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IT MAY be one of the worst villages hit by the storm but the high winds and waves did not damage he community spirit in Kilbaha.

On Tuesday three young mothers returning from the early school run decided to begin a tidy up at the year -old playground that had fallen victim to the storm.

Suddenly passers bys joined in and other parents returning home with their children at 3pm joined the group with shovels, wheelbarrows and children willing to give a helping hand.

Farmers and local contractors joined the impromptu clean up with tractors and mini diggers and what could have taken weeks, according to local woman Ailish Connolly, took three hours.

As many as 30 adults and 20 children were involved in the clean up, with council workers and Rural Resource workers staying around to help.

“We are so privileged to be in a community like this where the methil is alive and kicking,” said Ms Connolly adding that there was time for the odd seaweed fight and some merriment.

The mother of three who is part of the playground committee said an engineer is expected next week to access the damage, but she is hopeful that the community will be able to do the repair work themselves.

Already farmers have pulled the buckled fencing into place using their tractors.

As clean ups are planned for neighbouring Ross and Rhinevella on Saturday, the community remain concerned about the impact the storm will have on local tourism.

Many of the roads have been com- promised which is a concern ahead of the launch of the Wild Atlantic Way next month. The Loop Head peninsula has been included in the bus tour of the west coast of Ireland so proper roads are essential.

THOMAS Burke is fighting for his livelihood and facing the stark possibility that it may no longer sustain him following the storm and sea swells of early January.

The Kilrush farmer is one of just many dependent on the lands of West Clare for survival, now in serious trouble.

The suckler farmer is facing the real possibility of selling a portion of his herd as three quarters of a mile of his land along the coast at Shannakyle in now covered in gravel. More than 100 metres more has been washed into the sea.

Each day more and more land is eroded away as the sea walls he built to protect his land were also victim of the storm and high waves.

Mr Burke’s land is in the form of a mini peninsula that juts out into the sea, across from Scattery Island. As a result his 80-acre farm has been damaged on all sides.

During the height of the bad weather at least 30 acres, more than one third of his land was under water. This land will now have to be reclaimed from the damage of the seawater and all the debris that has been washed up.

He has also suffered thousands of euros of damage at three other points on his farm, including the loss of the sea wall he built.

“A half of mile of fencing was also destroyed and about 100 metres of land sucked out to the sea,” he told The Clare People . “The days that followed the storm caused more problems as the sea continued to erode the land that was no longer protected,” he said. “It will take three weeks with a digger to clean up,” he added explaining that the repair work will then begin. Even when the repair work is complete there will still be under-lying damage that will take years to rectify itself. “I am looking at the possibility of selling stock this year because the land won’t be recovered,” said the worried farmer. “There is no help coming as of now.”

CLARE County Council last night debated a motion through the Irish language for the first time in years. The local authority gave their commitment to backing an Irish language Summer School for West Clare, based on the life of noted Gaeilgeóir and a champion of the Irish language, Anrai De Blác.

A motion on the subject, which was put forward by Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) was passed at last night’s January meeting of Clare County Council.

A debate on the motion was conducted entirely in the Irish language, the first motion completed ‘as Gaeilge’ by the local authority in a number of years.

Cllr Keating, Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) and Mayor of Clare, Joe Arkins (FG) each spoke on the motion in the Irish language with only Pat Keane (FF) speaking though the English.

The restoration of a Gaeltacht area in Clare has been mooted on a number of occasions in recent years. Works to restore the Irish language has been ongoing in a number of locations in Clare in recent years.

The former Mayor of Clare proposed the establishment of Gaeltacht areas in West Clare a number of years ago to facilitate the creation of an Irish college in area. Figures released following the last census showed a strong proficiency in the Irish language among Clare people are hopes are high that a revival is on the cards.

Meanwhile, in a separate motion, Cllr PJ Ryan (Ind) has requested that Clare County Council write to the newly-formed Irish Water Organisation demanding that they replace all lead piping which remains in the system.

Irish Water, which took over responsibly for the Clare water system 14 days ago, was last week embroiled in a controversy after it was revealed that the organisation has spent € 50 million on consultants last year.

CALLS have been made for a sustained “period of civil disobedience” to take place in Clare following the closure of the acute assessment unit at Ennis General Hospital last week.

The subject was discussed following an emergency adjournment of yesterday’s January meeting of Clare County Council with councillors voting to write to the Minister for Health, James Reilly (FG), to demand that new staff are deployed to the Ennis hospital.

The acute assessment unit was closed for a number of days last week with Clare patients being referred to Limerick, which was also suffering acute overcrowding at the time. The Clare People understands that the closure in Ennis was a result of a single doctor being off on sick leave and a replacement doctor not being made available. A replacement doctor was eventually deployed from but the Ennis unit was forced to close for a number of days.

Independent Cllr James Breen, called for the public to take direct action against the Government in an effort to force the HSE to deploy more staff to Ennis General Hospital.

“It is just not good enough. We have been given promises from minister after minister all saying that we would have a first class medical service here in Clare. We can throw money at everything; we have € 50 million to spent on consultants for Irish Water but people cannot get life or death tests carried out at Ennis General Hospital,” he said.

“I think the time has come for a long period of civil disobedient in this country. People should stop paying their property tax. People in unions should stop paying those unions, because the unions are not doing what they are supposed to.”

The motion was seconded by Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG).

“The population of this county is receiving a second class service when this medical assessment unit in not open,” said Cllr Flynn.

HUNDREDS of people descended on Lahinch and Liscannor over the weekend to help in the biggest cleanup operation ever undertaken in the county.

More than 200 people took part in a two-day clean up of the Promenade organised by the West Coast Surf Club on Friday and Saturday. With people travelling from all over Ireland to take part, the club was able to send groups to Liscannor, Kilmacreahy and Cregg to help with the clean-up operations in those locations.

Both the Old Course and the Castle Course at Lahinch reopened for business last Friday following a major clean up by volunteers on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. As of yesterday, 14 holes are playable on the Old Course with all hole playable, excluding bunkers, on Castle Course.

Two time major winner, Greg Norman, also mentioned the storms impact on Lahinch and Doonbeg on Twitter last week.

“Amazing photo of waves and wind pounding the beautiful town of Lahinch in Ireland last Thurs. My course at Doonbeg is okay,” he said.

Meanwhile, the gym at Lahinch Seaworld reopened for businesses yesterday and management are hoping the the pool facility will be open to the public again from next Monday, January 20.

According to Cliodhna Fawl of the West Coast Surf Club, locals and people from all over the coun- try have been doing their bit to get Lahinch back on its feet.

“People travelled from Dublin and all over Ireland to help with the clean up. We had about 80 people working with us on Friday and another 100 people came on Saturday, so we got a lot of work done,” she said.

“We collected a massive amount of rubbish and debris from Lahinch and we were able to send out groups to other areas on Saturday. A lot of debris and stone was removed from Liscannor, we still have some work to finish in Cregg which we will hopefully get to soon.

“We would like to thank Clare County Council and Clean Coast for providing the gloves and bags and to John and Jessie who drove up from Ennis with lots of food for all the workers.”

Lahinch Seaworld is hopeful of reopening fully from next Monday, but no official date can yet be given as it takes the pool between seven and fourteen days to warm up after a complete shutdown.

“The gym reopened today and we’ve had a great crowd in already this morning. People have been very supportive,” said Joe Garrihy of Lahinch Seaworld.

“We are working on the heating system at the moment and we should be able to turn that on tomorrow with a view to reopening next Monday but we will have to wait how long that will take to heat up the water.

THE section of the M18 which was closed on two separate occasion following a series of traffic accident on December 19 last, was gritted on three separate occasion immediately before being closed.

Clare County Council is to write to the National Roads Authority (NRA) requesting that a risk assessment be carried out a section of the M18 closed to Crusheen, which councillors yesterday claimed was defective.

“A number of people contacted me over the last few months in relation to this section of road. The NRA reply is filled with a lot of jargon about the road,” said Cllr Pat Hayes (FF).

“There was an unfortunate fatality in this area and there seems to be a continous problem with flooding on this section of the road. The people in Crusheen have a real concern about this section of the roadway and this has to be resolved. The NRA have given a very specific answer as to why this section of roadway was closed on the 19th (December) but this is an ongoing issue.

“We need to find out why there have been so many accidents on this section of roads. I am not putting blame on anyone but we need to talk to the NRA get to the bottom of this issue.”

The motion was supported by Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind).

“There is something wrong with that road. You have cars aquaplaning when you don’t expect it to happen. I’m not an engineer, but I know as a driver when I don’t feel secure on this part of the road. It is time that they go out and investigate this and get to the bottom it.”

Senior engineer with Clare County Council, Tom Tiernan said that the NRA have carried out investigation on this section of the M18 in the past.

“In relation to the fatality and a number of other accidents I do know that the NRA have come on the ground afterwards and examined what could have been the cause of these accidents,” he said.

ALLEGATIONS of aggressive and intimidating behaviour by people visiting Drumcliff have emerged amid calls for less restrictive access to the graveyard.

Fears that vehicles would damage graves led to the permanent locking last year of one half of the cemetery’s gates. There have also been reports that groups of people were observed drinking and behaving aggressively in Drumcliff on Christmas Day.

The issues were disclosed at the January meeting of Ennis Town Council as councillors discussed a motion tabled by Cllr Paul O’Shea (Ind).

Cllr O’Shea proposed the gates at Drumcliff be unlocked every second Sunday “to enable loved ones to transport tools, equipment, plants and flowers so as to maintain their loved one’s graves.”

Administrative officer Betty Devanny stated in her response that access to Drumcliff cemetery has been restricted since November 2013, with exception give to undertakers, grave diggers, memorial sculptors, caretaker and those with mobility difficulties.

She continued, “This is necessary to prevent possible damage occurring to the kerbing, grave surrounds, and grave markers from vehicles accessing the cemetery which hap- pened on a regular basis while the gates remained unlocked. It will also provide for better management of the cemetery.”

Ms Devanny said only one side of the double gates are locked so it is possible for people to bring tools and flowers to graves. She states extra staff would be required to facilitate Cllr O’Shea’s request. “In the current economic downturn and a staffing embargo in place, it is not possible to facilitate this request,” she added.

Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) told the meeting he had witnessed incidents where vehicles drove at speed around the graveyard. “When the gates were left open, it was abused,” he said.

Cllr Mary Howard (FG) said she saw people drive through the graveyard on Christmas Day and park up for 40-50 minutes. “There is no room to maneuver and damage will be done,” she warned.

Cllr Howard told the meeting she also witnessed the same group of people “drinking and being aggressive” on Christmas Day.

Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Mary Coote Ryan (FG) said she recently saw two carloads of people enter the graveyard in a “very intimidating fashion”.

“There are some people who do misbehave and cause trouble for others,” she added.

Town manager Gerard Dollard said the changes at Drumcliff were introduced for the better management of the facility.

THE prospect of swarming bees chasing stampeding cattle over dangerous cliffs in the Burren was raised at Clare County Council yesterday, as councillors could not decide whether to support a project to creation an Apiary (or bee sanctuary) in the Burren.

A motion to support plans by NUI, Galway, and other agencies to help reintroduce bees to the Burren created an unexpected stir at last night January meeting of Clare County Council, with a heated argument breaking out between North Clare based Cllr Michael Kelly (FF) and Ennis Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG).

The motion was opposed by Cllr Kelly who claimed that the introduction of bees would lead to cattle stampeded, which would result in the injury and death of animals.

“I am opposed this motion. Farmers are well aware that swarms of bees can cause a stampedes of cattle. I wish the bee keepers every success but if Cllr Flynn can suggest a site for this in Ennis, I would be very happy to supported it,” he said.

“I have 50 years of experience in farming in the Burren and if this goes ahead I have no doubt that it will create swarms of bees which will interfere with farmers and cattle.

“If the Burren floura is to flourish, it needs to be grazed during the summer. If you put bees into the Burren you won’t be able to graze cattle there safely.

“If you get an expert (from NUI, Galway) to speak here, of course they will be in favour of it, because they don’t have land in the Burren and they won’t have cattle with broken legs following stampeded in the Burren.”

Following a long debate on the motion, it was decided to defer a vote until expert opinion on the subject are invited to speak before Clare County Council.

“The experts at NUI, Galway and GMIT have a number of sites already in the Burren. With the history of organisations such as BurrenBeo and the significate investment already given to further farming practice in the Burren [the Burren Farming for Conservation Project] and there is an agreement that the Burren is the perfect spot for something like this. I would not consider that there would be any significant danger to livestock through this. Bee keeping is not an illegl activity; you can do it anywhere. This is not something new.”

TWO Clare surfers, who took to the water during the height of the Storm Catherine last week, are in the running for this year’s Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards.

Lahinch surfer Ollie O’Flaherty and Peter Conroy from Miltown Malbay both braved massive swells on Mullaghmore Beach in Sligo last Monday, during the height of the storm.

The waves on the day were between 20 and 30 feet in height but they were also incredibly powerful. Because there was a extended period of time between each wave, a massive volume of water is inside each wave making them incredibly powerful.

“It is kind of an addiction. It’s something you have to build up to over. You can’t just wake up one day and decided to go out and surf 30 of 40 foot waves. You have to build up to it,” said Ollie.

“There were maybe 18 or 20 seconds between each wave, which is unheard of in this part of the world. This means that even if the waves are not 60 foot, they are incredibly powerful and travelling very fast.”

According to Peter, it takes years of experience before surfers can safely take on big waves like those produced during Storm Catherine.

“It is all about stepping stones. You have to comfortable just being in big waters like this never mind surfing. You have to know what the sea is doing. You have to realise that the sea is in charge, not you. We catch the waves, we play on the waves but if the sea wants to catch you, you are dead,” said Peter.

“It [the Billabong nomination] is a list of the best waves that have been surfed in Europe so far this year and mine and Ollie’s are up there. This will be knocked down to a shortlist of five later this year so for the mo- ment this is really a recognition that us Irish guys are putting it on the line for big wave surfing.” A final shortlist of five surfers for this year’s Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards will be announced in March.

THE community spirit continued into Carrigaholt as neighbours worked together to ensure people got to work, school and to the shops.

Local postmaster Pat Gavin, whose family was one of six marooned on a temporary island in Kilcredaun as a result of the storm and sea swells also praised the work of Clare County Council.

“Fair play, Clare County Council have done everything they can given their resources, but central Government have let us down,” he told The Clare People . “Part of what happened was due to neglect, even though I accept some flooding would have occurred,” he said.

The postmaster added he was referring to promises from the Government two and a half years ago that work would be completed at the seawall at Kilcredaun Irish College.

This work was estimated at the time at € 90,000. The sea wall was torn away in the storm and the college flooded as the people living there were segregated from the rest of the county by floodwater.

According to a Clare County Council report this week, restoration and reconstruction work on this part of the peninsula will cost € 622,000.

Mr Gavin said the generous spirit of neighbours, who loaned him a four-wheel drive, means he can now get to the post office every day.

Up to 250 yards off the main road remains under water as just 30 per cent of the water has receded. Clare County Council has put gravel on an old track so that the people living in Kilcredaun can now move around again.

Meanwhile farmers are struggling as their land remains under water. Even when the water recedes, they will have to reseed it in a bid to undo the damage of the seawater.