Month: February 2006

MEMBERS of Ennis Town Council were left waiting by the two leading figures in Clare GAA this Monday, who were to brief them about plans for Cusack Park.

County board chairman, Michael McDonagh and secretary, Pat Fitzgerald, pulled out of the meeting nearly a half an hour after they were due to be in the council chamber in Waterpark House.

Councillors were told by way of a letter last Thursday that the chairman and secretary of the GAA board would give “a briefing session” on Cusack Park’s future.

“The chairman and secretary of the Clare County Board of the GAA will attend to brief the members of the potential development of Cusack Park. I would be obliged if you could arrange to be in attendance,” said the Town Clerk, Eddie Power’s letter.

This meeting was arranged after it was revealed by The Clare People last week that a consortium made up of businessmen Noel Connellan, Sean Lyne and Bernard McNamara had made a sensational offer to take Cusack Park over from the county board.

The consortium pledged to deliver a 42,000 capacity stadium on a 15-acre site on the Quin Road within 18 months of receipt of planning permission from Clare County Council, in return for possession of Cusack Park, which would then be redeveloped as a shopping centre.

However, when the county board officials failed to show, the Mayor of Ennis, Frankie Neylon, had to apologise to members.

“I have to apologise for bringing you in here at 3pm,” he told the monthly meeting. “We were supposed to be joined by our friends from the county board, but as you now know they didn’t arrive to address the meeting as they were supposed to,” added Mayor Neylon.

Fianna Fáil councillor, Tom Glynn, who grew up adjacent to Cusack Park on Francis Street then asked the meeting, “did we get any reason why they failed to show”.

In response, Mayor Neylon said “you know as much as I do Tom, they just didn’t arrive.”

When contacted by The Clare People on Monday night, board chairman, Michael McDonagh apologised for the no show.

“I take responsibility. We are going to meet them at a later date, once we get in all the proposals for Cusack Park. The matter will be debated and everyone will hear what we have to say,” said the chairman.

A YOUNG man who stole a car in Ennis, crashed it into a wall a short distance away, “destroying” it in the process.

Christopher Dobbin (22), of John Paul Avenue, Ennis, committed the offence, at Cusack Road, Ennis, on August 21, 2004.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told Ennis District Court that the stolen vehicle was valued at €1,000 and was effectively destroyed in the accident when it hit a wall.

The court heard that Dobbin committed two offences under the Public Order Act, at Fahy’s Lane, Ennis, on November 16, 2003.

He was also convicted of stealing a slab of Heineken, valued at €17.99, from Deasy’s shop in Clarecastle, on July 31 last.

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said the three incidents were alcohol-related.

Inspector Tom Kennedy pointed out that the car was crashed into a private wall which had to be repaired, at a cost of €2,200.

Judge Leo Malone convicted Dobbin of drink driving and fined him €250. He banned him from driving for two years. He fined him €200 for driving without insurance.

He adjourned the case of stealing the car for four months, for payment of the cost of the car and repairing the wall.

He said if the compensation was paid, he would impose a fine. If not paid, he would sentence Dobbin to three months in jail.

CLARE savers will bring a massive €80 million in cash into the county when the first of the SSAI accounts mature this year.

That’s according to findings from a Bank of Ireland study on how much people will have to spend and what they intend to do with it.

But people who have saved for the last five years could lose a huge chunk of their investment if they don’t remember to fill out the necessary form for the Revenue Commissioners.

Presenting the findings of the survey, conducted among 400 Bank Of Ireland customers, Ennis branch manager, Rose Hally, warned that the forms “must be filled out in the three months leading up to the end of the month in which the fifth anniversary of the account falls. Otherwise, Revenue will tax the entire balance at 23 per cent.”

The bank’s research also discovered that a massive 112,635 of a total of 120,000 SSAI holders came on board with the scheme at the last minute.

And equity-based SSAI accounts performed extremely well, the bank found.

The bank is launching its own new products for those with cash to invest when the SSAI’s mature.

These include a special bonus investment plan, in which the bank will continue on the 25 per cent payment on investments for six months.

Other products are a combined lump sum deposit and savings account and an alternative lump sum deposit option, offering a three to five year savings plan free of DIRT and a two year bond offering a 6 per cent fixed rate.

At the launch, Ms Hally said that the research showed that 74 per cent of customers had no previous regular savings prior to the scheme, “and 80 per cent intend to continue saving on a monthly basis when the scheme ends. It has had a very beneficial effect on saving habits.”

RESIDENTS from two counties are to unite to fight the decision on where to situate a new crossing over the Shannon.

Angry residents from Killaloe and Tipperary are to meet on Wednesday night to plan a campaign to oppose work going ahead on a location, which would see the route pass less than 200 meters from historic Clarisford Palace.

Residents say that the route chosen will cause maximum damage in terms of the town’s amenities and residential considerations.

People in Killaloe have already met to discuss their concerns and opposition to the plan, as have residents in Ballina. Now the two groups are to come together to plan an orchestrated campaign of opposition.

One person involved in the Killaloe campaign said that at least part of the group’s action would be to highlight the potential damage to historical monuments.

“There is a lot of history and heritage being vandalised by this bridge,” the resident said.

“People here tell stories of how noone ever starved in Killaloe in the famine because the Bishop fed people who came to the walls of Clarisford Palace. And there is a plan to put one of the pillars of the bridge in the canal. There are records of barges drawing Guinness form James’s Gate to Clare going back two centuries.”

The objectors say they are also concerned that this route will bring traffic too close to St Anne’s Community College, putting pupils at the school in danger.

It is likely that people from a third local authority may become involved, as a second bridge downstream from O’Briensbridge and Mountpellier in Limerick is also on the cards as part of the plan.

Local Councillor for Montpellier, Noreen Ryan (FF), said that the bridge decision “was anti-democratic from the start. This has done nothing but veto any possibility of getting a proper crossing which that serve the whole region.”

Killaloe councillor, Tony O’Brien (FF), has said that while a decision is welcome to end uncertainty, the bridge will not totally alleviate traffic problems in the lakeside towns.

“What is needed is a proper plan for the town to charter economic development and a bypass,” he said.

The route was chosen following a study of route constraints, commissioned by three local authorities; Clare, Limerick and Tipperary North County Council. It is expected that the new route will be finished in March.

A COROFIN Manor House has been sold for a figure believed to be over €3 million.

Clifden House, which is located eight miles outside the north Clare village, was sold last week by international estate agents JacksonStops.

The early Georgian house is located on a 12 acre wooded estate and overlooks Lake Inchiquin. It had been the subject of intense interest from three English bidders since it went on the market last summer with a guide of €1.75 million.

The property was sold by Jim and Bernadette Robson, who had been operating it as a family run guesthouse for the last number of years. They purchased the then run down property some thirty years ago and restored it painstakingly to its former glory.

The Corofin property is the lat est in a series of high profile sales that have taken place in the area in recent times. Indeed, Jackson-Stops also sold a Tipperary mansion to an American businessman for €4 million last week.

“In my 40 years in the business, I have never seen the market as buoyant as how it is now,” said Philip O’Reilly, Managing Director and owner of Philip O’Reilly Ltd in Ennis.

“We have more than 2,000 people looking for a house in Ennis right now while there is also a report of huge prices being paid for specialist propertys around the county.”

Mr O’Reilly believes that it is the IT sector that is driving the housing market at the moment.

“The IT industry is what farming was in Ireland 20 years ago,” said Mr O’Reilly.

“ It is the barometer of our success and there is great confidence in it at the moment. Low interest rates and things like that are contributing factors but it is the IT sector that is the real driver.”

Clifden House was the birthplace of the pre-Raphaelite painter Frederick William Burton, whose family originally built the property. The water colourist was born in the house in 1816 and enjoyed a career as an artist before he took up the position of Director of the National Gallery in 1874.

The house boasts home grown organic fruits and vegetables from the walled garden and farm, as well as a wide range of trout and pike fishing. Other attractions include horse riding, hunting and walking.

PAYMENTS to consultants working on Clare County Council’s €32 million Cliffs of Moher visitor centre pushed the council’s overall consultants’ bill to over €5 million last year.

In figures released to The Clare People through a Freedom of Information request, the council confirmed this week that the council paid out €5,275,131 to consultants last year.

The biggest winner was Corkbased architectural firm, Reddy O’Riordan Staehli, for designing the award-winning visitor centre at the Cliffs of Moher.

The council confirmed that last year, the company received €834,499 in fees for the project. Last year’s payment brings to €1.437 million the amount the company has received to date for its work on the scheme.

Another company working on the Cliffs project to scoop one of the highest amounts was Dublin-based Martello Media Ltd, receiving €579,320.

The company is developing for the visitor centre, 16 major audio visual installations that include a walk through “float off the cliff-top” virtual reality experience that caters for groups of up to 100 people.

The payments of €5.275 million represents a 11% increase on the €4.719 million paid to consultants in 2004.

Along with the consultants involved in the development of the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre, the big winners were engineering firms and architects.

The list released by the council shows that 78 firms and individuals received the €5.275 million.

The top ten firms received payments totalling €3.675 million. Along with the companies involved in the Cliffs project, Jacobs Babtie received the second highest amount at €691,953; RPC MCOS Ltd €284,896; Nolan Ryan Partnership €257,732; Brady Shipman Martin €251,816, Dermot and Sean Merry €216,763; Ove Arup & Partners €190,668, White Young Green €186,836 and Ove Arup & Partners €181,500.

Some of the region’s other top architectural firms feature in the payments. The records show that Murray O’Laoire Architects received €115,699, Byrne O’Donnell Scully Architects, €86,597; Paddy Coleman & Associates received €74,902 and Thomas McGahon architects received €55,771.

VISITING restrictions remain at two Ennis hospitals with four cases of the winter vomiting bug reported yesterday.

Two cases of the highly contagious infection were detected in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis yesterday, with a further two cases suspected at St Joseph’s Hospital, Ennis.

The Health Service Executive Mid- West Region first confirmed an outbreak of the virus in the Ennis hospitals eight days ago.

Eleven cases in total were confirmed among patients at the time. These patients have since recovered.

The winter vomiting bug is described as a community infection. Outbreaks in hospitals are thought to simply be a gauge or reflection of what is happening in the community.

“Attendance at the Accident and Emergency Department should only be if absolutely necessary,” said a HSE spokesperson.

Out-patient, day care services and routine hospital admissions are not affected by the restrictions however.

A LITTLE Clare girl, who celebrates her twelfth birthday tomorrow, feels like all her birthdays have come together.

Caroline Kelly from Lissycasey has been chosen from thousands of entrants to the FÁS Science Challenge Competition. The lucky youngster will be part of a team of 15 who will receive a place on a five day training programme at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA.

They will train to be part of a space mission crew, learn about space food, learn about GPS systems and launch an air weather balloon.

The winners will also learn about the role of robotics in space and on Earth amongst many other activities.

Caroline entered the competition for the trip – which will take place in March – under the supervision of her teacher, Gearoid O’Sullivan at Lisseycasey National School.

When she got the letter telling her she had won, “our teacher gave us the night off homework,” said Caroline.

Caroline said she “doesn’t know” what she wanted to do when she grew up but she was “really excited” about the trip.

Her mother, Rita is just as excited as she will be going with Caroline on the all expenses paid adventure.

“We’re just delighted for Caroline. It’s a marvellous chance for her,” said Rita.

The rest of the family – dad, Vincent, three sisters and a brother – will all be cheering her on from home.

“We’ve always talked about going to the States and now it’s all arranged. My credit card is ready and waiting for shopping action,” said Rita.

This is the second time someone from Clare has won this prize. In 2004, a student from Ardnacrusha made the trip.

The FÁS Science Challenge competition required applicants to complete a series of multiple choice questions aimed at getting children to realise the importance of science in our world.

THE prospects of Tullycrine National School in west Clare holding onto its two-teacher status, have improved, following the securing, by Rural Resettlement Ireland (RRI), of planning permission for four houses in the depopulated area.

“We are delighted with the decisions. It is something very positive for the school,” Principal of the two-teacher school, Mary Lynch said this week.

“With the possibility of four new families moving into the area, the outlook is looking more healthy and it will also help us to move away from our borderline figure of 12 that allows the school to retain two teachers.

Ms Lynch said that three students were set to the leave the 14-pupil school this summer reducing the numbers to 11, but added that the school was confident of a new in-take of students in September.

“Our younger classes have stronger numbers than so that is a good sign.”

Director of RRI, Jim Connolly said, “I am very happy to get these decisions. The school, provided that the project reaches fruition, will be saved by the four families moving into the area.”

The decision to lodge the applications for housing at Tullycrine was in response to a direct plea from the Chairman of the Board of Management of Tullycrine National School, John Deely.

Asking the council to take into account the school’s situation when making a decision, Mr Deely said, “That is not a happy situation and the future of the school is in doubt.”

The Council’s Acting Director of Service for Planning, Liam Conneally, said that each RRI application would receive a fair, transparent and professional planning assessment.

The decision by the Council in relation to the homes in the Tullycrine area are the only successes RRI has enjoyed in its rural housing programme of 11 proposed homes lodged last May with the Council.

A NEW plan that would spark a major overhaul of taxi services in Ennis has been given the green light by Ennis Town Council.

The plan was warmly welcomed be members of Ennis Town Council at yesterday’s meeting of the local authority.

The proposal incorporates six sub-proposals, which will see the existing taxi rank on the south side of the O’Connell Square removed and re-designated as a loading bay; and the removal of the taxi rank on the north side of O’Connell Square.

The existing taxi rank at Bank Place will be redesignated as a parking facility, while a new overnight taxi rank will be provided at Market Place. A new 24 hour taxi rank is also due to be provided at the Parnell Street car park.

A proposal which would have seen an overnight taxi rank provided on Abbey Street near the Queen’s Hotel, was not recommended to the council due to concerns raised by Mulqueen’s Florists over possible security issues.

In total, 16 submissions were received by Ennis Town Council regarding the Draft Ennis Appointed Stands Bye-laws 2005. There was broad support for the proposals from the Ennis Chamber of Commerce, the Taxi Federation and the gardaí.

Ennis Town Engineer, Tom Tiernan, said that the plan was the first step in an eventual redevelopment of O’Connell Square and that the selection of new locations for taxi ranks was based on the current existing use of the location.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said that there should be an onus on shopping centres to provide taxi ranks for customers.

“With over 100 plates in the town, the taxi service is crucial to the Ennis economy and it is good that there is this level of agreement. It should succeed and will lead to a better environment in Ennis. All shopping centres in the town should also provide taxi ranks”.