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A NORTH Clare hotelier travelled to China over the weekend for a toplevel meeting with members of the Chinese government, in an effort to open a door for thousands of tourists from China to visit Clare in the coming year.

Lisdoonvarna businessman Marcus White flew out to Beijing last Thursday, just days after returning from a similar trade meeting in Russia. It is as yet unclear whether either of these trade meetings will yield a major tourism breakthrough for the county, but the growing middle-classes in both Russia and China are considered to be one of the major future growth markets for world tourism.

In 2010, Mr White succeeded in forging a relationship with a major German tour operator which has brought more than 15,000 German tourists to North Clare in the past two years.

“This could be a big help to Shannon Airport. The publicity that was gained when Xi Jinping was here was really encouraging and was a big help for what I’m going. It is very important that we can find a way to deliver on this market,” said Mr White.

“I met with Ramazan Akpinar from Pegas earlier in the month. Currently, they bring more than 600,000 Russians on tours to Thailand every year, so if we can get even a small slice of that market, it will be massive for Clare and Ireland.

“We were in Russia trying to encourage him to work with us to bring more Russian tourists into Ireland. It was a positive meeting but it will probably take another year to develop this into something real.

“Russia is very much an up-andcoming country and now is the right time for the Irish tourism board to target that market.

“I think the only way to do this is to go over there and meet the people who make the big decisions. The Irish embassy [in Russia] have been very good to me but more needs to be done to make this a reality.”

White’s Hotel Group operates the Burren Castle Hotel, the Hydro Hotel, the Imperial Hotel and the King Thomand Hotel in Lisdoonvarna, as well as a number of hotels in Donegal.

ENNIS General Hospital’s radiology department, which faced closure 12 months ago, has won the prestigious Biomnis Healthcare Innovation Awards.

In a rags-to-riches story, the department, which had come under much criticism in the past, was recognised for its ‘Innovation in Quality of Service Delivery’.

The new x-ray service has cut result waiting times from 10 days to just 15 minutes in the case of emergencies, cut costs by 29 per cent and has seen more than 1,800 patients.

Hospital manager Frank Keane explained that when the x-ray department faced closure last year, as a consultant radiologist could not be recruited, the hospital team began to “gingerly” consider the option of introducing teleradiology technology.

In April 2011, Ennis General Hospital (EGH) partnered with Global Diagnostics (Global) and through the deployment of new and innovative teleradiology technology and new enabling processes positively transformed the operations, efficiency level and the standards of patient care and responsiveness at the Radiology Department.

The x-rays continued to be taken at the Ennis hospital but then they were immediately sent by telelink to one of the nine consultant radiologists available to read them.

One of the biggest successes within this pioneering system is the quick response of the department.

Now an emergency x-ray is read and reported on within 15 minutes, while an accident and emergency x-ray’s results are with the patient within 90 minutes.

Inpatient x-rays are read within three hours, while the hospital now guarantees that GP referred x-rays will be read and the results with the GP within 48 hours, although most are with the family doctor within 10 hours.

This compares more than favourably to an older system where patients were waiting an average of 10 days to have an x-ray read.

The team of radiology experts from Ireland, Northern Ireland, England and the UK include specialist paediatric and neurology radiologists, and bring added expertise to the hospital service.

Mr Keane said he was delighted with the win at the weekend, especially as the competition was so stiff. All of the other eight entries came from Ireland’s leading teaching hospitals.

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny has pledged to return to the Loophead Lighthouse visitor experience with his family for a holiday, a commitment he made to the people of West Clare last Friday when officially opening the facility for the 2012 season.

Mr Kenny made his comments after he described the visiting the peninsula for the first time in glowing terms, calling it “a special day for me and my family” because “I feel I have come home here to Loophead”.

The Taoiseach’s grandfather, James McGinley, was a lighthouse keeper at Loophead from January 1933 until October the following year, a family link recalled by Mr Kenny during his three-hour stay in West Clare.

“I feel a very strong spiritual connection here because my grandfather served here as a light-keeper but my late mother ran around this patch of grass and my uncle was born here so there is a very strong family connec- tion in that sense,” he said.

“I remember him very well. Lightkeepers were meticulous people. They had to be — if that light wasn’t shining properly, well then sailors and mariners in distress could have suffered fatal consequences.

“This was the last light that people saw when leaving Ireland and the first they saw when they returned. They endured gales, storms, long weeks, the cold, loneliness, isolation, but these were men were sanguine, resilient, adaptable, resourceful, self possessed and who knew their job,” he added.

The lighthouse was opened to the public for the first time last year – an initiative sparked by a motion tabled to Clare County Council by local councillor Gabriel Keating (FG) in 2009 and taken on the local authority, Shannon Development, Loop Head Tourism and the Commissioners of Irish Lights.

A 11-week trial opening was a huge success and resulted in an estimated 17,000 people visiting the landmark building, which was worth an esti- mated € 400,000 to the local economy.

Earlier this year, Shannon Images was appointed to produce an interpretation plan that would further enhance the overall visitor experience at the lighthouse.

An exhibition focusing on the history of Irish lighthouses and the people who have operated them since the 17th century has been installed for the 2012 tourist season.

“The collaborative approach adopted by regional development agencies and the local community to enhancing the visitor experience at Loop Head is a model that could and should be replicated elsewhere throughout County Clare and, indeed, the rest of Ireland,” said Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF).

“Heritage tourism is becoming increasingly popular throughout the world and therefore, we should consider the possibility of opening up and promoting some of other many existing heritage sites and structures that currently remain inaccessible to the public,” he added.

JUST under € 1.8 million has been collected so far in Clare via the household charge, new figures from Clare County Council show.

The information was given in response to a notice of motiwon from Labour councillor Pascal Fitzgerald requesting a breakdown on the total amount collected in the county to date.

In his reply Niall Barrett, Head of Finance, stated that the latest information from the Household Charge Bureau that there were 17,819 household registrations processed for payment as at 9am on Tuesday, April 24. This corresponds to the sum collected for the county to date.

He continued, “Nationally there are an estimated 220,500 household charge declarations which have been made through the post and over the counter in local authority offices that are being processed by the Household Charge Bureau.

“The County Clare portion of the unprocessed declarations is not included in the above figure as the county/city breakdown is not yet available in the figure.

“In addition, 15,159 declarations nationally have been received by the household charge bureau where a waiver from payment of the house- hold charge is claimed and these declarations are not included in the figure.”

He added, “This gives a total number of 921,101 household charge declarations made nationally.

“The amount collected for Clare will increase as applications on hand are processed by the Bureau.”

Cllr Fitzgerald asked if householders living in unfinished housing estates who have paid the household charge could be provided with services by Clare County Council?

He also asked the council to clarify their position for the residents in these estates.

Mr Barrett stated that there are no proposals at the present time to change established arrangements for the provision of services to estates in the county.

Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF) called for Minister for State Jan O’Sullivan, who he said represented 5,000 people in Clare, to attend a council meeting.

Director of Services Ger Dollard said the introduction of the household charge has not changed the way the council deal with unfinished estates.

He said the council is currently dealing with a number of unfinished estates in Clare.

“We are working very hard to get through that,” he added.

AN EAST Clare family has been forced to move out of their own house because of anti-social behaviour by neighbours who were claiming a Rent Allowance Payment.

That is according to East Clare Cllr Joe Cooney (FG), who called for tighter regulations to be placed on people who receive rent allowance – including a provision for money to be taken directly from a persons social welfare payment to repay a private landlord or the local authority for damage done to a property.

Cllr Cooney said that the way that a small minority of people on rent allowance treat property is a “disgrace”.

“Some of these tenants, the state that they leave some of the houses are a disgrace. I have people on to me, and they can’t rent out their house because of the damage done,” said Cllr Cooney.

“I am aware of a family in East Clare who had to move out of their own house because of the anti-social actions from one family beside them. If these people can’t treat the property properly, and not be acting the fool, then there has to be consequences for them.

“Not all tenants are the same, but some are very bad. This is a vital motion. What is going on is a dis- grace in some place, but it is not everywhere. The damage has seen some local council houses left closed for up to 12 months, which in my opinion is a disgrace.”

The motion was seconded by Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) who said that legislations need to be put in place to allow landlords to recoup payments from people who destroy their property.

“There are some people in this society for who there are no consequences,” he said. “I think we need legislation where a local authority or a private individual should pursue people in the courts and they should then have an attachments put to their [social welfare] payments.”

WHEN Taoiseach Enda Kenny stopped on the road from Kilrush to Ennis for a cup of tea on Saturday last, his host was one of Clare’s oldest citizens.

A life-long supporter of Fine Gael, Timmy Ryan was happy to welcome the leader of the country into his home in Knockalough.

And so good was the welcome, that the man from Mayo was in no hurry to leave the home of the 102-year-old and continue his journey on to Ennis.

He stayed for over an hour, enjoying the hospitality and entertainment.

In this area of West Clare, Timmy Ryan is as well known as any Taoiseach or world leader and 50 to 60 of his family, friends and neighbours were also happy to drop in on the visit.

While the crowd enjoyed a cup of tea, and maybe something a little stronger, Deputy Joe Carey (FG) began the festivities with a song.

Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) was then happy to represent the west with his own song, followed by Timmy’s grandson Keenan Ryan and neighbour Mary O’Connor who welcomed the Taoiseach with a song about Mayo.

Not to be outdone in his own home, Timmy recited ‘The Village Blacksmith’. The recital came as easy as walking to Knockalough’s oldest resident.

The former champion athlete still goes for regular walks and enjoys the odd drink in local watering holes The Crossroads, Murty Brown’s and even in Ballynacally.

It was Ballynacally native and Clare Fine Gael TD Pat Breen (FG) that organised the visit to the home of what is likely to be one of the longest supporters of Fine Gael today.

IT WAS an unavoidable, freak accident that shocked the parish. That was the consensus in Cree yesterday as the West Clare village tried to come to terms with the death of local man Michael O’Dea (74) following a farming accident on Saturday.

Mr O’Dea had been dosing a new- born calf with his son Eddie on the family farm in Clonina when the cow turned on the younger farmer.

It is understood that Mr O’Dea then moved to save his son and was fatally injured by the cow.

Eddie, whose ankle was broken in the attack, managed to raise the alarm, but his father was pronounced dead at the scene.

Local County Councillor Bill Chambers (FF) described the late farmer as “a grand man and a great man for the dogs”.

As well as farming, Mr O’Dea’s biggest interest was his greyhounds and he spent many a St Stephen’s Day at the Cooraclare Coursing Festival.

Chairman of Clare ICMSA, Martin McMahon said that the farming community was in shock and sympathised with Mr O’Dea’s family.

“Losing someone like that is a big shock and a big tragedy,” he said.

“At the best of times, no matter how careful you are, you can get caught. You could have the quietest cow in the world and after calving she could become the crossest cow on the farm. A lot of cases are unavoidable,” said the farming expert.

“Loading animals and things like that, there is a risk no matter how careful you are. Sometimes it is just outside your control.”

Gardaí from Kilrush and inspectors from the Health and Safety Authority are investigating the tragic incident.

Mr O’Dea is survived by his wife Maisie, four daughters and two sons.

The details of Mr O’Dea’s funeral were not announced at time of press last night (Monday).

CLARE big-wave surfer Ollie O’Flaherty will be one of the main attractions at the first ever Wavemasters Surf and Music Festival, which takes place in Spanish Point over the June Bank Holiday weekend.

The Lahinch man has become the hottest prospect in Irish and Euro- pean surfing following his thirdplace finish at the Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards earlier this month. Ollie will be joined at the festival by current Irish champion Stephen Kilfeather, as well as a number of leading Irish surfers.

In total, six surfers, each of whom are current members of the Irish surf team, will take part in an ‘Expression Session’ on Spanish Point beach from 2pm on Sunday, June 3. Prizes will be awarded for best move, best wave and best overall performance.

The festival will also include a number of live music performances taking pace at the Bellbridge Hotel in Spanish Point. The organisers are hopeful that the Wavemasters Surf and Music Festival could become a regular event in the county’s annual festival calendar.

The music portion of the festival will be headlined by Irish funk-rock band Republic of Loose. The music line-up will also feature Bellharbour musician Jim McKee and his band.

Over the last number of weeks, Jim has been travelling the world promoting his role in the new film, Songs for Amy , alongside Kinvara singer-songwriter Ultan Conlan. The pair wrote and recorded much of the soundtrack for the film. In recent weeks, the film has received a good reaction, winning an award at the Newport Film Festival in Los Angeles and also appearing at the Cannes Film Festival.

It will receive its official Irish premier at the Galway Film Fleadh next month.

Tickets for the Wavemasters Surf and Music Festival are currently available from 087 1841555.

SINN Féin leader, Gerry Adams, has left the door open for a number of former party members in Clare to return to fold, but has closed the door on expelled members such as Shannon Cllr Cathy McCafferty (Ind), saying she was expelled for a “good reason”. The Louth TD, who was in Ennis last week to campaign for a ‘No’ vote in the upcoming European Fiscal Treaty, refused to give a reason why the Shannon councillor was expelled from the Sinn Féin party earlier this year.

“After the last election we initiated a review right across the island of Ireland, looking at where we need to shape our organisation – looking at where we were strong and how we could change things where we were weak. We did this in Clare and some local people objected to what was brought forward,” said Deputy Adams.

“It was all done democratically. Some people left and some people were dismissed. We are in a new era. We have a sizable vote in the county, I think that is seen in European elections, it is seen when Martin McGuinness stands, but we have no local representative and we have to crack that. It isn’t a matter of cracking that for a ego trip, it is a matter of correcting things so we can start to serve people in a matter that we think is best for the people of this county.

“I am very hopeful and very confident that the changes that we have made [in Clare], which have been done in consultation with local people, will lead to greater traction to the party in Clare.

“All parties have their democratic process and their disciplinary process. The fact is that a small number of people who were expelled, were expelled for a good reason. We don’t want to end up being complicated for all or any of that. It has happened, people part company in every organisation and every political party. It is done, it’s dusted, it is regrettable, but sin é, that’s it, we move on.

“Those who have not been expelled, there is a process for anyone who wants to come back into the party. There is a process in place for those people. That is a decision for them, it isn’t a decision for us. We can’t altogether blind ourselves to the fact that part of the lack of the development of the party [in Clare] is the refusal of some to go with the way that the party is building itself across the island. If it works in County Antrim, if it work in Kerry and in Donegal, it can also work in Clare. But it needs a full hearted involvement by the local members. A political party, at least one like the one we want to build, can only be built from the bottom up.”

THERE have been calls for the retention of tourist offices in rural parts of Clare amid concerns they could be shut under a new coordinated marketing strategy for the west of Ireland.

West Clare councillor Gabriel Keating (FG) called for a report “on the implications on the delivery of tourism services, if any, for Clare following recent media reports that the west of Ireland is to be marketed as a separate tourist destination.”

Cllr Keating told the meeting that in times of change there is always a danger that rural communities will be affected and forgotten about.

He said it was vitally important for Clare that tourism offices in Kilrush and Kilkee are kept open.

In his reply, Director of Services Gerard Dollard said it had been shown that on the international stage, a west of Ireland branding can be effective and is important in encouraging people to the area. He said the council welcomed the focus on promoting the west of Ireland

Mr Dollard stated, “The promotion and branding of the west of Ireland does not impact on the delivery of tourism services as such but the recent Government announcement regarding the proposed transfer of the tourism remit of Shannon Development to Fáilte Ireland obviously has implications for delivery of tourism services both in the area of product development and marketing and promotion. Clare Tourism Forums and the Strategic Policy Committee will also be seeking discussions with Fáilte Ireland at an early date to iden- tify the best manner in which Clare County Council and the forum can continue to play an active role in the delivery of tourism services and the marketing and promotion of County Clare.”

West Clare councillor Pat Keane (FF) said it is important that the region is properly marketed. He said opening hours at the offices should be extended during the tourist season.

Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) said, “Clare has a unique brand and we have to sell it and we have to sell it to everyone.”

Mayor of Clare Pat Hayes (FF) said all Clare people are ambassadors for their county.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said Shannon Airport should be promoted as the official airport of the Gathering – the government’s campaign to increase tourist numbers in 2013. He said the airport’s long association with emigration should be emphasised in order to avail of the estimated 400,000 extra passengers that the Government are hoping the Gathering will bring to Ireland