposed towards planning permission for the project because it represented significant overdevelop- ment of the site.

The council told Mr Fitzgerald to submit revised plans of significantly reduced proportion in terms of size and scale.

Now, in a bid to improve his chanc- es, Mr Fitzgerald has lodged a sub- mission with the Council to rezone the site as part of the new South SEA ier ae

And the council looks set to accept the submission and rezone the lands to have the site included in a new BSUS Cea meek ew

Mr Fitzgerald’s submission states that the 1.12 acre site comprises of a public house and function room which are outside any zoned area or designated settlement cluster in the local area plan and suggests that the proposed extension to the Urlanmore rural settlement cluster is in accord- ance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the re- rea toyl

The South Clare Plan is expected to be adopted by the Council next month.

CLARE County Council has been urged to erect new signs for Clare- castle and Doora on the N18 Ennis bypass despite claims that the pro- posal would cost “thousands”’.

The calls were made yesterday at a meeting of councillors representing the Ennis electoral area.

ClUlr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said the issue of signage had dragged on for 12 months. “No matter what the policy is will you not just stick down afew signs?” asked Cllr Brennan ad- dressing staff of the roads section of Clare County Council.

Councillors were debating a mo- tion put forward by Cllr Paul Mur- phy (FG), requesting an update on signage for Clarecastle and Doora on the Ennis bypass.

In his written response Declan O’Regan, Senior Executive Engineer

(SEE) with the Ennis electoral area Stated,

“IT contacted Mr Paul Moroney, SEE, Ennis bypass, in relation to this motion and he advised me that the last time that this question arose, the National Roads Authority (NRA) did not approve for various reasons.”

Mr. O’Regan continued ‘He also advised me that he was not aware of any recent correspondence from the NRA in relation to this mater and stated that it would cost thousands to change the signs in question at this Sonal

Cllr Murphy said that the lack of signage was an “oversight from day one. Now they are saying it will cost us thousands to do it. Surely we could put down a few signs.”

Cllr Bernard Hanrahan (FF) said that he had been in contact with the NRA and they hadn’t forseen any problem with erecting signage.

“Surely we could just stick up a sign for Clarecastle where the sign for Quin is.”

Cllr Sonny Scanlon said he was aware of instances where business owners in Doora were forced to send staff out to find customers who had taken the wrong exit from the by- er Ae

“They ended up in Crusheen. That man had to send out his own staff to show them the way back down. It’s a lost area the way it is at the moment,” said Cllr Scanlon.

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) advised that the council consult with the Road Safety Authority before pro- ceeding.

Cllr Brennan added, “Every month we have some motion up about the bypass and this has been going on for the past 12 months. Can we not just stick a few sings down. It isn’t going to cost a fortune.”

A 79-YEAR-OLD woman died due to smoke inhalation after her house caught fire in east Clare earlier this year.

Ennis Coroner’s Court heard that widow Mary Carey died at her home near O’Callaghan’s Mills, on March DEC e

Fireman Pat Myles said when he attended the scene of the blaze, the ceilings were on fire and there was a lot of smoke and heat.

He said he could see a body leaning over a wash hand basin. He brought the woman outside, but she was life- less and he believed she was dead.

Mrs Carey’s son Anthony recalled receiving a telephone call, indicating that his house was on fire.

He said the roof had collapsed in the back kitchen and his mother had been slumped over the wash hand ba-

sin in the back kitchen. A short time later, a local doctor pronounced her dead.

Dr James O’Driscoll carried out a post mortem examination on Mrs Carey’s body. He said that she had received burns to her body.

A sample of her blood showed there had been a 65 per cent saturation by carbon monoxide. Death, he con- cluded, was due to cardiac respirato- ry failure, due to smoke inhalation.

Coroner Isobel O’Dea expressed her sympathy with Mrs Carey’s fam- ily, who, she said, died in “such trag- ic circumstances.”

Inspector Tom Kennedy concurred and said it was “very difficult to know what to say in a situation like this. It was a terrible tragic accident.”

He complimented the ambulance and fire crews who attended the scene, but said “unfortunately it was too late.”

WHEN the Saw Doctors waxed lyri- cal about the rain “splish-splashing”’ on the streets of Galway, surely they weren’t talking about days like this. Yet despite driving wind and a rain Storm that threatened, on more than one occasion, to turn into hail, a mas- sive crowd turned out in Galway City on Saturday for the first in a series of regional education protests.

The Irish National Teachers Organ- isation (INTO) had set out a target of 5,000 men, women and children

for this rally. But when the morn- ing opened in a cloud of grey and cold, this target was quickly revised down.

They shouldn’t have worried how- ever, such is the anger of the people of Clare and the west of Ireland that a massive troupe, somewhere in the re- gion of 8,000, turned out to vent their annoyance and frustration.

With signs like “As Blind As A Batt” and “Leave Our Kids Alone Brian’, the Minister for Education, Batt O’Keeffe, and Taoiseach Brian Cowen can have been left with little

doubt about the seriousness of these cuts.

The anger was real, these people are desperate and are becoming in- creasingly doubtful that “the Batt- man” will somehow come in and save the day.

There were many voices joining the march from Eyre Square to the Galway Cathedral, and even more joined once the brigade had stopped for their main rally at the Galway GT itereree

Among those to speak were INTO General Secretary John Carr and

Sean Holian of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network while Corofin’s Declan Kelleher also addressed the crowd.

Of the many threads which ran through each speech – the increase in class sizes, the end to substitute cover and the loss of more than 1,000 teachers in the primary sector – the most common one was the equating of money to education and the notion of selling out future generations.

The potential for creating econom- ic troubles for the next generation as a result of these cuts was lost on no-

oy iter

Like Dublin, Christmas decora- tions (and the hope of Christmas shoppers) has come early to Galway this year. And after the protest Shop Street had it’s busiest day since the CFE Na e-leroe

The downturn is cutting everyone deep.

Further demonstrations are expect- ed to take in Offaly, Cork and Don- egal, finishing with a mass rally in Dublin on December 6.

The “Batt signal” is clearly lit, but is anybody watching?

TRIBUTES have been paid from across the world to a west Clare woman who raised millions of euros for the poor and sick, and was co- founder of two new missionary rell- gious congregations in Burma.

Mary Doohan, founder of the Lit- tle Way Association was born at The Hand, Coore in 1917 and 1s still re- membered fondly by neighbours.

Mary Burke recalls how Ms Doohan’s mother Hannah was a very religious woman, and it was no sur- prise that three of her children en- tered the religious life.

Mary Doohan far surpassed many in her religious devotion and service of the poor, and was recognised for her work by the Holy See when she was decorated with the “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” medal in 1978 and was made a Dame of St Gregory in 1996.

Despite her worldwide recognition Mary never forgot her home and last month was laid to rest in Coore Cem- etery.

Having given so much in life, Mary died without any home, in the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Meadow Road, Vauxhall, aged 91 years old.

The late Ms Doohan was the sec- ond child of Timothy and Hannah Doohan. Her brothers John and Michael joined the priesthood and continue to dedicate their lives to the Columbian Missionary in the Philip- pines. Her late sister Philomena be- came a nun.

Mary was also predeceased by her sisters Bernie and Teresa, and her brothers Patrick and Joseph.

She is survived by her sister Cath- erine (Baby) and Fr Michael and Fr John.

Having been educated in Spanish- point she left for London in 1937

where she worked as a clerk. She was a daily mass goer and spent much of her time working with the Legion of Mary. She also promoted devotion to St Therese of Lisieux and

While he was working in the Phil- ippines her brother Fr John wrote to say that the roof of his church had been blown off by a typhoon. Miss Doohan started holding jumble sales and other fundraising events to help her brother’s mission. Soon priests and lay Catholics became involved.

Ms Doohan set up her charitable association, The Little Way Asso- ciation, with missionary Bishop of Anthony Galvin of Miri in Malaysia, who helped her get approval from Cardinal William Godfrey in 1960.

The Little Way Association takes its name from St Thérése’s “little way – which emphasised carrying out the smallest of deeds in a spirit of charity.

The association was the first run from a basement in London’s Victo- ria Street before it moved to a larger office in Red Lion Square, before fi- nally moving to its present headquar- ters in Clapham in 1962.

Ms Doohan, was the lifetime presi- dent of the Little Way when she died in London on August 29, following a stroke.

During Miss Doohan’s lifetime the Little Way Association grew from an informal group of lay people raising money for the Catholic missions to an organised missionary charity with six centres.

Two of these centres are based in India and the other four are in places of pilgrimage in Lourdes, Knock, Fatima and Walsingham.

A WEST Clare student was honoured along with five more from the county at the National University of Ireland Galway last week for outstanding re- sult in this year’s leaving cert.

St Joseph’s Secondary School Spanish Point paid tribute this week to past pupil Sorcha Curtin who not only secured the maximum 600 points in the state exam but was also awarded a bursary from the Galway University at the Entrance Scholars Socsaleyne

The intelligent teenager is now studying medicine at the college.

School principal Mary Crawford paid tribute to the 17 and a half-year- old and told the Clare people the school was very proud of Sorcha’s achievement.

While attending the Spanishpoint school she opted to study English, Irish, Maths, French, Music and Chemistry.

“As well as a great academic achievement she was a trusted friend and also got on very well with all members of staff in the school,” said

a school’s spokesperson.

“Tt 1s an honour for her and the school that she was one of eighteen to get such a high grade, and we would like to congratulate her,” he said.

A keen musican Sorcha plays the concertina in Michael Mahony’s tra- ditional music group.

She is the daughter of Anne (nee Barry) and Christy Curtin from Clondony Miltown Malbay.

Other Clare students to be hon- oured by NUIG were Ian Broderick from Ennis, who was a past pupil of Rice College and is now studying

Engineering. Finn Krewer, from Tu- ber is also studying engineering and is a past pupil of Gort Community College.

Caoimhe Marie Hanrahan from Corofin is a past pupil of Ard Scoil Naoimhe Mhuire Ennistymon and is now studying Occupational Therapy.

Christine Kelly is also from Tu- ber and is a past pupil of Kinvara Secondary School. Paula Christina Kelly is a past pupil of Rice College Ennis and she was also honoured by NUIG.