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THE Cliffs of Moher is on target to record its largest even number of visitors in 2013, with a prospect of breaking the one million barrier now a realistic possibility.

A surge in individual visitors in late summer has seen the North Clare tourist site surpass all predictions made for tourism numbers this year. The Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience had already recorded a sizable year-on-year increase in the number of tour groups visiting in 2013, and the recent surge of individual tourists has pushed the visitors numbers into record territory.

According to Katherine Webster of the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience, the increase has been largely driven by tourists from America and mainland Europe.

“At this stage I can confirm that the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience is on target to exceed our record figure of 940,000 visitors which was reached in 2007, the year the new visitor centre opened,” she told The Clare People yesterday.

“Visitor numbers to the end of October are up by 9 percent on the same period last year. Group tours are ahead by 14 per cent and individual visitors by 4 percent.

“We’ve seen strong growth out of the North American and German markets with other continental European markets also performing well. The impact of the Gathering has definitely been noticeable.

“Our Family Names of County Clare project has been very popular with local visitors from Clare and has also evoked a great response from overseas visitors. The Clare Family Names exhibit will be retained and further names will be added in 2014.”

The increase in individual tourist numbers in particular is a welcome boost for the Clare tourism industry. The Cliffs of Moher are seen as a barometer to the overall health of tourism in Clare, with the the individual visitor number being key as group tours are more likely to base their holiday in Dublin and Galway, rather than in Burren itself.

REGULAR mass will be celebrated outside of the main chapel in Crusheen for the first time ever this morning as a new trial scheme to save money and protect elderly mass goes from the cold begins.

Today’s early morning mass, No vember 19, will be celebrated in a small meeting room at the back of the church building and not in the main chapel.

Parish priest Father Ger Nash con- firmed yesterday that weekday masses will be moved out of the main chapel for the next few months in an effort to save money on heating. All weekend masses will continue to take place on the main chapel, as will the Friday morning service which is attended by local school children.

The new system will be operated on a trail basis until March or April of 2014, and could become an annual move for the parish if mass goers are in favour. According to Fr Nash, the cost of heating the main chapel for mass is putting a significant strain on the parish coffers.

“At the moment we get between a dozen or two dozen people attending mass during the week so we decided, for economic reasons, to move these masses to a cozy meeting room to wards the back of the church,” he said. “It can take around two hours of heat before the main chapel is warmed up, but this room is nice and cozy in about 15 minutes. We are starting this on a trial basis for Tuesday and Thursday masses and we will see how it goes from there. We have never tried anything like this before.

“The majority of people attending these masses are elderly so the cold is a worry. With the price of oil at the moment this could make a difference. Even just for two days [each week] the cost savings by the end of the year could be substantial.”

According to the latest accounts published by the Diocese of Killaloe, the diocese recorded a surplus of more than € 200,000 in 2011. The diocese also reported cash reserves of € 813,778 and “investments” in excess of € 2 million.

THE Environmental Agency (EPA), Clare County Council, and the Health Service Executive (HSE) are to meet later today (Tuesday) to discuss the issue of a noxious smell in Shannon.

Residents say that the smell appears to be abating slightly, but understand that it is the type of smell you get use to and therefore is still an issue.

The underlying cause of the odour is also worrying concerned locals.

The foul fetor has been investigated by the (EPA) and the environmental watchdog has advised that investigations to date indicate that the source of the odour appears to be the sewer network in Shannon.

The EPA and Clare County Council, with the assistance of the HSE, have also put in place an action programme for further monitoring and investigation.

Continuing investigative efforts are being focused on the sewer collection network including all discharges to the network.

The government bodies continue to monitor the smell as well as any unusual patterns of illness in the local population.

Air quality monitored by the EPA in the Shannon area between March 2012 and June 2013 showed pollutant levels were found to be below EU limit values.

THERE was a double boost for Shannon Airport yesterday with the news that traffic volume continued to grow in the Clare airport in October and the announcement by Aer Lingus of a number of new routes for 2014.

According to figures from Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), the numbers of commercial planes using Shannon Airport in October was 1, 582 – or 51 per day. This represents a 1.5 per cent increase on the same period in 2012 and draws Shannon Airport closer to passing out Cork Airport and reclaiming its position of Ireland’s second most used airport.

There was a further boost for Shannon yesterday as Aer Lingus announcing a new service between Shannon Airport and Malaga in 2014 and an increase infrequency on a number of other routes. A twiceweekly service between Shannon and Malaga will begin from March 30, at a cost of € 66.99.

Aer Lingus will increase frequencies on transatlantic routes from Shannon to New York and Boston, almost doubling its schedule between the two US hubs and upgrading the flights to a year-round service.

Flights between Shannon and New York will be increased three to six return flights per week while flights to Boston will be increase from three flight per week to a daily service.

Meanwhile, there was more good news for Shannon Airport chairperson and North Clare businesswoman, Rose Hynes, who won the President’s Award at the annual Limerick Chamber of Commerce Regional Business Awards held last Friday.

“We are making lots of progress. But we must do an awful lot more, and we will.

“People have to use Shannon, and to see Shannon as their airport. This is my message – the one way to get more flights and more routes, is to fill the ones we have,” she said while accepting the award.

THE number of instances of ash dieback in Clare has more than doubled over the last six months with Clare trees now the third most infected in Ireland.

According to figures obtained from the Department of Agriculture, a total of seven positive cases of ash dieback, or Chalara fraxinea, have been recorded in Clare so far this year – up from just three cases in May.

There is currently no information available as to the exact nature and location of these outbreaks, which could be isolated trees in hedgerows or large plantations that could involve the culling of dozens or hundreds of trees.

Coincidentally, strong hurling counties have, to date, been hit hardest by ash die back. The last three All Ireland hurling champions – Clare, Kilkenny and Tipperary – have the three highest instances of ash die back in Ireland.

The Department of Agriculture has declined to give exact details of the location of infected trees in Clare and other counties. This follows confusion earlier this year when the department appeared to release contradictory information about the location of infected trees in Clare.

The March of this year, the Department of Agriculture confirmed that there were two infected areas in Clare – one each in Lisdoonvarna and Scariff. However, two months later, the department released updated information which showed that there were then three infected sites in Clare; in Lisdoonvarna, Newmarket on Fergus and Clarecastle. The Clare People contacted the department in May in relation to the status of the Scariff outbreak but did not receive a response. Indeed, no further update on the spread of the disease was released by the department until earlier this month.

In the most recent update, the department has declined to give any information about the location of the infected trees within each county – and they have not given any information about the nature of each outbreak.

This is in contrast to the department’s handling of the situation earlier this year.

“There are now three confirmed findings in County Clare. One is a private forest plantation, one is in a private garden and the other, latest finding, is roadside planting. The private garden tree has been cleared and destroyed and the other two sites are under eradication,” said a department spokesperson in May.

A SIXMILEBRIDGE woman who left Ireland for London when she was just 15 has been honoured for her work with vulnerable children’s in London’s East End.

Sister Mary Lawrence received the Irish Youth Foundation’s fourth annual Nessa O’Neill award at the charity’s prestigious Hibernian Hero Award ceremony.

The Clare nun joined the Convent of Mercy in Stepney soon after she arrived in England, and spent her novice days in North London before returning to the East End of the city.

Sister Mary Lawrence, who is now 82-years-old and battling some ill health, told The Clare People that she came from a family of seven. Three of her four sisters also joined convents, one in Texas, and one in Malta and one sister joined the Salesians in Limerick. A fourth sister became a nun and married in London.

Both of her brothers joined An Garda Síochana in Dublin. Her cousins continue to live in Sixmilebridge but her nieces and nephews live in other parts of the country and other countries.

Sister Mary Lawrence has dedicated her life to helping the youth of the London for more than 40 years.

Just over 45 years ago the parish priest of the area came to the convent asking for a club to be formed to help children, many of Irish decent, you were living in difficult circumstances.

The 11-Plus Club was formed and Sister Mary Lawrence was its leader for 41 years.

She eventually changed the name of the club to the St John Bosco Youth Club, named after the saint who dedicated his life to poor children.

The Clare nun has won many awards for her efforts over the years, and her latest accolade comes from a charity, which offers financial assistance to the club, to allow it to continue its vital work.

AN ENNIS woman admits she still fears for her family’s safety following the super typhoon that has devastated her native Philippines.

The family of café worker Vicky Garcia escaped harm when Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the Philippines on November 4.

Vicky says her village of Camburnan Tapaz, near the city of Roxas, was spared the effects of flooding but suffered destruction from the 300km an hour winds.

The village is home to 600 people and most of the buildings have been completely flattened. Four of Vicky’s sisters still live in the Philippines.

“They are all okay. No one died or was injured but they are very lucky. I was talking to them this morning and they still have no electricity and it is very hard to get food. You have to travel almost three hours to the nearest city for food,” explains Vicky,

Authorities estimate more than 3,900 people were killed when Typhoon Haiyan, one of the largest ever recorded made landfall in the central Philippines and the sea surged ashore.

Officials have estimated that up to 10,000 people have died in Tacloban city. More than nine million people have been affected with many struggling to survive without access to food, shelter and clean drinking water.

Vicky says, “We are lucky where we live, it is on higher ground, so we didn’t get the flooding. In our village nobody died but in the next village there were some people who died. We were just lucky. All of the buildings have been damaged. My school was destroyed. Two of my sister’s houses were damaged.”

Vicky lives in Ennis and has worked at the Snack Shack café in the town centre since moving to Ireland in 2004. One of her sisters lives in Ennis, two sisters live in Shannon and another lives in Cork.

Vicky has been in constant contact with her family and friends by phone and social media.

Amid fears that further storms could cause further destruction, Vicky says she is concerned about her family’s safety.

“There might be more storms. It is bad over there and we are still very worried for them,” she added.

A food drive for victims of the storm is underway in Shannon. People in and around the town are being asked to leave non-perisahable food and non-prescription medication to the collection point at the Skycourt Shopping Centre.

THERE are almost half the number of dogs entering the pound now as there was five years ago, and significantly less being put down thanks to voluntary re-homing schemes, an organised dog spaying system in the county and the use of social media.

That is according to Clare dog warden Frankie Coote, who said that approximately 1,200 dogs went through the pound last year compared to more than 2,000 half a decade ago.

He said Ennis dog pound gets a lot of help from a number of animal charities such as Rover Rescue in Ennis and Mandy Ellis in Kilkee who have taken hundreds of dogs between them to be re-housed abroad, usually Britain.

Shena Twist from North Clare has also taken dogs and re-housed them at home and abroad as well as providing the ISPAC with advice on donkeys and horses.

“If we lose their help we would go back to the bad old times,” he said.

He added that the local ISPCA have also re-housed dogs through a Facebook drive.

“It is very important to realise that not every dog that comes into Ennis Dog Pound is re-houseable,” he said.

He said that some dogs that come to the pound do so because they are very old and their owners have no way of disposing of them.

“There are approximately 100 dogs every year that are dangerous. They would have attacked livestock or people.

“We also find dogs on a regular basis that we have no history for so it would be very hard to put them in homes when we don’t know how they react with children for example.”

Mr Coote said that the ISPCA does not deal with horses and the control of horses is overseen by Clare County Council and the Gardaí.

CHARITIES and businesses in Ennis are set to benefit from a novel initiative aimed at encouraging people to shop local this Christmas.

The Charity Voucher Booklet is the brainchild of Ennis-based osteopath David Ghilardi.

The booklet features offers from almost 70 Ennis-based businesses and will be on sale in six charity outlets in the town: Clarecare, Caring for Carers (Carmody Street), Cahercalla Community Hospital, The Disabled People of Clare (Clon Road business park), Paw Pourri (Market) and the Irish Cancer Society (Woodquay, Ennis).

Half of the proceeds from the sale of the € 30 booklet will go towards the charities and organisations.

The vounchers can then be used at any of the local businesses that have offers in the booklet. David hopes the scheme can benefit both charities and businesses.

He explains, “I started working on this in July. I went around to the shops one by one. I might have missed a few charities but hopefully, if it goes well this year, we can extend it out next year. A lot of charities would already have campaigns and other projects specifically for Christmas.

“I think all the charities represented do fabulous work and I am proud to be working with them. There are 68 shops in the booklet, with over 100 vouchers. I would hope it would encourage people to shop in the town and spent money locally this Christmas. Businesses give something to help charities and the charities sell the booklets to support the shops. It’s a circle,” David adds.

The booklets are on sale in the six charities from November 12 to December 31. The vouchers can be used up until October 31, 2014.

David said the idea for supporting local good causes was sparked by the upcoming 10th anniversary of the opening of his osteopath clinic.

“I’ve been in Ennis for 10 years and I thought this might be a way of giving something back. The town has been very good to me and my family”, explains David who is originally from France.

The former Avenue United soccer player is hoping the booklet will bring a boost to charities and businesses this year.

GARDAÍ in Shannon say they have not received any reports of bank accounts being illegally accessed following the discovery of a skimming device at a town centre ATM last month.

Gardaí were alerted after the insertion of the skimming device set off an internal alarm in the machine.

Gardaí have not received any reports of bank accounts being hit as the device may have been discov- ered before it was put to use.

It comes as a man in Ennis saw almost € 300 illegally removed from his account at the start of the month.

The man was informed by two banks – AIB and Bank of Ireland – that money from his accounts was used for a series of online transactions. Not all of the transactions were successful.

The amounts, which varied from € 10 to € 30, were used to purchase products from Apple’s iTunes website and Hostelworld.

The banks detected the series of “unusual transactions” which took place on a Sunday morning. The man was waiting to hear from the bank last night to know if his debit card accounts had been illegally accessed online or through other means. The man’s sister, who also lives in Ennis, also was also the victim of a recent similar fraud.

“It was from two separate accounts. The bank got in touch with me to say they had noticed a few unusual transactions on my account. They’ve said I’m going to be re- funded so I’m going to be talking to them,” he explained.

Cash machines in Limerick and Galway have recently been targeted in an ATM scam.

Gardaí in Shannon discovered a skimming device at a town centre cash point on October 11 but have received no reports so far of accounts being affected.

In August, the Irish Payment Services Organisation reported that almost € 30,000 had been stolen through an ATM scam in a single week.