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GARDAÍ arrested three men less than an hour after they were suspected of robbing an elderly woman and her family at knifepoint in her West Clare home, thanks to the quick thinking of a neighbour.

The late evening aggravated burglary has stunned the surrounding rural area of Cooraclare and Kilmurry McMahon, with local people shocked by the happenings late on Friday evening last.

Between 8.30 and 8.45pm noises were heard by the occupants of the isolated house situated between the Kilrush road and Kilmurry McMahon.

“Three males were seen in the yard wearing gloves and had their faces covered. One of them threw a concrete block through the window and demanded money from the occupants,” said Gardaí.

The culprits did not gain access to the house but it is understood that they threatened the terrified 80-yearold and her adult daughter and son through the broken window using a knife.

A small amount of cash was handed over after which the gang fled the scene. The occupants quickly raised the alarm. A quick-thinking neighbour spotted the three leaving the house and getting into a car.

The neighbour noted the vehicle registration and notified Gardaí in Kilrush who issued a countywide alert to other stations.

As the car was seen heading towards Ennis, gardaí prepared to intercept it on the outskirts of the county town.

A TIPPERARY woman has been warned she faces a prison sentence if she wastes the time of the emergency services again.

Rachel Fogarty (21) with an address at Boher Road, Emly, Tippperary was charged with sending by means of a telecommunications systems, a message for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another.

A probation report in respect of Ms Fogarty was handed into Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

The incident took place on August 30 (2011) at a place unknown in the district area of Ennis District No. 12.

The court previously heard between 4.24am and 5.44am on the date in question, Ennis Garda Station received a total of eight 999 emergency calls.

Gardaí were requested to attend a house in Hermitage though it was not clear why they were directed to do so.

The court previously heard gardaí discovered that the calls were made by Ms. Fogarty.

Solicitor Tara Godfrey told the court that a psychologist has recommended that Ms Fogarty undergo a course of behavioural therapy. She said a court in Tipperary has adjourned her client’s case until completion of the course. She urged the court to consider placing Ms Fogarty on a nine-month period of probation.

Ms Godfrey said, “My client understands the gravity of the offence.”

Judge Patrick Durcan said that he takes a very serious view of people who make hoax telephone calls. He said such calls cause distress and waste an incredible amount of police time.

He said he fully accepted Ms Fogarty’s difficulties as outlined by the probation services and the psychologist.

Judge Durcan said that Ms Fogarty had been convicted of a similar offence in January 2011.

He said, “If she troubles me again with matters of this nature, I will consider a four month prison sentence.” He adjourned the case until September 18 (2013) and granted the State liberty to re-enter at 24 hours notice. Judge Durcan added, “This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.”

THE State has been granted a further week to serve a book of evidence on an Ennis man charged with having heroin for sale or supply.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Judge Patrick Durcan agreed to adjourn the case of David Joyce (23) for another week.

Mr Joyce, with an address at 85 Dun na hInse, is charged with unlawful possession of diamorphine at 90 Dun na hInse, Ennis on May 30 (2012).

He is also charged with having diamorphine for purposes of sale or supply at the same location and date.

Inspector Michael Gallagher requested that the State be granted an additional week for service of the book of evidence.

Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client had appeared in court on a number of occasions in relation to the charges.

Judge Durcan agreed to adjourn the case to tomorrow.

Acknowledging Ms Godfrey’s comments, Judge Durcan said they should be interpreted as “a warning to the State to get its act together.”

He remanded Mr Joyce on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on September 26.

AS REGARDS the majority in County Clare, it’s the women that hold sway over the men for the first time since the 1871 population returns, but the men are still in the majority in one department the latest bulletin report of the 2011 National Census of Population has revealed.

That’s when it comes to married v single folk. There are more singletons amongst men than there are amongst women. This statistic was among the latest set of facts and figures to be released by the Central Statistics Office on Thursday that have been taken from the census that was taken in April 2011.

The figures show that there are now 60, 565 single people living in the county, which represents just over 50 per cent of Clare’s record 110-year high of a 117,196 population. Of this figure, 31,716 are single men as they outnumber their opposite sex by just under 3,000 as there are 28,849 single women now in the county.

The number of females in Clare grew substantially in the five years between the 2006 and 2011 population returns, a growth that was reflected in the breakdown of female numbers growing by 4,098 as against male numbers growing by 2,298 in the same period.

The figures also show that there are now more single people living in the county than there are married, with the breakdown showing that there are nearly 25,000 more singletons in the county that there are married people.

The number for married people stands at 46,241, with the females in the slight majority with the census figures shows that there are 23,137 married women in the county as against 23, 104 men.

The breakdown of women and men in the county from the overall population of 117,196 is 58,898 females to 58,298 males.

CLARE-GROWN lemons will be on the menu for this year’s charity Clare Harvest Banquet, which takes place this weekend in Ennis.

Now in its fifth year, the annual banquet made up exclusively of food sources in County Clare, will include a number of new-found foods.

Due to the poor weather this summer, bread will once again be off the menu for the banquet as no Claregrown wheat could be obtained. The weather did not dampen the growth of some more exotic foods, however, and the organisers have been able to source locally-grown lemons for the first time ever.

“We’re very excited this year to find two different sources of Clare lemons, from Barrtra and from Fanore,” said organiser Sinead Garvey.

“The night will start off with some Clare-made wine and music from the Ennis Brass Band on the lawn of the Old Ground Hotel.

“We have found some Clare hazelnuts this year, which is another new food for us, and we will be harvesting salt from seawater and making our own butter as usual.

“We haven’t been able to source Clare flour this year so we will be using some Clare-grown cucumber as the crackers for the cheese board.

“This year, the two chefs from the Old Ground Hotel, Freddy Rynne and Frank Landy, are cooking the meal and they have really got into the event.”

All proceeds from the Clare Harvest Banquet will go to the Asral Charity, which helps to support some of the most needy families in Mongolia.

“Every ticket sold will get a Mongo- lian family through the winter, which otherwise they would not survive, so this is a feel-good event for everyone who comes,” continued Sinead.

“The charity is still supporting groups in Mongolia to export beautiful textiles which are on sale now in Ireland. It is all about creating sustainability for the people in Mongolia.”

The Clare Harvest Banquet will take place at the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis on Friday, October 5 at 8pm.

For ticket information, contact the Old Ground Hotel on 065 6828127 or, more information on the Clar eHarvest Banquet and the specifically local foods it features, visit www. clareharvestbanquet.com.

A MAN alleged to have had cannabis for sale or supply in Shannon last year has been returned for trial.

Danny Harty (38), with an address at 60 Inis Eagla, Shannon appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

He is charged with having cannabis for purposes of sale or supply at Smithstown, Shannon on November 12 (2011).

He also charged with unlawful possession of cannabis at the same location on the same date.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had consented for the accused to be returned for trial to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court.

Garda Irene O’Flynn of Ennis Garda Station gave evidence of having served the book of evidence on the accused.

Legal aid was approved for defence solicitor Jenny Fitzgibbon and one junior counsel.

Judge Patrick Durcan delivered the alibi warning.

He made the order returned Mr Harty for trial to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on October 16.

THE latest statistical report taken from the 2011 National Census of Population has revealed that divorce is on the rise in Clare, with a record number of divorced people now living in the county since the measure was introduced to the statute books in 1996.

The census returns have shown that there are now 2,252 divorcees living in the county, with the divorces figures on the rise in keeping with the nationwide 800 per cent increase in the numbers of divorces between 1996 and 2011.

Of this 2,252, women are in the majority, with 1,280 female divorcees living in the county as compared to 972 men.

And, from the overall figure there is almost an equal divided between urban and rural, with 1,110 of divorcees living in urban areas as compared to 1,142 in rural areas.

In August it was revealed that despite the cost of divorce thought to be a deterrent in most parts of Ireland, Clare saw a rise of 40 per cent in the number of couples getting divorced in the county in 2011.

According to the figures for the county released by the Central Statistic Office, 69 divorces were granted to Clare couples last year – with a further 66 applications for divorce being made.

Experienced Clare-based family law solicitor Marie Keane said the rise could be attributed to the type of divorces being negotiated as well as the age profile of couples getting divorced.

“The vast majority of divorce cases are now being settled before going to court, with both parties consenting. From my experience I would guess up to 95 per cent of cases settle in this manner,” she told The Clare People .

Meanwhile, other census figures show that 1,375 divorcees in Clare have remarried – the breakdown of the figures being 776 men as against 629 women.

In addition to this, there are now 1,577 separated women living in the county as compared to 1,294 men.

ANTI-HOUSEHOLD tax campaigners in Clare are claiming a victory today after Clare County Council decided to stop asking grant applicants for proof of payment of the house- hold charge. This is despite Clare County Council’s insistence that the letters were discontinued because they had worked – and allowed the local authority to reach the 65 per cent compliance rate demanded by the Department of the Environment.

“At the beginning of the week, Clare County Council implicitly threatened to withhold or delay student grants to those boycotting the unjust household tax, but following a protest by the Clare CAHWT, we have secured in writing a commitment from the council that they will not discriminate in any way against such students,” said Paul Whitmore of the Clare Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes.

“We marched into the council offices to demand a clear written promise from them that they would not in anyway discriminate against non-payers, and would stop sending these threatening forms to grant applicants.

“As a sign of the huge impact of people power, we have now received these guarantees in writing. This is a huge victory for our campaign. Hopefully in the future, the council will think twice before attempting such scare tactics.”

Students form NUI, Galway, GMIT, UL and LIT also staged a protest again the warning letters at the of fices of Clare County Council last week.

“The decision of Clare County Council is short-sighted and ridiculous,” NUI, Galway Student Union president Paul Curley last week.

“Students don’t own houses and linking the payment of the Household Charge to their grants is a cheap shot. We call on Clare County Council to abandon this badly thought out plan and process students’ grant applications as a priority.”

THE current chief executive officer of County Limerick VEC will head up the new board that will take over the functions of Clare VEC.

Sean Burke has been named as CEO Designate of the new Education and Training Board for Clare and Limerick.

The new board will be an amalgamation of VECs in Clare, Limerick city and Limerick County.

The September meeting of Clare VEC heard that that the new Education and Training Boards (ETB) would be established in the early part of 2013.

The current CEO of Clare VEC, George O’Callaghan has been named CEO Designate of the new city of Cork and Cork county ETB.

Mr O’Callaghan, who has worked as CEO for seven years, said he is looking forward to his new role in Cork.

He said, “It will be a challenge. There will be a lot of work involved, amalgamating the new VECs, they are two fairly large VECs. It’s not going to happen for another six to eight months at the earliest so I’ll still be in Clare for that length of time.”

Mr O’Callaghan said he enjoyed his time working in Clare.

“It was fantastic. The staff are fantastic and the people here are great to work with. The committee have always given me great co-operation down the years.”

Implementing the 2001 Vocational Education Act, the growth in adult education and improvements to school facilities, are among the main changes Mr O’Callaghan has helped oversee during his time with Clare VEC.

He said, “All the schools have very modern facilities. That was part of our objective as well. We were very anxious to get that up and running and I’m very happy that we have got that done. We have achieved three major extensions for three of the schools in the county as well.”

Mr O’Callaghan will be leaving Clare VEC as it prepares to undergo major structural change. He believes the county will have a strong influ- ence on the new ETB.

He said, “The challenge for Clare will be to maintain what it has got. It’ll be a large part of the new entity as well. There are 110,000 people living in Clare. There are over 2,300 post primary school pupils in the VEC here and we have something like 4,000 to 5,000 adults here as well. It will make up quite a large part of the new entity as well. So it will have quite a large influence on the new entity as well.”

MEMBERS of the Fine Gael party in Clare are to tell the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan that a carrot rather and stick will reap more rewards in the county when it comes to collecting the household charge.

The loss of almost a quarter of a million euro of council funding last month will not be returned to Clare County Council, despite reassurances from the Minister through the two local Fine Gael TDs that all funding would be paid if a certain threshold was met.

On Saturday, Fine Gael councillors and Oireachtais members met and discussed the announcement following Friday’s developments.

It was agreed that there was little incentive left for the collection of the charge if the council and its public services were to be penalised regardless.

In a statement after the meeting the party in Clare said’

“There is a € 1.5 million shortfall in the household charge collection in Clare from 15,000 households who have failed to pay the legally due charge brought about by the collapse of the economy.”

It said the issue of the refunding of the € 240,000 from the third quarter payments from Government was discussed on the agenda.

“There is a Clare Fine Gael proposal being put by the Oireachtas members to the Minister for his urgent consideration to enable the refund that € 240,000.

“The proposal seeks the refund if a significant further improvement of payment rate is achieved in Clare over the next number of weeks.

“Essential council services need to be funded and unless we all contribute and pay we will fail to improve our collection rate,” it stated.

As the Fine Gael members prepare to meet with the Minister for Environment Phil Hogan on Saturday next at a party fundraising dinner, many admit privately that he has lost credibility with them.

This means any reassurances they might receive will be coated in more salt than the € 100 a plate dinner.