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IT LOOKS like Dev’s car is not on the move, at least not to Clare County Council’s headquarters.

The car, which was restored by Sixmilebridge businessman and councillor PJ Ryan and which weighs two tonnes, has been located in a garage at the back of the De Valera library in Ennis for a number of years.

Earlier this year, Independent Councillor Christy Curtin tabled a motion calling for the car to be relocated to the foyer of the county council’s building, Áras Contae an Chláir, where it would be prominently displayed.

However, in a letter presented at the monthly meeting of the county council yesterday, it was stated that the proposal was considered. However a number of issues arose.

According to Senior Executive Officer in Corporate Services, Michael McNamara, a number of issues required further detailed examination. These include the weight of the car and the structural capacity of the council’s foyer area to bear the load, along with possible damage to the limestone paviours in the foyer in getting the car into its location.

Councillors heard that underfloor heating distribution pipes are laid in the atrium floor slab and moving a car of his size would have a huge impact on this. Also, moving the car into the building would require one of the entrance doors to be disman- tled and re-assembled, at a significant cost.

“Since the car was restored earlier this year, there has been much interest in the car and several requests have been received for the ‘loan’ of the car for specific functions and events. These requests have not been accommodated,” wrote Mr McNamara.

County Manager Tom Coughlan told the meeting, “We looked at every possibility of trying to do it but unfortunately we can’t do it at this point in time.”

Cllr PJ Ryan (Independent) said, “I’m a bit disappointed that we can’t find a home for this particular piece of iconic history.”

“It has to stay where it is for the time being. The only thing I’m concerned about is if we get inclement weather and the River Fergus flows over, the building is going to get flooded again,” he added.

Fianna Fáil Councillor PJ Kelly said he was “very, very disappointed with the response” from the executive.

He said if the weight of the car would challenge the capacity of the council’s headquarters, “if that’s the situation we had better get out of an unsafe building”.

Mr Coughlan said he wished to refute any suggestions that the building was not safe.

IN ONE of his final interview before his tragic death last week, Clarebased Polish diver Artur Kozlowski, admitted that his mission to map the unexplored caves of North Clare and South Galway was extremely dangerous – with death the possible outcome of each solo dive.

Mr Kozlowski and his diving companion Jim Warny successfully mapped more than 13 km of dangerous underwater caves in the Burren region over the past six years. This work was achieved through of more then 60 solo dives.

“This was virgin exploration so we don’t know what is behind the next corner. We can’t see it because the visibility is so low, about one and a half metres, so it is dangerous,” Arthur told The Clare People last year.

“Because the caves are so small the dives are safer to be undertaken by one person at a time. So if you get into difficulty under there you are really on your own. You are on your own but we do have back-ups to all our equipment and we are both very well trained.”

Mr Kozlowski body was recovered from a cave in Kiltartan, just north of Gort, last Saturday, five days after he undertook his final underwater dive. His body was recovered by a specially trained British rescue team just before 5pm on Saturday, before his remains were taken for a postmortem at University college Hospital in Galway.

The British team, which was led by Coventry firefighter Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, working with the Doolin based Irish Cave Rescue Organisation and the local Gardaí, to complete the rescue operation.

The British team had been flown in as part of an inter-governmental request, due to their international expertise in cave rescue situations. Mr Kozlowski’s mother and sister also travelled to Ireland and prayers were said at the scene on Saturday evening by local priest Fr Tommy Marrinan.

Arthur went into the water at 3pm on Monday, September 5, and had enough oxygen to last until approximately 9.30pm that evening. The alarm was raised when he did not return and it was hoped that the experienced diver might have found an air pocket in a section of the underground cave.

In a statement over the weekend the Speleological Union of Ireland, the national organising body for caving, offered it condolences to his family saying that in recent years Artur has been pushing Irish cave diving to its furthest limits.

“Artur’s life was devoted to cave diving. He died pursuing his dreams, exploring to the limits,” it said.

A RADICAL plan that would see Shannon Airport given its freedom from Dublin Airport Authority control has been tabled with the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, but the controversial move by management at Clare’s international airport has polarised political opinion in the county.

Despite the sale of state assets being firmly on the Government agenda, local Labour Party TD Michael McNamara has rounded on the SAA proposal that the airport be leased out to private intererests for a period of between 15 and 35 years.

This is also the stance taken by Clare’s lone Fianna Fáil TD, Timmy Dooley, who also doubles as his party’s transport spokesperson, but local Fine Gael TDs, Joe Carey and Pat Breen have reserved judgment on the SAA submission, until more details of its contents become available.

Deputies Dooley and McNamara have emerged as the leading voices of opposition to the plan for the aiport, which will celebrate the 75th year of the sod turning that marked the building of the airport on October 8 next.

“Government have responsibility from a regional development perspective to promote and retain the airport,” said Deputy Dooley, “and if it’s passed to a private entity, leased to a private entity or sold, it’s responsibility is gone and they’ve washed their hands of it. That’s not the best thing for the airport,” he added.

“I hope that we don’t ever see the situation whereby there is a shortterm effort to turn a buck in Shannon to the detriment of the long-term development on the region, to which Shannon Airport is central,” said Deputy McNamara.

“What’s to be gained from leasing Shannon. I don’t see that there’s going to be any financial gain – I can see a potential gain for hawkish investors, but I’d be very reluctant to see people who are involved in Shannon Airport turn a buck in Shannon,” he added.

“I’d like to see the full proposal that the management in Shannon are putting forward,” said Deputy Carey, while his party colleague Deputy Pat Breen told The Clare People that ahead of making a decision of Shannon’s future within the DAA “Minister Varadkar is very much aware of the airport’s role in balanced regional development while at the same time conscious of the need to secure the airport’s future on a sound economic footing”.

Ryanair, which has called for Shannon’s separation from the DAA has told The Clare People that government backing for the SAA submission could represent a new start for the airport.

“This could help the airport do what it needs to do and that’s return to a low cost model and have low cost ethos,” said spokesperson Stephen McNamara.

“That’s where it is at across Europe. It’s about a local focus and a local delivery of a really good tourism product. If they can get that the airport can return to growth.”

SEA and coastal conditions are set to return to normal around the county this morning as the last effects of Hurricane Katia are felt along the north and west of the county.

The former hurricane, which was downgraded to a storm before it made landfall in Clare, caused minor damage around the county with a top wind speed of 102 kilometres per hour recorded at Shannon Airport yesterday.

Despite the rough sea, two boat owners risked a swim ashore at Doolin Pier on Sunday when they were unable to dock their boat because of rough sea conditions.

The boat, which carried four passengers, had departed from Doolin to the Aran Island’s earlier that day but was unable to dock safely following the return journey.

Despite the large sea swell two members of the crew jumped overboard and swam ashore to collect their car and boat trailer before driv- ing to calmer water at Ballyvaughan where the boat was able to dock safely.

Meanwhile, opening hours at the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience are expected to return to normal tomorrow after the centre closed two hours early yesterday because of the weather.

The early closure follows a warning by the centre’s management against any visits to the world famous tourist attraction yesterday.

This is not the first time that the centre has been forced to close because of poor weather conditions but it is the first time that a closure has been necessary in the month of September.

“The track of this storm was always predicted to head for the to northern corner of Scotland and the strongest winds of any storm always occur about 100 km from this tip, so we were lucky enough in Clare to miss the very strongest winds from this storm,” said Mark Dunphy of Irish Weather Online.

“The winds will continue to abate but there could be some gusts around the county until Tuesday afternoon. There has been rough seas all around the county but we had not had any reports of coastal flooding yet in Clare, which was a big fear because of the high tide.

“There is another system which is likely to track this way in the days ahead. Maria is a tropical storm at this point and it is likely to track a bit more north than this storm so we should miss the worst of that.”

THE success of the Loophead Lighthouse visitor project that has been running on a pilot basis for the past seven weeks is set to be built on as Clare County Council and its partner bodies put plans in motion to develop a range of tourism products in place for the 2012 season.

That’s the message delivered this week by the local authority’s director of service for tourism, Ger Dollard, who has revealed that a wide-range of new visitor experiences could be in the pipeline as tourism interest groups bid to build on the success of lighthouse experience.

“We went into it thinking that we were going to spend € 20,000 or € 30,000 over the three months and lose it – we were willing to do this on the basis that we were trying to see if we could build something at Loophead,” Mr Dollard told The Clare People this week. “The fact that it has been so successful, every single box has been ticked. The big thing we learned is that there is a very strong tourism product in Loophead – it’s how we develop that,” he adds.

Up to date figures released by Clare County Council this Monday have revealed that 15,507 have visited the tourist attraction since it opened its doors to the public, with children making up 3,793 of these.

Now, a new range of visitor attractions are set to mushroom around the lighthouse, with the county council director of service revealing that the challenge is now to “marry everything together, develop it into something on the tip of West Clare that can financially sustain itself”.

“It’s hoped to rebuild the lookout post between now and next summer – that’s part of history being put back in place. There’s a walk planned around the lighthouse and in this we have worked with local community and are getting it costed,” said Mr Dollard. “That should be in place for next summer. We have been talking to a geology group – a lot of geology work is being done in the area. It’s an element that could developed in a display of the geological history of the area.

“We have been talking to Inis environmental consultants who are working with UCC – they have ideas about a bird observatory on the site and we are seeing how that could be incorporated in an overal visitor product.

“Our biggest problem is that we have too much stuff between maritime, geology, the lighthouse itself, the flora, the fauna, the walks, the lookout post, the coastwatch service. It’s how you bring it all together in a coherent way and to try to prevent the natural beauty of the Loophead area being destroyed,” he added.

PARTICIPANTS are gearing up for the 22nd annual Clare Garda cycle, which will set from Ennis on Saturday.

Members of the Clare Garda division will be joined from colleagues in Mayo and Galway for the cycle, which will take in an 84 mile round trip from Ennis to Gort.

This year’s event will raise money for Sláínte an Chláir – Clare Cancer Support – a Kilnamona based group that provides provide support for people living with cancer, their families and friends in a safe, positive, caring and confidential environment.

Clare Cancer Support provides access to information about diagnosis, treatment and care..

Crusheen based Garda Declan Keavey said as many 40 Gardaí will take part in the cycle. He said people could contribute money at their local Garda station or to passing cyclists.

Previous cycles have raised money for Cahercalla Hospice, Clarecare and the Irish Wheelchair Association.

Garda Michael O’Halloran, one of a group Gardaí who organised the first cycle from Ennis to Salthill in 1989, explained that Sláinte an Chláir was chosen this year in memory of two colleagues Mick Mulryan (Scariff) and Sgt Michael Haran (Ennis) who passed away in recent months.

He said the Clare Garda division was delighted to be associated with the group. He said the event had been strongly supported by the Clare public.

“People in Clare are brilliant, absolutely fantastic. Without them it wouldn’t have been a success”, he added.

Ennis woman Teresa Gilmartin, who is in recovery from cancer, praised the high standard of support on offer at Sláinte an Chláir.

“There is a lot of loneliness around after the treatment. It’s like being in a new body to be honest.

“You don’t know what these symptoms mean because they are all different. You’re body has totally changed. Its great to chat to somebody who has been there just to get the re-assurance.”

She added, “Anything they can do they will do. They are just so supportive. They are just the most wonderful people.”

Martin McMahon, treasurer of Sláinte an Chláir, explained that 600 people in Clare are diagnosed with cancer every year.

For further information on Clare Cancer Support, call 1850 211 630 or 087 691 2396 or email admin@clarecancersupport.com

ENNIS Town Council anticipates that work on a crucial upgrade of the Ennis / Clarecastle sewerage scheme will begin in the first half of 2012 pending approval from An Bord Pleanála.

The Council’s latest quarterly progress report states that the project is likely to cost € 2.8 million.

The report states, “An Bord Pleanála has indicated that they will make their decision by early November. Clare County Council intends to proceed to tender once de- tails of An Bord Pleanála decision is known and this will take a period of three months. Work should start in the second quarter in the second quarter of 2012 and the contract period is for 12 months. A review of the water services investment programme has included the project to the value of € 2.8 million.”

An oral hearing on the environmental impact survey for the upgrade works at the Clondroadmore Treatment Plant was held in Ennis on July 28.

At the hearing, David Timlin, Director of Environment and Water Services at Clare County Council, described the upgrade as urgent, saying it was needed to cater for future commercial development in Ennis.

The proposal forms part of a coherent plan for the provision of upgraded facilities to treat all wastewater arising in the entire Ennis area.

At the time Mr Timlin stated that certain wastewater license conditions issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), cannot be met until the plant upgrade is completed.

Recommending that the project get the go-ahead, Andrew Hersey, Executive Planner with Ennis Town Council, said that “Since 2006, planning applications for large residential and commercial schemes have been refused in the basis of inadequate capacity in the public sewer and prematurity pending the provision of sewerage facilities in the town.”

Mr Hersey added that without an upgrade to the wastewater network, “future development in the town will stagnate and the success of the town as a hub town for the mid-west region will ultimately fail”.

A LEADING teacher in Alexander Technique will visit Clare later this month to present an introductory course in what has become a huge phenomenon in the county.

Richard Brennan, who lives in Galway, will be in the Kilmaley Day Care Centre on September 24 and 25.

The event is organised by Andrea Martin a lawyer living in Inch, who herself has found the technique very helpful.

The course will be of particular interest to anyone who suffers from back pain as well as people who have sustained injuries through sport, mu- sic, acting or various other interests.

Alexander Technique has been credited for playing a key role in assisting several people recovering from various ailments.

Penelope Easten, is an Alexander Technique teacher living in Ogonnelloe, said it is ideal for everyone.

She explained the idea behind the Technique. “If you have a tight back, it is because your brain has the muscles set too short. No matter how much yoga or gym you do, you won’t change that. You can do yoga to strengthen the muscles but you have to work at it. None of them change the default settings, which is what we are doing,” she said.

“It is suitable for anybody. It is for people who want to look after themselves. If somebody’s back hurts, a pill is a quick fix, but it doesn’t get to the root of the problem. Although Alexander is expensive, it is long term,” she said.

“The youngest I have been working with is eight years old and the oldest is 86. Most people come along because they have a bad back or neck or hip or shoulder, or neck or elbow,” said Penelope.

“I work a lot with musicians. They learn to use their body in a better way. I also prepare people for public speaking. We have been taught to think of the body and mind as separate, but in reality they are linked. The body and mind work together.

“Poor computer use can lead to neck strain or headache.

“Most of my work is one to one sessions with individual pupils,” she said.

She said that the Technique is catching on in Ireland. “Any classical musician will know about it. Any actor will know about it. More and more doctors will know about it,” she said.

Anyone interested in attending the course should contact Andrea on 087 2233835 or email andrea_ martin@ireland.com.

A NEW era where Kildysart can cash in on the natural amenity of the Shannon Estuary could now be in the offing after a 10-year campaign by a local action group to remove “hulking eyesores” from Cahercon Pier has been brought to a successful conclusion.

Members of Cahercon Pier Pressure and the Kildysart-based chairman of the West Clare Economic Task Force have rowed in behind new moves to have the pier transformed into a community amenity that would be a huge boost to tourism along the estuary.

The call comes after a cargo ship named the MV Matrisha that has been abandoned at Cahercon Pier for over a decade, as well as a number of other vessels have finally been dismantled and removed from the controversial site that lies two kilometres west of Kildysart.

“We have been campaigning for this for many years, because this hulk of a wreck and other ships were an eyesore at Cahercon,” a spokesperson for Cahercon Pier Pressure said this week.

“We want this to be a new start for Cahercon Pier and we want it to be developed into an amenity for the community, because it could benefit tourism along the Shannon Estuary and could also be put to commercial use.

“We had made a number of submissions to Clare County Council about what we want done with the pier. We want it to be declared a protected structure, because there is a lot of history attached to it and we want Clare County Council to play its part in restoring the pier to its former glory and transformed into the public amenity that it should be,” the spokesperson added.

The 1000-tonne MV Matrisha was wrecked on the south coast of Ireland in 1991 and was susequently towed to Cahercon Pier, from where the CW Shipping company operated a salvage business.

The Japanese-built ship became known as the ‘Ghost Ship of Cahercon’ and its presence, along with a number of other vessels sparked a local campaign that was waged for a long number of years to have the pier cleared up. The final removal of the MV Matrisha took place during a five-month operation that involved it being cut up and taken away.

Clare County Council owns Cahercon Pier, but in 1988 councillors voted to allow the local authority enter into a 35-year lease agreement with Whelan Engineering Ltd, with an initial rent of £500 a year, to be reviewed every five years.

Due to internal re-organisation of Mr Paddy Whelan’s companies in 1996, he sought to have CW Shipping Company Ltd, substituted for Whelan Engineering Limited in the lease.

“I am now seeking clarification regarding the lease agreement that’s in pace,” Cllr Oliver Garry told The Clare People . “The removal of the wrecks is a welcome development and there is massive potential there for the pier. At this stage I would be hopeful that the pier can be developed, not just for the local community, but also for commercial purposes,” added Cllr Garry, who is also the chairman of the West Clare Electoral Area of councillors and West Clare Economic Task Force.

TRIBUTES have been paid to one of Ennis’ best-known families who are celebrating 50 years in the bakery business.

Pat and Mary O’Connor opened their first shop in Ennis, in 1961. Today, there are eight O’Connor’s Bakeries, which supply quality breads and confectionary to Ennis, Shan- non, Gort, Galway and Limerick.

At the September meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) proposed that the Council officially congratulate and recognise O’Connors on achieving the milestone. Cllr Brennan said the family had been good employers in Ennis and in other towns and had done an enormous amount of good work without seeking attention or acclaim.

“These people deserve to be recognised,” he added. Seconding the motion, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) described the O’Connor family as “quite hardworking people”.

He said the business employs between 140 and 145 people. Cllr Meaney said the family had implemented a good business model that other businesses should consider following. Councillors also backed pro- posals from the Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) for a Citizen Recognition Awards Scheme.

According to a report prepared by Town Clerk Eddie Power the objective of the scheme is to recognize local people/organizations who have made a significant contribution to community life in Ennis or by their actions raised the profile and image of Ennis.

Nominations will be sought from the public in five categories: (a) sport/recreation (b) community/volountary (c) business/professional (d) youth (e) arts and culture.

Councillors decided against selecting an overall winner. An adjudication panel comprised of councilors will decide who will be honoured in each category. The awards will be presented at a civic event.