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LESS legal aid and more gardaí was proposed by Fine Gael councillor Tony Mulqueen at Friday’s adjourned meeting of the county council.

The Ennis-based councillor received the support of Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) from Shannon in his motion to “call on the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, TD, that free legal aid in criminal cases be given only once and that repeat offenders pay for their legal costs with their own money.”

“Widely known criminal and serial criminals are abusing the system day in day out,” said Cllr Mulqueen.

He added that many of these criminals have undeclared money and money hidden away in off shore accounts.

“The savings from such a move could be used for Garda recruitment,” he said.

“I think we need to strengthen up free legal aid. People are using and abusing the system,” added Cllr McCarthy.

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KILRUSH’S designation as host town for the 2013 National Famine Commemoration will be kickstarted in a big way this Tuesday as the ‘Famine in Clare Exhibition’ is formally opened in the West Clare capital.

The exhibition will be staged at Kilrush branch library, where it will be on display from now until the National Famine Commemoration on Sunday, May 12, which will be the highpoint of week-long events in the town.

The exhibition concentrates upon the famine in Clare (1845/52) and explores each Poor Law Union, its electoral divisions and workhouses.

Reports are included from those such as English Poor Law Commissioners and Relieving Officers, the Board of Guardians and Poor Law Inspectors.

Lists of names of those who died in the Kilrush and Ennistymon Workhouses will be displayed.

“This is an important part of the commemoration of the event,” said Paddy Waldron of the local Kilrush Historical Society, which was the prime mover in bringing the commemoration to Clare for the first time.

“The week itself will be a week of lectures and tours leading up to a commemoration ceremony on Sunday afternoon.

“It will bring what happened in Kilrush to national attention again. It will bring people with a history in that period to Kilrush.

“It will enable us to put up permanent memorials to some of the more tragic events of the period. It will hopefully engender an interest in history in the people of West Clare,” he added.

Among the memorials that will be put in place will be one to the victims of the Poulnasherry ferry tragedy of 1849 when 41 people drowned.

“They were turned away from the workhouse and were going home to the west and drowned. There should be some permanent marker on the shore that a terrible tragedy occurred there,” revealed Mr Waldron.

“What really happened to Kilrush town was that the people who were evicted anywhere from Quilty to Loophead to Kildysart all headed for the workhouse in the town. The town was swelled with the poor and the starving and the original workhouse was built for 800 and they ended up opening a total of six auxiliary workhouses and they were all overcrowded.

“There were 19,000 living in workhouses during the Famine and well over a quarter of them were in Kilrush at one time,” he added.

PARENTS from a North Clare primary school are to use online “crowd funding” to raise the € 2 million needed to build their new school.

A new organisation entitled Build Mol An Óige will be officially launched later this week, with the aim of convincing people all over the world to pledge € 1 or € 2 to help fund the construction of the Ennistymon school.

In recent years, crowd-funding has become a popular method for bands to raise money to fund recordings, with fans pledging donations before a record is made in return for receiving a copy of the finished project.

This is the first time, though, that crowd-funding has been used to fund the construction of a school in Ireland or for such an expensive project.

Mol An Óige is currently based in a temporary location between the Ennistymon Vocational School and the Falls Hotel.

They are on the current Department of Education waiting list but department funding for the project is at least five years away.

“We are on the list to be built even- tually but it could take years and years before any funding is made available. We have this beautiful new site and we would just like to move there.

“The outreach online and on the social media is huge. Two million euro is a lot of money but we are aiming to reach hundreds of millions of people through this project – and if a million people were convinced to donate € 2, then we’d have our school,” said Stuart Woolley of Build Mol An Óige.

“Many times, with crowd-surfing projects, people set themselves a funding target and, if they hit that target, they will go forward with the project, and if they don’t then the money goes back.

“We are not going that way – we are considering these small, charitable donations and we will make some progress on the school no matter how much money we receive.”

The funding project will be officially launched in Ennistymon this Friday when parents, teachers and students from Mol An Óige will walk through the town to the site of the new school, beside the Teach Ceoil at 12 noon.

For more information or to donate, visit www.buildmolanoige.org.

CLARE’S county councillors cost the taxpayer almost € 920,000 in salaries and expenses last year.

According to accounts published by Clare County Council, 31 of the 32 councillors claimed expenses totalling € 381,664.12; this does not include the € 16,724 salary paid to each member of the council.

From the expenses listed a total of € 112, 580.99 was paid in conference allocations.

This included trips to one-, twoand three-day conferences all over Ireland including different parts of Donegal, Dublin, Mayo Waterford, Cavan, Cork and Down.

Among the many conferences attended were conferences on ‘Utilising your Tax Entitlements and Relief’, ‘Understanding EU funding and functions’, ‘Personal Injuries’, ‘Dr Garret Fitzgerald Spring Seminar’ and ‘Local Media and the Councillor’.

Councillors have also claimed for mobile phones, stationary, computers and repairs to lap tops under this category, although this makes up a very small percentage of the overall allocation.

Councillors also receive allocations for mobile phone use, which varies from councillor to councillor and was reduced in July 2012.

An allowance for attending meetings, replacing the old milage system, is also paid as are special allowances to the mayor, deputy mayor and those serving as chairperson of a Strategic Policy Committee.

Councillors appointed to the VEC, HSE West Forum and other public bodies are also entitled to claim expenses from these bodies, which is not included in this county council figures.

While the position of county councillor is not considered a full-time job, a number of Clare’s local elected representatives have decided to become full-time elected representatives.

The majority of members however also have another form of income through employment, business, farming or are retired professionals.

All councillors are required to pay tax and PRSI on their council “salary”.

Just one member of the council, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG), does not claim any expenses as a member of Clare County Council or as a member of Ennis Town Council.

He is frustrated however that he cannot reallocate this money saved to projects and issues within the community.

CRUSHEEN storyteller Eddie Lenihan will begin a new and unusual chapter in his career next month when he appears in one of the most underground Irish albums to be released in 2013.

Mr Lenihan, who captured the nation’s hearts with his 12-part RTÉ series ‘Ten Minute Tales’ in the 1980s, is to feature on a new album by London-based dark-ambient outfit ‘From The Bogs of Aughiska’.

The album, which is due for release on March 18, includes a nine-anda-half-minute-long track featuring samples of the Crusheen native over the dark and ominous instrumental of ‘From The Bogs of Aughiska’.

The track, which is entitled ‘An Seanchaí’, is the second song on the album and has already started to create a stir within the UK underground and dark-ambient communities.

‘From The Bogs of Aughiska’ is the brainchild of musician and record producer Conor Droney, also known as the Human Jigsaw.

Originally from Lisdoonvarna, where he was half of speedcore duo Drugzilla, he has been working in the record industry in London for nearly a decade.

“I remember Eddie performing in the Spa Wells in Lisdoonvarna when I was growing up and, when it comes to an Irish storyteller, there really isn’t anyone better,” he said.

“I found a piece of him telling a story on Youtube which was perfect for a piece of music I had written. So I wrote him a letter, expecting to hear nothing back, but I get this lovely letter back from him saying I was wel- come to use the piece and the whole thing just grew from there.

“His voice is great, it really brings the story he is telling to life. I mean, this track is over nine minutes long and once you get to the end of it, you just want to go back to the beginning and play it again and again.

“The reception has been great already – we’ve already had a few reviews back and they have all been very positive.”

Dark ambient music is a type of industrial music that features foreboding or discordant sound with usually no lyrics. The songs are typically around 10 minutes long and can often feature sampled speech.

Despite the alternative nature of the project, Eddie was happy to give it his blessing.

“I am always looking for new and different things and it is not a bad thing to try something that you’ve never tried before. Like next month, I’ve been invited to speak in Russia at the University of Moscow. If I can get a visa sorted, that will be an amazing experience – and something that I never thought would happen. So I think it’s better to try out something than not to try it at all,” he said.

A MAN has received a six-month jail sentence for assaulting a prison officer in Ennis Courthouse last year.

James Francis McDonagh (38) pleaded guilty last week to assaulting Limerick prison officer Raymond Kelly on May 1 (2012).

The incident occurred at the end of a day on which Mr McDonagh was on trial for assaulting his brother with a hatchet.

Mr Kelly told Ennis District Court on Wednesday that the accused suddenly turned on him after he asked him to return to the cells.

He said, “He (McDonagh) said he would shove his fist through my face or head.”

Mr Kelly said there was no physical contact but it was a “very aggressive” situation. Under cross-examination from defence solicitor, Charles Foley, Mr Kelly said Mr McDonagh did not strike him. He added, “I was in a position where I was in fear I would be struck.”

Mr McDonagh, who is also known as Michael James McDonagh, has 99 previous convictions, including 11 for assault and four for assault causing harm. He has a former address of Ballymurtagh Halting Site, Shannon. Last May he was sentenced to a total of four years in prison for assaulting his brother with a hatchet and possession of an offensive weapon at Ballymurtagh Halting Site on August 31 2011.

Mr Foley told the court that his client had suffered from a very serious drug addiction. He said Mr McDonagh is currently undergoing a rehabilitation course in Limerick prison. He described the accused as “a very clever man” who has been drug free for a considerable length of time.

Mr Foley added, “He’s actually trying to bring himself around.”

Mr McDonagh apologised in court for his behaviour on the day, saying he had experienced flashbacks of the assault against his brother.

He told the court he apologised to Mr Kelly 15 minutes after the incident occurred.

He added, “I’m 20 years in and out of prison and I’ve never tried to rehabilitate myself ‘till this time.”

Judge Aingeal Ní Chonduin said Mr McDonagh is a man with a “serious track record.” She said the accused is a “fine strong man” and if he had struck the Mr Kelly, he would have felt it.

She imposed a six-month prison sentence to be served consecutive to the sentence Mr McDonagh is currently serving. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

WORK on a € 7.1m project aimed at improving flood defences in Ennis is expected to get underway next month.

On Thursday, Brian Hayes, Minister of State at the Department of Finance (OPW), signed a contract with Wills Bros Ltd of Foxford, Co Mayo, for the construction of a major flood defence scheme in Ennis, County Clare.

Work on the River Fergus Lower (Certified) Drainage Scheme Contract will commence in March and will see flood defences being installed from Bank Place Bridge in the town centre to Doora Bridge in Clarecastle. The € 7.1m project will take approximately 18 months to complete and will lead to the protec- tion of 849 residential and 425 nonresidential properties on completion.

Welcoming today’s contract signing, Mayor of Ennis Cllr Peter Considine stated, “This development comes as a major boost to residents and businesses located along the banks of the River Fergus, particularly those badly affected by severe flooding in November 2009. I would like to compliment the OPW for its commitment to bringing this project to fruition and ensuring that adequate flood defences are provided in Munster’s largest town. We have already witnessed the benefits of flood defence works in the Abbey Street car park and I look forward to other parts of the town and its environs benefiting from the proposed scheme.”

The scheduled works complement a number of other schemes identified in the Ennis Main Drainage and Flood Study Preliminary Report.

Last month, Ennis Town Council signed a contract for flood relief works to be carried out in the Watery Road / Elm Park area of the town. The € 307,000 (approx) project involves the construction of 400 metres of new river embankment and a pump station.

Elsewhere, Ennis Town Council says it expects that the tender documents for the proposed Foiruisce Scheme will be completed and forwarded to the OPW in the coming weeks and that the tender process will commence during March. Meanwhile, the documents for the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme (St Flannan’s/Tobairteascain – Ballybeg Lake Flood Relief Works) are currently with An Bord Pleanala and the council is awaiting its determination.

A WOMAN whom a Judge described as having deprived her children of a childhood yesterday walked free from court after receiving a suspended sentence for child neglect.

At Ennis Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, Judge Carroll Moran said the 38-year-old woman, who last year pleaded guilty to eight counts of child neglect, “lacked fundamental parenting skills and most significantly she lacked empathy for her own child”.

He said reports from the Probation Services and the Health Services Executive (HSE) stated that the woman, who had a serious drink problem, was a completely unsuited to being a mother for her children.

Judge Moran said the woman’s guilty plea was of “special significance” in this case as it spared the victims the additional trauma of having to give evidence.

Her former partner has also pleaded guilty to eight charges of child neglect.

The offences, which relate to seven children, took place on dates unknown between March 2001 and July 2010 in two areas of Clare.

The eldest child is now 17 while the youngest child is now four.

The court heard that the woman is the mother of all seven children. The man is the natural father of six of the children.

Judge Moran said evidence had been given that the couple spent prolonged periods in the pub indulging in alcohol while the children were abandoned at home.

He said there was insufficient food in the house and sometimes none at all.

He said the children were left with inadequate and dirty clothing. He said that at the age of eight, the eldest child had been forced to be a surrogate mother to her infant sibling.

Judge Moran said the man would beat the girl if the baby cried at night. He said the mother admitted beating the girl with a poker and a shoe causing multiple bruises.

The children have since been placed in foster care, the court heard. He said the children had been under threat from their parents not to tell social workers about their ordeal.

The court heard the woman had started drinking aged 13 and was a victim of domestic violence.

She has been off drink for five years and is in a new relationship, the court heard.

In her victim statement read out in court earlier this month, the eld est daughter emotionally urged the Judge to send her mother to jail, describing her as “vermin”.

“They should rot in hell,” she add- ed.

Judge Moran said the former couple had engaged “dreadful misbehaviour” and had deprived the children of a childhood.

He said the children had been left “severely traumatised” by their experiences.

Judge Moran said the woman had no previous convictions and made a serious attempt to deal with her alcoholism.

He said she had entered an early plea. Judge Moran said that in these “exceptional circumstances” it would not be right to impose a custodial sentence.

He imposed a four-year sentence, suspending it for seven years.

The woman was ordered to abstain from alcohol and cooperate with the directions of the HSE and Probation Services.

Reporting restrictions were previously placed on the case.

A TOTAL of € 1.25 million is allocated in the council budget for Clare councillors’ wages, expenses, allocations and support cost.

The majority of that sum, € 916,832.12, was paid to councillors in the form of wages, expenses and allowances.

Among the higher earners for the year were the two mayors – Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), that served from January to June, and the current mayor Cllr Pat Daly (FF), that took over as first citizen in June.

As well as their basic annual allowance as a councillor of € 16, 724, they also received a mayor’s allowance of € 13, 500. Both payments are subject to taxation.

Among the expenses listed on Cllr Hayes’ accounts was a € 1, 535.56 subsistence allowance for a weeklong tourism promotion trip to New York in March, including St Patrick’s Day.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) received the third highest payment of € 37,784.72. The Shannon councillor’s payment includes an allowance of € 6,000 as chairperson of a Strategic Policy Committee and € 4,500 as chair of the County Development Board.

Councillor Richard Nagle (FF) also received an allowance of € 6,000 as chairperson of another SPC and € 1, 500 for chairing the County Development Board.

Cllr John Crowe (FG) received an allowance of € 5,870 as chairperson of an SPC, as did the sixth highest recipient, Cllr Joe Cooney (FG), who received € 6,000 as chair of a SPC.

As well as payments of almost € 920,000 to councillors, a budget of almost € 250,000 is set aside for support costs provided by council staff and the offices.

Councillors can claim up to a maximum of € 4,700 in expenses and € 6,156 to attend conferences.

Just one councillor, Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind), noted the tax and PRSI paid on his council income. Including PAYE on salary, PRSI, universal social charge, pension levy, the deduction totalled € 5,100.

A WHEELCHAIR bound amputee who admitted arson at a nursing home in Killaloe almost three years ago has been ordered to cooperate completely with any support pro vided to him by the Health Services Executive (HSE).

James Sherlock (24), whose life was described as a “living hell”, pleaded guilty last Wednesday to causing arson at the Lakes Nursing Home, Killaloe on August 20 (2010).

At his sentencing hearing on Thursday, Ennis Circuit Criminal Court heard that Gardaí and members of the Fire Services were called to the private nursing home on the outskirts of Killaloe to deal with a fire started by the accused in his locked first-floor room.

Staff and all residents were evacuated after the fire which caused € 5425 worth of damage.

The court heard that the damage was confined mainly to Mr Sherlock’s room.

A 94-year-old resident died on the same night. A post mortem later showed that Margaret O’Gorman died from natural causes.

An inquest in December 2011 heard there was no evidence that her death was related to the fire.

A garda who attended the scene was hospitalized for smoke inhalation, the court heard.

Detective Sergeant Oliver Nevin, of Killaloe Garda Station, told the court it appeared the accused gath- ered materials and stuffed them under his wheelchair before setting the chair alight.

Det Sgt Nevin said Mr Sherlock escaped un-injured after managing to get out of the chair and crawl to an en-suite bathroom.

The court heard that in a subsequent interview, Mr Sherlock told gardaí he set fire to his bedclothes with a lighter after drinking neat vodka. He said it was an accident and that he had been in a bad mood.

Counsel for Mr Sherlock, Pat Whyms BL, told the court that his client had his right leg (from his right knee down) amputated six weeks prior to the fire. He said the procedure had been necessary because of an “historic heroin addiction.”

Mr Sherlock is now on a methadone programme, the court heard, and no longer takes illegal drugs.

Mr Sherlock previously lived at 16 Childers Road, Ennis and has been a resident of the Redwood Extended Care Facility, Stamullen, Meath.

The court heard he is currently residing at his father’s house in Ennis. The court heard he has 34 previous convictions.

Mr Whyms said his client has been in a wheelchair since 2008 and needs daily assistance. He said Mr Sherlock’s wounds must be dressed every second day.

He said that on the night of the fire, his client’s state of mind was one of “general despondence and despair.” He said Mr Sherlock had placed himself most at risk by starting the fire in a locked room.

Mr Whyms added, “It appears to have all the hallmarks of – if not a suicide attempt – at least a cry for help rather than an attack on other people or property.”

Mr Whyms told the court that a prison sentence would have an extraordinary effect on Mr Sherlock, adding that it would damage the progress he has made.

He said a prison sentence should be a last resort. “In terms of punishment, this man’s life is a living hell,” he added.

Judge Gerard Keyes said the loss of a limb is very difficult to cope with both mentally and physically.

He said it may explain, but not justify, why Mr Sherlock’s “mind would have been clouded and not rational” on the night.

Judge Keyes said he regarded the offence as “very serious” due to where it occurred and the risk posed to other people.

He ordered a report from the Probation services and also directed the HSE to set out what supports could be put in place for Mr Sherlock, in prison and outside.

Judge Keyes also requested “concrete information” on the likelihood of Mr Sherlock re-offending.

He said that if suitable structures are available, then it would be to the benefit of society and Mr Sherlock not to impose a custodial sentence.

Judge Keyes told Mr Sherlock he must fully cooperate with the HSE and Probation Services. The case was adjourned for mention to April 9.