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A CLARE couple are seeking to tap into the online music revolution through a new traditional Irish tunes website.

Thetunesfoundry.com is the brainchild of Matt and Áine Heslin.

Musicians can upload recordings which will then be made available as paid downloads. Customers can also purchase manuscripts and listen to music at different speeds in order to learn tunes.

The couple, who live in Kilmurry McMahon decided to design their own website after musician and composer Áine started searching for a suitable site to make her music available on.

Matt explained, “She wrote some tunes and we were looking for a suitable site to put them on. We couldn’t really find one particularly for Irish music, new Irish tunes. So we set up a website called thetunesfoundry. com and we’re uploading her tunes on to that and then other composers are welcome to upload their tunes. We’ll have them in manuscript; a recording of the tune and people can pay for a download. That’s what we’re at.”

He continued, “We originally thought we would have physical paper distribution of manuscript. It’s just kind of impractical. We took some advice. They advised that it’s ideal for an internet business. That’s why we went that road. We came up with the name after a couple of months. We had different names but this one seemed to click.”

Matt explained that the website offers new composers a chance to bring their music to a global audience.

He said, “There are lots of sites for existing tunes. Any composer and I believe there are maybe six or seven people writing tunes in Clare and maybe they had the same problem we did, with nowhere to put the tunes. It’s an opportunity for musicians and anyone to write new tunes. At the moment we’re looking at the Irish tunes.”

He added, “Even abroad people are always looking for new tunes. There are sites for new tunes but none particularly for new Irish tunes. That’s what we want to do, have a quality website, quality manuscript. They’ll get the tune, the person who wrote it, their name would be on the tune with the copyright. Then they can download the tune as well.”

The website went live on Sunday morning with members of the public getting an opportunity to learn about the service at the Open Fair in the West County Hotel.

Matt said, “There has been very good interest. This is a mixed audience. While people are interested, the person who maybe makes the music isn’t here. But they are emailing me now. So we’ll put them on the site and let them know when we are up and running.”

Having been involved in the running of the first Open Fair back in the early nineties, Matt was excited to be a part of the venture again.

He said, “It’s the exact same buzz when I came in today as I got in 1993. People are just delighted for the opportunity to get out and show what they can do. It’s very rare that you get that opportunity, especially when it’s free.”

THE grounds of the former Our Lady’s Hospital have been identified as a potential new site for the Ennis Educate Together National School.

The school, which is located opposite the former psychiatric hospital on the Gort Road, caters for around 190 students.

Attempts to find a new site for the school have been ongoing after a proposal to purchase and re-develop the existing site at Cois na hAbhna five years ago proved unsuccessful.

In July members of Ennis Town Council recommended that a report on a proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan be amended to extend the range of uses at Our Lady’s Hospital to include the text medical centre / hospital use.

A new report on proposed modifications to the proposed variation indicates a high number of potential uses for the Our Lady’s site, which is considered to have a “central role in the growth and development of the Clare economy”.

The report states that the site could be used for “technology-related business park, international services, research and development, education, railway station, road link, open space, hotel and ancillary uses, residential with ancillary small-scale retail, medical centre/ hospital use”.

In a reference to potential education uses at Our Lady’s, the report states, “A portion of the site has been identified for the possible relo- cation of the Ennis Educate Together School, and adequate lands exist to facilitate such development”.

The report explains that there are a number of uses currently on the site “but the main building, the former hospital, and vacant land to the rear, are unused”.

The report continues, “There is substantial scope for regeneration of the site and a high quality office complex has recently been completed. The site is considered to have a central role in the growth and development of the Clare economy.

It adds, “The site’s location adjacent to the railway line and its potential for employment creation and commuter trip attraction is such that a new station should be included in any development proposals. This is to assist with Plan objectives to encourage sustainable development and travel and to assist in the continuing revitalisation of the Limerick to Galway railway.”

According to the report the main building lends itself to residential apartment use including a retirement village complex.

It states, “The building is a Protected Structure and any redevelopment for this purpose will have to respect its existing architectural character.”

The report along with all proposed amendments to the proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan (2008-2014) are now on public display.

The final date for submissions and observations is September 9.

A QUIN resident is poised to see his dream come to reality later this year when the government is expected to launch an initiative which will form a solid link between Ireland and America.

Gerry O’Neill, who has lived in Corbally, Quin, for the past 53 years, is a retired employee of Clare County Council. A number of years ago, Gerry – who is a native of Athlone – came up with the idea of presenting an official document which would certify the Irish heritage of those whose ancestors originated in Ireland.

Gerry developed a love for the US through visits to Shannon Airport while working with Clare County Council. He visited the US more than 50 times over the years during which time he developed several connections. Gerry put his idea forward to government officials in 2008 and felt it would provide an economic boost to Ireland through increased visits by those from the US.

Tanáiste Eamon Gilmore said last month that he expected the certificate to be in place by October and was in the process of being established “in direct response to a strong demand for such a scheme from those members of our diaspora who are not entitled to Irish citizenship”.

He said he believed the scheme would provide a practical demonstration of the inclusive approach adopted by successive governments to the di- aspora. However, he stressed that it would not confer any citizenship or other legal rights or entitlements to the successful applicants.

Those who apply for the certificate will be required to submit details of their Irish ancestral connections. Contract negotiations have been completed and it is expected that the process will be finalised in October.

A LOVE for Shannon, coupled with a fascination with the US, are behind an international initiative born in Clare which is expected to be introduced later this year.

81-year-old Gerry O’Neill started out his career in Roscommon County Council before joining Clare County Council in 1958. He moved to Clare as a senior staff officer, dealing mainly with housing and water supplies.

“After a short while in the office I was sent out on the road buying land. I used to go down to Shannon. I was always interested in Shannon. Shannon was a whole series of temporary buildings. Anyone who had a job was working in Shannon. The planes going across the Atlantic were propellor planes.

“I was interested in the Irish. I sat down in Shannon and watched what was going on. I watched people emigrating to America. You were never sure what time a plane was coming in at. People came in from America very well dressed and speaking with fancy accents.

“I got to know Brendan O’Regan. He set up the first duty free shop in the world in Shannon. I was very anxious to go to America and see what America was,” he said.

There the fascination with the US was born. It was developed over the years. His love for Shannon, coupled with his interest in the US, prompted him to set about coming up with an idea to form a permanent link that he hoped would boost Shannon.

In the 60s he looked on as various initiatives were organised in an effort to attract tourists to the mid-west. He feels the formation of a Certificate of Irishness would emulate this in the future.

“Medieval tours were organised and groups visited all the villages along the way like Newmarket-onFergus, Sixmilebridge, Quin and Ballyvaughan. People waved at the buses along the way and made the visitors feel welcome,” he said.

Gerry’s first visit to the US was in 1966 and since then he has built up connections with several people living there. “I went to a Clare Association dinner in New York. There was a huge crowd there, mainly people who went there from Ireland in the 1920s. I heard the band playing The green, green grass of home. I saw old men with tears in their eyes. About 400,000 people left Ireland in the 1920s. There was nothing here so they went to America. I got talking to a few of those. Some of them wanted to come back to Ireland to retire,” he recalled.

Inspired by this, Gerry decided to come up with a way he felt could help those living in the US and at the same time ensuring the Irish economy would be boosted.

“Over the years I brought back a good few people to Ireland and helped them to make contacts to get houses here,” he said.

In 2008, he spotted an article in a national newspaper about the government reaching out to the Irish in the US. He was contacted by a government representative. Arising out of this, he later met with government officials, during which he put forward his idea. He says the proposal was welcomed and is looking forward to it becoming a reality later this year.

He believes a Certificate of Irishness would inspire those with Irish roots to visit here in huge numbers.

“Tourism in Ireland would benefit. They would come all year around,” he said.

THE establishment of a Certificate of Irishness could bring five million tourists to the mid-west region over a ten-year period.

That’s according to Clare County Councillor James Breen, who is strongly in favour of the establish- ment of the scheme, as proposed by Quin resident Gerry O’Neill.

Cllr Breen has endorsed the campaign established by Mr O’Neill and raised the issue at a meeting of Clare County Council last year.

“There are over 80 million people of Irish decent living in the US. I think this can turn Shannon Airport into what it was like in the Brendan O’Regan era,” he said.

He said that if the scheme is put on a firm footing by the government, the mid-west should be given priority, given that it is the brainchild of a man living in County Clare.

“It should be in the mid-west. We should get chartered flights into Shannon again. We want something in the west to make Shannon viable.”

“The idea was hatched in the midwest. There should be a central point in Shannon and people can travel around Ireland from there,” he told The Clare People . “I personally believe that it would bring over five million tourists into Shannon over 10 years. It will lead to strong links being forged,” he said.

He said that the introduction of such a scheme would bring pride to those of Irish ancestry. “Irish people are so proud of their heritage. The economy can be boosted. We can make Shannon Airport viable and into profit.”

A PROPOSAL from the Food Safety Authority to ban the sale of all unpasteurised milk will not effect plans by North Clare farmers to sell milk directly to the consumers. New Quay farmers Brid and Roger Fahy had planned to develop a number of milk dispensers in shops around the North Clare area where people could bring their own reusable containers and buy milk directly from the farmers.

The Fahys, who also own the Linnalla home made ice-cream company, have put the project on hold for the moment because of the recession but do plan to return to the direct sales model in the coming years.

According to Brid Fahy, the proposal put forward by the Food Safety Authority, while unusual, will not hurt their own business.

“The Food Safety Authority seem to want to ban it [the sale of all uspasteurised milk] even though it is something that is on sale commonly in many other countries all over Europe. It does seem to be a strange one but honestly there is very little unpasteurised milk out there,” she said. “I think that it’s is a case of somebody making a job for themselves – there are so few people producing milk which is unpasteurised at the moment. I really don’t think this will make a huge difference for people.

“We haven’t started up the milk vending machines yet but we had planned to put pasteurised milk into that and not unpasteurised. The only difference between our milk and milk that you would buy in a shop is that our milk would not be homogenised – which is something that many people would see as having a lot of health benefits.

“We haven’t been able to go ahead with that plan yet – we have been concentrating on getting the ice-cream business on a firmer footing but milk vending machines are something that we would intend to do in the future.

“Most of the people who want unpasteurised milk really want it because they want unhomogenised milk. In homogenised milk the cream on top or fat cells have become mixed with the milk so that you can’t take the milk without the cream.

“There is a wave against homogenised milk because it is believed that the broken down fat cells can go straight into the blood stream and in that way cause more damage to the body.”

DRUNK-DRIVING is more acceptable in Clare than in any other county in Ireland with more than half of all Clare drivers would “take the chance” of driving while possibly still drunk from the previous nights drinking according to a survey from the Automobile Association of Ireland.

According to the survey, which had 14,000 responses and is the largest survey of its kind ever undertaken in Ireland, 52.4 per cent of Clare drivers would drive while still a little drunk compared to 49.8 per cent in Cavan and 49.7 per cent in Limerick.

The survey also revealed that Clare people were the third most likely in Ireland to get into a car with someone who was possible drunk.

Ennis man and head of the Irish Drivers Association, John Lernihan, says that people need their head examined if they get into a car driven by someone who is over the alcohol limit.

“Would you go on a flight with a pilot who had drink taken? I know I wouldn’t. It is the same thing, you could be killed in the car just as easily as a pilot in a plane,” said John.

“Clare is a rural county and people don’t have the public transport which is available to them in Dublin or places like that but there is no excuse to drink and drive. If you are down in a place like Kilbaha, let’s say, and want to go into Kilkee, it just can’t be done with public transport.”

Mr Lernihan has blamed the governments policy of allowing drunk drivers to pay a fine and collect penalty points for putting a price on human lives.

“The idea is to make money. They are saying that it’s okay to chance killing someone by being drunk behind the wheel and people can get away with it by paying a fine. They are doing away with the court route – it’s about fines and penalty points now and that is all about making money for the government,” continued John.

“They are putting a value on people’s lives and I think that this is an insult to the people who have lost loved ones through drunken driving. They are now saying you can take a chance and drink and drive – and buy back your license after that. The Irish Drivers Association would be in favour of a mandatory ban – it is an insult to people and their right, especially those who have lost loved ones.”

IT LOOKS certain that one of Ireland’s most controversial clerics, Bishop Eamon Casey, will never again say Mass in public after he was taken into a Clare nursing home last week because of ill health.

The former Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora has been in a virtual limbo in the parish of Shanaglish on the Clare/Galway border since his return to Ireland in 2006.

Bishop Casey has been technically a practicing priests for the parish but has not been allowed to say Mass locally and has instead had to content himself by saying Mass for himself in his home.

Bishop Casey, who is a popular figure in the locality, was admitted to a Clare nursing home last week for a period of “respite”. One local man, who is a close neighbour of Bishop Casey, says that the disgraced bishop is “a proud man” and is hoping to return to his own home as quickly as possible.

“I was told that he would be making an appearance in the local pub this week, that he would be given a passout for the night, but we will have to wait and see,” said one neighbour.

“I know that the woman from the shop in Gort will be asking me when he [Bishop Casey] be back in to collect his daily paper again. But we don’t know. He is a proud man and I have no doubt that he will want to back to his house in Shanaglish again soon.”

A spokesperson from the Galway Diocese declined to make any statement of the health of Bishop Casey yesterday saying it was a personal matter but did confirm that there had been no change is Bishop Casey’s position regarding saying Mass again locally.

Bishop Casey was one of Ireland’s most popular religious figures before it was discovered that he had fathered a child with an Irish American woman, Annie Murphy, in 1974. This was one of the biggest scandals ever to hit the Irish Church when it came to light in 1992 and prompted Bishop Casey to tender his resignation and leave the country.

After 1992, Bishop Casey then chose to embrace the life of a foreign missionary in South America and worked with members of the Missionary Society of St James in a rural parish in Ecuador.

After a number of years in South America he moved to England before returning again to Shanaglish in 2006.

FORMER Clare Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Daly was the unlikely name mentioned in the latest round of leaked cable released by the WikiLeaks organisation last week.

Mr Daly, who departed political life after the 2007 General Election, was mentioned in a communication between the US Embassy in Dublin and the American Government in Washington in relation to the “Shannon Five” who damaged an US plane parked in Shannon Airport.

The leaked top-secret document claimed that Mr Daly, who was a Senator at the time, contacted the Director of Public Prosecutions and requested an appeal against the notguilty verdict handed out to the protesters.

Speaking to The Clare People last night Mr Daly said that it was no secret that he was in favour of the use of Shannon Airport by the US Military.

He also said that he had no direct contact with anyone from the US Embassy but did remember receiving a call from someone who identified themselves as being from US Homeland Security around the time of the trial but had assumed that it was a crank call from some of his “friends in Dublin”.

“I felt at the time the we were right to allow the US to use the airport and my opinion on that hasn’t changed. It is something that is creating jobs locally and if we said no to it then they would simply fly out through Amsterdam or some other airport instead,” he said.

“I do remember at the time getting a call from someone saying they were from Homeland Security in America but I assumed at the time that it was Dooley [Clare TD Timmy Dooley] or some of my friends up in Dublin making the call.”

The Shannon Watch Organisation have been critical of Mr Daly’s stance on the matter, saying that it showed a lack of respect for the Irish judicial process.

“This cable suggests that he was not satisfied to take the decision of an Irish court – he wanted to interfere and find some way that the decision could be overturned,” said John Lannon of Shannonwatch.

“We don’t know what contact Mr Daly may have made with the DPP – whether that it was official or non official contact – but we do know that it became known to the American Ambassador that Senator Daly wanted to overturn the decision of an Irish court.”

GARDAI have outlined details of a number of recent burglaries that have taken place around Clare in recent weeks.

Gardai in Scariff are investigating a burglary that occurred at a house in Furnace, Whitegate, between 8.40am and 6pm on August 25.

Thieves gained access through a rear window. Items taken include a small amount of cash, two gold wedding rings, one diamond engagement ring (two small diamonds set beside a large diamond on a gold band), a gold wishbone ring, a thick gold chain with a weave design halfway round, a gold bracelet with red stone on the top, a gold chain and a gold ring with three red stones.

A burglary took place at a house in Lenabeg, Ennis, between 2.50pm on August 24 and 5.50pm and August 25. A 19-inch plasma television, an X-Box 360 console, a silver chain, a small sum of money and a black Nintendo DS.

A house in Tullagower, Kilrush, was ransacked between 8pm and 10pm on August 28. Burglars gained entry to the house by forcing open the rear door. A landline telephone and television were taken in the incident.

In Knockera, Kilrush, a quantity of diesel was stolen from two diggers parked in the area. The burglary occurred between 7pm on August 23 and 9am on August 24. Also stolen were two sets of sockets, tool box with tools inside, two large spanners and three ratchets.

A burglary took place at a house in Clarehill, Clarecastle, between 11.45pm on August 28 and 3.30am on August 29. Items stolen were a Dell laptop, a house key and a lady’s purse.

Also in Clarecastle, an incident of criminal damage occurred when two back passenger windows were smashed in a car parked outside a house at St Joseph’s Terrace.

In Kilnamona, the front bumper, front grill, front headlights and two wing mirrors were stolen from a Grey Isuzu jeep that was parked in a field. The incident occurred between 6pm on August 25 and 8am on August 26. Gardaí in Ennistymon are investigating.