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THE first in a series of controlled explosions at the site of the new Doolin Pier took place last Wednesday, without any significant harm coming to local sea mammals, including Dusty the Dolphin.

The blasting, which is being carried out by Clare contractors, L&M Keating Ltd, had been scheduled to take place on a number of occasion earlier this month but had been delayed because of weather.

The explosions took place just after 9.10pm last Thursday evening. A number of members of the Clare based, Irish Whale and Dolphin [IWDG] were in the area to over see the explosions.

With Dusty basing herself on the Aran Islands for the last number of months, no sea mammals were harmed in the explosions – with a small number of fish the only reported casualties.

“The Marine Mammal Mitigation Plan was successfully delivered by IWDG and no marine mammals were affected. Despite heavy rain, sea conditions were very favourable,” said a spokesperson from the IWDG.

“Visual and acoustic monitoring 60 to 150 minutes pre-blast detected no marine mammals or otters and blasting went ahead. Post-blast monitoring recovered two dying pollack which were thought to have been killed by the shock wave but no other affected marine life was observed.”

More blasting in expected to take place in Doolin later this week provided that weather conditions are suitable. The blasting is to clear rock for the construction of a new start of the art pier at Doolin and an exclusion zone will also be put in place on land to ensure that no humans stray too close to the blast site.

During Wednesday’s scheduled explosion, a number of volunteers were also with Dusty the Dolphin on the Aran Islands, ensuring that the bottle nose dolphin did not stray too close to Doolin or be effected as a result of the shock wave.

THE auction of the year was to have been the sale of the correspondence between Jackie Kennedy and a priest in All Hallows College in Dublin, but they were withdrawn at the 11th hour because a dispute over their ownership.

Now, the seminary which is closing has come back for more with another auction that will take place over three days, with one of the lots providing an historic link with Clare.

It’s contained the collection of art that will go under the hammer at Sheppards Auctioneers from Durrow in Laois – a portrait of the Clareborn Archbishop of Perth Patrick Joseph Clune.

Archbishop Clune was born in Ruan in 1864, educated at St Flannan’s College and All Hallows College. He was ordained a priest in 1886 before his first appointment was to St Patrick’s College in New South Wales.

From there he rose through the ranks of the Church and became Bishop of Perth in 1911 before being elevated to archbishopric in 1913, a position he held until his death in 1935.

Though he lived nearly all of his adult life in Australia, Archbishop Clune was given a key part to play in War of Independence in Ireland when British Prime Minister, Lloyd George turned to the Ruan man to act as a mediator with Irish leaders to secure a cessation of violence.

This was despite the fact that at the time Archbishop Clune made no secret of the fact that he was a keen supporter of the Sinn Féin movement. “I admire their gallantry. When Mr Lloyd George termed them assassins I was content to reply to him: ‘No not murderers but the cream of their race’,” he said.

Archbishop Clune’s portrait is one of 14 ecclesiastical paintings that will go under the hammer in the highly anticipated auction and could fetch up to € 2, 500.

A MOTHER of two has warned people to be on the look out for bogus tradesmen who were operating in the West Clare area at the weekend.

The men removed a number of roof tiles from the home of Ruth Gilhool and her family.

The roof of the family’s home near Ballyncally was damaged following storms earlier this year. The family had been saving to get the roof repaired when two men in a blue Ford Transit van called to the house on Friday.

The men offered to fix the damage for € 350. Ruth said she accepted the offer as it sounded like a good price and she was desperate to have the roof fixed.

She said rain had already fallen into one of the bedrooms. Ruth was at home on her own Friday when the men called. Her nine-year-old son, who is moderately autistic, was last year diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma cancer. Ruth’s husband was away with the couple’s son on a trip to Barrettstown – a specially designed camp in Kildare that provides therapeutic care for seriously ill children.

Ruth said that after examining the roof, the men told her further work was required. They said they needed to purchase materials worth € 300 from the Dock Road, Limerick.

The man said they would take € 300 for materials now and the additional € 350 required for the work could be paid over the following week.

Ruth paid the money, which she had originally intended using to tax her car.

When the men returned on Saturday, they told Ruth the cost of completing the work had jumped to € 3,250. When Ruth and her husband protested, the man said he would ring his boss. After making a phonecall, he said he could do the job for € 1,650.

The man said he needed € 1,000 upfront for materials. After Ruth asked for identification and a business card, the man said another van in the area had all the documents.

Ruth said the van left and did not return. It was after inspecting the roof she noticed some of the tiles were missing. “I was afraid to be in the house if they came back. I was afraid to be on my own. I locked my- self in the house.”

Ruth contacted the gardaí about the incident and published photos of her house and van and details of the encounter on Facebook.

Since then, friends have rallied around and offered to help with repairs.

“People have been so wonderful. I had a really heavy heart after this happened after I’d let people do this to our house and exposing us to dan- ger. But after seeing the kindness of people in Clare, my heart had lifted so much,” she said.

There have also been reports of a similar van calling to homes of elderly people in the Ballynacally and Lissycasey area.

A MAN is recovering in hospital today after being involved in the latest of a spate of serious accidents involving motorcyclists in Clare.

The German tourist sustained multiple injuries when his motorcycle collided with a car at Mountrivers Bridge on the outskirts of Doonbeg on Wednesday afternoon. A second motorcyclists was also hurt in the incident but her injuries are understood to be less serious.

The car, which was being driven by an American tourist, is though to have clipped another vehicle, before colliding with the bridge itself and then the two motorcycles.

The motorcycle being driven by the male tourist became embedded in the front of the car during the crash, while the second motorcycle was thrown over the car. Both of the motorcyclists were taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.

This incident comes just weeks after a two motorcyclists died in a horrific collision just outside Lisdoonvarna. That incident saw the sad deaths of Ferdinand “Ferdi” Waidel, a 55-year-old German national who had been living in Clare for more than a decade and Ricardo ‘Ricky’ Godoy, a Chilean television presenter and motorcycle enthusiast.

YOUNG disabled people in Clare have been ignored for nearly 18 months as a result of government inaction, according to local campaigners.

The government backed down on a decision to scrap both the Mobility Allowance and Motorised Transport Grant in March of last year, follow intense local media attention. At that time the Department of Health decided to conduct a review of both grants and produce a workable solution which would meet the needs of disabled people.

While the review is taking place, no new Clare applicants have been granted access to either scheme – resulting in a number of disabled Clare people being left without a suitable transport options. According to local campaigner Ann Marie Flanaghan, who herself was able to take up employment as a result of the schemes, if a person took a suit against the Government under the Equal Status Act, they would most likely win.

“A number of people who were in the process of applying for the schemes and that has been stalled and their application have not been processed. There is a whole other group of people, who have no other means of transport, and cannot apply for any scheme at the moment,” she said.

“There is a whole group of people, with quite significant disabilities, who are not being provided with help while others are. The government promised that this review would be a fast turnaround, but as we know there has been no news and there is no prospect of news.”

At present there are more than 300 disabled Clare people in receipt of the Mobility Allowance or the Motorised Transport Grant Scheme. While there is currently no figures of how many Clare people have been prevented from entering the scheme over the past 18 months – it is though that the number could be between 10 and 20.

“In my opinion the Government are abusing their position and not supporting a vulnerable group of people. Those who are accessing those schemes are the people with the most significant disabilities and are also unfortunately the poorest in society, as the financial cut off point was very low to begin with,” continued Ms Flanaghan.

“People are always using the expression ‘prisoners in their own home’. In 2014 is is sickening to have to use that expression but that is the reality.”

A CLARE father who “sacrificed the welfare of his children for alcohol” has been given a four year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for the neglect and ill treatment of six children.

The eldest victim described how she was ten when she was left to care for her six week old sister. She said the baby slept beside her in a single bed and when she was unable to stop the infant crying during the night the accused hit her in the face.

The now 19-year-old woman also described coming home from school to find the baby alone strapped into a car seat when her parents had gone drinking. She also cared for her other siblings and forged her mother’s sig- nature in shops in order to feed them. The foster parents of some of the children, aged between two and 12 years-old at the time they went into care, said they were unable to use cutlery, were not toilet trained or able to shower or use a toothbrush.

The 54 year-old man pleaded guilty to eight counts of child cruelty against six children on dates between 2001 and 2010. He is the father of the five younger children.

His former partner and mother of all of the children has already received a four year suspended sentence for the same charges.

“In effect the children were rearing themselves without any parental guidance,” noted Judge Mary Ellen Ring.

RAPE Crisis Midwest says it is “truly humbled” by the public support received since announcing the forced temporarily close of its centre in Ennis.

In May, the centre cited “significant cut-backs” as the reason for closing offices and services in Ennis, Nenagh and Limerick.

Rape Crisis Midwest provides a confidential one-to-one counselling service to both male and female survivors of rape and childhood sexual abuse. The service sees approximately 80 clients a week in the entire mid- west.

Between 12 and 14 people a week attend the service at the Tracklands business park in Ennis.

“There is no reasonable prospect of meeting our shortfall, estimated to be in the region of € 120,000 in the entire mid-west. The current fundraising programme in place will not satisfy that shortfall,” explained at the time.

Many of those are adults who suffered sexual abuse as children. The Ennis centre is due to close on a temporary basis in September.

But in its latest newsletter, the service has paid tribute to the support it has received from the public in Clare.

“It has been a busy few months here at the centre. We were truly humbled by the support, publicity and donations we received when we regrettably announced the news of our onemonth temporary closure. Thank you”.

A spokesperson continued, “Once again, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every person who got in touch, donated, organised events, and shared the news of our temporary closure. We are truly grateful for your support and generosity.

Rape Crisis Midwest says it is also in the process of starting a new ‘Friends of Rape Crisis’ fundraising campaign to help address the € 120,000 shortfall.

“This campaign is designed for long-term giving. It will enable people to donate to us regularly and automatically without the hassle of having to physically donate every month. If you would like to get involved in the preparations or join our Friends of committee please get in touch.”

Members of Rape Crisis Midwest in Clare are also preparing for the third annual Dainty Daisy competition.

The event will take place at Treacy’s West County Hotel on Saturday, November 1.

PLANNING permission for the construction of a park and ride service to the Cliffs of Moher has been refused by Clare County Council.

The application, which sought to retain a planning permission granted to Atlantis Development in 2009, was submitted earlier this year by a new company, Lazarus Investments.

According to documents lodged with the Company Registration Office (CRO), both Atlantis Development and Lazarus Investments list Clare businessman John Declan Flanaghan as their director.

The proposed retention of planning permission was refused by planners on Friday, with changes to the Clare County Development Plan cited as the main reason for the decision.

Lazarus Investment are currently objecting to upgrade work planned by Clare County Council on the parking facilities at the Cliffs of Moher. The objection states that according to the original planning permission granted for the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience, a park and ride service and not a permanent car park should be provided.

In recent weeks, Lazarus Investments have also lodged a number of planning applications with Clare County Council in relation to properties connected to the Atlantis Development.

An application, which would have involved a major redevelopment to Egan’s and McHugh’s in Liscannor, including the construction of a seven-bedroom hostel, has also been refused by Clare County Council, while a proposal to construct a 11 houses at Teergonean in Doolin has been given the go ahead.

There are decisions pending on a number of other projects including the construction of a supermarket, crèche, medical centre and a chemist at Killilagh in Doolin.

Meanwhile, a Liscannor hotel, which once formed part of the Atlantis Development collection of properties in North Clare, has been offered for sale with a price tag of € 550,000.

The Cliffs of Moher Hotel, which was built in 2006, is being offered for sale by receiver Michael O’Regan of PriceWaterhouseCooper. The hotel, which is located a stone’s throw from Liscannor Bay, sleeps 22 and includes a fully-fitted out bar and restaurant.

A MAN whose family-run business was hit by a daring smash and grab raid in Ennis last week is urging businesses to be extra vigilant.

High value electronic goods worth up to € 20,000 were stolen when two men broke into Ennis Electrical in the early hours of Wednesday morning last.

A number of Apple devices including iPads, iPods, Samsung tablets, computers and a television were stolen.

Eric Flynn of Ennis Electrical said the premises on Quin Road had previously been targeted by thieves but this is the first time the shop on Parnell Street has been hit.

“You get the odd broken window there on a Saturday night with people being out but we’ve never had anything like this.

“The window that was broken was the only one that wasn’t shatter proof. The rest are.”

He continued, “It was a bit of a shock alright but to be honest it’s more of a disappointment. You would get the odd small minor thing but nothing on this scale. We’re in business in town for 40 years and something like this never happened.”

Eric believes there is very little that could have been done to prevent the robbery.

“The reality is there very little we could have done to prevent it. These guys don’t care about the law. They don’t care about the guards. They don’t care about alarms, security cameras, anything. They are on a mission. They were only here for 90 seconds. This was well planned and well thought out. They were probably watching the place beforehand. They used a sledgehammer to break in the window and they left that behind them. They left a fine mess.

“We have CCTV but they had hoodies up. They don’t care about cameras. It’s only a minor obstacle to them. It was unlucky in one way. The guards had passed the area a few minutes beforehand and they were there about three minutes after it.

“In fairness, the CCTV system in the town is second to none. The guards were able to tell me what route they took out of town where they were at a certain point.”

Eric is urging businesses to be vigilant of any suspicious behaviour around their premises.

“Businesses and that goes for everything from retail, pubs, newsagents, it’s important to be vigilant. If you see anyone hanging around the shop it might be no harm to make a note of it and tell the guards. From a day-to-day perspective, if you notice anything suspicious, it’s no harm to tell the guards. Hopefully that can be helpful down the line.”

The six laptops stolen from the shop were taken without power supplies.

“They don’t have a power supply so if someone is offered them that should raise a red flag,” Eric added.

A WOMAN has recalled the fright and hurt she felt as a young girl when her primary school teacher allegedly pushed her on a desk and forced his body on top of her.

The woman was giving evidence at the second day of the trial of an 80year-old retired teacher accused of 67 counts of indecent assault.

The man denies all charges, which relate to allegations between 1964 and 1985 at a Clare primary school.

The allegations concern 11 women who say they were assaulted by the man.

On Thursday at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court, the woman recalled an incident she alleges happened in sixth class.

She said the man pushed her on a desk and forced himself on top of her as she faced him.

“He was pushing his whole body weight down on me”, she said.

“My sister shouted stop, you’re going to break my sister’s back”.

The woman told prosecuting counsel Anthony Sammon SC that the incident was “very frightful” and “very hurtful”.

Defence counsel Roderick O’Hanlon SC put it to the woman that the incident at the desk never happened and that her memory is simply an “incorrect recollection”.

Under cross-examination, the woman maintained she had been assaulted by her former teacher.

“We were country children when we were subjected to this behaviour”, she added.

She said the children did not know what sex was but knew their teacher’s behaviour was “horrible” and “wrong”

She said they were “country children in a country school” when they were assaulted by the man.

She said it was a “no win” situation for the children because this was man in “power, all power” who knew their parents.

A 45-year-old woman told the court she recalled that when she was in fifth class, the teacher would sit beside her at her desk and touch her inappropriately.

She also recalled that the man used to admire her clothes.

She said the man used to hold her between his legs as he sat on a high stool at the front of the classroom.

She said she knows now the man was getting aroused.

“He had an erection and it was sticking into my back”.

In cross examination, defence counsel, Mr O’Hanlon SC, put it to the woman that his client never engaged in the type of inappropriate touching as detailed by her.

He told her she was “constructing a narrative” about what happened.

The fifth female complainant to give evidence told the court the former teacher was “very cross” and “very violent”.

She said she remembered one day when the man allegedly pulled one boy from his desk and proceeded to bang his head on every desk.

“I’ll never forget that. It was horrific”, she added.

Prosecuting counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Anthony Sammon SC, put it to the woman that corporal punishment was permitted at the time.

The woman told Mr Sammon she thought the accused’s behaviour was “excessive”.

The woman detailed assaults committed against her by her then teacher. She said they occurred with greater frequency, as she got older in fifth and sixth class.

Defence counsel Roderick O’Hanlon SC put it to the woman, the aggravated assault on the boy never happened.

He said no complaint had been made to the gardaí in respect of that time. The trial before Judge Gerald Keys commenced on Wednesday last and is due to continue today.