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FIFTY years on from Che Guevara’s visit to Kilkee, the artist who met him in the West Clare town and drew the iconic image that’s known around the world is handing copyright back to the revolutionary’s family.

Jim Fitzpatrick, who gave the keynote address to the inaugural Che do Bheatha festival in Kilkee over the weekend has told The Clare People that “copyright for the image belongs to the Guevara family”.

In February, Fitzpatrick first revealed his intention to launch a legal bid to finally secure copyright of his image of Che Guevara, that was in- spired by a chance meeting the artist had with the father of the Cuban revolution in Kilkee.

“I disliked the commercial use, that’s why I have taken the copyright back,” Fitzpatrick revealed. “I never sought royalites for it. It is not about commercial usage, it is about remembering someone who was executed very brutally and who was a prisoner of war at the time,” he added.

“Che’s flight was grounded in Shannon and his driver brought him on a trip to the sea and he came into Marine Hotel where I was working,” revealed Fitzpatrick of his famous encounter.

“After getting a copy of Korda’s photograph of Che I created my own image of Che for Dublin-based magazine Scene . It was a call to arms – it was pretty violent. It was like Pearse’s speech about the blood and wine of the battlefields. I was so frustrated that I sent it to different magazines, but I couldn’t give it away. Publishers didn’t want to know. I made the image copyright free for the simple reason that I wanted it promulgated as worldwide as possible because I felt this man had a message.”

The Che do Bheatha festival celebrating Guevara’s visit to Kilkee in 1961 was launched by Cuban ambassador to Ireland, Teresita Trujillo on Friday, while festival organiser Tom Byrne secured a replica of the 1939 Norton 500cc motorbike that Guevara travelled across South America on in the early 1950s and inspired his book The Motorcycle Diar ies .

The ambassador stayed overnight in Kilkee on Friday, appropriately in Room 2 of the Strand Hotel, where Guevara stayed in 1961, while she also viewed and signed the guestbook that Guevara an his entourage signed 50 years ago.

“The festival was a brilliant success,” said Tom Byrne. “It was different and great for Kilkee to remember Che, with large images of him all over town and on one of the seawalls as well. It was unique,” he added.

THE family of a young Shannon man who is undergoing treatment in the US for a brain tumour have appealed for assistance to help cover the costs.

34-year-old Keith Gibbons is currently in Texas on clinical trials for the tumour. Keith was initially diagnosed four years ago and after undergoing treatment in Ireland, the tumour disappeared and Keith returned to work.

In May 2008, he got married to his long-time girlfriend Brenda McGuane from Shannon. The couple tied the knot in Las Vegas and anticipated a long, happy future together.

Sadly, however, in March 2010, a routine scan showed that the tumour had returned.

His wife Brenda recalled what happened at that stage.

“Keith had another surgery in April where the tumour was fully resected once again. Gliadel wafers, a type of chemotherapy, were inserted at the tumour site. We hoped, like we always did, that this would be it and the tumour wouldn’t return. Keith returned to work again but the tumour returned almost straight away so Keith had another surgery in September 2010,” she recalled.

“We learned then that the tumour had been upgraded to the most malignant grade four tumour called Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). Keith did not go back to work for a long time after this surgery. He also had a seizure and has had a couple since then. Keith had to under go more oral chemotherapy which seemed to help until the course of it finished and the tumour started to get more aggressive and spread to the other side of his brain. He was then put on an IV course of chemotherapy,” she said.

“All the time we were researching other options. We were always being told by doctors that Ireland had everything treatment-wise that was in the US but we didn’t believe that. The chemotherapy was making Keith very tired and took a lot out of him. We knew we had to pursue other options.

“Around March, I found out about a clinic in Houston, Texas, called the Burzynski Clinic which specialises in a treatment that involves a drug called Antioneoplastons. It is genetargeted treatment that has seen very good results on brain tumours. It is not a form of chemotherapy and is non-toxic.

“Dr Burzynski’s treatment is not seen as a fully approved treatment yet even though for years he has being curing people that were told there was nothing more that could be done for them after conventional treatment didn’t work. We sent off all scans and paperwork and after a lot of correspondence over and back we heard that Keith was accepted for treatment at the clinic. We knew we had to go for it,” said Brenda.

The couple travelled to Texas in recent weeks and remain hopeful that the treatment will be a success.

“So here we are in Houston hoping that treatment at the clinic will work out. Treatment is very expensive here as all medical treatment in the US is but we can’t let that stop us. We really hope that one day we can say the treatment has worked and finally one day we may be able to get on with our lives like every other couple in their 30s. Keith so deserves this to happen to him as he is the most amazing man you will ever come across,” said Brenda.

Friends of Keith and Brenda have organised a fundraiser to help cover the costs of the treatment. It will take place at the Mill Bar in Sixmilebridge on Friday night at 8pm. Tickets at a cost of € 10 are available on the door or phone 087 9370395 with donations.

BUSINESSES in Ennis have turned up the heat on local councillors by calling on them to vote against proposed changes in retail policy that could facilitate the development of a new “district centre” on the outskirts of the town.

Dozens of business owners have expressed concern over a proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan, which would allow for the development of a new district centre at a site at the junction of Limerick Road and Tobertascáin Road. Planning permission is being sought at the five-hectare site for the development of a major retail centre.

The proposed variation will be voted on by members of Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council.

At a meeting to discuss Ennis Chamber’s submission on the proposed variation, speakers appealed to councillors to vote against including a new district centre in the plan.

The Chairman of the O’Connell Street Traders Association said it was the view of businesses on the town’s main street that it would be “too risky” to allow the proposed development to proceed. Gearoid Mannion told the meeting that the “town centre is practically on its knees”.

He said councillors should do whatever they can to oppose proposed changes in planning policy. Those views were echoed by Noreen Twomey Walsh of the Parnell Street Traders Association.

Another businesswoman Gwen Culligan (County Boutique) said that if councillors in Ennis “really care about the town of Ennis, they should re-think this proposal”.

John O’Connor (O’Connors Bakery) said that Limerick City centre is “dying” because of retail parks. He warned that the same would happen in Ennis if a similar policy were pursued. He said it is incumbent on councillors to oppose the proposed changes.

Councillor Frankie Neylon (Ind) said elected representatives have “no hand, act or part” in planning decisions. He said the planning application at Tobertascáin is separate from the preparation of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

Cllr Neylon said there had been numerous objections when Dunnes Stores proposed to set up in the town centre. “It was going to close the centre of Ennis. It did the opposite. It built up,” he said.

In relation to the proposed development at Tobertascáin, Cllr Neylon said it was important to look at the “bigger picture”, adding that Ennis had lost shoppers to shopping developments in Ennistymon, Kilrush, Limerick and Galway. Cllr Neylon said he would welcome job creation in any part of Ennis.

Describing a proposal to develop a large shopping centre at Tobertascáin Road as a “monstrosity”, Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) said he would vote against changing the zoning provision at the site.

CLAIMS that the cost of parking charges is “crippling” businesses in Ennis have been rejected by the Ennis Town Manager.

Ger Dollard was speaking at a debate on parking at yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council.

The discussion was prompted by a motion tabled by Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) who called on the council to “urgently review public car parking usage” in Ennis.

Mr Dollard said a review of car parking in Ennis commenced in autumn 2010 and resulted in the introduction of the 2011 on-street payand-display and car park byelaws on March 21.

He said the 2008 Ennis Car Parking Study had made a number of recommendations. In a report, Mr Dollard stated that the council had implemented seven short term measures aimed at improving parking in Ennis, including: discouraging long-stay parking within 100m of Abbey Street; re-designation of 39 long-stay spaces in Friars Walk for use as short-stay parking only; and reviewing the use of Bindon Street and the extension of two-hour-maximum stay zone to Market Place and Friars Walk.

Mr Dollard stated that supply currently exceeds demand at the Friars Walk car-park.

Reacting to a comment from Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) that “car parking is crippling businesses”, Mr Dollard said, “I wouldn’t accept the suggestion that the price of car parking is crippling business in Ennis”.

Mr Dollard said the debate on parking in Ennis had initially focused on the shortage of spaces but had now shifted to cost.

He said that just three sources of funding are available to local authorities: government funding, commercial rates and parking charges. He added, “If all of your income streams are under pressure, you are limited about what you can do.”

Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind), dismissed the impact parking charges are having on local businesses. He said that the cost of shopping in Ennis is expensive, adding, “I don’t think Ennis is a cheap place”. Cllr Guilfoyle said the “doom and gloom (in Ennis) is blamed on car parking charges in the town”.

Cllr Flynn said he put forward the motion to stimulate debate on parking. He said businesses are down 50 per cent to 60 per cent on their Saturday trade.

Cllr Peter Considine requested that a report comparing parking charges in Ennis with 10 other similar sized towns be provided to councilors in advance of their annual budget estimates meeting. Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) claimed people are boycotting the Friars Walk car park.

PARKING, or the lack of, is never far from the debate when the health of businesses in Ennis is being discussed. And last Tuesday’s meeting to discuss proposed changes to the Ennis and Environs Development was no exception.

The issue arose when former Mayor of Ennis, councillor Frankie Neylon (Ind), claimed he hadn’t been able to secure free parking for his ‘Super Tuesday’ initiative because the President of Ennis Chamber of Commerce, John Dillane was not in the country.

Super Tuesday took place in Ennis earlier this month. Cllr Neylon put forward the idea as a means of promoting local businesses and encouraging shoppers into the town.

Speaking in the Old Ground Hotel, Cllr Neylon claimed he had wanted parking charges to be suspended for the day. However, he said that when he raised the matter with officials at Ennis Town Council he was told a decision could not be taken because Mr Dillane was in China. This claim was immediately rejected by both Chamber Vice President Brian O’Neill and Chamber CEO Rita McInerney.

Speaking last Wednesday, Ms McInerney confirmed that while Mr Dillane had been away on holidays at the start of September, he returned to the town on September 3, three days before Super Tuesday.

She explained, “He [Mr Dillane] was never contacted about anything to do with free parking and neither was I.” Ms McInerney also confirmed that Mr Dillane had not been in China at the time. The discussion prompted further calls for changes to the system of parking charges in Ennis, which businesses say is essential to bringing more shoppers to the town centre.

Ms McInerney said the introduc- tion of free parking in Limerick city in the lead up to Christmas last year had been a “huge success”. She said councillors had already started calling on Limerick City Council to repeat the policy this year. Aoife Madden, Chairperson of Ennis Development Forum, claimed the high cost of parking is turning shoppers away from Ennis. Addressing local councillors, she said, “If ye can bring down the cost of parking it would bring the people back into town.”

ENNIS Town Council may be forced to spend € 170,000 to demolish and reconstruct a section of a building believed to be the oldest home in Ennis. Town Manager Ger Dollard said yesterday that work is “urgently” required at the derelict McParlands site at the corner of Chapel Lane and Parnell Street.

Scaffolding and hoarding was erected around McParland’s after initial restoration work carried out in November 2009 revealed the 16thcentury building to be in a “danger- ous condition”.

The building, which is a protected structure, is home to a rare triple diamond Jacobean stone chimney that dates to the period 1580-1650AD.

In response to a motion tabled by Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab), Mr Dollard said that the “building has been deteriorating and the short term measures put in place do not render the structure safe on a long term basis”.

Mr Dollard said the Council has taken detailed professional advice from the National Monuments Service. He told the meeting that it is clear that the owner of the property “does not have the financial resources to make the building safe”.

He explained that Ennis Town Council under its statutory powers is obliged to make the structure safe.

He continued, “This will involve the demolition of the gable wall and chimney and reconstruction of same. These works will not return the property to a habitable state but will make the building structurally safe.”

Mr Dollard said that a grant of € 85,000 has been secured to partially cover the cost of the works which he estimated could total € 170,000. Councillors expressed concern at the cost of the project.

Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said that while he acknowledged the importance of historical buildings, “there comes a point when you have to spend your money wisely.”

He said the estimated cost of the works represented a “lot of money down the Jacobean chimney”.

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) said there was a serious health and safety issue to be addressed at McParlands. Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) expressed concern at spending € 170,000 on a chimney, for which he said there is no tourism benefit.

Mr Dollard admitted that the Council “finds itself in a position that it doesn’t want to be in”. He said the Council might be able to recoup some of the balance of the cost through any future sale of the property or further government grants.

Responding to concerns from Cllr O’Shea that the project will not go out to tender, Mr Dollard said he was happy the project would comply with procurement requirements.

He said the work has to be completed before the end of November in order for the council to avail fully of the € 85,000 grant.

A MAJOR breakthrough in the teaching of the Irish language for infants has been heralded this week thanks to an innovative idea pioneered by a primary school teacher in Ennis.

Séonaidh Ní Shíomóin, who teaches in Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg on the Gort Road, is the author of a groundbreaking new series of Irish language books called Ár Scéalta which have been released by the publisher Coiscéim and distributed nationwide.

Dublin-born Ní Shíomóin has taught in Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg since 2004 and came across the idea of a series of illustrated Irish language starter book when she realised there was a gap in the market.

“It can be hard on some parents trying to help their kids read in a language they can’t understand,” Ní Shíomóin told The Clare People . “That’s why the pictures in this book are so important. The story can be understood by looking at the pictures or reading the Irish text so that child and parent can have an easy, enjoyable reading experience through Ireland’s native langauge.”

Apart from being released nationwide, the books will also be distributed in Puerto Rico in Spanish translations.

The illustrator, Karen Dietrich has vast experience in dealing with minority language childrens books, has been co-operating with Ní Shíomóin to create these vibrant and colourful children’s picture books.

This new series will be aimed at making a fun, cool and enjoyable way for children aged four to seven years to read with their parents. There will be ten books released in the first series with two more series to come.

“I got the idea for the story when I saw how much love children seem to have for their pets. The story follows a boy and his dog on some funny and whacky adventures,” she revelaed.

“This is the first series of three to be launched this week and will be available for purchase from Carroll Education Ltd. and all local bookshops,” Ní Shíomóin added.

SEVEN cubic metres of grease were recently removed from a wastewater pumping station in Ennis, a meeting has heard.

The grease had built up over a two-year period at the Francis Street pumping station. Town Engineer Eamon O’Dea revealed the detail at yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council

Mr O’Dea’s comments prompted Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) to remark, “Europe has a problem with Greece but Ennis has a problem with grease.”

In a report to councillors, Mr O’Dea stated that “the difficulty with the build up of grease in sewers and pumping stations has increased over the last number of years and has resulted in greater maintenance costs”.

Mr O’Dea was responding to a motion tabled by Cllr Paul O’Shea. Cllr O’Shea had called for an inspection of the sewage system servicing the Fioruisce estate.

Mr O’Dea explained, “Clare Coun- ty Council water services area staff monitor this section of sewer each week and the last occasion that difficulties were encountered was Tuesday, September 6 when the council jetter was unsuccessful in fully clearing the sewer and this was done on Thursday, September 8.”

He added, “The primary problem is the build up of grease in the sewer and this has become a more significant issue over the last 12 to 18 months”.

Mr O’Dea said the Council had delivered an advisory sheet to all busi- nesses involved in the production of food in Ennis in regard to their obligations in disposal of grease, oils and fats into the sewer network.

He said the discharging of oils/ grease from frying utensils directly into the sewer is a “particular concern”.

He said the Gort Road recycling centre has a facility for the collection of household cooking oils.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) told the meeting that the grease problems had resulted from people having a “lack of respect for public infrastructure”.

AN ENNIS psychotherapist whose recovery from a brain injury was aided by her work on the Feldankrais Method says the therapy is now providing support to children and adults with disabilities in Clare.

Bernadette Kenny, co-ordinator of Tara Healing Arts Centre (Ennis), is one of the practitioners in Ireland of the Feldankrais method. The centre opened last year and provides a range of movement based therapies and counselling to children and adults.

The Feldankrais method uses movement and function as a gentle non-invasive aid in learning to learn. Bernadette explained that new research and neuro-science has validated the 60-year-old method, which has its own research in the USA, UK and Germany. “My work is scientifically based. It’s just not fully out there yet,” she said.

According to Bernadette the Feldankrais method benefits children and adults with special needs through improvements in walking, language and cognitive development as well as behaviour.

Bernadette has worked in the area of psychotherapy and counselling for 30 years and holds a four-year qualification in the Feldankrais Method. Originally from Ennis, she previously worked in youth services in London. She also spent two years working in Dublin at St Michael’s House, an organisation that provides community-based services to people with intellectual disabilities.

She is currently completing masters at the University of Limerick in Feldankrais and Dance therapy and how they can support learning of children with special needs.

Bernadette had reason to turn to the Feldankrais Method. Four years ago when she suffered an angioma (brain injury). She lost her speech and stability but by applying the lessons she had learned throughout her career, Bernadette made a full recovery.

She recalled, “It helped moderate and kept brain working and learning.”

According to Bernadette interest in her work as increased among parents who have been hit by the withdrawal of State supports for children with disabilities. She said her ultimate aim is to establish Tara Healing Arts as a non-profit organisation. “Everyone has the right to treatment.”

Bernadette will hold a talk about the Feldankrais Method at the Auburn Lodge, Ennis, on Friday, October 21, at 8pm.

A DANGEROUS and organised armed criminal gang has been targeting homes in Ennis and East Clare over the past two weeks, resulting in a large increase in the number of recent house break-ins in the county.

The gang, which were described as being not afraid to ‘take on a group of gardaí’, is operating in a co-ordinated fashion across three jurisdictions and are the subject of a major garda investigation.

Speaking at a public meeting of the Joint Policing Committee in Sixmilebridge last night, Clare Garda Chief Superintendent John Kerin said that the gardaí are monitoring the group and soon hope to be able to make a major breakthrough in their investigations.

“We have had an upsurge in burglaries in Ennis and East Clare in the last two weeks and 90 per cent of these burglaries are being undertaken by one criminal gang.

“We know who they are, we know the cars that they are using and there is an extensive investigation taking place across three jurisdictions in relation to this group,” said Chief Supt Kerin.

“They are very serious criminals. They are an organised group of serious criminals and they wont be afraid to take on a group of guards.”

It was also confirmed at last night’s meeting that gardaí in Clare have been in contact with the Armed Response Unit in relation to policing the gang.

Meanwhile, Gardaí have promised that there won’t be a repeat of last Halloween when residents were “trapped in the homes” in parts of Sixmilebridge.

The town was the sight of serious anti-social behaviour last year when a campaign to “Come to Sixmilebridge for a Riot” was started on Facebook.

Supt Kerin committed to increasing garda activity in the town over the Halloween period and to investigating any illegal activity in the Cappa Lodge area.