Category: News

A MYSTERIOUS two metre-long, phallic-shaped object has been creating a stir in North Clare since it was discovered imbedded in sand on Lahinch beach on Sunday.

The object, which has already been christened the ‘Lahinch Langer’, appeared on the southern end of the beach and has been baffling locals and tourists alike.

The heavy object, which was discovered lodged in heavy sand, not too far from the 12th tee at Lahinch Gold Club, appeared to be covered with a mixture of shells and tentacles prompting speculation that it may be a previously unclassified species of sea animals.

The object was yesterday examined by Dr Eamon Doyle of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark, who determined that the object is in fact a collection of thousand a crustaceans known as Goose Barnacles.

Goose Barnacles are unlike other crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters. Instead of crawling along the sea bed, they attach themselves to floating materials and filter food from the water.

“It is difficult to tell what they are attached to because there are so many of them. Normally you might see them attached to a log or even a floating piece of plastic, but I have never seen them in these numbers before,” he said.

“They need moving water to wash through so they can feed, so they don’t move around like other crustaceans. They are relatively common but this is the first time that I have seen them in these number.”

A large number of the Goose Barnacles were still alive yesterday but unless the colony is returned to the sea soon they will all die.

“There was a lot of people stopping to look at them. Up until I arrived yesterday, I don’t think anyone really knew what it was. They there was a lot of people interested and taking photographs but I don’t think they realised that they were Goose Barnacles,” continued Dr Doyle.

“They are still alive at the moment but they won’t last for long if they are not re-floated. The way that the log is buried in the band it is hard to see how they would be released, even in high tide. It is hard to know how long the would last.”

CLARE County Library will be hoisting the flag for children’s books once again this October, offering a month-long festival of authors, illustrators, artists and storytellers designed to spark the imagination of young readers all over the county.

Activities will be running in all libraries, including readings by popular authors, art and craft workshops, space “exploration” and puppet making, giving Clare’s young people countless opportunities to explore a wide array of books.

The festival gets a head start this year with the return to Glór Theatre, Ennis, of one of the world’s best-selling children’s and teenage authors Darren Shan, on September 26. ‘Zom-B’ is his new epic series, launched in September 2012 with a new book publishing every three months. The Ennis Book Shop will join with the library to promote the event selling copies of Darren’s latest book and others in the series on the day.

The second of the library’s book festival events taking place in Glór, this time on October 1, is a storytelling extravaganza by the master of tales, Niall de Burca.

Raised in the West, he emigrated at a young age and lived for many years in New Zealand where he married into a large Maori family. Now living in Dublin, Niall travels worldwide, inspiring people of all ages with his traditional and original tales.

Bestselling author, Michael Smith, whose biography for younger readers, ‘Tom Crean – Iceman’, led to the story being incorporated into the schools’ national curriculum, will be visiting Kilrush and Kilkee Libraries.

Sports Journalist Ger Siggins will introduce young readers to his love of rugby through his book ‘Rugby Spirit’ published last year by O’Brien Press.

Anna Carey is also a journalist who has written for the ‘Irish Times’, ‘Irish Independent’ and many other publications. Her first book, ‘The Real Rebecca’, was published in 2011, and won the Senior Children’s Book prize at the Irish Book Awards. To the delight of many readers, Rebecca returned in the sequel ‘Rebecca’s Rules’ in 2012. ‘Rebecca Rocks’ is book number three in the series.

Full details on www.clarelibrary. ie of all CBF events here in County Clare in October.

CLARE County Council yesterday decided to transfer almost € 4 million worth of property to a new government agency being set to act like a NAMA for local authorities.

It emerged at yesterday’s North Clare Area Meeting of Clare County Council that the local authority paid in excess of € 3.5 million for two parcels of land in Ennistymon in 2007.

The land, which totalled around 10 acres, was earmarked for the development of social housing, but only of the fraction of the land at Glen North in Ennistymon was ever developed.

The council is due to start repaying the loan used to purchase the land next year and face a bill in excess of € 260,000 for each year between 2014 and and 2034.

Councillors, including Lahinchbased Bill Slattery (FG), raised questions about how the decision was first made to spend the € 3.6 million on the land.

“To be hit with these figures today is something else. We have a 91 per cent take up in property tax in this country, and we are now being asked to pay back this money [€ 260,000 per year],” he said.

“This all happened before I was a member of this council but I am annoyed that this was a reserved function of the council. The councillors should have known that this much money was being spent back in 2007.”

Councillors yesterday agreed that they had no choice but to transfer the land, which is now worth a fraction of its original cost, to the new agency agency.

“We don’t really have an option but to transfer this land. We now need to ensure that the community groups, who all had plans to develop something on the land in 2007, get a chance to fulfill their plans with this new group,” said Cllr Michael Hillery (FF).

“A lot of community groups submitted plans for this land and we need to ensure these proposal are forwarded to the new agency and are given preferential treatment.”

Once the properties are transferred to the new agency, any arm of the Government – including the HSE and the gardaí – can apply to the agency for the use of the land.

Locals have been campaigning for a playground and a home soccer pitch for Sporting Ennistymon for a number of years.

SCORES of families who have been living in the shadow of the Ballyduff beg Waste Management Facility in Inagh for almost two decades are finally to be directly compensated by Clare County Council.

Councillors at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council agreed to take a new approach to dispersing the final € 108,000 tranche of the facilities controversial community fund.

The fund, which was set up as a means of compensating the people in Inagh and Kilnamona for the inconvenience of the waste facility, has been a source of local conflict for more than a decade.

The new scheme will see the final tranche of funding being ring-fenced for the 54 houses who live within a 1.5 kilometre of the centre of the dump. These houses will be invited to submit applications for € 2,000 for projects which will have a positive environmental impact.

“The issues of people, who are closest to the landfall, has always been disregarded up to now. Funds were appointed to every corner of Inagh and Kilnamona who never had to look at, or to deal with the landfill. Their case has never been heard up to now,” said Cllr Joe Arkins (FG).

“There were proposals in the past about a new waste treatment plant and a wind turbine in that local area – and all of those proposals were pushed aside. I want it to be clear that this is open to any environmental project that could have an environmental benefit.

“It is high time that the people effected by this are to be compensated.”

A spokesperson from Clare County Council confirmed that the finding will not go outside the buffer zone. If any of the 54 households do not apply for a portion of the € 108,000 funding – a second tranche will be set up to disperse the remainder.

CLARE people seeking to tax thei r cars face long queues at Clare County Council this week, as the deadline for the end of “gapping” looms next Monday.

The local authority has recorded a 50 per cent increase in numbers us ing the tax office since July and are expecting very high volumes over the past seven days.

From September 30, motorists will no longer be able to retrospectively declare their cars “off the road” and will instead be liable for the full cost of their car tax, since it was last taxed.

When this process, which is known as gapping, comes to an end next week, motorists will have to declare their car off the road in advance – or face paying thei r motor tax in full.

“The complexities of the new legislation has caused some confusion amongst members of the public which has led to a significant increase in the numbers of people attending the County’s primary Motor Tax Office on the New Road in Ennis,” said Fiona Mooney of the Motor Tax Department Office.

“The surge in applications has caused waiting times in the Motor Tax Office to increase and has led to a backlog in processing postal applications. Customers can avoid or shorten queues in a number of ways, including opting to renew the tax on thei r vehicles online, a service that is operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week at www. motortax.ie.

“Anyone who doesn’t have their PIN number, can click ‘PIN retrieval’ on the website and take it from there. Customers wanting to lodge completed off the road declarations, where they are not taxing the vehicle, can simply drop them into the motor tax post box at the motor tax office at Aras an Contae. They don’t need to wait in the queue.”

The council’s motor tax depar tment advises that anyone wanting to tax a vehicle that has been off the road, to complete a RF100A form and have it signed and stamped at a Garda station.

If members of the public have a car which is is cur rently off the road, and will continue to be off the road after September 30, the must complete both a RF100A and a RF150 form. The RF 150 does not need to be signed and stamped at a Garda station.

More detailed are available at the Motor Tax Office or from www. clarecoco.ie.

FIREARMS, ammunition, balaclavas, explosive components, including detonators and paperwork have been seized following a discovery made in East Clare at the weekend.

Gardaí unearthed the haul from a wooded area in Meelick on Friday evening last. An army bomb disposal team was called to examine the area before it could be declared safe.

The items found were taken away for a forensic and technical examination. Gardaí made no arrests following the seizure and the investigation is ongoing.

The haul, which included a gun, multiple rounds of ammunition, items that could be used in the production of explosive devices and some papers, was accidentally discovered in Glenagross Wood, by a member of the public at around 8pm on Friday night last. The man in question was walking his dog when the cache was found. On being informed of the weapons find, gardaí cordoned off the area in question and an army bomb disposal team was sent to Meelick from Cork.

The unit carried out an initial inspection of the find and the nearby area before it was subsequently declared safe and that part of the wood was reopened to the public a number of hours later, after gardaí had carried out a number of searches in the area.

The firearms and explosives were removed for forensic examination. No arrests have yet been made in the wake of the discovery but it understood the haul is suspected to be related to dissident republican activity, according to Garda sources.

The haul included balaclavas and some CS gas containers as well as a number of ammunition magazines.

Gardaí are also examining the possibility that the discovery could be related to dissident republican and criminal activity in the Limerick City area, the weapons and materials being discovered just inside the Clare border.

Until a full forensic examination is made of the materials and firearm found in the Meelick wood, gardaí will not be able to comment on how long they think the arms cache was hidden in Glenagross Wood.

The wooded area is a popular one with walkers and members of the public are urged to report any suspicious activity they see in the area to their local Garda station.

CLARE could soon be celebrating a once in a thousand year religious occasion as the process has begun to make Liscannor man Thomas Cusack a saint.

The Korean Church has applied to the Holy See to begin the process which could one day lead to the Columban priest being beatified.

If he is successful, Fr Cusack would become Ireland’s fourth saint of the past thousand years; joining Cellach of Armagh, Saint Oliver Plunkett and Charles of Mount Argus.

Fr Cusack was killed by communist forced in Korean in 1950 and the Korean Church are seeking his beatification as a martyr.

The Liscannor man’s 15 years in Korea were marked by intense bravery and hardship. He refused to flee the county during the Japanese invasion in World War II and as a result spend a number of years in a brutal prisoner of war camp.

He again refused to leave the country when the Korean War erupted and was captured in 1950 by communist troops as they retreated north of the border following a battle on July 24, 1950.

Fr Cusack, along with a number of other Catholic priests, were martyred in “the massacre at Taejon Prison” with took place on September 24, 1950.

To mark the 80th anniversary of the arrival of the Columban in Korea in 1933, the Korean Church has put forward a number of priests martyred during the Korean War for sainthood.

According to Fr Malachy Smyth, who has recently completed a documentary on the Columban Fathers in Korea, Fr Cusack would most likely have been more concerned with the work on the ground than any future accolades.

“The Korean Church has started the process and we will have to wait and see what happens from here. I’m not too sure how long this will take but it could be a large number of years,” he said.

“We [the Columbans] are not the sort who look for sainthood. We are much more interested in the work amongst the grass roots.”

Father Cusack was born in Ballycotton in Liscannor on October 23, 1910. He was educated in Ballycotton National School before going on to St Mary’s College in Galway.

He entered the Columbans in 1928 and was ordained in 1934. The following year he was sent to Korea and at the time of his death he was serving in Columban mission in Mokpo.

At present Ireland boasts a total of 166 saints. The vast majority of these saints were lived during the fifth, sixth and seventh centuries for which Ireland was known as the Island of Saints and Scholars.

AN APPLICATION to build a major extension to an aircraft and helicopter leasing facility in Shannon has been ruled not to be of strategic importance by an Bord Pleanála.

The planning authority last week turned down an application from Westair Aviation to a have a 253 square metre extension of their Shannon hanger deemed to be a Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID).

If the company had succeeded in gaining SID status, it would then have been allowed to apply for planning directly to an Bord Pleanála – and not through Clare County Council. In addition to this, an Bord Pleanála would also have worked with the company to ensure that the planning process would be navigated as smoothly as possible.

Having failed to receive SID status the company must now apply directly to Clare County Council, should they decided to go ahead with the hanger extension. Any decision made by Clare County Council would then be open to an appeal to an Bord Pleanála, a process which could take a number of years to complete.

The proposed expansion would see Westair Aviation develop the large extension to the south side of their existing hangar, which currently forms part of their corporate jet hire centre.

Detailed plans for the proposed extension were not submitted to the planning authority but it was stated that the extended hangar would be not be higher than the existing structure and would accommodate larger aircraft. It was submitted that the use of the building would remain the same, just with an increased floor area. There is no indication from the submitted plans whether the expansion would have led to an increased workforce at the company.

In his report inspector Philip Green stated that the proposed development was too small to be considered a SID.

THE Shannon-based Eirtech Aviation has announced a major expansion, saying that it will growing “its global footprint”, following the news released on Monday that it will begin painting aircraft in the former Alitalia Paint hanger at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport.

The state-of-the-art hanger, which is used for the painting of wide-body aircraft, boasts four magic carpet platforms, suspended from the ceiling.

The magic carpets facilitate the preparation and painting of an aircraft without the need for docking, helping to reduce the time taken to prepare aircraft for painting.

The Rome facility brings Eirtech Aviation’s number of dedicated aircraft painting locations to four, with over 20,000 sq mtrs of hangarage.

Niall Cunningham, CEO of Eirtech Aviation, said, “Our expansion into Rome is the next phase in the company’s development, which is focused on being able to provide state-of-the-art services to clients in geographically advantageous loca- tions. Providing multiple location options for clients gives Eirtech Aviation a competitive advantage as moving aircraft for painting and maintenance can be a costly exercise.

“Ultimately however we are judged on our responsiveness, service provision and cost effectiveness and it’s heartening to see clients returning to us again and again. It’s an exciting day for the team as we launch our new hangar in Rome, which follows the launch of our facility in the Czech Republic in 2012.”

During 2012, Eirtech Aviation painted over 200 narrow and widebody commercial aircraft and clients include SAS, Qatar Airways, and Lufthansa to name a few. The expansion into the Rome facility, which can cater for all aircraft types and will further strengthen Eirtech’s wide-body capability.

Painting will commence in October following commissioning and handover.

Eirtech would like to acknowledge and thank Aeroporti di Roma for their assistance and look forward to continuing to work with them in future.

THE education officer for the Diocese of Killaloe has warned that continued cuts to education budgets is making the management of primary schools in Clare almost impossible.

Fr Gerry Kenny said it’s time to stop treating schools like businesses and again prioritise investment in education.

He was speaking in Ennis on Thursday night at a public meeting called by the Irish National Teacher’s Organisation (INTO) to highlight opposition to cuts to education spending in next month’s budget.

He said the cuts in capitation grants are seriously affecting the ability of volountary Boards of Management to run schools.

“Schools are being treated more and more like businesses. Most of you in boards of management will be familiar with water bills. We haven’t received it privately but in recent years the water rate bill has hit the schools and by golly is that an eyeopener,” he explained,

“We are charged for ESB and gas. It’s estimated that 1/3 of those bills are just the service charges that come to us even when the schools are closed. It’s becoming more and more difficult with the small pool of money that is being given in the capitation grants. On top of that the minor works grants have disappeared. That means there is often very little left to do essential works that often have to happen for the maintenance of the schools.”

Fr Kenny continued, “We have lived through austerity and I think on behalf of the pupils for whom we manage the schools, it’s time to say to our State, ‘You have to begin once again to prioritise investment in our schools.’”

Diocesan communications officer Fr Brendan Quinlivan told the meeting that by increasing class sizes and cutting school budgets, the Government is “storing up a whole lot of trouble for the future”.

He added, “We are effectively making enemies of our children because if we deprive them of the things that are most important – the opportunity to learn, grow and socialise, the opportunity to value who they are as individuals, the opportunity to achieve their full potential – if we deny them those things, all we will be doing is storing up resentment and anger in a society for the future.”