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COUNCILLORS at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting of Clare County Council were given an update on the works carried in response to the recent spate of storm in North Clare.

Lahinch was the area where most work had been completed to date with the lighting, drainage network and many walkways repaired – while a number of areas have been made safe, pending full repair.

The Flaggy Shore roadway has been cleared but remains flooded in one area, a contractor has been engaged to provide an estimate for the causeway on Aughinish Island, while in Ballyvaughan the pier wall has been repaired and tenders are being considered for the repair of the sea wall.

In Liscannor, temporary sea defences were constructed, works have begun on a retaining wall at the grotto, debris has been removed from the pier and drainage channels have been reopened at the Glebe.

In Clahane, the roads have been made passable but works are still requires on retaining walls and bridge abutments. Debris was removed from both Spanish Point and White Strand beaches while a beached whale carcass was removed from Fanore.

Rocks and debris were cleared from Doolin after the January storm, but not since the February storm.

The Mayor of Clare, Joe Arkins (FG), paid tribute to the local staff for the efforts they have put in since these starts began in December.

“The effort and the commitment of councils staff over a series of storms, both admin and outdoor staff. People have been working in conditions and temperatures that you wouldn’t put out a dog. The local people are aware of the Trojan effort that they put in,” he said.

“They have been out day and night since Christmas, and many of the grades don’t receive additional payment for this, and nothing would pay you to go out in that weather anyway.”

Council engineer Stephen Lahiff paid tribute to the work carried out by local volunteers. “I would like to thank all the local groups and voluntary people who came out picking litter and cutting down trees. The one good thing that came out of these storms was the level of community involvement and I’ve been very impressed by the way that the people here came out and fought in such a difficult situation,” he said.

DOONBEG was this week welcoming the investment by the Trump Organisation in the local Greg Norman designed golf course and hotel, and said it is looking forward to working with the new owners.

The community in Doonbeg have experience when it comes to deal- ing with large international companies and local development, having initiated the development of the world-renowned golf course in the late 1990s and manoeuvred its way through many issues surrounding its later development and expansion.

Rare snails, rights of ways and access to the beach were all difficult and emotive issues that have been worked through in the community and in the courts, but that hard work is now done, according to Doonbeg Community Development Ltd.

The chairman of the community group Willie Hanrahan said the investment by the Trump family “secures the whole golf course; it secures the properties, it secures the jobs and the on going facilities in the area”.

He said the financial backing of the company will have a major impact on the area. “If they help with the coastal erosion and secure the property that would be fantastic.”

He has no concerns that relationships may sour down the line, as Doonbeg is an established golf course and facility.

“There are always problems when you set up something new. Doonbeg is there. It is established. We have been there and done that. We had problems with the rights of way. We had problems with the access to the beach. They have all been sorted. They are all secured now. There will always be ongoing issues but we have a very good relationship with the management, with Joe Russell at the moment and the current management and we would hope that will continue,” he said.

A WEST Clare developer who raped a Brazilian woman he had asked to clean his house has been sentenced to seven and a half years, after a judge said he couldn’t “buy himself out” of a custodial sentence.

He had denied the charge. Mr Justice White said that on reading the victim impact report provided by the victim, he did not believe the rape had “a profound psychological effect” on her. “It strikes me that your victim is more interested in compensation rather than anything else,” he said.

A JUDGE has asked the gardaí to investigate the circumstances in which a second teenager from Ennis was married by a man claiming to be a ‘Bishop’.

At Ennis Children’s Court on Wednesday, Judge Patrick Durcan said, “It is disgraceful that this young man is being duped by someone who parades around pretending to be a Bishop”.

He was speaking after being told by a 17 year old boy he had recently been married by Bishop Michael Cox.

The youth – who cannot be named for legal reasons and was before the court on a trespass charge – confirmed to Judge Durcan that he paid € 100 to Mr Cox for the marriage and that he met him only once before the wedding.

He told the judge that he and his wife are expecting their first child in August. The legal age for marriage in Ireland is 18.

Judge Durcan said he wanted the issue to be brought to the attention of the State.

Addressing the teenager, Judge Durcan said, “This man is not a Bishop and he is not entitled to marry you.”

He told the boy this could have seri- ous implications for the status of his marriage, the status of his wife and the status of his child his wife is expecting.

Judge Durcan noted this was the second time in recent months he had been informed of a marriage performed by Bishop Cox for an Ennis teenager.

Last November he ordered gardaí to investigate the circumstances of a wedding of another 17 year-old performed by Bishop Cox.

At the time, Judge Durcan was strongly critical of Bishop Cox. He said the fact that the couple had paid money for the service was “appalling” and “brings things to the lowest depths.”

“I want to say loudly and clearly that anyone who masquerades as a clergy man and who takes money from young people and imbues in them a mistaken belief that he has married them, is in my view committing the most serious offence”, added Judge Durcan.

On Wednesday, Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court the case is under investigation.

Judge Durcan said he also wanted the Probation Services to investigate how young people are being “duped” into paying for sham marriage ceremonies.

Probation Officer, Eoin Ryan said the case has been discussed by the service.

Bishop Cox previously attracted controversy when he ordained Sinead O’Connor a priest in 1999 in Lourdes — he is not a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church and is instead a bishop of the Latin Tridentine Church.

AN ENNIS man who was trapped inside his home for a number of hours by fallen trees on Wednesday says he fears further damage if storms strikes again.

Terry Hayes was sitting with his daughter and grandchildren at his home in Shallee Drive, Cloughleigh, when he says he heard a loud crack on Wednesday afternoon.

“There was this noise. I didn’t have clue what has after happening until this big tree fell down in the front of the house. Two more trees fells later on,” explained Terry.

Ennis was battered by strong storm force winds on Wednesday with dozens of trees uprooted and knocked over at locations around the town.

Terry says the family were trapped in the house for a number of hours and required the assistance of friends and neighbours to get out.

“The trees fell from a private property. We couldn’t get out. We were ringing the emergency services but they didn’t come but I understand they were probably stretched because of all that was going on around the town.

“I rang someone in the council and they told me to stay inside. I told them I was ringing them because I couldn’t get out of the house!

“I rang friends of mine and they came down with two chainsaws and cut back some of the branches. I was able to get out the front and we man- aged to get the kids out the back,” explains Terry.

Terry says the experience as particularly frightening for his grandchildren. “It was a very scary experience, especially for the kids. I was trying to stay calm but I was shaking inside. All of it happened in the space of 10 to 15 minutes. I’ve never seen anything like it. I have to say thanks to the neighbours for all their help,” he adds.

The trees knocked the boundary wall and damaged a car parked in the front drive way.

“There are other trees that are loose now and the fear is that if we got another strong storm like that they could fall at any moment,” he says.

ENNIS Golf Club is counting the cost of Storm Darwin after dozens of trees were knocked over on the course on Wednesday afternoon.

It is estimated that around 130 trees were knocked over or uprooted along the 107-year-old course.

A full assessment of the damage has been carried out.

The course is expected to remain closed for a number of days to facilitate removal work.

In a message posted on the club’s Facebook page, Club Manager Pat McCarthy thanked all members who had volunteered to help out.

He stated, “In common with the rest of the country, Ennis Golf Club has suffered seriously from the recent storms. The unprecedented winds of Wednesday have knocked large numbers of evergreen and deciduous trees all over the course. Many more have been left in a weakened and dangerous state.”

Mr McCarthy continued, “A full assessment of the damage has been carried out and contractors are quoting for the clean up at present and we expect work to commence early next week. In the interests of safety and to allow the heavy work of removal we have no alternative but to close the course for at least a week. We will keep members updated via email regarding the reopening of the course. We are grateful to our members who have volunteered their help but, until such time as the dangerous work is successfully completed, we cannot allow members onto the course.”

The club was among numerous areas of the town where trees were knocked over by storm force winds on Wednesday.

A number of patients had to be evacuated from the top floor of Ennis General Hospital because of fears that winds could damage the roof.

No signs of damage was found and the patients were able to return to the building.

Fallen trees near St Flannan’s College forced the closure of a busy road while gardaí were called to deal with an overturned truck on the M18 motorway outside Ennis.

SHANNON-based mining company Mincon could be set to double in size over the next two or three years – with the prospect of more jobs coming on stream in looking increasingly possibly. That is according to Mincon’s “house brokers” Davy Stockbrokers, who in a letter to potential investors last week described the Clare company as ‘outperform’ and said it was primed for expansion.

“It has grown rapidly in recent years, while generating returns of over 20 per cent,” the Davy note said. “[The company is] a pure play on the structurally less volatile global consumable rock-drilling products industry.”

Earlier this year, the company’s two biggest shareholders gave employees € 1.2 million from their own private funds to reward them for their hard work over the years.

Company founder Paddy Purcell and Kevin Barry initiated the employee recognition plan, which excluded all members of senior management.

The money was paid to Mincon’s 140 eligible employees across the group and was based on years of service with a payment of € 1,000 per staff member per year of service.

The Shannon-based rock drilling engineering company was founded in 1977 and listed on the Dublin and London stock exchanges late last year. Many of the company’s Shannon-based employees have been there for a number of decades.

“It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Mincon Group employees that it has grown from its origins in Shannon into the interna- tional business it is today, with operations in Europe, Africa, the Americas and Australasia and with its securities quoted on the ESM and AIM,” said Paddy Purcell at the time that the payment was announced.

“As the largest shareholders in the company, Kevin and I wished to take this opportunity to show, in a tangible and meaningful way, our appreciation to the staff for their contribution in bringing Mincon to where it is today and positioning it for the next phase of its development organically and through acquisitions.”

A WIDE range of events will take place around Clare to celebrate Aontas Adult Learner Week, which runs from February 24 to March 1.

The Adult Learners’ festival is a nationwide celebration of adult learning coordinated by AONTAS, the National Adult Learning Organisation.

In the last seven years, the festival has become a firm fixture on the adult learning calendar with events taking place nationwide, including anything from information sessions, taster workshops, sample lectures to small gatherings of people who love to learn.

Jacinta Davenport, Guidance Counselor and Coordinator at the Clare Adult Educational Guidance and Information Service, says this year the service has focused on working in partnership with employers to develop courses that develop the skills and competencies required in the workplace.

The Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (formerly Clare VEC) has established several partnerships with employers around the county and nationally in order to provide relevant, current and specific education and training programmes for learners in Clare.

These programmes have been jointly developed and are delivered using real-world scenarios, that equip learners to work or secure work in sectors which are enjoying employment growth e.g. hospitality, catering, retail.

Ms Davenport explained, “One new partnership is with the Irish Hotels Federation, who report that there are 3,000 chef vacancies in Ireland. In order to help address this, Clare LCETB and IHF have developed a 15-week part-time pilot Breakfast Chef course in partnership, it will be followed by work experience with IHF members in Clare.

“Last February the Adult Education Service commenced a FETAC Level 5 in Sound Production in partnership with Clare FM. Clare FM provided the technical skills training in Sound Engineering Production, Music Technology and Radio Programme Production.”

For details on Clare events log onto www.adultlearnersfestival.com.

SHANNON Airport has stepped up to the mark as a key economic driver for the mid-west region, according to Transport Minister, Leo Varadkar, who has told The Clare People that Donald Trump’s acquisition of Doonbeg Golf Club was made possible by having an international airport on its doorstep.

Speaking in Shannon Minister Varadkar lauded the “the renewed energy and vibrancy” as a new growth phase was announced for airport services that will see a new programme of hangar development come on stream in the next year.

“It is fair to say that recent high profile investments in this region like the Regeneron announcement for Limerick and Donald Trump’s acquisition of and planned investment in Doonbeg would not be happening were it not for Shannon Airport’s presence,” said Minister Varadkar.

His comments came as a new deal was signed for an eight-year lease by Air Contractors, a member of the ASL Aviation group, with the Shannon Group for the remaining hangar space at the airport.

This will be used by Air Contrac- tors for line maintenance on its fleet of Boeing and ATR aircraft, including its Boeing 757 aircrafts which will be flown by Aer Lingus on the new daily Shannon-Boston service launched last week and its six times weekly JFK New York service that commences in March.

The airport currently has 50,700sq meters of space in nine hangars, all of which will be fully occupied following the signing of contracts with Air Contractors.

To meet a current request for near term additional hangar space, the board of the Shannon Group recently agreed to seek planning permission and to tender for the procurement and associated works of a fabric hangar of 4,300sq metres capable of accommodating wide-bodied aircraft.

It is anticipated the new hangar – intended to be the first of a number of new hangars developed at Shannon – will be built and open for business by the end of the year.

“I welcome the board’s progress in relation to hangar capacity and its plans to develop an additional hangar this year,” said Minister Varadkar.

“This is in keeping with the wider plans for growth at Shannon, includ- ing the development of an International Aviation Services Centre here to complement the existing cluster of 40 aviation related businesses operating in Shannon.

“The development of maintenance facilities is one opportunity identified under this plan and this is a very positive first step in that space,” he added.

According to Shannon Group chairperson, Rose Hynes, the airport is “making strong early progress in relation to the wider Shannon project. Our success in achieving full occupancy of our hangar capacity is evidence of this”.

NORTH Clare farmers have pledged to fight on against the decision to sell the Ennistymon Mart to Aldi following a “fruitless” meeting in Ennis yesterday.

Three member of Ennistymon IFA met with representatives from Clare Marts for a number of hours yesterday, at a meeting facilitated by Clare IFA president Andrew Dundas.

At the meeting, a spokesperson for Clare Marts confirmed that the sale of the mart had been agreed by the board of Clare Marts, but said that contracts had yet to be signed and the sale was dependent on planning permission being granted.

Tom Clair from Ennistymon IFA said yesterday that the people of Ennistymon feel like they have been “sold-out” by their fellow farmers for a “few dollars” from a multi-national.

“The people up here will fight this to the bitter end, that is for sure. But we are desperate downhearted that this has happened,” he said.

“The way that this has come about is not right.

“After all that was gone through to get that mart there in the first place and now to have it sold out from under us by our fellow farmers. And just because they had a few dollars dangled down in front of them. It’s not right.”

Yesterday’s meeting followed a protest help by more than 20 North Clare farmers outside of Ennis Marts last Tuesday evening and a mass meeting of more than 450 people which took place in Ennistymon earlier this month.

Those opposed to the sale will now likely take to the planning system to try and block the sale going through by lodging planning applications once Aldi bring forward a proposal.

The land where the mart currently sits was gifted to the people of Ennistymon by the McNamara clan as an area for fairs.

“It is though that the mart’s deeds could yet contain a condition requiring it to be operated for agricultural purposes. The Clare People contacted Clare Marts in relation to this story but they had no comment to make.