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AS MANY as 2,830 Clare students will sit state exams this week.

A total of 1,313 Clare teenagers and some more mature students have registered to sit the Leaving Cert exam.

Thirty one more girls than boys will take part in this final state secondary school exam in Clare, as 667 females are officially registers and 646 males.

Another 76 students from the county have already sat year long as- sessments and completed projects as part of the Leaving Cert Applied. As many as 47 boys have taken part in this exam compared to 29 girls in the county.

Another 1,441 Clare students will sit their first ever state exam this week, as 690 girls are signed up to sit the Junior Certificate exam and 751 boys. The number of male participants in the Junior Cert outweighs the female students, while the opposite is the case in the Leaving Cert.

Nationally for the 2013 examinations, 53,749 candidates are entered for the Leaving Certificate examination,

2,853 candidates for the final year examinations in the Leaving Certificate Applied and 60,243 candidates for the Junior Certificate examination.

And for those students who like to torture themselves by pouring over the exam they have just completed or for eager fifth and second year students, this year all written examination papers will be published on the state exam website on the evening that the examination is completed.

Leaving Certificate will only have to wait until Wednesday, August 14, to learn their fate, as the results will be available from 12 noon on that day for Leaving Certificate candidates.

Junior Certificate results will be issued in mid-September and the online results service will be available from 4pm on that day for Junior Certificate candidates.

Some spiritual intervention is also being offered around the county on the morning of the first exam, with a special Mass taking place in Churches like St Senan’s in Kilrush.

AN ENNIS-based Traveller health care programme has launched an awareness campaign warning of the dangers of using the injectable tanning agent melanotan.

The campaign was in response to health concerns sparked by the easy availability of melanotan online.

It is one of a number of information campaigns launched by the Ennis Primary Traveler Healthcare Programme.

Operated by the Ennis Community Development Project, the programme is run by three community healthcare workers.

Dr Siobhan O’Connor, Co-ordinator, said the programme works as a conduit between the health services and the traveler community.

Dr O’Connor explained, “We offer specific services to individuals of the families in the Traveller community affected by substance misuse. Our drop-in service, every Wednesday, has Traveller community health care workers who will give information and advice to any body that calls in, no appointment is necessary. We also have information sessions and develop materials and resources to spread information”.

She continued, “We put together a DVD last year and we have had a road show earlier this year where we showed the DVD to audiences made up of Travellers in Ennistymon, Shannon and Ennis in a number of locations including the Family Resource Centres and the Community Development Project. This year we have put together an information/ awareness flyer on the dangers of Melanotan, an injectable tanning agent. There had been a couple of stories in the UK about the risks of using it and we wanted to get the message out that you can keep beautiful but in a beautiful way.”

The programme educates young people from a Traveller background on the dangers of substance misuse through the work of Education Peer Support Worker, David McCarthy.

According to the latest census figures, there are an estimated 840 people from a Traveller background living in Clare. The programme has also launched a five-week Traveller men wellbeing programme.

The aim is to support Traveller men to gain the skills and knowledge to take better care of their physical and mental health. This is an opportunity for Traveller men to learn new skills and to hear about the benefits of healthy eating and exercise in a fun way. It runs at Ennis CDP, Clonroad, until June 25.

THE office of the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) says an investigation into the placement of a CCTV camera in a classroom of a Clare school is continuing.

The school installed the CCTV system recently and within days of their installation a complaint was received by the DPC.

The DPC asked the school to turn off the cameras pending the comple- tion of the investigation. The Clare People understands that the school have been in contact with the office of the DPC and urged them to reinstate the CCTV. The school’s Board of Management are dealing with the issue, it is understood.

A spokesperson for the DPC said the office could not comment on details of the investigation other than to say it is ongoing.

Within the complaint it is alleged that the school in question installed the CCTV cameras in classrooms without consulting parents of children in the school.

In a letter sent by the senior compliance officer of the DPC to the Chairperson of the Board of Management of the school, which has been seen by The Clare People , the officer stated the DPC “will not tolerate the use of CCTV cameras in the classroom”.

The letter stated that an investigation of the complaint is underway.

“The position of this office is that is it is not acceptable under the Data Protection Acts of 1988 and 2003, to have a CCTV camera operating in a classroom,” the compliance officer wrote.

The DPC asked the school to clarify four points as regards the CCTV cameras, namely the scope of the operation, why cameras were installed, what the school are doing with footage captured by the cameras and if there is any signage in the school outlining the purpose of the cameras.

The letter does not identify the complainant who brought the matter to the attention of the DPC.

HOPES are high that a breakthrough could soon be on the way in one of Clare’s longest running unsolved murders. Ennistymon woman Emer O’Loughlin lost her life in a mobile home in Tubber in April 8, 2005.

A number of attempts have been made over the years to track down the chief suspect, John Griffin, with Interpol releasing a photograph and a description for John Griffin in early 2011.

Despite a number of leads and suspected sightings of Mr Griffin in Europe, the official search has gone cold in recent years. This has prompted the family of Emer O’Loughlin to launch a new online campaign which they hope could uncover information about the tragic killing.

A new group entitled ‘Justice for Emer O’Loughlin’ was set up on Facebook last week and has already received almost 600 followers.

The reward poster for Mr Griffin, which was shared on the site, has been viewed by more than 15,000 people in the last seven days – with residents living in mainland Europe asked to be particularly vigilant.

It has also been confirmed that the case of Emer O’Loughlin will feature in the first episode of a new RTÉ series entitled “Cracking Crime” later this summer.

The first episode, which will be broadcast on RTÉ 1 on Tuesday, July 23, will include interviews conducted with the O’Loughlin family at the eight anniversary of Emer’s death this April.

Emer was killed on April 8, 2003. She was studying art in Galway at the time and would have been in college that day had it not been for funeral of Pope John Paul II.

Her body was found in the burnedout neighbouring mobile home and was only identified following DNA testing.

The chief suspect in the case, John Griffin, was tracked to the Aran Island where Gardaí believe he tried to fake his own suicide before he fled the country.

For more on the new group visit www.facebook.com/JusticeForEmer.

THE new West Clare area will be the largest local election constituency in the county, almost mimicking in size a small county such as Louth.

The eight new councillors will represent 34,449 people spanning an area from Kilballyowen on the tip of the Loophead peninsula to Gleninagh on the constituency’s most northerly point.

The 96 kilometre-long local electoral area was designed by merging the current Kilrush area and part of the Ennistymon Electoral Area.

This new area will also absorb not one, but two, town councils, Kilrush and Kilkee – coastal towns with very distinctive identities who looked af- ter their own needs for more than 120 years.

In its report the Boundary Committee said, “It is proposed that there would be a local electoral area covering the western side of the county along the Atlantic seaboard to be titled West Clare. This would include the towns of Kilkee, Kilrush, Lahinch and Ennistymon.” Despite having a number of urban centres to base the name of this new constituency on, as it the preferred option, West Clare like West Mayo and Cork is unique.

“In a few cases the committee felt it more appropriate to recommend names that reflect a wider local community identity attaching to a geographic location. This situation arose, for example, in the case of the recommended new local electoral areas of West Clare, West Cork and West Mayo.”

It is hoped that this all encompassing name will merge all these very cultural distinctive areas, which have been traditionally considered North and West Clare.

To cover this vast area the eight new councillors will require a quick study of new towns, villages and parishes and a reliable car.

Each councillor will represent an average of 4,306 people. WEST CLARE

THE Irish Cancer Society received just 103 enquiries from Clare last year – that is just .3 per cent of the 28,383 calls being taken nationally.

A spokesperson for the charity said it is hoped that with more awareness even more people with the disease will contact the organisation in the coming year if they need assistance.

With less than half a percent of the calls to the society coming from Clare it is one of the lowest in the country.

However local grown organisations, such as the West Clare Mini Marathon Centre, which is not affiliated with the Irish Cancer Society, is busy providing transport to an from hospital for patients and holistic and psychological support to patients and their families.

In the last month the Irish Cancer Society also announced that it would be providing transport for cancer patients in Clare to and from the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick for treatment.

Other Irish Cancer Society services available to Clare patients include the National Cancer Helpline, which is staffed by specialist cancer nurses; and the Society’s Night Nursing service, which provides care to cancer patients in their last days of life so they can stay at home with their families.

During 2012 the society’s night nurses cared for 1,818 patients, providing 7,350 nights of care. 167 nights of care were provided to cancer patients in Clare.

Financial aid is also available to cancer patients suffering financial hardship as a result of their diagnosis. During 2012 financial aid to the value of € 1,047,461 was provided to 1,753 cancer patients across the country. € 24, 530 worth of financial aid was given to cancer patients in Clare.

The society thanked all those in Clare who supported Daffodil Day 2013, which helps to fund such services.

The charity said however that the bad weather impacted severely on fundraising this year, with funding down 50 per cent.

An emergency appeal was launched to re-coup the shortfall and appeal to those that could not donate as usual due to the weather. The appeal saw just fewer than 30,000 people donate following Daffodil Day, with donations being made online, by phone and by text. The response to the appeal saw the initial shortfall recover to within 20 per cent of the original target.

The society is now encouraging everyone who participated in this year’s Daffodil Day campaign to bank their funds as soon as possible.

CARS are being continuously broken into and vandalised at Clare’s most popular tourist beach because of a lack of basic security measures at a local authority car park.

This is despite a historic commitment made by Clare County Council to invest all money raised from parking charges at Lahinch in the local area.

The local authority took in more than € 600,000 in parking charges in Lahinch between 2009 and 2011, and Cllr Bill Slattery (FG) yesterday accused the local authority of not investing the money in the local area – specifically the local authority car park on the Liscannor Road.

“There is rubbish been dumped there every night, cars and being vandalised, windows are being broken and items are being stolen from these cars. I think that this [proposed changing the car park] would actually make the council money – as more cars would be able to park there,” said Cllr Slattery.

“Between 2009 to 2011 we took in € 613,000 in car parks in Lahinch. I can’t understand where this money is going. There was an agreement that this funding would be ring fenced. I don’t think that this money is going back into Lahinch at all.”

Clare County Council yesterday indicated that they would consider the proposal to upgrade the Liscannor Road car park.

“The figure mentioned [€ 613,000] is a gross figure but there are costs and expenses to come out of that, but there is a net balance of fund [from the car park charges],” said Niall Moroney, Senior Engineer at Clare County Council.

“We can look at this in the context of a plan, which is currently being prepared for the car park. It would certainly be possible to source funding for a project like this. There is a question of quantums to be addressed- we need to figure out what this will actually cost.”

THE National Roads Authority (NRA) were yesterday accused of “giving the finger” to Clare County Council and the people of North Clare because of its continued refusal to provide funding for a pedestrian crossing at Inagh.

The construction of the pedestrian crossing on the Miltown Malbay road in Inagh has been identified as the top local roads priority by Clare County Council in recent years but the NRA has not yet seen fit to provide funding for its construction.

The Miltown Malbay road currently divides the village of Inagh, with a large amount of community facilities – including a number of resources for young people – located at either sides of the roads.

“I am absolutely amazed the NRA cannot regard this pedestrian crossing as a priority. This is a national secondary route. There are huge volumes of traffic on this road and there and there is a massive numbers of people crossing that road every day,” said Cllr Richard Nagle (FG).

“Someone from the NRA needs to come down and have a look at this road.”

Lahinch-based Cllr Slattery (FG) pointed out that this issue has been raised by councillors on four separate occasions in recent years and on each occasions councillors received an identical response from the local authority.

“I received the reply I in January of 2012, Richard [Nagle] got in again in July 2012. We have received the same reply to this on four different occasions and that is not acceptable,” he said.

“People are coming to us with genuine issues regarding this road. What is the point of us putting in these motions and getting the standard response again and again. I know it’s not your fault [Clare County Council] but the National Roads Authority seem to be giving all of us the finger in relation to this road.”

In a response to the motion, local engineer Stephen Lahiff described the crossing as “vital” to the ongoing safety of people using the village.

A TEAM of paranormal investigators have finalised the report into their findings at Loop Head Lighthouse, and maintain there are ghosts at the lighthouse and surrounding buildings.

Modern day ghost buster Anthony Kerrigan of GhostEire said that the team have learnt specific information about a number of the 24 spirits – 14 men and 10 women – they contacted during their experiments which included the use of a lazar board dial that could be manipulated by spirits and a ouija board.

A lot of the “activity was detected” in the modern day light keeper’s cottage.

Mr Kerrigan reported that in the mess room “the initials W.G. for a name questioned and the year of ‘21’” were picked up using the laser board.

“Only did we find out a couple of weeks afterwards that a William Gordon worked at the Lighthouse around 1830 and a William Gardener pre 1860, other names that came through were ‘JEF’,” he said.

Upstairs in the cottage Mr Kerrigan said the team made contact with the spirit of a body washed up on the shore line in the 1940s.

The body had no head or arms, just a tattoo.

The paranormal investigator claimed that the spirit was an agent or spy.

“He was very secretive. The only name we got was the nickname Faz,” said Mr Kerrigan.

He added that spirits by the name of Michael and Trayloch detected in the lighthouse might have existed even before the building.

Dates were also detected during the investigation he explained, including the date March 3, 1916.

Mr Kerrigan believes this is re- sidual energy that refers back to the week before the Easter Rising, during which Eamonn Fennell of the Clare eighth brigade got information about Bristish boats along the coast from his brother who worked at the lighthouse.

Asked how he answers those sceptical of his work and findings, the founder of GhostEire said that he looks at all findings with a sceptical eye and that the team do not always find spirits or ghosts.

THE owner of the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis says he expects the business to be fully back in action by Wednesday evening. A temporary closure was needed on Thursday last when a pipe was cracked during refurbishment work. A limited food menu is still available at the Old Ground while bar and accommodation services are running as normal.

In a statement, the hotel said an issue was identified with part of the drainage system of the hotel following a recent refurbishment of the ladies bathrooms.

The statement added, “As a precau- tionary measure, the hotel has taken the decision to temporarily close our main kitchen and we are working in conjunction with our local health authorities towards a speedy resolution of the problem.”

The hotel also apologized to customers for any inconvenience caused. The Old Ground Hotel employs 126 people.

Speaking yesterday, hotel owner Allen Flynn thanked the community and local businesses for the “avalanche of support” given to the hotel in recent days.

Mr Flynn said, “The industry that we are in is in very difficult times at the minute and to have this problem occur just coming into summer isn’t easy. But I suppose if anything has come out of it, it is truly the support of the local community and businesses since the problem arose.

“Truly we have received an avalanche of support from what I would have called competitors – I now call them friends – The Temple Gate Hotel, the Madden Family, Dromoland and especially St Flannan’s College who were more than willing to provide us with kitchen facilities over the weekend.

“They said they were willing to help somebody who does an extra special job of creating as much local employment as possible. It’s great to see support like that coming back to the hotel.”

He added, “We were doing a refurbishment of our ladies bathroom here. We were trying to solve a water issue that we had, we actually ended up cracking pipes underneath and that caused a problem with our drainage. Our drainage experts are back in with us and we’re trying to get all that sorted.”

Mr Flynn said, “At the moment we have a limited menu for food but the bar and accommodation is still running as normal.

“It was wonderful to see again over the weekend the atmosphere that could only be created in a place like Ennis with the Fleadh, with setdancing in the lobby until the wee hours.”