Month: January 2012

A NEWLY planned windfarm for Moneypoint will power an average of 8,500 homes every year and benefit the local economy during its construction stage.

That is according to a spokesperson for the ESB, who explained that the five turbines will also offset 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions once they are up and running.

ESB Wind Development Ltd has applied to Clare County Council to construct the windfarm, which will replace a previous application which is in place since 2002.

The 10-year-old planning permission would have seen the construction of nine turbines on the site of the West Clare generating station. The new application is for just five turbines, however, and each turbine will be larger and more technologically advanced than the original nine.

The new application seeks permission “for a 10-year planning permission for a wind farm project at Moneypoint Generating Station” in Killimer.

The development will consist of five wind turbines, each having a rated electrical output of approximately 3,000 kilowatts, modification of the existing high-voltage electrical transformer station to house additional electrical equipment and an additional single-storey control building.

Two anemometer masts and all associated site works above and below ground are also sought.

According to the application, each wind turbine will have an overall maximum dimension of 152 metres, comprising a tower of 95 to 100 metres high, and a diameter of about four metres at the base, to which three blades of 52 to 55 metres length will be attached.

The ESB has admitted, however, that the project is still in its infancy.

The construction has not yet gone to tender and the company has not committed to any expenditure as yet.

The ESB spokesperson said, “Any project in Moneypoint in the past, and there have been a number, have had a positive impact in terms of jobs and spend.”

It is estimated that the construction of the windfarm will take between six months and a year.

A decision on the application is due on March 13, 2012.

SIXMILEBRIDGE Mart has been hailed as one of the business success stories of the past year on the back of bucking economic trends to turn out a substantial profit since it re-opened its doors last August.

It has been revealed that the mart has made a profit of over € 100,000 during the first five months, with the Shannon Tunnel and a booming livestock industry huge contributory factors to the success story.

“Some thought we were mad but look at us now,” said Mart Secretary Eddie Punch. “Farmers and dealers come here because they know they’ll get a fair price, wheither they’re buying or selling.

“I’d be confident that the strong prices will continue for this year at least. We are still reliant on the farmers continuing to support us and bring the stock each week,” added Mr Punch.

The mart closed in 2009, but was brought back to life in August on the back of 600 farmers who became shareholders in the mart by raising the € 300,000 needed to buy the 4.5 acre site.

The mart, which now employs 20 people full-time and has a number of part-time staff, is run by a nine- member board. They are chairman Pat O’Reilly, secretary Eddie Punch, Mike Ryan, Seán Hannon, Joe O’Connell, Andrew Dundas, Gerard Liddy, Pat Freeman and Tom O’Connor. The mart is also managed by Seán Ryan, who previously managed the mart in Athenry.

“There’s no doubt that we’re benefiting from the strength in the trade in general at the moment,” said manager Sean Ryan. “I’d say trade is at least € 200 a head up on this time last year,” he added.

A NORTH Clare jewellery-maker has been crowned as Ireland’s foremost craftsperson at the Showcase 2012 Expo in Dublin last week.

Ennistymon woman Christina Brosnan was presented with the overall Creative Island Award at the festival, which highlights the works of some of Ireland’s best craft people.

Christina began her career in stage design for theatre before moving into film work and was, for a time, the youngest prop master working in the Irish film industry.

“I used to design jewellery as a teenager – people would probably remember me doing that back in Clare when I was younger. I think it was always something that I knew I would come back to, it was just a matter of when. I decided in 2010 to go back to jewellery and so far it has been going great,” she said. “Winning the award is fantastic for me in so many ways. Just to have my jewellery endorsed in that place was amazing. The competition was very tough – there were more than 85 of the best craftspeople in Ireland taking part in this so it was quite stiff.

“To win something like this and to be able to get my work to a wider group of people is really great for me. It is wonderful to get the word out there and hopefully it can take me to a different level.”

Besides being involved in film and TV, Christina also founded her own design company and was given the contract to design the interior of the private members club at the 02.

For more information or to view some of Christina’s work, visit www. christinabrosnan.com.

A NEW dawn in the history of the preservation of traditional Irish music in Clare will be heralded this weekend when Oidhreacht an Chláir plays host to the first in a series of workshops aimed at attracting some of the biggest names in the country.

Oidhreacht spokesperson Barry Taylor has revealed that the masterclass series – featuring Noel Hill this weekend and Martin Hayes the following month – will help begin the process of throwing open the doors of the Miltown Malbay-based organisation to students of the tradition.

“We are mainly concerned with preserving material in our archive and we now want to make that maeterial available to the new generation of musicians that are coming up,” says Taylor, the acclaimed traditional music historian and author of ‘Touchstone for the Tradition: the Willie Clancy Summer School’.

“The masterclass series ties in with our overall aims and objectives. We want to give musicians the opportunity to develop from older generations like Noel Hill and Martin Hayes.

“Both of them are carriers of the tradition – Noel learned from Paddy Murphy, while Martin learned from his father Pat Joe and Paddy Canny and they are now passing on the tradition to a new generation.

“This is an extension of what we do. In the past, we collected material, but this is a way of getting the material out to people.

“By learning from people like Martin Hayes and Noel Hill in the masterclass series, students will also be using the facilities of the Oidhreacht,” he adds.

Oidhreacht an Chláir was launched in 2003 with the aim of conserving and promoting the traditional arts in their native environment and is based next door to the old homestead of Willie Clancy on the Flag Road in Miltown Malbay.

As part of the inaugural masterclass event, Noel Hill will be giving a concert in the Market House in Miltown Malbay on Friday night.

Classes will then get underway on Saturday and will include student recitals at Oidhreacht an Chláir and music sessions in local pubs.

SCOUTS are to return to the Burren region after an absence of more than 30 years with the reformation of the Ennistymon branch of the Scouts later this week. The Ennistymon branch, which will be known as the 9th Clare, will retain the colours of the original Scout group in Ennistymon, which means that the Clare county colours will be worn proudly by each member of the Scout group.

While the group will be based in Ennistymon, the 9th Clare will be open to boys and girls from all over North and West Clare.

After months of planning and training, the new Scout group will host an open day for parents and potential new Scouts this Sunday, February 5, in Ennistymon. The event will take place from 12 midday to 2pm in the Ennistymon Enterprise Centre.

Scout meetings will start officially in February and the open day is designed to provide information to parents and young people interested in joining. The information event will outline what’s involved in becoming a Scout – be it as a Beaver, a Cub, a Scout, a Venture or a Rover.

The two-hour event will be informal in nature and family-centred and will include one-to-one meetings with leaders, details of planned events, illustrated talks, slideshows, demonstration of scouting, walking, camping and mountaineering gear.

Scouts and leaders from other groups in County Clare will also be on hand to talk to young Scouts and parents alike.

“Beavers caters for ages six to eight, Cubs caters for ages nine to 11 and Scouts from 12 to 14. Scout leaders are also welcome and the greater the number of leaders involved, the greater the number of Scouts that can be catered for,” said Cian Kearns, Group Leader of Ennistymon Scouts. “While former Scouts and leaders, and those with experience in the great outdoors, are most welcome, all potential leaders will be provided with full training by Scouting Ireland, so past experience is not essential or necessary.

“Supports are also required in many other ways so, if you wish to get involved, please come along to the information event on Sunday.”

For more information, visit www. facebook.com9thClareEnnistymonS couts.

THE importance of the Clare LEADER programme to community and voluntary groups around the county is set to be showcased this Saturday at a special workshop being hosted by the Clare Local Development Company (CLDC). Groups around the county involved in conservation, tourism or heritage-related activities are being urged to attend the workshop in Woodstock Hotel.

Since 2009, grant aid totalling € 3 million has been allocated to a diverse range of community and enter- prise projects in Clare, while in 2011 alone funding amounted to € 1.8m.

Between now and 2013, the CLDC, which administers funding under the EU-backed LEADER Rural Development Programme, will allocate more than € 5m to projects in the county. The group is also set to pay out € 2.5m to pre-approved projects during 2012.

“CLDC has recently embarked upon a new support programme for community groups in Clare. We are keen to seek out and provide support to a broad range of community projects in the areas of heritage, conservation and tourism in 2012 and 2013, and enable community and vol- untary groups to avail of LEADER funding,” says Sue Targett, Social Inclusion and Community Development Manager with CLDC.

“The aim of the upcoming workshop, entitled ‘Applying for LEADER funding – the process and benefits explained’, is to help community groups to become more familiar with the significant benefits of LEADER, to facilitate a better understanding of LEADER requirements, and also to support more communities to potentially avail of rural development funding towards improving tourism, conservation and/ or heritage projects, activities and facilities in their local areas.

“Over € 5m in LEADER funding is available to support and fund a wide variety of projects in Clare in 2012 and 2013. CLDC is keen that new community projects and initiatives are encouraged and supported, firstly through groups gaining a better understanding of LEADER and, secondly, so that more groups are in a position to avail of and make successful tourism, conservation and heritage funding applications during 2012 and 2013”, Ms Targett adds.

The workshop takes place between 9.30pm and 1.30pm. The closing date for those wishing to register for the event is this Wednesday.

IT WAS mixed news for Clare this week when it came to the care of the county’s roads. While the budget allocated to Clare County Council for the care of its non-national roads was almost on a par with last year, the funding for the county’s national roads was significantly down.

The spending on the county’s main roads has dropped by more than € 1.9 million to just over € 3.5 million this year.

However, the council was breathing a sigh of relief yesterday, Monday, when its funding allocation for all non-national roads was announced.

Clare County Engineer Tom Tiernan explained that once the allocation for the Killaloe bypass is removed from the € 14.9 million allocated, it equates almost exactly to last year.

“Anything that has not gone down is good,” he said referring to the funding.

Meanwhile, one of the busiest roads into Ennis is a death trap for young mothers, according to one member of Clare County Council, but the council is hopeful the situation will be resolved very soon.

Cllr James Breen (Ind) described the Quin Road bridge as “deadly dangerous” and is frustrated that nothing has been done about it, despite plans being drawn up for a footbridge by Clare County Council more than two years ago.

“It is frightening on the day of a mart to see women trying to come over the bridge pushing a pram. It is deadly dangerous if a cattle lorry and car meet on that bridge,” he said.

The former TD said he raised this issue as far back as 2006 when he was in the Dáil and still it has not come to a satisfactory conclusion.

It has emerged, however, that the council has finally received the go-ahead for the work on the longawaited footbridge from the Railway Safety Commission, an independent body that oversees the safety of the railway system.

The local authority is now finalising some details with CIE and it is hoped that work will begin on the bridge within the next two months.

IARNRÓD Éireann and Clare County Council have expressed their confidence that building work on a train station at Crusheen will start this summer, despite fresh delays in the project.

Both funding and planning permission have been secured for the longawaited Crusheen stop on the Western Rail Corridor but construction work has been delayed as a result of protracted negotiations between Iarnród Éireann and a third-party developer.

The negotiation is centred around development contributions but a spokesperson from Iarnród Éireann has said that the station will go ahead.

“We are committed to the development of the station,” said Barry Kenny of Iarnród Éireann.

“The Crusheen proposal has elements of contribution from our capital programme, Clare County Council in relation to the construction and operation of a car park and a thirdparty developer.

“We are in discussions with the third party at present, so we must await the outcome of these to determine when the project will proceed, though it is our aspiration to commence works this summer.”

A spokesperson from Clare County Council yesterday said that the local authority was not aware of any reason why the station at Crusheen would not go ahead.

Senior Engineer with Clare County Council, Tom Tiernan, yesterday de- clined to make any comment on the delay in starting construction on the Crusheen station, saying that it was a matter between the developer and Iarnród Éireann.

Having originally been told that Crusheen would not be granted a station on the Western Rail Corridor, it was announced shortly after the reopening of the Ennis to Athenry section of the line in 2009 that Iarnród Éireann would be going ahead with a Crusheen stop.

This change of heart followed more than two years in intensive lobbying by local people and also a section of land being donated for the station itself and the carpark. When completed, it is predicted that the station will swell the number of people using the train to commute to work in Ennis, Limerick and Galway.

THE day of farmers bringing a few cattle to the mart in a car trailer is coming to an end, unless the next generation apply for a new specific driving licence.

The majority of driving licences issued before 1989 allowed drivers to tow a relatively heavy trailer behind their domestic car.

Newer licences are more specific however. The majority of motorists hold a ‘B licence’ which allows them to drive a car and tow a light trailer that does not exceed 750 kg in weight.

To tow a trailer in excess of 750kg, the driver must also hold an ‘E licence’.

While many older motorists have an ‘EB licence’, the younger generation are required to apply for a provisional ‘E licence’ and then a full licence if they are to tow anything heavy behind their car.

At the first meeting of the Joint Policing Committee this year, chairman Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) raised the concerns of local farmers and these driving regulations.

“The days of towing a good hefty cow after you on a trailer are gone,” he said.

Superintendent Colm O’Sullivan explained that the driver could be in trouble if he/she did not have an EB licence.

Supt O’Sullivan said it was more of an issue for insurance, as the driver would not be covered in the event of an accident.

The superintendent advised those motorists intending to tow a trailer, or any other such item, to tell their insurance company at time of renewal.

Car drivers without a specialised licence can, however, tow a small trailer as long as it and its contents weigh less than 750kg and their car is over 3, 500kg in weight.

Community representative on the committee Richard Cahill said this traffic law was counter-productive when it came to promoting local tourism.

He argued that this prevented families taking caravan holidays, as they could not tow the caravan without the specialised licence.

Cllr John Crowe (FG) described the licensing law as “another attack on rural Ireland”.

THE refurbishment of the Celtic Mist, the yacht formerly owned by Charles Haughey that was donated to the Kilrush-based Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) last year, is to be granted aid to the tune of nearly € 50,000.

The IWDG has secured 75 per cent funding of € 47,900 from the Leader programme administered by the Clare Local Development Company for the refit project that is already underway in Kilrush.

In welcoming the grant allocation, the IWDG co-ordinator Dr Simon Berrow paid tribute to the development company’s support for the project that’s being spearheaded by Mr Cathal Blunnie.

The 52ft yacht had been on sale in the Isle of Wight, with an asking price of € 175,000, before Conor Haughey announced the move to donate the vessel to the IWDG, a group whose work was of special interest to the late Taoiseach.

“The market for yachts isn’t great at the moment,” said Conor Haughey, “and my father did declare Irish waters as a whale and dolphin sanctuary in 1991, so that’s why we have decided to gift it to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.”

“This will give us a whole new dimension,” said Dr Simon Berrow at the time. “Charlie Haughey was always very interested in the sea and the marine and he often sent in sighting of whales and dolphins. He’d be known for declaring Ireland a whale and dolphin sanctuary. It was a huge political gesture at the time,” he added.

It is estimated that the refit of the Celtic Mist will cost more than € 60,000 and that the ketch will cost some € 20,000 to € 30,000 annually to maintain, subsidised by day trips.

A berth at Kilrush marina has been provided by Shannon Development and a passenger vessel licence application has also been made.

The refit involves stripping down the main cabin, and removing the bath and shower to allow for additional crew berths.

The former owner’s clock will be kept, along with other items. However, the ketch’s wheel in the main cabin is set to be presented to the Haughey family.

The Celtic Mist came to Kilrush in July after taking part in the Tall Ships Race in Waterford.