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THE number of arrests for public order offences in Clare over the St. Patrick’s bank holiday weekend was on a par with most other weekends, according to the gardaí.

Sixteen people were arrested for public order offences in the Clare Garda Division over the weekend, while gardaí also dealt with several other incidents.

In Ennis, a 14-year-old boy was left terrified after he was approached by two young men who demanded his wallet and money, in the Market area of the town, in the early hours of St. Patrick’s Day.

Two men were arrested and questioned, before being released without charge. A file is being prepared for the DPP.

On the same morning, the home of an elderly woman in the Hermitage area of Ennis was targeted by intruders.

The woman in her 80s was asleep at the time when entry was gained to her home.

“This was the most serious incident that happened over the weekend. Thankfully the woman wasn’t harmed. We are looking for anyone who saw anything suspicious between 1am and 10am to contact us,” said Superintendent John Kerin.

A pregnant woman was left in a distressed state when four windows and the front door of her home were smashed in the early hours of Saturday.

Paint was also thrown at the house, in the incident which happened at Cloughleigh, Ennis. Gardaí say they are following a number of lines of enquiry. However, no arrests have yet been made.

Meanwhile, four youngsters were arrested on suspicion of carrying out criminal damage to the gym at St. Flannan’s College, Ennis, early on Saturday morning. All four are due in court later this month.

Rocks were thrown through the windows of a car in the Waterpark Heights area of Ennis in the early hours of Sunday.

Nothing was taken.

A camera, binoculars, a sum of cash and tickets for the Munster’s Heineken Cup Quarter-Final next month were stolen from an office at Bunratty Folk Park on Sunday.

Investigating gardaí are viewing CCTV footage in an effort to solve the crime.

Meanwhile, gardaí are investigating a spate of vandalism in Miltown Malbay on Saturday evening.

Rocks were thrown through the windows of two cars that were parked on the town’s main street, while the window of a house on Flag Road was broken.

“There were big crowds around for St. Patrick’s Day and for the rugby, but around the county, people were generally well behaved,” said Supt Kerin.

LITTLE Alanna Fox stands up on her seat. The two-year-old looks around her and smiles. She receives a cuddle from a relative. But Alanna is oblivious as to why she is in St. Mary’s Church, Feakle.

Alanna is surrounded by hundreds of people, who have turned out to mourn her four-year-old brother, Karl. While her parents Noel and Linda, her sister Claire and brothers Gavin and Philip mourn ‘playful’ Karl at the front of the church, little Alanna is cared for by relatives at the back of the church.

Karl’s little white coffin is placed to the front of the altar where Fr Michael Hogan is saying Mass of the Angels, in memory of a little boy who was taken from his family all too suddenly.

Mourners gaze at Karl’s smiling pose in the photograph which stands on his coffin and hear Fr Hogan speaking about the tragedy.

Fr Hogan speaks of Karl’s shortlived, but happy life. The sleepy village of Feakle became his home when his parents moved, under the Rural Resettlement programme, from Tallaght four years ago.

“All of us, gathered here in Feakle this March morning, have been brought together by young Karl. We too feel the pain and the darkness of your pain and intense grief,” he tells the Fox family.

“We are present here to acknowledge, honour and celebrate the short, but vibrant life of a young, smiling, adventurous, curious, loving and lovely boy, Karl Fox. Karl was a light who brought life and light to his parents, family and school friends. We are grateful to him for his warm, affectionate ways, his winning, trusting and mischievous smile which made him popular in and out of the school,” adds the priest.

“Karl loved life, loved cars, loved his tractor, his bike and his hurley and, dare I say, Karl loved his soothers! . . . He would ask questions of teachers and, even if the answers were not satisfactory, would continue to ask another question, or two, or three. He brought light and life wherever he was,” he adds.

Karl’s siblings play their role in the special mass. His sister Claire reads a prayer while his brothers Gavin and Philip bring the bread and wine to the altar.

As the little coffin is brought from the church to the hearse for his final journey to Dublin for cremation, you could hear a pin drop. Shock is mingled with anguish as the people of Feakle try to come to grips with the death of an innocent child. Parents try to explain to their little ones that Karl will not be back in school again. Schoolfriends of the Fox children line the streets of the village in a guard of honour. Mothers, fathers and children hold back the tears, before a chapter in the life of a little boy who will forever remain in the hearts of the people of Feakle is closed.

GARDAÍ investigating the death of four-year-old Karl Fox will decide whether they should interview the toddler’s little schoolfriends in the coming days.

The initial results of the post mortem examination carried out on the body of Karl showed he died due to asphyxiation. Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn, who is leading the investigation, stressed that gardaí did not, at any stage, treat the death as anything other than a shocking tragedy.

“We are investigating all aspects of the incident very thoroughly. It is based on the fact that a young person died in unusual circumstances and is not based on anything suspicious. We have to establish the full facts,” said Chief Supt Quinn.

“We will be interviewing all of the principals involved in the lead-up to the incident, the incident itself and in the aftermath,” he added.

Karl’s family have been interviewed and gardaí have outlined the details of the investigation to them. Mr Quinn said that gardaí would evaluate whether Karl’s 13 classmates and other schoolfriends could offer anything to the investigation.

“We will be led by the teachers in that regard,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education and Science has confirmed to The Clare People that it will not be carrying out any investigation into the tragic death. A spokesperson said the Garda would investigate the incident, while the department would provide support to the staff and children through the NEPS (National Educational Psychological Service) Programme.

Psychologists were sent to the school following the freak accident.

THE heartbroken principal of Feakle National School has spoken of his efforts to maintain normality for his pupils, while at the same time acknowledging the tragedy which has rocked the school.

Ted Harrington and his five staff re-opened the 90-pupil school yesterday (Monday) morning, for the first time since Karl died on the premises last Tuesday evening.

A service of reflection and prayer, involving both parents and pupils of the school, marked the re-opening.

While Karl’s siblings were absent from their classes, the thoughts of everybody were with them.

“We are trying to come to terms with our tragedy, in our school community. Today has been a very important day for the pupils, students and parents. We have received a lot of help from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS),” he said.

Messages of support have also flooded in on the webpage of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN), as a tribute to the child.

“We have never experienced anything like this before. The response nationwide has been phenomenal. We have received expressions of deepest sorrow from the four corners of the country,” he said.

“As a school community we are very grateful for all the support we have got from our own community, a community that is united in grief at the moment.

“We are trying to return to some kind of normality and we will handle it one day at a time.

“The minds and hearts of all of us are with Linda and Noel and the family at this stage,” he said.

Last Friday, Mr Harrington told mourners attending Mass of the Angels in Feakle that everybody was shocked by the tragic death of the smiling child, who captured the hearts of those who knew him.

“We are all shocked. We love you Karl. Our hearts are broken. We are suffering the heartbreak, the crushed heartbreak is there,” he said.

“Life changes in minutes and how we handle that change is important. We try and help each other by sticking together,” he said.

AN Ennistymon man accused of possessing equipment to manufacture smart cards to allow free access to payable satellite television channels will learn his fate next month.

Caoimhín Haren of Sunnyside Cottages, Lahinch Road, Ennistymon appeared at Lisdoonvarna District Court last week to face a charge under Section 9(1)(c) of the Broadcasting Act which prohibits the “interception of services.”

Sergeant Brian Howard gave evidence of going to the accused’s home on October 9th 2004 with a warrant to search the premises.

Gardaí found two digital decoder boxes on the floor in the hallway. Several items were seized including the decoder boxes, three laptop computers, a card reader/writer, a quantity of smart cards and receipt books.

Con Matthews and Sean O’Connor of satellite TV provider Chorus gave evidence of how it had come to their attention that Mr Haren possessed decoder equipment belonging to Chorus.

Mr O’Connor told the court that he made a statement to gardaí in June 2004.

Asked to explain why there was a four month delay between making his statement and the search warrant being executed, Mr O’Connor said that Chorus was continuing to conduct its own investigation of the matter.

In court, Mr Haren said he did not know where the two decoder boxes found at this home came from.

“They weren’t there at 7.30 on Friday night but were there at 8.00 on Saturday morning because that’s the time the guards came,” Mr Haren said.

The accused, who said he also repaired decoder boxes, claimed that the boxes must have been left outside the door and that his wife had brought them in.

Inspector Tom Kennedy dismissed this as “rubbish”. The accused was “using the story to circumnavigate the legislation.”

Mr Goucher BL also argued that Con Matthews, who was also at Mr Haren’s house during the Garda search, had no right to enter his client’s home and inspect equipment. Counsel also said and that there was no evidence that Mr Haren used the equipment to interfere with Chorus or its signal.

Judge Mangan adjourned a decision until next month.

IRISH MEPs will be asked to come to Shannon Airport to protest against the airport’s use by the US military.

Campaigner Roger Cole wants the country’s European parliamentarians to follow the example of a crossparty Oireachtas group, who staged a demonstration at the airport last Wednesday.

Mr Cole of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance, who organised the event, told The Clare People that he was pleased with how it worked out and planned to invite MEPs to take a similar action at a later stage.

Among those who partook in the protest were Labour TDs Joe Costello and Tommy Broughan, Independent TDs Finian McGrath and Tony Gregory, Green Party TD John Gormley, Socialist party leader Joe Higgins, Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Senator David Norris.

They were joined by members of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance. The group unfurled a large banner with the logo “Army out of Shannon”, in the arrivals hall, before leaving the area, on direction from the airport police.

Those involved felt they made their point, but compared their treatment with that of US President George W. Bush, who met with US troops at Shannon during a recent refuelling stop.

“We find it strange that we have been asked to leave. President Bush was welcomed here with open arms. It is quite clear the Irish Government is colluding totally with the US in relation to the war in Iraq,” said John Gormley.

According to Joe Higgins, the reason for the protest was two-fold.

“This is a protest on the war in Iraq and in particular to protest at the fact the Commander-in-Chief of the army of occupation, George Bush, was allowed to have a rally with his troops here on Irish soil which I think is an outrage,” said Joe Higgins.

Meanwhile a group of around 15 protesters gathered at Shannon on Saturday, to coincide with the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

They remained outside the terminal building for up to two hours. According to gardaí there were no arrests and the protest passed off peacefully.

A CLARE Fianna Fáil Senator has claimed that those who he described as placing “mis-information” into the public domain about alleged rendition flights at Shannon Airport were also responsible for causing damage there.

Senator Brendan Daly alleged that while perimeter fences and airplanes were damaged, people who were boarding flights were also frightened.

The Senator derided the number who had turned up at a recent protest at Shannon, during a debate on a Labour proposal to establish a Seanad committee to investigate allegations of “rendition” flights landing there.

“As an indication of the public support for their attitude and their unfounded, wild allegations, which have been examined and rejected by the DPP, four people turned up to protest when the President of the United States was going through Shannon recently.

“There has never been any suggestion that prisoners on their way to Guantanamo Bay, or other places of detention, are being transferred through Shannon. There is no evidence of that.”

However, independent senator, David Norris listed three flights that were routed through Shannon in October 2002, October 2003 and January 2003 that came from Tripoli, Islamabad and Marrakesh.

“The sole purpose of these airplanes was rendition of illegally kidnapped victims and we facilitated that by refuelling those airplanes at Shannon,” he said.

After being interrupted by Senator Timmy Dooley (FF), Senator Norris retorted: “The Senator is not in the county council in Ennis now and he never will be, with the help of God and a toothbrush.”

Senator Norris went on: “The Government signally failed in its duty to inspect these planes and that is why this part of its answer is a downright lie and a disgrace to the Irish people.

“The gardaí told me – this is laughable – that they interrogated the cleaners. The cleaners might notice the odd cigarette packet on the ground, but they would not notice the subtle adaptations, so people can be shackled and manacled in the aircraft.”

Asked by Senator Dooley to withdraw his remark that the government’s answer was a lie, Senator Norris responded: “I will not withdraw anything . . . I sincerely hope that the people for whom the Government has been complicit in their kidnap and torture will sue the State.”

However, Senator Dooley described the proposal before the Seanad as “an anti-American sham”.

“The committee is a backdoor way of getting at the flights. It would establish an unhelpful witch-hunt.

The proposal was defeated by 28 votes to 16.

SHANNON plane spotter and antiwar activist Conor Cregan is to appeal the decision of the Garda Complaints Board not to investigate his claim that he was falsely imprisoned by gardaí during the visit of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to Clare last month.

Mr Cregan reached national headlines after questioning Mr Ahern on the role of Shannon Airport in transporting prisoners from Iraq during a press conference, which took place in the West County Hotel on February 18.

According to Mr Cregan, when he returned to the press area of the hotel to collect his camera after questioning Mr Ahern, he was followed by a member of the gardaí who closed the door to the room and prevented him from leaving the area.

“I tried to get past him and he wouldn’t let me out,” said Mr Cregan. “He blocked the door and I thought I was going to be beaten up.”

Mr Cregan claimed that he was allowed to leave the room after a few minutes, but was subsequently confronted by a member of the Fianna Fáil party in Clare and a photographer who he believed to be an undercover garda.

“I was accosted by a Fianna Fáil member who demanded my observer pass back and said that I had received it under false pretences – which is untrue,” said Mr Cregan.

“A photographer then grabbed my bag and pulled me over to a security guard and asked him to search it,” he added.

Mr Cregan is to appeal the decision of the Garda Complaints Board and has also written to the Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy. It is Garda policy not to comment on matters which are before the Garda Complaints Board.

TWO Clare schools have been selected for inclusion in a new initiative aimed at improving the educational needs of children from disadvantaged communities.

Ennistymon Vocational School and Ennis Community College have both been invited to join the newly-established School Support Programme (SSP).

The programme is being run by the Department of Education under the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) initiative.

The decision on whether or not to join the scheme will be made by the boards of management of the schools concerned.

DEIS was launched by the department in 2005 in order to effectively prioritise and address the educational needs of young people in disadvantaged areas.

DEIS has so far been rolled out to 600 primary schools in 300 rural and urban areas and 150 second-level schools. It will be implemented on a phased basis over five years and will involve additional annual investment of some €40 million.

It will also involve the creation of 300 additional posts across the education system.

Addressing the monthly meeting of the board of County Clare VEC, CEO, George O’Callaghan welcomed the news that Clare schools had been invited to participate in the scheme. He added that the invitation might yet be extended to other schools within the county.

“The Department has written to more schools in the county who haven’t been included, to make a case. I know that the schools that have been involved have benefited from the extra resources,” he said.

AN East Clare-based woman with the chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, has suffered another setback in her planning troubles with Clare County Council.

Last year, Denise Mitchell of Aughinish, Ogonnelloe, was refused planning permission by the council and An Bord Pleanála to retain her home.

Ms Mitchell chose to live in Ogonelloe due to her hyper-sensitivity to air pollution.

She erected her demountable timberframe house without planning, resulting in the county council serving an enforcement notice on her. Following An Bord Pleanála’s decision to refuse planning permission, Ms Mitchell applied to retain the small demountable home for agricultural and horticultural structures. Now that has been refused as well.

Ms Mitchell’s plight received no sympathy from objector Jim Sheridan of Aughinish, Ogonelloe.

“How many bites at the cherry will the applicant be granted?” his agent asked the council. “The application for retention has no bearing or relevance, whatsoever, in relation to the enforcement obligations of the council. We would submit that the present application, apart from the intended use, is similar in all respects to the earlier opportunities and permission should be refused.”

The council upheld Mr Sheridan’s views, refusing Ms Mitchell on three separate grounds, including scale, visual impact on Lough Derg and traffic.

Ms Mitchell declined to comment on the council’s decision and has until tomorrow (Wednesday) to lodge an appeal.