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CLARE would have played a frontline role in Ireland’s reaction to a German victory in World War II, newly released papers relating to the operation of Met Éireann services have revealed. And the Met Éireann secret files have also revealed that Shannon Airport had been identified as having a key role to play in helping Ireland react quickly in the event of a nuclear war breaking out.

The Met Éireann papers which have been released in tandem with the latest publication of State papers reveal the extent of Clare’s role in dealing with the twin threats of a Nazi war victory and nuclear war.

The papers reveal efforts to protect weather reports from the Nazis, naturalise staff members who could face prosecution had the Germans won the Second World War and to ensure the protection of weather stations against nuclear fallout.

Released by the National Archives, the files outline a meeting of the inter departmental committee on emergency preparations for the delivery and maintenance of essential supplies in the event of a conflict. This included how goods would be bought from Britain and elsewhere and stored at Shannon Airport and Urlanmore in Newmarket-on-Fergus.

And, the spectre of nuclear war meant practical scenarios for the transport of vital supplies needed to be mapped out, with Shannon Airport crucial to this policy.

An air link to Canada and America was singled out as being vital to Ireland’s response to a nuclear situation, with one file stating Shannon would need to be operational for “essential cargo purposes only”, with no passengers likely to be flying.

BUSINESS representatives have expressed support for a new model of economic development for Ennis saying it will aid job protection.

Plans for a possible Business Improvement District (BID) were unveiled last week with backers claiming it will protect and create new jobs.

Incoming President of Ennis Chamber Brian O’Neill said, “The Chamber supports moves toward a possible BID initiative as it would be a great opportunity for business owners to improve their business streets/area, which they are most familiar with, in the most efficient manner for their own business, job protection and the district as a whole.”

Rita McInerney, Ennis Chamber CEO stated, “The BID process has worked very well in Dublin and elsewhere as shown just two weeks ago by a 78 per cent vote in favour of renewing the BID that ran for the last three years in Dundalk.”

Aoife Madden, Chairperson of Ennis Development Forum, “Recent experience shows that it is only by employers and employees working together with others such as Ennis Town Council that we can keep Ennis a strong employment centre and to grow jobs. The BID idea may well be the best way to go forward building on recent successful partnerships including the Ennis street radio, free parking initiative during Christmas and the Ennis Share the Feeling Christmas video.”

The concept of BIDs originated in northern America and BIDs have been in existence in the UK since 2003 with an estimated 1,000 BIDs now in the US and over 100 in the UK.

The largest BID in Ireland (and indeed in the whole of Europe), is the Dublin City BID, which has been in operation since March 2008 and has a five-year renewable mandate to develop and promote the economic advancement of Dublin city centre. Half-way through their mandate, the Dublin BID was able to report the following successes in their Annual Report of 2010: (1) A city-wide marketing group that for the first time brings together city stakeholders to establish a common message and approach to the promotion of the city; (2) The process of making the BID cost-neutral for our members by creating a heavily discounted insurance scheme. We intend devel- oping a wider programme of similar offers; (3) Local area action groups which establish members’ needs and expectations on a district by district basis and work to make the shared vision a reality; (4) A strong working relationship with the Gardaí that is helping to create a safer environment for our customers; (5) A prominent presence on the city’s Joint Policing Forum with the Lord Mayor, the Gardaí, Dublin City Council and other business groups to establish a road map for a sustainable and safer city; (6) A dialogue with politicians and city officers to plan for a new and vibrant city.

A CHARITY walk organised by members of the Clare Association Dublin has raised € 3,000 for children and adults with physical and sensory disabilities.

A large crowd turned out for the Martin Corry Memorial Walk which took place around Howth Head last October.

A former President of the Clare Association Dublin, Cree native Martin was a keen walker who was actively involved in fundraising for local and national charities. Money raised from this year’s walk will go towards the Clare branch of Enable Ireland.

Gerry O’Reilly, Clare Association PRO, presented the cheque to representatives of Enable Ireland in Dublin last month.

Acknowledging the large turn-out at the Addison Hotel, Gerry paid tribute to those who had helped make the Martin Corry Memorial Walk such a success. He said 2011 had been an excellent year for the Clare Association.

He thanked all those who participated in the charity walk around Howth Head. Gerry said that, despite the poor weather and difficult terrain, the walkers enjoyed the scenic 10k walk. He also paid tribute to sponsors and those who contributed in any way towards the success of the walk. In particular, Gerry thanked Mary Corry, wife of the late Martin Corry, and her family, who joined the crowds on the day. Gerry said that he was particularly pleased that the proceeds from the walk would be going to the Clare branch of Enable Ireland. The charity provides essential support, therapy and services to children and adults with physical and sensory disabilities to enable them to achieve maximum independence, choice and inclusion in their community. Enable Ireland Clare was formed in 1990 as a support group for families and carers of people with physical disabilities. In the following years, Enable Ireland has developed and expanded to include a wide range of services to meet the needs of children and adults with disabilities and their families in Clare. Dorothy Barry from Enable Ireland thanked the Clare Association Dublin for their efforts and, in accepting the cheque from Mary Corry, she outlined the benefits that this contribution would make to those who rely on support and assistance on a daily basis.

STATE Papers for 1981 that have been released under the 30-year rule have revealed how Shannon was plunged into the international limelight for all the wrong reasons, thanks to an entrepreneur who established a business in the Free Zone.

On May 2, 1981, it was revealed that the man, who hijacked an Aer Lingus flight to Heathrow because he wanted to know the Third Secret of Fatima, was Laurence Downey, a man who operated out of Shannon, touting himself as an international entrepreneur who would bring hundreds of jobs to mid-west region.

Downey – a former Cistercian monk, Olympic boxing trialist, sailor and Shannon Free Zone-based company director – came to Shannon in late 1979 and unveiled ambitious plans to develop among other things an Institute of Learning, a Shannon Co-Operative and a £10 million sports and recreational complex.

However, Downey’s plans for Shannon were too good to be true – he had a string of dodgy business dealings in his native Australia, among them the disappearance of £40,000 from a trust fund.

Downey then re-emerged into the limelight when he walked into the cockpit of an Aer Lingus flight, threatening to cause an explosion by setting fire to his petrol-soaked clothes, unless he was taken to Teheran and that the Third Secret of Fatima be released by Pope John Paul II and published in Irish newspapers.

Captain Foyle suggested that they fly to Le Touquet because of a shortage of fuel, with the captain announcing, “Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to land in London but there is a man in the cabin who wants us to go on to Le Touquet.”

The end of the highjack ordeal for the 108 passengers and crew of five came at Le Touquet when crack French commando forces moved in and stormed the plane when it was on the runway. Downey was arrested while passengers spoke about the drama. “He must have been very dis- turbed,” said one passenger. “I asked the stewardess if we were being hijacked and she said yes,” commented another. “It wasn’t scary because we knew almost from the start that he wasn’t from a terrorist organisation. He said something about wanting to tell people in Ireland that the Virgin Mary had a sister and that there were two of them.”

CLARE TD and Taoiseach, Eamon de Valera was accused of showing “allegiance to the devil” when he expressed condolences to the German ambassador in Ireland on the death of Adolf Hitler.

State papers have revealed a well of anger at Mr de Valera, who represented the Clare constituency from 1917 to 1959, over his controversial decision to express condolences to ambassador Dr Eduard Hempel on the behalf of the Free State on May 2, 1945, two days after Hitler’s suicide.

The file on the controversy in the National Archives contains a number of letters sent in the immediate aftermath.

Angela D Walsh, with an address at East 44th Street, New York, writes to de Valera the day after: “I am horrified, ashamed, humiliated. You, who are the head of a Catholic coun- try, have now shown allegiance to a devil.”

Patrick O’Reilly wrote of de Valera to President Hyde from Stratfordon-Avon: “We feel ashamed to let people know we are of the blood of people who have such as man as their leader.”

The episode resurfaced in a letter dated January 22, 1970, when de Valera was President. Fr Kevin Keegan, writing from an address in France, said he had been watching a television documentary in which the famous Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal “said that you went to the German ambassador to express your sympathy when you heard that Hitler had committed suicide”.

“Needless to say I was astounded to hear such a statement. I would be very grateful to you if you inform me whether it is true or not.

“In the case of it being untrue, I will inform the French television immediately, asking them to make a public rectification,” the letter added.

The State papers also reveal that Mr de Valera considered lowering the Irish flag over Government buildings as a mark of respect following the death of Hitler, as had happened following the death of American President Franklin D Roosevelt two weeks earlier.

The whole affair led to a memorable joust over the airwaves between Mr de Valera and Winston Churchill. The British prime minister praised himself for having the “restraint and poise” in refraining from laying “a violent hand” on Ireland and said “we left the de Valera government to frolic with the Germans and later with the Japanese representatives to their heart’s content”.

However, in response three days later on Radio Éireann, de Valera had what his supporters and even some of his detractors described as his finest hour.

“I know the kind of response that I am expected to make,” he said. “I know the reply I would have given a quarter of a century ago.

“But I have deliberately decided that this is not the reply that I will make tonight. I shall strive not to be guilty of adding any fuel to the flames of hatred and passion, which, if continued to be fed, promise to burn up whatever is left by the war of decent human feeling in Europe,” he continued.

“Could he not find it in his heart the generosity to acknowledge that there is a small nation that stood alone, not for one year or two, but for several hundred years against aggression; that endured spoliations, famines, massacres in endless succession; that was clubbed so many times into insensibility, but that each time, on returning to consciousness, took up the fight anew; a small nation that could never be got to accept defeat and has never surrendered her soul,” he added.

TO GO or not to go? That was the question that faced Clare’s President of Ireland, Dr Patrick Hillery in 1981 when, as head of State, he was invited to attend the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

Thirty years on, one of his successors in Áras an Uachtaráin, President Mary McAleese, may have attended the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, but things were different in 1981.

It was the year of the hunger strikes and Anglo-Irish relations, as they were in 1981, led to a government decision that President Hillery should not attend the wedding.

The State papers from 1981 that were opened this week reveal that Dr Hillery, who as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the 1969-1973 government, was trenchant in his criticism of British policy in Northern Ireland, didn’t want to attend the wedding.

However, President Hillery’s stance, which was backed up by the Charles J Haughey-led Fianna Fáil government in 1981 and the Garret FitzGerald led Fine Gael/Labour coalition that also came to power that year, didn’t meet with universal approval.

The State papers show that Dr Hillery’s non-attendance at the wedding was taken up directly by an Irish priest, Fr PG O’Dea, who was based in Lancashire at the time. Fr O’Dea, who is still alive and now a retired monsignor, wrote directly to Áras an Uachtaráin to protest at the failure of President Hillery to accept an invitation to attend the wedding.

In deciding whether President Hillery should attend the royal wedding, a government memo noted that “whichever decision is taken will give rise to criticism”.

Some in the Taoiseach’s office, including assistant secretary Richard Stokes, advised in favour of compelling the president to attend, as staying away would “make a nonsense” of all progress in Anglo-Irish relations.

An unnamed Taoiseach’s department official criticised the Department of Foreign Affairs’s “very inadequate” briefing document which posed questions rather than coming up with advice and supporting arguments.

“The Government have been very badly served by the Department of Foreign Affairs” whose tone indicates that it did not favour acceptance but it did not “advance any compelling argument”.

The foreign affairs brief said such an invitation from a friendly country should be accepted “unless there are compelling arguments against” it. It then refers to the ensuing “unfavourable comment” due to general feel- ings of dissatisfaction with the British government over the H-Blocks.

This argument could “hardly be described as a compelling reason”, the civil servant wrote, adding that most of the unfavourable comment would come from the Provisional IRA and H-block committee. He described as “naive” the assertion by foreign affairs that refusal “would not impair political dialogue with London”.

The British prime minister “would almost certainly regard a refusal as a rebuff” and it would be viewed by the “hostile British press” as presidential support for the hunger strikers.

In the end, the new Fine Gael-led coalition, it decided that the President should be advised not to attend and to send the ambassador in his place.

The reply to the palace was issued on the final day possible, June 26, with the excuse of the President’s “prior commitments”.

Meanwhile, in response to complaints from Fr PG O’Dea, Áras an Uachtaráin pointed out that Ireland had been represented at the wedding by the Irish ambassador in London.

PRESIDENT Patrick Hillery became the most potent symbol of Irish government opposition to the South African apartheid regime in 1981, State Papers released this week under the 30-year rule have revealed.

Head of State, Dr Hillery was the expression of a stand off between Taoiseach Charles Haughey and the Irish Rugby Football Union over the controversial tour of South Africa made by the Irish team in 1981.

Opposition to the tour emerged early in the year, with a memo from the Department of Foreign Affairs “I wonder if we should consider an intervention by the Taoiseach at an opportune moment,” adding that while it was “an exceptional step” it might persuade the IRFU against going ahead with the tour or at the very least would show to international opinion that the Irish Government had done all in its power to stop it.

Then it was Haughey that threw down the gauntlet to the IRFU, saying that he did not want to the tour to go ahead “in any way”, with President Hillery emerging as the visible demonstration of this opposition.

As public protests against the rugby tour mounted, then Taoiseach Charles Haughey wrote a strongly worded letter to the IRFU saying he was worried about the growing international reaction to the tour, and its potential repercussions for Ireland and Irish interests overseas.

He wrote that in view of the seriousness of the matter, which directly concerned national interests, he wished personally as head of the government to convey the full implications of the situation. But the IRFU ignored the unprecedented appeal and went ahead with the tour.

However, backing for the Government stance came from President Hillery.

After Haughey was succeeded as Taoiseach by Garret Fitzgerald, the Government advised President Hillery not to attend a subsequent rugby match between Ireland and Australia in November in Lansdowne Road, a decision the President fully supported and he didn’t attend the international.

It represented the only time that a Head of State snubbed an international sporting fixture because of a political disagreement.

IT GOES without saying that it’s a long way from Clare to Kazakhstan. And for Ray Flannery that distance and sense of enormous difference is dramatically brought to life every time he looks out his office window. Especially these days, in the depths of winter. The Ballyea man doesn’t work in one of Kazakhstan’s many large cities or towns. The office doesn’t overlook any smog-choked metropolis. It’s far away from all that. In fact, it’s far away from most things.

Work for Ray for the past few weeks has been a man made island somewhere in the Caspian Sea, about 80km off the coast of Kazakhstan.

Like many his age, it was the offer of a job that brought Ray to one of the harshest and most remote regions in the world. The Caspian Sea is home to the Kashagan Project a vast network of islands and rigs working on what is estimated to be one of the largest oil fields on the planet.

He explains, “They reckon it’s the biggest oil find of the past 30 years. There’s something like 4,500 people working for different companies. It’s a pretty big operation.”

Ray works on Island Delta as a field engineer for the Italian firm Tozzi. It’s a job he has done for different companies in various far-flung places of the world including Indonesia, Madagascar and Canada. Kazakhstan though is different. It’s harsh and very cold. He says, “Weather wise it’s -15º at the moment and a guy was telling me that it will go down to -30º in January. The Caspian Sea is frozen over so the boats can’t run. They had been using choppers to get to the mainland but now a bog fog has come in as well. They’re hoping it will clear so people can get back home for Christmas. The weather here is a big factor…It’s very harsh when you see the frozen sea and the mounds of snow.” The former St Flannan’s student realised just how remote Island D is when a colleague told him a story about unwanted visitors during last year’s big freeze.

“A guy who worked here last year was telling me that when it froze over a wolf actually walked out from the coastline and was headed towards the islands.

“They had to tranquilise it and Medivac (helicopter ambulance) it back to the mainland!”

Apart from the wolves there is a strong international presence among the workforce dotted around the various ships and islands of the Kashagan Project. But not too many Paddys, Ray says.

“It’s very multinational but at the moment there is a very small Irish presence.

We spoke in the run up to Christmas and Ray was hoping to speak by skype to his parents, brother and sister.

He says, “Christmas is just a regular day. It runs like clockwork. They run a pretty tight ship. We might get to eat the turkey!”

Apart from being grateful for the opportunity to work, Ray says the chance to travel to places like Kazakhstan has given him a new understanding about life away from home. “It’s given me a completely different perspective, the things you see and what people are born into.”

PRESSURE is mounting on Clare County Council to alter the County Development Plan to prevent fracking from taking place in the Clare Basin in west Clare.

Members of the Clare Fracking Concerned group will address next Monday’s January meeting of the local authority when the councillors will vote on Gabriel Keating’s (FG) motion to formalise their opposition to the controversial practice.

A series of anti-fracking meetings will also take place in West Clare in the coming weeks as momentum begins to gather behind Clare Fracking Concerned.

According to Cillian Murphy of the Loop Head Tourism Group and Clare Fracking Concerned, the process could seriously pollute the ground water not just at the fracking site, but all over West Clare.

“Around 99.5 per cent of the mixture which is pumped underground is chemical free. But that still leaves 0.5 per cent chemicals and, when you consider that they are talking about pumping millions and million of tonnes of this mixture, it amounts to an awful lot of chemicals,” said Murphy. “The geology in the area is already quite fractured and brittle, and water already passes readily through the rocks, so if there was a problem it wouldn’t just be in one area, it would be in all the ground water in West Clare.

“We are trying to give people a knowledge base for them to make their own minds up. We are not trying to force our opinions on anyone. But we would hope that when people see the facts and make up their minds, that they would contact their local councillor and tell them that they do not want fracking taking place in West Clare.”

Should Clare County Council come out against the practice taking place in West Clare, it does not prohibit the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources from granting permission to begin fracking. UK-based company Enegi Oil secured an initial exploration licence from the Government to undertake a number of fracking-related tests in the Clare Basic earlier this year.

“We would hope that the council will come out against fracking in Clare and if they do we would hope that they could make an amendment to the County Development Plan which says that. That would at least give us some legal basis or protection,” continued Murphy. “From our research, any jobs that come out of this are very short term. There is a certain amount of employment in the construction phase but that is very short term. The work after that is very technical and can be done by a very small number of people brought in from outside.”

Clare Fracking Concerned will host meetings at the Lighthouse Inn in Kilbaha on January 6, Murphy Black’s Butter Market Café on January 7, Kenny’s Bar, Lahinch, on January 8, Kildysart Hall on January 20 and Fanny O’Dea’s in Lissycasey on January 26.

CLARE has produced three presidents in Eamon de Valera, Dr Paddy Hillery and Michael D Higgins, but the county can now lay claim to a fourth thanks to the links between Mary McAleese and the Poor Clares Convent in Ennis.

The former president’s association with the Poor Clares has been revealed this week, with abbess of the convent, Sr Gabriel, revealing that Mrs McAleese “came in and lived like one of us”.

Speaking publicly for the first time on the former president’s links with the Poor Clares during her 14 years in Áras an Uachtaráin, Sr Gabriel revealed that the association was fostered in her inaugural year in office when she was introduced to members of the Poor Clare order by local solicitor, Michael Houlihan.

“On her way out on that visit, she asked ‘Could I possibly come back here for a retreat?’,” said Sr Gabriel. “We thought, ‘oh gosh, what will this mean?’ We were exercised and giving her the time and space she wanted. And she asked ‘can I join your recreation at tea time?’.”

So began an association that saw President McAleese spend three or four days with the Poor Clares in Ennis every year.

“President McAleese has been great. She has been such an inspira- tion to us. She comes in, no mobile phone, no nothing, she relinquishes everything. President McAleese would be washing your dishes and you’re embarrassed, thinking ‘The President of Ireland is washing my dishes!’

“In a way, this was the only place she was Mary McAleese. She wasn’t the President, she could just be Mary and feed her own inner life to recharge herself for her duties. She is just so ordinary, so real— that is why the world took to her. And the stories from her — press a button and you would have story after story,” added Sr Gabriel.

“She is just one of us when she is here,” said Sr Regina. “She would arrive in a lovely designer trouser suit and she would go up to her room and she would be back down in her Dunnes Stores best for the time here. She does appreciate our life here and understands it,” she added.

“Her time here has been very enriching for us as well,” said Sr Bernadette. “She would be walking around the garden saying her rosary, be at Adoration reading her Bible. She is a wonderful woman.”

The Poor Clares monastery was established in Ennis in October 1958 and the enclosed order’s Golden Anniversary celebrations were launched by President McAleese in 2008, while a photograph of the former President now hangs in the monastery.