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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.

LOCAL services across the county are set to be slashed because of Clare’s response to the government demand for householders to pay the € 100 household charge.

Figures secured by The Cla re People this week have shown that less than 15,000 of those liable to pay the controversial property tax have done so.

This means that there are over 20,000 property owners in the county who have failed to register with Clare County Council or the Local Government Management Agency to pay the levy introduced by the Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan.

These figures have come to light, after a leading member of Clare County Council released countywide payment figures for the household charge to members of Kilrush Town Council on Thursday night last.

“The most recent information available indicates that circa 37 per cent (leaving a shortfall of 63 per cent) of the estimated properties liable to the household charge in Clare have paid,” revealed Seamus Halpin, nearly two weeks after the government deadline for the payment of the charge passed.

“The department have yet to indicate the reduction if any in the Local Government Fund arising form the collection rate, however, if the household charge payments are not received the government will have less money to allocate for the delivery of local services,” Clare County Council’s administrative officer for finance added.

Mr Halpin made his comments in response to a notice of motion tabled by former Mayor of Kilrush, Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) at the monthly meeting of Kilrush Town Council at which it was claimed that those who paid the € 100 charge are now being targetted for a raft of other payments.

“It is being used to get more money out of people,” said Cllr Paul Moroney (Ind).

“I met a woman in Knockerra, who told me she registered early for the charge and within a month had a number of visits to her house which is in off the road and very hard to find.

“The TV licence person came around, someone came to inspect her septic tank and she had a water metre put outside her door. They called because they now have her details,” he added.

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.

A MAN has appeared in court charged in connection with an alleged burglary at a pub in Kilmaley earlier this year.

Jamie Brohan (29), with an address at 142 Hermitage, Ennis, is charged with entering the Kilmaley Inn as a trespasser and committing an arrestable offence, to wit, theft of a Samsung cash register valued at € 1, 200.

Inspector Tom Kennedy outlined details of the alleged offence at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

He told the court that it would be alleged that Mr Brohan committed a burglary at the Kilmaley Inn on Februray 13, taking a cash register that contained € 15.

Insp Kennedy said that it would be further alleged that the accused was then found in possession of the cash register in the Hermitage area of Ennis on February 16.

He said Mr Brohan was subsequently arrested and charged.

He told the court that the cash register was valued at € 1,200. He said that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the case.

Judge Patrick Durcan said that he was “reluctantly” accepting jurisdiction, noting that “burglary matters are very serious matters.”

Mr Brohan elected to have the case dealt with in the district court. His solicitor Daragh Hassett told the court that he would be writing to the State seeking disclosure. Judge Durcan remanded the accused to appear again at Ennis District Court on April 25.

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 CLARE company will later this month become the first group in the world to create a touring van which runs completely on electricity. Vanderlust, which is based on the Quin Road in Ennis, are currently re-engineering a Renault Kangoo van to be the world’s first electric tourism van.

The company, which is run by Ennis man Dave Hanley, plan to launch a series of eco-friendly touring routes in Clare later this month, with several different overnight trips already identified. They aim to complete each route without using petrol or diesel.

“The electric camper van is a totally new thing and this will be the first one anywhere in the world. Our van is based on the Renault Kangoo van and we are reworking that to include a seating area that folds into a sleeping area for two, a cooker, a sink, a fridge – basically everything you need for a camping holiday,” said Dave.

“Everything in the back of the van will be run using solar panels so the van will be powered by electricity and all the amenities will be powered using solar power. So it is totally electric.”

It is estimated that the van will be able to reach 170 km before it needs to stop and be recharged.

“I have put together a number of routes which include a charge point every 100 km so there will never be an issue of running out of juice. People can charge their vehicles in the camp sites on the routes and they will be all ready to go the next morning,” continued Dave.

“We are still working on the van at the moment. We have been developing the conversion using a diesel version of the Renault Kangoo and that went well so we would hope to be able to convert the electric version quite quickly.

“We want to have this van on the road by June at the very latest. We have set out a nice route which people can follow if they want to take a seven-day trip around the west and never run out of electricity.”

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.

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.

CLARE’S connection to one of the most well-known English-language poets of the modern era will be celebrated in a new literary weekend which will take place in Ennistymon next month.

The Dylan Thomas Literary Weekend will mark the Welsh poet’s connection to the Falls Hotel, where his wife Caitlin MacNamara was born and raised. Caitlin was the youngest daughter of Francis MacNamara, who transformed Ennistymon House into the Falls Hotel.

The keynote lecture for the threeday festival will be delivered by Dylan Thomas’ biographer and journalist Andrew Lycett, who will join a host of national and international writers and poets at the festival.

Other contributors include John F. Dean, the founder of Poetry Ireland; the co-founder of the Irish Writers Co-operative Fred Johnson; award- winning Welsh essayist and poet Robert Minhinnick; freelance writer and editor Diarmuid Johnson; poet and painter Jo Slade; fiction writer Claire O’Connor; Crusheen-based folklorist and author Eddie Lenihan; and poet Paul O’Mahony.

The festival, which will run from Friday, May 18, to Sunday, May 20, will feature lectures, poetry recitals, a documentary screening and a history tour outlining Ennistymon’s connections to the Welsh literary legend and other poets, including Brian Merriman.

“This literary weekend focuses not only on Dylan Thomas’ inspiring work, but that of his contemporaries and those who continue to be inspired by him. The festival will enable fans of Dylan Thomas to celebrate his connections with Ennistymon, and to learn more about the man who is known the world over for the passion and love of life he infused in his poetry and prose,” said organiser Joanne Clancy of the Falls Hotel and Spa.

“The Dylan Thomas link with the hotel is that the original Ennistymon House was owned by the MacNamara family. Thomas himself did not live in Ennistymon at any stage but his wife Caitlin did. Her father Francis was the person responsible for transforming the manor house into a commercial property, what we know today as the Falls Hotel and Spa.”

Acclaimed as one of the bestknown and important poets of the twentieth century, Thomas’ most popular works include his play for voices ‘Under Milk Wood’ and his poems ‘And Death Shall Have No Dominion’ and ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night’. He died at the age of just 39 in 1953 but his wife Caitlin survived until 1994.

For more information, visit www. fallshotel.ie.

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.