Author: admin

GARDAI in Kilrush are making progress in a disturbing case in which a pig’s head was sent to one of its members.

The severed head was sent by registered post to the garda’s home.

Colleagues of the officer, based in West Clare, are outraged that he was singled out in this manner.

The officer in question is well respected in the local community and highly regarded by those he works with.

It is still not known how the gruesome item was packaged but it did not arouse any suspicion among postal staff.

The registered package had to be signed for when it was delivered to the garda’s address.

Gardaí are now attempting to es- tablish who sent the package to their colleague.

“It was a very personal attack. To have something like this sent to a person’s home address is a despicable act,” said a source.

“It was a full pig’s head that was sent to him in a package. It was sent to his home and an incident like this would cause anyone distress, not least a person who is just trying to do their job and make a living.”

The informed source added that the garda is highly thought of by those who know him and people he has met through the course of his duties.

The garda is heavily involved in community work in the region.

“He is extremely approachable to all living there and is very good at his job.

“He did not deserve this whatsoever,” the source added.

IT WAS mixed news for Clare this week when it came to the care of the county’s roads. While the budget allocated to Clare County Council for the care of its non-national roads was almost on a par with last year, the funding for the county’s national roads was significantly down.

The spending on the county’s main roads has dropped by more than € 1.9 million to just over € 3.5 million this year.

However, the council was breathing a sigh of relief yesterday, Monday, when its funding allocation for all non-national roads was announced.

Clare County Engineer Tom Tiernan explained that once the allocation for the Killaloe bypass is removed from the € 14.9 million allocated, it equates almost exactly to last year.

“Anything that has not gone down is good,” he said referring to the funding.

Meanwhile, one of the busiest roads into Ennis is a death trap for young mothers, according to one member of Clare County Council, but the council is hopeful the situation will be resolved very soon.

Cllr James Breen (Ind) described the Quin Road bridge as “deadly dangerous” and is frustrated that nothing has been done about it, despite plans being drawn up for a footbridge by Clare County Council more than two years ago.

“It is frightening on the day of a mart to see women trying to come over the bridge pushing a pram. It is deadly dangerous if a cattle lorry and car meet on that bridge,” he said.

The former TD said he raised this issue as far back as 2006 when he was in the Dáil and still it has not come to a satisfactory conclusion.

It has emerged, however, that the council has finally received the go-ahead for the work on the longawaited footbridge from the Railway Safety Commission, an independent body that oversees the safety of the railway system.

The local authority is now finalising some details with CIE and it is hoped that work will begin on the bridge within the next two months.

THE importance of the Clare LEADER programme to community and voluntary groups around the county is set to be showcased this Saturday at a special workshop being hosted by the Clare Local Development Company (CLDC). Groups around the county involved in conservation, tourism or heritage-related activities are being urged to attend the workshop in Woodstock Hotel.

Since 2009, grant aid totalling € 3 million has been allocated to a diverse range of community and enter- prise projects in Clare, while in 2011 alone funding amounted to € 1.8m.

Between now and 2013, the CLDC, which administers funding under the EU-backed LEADER Rural Development Programme, will allocate more than € 5m to projects in the county. The group is also set to pay out € 2.5m to pre-approved projects during 2012.

“CLDC has recently embarked upon a new support programme for community groups in Clare. We are keen to seek out and provide support to a broad range of community projects in the areas of heritage, conservation and tourism in 2012 and 2013, and enable community and vol- untary groups to avail of LEADER funding,” says Sue Targett, Social Inclusion and Community Development Manager with CLDC.

“The aim of the upcoming workshop, entitled ‘Applying for LEADER funding – the process and benefits explained’, is to help community groups to become more familiar with the significant benefits of LEADER, to facilitate a better understanding of LEADER requirements, and also to support more communities to potentially avail of rural development funding towards improving tourism, conservation and/ or heritage projects, activities and facilities in their local areas.

“Over € 5m in LEADER funding is available to support and fund a wide variety of projects in Clare in 2012 and 2013. CLDC is keen that new community projects and initiatives are encouraged and supported, firstly through groups gaining a better understanding of LEADER and, secondly, so that more groups are in a position to avail of and make successful tourism, conservation and heritage funding applications during 2012 and 2013”, Ms Targett adds.

The workshop takes place between 9.30pm and 1.30pm. The closing date for those wishing to register for the event is this Wednesday.

SCOUTS are to return to the Burren region after an absence of more than 30 years with the reformation of the Ennistymon branch of the Scouts later this week. The Ennistymon branch, which will be known as the 9th Clare, will retain the colours of the original Scout group in Ennistymon, which means that the Clare county colours will be worn proudly by each member of the Scout group.

While the group will be based in Ennistymon, the 9th Clare will be open to boys and girls from all over North and West Clare.

After months of planning and training, the new Scout group will host an open day for parents and potential new Scouts this Sunday, February 5, in Ennistymon. The event will take place from 12 midday to 2pm in the Ennistymon Enterprise Centre.

Scout meetings will start officially in February and the open day is designed to provide information to parents and young people interested in joining. The information event will outline what’s involved in becoming a Scout – be it as a Beaver, a Cub, a Scout, a Venture or a Rover.

The two-hour event will be informal in nature and family-centred and will include one-to-one meetings with leaders, details of planned events, illustrated talks, slideshows, demonstration of scouting, walking, camping and mountaineering gear.

Scouts and leaders from other groups in County Clare will also be on hand to talk to young Scouts and parents alike.

“Beavers caters for ages six to eight, Cubs caters for ages nine to 11 and Scouts from 12 to 14. Scout leaders are also welcome and the greater the number of leaders involved, the greater the number of Scouts that can be catered for,” said Cian Kearns, Group Leader of Ennistymon Scouts. “While former Scouts and leaders, and those with experience in the great outdoors, are most welcome, all potential leaders will be provided with full training by Scouting Ireland, so past experience is not essential or necessary.

“Supports are also required in many other ways so, if you wish to get involved, please come along to the information event on Sunday.”

For more information, visit www. facebook.com9thClareEnnistymonS couts.

A NEW dawn in the history of the preservation of traditional Irish music in Clare will be heralded this weekend when Oidhreacht an Chláir plays host to the first in a series of workshops aimed at attracting some of the biggest names in the country.

Oidhreacht spokesperson Barry Taylor has revealed that the masterclass series – featuring Noel Hill this weekend and Martin Hayes the following month – will help begin the process of throwing open the doors of the Miltown Malbay-based organisation to students of the tradition.

“We are mainly concerned with preserving material in our archive and we now want to make that maeterial available to the new generation of musicians that are coming up,” says Taylor, the acclaimed traditional music historian and author of ‘Touchstone for the Tradition: the Willie Clancy Summer School’.

“The masterclass series ties in with our overall aims and objectives. We want to give musicians the opportunity to develop from older generations like Noel Hill and Martin Hayes.

“Both of them are carriers of the tradition – Noel learned from Paddy Murphy, while Martin learned from his father Pat Joe and Paddy Canny and they are now passing on the tradition to a new generation.

“This is an extension of what we do. In the past, we collected material, but this is a way of getting the material out to people.

“By learning from people like Martin Hayes and Noel Hill in the masterclass series, students will also be using the facilities of the Oidhreacht,” he adds.

Oidhreacht an Chláir was launched in 2003 with the aim of conserving and promoting the traditional arts in their native environment and is based next door to the old homestead of Willie Clancy on the Flag Road in Miltown Malbay.

As part of the inaugural masterclass event, Noel Hill will be giving a concert in the Market House in Miltown Malbay on Friday night.

Classes will then get underway on Saturday and will include student recitals at Oidhreacht an Chláir and music sessions in local pubs.

A NORTH Clare jewellery-maker has been crowned as Ireland’s foremost craftsperson at the Showcase 2012 Expo in Dublin last week.

Ennistymon woman Christina Brosnan was presented with the overall Creative Island Award at the festival, which highlights the works of some of Ireland’s best craft people.

Christina began her career in stage design for theatre before moving into film work and was, for a time, the youngest prop master working in the Irish film industry.

“I used to design jewellery as a teenager – people would probably remember me doing that back in Clare when I was younger. I think it was always something that I knew I would come back to, it was just a matter of when. I decided in 2010 to go back to jewellery and so far it has been going great,” she said. “Winning the award is fantastic for me in so many ways. Just to have my jewellery endorsed in that place was amazing. The competition was very tough – there were more than 85 of the best craftspeople in Ireland taking part in this so it was quite stiff.

“To win something like this and to be able to get my work to a wider group of people is really great for me. It is wonderful to get the word out there and hopefully it can take me to a different level.”

Besides being involved in film and TV, Christina also founded her own design company and was given the contract to design the interior of the private members club at the 02.

For more information or to view some of Christina’s work, visit www. christinabrosnan.com.

SIXMILEBRIDGE Mart has been hailed as one of the business success stories of the past year on the back of bucking economic trends to turn out a substantial profit since it re-opened its doors last August.

It has been revealed that the mart has made a profit of over € 100,000 during the first five months, with the Shannon Tunnel and a booming livestock industry huge contributory factors to the success story.

“Some thought we were mad but look at us now,” said Mart Secretary Eddie Punch. “Farmers and dealers come here because they know they’ll get a fair price, wheither they’re buying or selling.

“I’d be confident that the strong prices will continue for this year at least. We are still reliant on the farmers continuing to support us and bring the stock each week,” added Mr Punch.

The mart closed in 2009, but was brought back to life in August on the back of 600 farmers who became shareholders in the mart by raising the € 300,000 needed to buy the 4.5 acre site.

The mart, which now employs 20 people full-time and has a number of part-time staff, is run by a nine- member board. They are chairman Pat O’Reilly, secretary Eddie Punch, Mike Ryan, Seán Hannon, Joe O’Connell, Andrew Dundas, Gerard Liddy, Pat Freeman and Tom O’Connor. The mart is also managed by Seán Ryan, who previously managed the mart in Athenry.

“There’s no doubt that we’re benefiting from the strength in the trade in general at the moment,” said manager Sean Ryan. “I’d say trade is at least € 200 a head up on this time last year,” he added.

CLARE has “a significant radon problem” as new tests show it has one of the highest concentrations of the cancer-causing gas in the country. While scientists have located a number of the homes in danger during the last number of months, the experts warn that hundreds more Clare cases are going undetected as people continue to live with this silent killer.

As many as 22 homes in the county have been found to have high levels of radon, according to figures released by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII).

Two homes, in Newmarket-on-Fergus and Ennis, had more than five times the acceptable level with readings in excess of 1000 Bq/m3.

The remaining 20 homes with readings above the acceptable level and were found in mid and East Clare. Eleven of these homes were identified in Ennis, two in Clarecastle and two in Sixmilebridge.

There was one house in each of the following areas with radon levels higher than what is considered safe: Ballymurtagh, Kilkishen, Killaloe, and Ruan. There was also one other home in Newmarket-on-Fergus.

Commenting on the findings, Mr David Fenton, Senior Scientist at the RPII said, “These figures show that Clare has a significant radon problem. Our research indicates that there are hundreds more homes across the county with high levels of radon gas. To date, only a very small proportion of these homes have been identified. Exposure to high radon levels causes lung cancer and many people are unknowingly living with very high levels in their homes. The only way people will know if it is in their homes is by testing.”

A total of 367 tests for radon gas were completed in homes in Clare between June 1 and December 31, 2011. Of these, 22 were above the acceptable level of 200 becquerels per cubic metre (Bq/m3).

Over 300 homes from across the country have been identified by the RPII as having high levels of radon in the last seven months.

Nationally, radon is the second biggest cause of lung cancer after smoking and is directly linked to up to 200 lung cancer deaths each year.

The RPII and a number of private companies provide a radon measurement service. The cost of a measurement is around € 50.

If a moderate radon level is found, improving indoor ventilation may reduce the level by up to half, the cost of which is low.

For higher levels, a fan-assisted sump can be installed which can reduce radon levels by over 90 per cent. The sump can be installed in a day by a contractor with little disruption to the home. The average cost of this work is € 1,100, with annual running costs of approximately € 90.

CLARE farmers have been described as “sitting ducks” for more cutbacks as the future of the Disadvantaged Areas Payment was thrown into further doubt.

The ICSA last week warned that the repeated cuts in locations classified as disadvantaged areas, such as Clare, would create anomalies in the system for local farmers.

“The Government should not see the Disadvantaged Area Scheme as a sitting duck for cutbacks. Successive cuts to the scheme by successive governments betray a failure to understand the importance of the scheme,” said ICSA President Gabriel Gilmartin.

“The proposal to reduce DA payments to farmers with mixed holdings of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged land would open a minefield of unfair cases. For example, this penalises the farmer whose own farm is 100 per cent disadvantaged but who has taken the initiative of renting non-disadvantaged land, usually in an effort to expand his herd or flock or ensure adequate winter fodder.”

The ICSA president also described the new 80km rule as contentious but he supported the concession that means that it won’t apply in the case of farmers whose main holding is disadvantaged.

“This depends on what is meant by main holding. My view is that the main holding should be determined by where the herd number is established rather than by the size of the holding,” he said.

Meanwhile, rising fuel prices have the potential to cut any growth in the local farm sector which has taken place – according to IFA president John Bryan.

“Road fuel prices have increased by almost four per cent and agricultural diesel prices by 2.5 per cent since the start of the year, just 25 days ago,” he said.

“In the last two years, agricultural diesel has gone up by a massive 54 per cent, while road diesel has increased by almost 35 per cent. Ireland’s competitiveness is being increasingly eroded because of our over-reliance on expensive road haulage and our distance from our main markets.”

The IFA President said policy- makers must examine opportunities to lower haulage costs through increased transport weight limits and trailer length for agricultural and heavy goods vehicles. In addition, the Government must move to put viable supports in place to get our bio-energy industry established, as Ireland is being left behind the rest of Europe.

A MAN alleged to have been carrying a knife in Ennis last September told Gardaí he had it for his own protection, a court has heard.

The detail emerged at Ennis District Court last week where a Judge dismissed a case against William McDonagh.

It had been alleged that McDonagh (20) with an address at 32 Clancy Park, Ennis was in possession of a knife at Hermitage, Ennis, on September 21 (2011).

Detective Brendan Rouine told the court that he had been on patrol with a colleague when he observed McDonagh coming towards him.

Detective Rouine said that he saw a blade of a knife in McDonagh’s tracksuit pocket.

He said that when he asked him why he had it, McDonagh said it was “for his own protection”.

Detective Rouine said he had been aware that the accused had been involved in a dispute.

However, Judge Aeneas McCarthy subsequently dismissed the case af- ter Detective Rouine said that he had brought a copy of a statement into the witness box with him. Judge McCarthy said this was “totally and utterly out of order”. Detective Rouine said he had not referred to the statement during his evidence. Insp John Galvin said he had not been aware that the Detective had brought the statement with him. Solicitor Tara Godfrey asked that the court to consider dismissing the case against her client. Judge McCarthy dismissed the case, saying, “justice must not just be done, it must be seen to be done”. Judge McCarthy acknowledged that Detective Rouine had not looked at the statement. He added that he was not casting any aspersions on him.