Month: July 2006

A 35-YEAR-OLD east Clare businessman, charged in connection with a major drugs seizure near O’Briensbridge on Friday, has been refused bail.

Father-of-five Thomas Lennon, of Killestry, Killaloe, is facing four charges in connection with a seizure of drugs by the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU), at 10am on Friday.

Mr Lennon, who works in the construction sector, is charged with possession of cannabis resin and ecstacy, at Ross, Killaloe.

He is also charged with possession of cannabis resin and ecstacy, for sale or supply.

As he made his second court appearance in relation to the charges yesterday (Monday), Inspector Tom Kennedy told Killaloe District Court that further charges may follow, pending direction from the DPP.

Inspector Kennedy opposed a bail application by the accused, because of what he described as the seriousness of the charges and the accused’s likelihood to flee.

He pointed out that the four charge sheets before the court represented drugs valued at €2 million in cannabis resin and €100,000 in ecstacy tablets, but that did not represent the full amount of the drugs seized.

Further analysis of the haul has yet to be carried out, and it may include cocaine, amphetamine and other drugs, which have not yet been identified.

“The State has a concern if Mr Lennon is admitted to bail, he will not answer the charges he is facing, because of the gravity of the situation he finds himself in,” he added.

Defending solicitor Ted McCarthy said that the issues mentioned by the State could be taken into account by the judge in setting bail, but that they need not be a bar.

“Mr Lennon has no previous convictions.

“He is a married man, with one young child and four children from a previous relationship.

“He is a businessman. All of these are indicators he had ties. He has no intention of fleeing,” said the solicitor.

He said his client had no history of breaching bail would surrender his passport.

Inspector Kennedy said the accused’s ties were not sufficient to satisfy the State that he would not leave the jurisdiction.

Detective Garda Tom Barber of the GNDU said it would be alleged that the accused was stopped driving a van, which contained 300kgs of cannabis resin, 10kgs of cocaine, 100,000 ecstacy tablets and 5kgs of amphetamine powder.

“It is alleged that at the scene, Mr Lennon made admissions as to his conduct,” he said.

Judge Joseph Mangan refused the bail application and remanded the accused in custody to appear before Ennis District Court next week.

MEDIA claims that the life of the premature baby who died at the Cliffs of Moher last week was jeopardised because the Ennistymon ambulance was at another call at the time, were refuted by the Health Services Executive yesterday.

The baby, who was approximately 15 weeks premature, was delivered alive to an American tourist at the Cliffs on Wednesday afternoon, but died before reaching the Regional Maternity Hospital in Limerick.

The ambulance services declined to comment directly on the matter, but released a statement through the HSE in Limerick yesterday afternoon refuting claims made in the media that the ambulance was delayed because it was on another call at the time.

According to the statement, the ambulance control received a call from the Visitor Centre at the Cliffs of Moher at 12.57 on Wednesday afternoon and was immediately dispatched to the scene with a midwife as part of the crew.

“At the same time, ambulance control also contacted Dr Ruth Goodall to attend at the scene,” read the statement. “The ambulance arrived at the scene at 13.22 hours. Dr Goodall arrived at 13.25 hours approximately.

“On arrival at the scene, the ambulance crew found that the baby was still alive and, at the request of a bystander, ambulance control was requested to arrange a helicopter and a flying squad.”

Twenty minutes later, ambulance control was in contact with Dr Goodall who stood down the request for the helicopter. A HSE spokesperson was unable to clarify that the baby had died at this point, but did say that the decision to stand down the helicopter was taken “on medical grounds”.

“The ambulance left the scene at 14:01 hours and brought mother and baby to the Regional Maternity Hospital, Limerick,” continued the statement.

“The hospital was contacted by ambulance control and requested to have a priest and counsellor present. The ambulance arrived at the Regional Maternity Hospital at 15:10 hours.”

According to witnesses, the woman had been traveling on a coach tour with a group of friends when the incident took place and the baby was delivered by a midwife working in the kitchen of the Visitor Centre before the ambulance and doctor arrived.

SPEAKING for the first time since his dramatic brush with death last week, popular Lahinch businessman Odran O’Looney has paid tribute to a good Samaritan from Moy, Mary Harney and Davy Spillane.

Mr O’Looney fell while walking his dog near to a cliff about a mile south of Lahinch last Wednesday afternoon. A blow to the head left him temporally paralyzed, unable to move a muscle from the neck down and alone in an isolated area.

“The first thing that I thought when I saw my hand dropping in front of me was that this was it,” said Mr O’Looney.

“I couldn’t move but I was breathing and I could talk so I knew from my experience in the rescue services that I would be alright. I was never really worried because I have been in the emergency services for so long and was able to be calm about things.”

Luckily for Mr O’Looney, Moy farmer Joe Vaughan was on the beach at the time and heard his cries for help.

“I was conscious but I could not move,” continued Mr O’Looney. “We called my son who contacted Dr Michael Kelleher who was there in about five minutes. It was very fortunate that they have a phone mast up in Moy because I was able to get coverage from right under the cliff.”

As luck would have it, the Doolin Coastguard were doing training exercises locally that day and arrived to lend their assistance within ten minutes.

“The Doolin Coastguard were doing an exercise in Liscannor and, because of the extensive training that they go through, they knew exactly where to go,” said Mr O’Looney.

“Dr Kelleher was delighted with the assistance that the coastguard were able to give him. They were able to get me into a support stretcher and get me up from the rocks.”

The Irish Coastguard Helicopter based at Shannon was on the scene minutes later and airlifted Mr O’Looney to the Merlin Park Regional Hospital in Galway where his condition continues to improve.

“The last person who said goodbye to me as I was beng hoisted up on the helicopter was the musician Davy Spillane who is a member of the Doolin Coastguard,” he said. “everyone treated me so well. In my book Mary Harney has no problems at all with the accident and emergency services on offer.”

EVEN though more people are putting their name forward to represent the Banner County in politics this week, it seems County Clare could still be under represented when it comes to fighting its cause in Dublin.

Figures to be released by the Central Statistics Office later this week are likely to show that Clare is under represented in the Dáil by as much as five per cent.

The data is also expected to show an increase in the population, especially in Ennis, Shannon, Sixmilebridge and Killaloe.

With the increase in population the ratio of TDs to Clare citizens is likely to significantly decrease.

According to the Irish constitution “the number of members of Dáil Éireann shall not be fixed at less than one member for each 30,000 of the population, or at more than one member for each 20,000 of the population”.

According to a report in the Sunday Tribune it has been stated by successive boundary commissions and endorsed by the Oireachtas that variances of more that five per cent for the national average of population per TD should only be permitted in exceptional circumstances. The variance in Clare has been estimated at five per cent.

It predicts that as many as 23 of the 43 Dáil constituencies will be in excess of the accepted variance.

Meanwhile, Galway East to the north of the Clare constituency is also outside the accepted five per cent maximum variance. Limerick West to the south of Clare is outside the highest ever limit of 7.89 per cent, but unlike Clare this constituency is over represented.

Without revision of the boundary or the number of TDs in any one area within the next few months, it will be 2012, if the next Government goes to full term, before any change is imposed to redress the imbalance.

THE 2007 general election is likely to be one of the toughest fought in living memory with four Fine Gael candidates now on the ticket.

In an unprecedented move, the party’s Executive Council decided to add Councillors Joe Carey and Madeleine Taylor-Quinn to the party’s General Election ticket, which already included Deputy Pat Breen and Cllr Tony Mulcahy following a contentious convention, last May.

Already unrest is emerging within the party at grassroots levels, with fears of losing the current Fine Gael seat.

A party poll last Christmas showed an increase in Fine Gael popularity in Clare and the possibility of securing the coveted second seat.

But the addition of the two names has left local delegates screaming blue murder amid claims that the current seat held by Pat Breen could now be in danger.

Disgruntled members of the party have blamed the selection process and weak leadership for the large number of candidates.

At the national conference in Athlone, the party leader Enda Kenny tried to revert back to a selection process that would allow a number of delegates from each branch select the candidates. He was narrowly defeated in a vote, which meant the oneperson one vote method introduced six years ago remained. During the last year, there was a 2,000 per cent increase in Clare membership to the party, resulting in a large attendance at the convention in the West County Hotel.

At the convention Joe Carey, the son of former TD Donal Carey, was just a few votes away from being selected making him a likely third candidate.

But a promise made to Cllr Taylor-Quinn, coupled with her front bench experience and polling in the European Election meant the Fine Gael party had a difficult decision to make.

It is believed Mr Kenny promised the former TD a place on the ticket if she ran in the European election, a promise that he did not renege on last week.

In a statement this week, sitting TD Pat Breen said he accepted the decision of the National Executive regarding the fielding of four Fine Gael candidates but said the decision made the party’s task of winning an extra seat in Clare “infinitely more difficult”.

When Fine Gael last suggested running four candidates in the fourseat constituency, it failed to return any TD. In 1948, a sudden election was called, so party leader General Richard Mulcahy rushed through a convention in the Queen’s Hotel. The leader told the small gathering of delegates assembled for the convention that he had four “excellent candidates” and he intended to run all four. Among the line up was son of the late TD Charlie Burke from Whitegate, Eddie Monaghan a solicitor from Ennis who was defeated in a bye-election two years previously, Colonel Austin Brennan and Bill Murphy from Ennistymon. Bill Murphy withdrew his name a few days later, believing it to be a joke and the other three went on to contest the election, but to no avail. Instead Eamon de Valera and Sean O’Grady were returned for Fianna Fáil, Paddy Hogan took a seat for Labour and Tom “The Bonesetter” Burke took the fourth seat as an Independent. But, while members within the Fine Gael Party may fear this as a bad omen, they take some comfort that in 1948 the Fine Gael Party was returned to power under Cosgrove.

Almost 60 years on, a dogfight is predicted as four candidates take to the hustings.

Cllr Joe Carey who trebled his vote to 1,939 first preferences, the highest vote ever recorded for a local election candidate in Clare, will be hoping to attract the youth vote.

“I am a young, enthusiastic, energetic candidate who will devote all my energies to delivering for my number one concern – the people of County Clare,” he said adding he was honoured and delighted to have been selected by Mr Kenny.

So far Cllr Taylor-Quinn is the only female candidate to have announced an intention to run in the next election.

“At next year’s General Election, the people of Clare will have the choice to vote for a woman candidate. For those who say that women’s voices are heard when Government makes its decisions, I point out that just 13 per cent of TDs are women. That figure is so low that it places Ireland on a par with countries in sub-Saharan Africa,” she said.

A CLARE psychiatrist has expressed concern over the county’s suicide rate which is bucking the national trend and rising.

Last year, 431 Irish people took their own lives, compared to the 457 suicides in 2004 – a drop of 26.

However, in Clare, the number of suicides showed a slight increase going up from 14 in 2004 to 15 last year.

Dr Moosajee Bhamjee told The Clare People , “It is a concern that with all the suicide awareness that there has not been any drop-off. Young people find it very difficult to cope with the end of relationships and find it hard when they are rejected. This leads to a lot of stress that they do not want to deal with.

“Suicides have traditionally been under-reported and I would be very concerned at the number of single men under the age of 30 that have taken their lives. Anyone that is feeling suicidal should contact the Samaritans who are available 24 hours a day.”

Over the past four years, 60 people have taken their own lives in Clare with the gender breakdown showing that 44 males took their lives, while 16 females committed suicide.

The figures for 2005 show that men under the age of 30 are most at risk, with five men in that age group taking their lives.

The next largest grouping are those aged over 50, with three taking their lives.

Last year was the first time in a number of years when no suicide took place at the Cliffs of Moher – in 2004, four people took their lives at the Cliffs.

There were no suicides recorded in Clare from July to the start of December and the figures show that the largest proportion of suicides took place in rural parts of west Clare.

West Clare councillor, Tom Prendeville (FF), said yesterday, “We have to accept that there is a problem of suicide in west Clare and I would be extremely worried if there was any evidence of copy-cat suicides, because, if that is the case, we are failing in our role as educationalists.”

“Young people must understand that, no matter what the problem is, there is always a way out.

“I believe that a very strong factor in the high rate of suicide is the high expectations put on young people and the roller-coaster lives they lead.”

HUNDREDS of acres of hillside went up in flames last night in a blaze which could be seen more than 20 miles away.

More than twenty fire-fighters whit support crews did battle for hours with the inferno, which engulfed a hill south east of Milltown Malbay.

The blaze started in bone-dry scrub under sizzling temperatures which also saw household wells all over the country run dry.

And with yesterday being the hottest day of the year and weekend temperatures in the high twenties, traffic chaos was reported on the coast roads.

THE drugs seizure in east Clare at the weekend is one of the largest ever hauls in the mid-west.

While the quantity of drugs seized on a back road near O’Briensbridge on Friday morning has not yet been calculated, garda sources say it may have a street value of up to €9 million.

One man has been charged in connection with €2 million of the haul, while a court was told yesterday that further charges may follow.

The last major drugs haul in Clare was in November 1996, when £16million worth of cannabis was found on the luxury motor cruiser, Plongeur Wisky, after it arrived at Cappagh, Kilrush, with engine trouble.

Colin Lees, from Magherafelt, Derry, was sentenced to 12 years in jail, in connection with the 1.7 tonnes seizure.

Three months earlier, 50kgs of cocaine, valued at £8million, was found aboard the cargo vessel, ‘Front Guider’ after it arrived at Moneypoint from Colombia.

A major haul of cannabis was uncovered in Smithstown, Shannon, on May 8, 1995, when it was found concealed in a container of sunflower oil, which had arrived from Spain. Those drugs, which were found on a truck, were valued at an estimated £4million. Two men from Limerick were arrested but no charges followed.

In 1993, £20 million worth of cannabis – which was the biggest drugs seizure in the history of the State at the time – was discovered on the yacht, The Brime, off Loop Head, after it had travelled from Morocco. The man suspected of being the mastermind behind this drug smuggling attempt was never convicted in connection with the seizure.

Last Friday’s haul followed the seizure of €1million in drugs, along with firearms, in Limerick, a fortnight ago.

Political representatives in the mid-west have praised the gardaí involved in last Friday’s operation, which involved several members of the Garda National Drugs Unit, the Clare Garda Divisional Drugs Unit and Killaloe gardaí.

A MASSIVE €53 million needs to be spent in the next three years on selling and developing the Shannon region if the airport and tourism interests are to survive Open Skies.

At risk is tourism and business revenue worth €900 million.

These are among the main conclusions of a specially commissioned report which will be handed over to Transport Minister, Martin Cullen, today. In December 2005, it was agreed that the Mid-West Regional Authority would co-ordinate and prepare a submission on the tourism and economic development priorities for the Shannon Airport catchment area. This was in the wake of the announcement that Open Skies is on the way.

Also involved were Clare County Council, Shannon Development, Shannon Airport Authority, the SIGNAL airport workers lobby group and IBEC Mid-West.

The study revealed that tourism earnings are 275 per cent more important in the Shannon region than they are in Dublin.

And the authority wants to see a five-year action plan drawn up and implemented immediately to avoid massive losses.

Hugely improved road, rail and bus access is “critical” to the future of the Clare airport and thousands of businesses whose lifeblood it is.

The report also calls for the building of a major conference centre close to the airport.

“Shannon is a key driver for economic, tourism and industrial development for the Western Region,” the report, titled the Mid West Tourism and Economic Development Plan, says.

The plan’s proposals, if acted on, will “ensure Shannon’s continued viability in the light of the introduction of the EU-US ‘Open Skies’ agreement”, according to the executive summary in the report.

The Minister is in Shannon today to be presented with a copy of the document.

Among the findings are that the region’s critical infrastructure requirements need to be fast tracked and a five-year action plan needs to be implemented immediately to create an independent and financially viable airport. A tourism promotional fund of €44m must be provided for the relevant tourism agencies and a route support fund of €9m must be provided for existing and new services.

The target for Shannon has to be to secure a 30 per cent share of the direct transatlantic market between North America and the airport needs an extension to its US Custom and Immigration facility. The plan recommends that a full-clearance pilot programme be implemented before the end of 2007.

KILFENORA artist and lecturer at the Burren College of Art, Tom Molloy, has been shortlisted for the first-ever Irish-American Arts Awards, which will be presented in New York later this month.

The awards, which were launched by the former US Ambassador to Ireland, Jean Kennedy Smith, in January, are the brainchild of a group of expats currently living in America who are hoping to promote the positive impact that Irish people have had in America in recent times.

Mr Molloy is the Head of Painting at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan and has been teaching at the school for the last 10 years.

“We are delighted for Tom. He is one of the most important artists practicing in Ireland today,” said Professor Timothy Emlyn Jones, Dean of the Burren College.

“He is an artist of considerable standing and I’m not surprised that he was shortlisted. I just hope that he wins it.”

Tom is currently represented by the Rubicon Gallery in Dublin and has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally. Though he shies away from the spotlight, his work can be found in the collections of the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Arts Council of Ireland.

“He doesn’t seek attention but he gets it because of the quality of his work,” continued Professor Jones. “It is important that everyone who teaches at the college is a practicing artist with a good reputation. Tom is wellknown in America but he is also very well thought of all across Europe.”

Born in Waterford, Molloy graduated with a BA and a Masters in Fine Art from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin in 1992. He has presented a number of finely conceived and discrete projects at the Rubicon Gallery since 1995 and has exhibited selectively in public spaces in Ireland.

The others to be nominated in the over-35s category are Meg Cranston from Los Angeles, Maud Cotter from Cork, Maureen Gallace from New York and Mary Kelly from Dublin.