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SHANNON Heritage has been hailed as the jewel in the mid west’s crown by the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar – a ringing endorsement that’s set to ensure that the Shannon Development subsidiary is firewalled against any change to its operating structure during the implementation of a new semi-state blueprint for the region.

The government go-ahead for Shannon Heritage to continue with its historical mandate for operating visitor attractions in the mid west region was given by Minister Varadkar, after he signalled the break-up of the Shannon Development company that has operated in the mid west since 1959.

“We envisage with Shannon Development that of some its staff will transfer to the IDA, some to Enterprise Ireland and some to Fáilte Ireland and some becoming staff of the new airport body,” revealed Minister Varadkar.

“Shannon Heritage stands on its own,” he added, “because it’s a company that I’ve been hugely impressed with. It’s a company that’s growing outside the region as it has been given the contract for the management of Malahide Castle in Dublin. That shows what it can do”.

Shannon Heritage has responsibility for a host of visitor attractions in the mid west region, dating back to the medieval banquets that started at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park in the early 1960s.

Banquets are also held at Dungaire Castle in Kinvara and Knappogue Castle in Quin, while its estimated that nearly five million people have enjoyed the mediaeval banquet experience over the past 50 years. Other Shannon Heritage attractions include Craggaunowen in Quin, Lough Gur in Kilmallock and the Brian Boru Heritage Centre in Killaloe.

“One thing the Shannon steering group will have to decide is whether Shannon Heritage becomes a subsidiary of Fáilte Ireland or a subsidiary of the new Shannon company,” revealed Minister Varadkar.

“My preference is that it would become a subsidiary of the new Shannon Airport company and would remain regionally focused,” he added.

A MAN who was sexually assaulted as a child has said he is “shocked” by a judge’s decision to hand down a suspended sentence to the offender.

The man was speaking at Ennis courthouse yesterday after Cyril Maxwell (67) received a four-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to charges of indecent assault.

Charges of buggery against Mr Maxwell, with an address at Loughnash, Newmarket-on-Fergus, were vacated following a recent decision by the Supreme Court.

Surrounded by his family, the man said, “He destroyed my life and only for my family I wouldn’t be here. Somebody can walk into Dunnes Stores and rob a bar of chocolate and they get 12 months in jail.”

He added, “We were shocked. We thought he was going downstairs. He did me no favours by admitting his guilt because it didn’t take it away. I have been in psychiatric units since I was 20. I have tried to commit suicide three times; two of them were very close. That’s what my life has been like.”

The man said he was glad to have made the complaint. He also praised the work of local gardaí involved in the case.

The man’s daughter said that it was a “joke” that the buggery charges against Mr Maxwell were vacated

The assaults occurred over a twoyear period in Clare in the late 1960s, when the man was in his twenties and the victim was a young teenager.

The court heard that Mr Maxwell suffered from Jacobs Syndrome, a sex chromosome abnormality, and is subject to a significant regime of monitoring and anti-testosterone medication.

Judge Moran said, “This case has caused me a considerable degree of trouble.” He said that, in normal circumstances, he would impose a custodial sentence. He said the abuse had occurred a long time ago, the accused had offered an early plea of guilty, and he had also been on a course of medication since 1984.

Judge Moran said there was a low risk of Mr Maxwell re-offending. “I think it would be wrong to impose a custodial sentence. It is one of those exceptional cases.”

He imposed a four-year suspended sentence. He ordered the accused to keep the peace for a period of four years.

A FORMER worker with Clare County Council who sexually assaulted young boys over a 27-year period has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Sean Leamy (61) with an address at Main Street, Tulla was convicted yesterday at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court.

He had pleaded guilty to 21 counts of sexual / indecent assault. The offences took place in areas, including courthouses in Tulla and Sixmilebridge from 1978 to 2005.

The court heard that Mr Leamy, a secretary and former member of the Tulla Pipe Band, worked for Clare County Council for over 30 years.

The victims were aged between seven and 14.

The court heard that Mr Leamy would strike up a relationship with boys by asking them about horse riding. During the assaults he would ask them to strike him with a jockey’s whip.

Statements from the five victims were read out in court. One man said that he had battled with alcohol and depression in his adult life.

Another of the injured parties said, “As a result of the abuse I suffered from Sean Leamy, my innocence was lost.”

One man said in his statement that he had given up playing rugby and hurling after the abuse. He said the accused had killed his love of music.

“I tried to kill myself,” he added.

Detective Garda Stephen Ryan of Shannon Garda Station led the investigation into Sean Leamy.

He said the accused had fully cooperated with gardaí and made a full admission.

Counsel for Mr Leamy, Mark Ni- cholas, said his client unreservedly apologised to all the victims.

He said from a position where he enjoyed some standing, his client had become a “social pariah” in his community. He said, “He is not welcome, ignored and despised. His reputation is in tatters and rightly so.”

The court heard that Mr Leamy has no previous convictions.

Judge Carol Moran said the accused had been an active member of the community in Tulla. He said the abuse in some cases was “regular and continuous”.

He added, “What’s really scandalous about it is that it took place over a period of 27 years. This is a bad case.”

Noting the accused’s early plea of guilty and the isolation he has experienced in his own community, Judge Moran imposed sentences totaling six years.

SHANNON Development is no longer an international airport – instead it’s a dying institution because of the “dead hands” of the Dublin Airport Authority and now Shannon Development, which threatens to be “more of the same”.

That was the stinging verdict delivered by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary in the wake of the government decision to separate Shannon Airport from DAA control by creating a new holding company comprising of Shannon Development and the old SAA to take control of the airport’s destiny.

“The last thing you’d call Shannon is a dynamic international airport,” blasted Mr O’Leary. “It is a dying airport, because it is being run by the dead hands of the Department of Transport. We have a solution to this and it’s to put Shannon up for sale.

“We’ve had lots of smoke and mirrors from the Department of Transport talking about reform, when all they’ve done is move Shannon from the DAA which is a failed quango, into SFDCO, which is no better.

“The private sector across Europe – the airlines have been privatised, the airports have been privatised, but in Ireland we have the world’s largest international airline, banging on for years about selling off airports.

“What do we do? We move the deck chairs on the Titanic. Transferring Shannon Airport to SFDCO isn’t going to recapture the two million lost passengers that Shannon has suffered in the last five years under DAA mismanagement,” he added.

In continuing his broadside, Mr O’Leary described the government announcement, which was made on the back of the Booz & Company report that put forward five possible recommendations for Shannon’s future, as “more of the same” and “drivel about a world-class aviation industry” in Shannon.

“The minister will form a steering group – a high level committee, consultation with stakeholders and another two years of fudge and dither while Shannon continues to lose traffic and lose jobs.

“We’re here fudging Shannon out of the DAA into SFDCO – why don’t we put Shannon up for sale? We’ve nothing to lose. We might get € 100m for it that might go down to pay government debt and would bring in new management and a new vision. Moving Shannon from the dead hands of the DAA to the probably the deader hands of SFDCO is not change, it’s not reform, it’s just moving the deckchairs on the Titanic,” he added.

A CLARE Government TD has said he believes that Shannon Development can successfully run Shannon Airport if it is given the right resources and expertise, and raised concerns about its future if it is leased to the private sector.

Deputy Michael McNamara (Lab) said, “On the decision of management, there is no reason why Shannon Development should not take over the role if the required expertise is brought in.”

While welcoming the decision of the Government to create an independent Shannon Airport, he raised concerns that there were still a lot of questions about its future.

The Labour TD said that while the airport and land bank assets will remain in public ownership, we don’t know if the new entity will ultimately be franchised to a semi-state or a private company.

“The operator needs to be reputable with a proven track record in the airport and aviation business. I do not believe that Shannon should be handed over on a long lease to oligarchs, no matter how tempting this might seem in terms of a quick-fix solution,” he said.

The Clare TD said that whoever takes over the airport couldn’t be allowed to run it down like the Dublin Airport Authority had been doing for the last number of years.

He said he also broadly supported the decision to restructure the enter- prise support agencies in the Shannon region.

Deputy McNamara said we would have to await the recommendations of the steering group to report to Cabinet before we have a clear picture of the new Shannon entity and how it proposes to develop the airport and the region.

He added that, while a quick-fix solution was not the answer, a solution had to be made quickly, “particularly if a new management structure is to be put in place in time to go out and compete for the 2013 tourism season”.

“By September 2011, most decisions on routes for 2012 were made and a tourism plan was in place. Minds must be focused quickly on the issue,’ he said.

IT promises to be an emotional few days for staff and students of St Joseph’s traveller training centre.

The final ever presentation of FETAC level certificates to students takes place at the Auburn Lodge Hotel in Ennis on Friday.

The ceremony represents the end of an era for the centre that first opened in 1974.

The Ennis Traveller Training Centre was the first in the country. It started as part of a Combat Poverty Programme in 1974.

At that time, it was located in the grounds of the Holy Family School, Ennis. In 1982, the centre moved to a new building at the Gort Road industrial estate.

St Joseph’s, which is located in the Gort Road industrial estate, will close as a traveller-only training centre on June 29.

The building will become the first all-purpose skills unit in Ennis.

There are currently around 13 staff working at the centre. Staff will be transferred internally to other VEC schools and centres.

It will be run by Ennis Adult Education Centre, with classes offered in a number of areas including woodwork and hairdressing.

Over 60 people have been invited to Friday’s event, including former directors and board members.

According to Director Tríona Lynch, the ceremony will celebrate the history of the centre.

She said, “It is very emotional. You can see it around the place. The focus this week is on celebration and celebrating the past and looking ahead to the future.”

She added, “One of the traveller men said to me the other day that his parents attended the centre and so did his kids.

“It was part of their lives. The centre has provided nearly four decades of support for travellers.”

Ms Lynch also acknowledged the support of Clare VEC. The ceremony at the Auburn Lodge gets underway at 1pm.

A TAXI driver has been found guilty of assaulting a passenger near his home in Ennis two years ago.

Okechukwu Utuke, with an address at 45 Dun Na hInse, Ennis, pleaded not guilty to assault causing harm to Michael L’ Estrange at Gort Na mBlath, Ennis on April 25 (2010). Mr Utuke (44) also pleaded not guilty to a charge of robbery.

It took a jury 23 minutes to convict Mr Utuke of assault. He was found not guilty of robbery. Details of the assault were heard at the three day trial in Ennis Circuit Court last week. Mr L’ Estrange, who suffered a fractured collarbone in the assault, told the jury that he had gone for a few drinks in town and left for home at around 1.30am. He said that he had started to walk but when he got to Country Pine, he “flagged” down a taxi.

He asked the driver to bring him to his home at 27 Gort na mBlath. Mr L’ Estrange said he stopped a short distance from his house. He said he never got a taxi directly to his home “because you don’t know who’s who.” Mr L’ Estrange said that after the car came to a halt in Gort Na mBlath, he disputed the fare of € 15, adding that it usually cost between seven and eight euros.

The court heard that Mr L’Estrange dropped € 10 onto the front passenger seat and left the car.

Mr L’ Estrange said that the driver followed him from the car, knocked him to the ground and started digging him with his fists. He said he was also struck with an implement.

Mr L’ Estrange said the driver then put his hands into his pocket and took out € 70. He added, “I asked him to give the money back. He got in his car and took off.”

Elaine Shanahan witnessed what she described as a “coloured man” beating another man on the ground just outside her home at 18 Gort na mBlath. She told the court she was horrified to see the man hit the other repeatedly with a toy trailer. He then proceeded to hit him with a sweeping brush, she recalled.

According to Ms Shanahan’s testimony, the assailant then got into his silver Toyota car and drove away at speed. She did not get the car registration number, but recorded the taxi number on her phone, which she later gave to Gardaí. The court heard that Mr Utuke accepted that he owned a silver Toyota Avensis and had made a call to Gort na mBlath on the night in question. The court heard that Mr Utuke claimed that Mr L’ Estrange had run off without paying. Mr Utuke was convicted of assault and acquitted of robbery. He is due to be sentenced on May 18.

A FURTHER extension of time has been granted for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to issue directions for three people charged in relation to alleged incidents outside a primary school in Ennis in March.

Conor Mahon (21), Rose Mahon (22) and Laura Molloy (21) are charged with alleged offences at the Holy Family Junior School, Station Road, Ennis on March 20.

Conor Mahon, of Ballaghboy, Quin Road, Ennis is charged with possession of a slash hook at the school contrary to the firearms and offen- sive weapons act and with engaging in threatening and, or, abusive behaviour.

Conor Mahon’s wife, Rose Mahon, a mother of two, also of Ballaghboy Quin Road, Ennis, is charged with causing € 1500 worth of damage to the windows of a vehicle belonging to Thomas Sherlock on Station Road.

Her sister, Laura Molloy, of 21 An Pairc, Bruach na hAbhainn, Ennis is also charged with causing € 1500 worth of damage to the windows of a vehicle belonging to Thomas Sherlock on Station Road. Both sisters are also charged with provoking a breach of the peace. All three accused deny the charges.

The matter was before Ennis District Court last Wednesday.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that directions had not yet been finalized. Solicitor for all three accused, Daragh Hassett said he had concerns that directions had not yet been issued.

He said. “This case has attracted a certain degree of notoriety about what is alleged to have happened in a school. All of which is denied.”

He said the strict bail conditions imposed on his clients meant that all three people “are basically under house arrest.”

He claimed that the file against his clients “had been left lying on a desk.” Mr Hassett added, “I want to know where these cases are going because they appear to be going nowhere.”Insp Kennedy said the case is being “actively investigated.”

He said, “This is very complex investigation. There is an element of cross allegations that the guards are looking into.” He said it had taken longer than anticipated to prepare the files. Insp Kennedy added, “This is not a simple matter. There are serious charges involved.”

He said that a file should be sent to the DPP in the next two weeks.

Judge Patrick Durcan adjourned the matter until June 6 for DPP’s directions.

Mr Hassett requested that bail conditions be altered for Conor and Rose Mahon.

He said the couple have children with heart difficulties and sometimes needed to attend the doctor after 9pm.

Curfew for Rose Mahon was extended to 12 midnight. Judge Durcan ruled that as bail for Conor Mahon was granted by the High Court, a change in bail conditions could only be secured there.

A MAN has received a four-month prison sentence for sending a series of “vile and vicious” text messages to his former landlady.

Colm Quigley (39), with an address at 1 Steele’s Terrace, Ennis, pleaded guilty to offences contrary to the postal and telecommunications act at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

The court heard that on October 17 (2011) Mr Quigley sent eight offensive and threatening text messages to Carmel Corbett.

One of the messages read, “Pick out your headstone, you’ll be dead shortly.”

The accused also told Ms Corbett “Watch your back. I know where you are.”

Another text message made a threatening reference to Ms Corbett’s daughter. Inspector Tom Kennedy explained that Ms Corbett had rented accommodation in Drumcliff to Mr Quigley who had now left. He said there was some dispute as to whether this was amicable or not.

He said that Mr Quigley sent the messages after leaving the accommodation.

Insp Kennedy described the messages as “quite nasty and unsavory.”

The matter was reported to gardaí on October 19 and the messages were subsequently traced back to Mr Quigley.

The court heard that he admitted sending the messages to gardaí.

Insp Kennedy said, “He was very intoxicated when he sent them. He was very apologetic. He told the guards that not a million years would he normally do it.”

He added, “The victim was very disturbed and was concerned about going out on her own.”

Solicitor Daragh Hassett said his client, who lived in the house for two years, had carried out work to the property after previously being told that it would be brought up to a certain standard.

He said Mr Quigley had arrived back to the property to find the locks had been changed.

Mr Hassett said his client was upset and sent the messages from the pub.

He added, “He made no level or at- tempt to disguise his identification.”

The court heard that Mr Quigley wrote a letter of apology to the victim.

Mr Hassett said, “Its something he will be ashamed of until his dying days.”

Judge Patrick Durcan said he regarded the offence as a “very serious matter.”

He said, “This was a case where a person uses modern technology to mentally violate somebody.” He said the messages were of a “vile and viscous nature.”

He imposed a four month prison sentence and fined Mr Quigley € 800.

Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

ENNIS will host its first ever classic music busking event this weekend, with all proceeds going to the Mid West Simon Community.

The unique busking event will take place in Clare’s county town this Friday and Saturday with the Clare Music Makers Orchestra already agreeing to offer their services for a few hours on Saturday morning.

The Simon Community is asking musicians from Clare to take part in the event and support the work of the Simon Community with homeless people in the county.

The recent Mid West Homeless forum report showed there were 1565 households are presenting as homeless in the region in 2010 – with 378 of those located in Clare. The Mid West Simon Community provides services to help people in crisis.

“For those willing to busk, we can offer a new experience, an opportunity to show off, a chance to give a crowd-pleasing performance, a huge thank you from us and a story to tell their grandchildren,” said Susan Ward of the Mid West Simon Community. “When they play that final note, they can take a bow knowing they have played a part in something that will make a real difference to real lives.”

A coffee morning is also taking place in Ennis as part of National Volunteer Week. The coffee morning will take place on Friday, May 18 in our the Charity Shop and Coffee Dock on Woodquay in Ennis.

To volunteer for the busking day, call Clare Volunteer Centre 065 68 66 800 or log on to their website www.volunteerclare.ie to access volunteer opportunities or call Susan at Mid West Simon Community on 061 608980.