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A NEW people’s think-tank has been set up in north Clare with the purpose of pooling ideas and reinventing a future for the people of the Burren.

The first Mind Meitheal, as it is known, will take place at the Kilnaboy X-PO this Wednesday, with local people invited to come and share ideas or to simply listen.

Unlike other think-tanks, the Mind Meitheal is open to all local people and a particular emphasis has been placed on attracting young people and Burren farmers.

The think-tank has been set up by local artist Deirdre O’Mahony, who reopened the Kilnaboy Post Office as a community space known as the X-PO in 2007.

“We have such a mixed group of people using the X-PO, because of all the different groups involved, so we have already been hearing the mixing of ideas here.

“There are lots of different ways of generating ideas. Obviously, places like universities are good for things like that but I feel that somewhere like the X-PO is an ideal place for people who might not always feel comfortable sharing their ideas to get involved,” said Deirdre.

“It is a small and informal place and I think there won’t be as much of a reluctance for people to put forward some strange and unusual ideas. We are really looking for people like farmers, for blow-ins and locals, but I suppose the one group who we really want to come are the young people of the Burren.

“Common Agriculture Funding (CAP) is going to change in 2013 – how are we going to be able to imagine the future of the Burren, its people and its landscape after that?

“How are we going to find these young people with a future? Because it is not going to be like the farming that we have in the Burren now.”

The first Burren Mind Meitheal will take place at the X-PO in Kilnaboy this Wednesday, October 19, from 8pm and will continue on a monthly basis after that.

The Mind Meitheal is one of a number of new events which have been launched at the X-PO this October.

“The X-PO is open to absolutely everybody and we are very interested in anyone coming along and getting involved.

“We have a number of different clubs here already and more people are always welcome to the clubs or to set up something for themselves,” continued Deirdre.

For more information, email xpo. community@gmail.com

INCIDENTS of anti-social behaviour at an Ennis playground have “settled down considerably” since the introduction of CCTV, a meeting has heard.

There was praise for the set of measures implemented this year at a € 240,000 children’s playground in Tim Smythe Park at yesterday’s meeting of the Ennis Joint Policing Committee.

The playground was the focus of incidents of anti-social behaviour when it opened earlier this year.

Reports of vandalism, bullying and intimidation led to calls for improved security measures including CCTV and fencing.

Residents in the area also expressed concern over the high number of cars parking in the area when the playground opened.

Town Manager Ger Dollard told yesterday’s meeting at Waterpark House, Ennis, that the playground is now “operating to a standard that we would accept”.

Praising the impact of the new CCTV system, double yellow lines and pedestrian crossing, Mr Dollard described the overall development of the playground as a “success story”.

Welcoming the report, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said the playground at Tim Smythe Park is a “world-class facility”.

He said that he acknowledged that initial concerns have now been addressed. He said that anti-social behaviour had “settled down considerably”.

Cllr Mary Coote Ryan (FG) said residents had been “very concerned in the early days” but are now happy that the problems had been addressed.

Mr Dollard told the meeting that good progress had been made over the past 12 months in the area of pedestrian crossings.

He said crossings are now in place at the Maid of Eireann, Tim Smythe Park and Ennis Golf Club while further work is expected at a number of sites around the town.

He also appealed for people using the Western Relief Road in Ennis to jog on the footpath. Mr Dollard said there had been reports of joggers jogging on the road at night.

He said that in the interests of safety, people should use the footpath and also wear appropriate clothing.

GARDAÍ will only impose nighttime pedestrianisaion in Ennis town centre if the situation warrants it, a meeting has heard.

The matter of closing Ennis’ streets to traffic at night was raised at yesterday’s meeting of the Ennis Joint Policing Committee.

Rita McInerney, CEO, Ennis Chamber, asked if pedestrianisation was going to be introduced perma- nently in the town centre or on “adhoc basis”.

Insp John Galvin explained that Gardaí only take the decision to close the streets to cars and other vehicular traffic if there is a large number of people in the town centre area after closing time at the weekend. “We call it as we see it,” he said.

Supt Peter Duff said Gardaí had noticed that there are less people now spilling out onto the streets after pubs and nightclubs closed. He said the fact that people are not out socialising as much is probably reflective of the current economic situation.

The meeting also heard that Ennis could be a “test case” for a UK awards scheme that recognises a town’s nighttime activities and services.

Town Manager Ger Dollard told the meeting that while the Association of Town Centre Management (UK) is not currently taking applications from Irish authorities, the council would examine the criteria required to achieve Purple Flag status.

The award recognises UK towns where improvements have been made to the experience of going to the town at night. According to the Association of Town Centre Management, it is aimed at raising the standard and broadening the appeal of town centres between 5pm and 6am

In order to qualify for Purple Flag status, successful towns must meet four standards – wellbeing, appeal, movement and place. Towns are judged on a number of criteria including active policing, safe late night car-parking, public transport, public utilities nightlife and street activities.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG), who proposed the awards scheme two years ago, said the UK authority are keen to use Ennis as a “test case” for introducing the Purple Flag in Ireland. Cllr Flynn said a working group had been set up to examine the proposal

A PILOT project that has been credited with reducing speed on the Tulla Road could be extended to other roads around Ennis, a meeting has heard. Electronic displays that show the speed of passing cars have been installed in the area by Ennis Town Council for road design purposes and the recording of traffic flow data.

The council is providing four 50kph activated electronic speed display signs on the Tulla Road at locations outbound after Tulla Road and Railway Bridge and Roslevan roundabout and in bound near Hillcrest and Cappahard Lane as a pilot scheme.

Through the scheme, the council will be able to download traffic flow data from the signs and this information can be used for road design purposes and data will be forwarded to the Garda traffic corps.

At yesterday’s meeting of the Ennis Joint Policing Committee, Town Manager Ger Dollard said speed control measures in place on the Tulla Road have received a positive response from gardaí. He said the scheme had been quite successful and consideration has been given to extending it to other roads around the town.

Figures contained in a garda report on crime in the Ennis sub-district show that there have been no fatal collisions for the first nine months of 2011.

The report, which was presented at yesterday’s meeting, shows that there have been two serious injury traffic collisions in Ennis this year, compared to three in the same period in 2010. There has also been a reduction in the number of non-serious injury traffic collisions in Ennis so far this year, from 28 in 2010 to 23 in 2011.

Supt Peter Duff told the meeting that drivers are now more conscious of the importance of road safety due to greater public awareness of the issue.

Yesterday’s meeting at the Civic Room, Waterpark House, was attended by the Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind), Cllr Brian Meaney (GP), Cllr Mary Howard (FG), Cllr Mary Coote Ryan (FG) and officials from Ennis Town Council including Town Manager Ger Dollard, Town Clerk Leonard Cleary and Niall O’Keefe from the council’s housing section.

Community representatives Robert Wilkie and Mary Leahy also attended the meeting. The gardai were represented at the meeting by Supt Peter Duff, Insp John Galvin and Sgt Paul Slattery.

POLITICAL pressure against a controversial proposal to change Ennis’ development plan to pave the way for the development of a major retail outlet on the outskirts of the county capital has been ramped up this week.

Labour Party TD Michael McNamara has told The Clare People that “the historic centre of Ennis” as a retail centre has to be maintained, something that only be achieved if local public representatives turn down an application to change the provisions of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan 2008-2014.

In issuing a statement that, Deputy McNamara has warned that any move to develop “a major shopping centre in the Tobertaoscain area is not in the long term interests of Ennis”.

His comments come in the wake of last week’s report from County Manager, Tom Coughlan, which said changes to the development plan are “not appropriate” as he recommended to members of Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council that “no modifications are made to the proposed original variation of April 2011”.

“The decision is a difficult one, as the temporary gain of construction jobs and employment expectations in a shopping complex, has to be balanced against the inevitable damage to the existing town centre, in terms of jobs lost and businesses closed,” said Deputy McNamara.

“Overall, the proposal for the Limerick Road area will create the classic doughnut effect whereby business moves from the centre to the edge leaving a degraded space in the middle.

“In a buoyant retail environment, it might be argued that both could survive. That is not the climate in which we are living and it is unlikely to prevail for some time. Our priority must be to maintain and develop the historic centre of Ennis,” he said.

“Only the elected councillors have the power to make or refuse such change. It is a difficult decision and places a heavy burden of responsibility of their shoulders. It is one of the most important questions to come before them for a long time and the implications of their decision will impact on Ennis for many years to come,” Deputy McNamara warned.

CLAIMS that Ennis is an expensive town have been described as “damaging” and “unfounded” by local business representatives.

Members of Ennis Chamber and the Ennis Development were reacting to comments made by Mayor of Ennis Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) at a recent meeting of Ennis Town Council.

In a statement, both organizations say many local businesses have expressed their shock and disappointment at the Mayor’s reference to Ennis as an expensive town to do business.

President of Ennis Chamber John Dillane said: “The businesses and employees of Ennis need support from their elected public representatives, not unfounded criticism and, what appear to be, throw away remarks which are damaging to the Ennis brand. In the food sector, a quick survey of the prices in national and international multiples and branded stores in Ennis revealed no price difference to other stores or their prices as advertised nationally. Likewise with independent retailers, they compare very favourably with similar independent store in other towns.”

Aoife Madden (Madden Furniture), Chairperson of Ennis Development Forum said, “We, like so many other Ennis businesses, have recently invested heavily in enhancing the shopping experience for our customers.

“Over the last few weeks 40 per cent of our customers are now coming from Limerick which proves that prices and service are comparable if not better to Limerick and other retail centres.”

According to Martin White of AAA Taxis, “Ennis taxis provide a better pricing structure for our customers as we have not engaged in a call out charge which has been implemented in other parts of the country.”

In the statement, Ennis Chamber and Ennis Development Forum say they have received many reports from customers and visitors alike that they are pleasantly surprised at the range and quality of the retail mix in the town.

TWENTY jobs are to be created in Shannon between now and the end of next January through the launch of a new company which manufactures, installs and maintains small domestic wind-turbines for homes, small businesses and farms.

The Eco-Eir company has just been set up by the O’Mara family in Shannon who have been operating the Force Advanced Technology Solutions manufacturing company in Shannon for the last 20 year.

The company aims to generate between 15 and 20 jobs in the Shannon area over the next four months by employing people directly and by indirect employment through local suppliers.

“Force has been doing a lot of work in the renewable energy over the last few years so I stepped back and saw that there was a gap in the market – especially in the wind energy sector,” said Steve O’Mara, Managing Director of Eco-Eir.

“The product has been designed by us, 99 per cent of it has been manufactured by us and all 100 per cent of it has been built or manufactured in Ireland. We do have some competitors in the market but it is mostly in the very small domestic sector or for very large wind-farms. We are going for something in between. It is not some flimsy thing that you can bolt onto the side of your house, this is a well manufactured top-of-the-range product. And that is why we give a full 10 year warranty with every generator.”

Depending on the prevailing wind of a particular site, Steve estimated that his product could supply all the electricity needed for most small businesses or farms and leave most domestic users and new contributors of electricity a product which they can sell back to the ESB.

“The average figure for a family of four people is 5,480 units of electricity per year – that is for an average family with all the usual utilities. Based on the average wind speed in Ireland which is 6 metres per second, we will be able to generate 10,000 units per year. Which is almost twice what the average family will need,” continued Steve.

“If you are an ESB customer you can then sell that electricity back to the grid. So instead of you getting a bill from the ESB each month they will send you out a cheque once a year.”

The windmills are small enough to be exempt from planning permission and Eco-Eir will do a free site survey to determines the average wind speed and average electricity generation capacity of a particular area. To find out more about the company visit www.eco-eir.com.

YOUNG people are being encouraged to take part in a programme of events that has been launched at a new youth and community building in Ennis.

Clare Youth Service has announced a series of programmes to run at ‘The Junction’ on Cloughleigh Road.

Youth worker Jean Tierney explained that the activities are aimed at young people aged 15-18 years and will run at the building over the next few months.

A money bank programme will offer advice on setting up a community grants scheme, while young people can also learn life skills and participate in genealogy projects.

The centre is also open for teenagers every Tuesday and Friday from 4-6pm to drop in and meet their friends, access the internet, and listen to music.

Ms Tierney said that ‘fit out’ work on the building’s kitchen and computer room has recently been completed. “We have a few groups up and running. There are community groups running meetings during the day,” she said.

She explained that Clare Youth Service are aiming to increase use of the building over the coming months. Ms Tierney said that a number of different groups and organisations have rented space at the building to run classes.

For more details or to sign up to any of the programmes, call into The Junction or contact Jean Tierney on 065 6845356 or 086-1568560. Alternatively, check out The Junction Ennis on Facebook.

The Junction, which was constructed on land owned by Ennis Town Council, features a youth café/dropin centre and will be used as a base from which youth services and programmes to targeted groups will be delivered. The project costs amounted to € 645,000, of which € 357,000 was allocated to the council under the Social and Community Facilities Capital Scheme 2006. The balance of the capital expenditure was provided from the council’s own resources. The council was the contracting authority for the construction of the building and has leased the completed building to Clare Youth Service.

Set up in 1969, Clare Youth Service today provides direct services to over 3,000 young people aged 12-25 years around the county.

AN ESTIMATED 1,200 ESB customers were affected by a power outage, which struck parts of Ennis last week.

The outage occurred at 3.10pm on Thursday and supply was restored to all customers by 4pm. In a statement an ESB spokeswoman explained that the outage occurred when a landowner was cutting a tree on property in Guarus and it fell across an ESB line.

She stated, “An outage occurred at approximately 3.10pm yesterday (Oct 13). ESB Network crews were dispatched. A private landowner was cutting a tree on his own property in Gaurus and it inadvertently fell across an ESB medium voltage line in the area.”

The areas affected were Our Lady’s Hospital and the Gaurus Court Estate and Gaurus Bridge areas.

The spokeswoman added, “Approximately, 1,200 customers were affected. Supply was restored to all customers at 4pm.”

It is the second widespread power outage to hit ESB customers in Ennis in the past three months. An estimated 1,500 homes and businesses were affected by two major power outages in Ennis in July. On that occasion the outages occurred as a result of cable faults in the town centre.

Almost 1,000 homes and businesses were hit by the first fault. A second fault occurred in Francis Street later in the day leading to power disruptions for approximately 500 customers. At the time, banks were forced to close in the middle of the day while pubs, shops and restaurants were also affected.

THE sister of a north Clare priest who died tragically in 2002 when his car rolled off Liscannor Pier says her brother came to her in a dream and told her that he did not commit suicide. All The Michael O’Gradys is a new book set to be published later this year by Crusheen woman Helen O’Grady. The book tells the story of several generations of the O’Grady family, including four family members named Michael who each died in tragic circumstances surrounding water.

The main focus of the book is on the death of popular local priest Fr Michael O’Grady, who died when his car rolled off Liscannor Pier on April 4, 2002. The inquest into his death was held in July of that year and returned a suicide verdict.

This verdict was contested by the family, who described it as being “perverse” and “flying in the face of the evidence”.

After the O’Grady family threatened to instigate a judicial review into the verdict, a second inquest was held in November of that year which overturned the suicide verdict and instead returned an open verdict in the case.

In the book, Fr Michael’s sister Mary describes a visit from her dead brother to her dreams on the night following the tragic accident.

“That night as I prepared for bed, I reflected on the day and I was annoyed with all and sundry. But as usual, I said some prayers. During my sleep, Fr Michael came to me,” said Helen. “Fr Michael, along with a person on either side of him, told me three times in an angry voice,

‘it was an accident’.

After that I never

doubted.”

Fr O’Grady served

in the Killaloe Dio

cese for more than

30 year after he

was first ordained

in 1969. Originally

from Crusheen, he

was Parish Priest

in the neighbour

ing parish of Tubber

when he passed away

at the age of 58.

The then Bishop of

Killaloe, Dr Willie

Walsh, spoke at his

funeral, describing him as a “a man of deep faith and of loyalty to the priesthood”.

The book closes with Helen calling for more understanding and compassion for people of vocation in Ireland. “He was a priest. It was not an easy life; a priest’s life is a demanding one but also a rewarding one. Maybe we lay people should, from now on, think differently about the priests and church in general. Instead we should pray for our priests and nuns,” she said.