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HUNDREDS of parents of young children in the Shannon town area are to be surveyed to determine what kind of education they would like for their children.

Shannon was the only part of Clare mentioned in the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector Report, which identified it as an area that required immediate action. If the findings of the report are carried out, it will see one of the town’s five primary schools being transformed into a multi-denominational school.

Shannon already contains one Gaelscoil and one Church of Ireland school as well as a number of other national schools. It is, at present, unclear which of the town’s national schools will be asked to change its patron should the recommendations of the report be followed through on.

The possible changes in Shannon are the first step in a series of steps advocated by the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector Report. Other changes could see changes brought into some of the counties’ rural schools that will remain under the patronage of the Catholic Church.

The report recommends promoting more inclusiveness in all schools, but especially in standalone, rural schools – where divesting patronage to another body is not an option. The majority of Clare schools has been identified as standalone schools because the nearest alternative school is more than 3km away.

The report recommends that the school boards of these schools are given the responsibility to uphold the rights of children and parents with regard to own religious education regardless of their faith.

It has also been recommended that the law be changed to prevent a child from a certain faith being given a preferential position when applying to enter the school. The Clare People contacted each of the five primary school in the Shannon area in relation to this story but no official was forthcoming from any of the schools at the time of going to press.

DRUGS charges against a long-term cancer sufferer are likely to be struck out if she does not come to the attention of gardaí over the next six months, a court has heard.

Jacquelene Corris (40) appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Ms Corris, with an address at 4 Connolly Villas, Ennis, previously pleaded guilty to cultivating, without license, 13 cannabis plants. She was also charged with unlawful possession of cannabis

The plants, with an estimated value of € 5,200, were found during a garda search of 4 Connolly Villas on October 24, 2011.

The court previously heard that Ms Corris, who has suffered from cancer since her teens, could only get relief from the condition by taking cannabis.

A judge had earlier ordered a report from the probation and welfare services.

That report was handed into Judge Patrick Durcan at Ennis District Court Court last week.

Her solicitor Joe Chambers said the report had been very favourable towards his client.

He said Ms Corris, who has no previous convictions, had fully co-operated with gardaí during the investigation and had offered an early plea.

He added, “It is accepted by the State that she is not part of any criminal network.”

Mr Chambers said the incident had been a salutatory lesson for his client. He added;

“There is a strong likelihood that she will not re-offend.”

Judge Durcan said, “The report is very positive and one must compliment Ms Corris on the efforts she has made to remedy the situation.”

Noting her early plea and good record, he added, “She was not part of a ring.

“What was grown and cultivated was for personal use.”

He remanded Ms Corris on continuing bail to appear at Ennis District Court on October 10.

He said that if no further matters arose in the next six months, he would strike out the charges.

CONMEN impersonating members of the Gardaí have stolen hundreds of euro from vulnerable pensioners in North Clare after a spate of door-todoor scams over the past two weeks.

Gardaí in Ennistymon have issued a warning to local people after a number of elderly Ennistymon residents, all of whom were living on their own, were taken in by confidence tricksters.

One of the victims, well known 90year-old local publican Nan Aherne, lost € 350 in the scam – € 300 of which she had with her at the time to pay for her home help service.

In a separate incident, a woman in her 80s living on the Ennis Road in Ennistymon, lost € 1,000 to the criminals. Gardaí in Ennistymon are investigating both incidents but would not say as yet whether they believed the two incidents to be connected.

In both cases a man came to the house and claimed to be a plaincloths member of the Gardaí conducting routine house calls.

The man, who showed a form of ID, was invited onto the premises and discussed a number of security issues with the women.

In both cases, the women handed over a sum of money to the conman – who claimed he would take it back to the Ennistymon Garda Station to determine if the money was counterfeit. The money was not returned.

Gardaí in Ennistymon confirmed yesterday that they are not currently carrying out any door-to-door callouts in the Ennistymon area. According to one local resident, the con man who had visited Nan Aherne was very convincing.

DETAILS of two new teaching and coordinator appointments in Ennis and Scariff have been announced by Clare Vocational Education Committee (VEC).

John Cooke has been appointed Principal of Ennis Community College.

John is a native of Thurles and a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and is currently Principal of Scoil Phobail Mhic Dara in the Galway Gaelteacht.

John replaces outgoing principal, Matt Power. A spokesperson for Clare VEC thanked Mr Power for his decades of service to education in Clare. “We thank Matt most sincerely for the energy, enthusiasm, commitment and long and dedicated service, not only to Ennis Community College but also as a Senior Manager with County Clare VEC. We wish Matt every contentment and happiness in his retirement.”

Vivienne Hogan has been appointed Deputy Principal Ennis Community College.

Vivienne is a graduate of University of Limerick, currently teaches in Ennis Community College and has acted on two occasions as Duty Principal.

Vivienne replaces outgoing Deputy Principal Angela Mc Namara, who has been appointed Principal in Scariff Community College.

Ms McNamara is replacing Sean Daly as principal of Scariff Community College

Meanwhile, Triona Lynch has been appointed coordinator of the Scariff VTOS Programme and will take up this new role effective from September l, 2012.

Originally from Corrovorrin, Ennis, Ms Lynch now lives in Maurice’s Mills with her husband and family.

A spokesperson explained that the appointment is in line with an agreement with the Department of Education and Skills and Unions in relation to the redeployment of Directors of Traveller Training Centres

Triona replaces the outgoing coordinator, Brian Crossan, who has been appointed Deputy Principal in Scariff Community College.

Mr Crossan replaces retiring deputy principal John O’Donovan. Mr Crossan is a former director of St. Joseph’s Training Centre, Ennis.

A spokesperson for Clare VEC wished both Triona and Brian every success in their new roles.

A PUBLIC meeting to outline the potential dangers of hydraulic fracturing or fracking, will take place in Ennis this Sunday, April 15. The meeting will be addressed by NUI, Galway hydro-geologist Tiernan Henry, who will outline the possible dangers to the environment of West Clare should the Clare Basin be opened up to fracking.

Earlier this year, Clare County Council voted unanimously to amend the county development plan to prohibit fracking in the Clare basin. In practice, however, this decision had little beyond a moral boost for the Clare anti-fracking campaign, as any decision on granting a licence for fracking to take place will be taken by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte (LAB).

“Local government just does not have that power. Anyone who becomes informed of the controversial method of fracking knows it would be a criminal undertaking to let it happen in County Clare and the other areas of the West of Ireland where it is being proposed,” said Clare Fracking Concerned spokesperson, Róisín Ní Gháirbhith.

“It is important that people who are genuinely concerned about the threat of fracking attend this event. We need to keep this issue on our local politicians’ agenda and they need to know that we, the people, do not, under any circumstances, want this in our county or, indeed, Ireland.”

The meeting will be followed by a panel discussion which will be chaired by Lorna Siggins, Western Correspondent with The Irish Times .

“We have invited representatives from every sector of society, including farmers, politicians, tourism operators, business people, hoteliers, publicans and geologists, as well as Enegi Oil, the company that is interested in fracking in Clare, to take part in a panel discussion,” continued Sinead.

Enegi Oil has a licence for a 500km2 area known as the Clare Basin, which covers a large part of West Clare, as well as parts of Kerry and Limerick. The company has stated, “The Clare Basin area has great potential” and that it is “a new exciting lead”.

Enegi is currently proceeding with phase two of its exploration process, taking more detailed samples of what it describes as “an organically rich source rock that may contain shale gas”. It can then proceed to apply for a drilling licence.

The Clare Fracking Concerned event will take place at Glór in Ennis on Sunday, April 15, at 7pm.

THE number of businesses that went into liquidation has been cited as the main reason for the level of uncollected commercial rates in Ennis.

Latest figures show that as of March 23, Ennis Town Council had just over € 2.4 million of “temporary uncollectible rates.”

In 2011 the council had “irrecoverable” rates of € 502,755, a decrease of € 26,175 on last year’s figure.

A report on the schedule of uncollected rates 2011 was presented at last week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council.

Town Clerk Leonard Cleary explained, “In 2011, Ennis Town Council had irrecoverable rates of € 502,755, which represented 6.99 per cent of rate demand for 2011.

“These irrecoverable rates related to rates which were not legally collectable e.g. demolished / vacant properties, charitable organisations, properties occupied by the HSE etc.”

Mr Cleary continued, “At December 31, the temporary uncollectible rates stood at € 2,901,37 which represents 40.32 per cent of the rate demand for 2011.

“However, € 474,000 has been col- lected in rates to March 23. This temporary uncollectible balance is made up of a number of accounts, each with considerable balances owing.

“Ennis Town Council is making every effort to recover these monies by agreeing payment plans to allow people make phased payment or by proceeding through the appropriate legal channels including service of court summons”.

He added, “It should be noted also that a number of companies, who owe rates, have gone into liquidation over the last number of years.

“Ennis Town Council must await the decisions of liquidators to establish the amount of outstanding rates will be recovered from these companies.”

Town Manager Ger Dollard told the meeting that he was quite satisfied with the amount of money collected by the council to date in 2012.

However, he added that rate collection is still an issue for the council.

He said the council is willing to make “reasonable arrangements” with people regarding the payment of rates.

The court heard that the council has issued 70 summonses in relation to outstanding debt.

SINCE Scariff Community College has new personnel in its two most senior posts, it was thought appropriate to mark their arrival by planting commemorative trees.

The idea emanated from the Green Flag Committee, which has already put in place many commendable initiatives in the realm of ecology.

Oaks were chosen for the occasion honouring the start of tenures of Angela McNamara as college principal and Brian Crossan as deputy principal.

Green Flag Committee member Frank Blake, who is no stranger to public appearances – he was one of the stars of last December’s ‘All Shook Up’ staged in the college hall by East Clare Musical Society – was chosen to set the tree-planting in motion and in a brief address explained the purpose of the occasion after formally welcoming the new appointees on behalf of staff and student cohort.

Representing the Parents Council was Regina Roskam while Mary Cassidy and Liam Furlong were there to show the appreciation of Tuamgraney Development Association which works on ecological matters with the Green Flag Committee.

One of the latter initiatives is the restoration of a row boat to be installed in the village as a garden fea- ture. Soon the college’s Green Flag Committee will be the subject of a documentary in the Ear to the Ground television series. The RTÉ One programme is being devoted to the rainwater conservation scheme installed in the college through the committee’s research and planning.

A MAN allegedly sent a series of “nasty and offensive” text messages to a woman in Ennis, including one that stated she “should pick out a headstone” for herself, a court has heard.

Colm Quigley (39), with an address at 1 Steeles Terrace, Ennis, appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

He is charged with persistently making use of a telecom system by a licensed operator for the purposes of causing, annoyance, inconvenience and needless anxiety to another, contrary to the Postal and Telecommunications Act.

Evidence of arrest, charge and caution was given by schedule. Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that it would be alleged that Mr Quigley sent text messages of an offensive and threatening nature to Carmel Corbett.

He explained that Ms Corbett had rented accommodation to Mr Quigley who had now left. Insp Kennedy said there was some dispute as to whether this was amicable or not.

He told the court that the accused sent eight different text messages to Ms Corbett on October 17 (2011). He continued, “They were all quite nasty and offensive.”

Insp Kennedy said five of the eight text messages would be considered to be of an offensive, threatening and abusive nature.

The court heard that one of the text messages read, “You should pick out a headstone” for yourself.

Insp Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the matter.

Judge Patrick Durcan accepted jurisdiction of the case. Solicitor Daragh Hassett said he would be writing to the State seeking full disclosure.

Judge Durcan remanded the man on continuing bail to appear at Ennis District Court on May 9.

THE mystery of the Arctic Narwhal, who somehow made his way to the coast of County Clare, looks set to remain a mystery after the remains of the stranded mammal were destroyed last week.

A carcass, believed to be that of a Narwhal, was spotted by a member of the public at Clahane near Liscannor on March 25. The Narwhal, which is easily recognisable because of its single, two-metre-long, ivory tusk, is a cold-loving Arctic mammal and rarely ventures further south than sections of Greenland.

Indeed, had the carcass been confirmed as a Narwhal, it would have been the first documented finding of a Narwhal in Ireland.

On hearing of the carcass, the Kilrush-based Irish Whale and Dolphin Group set about confirming the find, but could not locate the animals carcass.

The Narwhal hunt came to an end last Wednesday, when Clare County Council confirmed that they had removed the animal carcass.

In a statement the local authority confirmed that the partial remains of the decomposing mammal were discovered by a member of the pub- lic on a beach near Liscannor and reported to the Ennistymon Area Office on March 27.

“An investigation was immediately carried out by council officials who determined that the mammal had been in situ for at least several weeks. The mammal was found to be in an advanced state of decomposition and, as a result, the identity of the species could not be determined,” said the statement.

“Due to the serious public health concerns surrounding the presence of a rotting carcass in a public amenity area, Clare County Council engaged the services of an animal disposal contractor, licensed by the Department of Agriculture under EU legislation, to remove the carcass.

“The contractor took the decision to immediately render the carcass, due to its advanced decomposed state.”

The Environment section of Clare County Council also noted that they had not been contacted by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group regarding the matter.

The waters on the Irish Atlantic coast have seen some unusual activity in recent months with a large increase in unexplained whale beachings and the unexplained deaths of a numbers of dolphins.

CLARE’S reputation for producing talented young musicians has been further enhanced after two local primary schools were selected for the final of the € 10,000 Walton’s Music in Schools Competition. Both Knockanean National School and Holy Family Senior Primary School in Ennis have been shortlisted alongside four other schools from around Ireland.

Students from both schools will perform at the competition’s final in the National Concert Hall in Dublin on Monday, April 16. The annual Waltons Music for Schools Competition is a national event and a celebration of music in Irish schools. The competition awards a total of € 10,000 worth of vouchers for musical instruments, accessories or technology from Waltons Music, to be divided among six winning primary and post-primary schools, including two first prizes of € 3,000 vouchers.

Both Holy Family and Knockanean had to submit a recording of a piece of music based around the theme of ‘Why Music?’ They will face competition from schools from Tipperary and Cork in the competition final.

Music is alive and well in both schools. In addition to a 120-strong choir and an 80-strong chamber choir, tuition in several instruments and a newly introduced violin-teaching programme, Holy Family Senior Primary School has taken a highly creative approach to developing music in the school. These include a daily listening programme in which children speak through their PA system and announce a featured ‘composer of the week’ and a ‘mobile singing squad’ of children who visit each class to help teach new songs. The school would use the prize to get a range of instruments and replace their keyboard. Their entry is ‘One Small Voice’ from Sesame Street, performed by the 80strong Holy Family Chamber Choir.

Knockanean National School has a vibrant 85-member ‘Music Club’ that takes place once a week. Students participate in the Music Club at no cost, and the only requirement is full attendance of all sessions. Knockanean NS would use the prize to get a digital piano as well as other instruments. Their entry is ‘Unfinished Seasons’, performed by Cnoc An Éin, a 56-strong group of instrumentalists and singers.

To watch videos of both school’s entries log onto www.newschool.ie and follow the links.