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SEVEN men charged in connection with a serious disturbance in Ennis last May will face further charges.

The seven – six of them from Limerick and one from Ennis – were charged following a serious public order incident in the town, in the early hours of May 3 last.

The seven are Alan (20) and Luke (22) O’Brien, of Castleview Estate, Newcastlewest; John O’Brien (18) of 13, Ash Crescent, Newcastlewest; Michael Qulligan (21) of Knockane Road, Newcastlewest; William Kavanagh (18) of 12 Castleview, Newcastlewest; and a young person from Newcastlewest.

The seventh accused is Bernie Mongan (18) of Clancy Park, Ennis. All are charged under the Public Order Act.

Inspector Kevin Moynihan told Ennis District Court last Friday that the charges arose out of a serious disturbance on O’Connell Street, Ennis. “Further charges will be brought,” he said, and asked for an adjournment until next month.

Solicitor Daragh Hassett, who represented a number of the accused men, said some time had elapsed since the alleged incident.

Inspector Moynihan said, “This was a very serious disturbance, which requires a lot of Garda investigations. A lot of resources are involved. We are working as fast as we can.”

Judge Angela Ní Chondúin said, “I appreciate that, but I won’t wait forever.”

Mr Hassett asked that any further charges be brought on the next occasion and Inspector Moynihan said he would be confident that they would be.

THE Mayor of Kilrush this week threatened to vacate his office if councillors did not conduct the monthly meeting in an orderly fashion.

In a highly charged meeting, after which one councillor claimed there was “a ploy” to remove the female members from the authority, Mayor Stephen O’ Gorman (FF) told councillors, “If ye don’t follow standards, we won’t have a council or you certainly won’t have me as mayor.”

The mayor made the threat after he refused to allow any further discussion on a proposed amendment to the minutes of the July meeting.

Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) had asked that a heated exchange between herself and Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) in July be included.

“Cllr Prendeville referred to matters on traffic management that were not even on the agenda. He also made numerous comments which I felt were personal and, on requesting that he return to the agenda, he continued with his badgering,” Cllr McMahon Jones said.

The Fine Gael councillor was also critical

of the mayor’s handing of that meeting, say ing she requested that he would, “not allow such badgering again, and instead of taking control of the situation he actually added his own views.”

Cllr O’Gorman refused to allow other councillors to comment on the minutes, which were proposed and seconded by Cllr Prendeville and Cllr Tom Clyne (Ind).

In a statement afterwards, Cllr Deirdre Culligan (Ind) said “if the badgering that went on at the July meeting is a ploy to get me or Cllr McMahon Jones out of here, you (Cllr Prendeville) are sadly disillusioned.”

“The day of women being full time in the kitchen is gone and, if you can’t take the heat, I recommend that maybe it should be you that gets out of the kitchen, because I am here for the long haul.”

The councillor, who was not at the July meeting, said she made her apologies in advance.

“That was the time for Cllr Prendeville to state if he had a problem with me, but he decided to wait and speak about me in my absence,” she said.

Cllr Prendeville reacted by saying, “This is typical of the negative attitude adopted by Cllr Culligan since she came into the council. In my opinion, she has contributed little or nothing to the positive development in Kilrush Town Council in the last two years.”

THE chairman of the Regional Health Forum West, made up of local representatives from the west of Ireland, including Clare, will have to elect a new chairman later today when it returns from its summer recess.

In a shock move, chairman of the forum, Sligo councillor Aidan Colleary (FF) resigned the chair, the first ever in the history of the HSE to do so.

The HSE west has a history of firsts. It was also the first of these groups ever to meet in the new look health service.

It is unknown why the Fianna Fáil councillor resigned the position mid-term, but he is to remain part of the forum.

He was supported in his nomination to head up the HSE forum by Clare Councillors Pat Daly (FF) and Bill Chambers (FF).

The deputy chair, Cllr Kieran Walsh from Limerick will lead the meeting today, and his first order of business will be to elect a replacement for Colleary.

The Fianna Fáil/Labour coalition in the HSE forum is likely to return another Fianna Fáil councillor to the chair.

The Regional Health Forum, West meetings take place every two months in Galway.

The meetings are marketed as a way for county and town councillors to bring local health issues to the HSE executive.

The other two Clare representatives on the HSE forum are Fine Gael councillor Joe Cooney and Green Party councillor Brian Meaney.

IF someone behaves like a ‘lout,’ he should accept that a criminal conviction goes with the territory, according to a judge.

Judge Angela Ní Chondúin made the comment in a public order case, before striking out the charge.

Aidan McCarthy (19), of Clarehill, Clarecastle, pleaded guilty to being intoxicated in public, on Abbey Street, on September 1.

Garda Crowley told Ennis District Court that gardaí received a report that a man was walking up O’Connell Street hitting windows and the accused was subsequently arrested.

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said the accused, a barman, had no previous convictions and the incident was out of character. She said her client could pay money to the court’s poor box and asked that he be given “one golden opportunity”.

Judge Angela Ní Chondúin said, “I am not mad about the idea of the poor box. I think a criminal record will straighten him up, rather than taking a few hundred euro off him. If you want to behave like a lout and get drunk in public, the criminal conviction comes with the territory. He should know a lot more about drink than others, because he is a barman.”

She then adjourned the case to allow the accused to come up with €300 for the court poor box. The money was later paid in.

“I take it we won’t see him back here again. I am striking it out,” said the judge.

THE proposed €1.2 million Shannon Recycling Centre has attracted 12 tenders, Clare County Council has confirmed. Construction work for the centre, which will be operational by the summer of 2007, is expected to commence before the end of the year.

“The project, which involves an investment of some €400,000 from the council’s own resources, was given a significant boost earlier this year when it was allocated €800,000 in funding by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government,” said Ger Dollard, Shannon Town Manager.

“We need to continue to encourage and support all those who are genuinely interested in properly managing waste. This centre will accept the full range of materials including glass, plastic, paper, timber cans, clothes and electrical and electronic wastes. It should significantly improve the already very high recycling rates achieved by householders in the county,” added Councillor Patricia McCarthy (Ind), Chairperson of Environment and Emergency Services and Consumer Protection Strategic Policy Committee.

In addition, the council has announced plans to open up over 100 acres of land for residential and commercial development in the town. The local authority is currently considering six tenders for the construction of a southern primary road in the Tullyvarraga area of the town.

It is anticipated that construction of the new multi-million euro road network project will commence in November 2006.

A YOUNG woman who stole soothers and false fingernails from a chemist in Ennis has been warned she will face a spell behind bars, if she reoffends.

Judge Angela Ní Chondúin made the comments in the case of an 18-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to stealing the items at Boot’s Chemist, O’Connell Street, Ennis, on September 2 last.

Ann Molloy (18), of Bay 2, Ballaghboy Halting Site, Quin Road, Ennis, pleaded guilty to one offence. The value of the stolen property was €17.40 and it was later recovered.

Garda Regan told Ennis District Court that he arrested the accused shortly after 2.30pm on the date of the offence. She made no reply to charge after caution.

Defending solicitor Siobhán McMahon said her client’s mother was due to have a baby and she was excited at the impending birth of her sibling. The solicitor said the accused’s parents were both unemployed.

Judge Angela Ní Chondúin said, “We are looking at custody.”

She said she would order the accused to carry out 100 hours community service, in lieu of two months in jail.

The judge said she would adjourn the case for three months and warned that the accused must not get into trouble in the interim.

“She is not to come to adverse Garda attention before that. If she does, forget the community service. It will be two months custody,” warned the judge.

THE crew of a transport lorry was left stranded for over six hours after their vehicle became bogged down in flood waters in Clare last Friday.

The driver and his colleague, who were delivering Guinness kegs to pubs and hotels in the north Clare area, were plucked to safety by a good Samaritan truck driver, who steered his heavy vehicle through more than five feet of water. The men jumped onto the front of the second truck which carried them back to dry land.

The drama began at 7am on Friday as the Guinness lorry, operated by a contractor on behalf of the drinks’ company, was making deliveries in the north of the county. Following overnight heavy rain, low lying fields flooded the R476 road at Lemenagh Castle near Kilnaboy.

Truck driver Ray Collins from Limerick explained, “There was a sign back the road which said the road ahead was flooded. When we got there, another truck drove through no problem, but as we were almost through, the truck just stopped”.

Mr Collins and his colleague Gary Shinners, also from Limerick, had to jump onto the rear of their vehicle when the cab began to flood.

“It looked very deceiving. Before we knew it we were in six feet of water. We called the company to let them know what was happening. When the felt the water at our feet in the cab, it was time to get out. We climbed onto the trailer were we stayed. It was too deep to dry and walk out. We weren’t in any danger, but all the time we were there, only one person actually asked if we were alright, or if we needed a phone.”

At around 1.30pm, a passing truck driver offered to help and drove his vehicle into the floodwaters. As his truck came nose-to-nose with the stranded Guinness lorry, Mr Collins and Mr Shinners jumped onto the front of the vehicle and were taken to safety.

“There was no sign of the water going down and if it got any higher, we were going to use the barrels to try and get out,” Mr Collins said.

It was late on Friday evening when the stranded lorry was eventually towed from the flood waters. The Corofin to Lemenagh Castle road remained closed for two days.

LAST week’s torrential rain left a number of families trapped in their homes in the Glasha area of Doolin. Local residents have expressed their anger at the flooding, which they believe is the result of works carried out by Clare County Council more than seven years ago.

According to one family, the problem began when the council carried out works on the main Lisdoonvarna to Doolin road as part of upgrade work to the water system in the late 1990’s.

Glasha resident Treasa Flaherty claims that she has raised this issue several times with a number of local county councilors over the last five years but no action has been taken.

“I’m sick and tired of talking to them about it and nothing seems to happen,” said Ms Flaherty. “The lady next door could not even come out into her driveway last week, the water was right up to the door.

“Once any heavy rains starts at all, there is a flood. I have been talking to local councilors about it for the last five years and I am just sick of it.”

Ms Flaherty claims that works undertaken by Clare County Council have turned the roadway into a funnel, directing floods of rainwater onto her property.

“They did the water works about seven or eight years ago and as part of that they changed the roads outside the front of the house,” continues Ms Flaherty. “It is very high in the middle and very low on side which means that all the water is being directed straight at my house.

“My lawn and garden is getting the full impact of the flooding. It is doing awful damage to the garden and the wall is being totally destroyed.”

The Clare People contacted the county council local area office in Ennistymon in relation to this matter, but no comment was forthcoming at the time of going to press.

A CLARE local authority found to have illegally dumped waste on local authority land last May has been forced to pay out more than €2,500.

Clare County Council ordered Kilrush Town Council to pay €2,580 arising from the incident.

Rubbish made up of soil, stone and various wastes was discovered by a member of the public on council lands on the Cooraclare Road across from the Teagasc Office last summer.

The waste material, gathered from a community clean up of a back lane had been separated into the various waste streams and brought to the licensed waste transfer station at Lisdeen.

However, as some of the waste was mixed with soil and stone, it could not be accepted into Lisdeen’s compactor unit.

Two trailer loads were then brought back to council land in Kilrush and inappropriately disposed of, contrary to local authority policy.

The waste was removed from the town council lands and disposed of at the Central Waste Management Facility at Ballyduff Beg within a working week of the council becoming aware of the matter.

Director of Services with Clare County Council, Ger Dollard, told The Clare People that the sum of €2,580 was made up of the €125 fine under the Litter Pollution Act 1997, the administration cost of the incident to Clare County Council and the cost of disposing of the waste.

He said the fine was imposed “having regard to the prompt and appropriate action taken by Kilrush Town Council to address the issue”.

Kilrush Town Council has conducted an investigation into how the waste was inappropriately disposed of and has acknowledged that the incident should not have happened in the first instance.

The council’s policy on waste has since been communicated to employees at all grades and levels.

“The local authority views the illegal disposal of waste as inexcusable considering there are four recycling centres, including two transfer stations, 54 recycling bring banks and a central waste management facility located in County Clare,” said Mr Dollard.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind), Chairperson of the Environment Strategic Policy Committee welcomed Clare County Council’s handling of the case.

“This incident demonstrates Clare County Council’s commitment to following up on all instances of illegal dumping.

We need to continue to seriously tackle such illegal activity and it is imperative that the local authorities set an example in this regard,” Councillor McCarthy added.

AN BORD Pleanala has found that Clare County Council contravened its own County Development Plan on two grounds to grant planning permission for a one-off home near Lemanagh Castle.

Earlier this year, two senior council planning officials, Senior Planner, Liam Conneally and Senior Executive Planner, Brian McCarthy disregarded professional advice from the area planner and conservation officer to refuse planning, and instead granted permission to Anna Maria Murphy for a home near the 17th century castle.

However, in a comprehensive decision, the appeals’ board ruled that, “the proposed development would set an unwelcome precedent for similar development in the open countryside in a visually vulnerable landscape by persons other than local rural persons or local rural workers”.

The order states: “The board is not satisfied, on the basis of submissions made in connection with the application and appeal, that the proposed development would not interfere with its archaeological and historical setting, nor conflict with . . . the Clare County Development Plan 2005.”

On the council’s general ban on non-locals which was disregarded in this instance, the board ruled that the development was located in an area identified as a visually vulnerable landscape.

“In such areas, it is the policy of the planning authority . . . to restrict dwellings to those required for permanent occupation by a local rural person of local rural worker. The policy is considered to be reasonable.

“The Board does not consider that the applicant meets the criteria which define a local rural person or a local rural worker. The proposed development would set an unwelcome precedent for similar development in the open countryside in a visually vulnerable landscape by persons other than local rural persons or local rural workers. The proposed development would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

On the third reason for refusal, the board was not satisfied “that the proposed development will not have a significant and adverse impact on public safety by reason of traffic hazard, having regard to the proposal to route all traffic arising from the proposed development across a separate landholding, and via an existing access point . . . onto a busy regional road ”.

In addition, the board stated that it was concerned that the proposed access route across a separate property would result in the losses, in perpetuity, of the primary area of amenity lands of that separate property. The proposed development would, therefore, endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard.