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A MAN who placed stone boulders across the main Ennis to Kilmaley road has been told his actions could have resulted in someone being killed.

The warning came at Ennis District Court on Wednesday at the sentencing of Eoin Kerin (28) who placed the boulders on the Kilmaley Road on November 23 (2011) after a night of drinking.

Last October, Mr Kerin, with an address at Beechpark, Ennis pleaded guilty to charges of criminal damage and intentionally placing a dangerous obstruction upon a road.

A van was damaged when it hit the rocks on the night. The case had been adjourned on a number of occasions and Mr Kerin appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Outlining the facts of the case to Judge Patrick Durcan, Inspector Tom Kennedy said the van driver could not avoid the boulders. Gardaí were called and the boulders were cleared from the road.

However Insp Kennedy told the court the rocks and boulders were put back on the road within 15 minutes. Mr Kerin was spotted in a field near the road. He admitted the offences to gardaí.

“What he did was absolutely hugely dangerous”, said Insp Kennedy.

Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey told the court that her client had paid compensation to the injured party. She said there is a low risk of Mr Kerin re-offending.

Ms Godfrey urged the court to adjourn the case for a long period.

Judge Patrick Durcan said someone could have been killed as a result of what Mr Kerin did.

“It is a case that troubles me. It is a serious matter”, he added.

Judge Durcan adjourned the case for a brief period to consider sentence.

When the case resumed, Judge Durcan imposed a fine of € 500.

He said, “I have to convict your client. I have to bear in mind that somebody could’ve been killed. It’s a terrible thing to do.”

Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

A TEENAGER who stole € 1300 worth of goods from Clare businesses across an 11 month shoplifting spree has been warned she faces a rison sentence.

Roxanne Considine (19) stole goods including cosmetics, wine and a chicken roll from shops and pharmacies in Ennis and Clarecastle between November 2012 and September 2013. Ms Considine, with an address at Clarehill, Clarecastle, pleaded guilty to 14 theft charges, details of which were outlined at Ennis District Court on Wednesday. She has no previous convictions.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that from a garda point of view, Ms Considine is a “bad thief.”

Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey told the court that her client was “subject to extreme neglect” as a child. She said Ms Considine stole to get money for cannabis, a drug to which she had been seriously addicted.

Ms Godfrey said her client was a bright woman who achieved her junior and leaving certificates.

Judge Patrick Durcan said that the accused had come from a “very sad and very difficult background” having suffered the deaths of her parents and younger brother.

Noting Ms Considine’s guilty pleas and willingness to deal with her addiction, Judge Durcan adjourned sentencing for a month. However he warned Ms Considine that she would receive a nine-month prison sentence of she re-offended in that time.

“She’s a bright young lady and she must take responsibility,” he added.

The case was adjourned for a month and Ms Considine was ordered to remain under the supervision of the Probation Services.

CLARE County Council could yet take legal action against the consultants who advised the local authority to establish the Central Waste Management Facility at Ballyduff beg in Inagh.

The landfill, which has recently closed for all non-recyclable materials, has proved to be a loss-making venture for the local authority, despite a number of expert reports suggesting that it would generate million annually for the coffers of Clare County Council. Despite the closure of the landfill element of the Central Waste Management Facility, the local authority faces an annual bill for the upkeep of the landfill area for the next 20 years.

Kilnamona councillor James Breen (Ind), yesterday put a motion to Clare County Council, formally requesting that they contact their legal representatives and instruct them to begin legal proceedings.

“We are looking at spending tax payers money and rate payers money – millions for the next 20 years. I am instructing the county manager to contact his legal team and instruct them to begin legal action against the people responsible,” he said.

This motion was formally seconded by Shannon councillor Gerry Flynn (Ind) who did not make any formal comment on the motion.

Clare County Council did not have a formal response to Cllr Breen’s motion prepared – as would be traditional for council meeting, with county manager Tom Coughlan stating that he would respond to the motion at the November meeting.

“I didn’t prepare a response to that motion because I wanted to see if it would be proposed and seconded. To take legal proceedings against that proposal would be complex and expensive. I would like to come back to the motion with a report at the November meeting,” he said.

A number of legal actions have been made concerning the operation of the Ballyduff beg Waste Management Facility in recent years. Most recently the local authority settled an action taken by the environmental Protection Agency (EPA) out of court. In recent weeks the council has decided use the final tranche of the Community Development Fund, which was established to compensate those effected by the landfill, to compensate those living directly beside the facility.

A FACILITY for Kilrush, similar to Lee’s Road in Ennis, will be the “premier project” for Clare County Council this year.

The project planned for the Cooraclare Road in Kilrush is to include pitches, running tracks and astro turf facilities.

The project has been submitted for national sporting grants by Kilrush Town Council previously but with as yet no success.

The town council executive is confident that the project will be successful in securing grant funding this year and has also submitted it for consideration in a new national fund.

Town manager Anne Haugh explained that the county manager had agreed that the Kilrush project would be the primary project on a list seeking funding from the new national scheme – Sport Nation.

The new grant aid system is supported through the Public Bodies and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, with each department providing one third of the funding up to € 58,124. The remaining third needs to be raised from the local authority’s capital fund.

The council agreed that the first phase of the project to require funding should be the astro turf area.

The town council had previously agreed to set aside € 150,000 of money earmarked for special projects to the proposed Cooraclare Road Sports Development.

A lease for 25 years has also been signed for such the facility on the Cooraclare Road.

MEMBERS of Ennis Town Council have backed a call for the use of Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) to deal with the behaviour of what was described last week as a “small group of untouchables”.

ASBOs were introduced in Britain in 1998. They were designed to correct minor incidents that would not ordinarily warrant criminal prosecution.

In a motion tabled at the October meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said the council should recommend a “planned pilot scheme of greater usage of Anti Social Beahviour Orders (ASBO) for the Ennis town centre area by the Gardai and Court Services”.

He said the orders could be implemented against criminal and public order offenders.

“Following a half year review, if the pilot is successful, the scheme would be extended to other areas to deal with scourge of this behaviour by a perceived small group of untouchables,” added Cllr Flynn.

Cllr Flynn told the meeting Ennis has a very low crime rate in comparison to towns like Killarney.

However he said the behaviour of a small group of people is putting the reputation of the town at risk.

“I think this would be the start of a campaign of no messing in Ennis,” he added.

Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said attempts to deal with anti-social behaviour had not been helped by repeated cuts to Garda budgets and the closure of stations around the county.

“My sympathy does go out to the gardaí. They are doing their very best,” he added.

Cllr Guilfoyle told the meeting there had been a number of disturbances in Ennis Courthouse over the past year.

He also spoke about an incident that occurred on the Kilrush Road in August when a man in his 20s was brutally assaulted while on his way home at night.

Chairman of the Ennis Joint Policing Committee (JPC) Cllr Paul O’Shea (Ind) said he would support the use of ASBOs in Ennis.

He said, “There is a lot of fear among the community because of this small group of untouchables.”

Deputy Mayor, Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) told the meeting the gardai are doing the best they can with limited resources. “I would urge anyone that has any kind of problem to ring the confidential line to the Garda,” he added.

In response to Cllr Flynn’s motion, town clerk Leonard Cleary said it would be referred to the Joint Policing Committee. “Ennis Town Council is working with the gardaí on an ongoing basis in relation to the specific current items raised in this motion,” added Mr Cleary.

A JUDGE has issued a stark warning that more lives will be lost to addiction if drug treatment services in Ireland continue to be under resourced.

Judge Gerard Keys was commenting following the death of Ennis man James Sherlock Jnr earlier this year.

The 24-year-old wheelchair-bound amputee was found unconscious by his brother near the green of the eighth hole of Ennis Golf Club in August. It is thought Mr Sherlock had spent a period of time squatting in the area.

Mr Sherlock, formerly of Childers Road, Ennis, was a heroin addict who lost both his legs as a result of complications arising from his addiction.

He lived rough for a while in an abandoned squat in Ennis and was awaiting sentence for setting fire to the Lakes Nursing Home in Killaloe on August 20, 2010. Judge Keys had adjourned sentencing for the purpose of ascertaining what help Mr Sherlock could get to deal with his drug addiction and what accommodation could be found for him.

“It is with a great degree of sadness that I read in the newspapers the circumstances of the death of James Sherlock,” Judge Keys said at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday.

“He was a troubled young man with huge problems and with little or no adequately-resourced facilities to assist him in dealing with his drug addiction and the medical complications which arose there from. In this court I said this man cannot be abandoned,” added Judge Keys.

He continued, “I am now compelled to say that until the problem of drug addiction in this country is tackled and a sufficient number of properly resourced facilities put in place by the State, there will be more deaths of this kind and our prison population will increase.

“I passionately believe that if a sufficient number of properly-resourced facilities for drug addiction were established it would radically reduce crime levels, reduce our prison population and save lives.”

He conveyed his sympathies to the Sherlock family.

At James Sherlock Jnr’s funeral in Ennis last August, parish priest Fr Tom O’Gorman also spoke of the dangers of drug addiction.

“Drugs led him [Jimmy] down the wrong path and the shackles that they hold on people can lead to death,” Fr O’Gorman told mourners.

THE search for a 42-year-old man who was washed into the sea off North Clare will resume this morning. Naval divers are due to resume their search for the Latvian national around 10am this morning, October 8, after bad weather brought an end to last nights search effort.

With more settled weather expected this morning, it is hoped that the mans’ body can be located close to Ballyreen, where he entered the water in Sunday evening.

The man had been fishing with a number of friends at a spot known as Fisherman’s Climb in the popular fishing location between Doolin and Fanore on Sunday evening when he was washed into the ocean by a freak wave. A friend raised the alarm and then attempted to swim out to reach the stranded man.

However, while the friend was swimming to rescue the man, the victim – who has not yet been named – was washed under the water. Despite an intensive search led by a number of rescue agencies, including the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard, the man has not been sighted since. The man’s friend, who dived into the water to save the 42-yearold man, was assisted by emergency services and treated on site for the effects of cold. “The search has been stood down for the night because of poor weather conditions and the hope is now that the divers to be able to enter the water tomorrow morning,” said Mattie Shannon of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard last night. “We are hopeful that the divers will be able to come up with something tomorrow. It is a very exposed spot and if something is not discovered soon it could be very difficult to locate.” It’s understood that man was not wearing a lifejacket and may have been dragged beneath the waves by his heavy clothing. The area has been the scene of a number of tragedies in recent years including the death of a two men in separate fishing accident in Ballyreen in 2009.

THE family of a Kilfenora man Brian McMahon, who tragically lost his life in California over the weekend, flew out to America yesterday to be with his wife and children.

Father of two Brian McMahon was killed in a car accident in the Californian city of San Rafael on Friday morning last. Mr McMahon, who is 46 years old and has been living in America for a number of years, was out walking close to his home just before 8am, local time, when the ac- cident took place.

The exact details of the accident are not yet clear but it appears that Mr McMahon was struck by a single vehicle on the street close to his home at 7.45am. Emergency first aid was given to Mr McMahon at the scene at he was rushed by ambulance to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.

“San Rafael police officers and San Rafael paramedics located an unconscious 46-year-old man lying in the roadway. Life saving measures were immediately initiated. The male sub- ject was transported to Kaiser Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival,” said a spokesperson from the local police department.

“The driver of the involved vehicle remained on scene and called 911 to report the collision. Numerous bystanders were interviewed at the scene.

“The driver fully cooperated with the investigation. At this time, it appears neither alcohol nor any other impairment was present or a factor in this collision. The involved vehicle was taken for a thorough inspection.”

Police are reportedly investigating the possibility that the driver may have been blinded by the bright morning sun and did not see see Mr McMahon out walking. Mr McMahon was home in Clare in August and was due to return with his sons for the All-Ireland hurling final but was unable to do so because of work.

Mr McMahon is survived by his Tipperary born wife and his his two children aged 13 and 11 years old. He is also survived by his father Murty McMahon, his American-based brother John and a number of siblings based in the North Clare area.

THE hundred thousand welcomes the 30,000 plus crowd gave to the victorious Clare team when they arrived back in Ennis with the Liam McCarthy Cup, was worth an estimated € 1 million to businesses in one evening alone.

It would appear that the Clare fans heeded the words of Clare hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald when he told them to forget the recession for a while, during the official homecoming at Tim Smythe Park (Fairgreen) in Ennis.

According to the CEO of Ennis Chamber of Commerce, Rita McInerney, the Sunday night homecom- ing was hugely beneficial, as people from all over the county converged in Ennis.

A conservative estimate of the money spent on the evening is approximately € 1 million said the business people’s representative.

“People had to spend money on petrol to come to Ennis, more spent it on food and drink when they were here and there was all the jerseys, flags and bunting that was purchased,” said Ms McInerney.

She estimated spending at an average of € 30 per person.

“That includes people who spent € 5 for a coffee and a snack to those that spent € 150 and stayed out until 5 in the morning,” she explained.

The build up to the All Ireland and the replay was not as profitable however, as people saved for the trip to Croke Park, she explained.

“People had to budget for the All Ireland and couldn’t spend in the run up to the game, but it was worth it because we were in an All Ireland. The businesses were happy to take in on the chin. It was such a great honour to be in the All Ireland,” she said.

“Obviously there was going to be a pull back on spending because people don’t have money, but on that night they came out in support.”

She added that the media focus on the county as a result of the team’s success was also hugely beneficial to the county.

“You couldn’t buy publicity like that,” she said.

“And the Liam McCarthy Cup is going to be here for a year so there will be plenty more celebrations I am sure.”

THE Banner feel-good factor is spreading. Just days after the county hurlers gave everyone in Clare a reason to be cheerful, new results from the CSO have confirmed that the number of unemployed people in the county has reached a five-year low.

The number of people signing on the live register in Clare fell to its lowest level since February of 2009 last month.

In what is being seen as a big step forward for the county, this is the first time in almost five years that the number of people signing on dropped below the 9,000 mark.

September is traditionally a good month for the live register in Clare – with a large number of third level student returning to full time education and coming off the live register.

Between August and September of this year the number of people signing on dropped off dramatically from 9,613 to 8,983 – a drop of 6.5 per cent.

However, this drop is not just a seasonal drop as it also represents a year on year drop of 691 people – representing a drop of 7.1 per cent compared to 2012.

The drop in the number of people signing on was led by Ennis where the live register number dropped from 5, 528 in September of 2012 to 5,094 – a drop of 8 per cent.

While there is no concrete figures for job creation in Clare, it is understood that the tourism sector has had a good season to date, prompted in some way by the reduced VAT rate and the positive effects of the Gathering.

It is understood that the Government are likely to increase the VAT for the hospitality back up from its current two-year low of 9 per cent – a move which could threaten employment in the county’s tourism sector.

This news come hot on the heels of a survey from Hotels.com which reported that room prices in hotels were actually increasing.

These claims were strongly rejected by Lahinch hotelier and and president of the Irish Hotel Federation, Michael Vaughan, who described it as “outrageous” and said that the survey used too few hotel room prices to be accurate.