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THE local community in North Clare will come together next month to undertake the biggest independent tourism launch in the history of the county. Six community-run festivals, which has a combined benefit to the local economy of more then € 10 million, will be launched at the Aillwee Caves on April 13.

The “Super Launch” which is being co-ordinated by the Ballyvaughan Community Development Group, will include six existing and new local festivals, which will bring thousands of tourist to the area this year.

Included in the launch will be the month-long Burren in Bloom Festival, which takes place in May; the Clare Burren Marathon; the Tour de Burren cycling event; the newly revived Ballyvaughan Races; The Burren Law School and the Féile Na Samhradh weekend, which will take place in June.

“This shows you what can happen when small dedicated groups in a villages come together, instead of people going off and doing their own thing. When people work together it works out much better for the village and nobody is clashing,” said Patrick O’Donoghue of the Ballyvaughan Community Development Group.

“When you put all of these together it really is an impressive collection of events. This is about coming together for one big launch, and then each group is free to get down to the real business of organising their own event. This is a way for us to showcase the area in one big event. We want to create something different, something unique. There is a lot going on in Ballyvaughan and we want to show that to people.”

The Ballyvaughan Community Development Group would like to invite other local groups to become involved in the event.

“We want to make this launch into a really big event. This is our chance to showcase the village and what is has and to show that the village is working together. It is not about splinter groups. We want to show that we can work together and put on several events properly,” continued Patrick.

INJECTIONS, finger pricking, and measuring carbohydrate intake could be a thing of the past for 300 adults and children from Clare with type one diabetes, as progress in made on research into an artificial pancreas.

Latest developments in the area have given new hope to the 300 Clare people, and the findings of the latest research will be presented to those from the county with diabetes on Tuesday next, March 27.

While many Clare patients are still waiting to be fitted with the most up- to-date treatment form – an insulin pump, the new artificial pancreases, which would make life easier for those with diabetes, could be available within the next decade.

The long-sought system will be made up of insulin pumps and glucose sensors that deliver insulin to diabetics, mimicking the function of a real pancreas.

“While the current state of insulin replacement therapy is appreciated for its life-saving capability, the task of manually managing the blood sugar levels with insulin alone is arduous and inadequate. The goal of the artificial pancreas is to improve insu- lin replacement therapy so that blood glucose control is practically normal and to ease the burden of therapy for the patient with type 1 diabetes,” explained Gráinne Flynn, Secretary of the Diabetes Ireland Clare Branch.

Cambridge University researcher Janet Allen, who is working on the Artificial Pancreas Project, will be among the speakers. The Artificial Pancreas Project focuses on developing an artificial pancreas system, which hopes to solve one particular aspect of living with type 1 diabetes – controlling glucose levels overnight. The team at Cambridge are developing a system that would be able to take over managing insulin delivery at bedtime and will keep the glucose levels in check until the patient wakes up in the morning. They are also working towards getting a system ready for families to test out at home.

Organised by Diabetes Ireland Research Alliance (DIRA) in association with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) the meeting will take place in The Greenhills Hotel next Tuesday at 7.30pm during which the public can hear from the experts on the latest cutting edge type 1 diabetes research and how to help find a cure.

UP TO 50 councillors past and present formed a guard of honour on Saturday night to bid farewell to one of the former first citizens of Clare.

Former chairman of Clare County Council Seán Hillery had passed away on Thursday morning following a short illness, and thousands gathered in Shannon over the weekend to pay tribute to the former Fianna Fáil councillor.

Born in Miltown Malbay, he took a number of odd jobs after graduating from St Flannan’s College in Ennis, before moving back to his native town to take up a position in the West Clare pharmacy.

After serving two years in the working pharmacy, Seán went to university in Dublin and qualified as a pharmacist in 1963.

He then moved to Sixmilebridge and opened a pharmacy there.

After a number of years he relocated with his family to Shannon where he opened two new pharmacies.

A community activist, Mr Hillery was elected to Clare County Council in 1985 and served as a councillor and as chairman at different intervals until 2004.

He served on Shannon Town Council from 1994 to 2009.

The 76-year-old was also the first Chairperson of the Clare County Development Board and was President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) between 1982 and 1984.

Mr Hillery was a first cousin of former President of Ireland Dr Patrick Hillery and serving Clare County Councillor Michael Hillery (FF). Cllr Michael Hillery described Seán as a man that was very active and full of energy.

“He had great foresight and vision. Years back in the council he was talking about Radon gas in houses and the dangers before anyone else was. He was ahead of his time.”

Cllr Michael Hillery also paid tribute to the late pharmacist’s love of his native Miltown Malbay. “He came back whenever he could,” he said.

Sean Hillery was a keen sportsman, having played football with Miltown and was involved in one of the team’s last county final wins.

A strong swimmer, he served as a lifeguard in Spanish Point in his early years, and continued to be involved with water, boating and swimming.

He was also a keen golfer and enjoyed the social interaction of the sport.

Mayor of Clare Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) paid tribute to his dedication to elected politics and said, “Sean was well known and respected throughout Shannon and the wider county. He also was held in high esteem by colleagues as evidenced by his election as President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.”

Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan added, “Sean was a very popular public representative who will be remembered by those who knew him for his work ethic, humility and sense of humour. The fact that he held the office of Mayor in both Shannon Town Council and Clare County Council is something I know both he and his family were very proud of.”

Sean was predeceased by his wife Paula, and is survived by his sons Barry, Feidlim and Shane and his daughter Majella.

THERE are more Clare people attending the private Galway Clinic in the last year than ever before, despite six per cent of Irish people giving up health insurance.

The Banner county has surpassed Mayo in providing the clinic’s second largest number of patients, now making up 16 per cent of the hospital population. In 2008, at the peak of health insurance ownership, just 12 per cent of the hospital’s patients were from Clare.

Asked why 4,426 Clare people opted for the services of the Galway Clinic in 2011, Business Development Manager Mark Sheehan said the main reason was its locality but the reduction of health services in the area also played a major factor.

“Many of the 4,426 patients were seen at our Emergency Department which has extended its hours of service now daily from 10am to 7pm,” he said. 24-hour accident and emergency services at Ennis General Hospital closed in April 2009, and acute services were later moved to the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick.

Mr Sheehan said that demand for cancer services in the west also far outstrips supply, so when the hospital opened its new unit, beds filled up immediately. “In 2009, we expended the range of cancer care services available at the Galway Clinic. This expansion comprised of a new linear accelerator for the provision of radiotherapy, a new oncology day unit and two new inpatients wings comprising of 46 beds. The new floors were im mediately full.”

People are also staying longer at the private hospital, with the average stay increased from 3.6 days to 4.3 days. The extended stay is due to an increase in the range of treatments and diagnosis.

The numbers of surgical cases performed in the Galway Clinic has seen a slight decrease, which can be attributed to the cessation of the NTPF (National Treatment Purchase Fund), according to Mr Sheehan.

“With occupancy levels of 91 per cent last year, the fall off in surgery has not impacted the demand for services. We are currently developing a new multi-storey car park, which will be complete by December 2012. We are also considering building a whole new accommodation wing comprising of approximately 70 single rooms and a new 20-bed ICU department,” said Mr Sheehan.

And while the Galway clinic is looking to expand, Irish health insurers are slow to reveal a county-bycounty break down of the number of people cancelling their insurance.

George Field from VHI told The Clare People that the state-supported health insurer could not reveal the exact number of people from Clare that discontinued their insurance due to commercial sensitivities, but the number was down.

THE loss of the Sky Ride Etape Hibernia cycling race has been described as a “devastating blow” for the Clare tourism and cycling sectors.

The event, which has generated more then € 2 million for the local economy over the past two years, will not take place this year after race organisers, IMG Challenger World, decided to end their involved with the race.

The event attracted more then 3,000 cycling enthusiasts to Clare over the past two years with stars such as Irish cycling legend Sean Kelly and British Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis taking part.

According to Patrick O’Donoghue of the Burren Cycling Club, a new event should be organised to fill the gap left by the Etape.

“|t is a devastating loss for the Clare cycling community but it is more of a loss for everyone involved in tourism in the county,” he told The Clare People .

“What we need now is for Shannon Development and Clare County Council to come together with the Clare cycling clubs and between us we can come up with an event to take its place and build on the momentum which has been built up over the past two years.”

These sentiments were echoed by Shannon Development’s Tourism Marketing Manager, Paul Ryan.

“We are disappointed with the news that IMG Challenger World will no longer be involved with the event. However, Shannon Develop- ment and Clare County Council will work with the Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau to secure a similar cycle event for the county,” he said.

“We understand that IMG Challenger World, although acknowledging that the event attracted significant numbers of cyclists and their families to Clare, felt the number of participants didn’t reach their projected levels and therefore was not commercially viable for IMG.

“The 2010 Lonely Planet Travel Guide named County Clare in the top 10 super cycling routes in the world. This is testament to the amount of work that has gone into the development of the tourism cycling product in the region in recent times. We will continue to build on the county’s growing reputation as a cycling destination.”

In August of 2010 the inaugural Sky Ride Etape Hibernia became Ireland’s first ever closed road mass participation cycling event. A similar event organised by IMG in Scotland attracts more than 5,000 participants each year.

A MAN alleged to have wasted Garda time in Ennis last summer has been returned for trial. Bernard Flaherty (37), with an address at 3 Lifford Lodge, Ennis, appeared at Ennis District Court last Wednesday.

It is alleged that on June 24, 2011, at Ennis Garda Station, Flaherty did knowingly make a false statement tending to show that he had information material to Garda enquiries and thereby causing the time of the Gardaí to be wastefully employed. It arose out of a three-week Garda search for a missing man in Ennis last June. The court previously heard that the person died of natural causes.

Sgt Catherine Houlihan told the court that she had served the book of evidence on Flaherty. Insp John Galvin said it was appropriate for this matter to be returned for trail to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Court. He said the State did not have any objection to bail. Judge Patrick Durcan remanded Flaherty on bail to appear at Ennis Circuit Court in May.

A GOVERNMENT TD has claimed that there is still hope for two Clare schools, which did not make the much-publicized five-year school building plan.

The Government was criticized for failing to include a new school for Sixmilebridge on its building plans.

Deputy Joe Carey (FG) said this week that the school would progress to final planning stages “in anticipa- tion of further funds being available to the Department of Education”, but for now the money for the school is not available.

“I welcome this clarification from the Minister and the job now is for us to continue to work with the school authorities and within Government to make a new school a reality. I have met with Minister Quinn to discuss Sixmilebridge National School and he has indicated to me today that he will meet with school authorities in the near future,” said Deputy Carey.

There is funding available for Quin National School to develop eight new classrooms as announced last November, according to the Fine Gael TD.

There was much concern locally last week when the school was not listed in the Government’s five-year plan.

Last November, the Department of Education and Skills informed school authorities of plans to provide eight additional classrooms at Quin National School in order to cater for current and future capacity needs of the school.

While the school was not part of the recently announced five-year school building plan, Deputy Carey said received assurances from the Department of Education that the school build will go ahead as planned.

“I have worked closely with Quin National School in recent years to ensure the school grows in line with the expected needs of the local area. I want to pay tribute to school principal Anne Fitzpatrick and the Board of Management for their tireless work on this issue,” he said.

“I can confirm that funding is secure for an additional eight classrooms, to allow Quin National School to develop into a 12-classroom school in accordance with the announcement of last November. A statement in response to my representations from the Minister for Education’s office confirms the project will be devolved and the technicalities of this are currently being worked through.”

CLAIMS by a nurse that she was verbally abused in Ennis Garda Station have been described as an “appalling attempt to muddy the waters” by a Judge. Judge Patrick Durcan was speaking at Ennis District Court on Wednesday as he disqualified mother of two Jane O’Leary (55) from driving for a period of four years.

O’Leary, formerly of 10 Main Street, Clarecastle, and now living in Cork, was charged with failing to provide two specimens of breath at Ennis Garda Station on August 2, 2010.

The court heard that on the day in question, the accused was arrested in the Kilrush Road area of Ennis on suspicion of drunk driving. Garda Val McCormack told the court that after stopping O’Leary’s car, he got a “very strong smell of alcohol from her breath”. He said, “She appeared to be very intoxicated and drunk”. Garda Shane O’Connell told the court that he operated the intoxalyser machine at Ennis Garda Station when O’Leary was conveyed there. He said that she twice failed to provide a breath specimen when asked to do so in the doctor’s room of the station.

Solicitor for O’Leary, Tara Godfrey, put it to Garda O’Connell that her client would say that he called her a “dirty c***” as she attempted to provide a breath specimen in the doctor’s room. This was instantly rejected by Garda O’Connell. He said, “I did not say that. I would never say something like that.” Judge Durcan said he was disregarding the accused’s allegation and accepting what Garda O’Connell said. He said, “It is totally not acceptable that this allegation is thrown out in criminal proceedings.”

The court heard that in the 18 months since the accused was arrested, no official complaint was made to any garda authority. O’Leary, a nurse and psychotherapist, told the court that she had been “really upset and anxious” at the time. She said she “felt under pressure” to provide the sample. “He was calling me names under his breath and that upset me greatly, she said. She told the court that when she left the room, she told another garda about the alleged incident. “He said he would put the complaint upstairs. I didn’t follow it up.”

Describing the allegation as “reprehensible”, Insp John Galvin said, “I feel this allegation was brought up to muddy the waters and to cast aspersions on the character of a guard.” Insp Galvin told the court there was “overwhelming evidence” heard that O’Leary failed to produce a breath specimen.

Judge Durcan said, “A most appalling and serious allegation was made in the privilege of this court.” He said he was satisfied that the accused was guilty. He continued, “I regard this as the most appalling attempt to muddy the waters and to bring into question the character of a garda.” Judge Durcan added, “I am totally satisfied that all gardaí conducted themselves properly in the matter of this case.”

Ms Godfrey said her client had gone through a difficult separation and her life had “fallen apart” at the time. She said O’Leary had not realised that she could make an official complaint.

Judge Durcan said this was not believable as O’Leary was a “highly trained and qualified person”. He said only for the accused’s personal circumstances, he would have imposed a fourmonth prison sentence. He disqualified her from driving for four years and imposed a fine of € 1,500. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

A CLARE man is among 20 people to have made a complaint or query to the Data Protection Commission- er over requests on the household charge’s website for additional personal information. James Fahy, who paid the € 100 tax, wrote to the Department of the Environment saying he had no problem paying the tax, but objected to handing over his PPS number, telephone number and email address to an anonymous body that “does not even have an address”. The Household Charge Operations unit had told him they could not set up his account “due to insufficient information”, namely the lack of a PPS number. The household charge website asks for a PPS number and also for email and telephone numbers to provide annual reminders or “to notify property owners of potential liability for household charges”. While Mr Fahy had issues with providing personal information but was willing to pay the tax, more Clare people are refusing to make the € 100 payment before the March 31 deadline. A group based in West Clare took its campaign against the household charge to three of the county’s St Patrick’s Day parades at the weekend. The Enough Campaign’s West Clare branch manned “information desks” at the Kilkee and Kilrush parades on Saturday, while they handed out leaflets at Sunday’s Doonbeg parade. Karen McCormack of the group objecting to the household charge said the information desks were very busy. “The only negative response we got at the parade was from people thinking we were handing out information on how to pay the tax. Once these people realised we were objecting to the payment, they were fine,” she said. “This is a stealth tax and we know it is not paying for any local amenities, but to pay back bondholders. They (the Government) have already cut € 170 million for local government funds.”

ONLY seven on-the-spot fines were issued to Clare anglers in 2011, despite reports of a major fish-poaching problem developing in the county.

According to new statistics obtained from Inland Fisheries Ireland, a total of 3,342 man-hours of river and lake searches were conducted by the organisation last year.

These searches resulted in just seven fines, meaning that each fine took, on average, 477 hours of searching to be identified.

This is despite reports of an increase of poaching taking place on some of Clare’s salmon and trout rivers. According to Dr Ciaran Byrne, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland, West Clare has become a hot-spot for poaching during the summer months and the organisation has to draft in enforcement staff from other areas to combat the problem.

Anecdotal reports suggest that illegal angling is taking place on five Clare rivers which has been closed to legal fishing since 2007, to allow stocks of fish to recover.

Conservation measures were introduced on the Inagh, Annageeragh, Doonbeg, Aughyvacheen and Skivileen Rivers in 2007, following historically low stock levels in previous years.

Indeed, in the six years between 2001 and 2007, only 78 fish of 40cm or larger were caught on the rivers – or just more than 2.5 fish per river, per year.

“Protection of salmon and sea trout in West Clare has always, and continues to be, a major focus for staff in the lower Shannon area of Inland Fisheries Ireland and, while staff do encounter larger-scale episodes of illegal fishing, they do also come across individual anglers who are illegally fishing for salmon,” said Dr Byrne.

“During the summer months, staff work in teams and are frequently drafted from other areas to West Clare to assist officers with surveillance work, both on the Clare coastline for illegal drift net fishing, and inshore for illegal salmon fishing.”