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A MAN has been found guilty of the intimidation of two witnesses who gave evidence at a trial in Clare last year.

At Clare Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, Martin Joyce (22), with addresses at 113 Dun na hInse, Ennis and 2 St Patrick’s Mews, Clarecastle, was found guilty by a jury of the intimidation of his brother-in-law Michael Ward and Mr Ward’s wife, Rose Ward.

He was acquitted of a charge of threatening to kill Mr Ward at Shannon Airport on May 3 2011.

The Wards had travelled to Clare from England to give evidence at an arson trial against the Mr Joyce’s brother David. David Joyce was acquitted of the charge.

It had been alleged that Mr Joyce told Mr Ward that he would never be able to come back to Shannon and that he would be shot if he gave evidence at the trial.

It was alleged that Mr Joyce also told Mr Ward that there would “guns in court waiting for him” if he gave evidence.

Mr Ward told the court that he “felt very terrified” when he saw Mr Joyce entering the arrivals hall of Shannon Airport.

Mr Ward was with his wife and two children at the time.

The jury was shown CCTV footage of the encounter between Mr Joyce and Mr Ward.

Asked about Mr Joyce’s body language on the day, Mr Ward said, “he looked ready for action.”

He said, “I just felt very terrified to be honest with you.” Rose Ward said she got a “terrible fright” when she saw Mr Joyce.

“I got very badly disturbed when I saw him,” she added. The court heard that Ms Ward went to the airport police.

She said, “I was afraid that something that was going to happen. I was afraid Martin was going to do something bad.”

Patrick O’Neill of Shannon Airport Police told the court that Ms Ward seemed “very upset” at the time.

Mr Joyce was arrested two days after the incident. When asked by gardaí why he had come to Shannon, Mr Joyce said he was bringing his child to the doctor. Mr Joyce told gardaí that Mr Ward called him names at the airport. He denied threatening his brother in law.

Counsel for the accused Pat Whyms BL said every detail of the CCTV footage vindicated Mr Joyce’s account of what happened. He said his client had urged gardaí to review the CCTV.

Mr Whyms added, “This is a man begging for the objective evidence to be shown so he can be vindicated.” He said there was no evidence that Mr Joyce had threatened Mr Ward.

Mr Whyms said there were inconsistencies in Mr Ward’s evidence.

He added, “The evidence in this case has come nowhere close to the standard of proof required.”

It took the jury 89 minutes to unanimously find Mr Joyce not guilty of threatening to kill Mr Ward but guilty of intimidation.

After a further 36 minutes of deliberation the jury unanimously found Mr Joyce guilty of the intimidation of Rose Ward.

Judge Gerard Keyes adjourned sentencing to October 16. Mr Joyce was granted bail subject to conditions.

IT’S the end of an era in Ennis after well-known businessman Jimmy Brohan retired after 49 years in business. Jimmy has decided to step away from his hardware business on Parnell Street. The premises will be taken over by new Clare owners. Family, friends and a large group of traders gathered in O’Halloran’s Bar last Thursday for a presentation to mark Jimmy’s 49 years in business. A native of Ruan, Jimmy started out at John Roughan’s store just off O’Connell Square in 1963. He worked there for 20 years before leasing and eventually buying the premises in the mid-1980s. An incident in the year 2000 damaged the building and forced the relocation of Brohan’s to Parnell Street. In an interview with the paper last year, Jimmy spoke about the skills needed to run a successful business. He said, “One secret is that you have to be nice to people. If you’re nice to people and treat them right, they will come back to you. We have people coming to us since I started and now their family are coming (to us). Only for them we wouldn’t be here. “We do a good town trade but we get a good country trade as well. We get them from other counties too. A few years ago, you’d have people from Cork on the way to Knock, busloads, they would always call to me on the way back.” A family-run business, Brohan’s is known for having a wide collection of stock. Jimmy said, “People still come to me with the old spraying cans, copper spraying cans that the farmers would use. They weren’t made for 30 years or more but I still have bits and pieces for those. That’s just one item. There would be lots of other bits and pieces that people come to us looking for. I don’t care how old it is, I love to have it.”

MORE than a dozen people who previously worked in the area of middle management and are now seeking employment are benefiting from a new initiative set up by the St Vincent de Paul.

The local St Joseph’s Conference of the St Vincent de Paul set up a support and information network targeted at this group, when it became apparent they were finding their new job-seeking status particularly difficult. To date an average of 12 to 15 people attend the monthly meetings, but the local SVP believe it can help even more.

Its next meeting is in the Information Age Park, Gort Road, Ennis, at 10 am on October 11.

The agenda includes a presentation from Gerard Kennedy, Clare Local Development Company, and from Michael Byrne of Acton BV.

Gerard will be outlining the activities of CLDC and the supports they have to offer and Michael will be talking on how the members can use the net to source jobs. Clare Connect is a network for unemployed supervisory and executive personnel and it meets on the second Thursday of each month in the Board Room of the Information Age Park.

Those wishing to attend would let the organisers know by emailing clareconnect123@gmail.com.

IT WAS an issue that took over the airwaves two weeks ago, and last evening it ironically became one of the talking point in the county council chamber.

The decision by Clare County Council to include a reminder about paying the household charge with third level grant application letters became an issue when it was interpreted that the council would not pay the grant if the household had not paid the controversial tax.

Cllr PJ Ryan asked that the council would inform its elective representatives of any announcements of public interest, prior to the media being informed.

“It is not nice to get a call at 7am from someone from Morning Ireland to see if you had any comment,” he said.

“Then you go to the local shop to field a barrage of abuse from local ladies who asked “what are you f-ers doing?” I don’t know how this was put into the media. Was it the Min- ister’s office or Clare County Council?”

Describing it as an embarrassment to councillors, Cllr Christy Curtin said it the letter was ill conceived and caused confusion on processing the grant.

Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald added that the issue was “all over facebook” the night before the story broke.

“I went into the shop and people were asking why are you a councillor if you don’t know what is going on.”

Co Manager Tom Coughlan said the council was not aware it was go- ing to become an issue and if he did he would have informed the councillors.

He said, “An individual who got a letter decided to publish it on the internet.

“The first I heard of it was at 11pm that night.”

“ Morning Ireland picked up the story that Clare County Council was not going to pay the grants, but that was not the story.”

It was an administrative decision to send out the letter and to return to the council chamber every time such a letter was to be issued would be unworkable micromanagement according to the manager.

He added, “You just don’t know when the next story is going to break.”

“We made it clear during the day that we were not withholding the grant, but what compounded the issue was Tipperary County Council who said it was going to follow Clare County Council and withhold the grant,” he said.

“We were never withholding the grant,” he said.

AS MANY as three letters from the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan failed to clarify the future financial health of Clare County Council.

At last evening’s meeting of the local authority, County Manager Tom Coughlan was perplexed as to what exactly the reply from the minister’s private secretary to the council meant.

The council had asked the minister to clarify if there was any chance of it receiving all or some of the € 247,000 cut from its budget in July.

In the letter to the council, the department stated, “Household Charge income will be kept under constant review and it is a matter for local authorities, including Clare County Council, to use their local knowledge to follow up on non-compliant households in order to maximise collection of the charge and the information available from the data-sharing exercises underway centrally to identify households that may be liable to the household charge.”

In a personally signed letter to Deputy Pat Breen (FG) and Deputy Joe Carey (FG), the Minister referred to a conversation he had with the deputies last week.

“I’ll be reviewing the position for all local authorities in November and will have regard to their respective Household Charge compliance rate,” he said.

Mr Coughlan said he was not sure from those responses if the Minister was going to review the € 247,000 cut or not.

“It is not for me to interpret,” he said.

The manager and councillors were also in disagreement about the department secretary’s suggestion that, “I am satisfied that the revised general purpose grant allocations provided for 2012, together with the income available from other sources, will enable local authorities, including Clare County Council, to provide a reasonable level of services to their customers.

“The budget as adopted is under pressure and there is very little scope for reductions going forward,” said the manager.

He said the council made a decision in July to continue with the budget as adopted and that is what he would do until otherwise directed.

He added he would make savings wherever possible.

A FARMER has been acquitted of dangerous driving causing death of a German tourist near Bunratty Castle.

However John Boyce (57) with an address at Moyhill, Cratloe, was found guilty by a jury of careless driving.

The three-day trial at Ennis Circuit Court last week heard Mr Boyce was driving a tractor at the time of the crash, which killed Inge Schmidt (76) at Low Road, Bunratty, on October 29, 2010.

Ms Schmidt was walking across a zebra crossing when she came into contact with the tractor. She died in hospital later as a result of her injuries.

In his closing speech, Counsel for the State, Stephen Coughlan BL, told the jury that two eyewitnesses had seen Ms Schmidt on the crossing.

He said there was consistent evidence that it had been raining on the day of the accident.

Mr Coughlan said, “The fact that there was someone on the pedestrian crossing required the motorist to stop.”

He said that there was evidence that Mr Boyce did not stop at the point of impact.

Mr Coughlan said, “Speed is not an issue. There is no suggestion that the speed Mr Boyce was traveling contributed to the accident.”

The court heard that it had been impossible for gardai to determine the point of impact.

Mr Coughlan said Mr Boyce should have approached the junction with more care. He described Bunratty Folk Park as a very busy area.

Defence Counsel, Lorcan Connlly, told the court that this was a “very different case from most dangerous driving cases”.

He said alcohol and speed were not factors in the case.

Mr Connolly said Mr Boyce had told people at the scene of the acci- dent and gardaí that he had not seen Ms Schmidt.

He said this was not a case where Mr Boyce had attempted to “pull a rabbit” out of the hat on the day of the court case.

He added, “Mr Boyce has been consistent throughout. He did not see the woman.”

The court heard that no certificate of roadworthiness is required for tractors.

Mr Connolly said, “I am inviting you to find that he (Mr Boyce) is not criminally responsible for what happened on the day.”

Mr Connolly told the jury that Mr Boyce will have to “carry the cross” for what happened on that day for the rest of his life.

After seeking clarification from Judge Gerard Keyes, the jury found Mr Boyce not guilty of dangerous driving but guilty of careless driving.

Setencing was adjourned until Tuesday.

CLARE County Council may be strapped for cash but it recognises there are people much worse off in the country that need “a helping hand”.

As a result it will propose that the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, and the Government to set up a voluntary organisation or foundation entitled A Helping Hand, which will do exactly what it says in the title.

The brainchild of West Clare councillor Gabriel Keating (FG), the purpose of the organisation is to provide financial support to the most vulnerable people in society.

It is proposed that the organisation would seek financial aid from the wealthy and better off in Ireland and abroad, and it would also devise other ways and means to meet its targets through sponsored projects or fund raising events.

“As the recession continues all voluntary organisations have seen an increase in the numbers of people seeking help. Voluntary organisations are not immune from the recession and they have witnessed a dip in donations from ordinary individuals and as well as that corpo- rate donations are not as regular as they were during the good times.

“Through our history we have a reputation for helping people all over the world. When other countries suffer disasters such as famine, earthquakes or tsunamis, Irish people continue to respond generously. Here at home, somehow people continue to respond generously to the many deserving causes, promoted by organisations such as West Clare Cancer Support and many others.

“In the early years of our freedom and independence we built new hospitals and institutions to help the sick. These were funded by an Annual Irish Sweepstake Draw that attracted worldwide support,” said the councillor.

“While the Lotto was set up since 1987 to help fund good causes, I believe that it is clear now at this point in our history that a National Voluntary Organisation – made up of people with vision, talent and imagination – is needed to bridge the gap in funding for those who are most in need.”

The Helping Hand Foundation by the Government would target the financially well off for funding.

“I am thinking par ticularly of wealthy Irish people who are now living abroad and who would love to contribute to this countr y but maybe they have never been asked. It would also utilize people who have a proven track record in volunteering and through their work have earned respect from the people such as reti red presidents, bishops and people in public life, entertainment and sport.

“In these very difficult times or recession and hardship we cannot and must not forget the most vulnerable in our society. We must extend a helping hand to those who most need it,” he said.

THE number of people signing on the live register in Clare has dropped to its lowest level in more than three years – but it is emigration and not job creation which is credited for the drop.

According to new information from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), a total of 9,674 people signed on the live register in the county in September. This is the lowest number on the live register since May of 2009, and represents a month-on-month drop of more that five per cent.

While some of this drop can be attributed to students returning to third-level education, emigration is considered to be the main driving force behind the record low.

According to Rita McInerney, CEO of the Ennis Chamber of Commerce, job creation has been flat in the county in recent months, with some sectors making gains while other sectors are being forced to let people go.

“It is slow at the moment and it is very different from one sector to the next. The retail sector is certainly having a difficult time of it but hopefully that will change coming up to Christmas,” she said.

“Export businesses in the county are doing well and that is good news, they employ a lot of people, but if we are to see some new job creation, we really need people to get back to spending again.

“Emigration is certainly a big factor in all of this. It is one of the unavoidable outcomes of a recession. It is about people looking at their options and deciding what is best for them and their family, whether that be going back to education or emigration.”

The numbers signing on in Clare last month were 300 down on the September 2011 figures and 500 down on the same month in 2010.

THE festive season could come to the streets of Ennis earlier than usual following a proposal to switch on the town’s Christmas lights in November.

Ennis Town Council is proposing to pedestrianise Abbey Street and O’Connell Street on December 15, 22, 23 and 24.

According to the council, the imminent opening of the Inner Relief Road would facilitate improved traffic flow during the period.

The council is now inviting submissions from members of the public. The matter came before last week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council. Town clerk Leonard Cleary stated that a previous attempt to pedeistrianise Ennis’s man streets was abandoned after traders blamed the policy for a fall in business.

Mr Cleary said the proposal had been brought forward to October to allow “adequate time to progress consultation/procedures following the December meeting”.

He continued, “The implementation of pedestrianisation in Ennis remains an objective of the council as stated in the Ennis and Environs Development Plan. The purpose of the pedestrianisation of these streets on the dates specified is to facilitate shoppers and the general public in terms of ease of movements on days that traditionally would be busy in the town.”

Consultation will now take place with the Gardaí in relation to traffic management. Mr Cleary said discussions have yet to take place with the business community.

Last December parking was applicable to the town’s 759 off-street and 783 on-street public car parking spaces up to 12pm daily on Saturdays during the festive period.

Ennis Chamber of Commerce has called for the council to repeat its 2011 policy. According to Mr Cleary, a proposed Christmas parking incentive will be discussed at the council’s November meeting.

Town manager Gerard Dollard appealed for businesses and members of the public to engage in the consultation process. Mr Dollard said the council is aware of the view that O’Connell Street should be pedestrianised only.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) welcomed the proposal, saying that the council should consider switching on the town’s Christmas lights in mid-November to capitalise on and boost festive shopping.

Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said the street radio initiative introduced in 2011 should be repeated this year.

Looking ahead to next year, Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) urged the council to hold the 2013 St Patrick’s Day parade on a Sunday.

The comment prompted Mr Dollard to jokingly remark, “Let’s get over Christmas first!”

AN ILLEGAL dump, discovered in a turlough in the North Burren, has the potential to seriously pollute public and private water schemes in the Gort and Kinvara areas.

That is according to Senator Lorraine Higgins (LAB), who also described the illegal dump at Caherglassaun Lake as being a “significant” operation.

The cost of cleaning up the estimated two tonnes of rubbish which have been discovered in the waterway could also run into the tens of thousands.

The rubbish is understood to be mostly household waste, and has the potential to cause significant impact to the turlough and its surround plant and animal life. The waterway is renowned for it fish and is also a top quality natural habitat of plants and animals.

“When I was first contacted on the matter, I went to the site and it was clear this was an illegal operation of some significance,” said Senator Higgins.

“It would be a place which would have special amenity value in the area certainly, and perhaps recreational as well. More disturbing again is that if there was run-off from it, it might enter the water supply and could make people in the areas of Gort and Kinvara sick.

“I would urge people in the constituency that if anyone arrives at their door and offers to dispose of household waste for a fee that seems below market price, or any price for that matter, they are fully entitled to find out if that person has a permit to dispose of the rubbish. If they do not have a permit, I would urge people not to use them because it is the householder that will be liable for prosecution,” said Senator Higgins.

Caherglassaun Turlough is located about six kilometres to the west of Gort, just outside of the Coole Nature Reserve and 5km south-east of Kinvara. Caherglassaun is both a lake and a turlough, with a permanent lake at its centre and a large surrounding area which floods at areas of heavy rain.