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MONEYLENDERS are preying on Clare families who feel under pressure to finance Holy Communions and school tours at this time of year, the Chairman of the MABS, Paul Woulfe, has told The Clare People. Mr Woulfe, who is also the Manager of the Ennis Citizen’s Information Centre, said that in some cases people will feel compelled to turn to illegal moneylenders.

“People will (go to moneylenders), of course. They are looking for any form of credit. Some of these moneylenders are charging 40% interest rates,” he said, adding that parents are struggling to pay the costs associated with Holy Communions while activities such as school tours are also imposing a burden on families.

He described the cost of some school tours as ‘exorbitant’.

THE old Our Lady’s Hospital site in Ennis has emerged as a potential location for an ambitious multi-million euro project to have Clare serviced by a new state-of-the-art private hospital. The Clare People has learned that hospital services could return to the Gort Road site nine years after the closure of Our Lady’s Hospital that served as the county’s psychiatric hospital for 134 years.

Shannon Development have confirmed to The Clare People that they are willing to do business with the hospital promoters. “We would have to go to the planning authority to see if it would be suitable as a site for the hospital,” Shannon Development’s Regional Manager for Clare, Finbarr Broughan reavealed. “If a proposal to build the hospital comes, yes, it’s something that we would be interested in,” he added.

In 1998, Shannon Development purchased the 65-acre landbank at the Our Lady’s site from the Mid Western Health Board for £2.44 million, while Clare County Council subsequently purchased 31 acres for £900,000. The Clare People understands that behind-the-scenes negotiations having taken place about the feasability of using the Our Lady’s site for developing Clare’s answer to the Galway Clinic.

These fresh moves come in the wake of the Bord Pleanála decision to reject plans submitted by developers John Stack and Pat Bonner to build the 100-bedroom hospital at Woodstock on the Shanaway Road on the outskirts of Ennis. The Clare People spoke to John Stack on Monday, but the Lisdoonvarna-based builder declined to comment specifically on negotiations.

The € 50m hospital project was given the go-ahead by Clare County Council last October, when councillors voted by 28-3 for a re-zoning of land at Woodstock, after local authority planners proposed that the application should get the go-ahead after the developers reduced the scale of the proposal.

A MEMBER of Clare County Council has written to the Minister for the Environment, expressing concerns over the delayed completion of a housing estate in Shannon.

The letter was submitted to Phil Hogan by Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn in relation to the Cluain Airne housing development, which was brought to a standstill last year. At a meeting earlier this month, the Shannon Town Manager, Bernadette Kinsella said the council was not yet in a position to provide a date for completion of the 22-unit scheme.

The project got underway in June 2009 and it was initially envisaged that it would be completed within a year.

However, it was halted and those living in the immediate vicinity are demanding its resumption.

Town councillors expressed concern over the delay and took into account the residents’ frustrations.

Cllr Flynn said he was looking for answers to two questions:

“When is the start date and when is the finish date?”

Cllr Flynn told The Clare People that he has now submitted letters to both Phil Hogan and the Clare County Manager, Tom Coughlan.

“It’s like a saga at this stage,” said Cllr Flynn. He said he would like the circumstances surrounding the development to be outlined.

At the meeting, Ms Kinsella told councillors, “I share your total frustration.

“Without a doubt, it is a nuisance for the residents in the area. We have a significant level of expressions from people who are looking for a home.”

She said that the completion period from the time the work recommences until completion is 16 weeks, adding,

“But what I don’t have is a start date.” She said;

“There were delays in the retendering process. It had been our intention that we were expecting a nomination in January. The whole process is taking longer than anticipated.”

Cllr Flynn referred to the issue as a fiasco. Fine Gael Councillor Mary Brennan said that the people of Cluain Airne were “living their worst nightmare”.

DOONBEG will play host this weekend to fundraising efforts which are expected to realise € 50,000 towards educating children in Nepal.

The Clare branch of the international Indreni Children’s Charity will host a series of fundraising events over the weekend, which will culminate with a gala dinner and concert by the Chieftains on Saturday night.

A golf classic will take centre stage on Friday at the golf club, while a si- lent charity auction will run throughout the weekend and a raffle for a BMW will also take place.

Indreni provides a home and private education for 30 previously abandoned street children in Kathmandu, Nepal.

It was founded in 2006 by Ram Hari Khadka and commanded interest in Clare the following year when Keith Molony from Ennis encountered Mr Khadka.

He set up a branch in Clare and todate € 30,000 has been collected in the county for the organisation.

According to one of those involved in this weekend’s events, Pat Connellan, the aim is to raise € 50,000, which will go towards educating the children.

Pending the success of this weekend’s events, there are plans in place to run a similar event on an annual basis.

“Hopefully we will do it every year. This is the first time this has been done anywhere.

There has been good support from the people of Clare,” he said.

He explained the background to the Clare link with this organisation. “Keith met Ram Hari while trekking in Tibet in 2007. From that day on, Keith started funding it himself.

“A few more of us got involved last year. People are paying so much a month.

“We raised money and went over to Nepal in October. A group of us spent time with the children and helped out. It showed us where the money is going,” he added.

“It’s not a case like Chernobyl where the children are brought over here.

“The biggest thing is paying for their education because education is a long term solution to so many problems.

“The initial plan is to make enough money to build a school.

“This weekend we hope to clear € 50,000 and that will go towards sourcing the land,” he said.

For more information on the event, click on www.doonbeggolfclub.com or www.indreni.org.

THE courage of the brave crew of the Kilrush lifeboat was acknowledged at the weekend when the RNLI picked their station to receive a new lifeboat.

And a woman who deeply admired the bravery of lifeboat crews will now always be remembered in the Clare town after the new boat was named for her.

The Edith Louise Eastwick was blessed and launched for her maiden voyage at the weekend having been bought with money left by a Baroness in her will.

Baroness Majorie Von Schlippenbach passed away in April 2003 and left the money with the stipulation that the boat which her legacy bought would be named after her late mother.

As a child, the Baroness lived in Eastbourne, where her mother often told her the story of a lifeboat of the local RNLI, which had been funded by a friend. Whenever she saw the boat Mrs Eastwick would tell her daughter of the life-saving service which the lifeboat crews provided.

Accepting the Atlantic 85 lifeboat in Kilrush, Lifeboat Operations Manager John Lambe said, “We are extremely grateful to the Baroness for her gener- osity in funding our new lifeboat and to Tom MacSweeney for officially naming her. On behalf of our crew, station management and fundraisers here in Kilrush, I offer my sincere thanks. This lifeboat is the vessel that will carry our volunteer crew out to sea and on it they will save lives.”

Speaking to The Clare People , Pauline Dunleavy, Station Officer at Kilrush, said it is “a fantastic vote of confidence in the station here by the RNLI to give us this new boat. We’re just a small station but we’re absolutely thrilled to have the Edith Louise Eastwick.”

RNLI trustee John Coyle said that there is “not a day goes by without our volunteers risking their lives to save others. And let us not forget the sheer hard work and ability of our fundraisers. To raise essential funds in challenging times never ceases to amaze me.”

Maritime journalist Tom McSweeney performed the naming. He told the gathering that “working in the national media, I am aware that not every call for help [at sea] makes headlines but I know that each time a lifeboat launches the crew set out in the knowledge that they may have to use their training to deal with the most challenging of rescues.”

A YOUNG Ennis man facing the activation of a prison sentence reacted to “cheap remarks” about the colour of his skin during a public order incident, a court has heard.

Derek Matha (19), with an address at Gort na hAbhna, Ennis, appeared before Ennis District Court on Friday. He was in court to face the potential activation of a suspended sentence handed down at Ennis District Court in February.

He was brought back before the court following his involvement in separate public order offences in Cork city in April.

Solicitor for Mr Matha, Daragh Hassett, told the court that a fight had broken out between his client and a group of men.

He said his client, who is originally from South Africa, had been referred to by the colour of his skin and had been called “the N-word a couple of times”.

Mr Hassett said that every time his client goes out he is subjected to racial abuse.

He said that Mr Matha, who has previous convictions for public offences, had been living in Ennis for a number of years and had never experienced problems with racism while attending school.

He said that his client had fully cooperated with Gardaí. He added that Mr Matha knows he should have walked away after he heard the “cheap remarks”. “He knows this is the end of the line”, he added.

Judge Joseph Mangan questioned if alcohol had been a factor in any of the incidents the accused had been involved in.

“Would it be the colour of his drink, rather than the colour of his skin that’s the problem?” he added.

Mr Hassett acknowledged that his client had been drinking in Cork on the night in question. Judge Mangan put the matter back until May 27 for further consideration. A 60-YEAR-OLD man has appeared at Ennis District Court accused of having drugs for sale or supply. John Joyce (60), of Watery Road, Ennis, appeared in court on Friday on charges relating to the possession of quantities of cannabis and amphetamine, with a combined value of € 988.22. Gardaí discovered the drugs during a search of a house at 1 Watery Road, Ennis on December 15, 2010. The court heard that Gardai also found € 3,000 during the search of the premises. In making an application for free legal aid, Mr Joyce was questioned by Insp Gallagher. After being asked how he had travelled to court that morning, Mr Joyce said he had driven there in his van. He said he had bought the van in 2008 but added that he couldn’t recall how much the van had cost.

Insp Gallagher said that by his own conservative estimate, the van was valued at around € 30,000.

Solicitor for the accused, Tara God frey, said the vehicle had not been listed as an asset by Mr Joyce as it was needed for family use.

She said her client had no other savings and assets.

Of the € 3,000 found by Gardaí, Mr Joyce said that € 2,000 belonged to him, while € 1,000 belonged to his wife.

He said he had got the money from selling “palettes in Limerick” and from the sale of his son’s pony. Mr Joyce told the court that both he and his wife had been saving the money for Christmas.

Judge Joseph Mangan refused the application for free legal aid, noting that Mr Joyce had not listed his van as an asset in the application.

He accepted jurisdiction and adjourned the matter until June 10 for either a plea or a date for hearing.

DINGLE business interests’ success in making the West Kerry town a haven for tourists on the back of the bay being home to one dolphin over the past 28 years contrasts sharply with West Clare’s failure to cash on the tourism potential of Shannon Estuary dolphins.

The May monthly meeting of Kilrush Town Council heard councillors bemoan the fact that West Clare is the poor relation to Dingle when it comes to dolphin-watching tourism.

“Dingle have one dolphin and they’ve managed to make a multimillion euro industry out of it over the years,” said Cllr Ian Lynch.

“The Shannon Estuary has a family of dolphins, but we don’t seem to be able to market this properly and we haven’t exploited the resource that we have.”

This has led to calls for the Gateway to Shannon Dolphins Committee to make renewed efforts to kickstart the dolphin-watching industry on the estuary.

This committee was established a number of years ago but last Thursday’s meeting heard that it has been inactive over the last number years.

“The committee is led by Paul Edson, with the help of Dr Simon Berrow [Irish Whale and Dolphin Group], but it hasn’t met for the last couple of years,” revealed town clerk, John Corry.

“There is huge potential for the Shannon dolphin project and it should be developed, because it’s something that’s unique to the estuary and we should do everything to market this,” said Cllr Tom Prendeville.