Category: News

A SPECTACULAR new exhibition tracking the last 10 years of life in Ennistymon will be officially launched at the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon later this month. The exhibition, which is entitled “Ennistymon: Vanishing Heritage” is a photographic exhibition presented by The Old Ennistymon Society which is itself celebrating its twenty first year in 2013.

The exhibition will give a fascinating insight into now disappeared buildings, daily activities of the inhabitants, and long forgotten businesses and crafts – indeed everything that contributed to the rich tapestry of life in a north Clare market town.

The Old Ennistymon Society was founded with Michael Comber in 1992 with the mission statement of “Preserving the Past for the Future”.

Local author Eddie Stack will officially launch “Ennistymon: Vanishing Heritage” on August 16 at 8pm and the exhibition will continue Sep- tember 12.

On Wednesday, August 21, at 8pm there will be a heritage discussion illustrated by the film “I Was Happy Here”, depicting many of the streets and buildings portrayed in the exhibition. On Thursday morning, August 22, at 11.30am there will be a town walk led by Frank Davis, Frances Madigan and John O’Loughlin.

A second exhibition entitled “Of Stones and Flowers” will run at the Red Couch Space in the gallery until September 12. The exhibition will include pen and ink iIllustrations and watercolours by Hilary Gilmore.

NORTH Clare commuters using the proposed Ballyvaughan Bay Hop ferry service to Galway could end up making massive savings on their weekly commuting bill.

The service, which will launch on a trail basis on September 2, will offer weekly commuter tickets to and from Galway for just over € 40. These tickets, which will be offered to commuters using a promotion code during the trail, match the regular commuter ticket cost under the Government’s tax saver commuter scheme, which could be accessed should the service be made permanent.

This would result in large savings for Burren commuters compared to the weekly petrol bill to and from Galway – while the service also offers to reduce the commute time by as much as two hours every day.

“We have had a handful of tickets sold already which is good considering we are three weeks before the trial starts. There is a lot of support from locals – both people who want to use the service themselves and people offering discounts to tourists coming over from Galway,” said or- ganiser, Gwen Ryan.

“A lot of local shops are offering discounts to people who show their tickets, for example Burren Bikes are offering a special rate for people who travel over on the boat and want to rent a bike for the day.

“I started this project in order to give myself and other commuters a reliable service from the Burren into Galway. Our weekly commuter ticket will cost € 80 but we have also launched an early bird ticket on the trial which will mimic the savings which would be made by commuters under the tax saver scheme if this was to become a full time service. That would roughly half the price of the weekly ticket.”

This Ballyvaughan Bay Hop trial will every day excluding Sunday from September 2 to 13 and an official launch will take place on August 25. Liam O’Brien, of O’Brien Line will operate the service on behalf of the community in a 12 passenger hard-cabin rib.

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark is supporting this Ballyvaughan Bay Hop trial service with financial assistance from the TransTourism Project.

Tickets are on sale from www.ballyvaughanbayhop.org

IT WAS birthday celebration on the double for the newly-crowned Rose of Clare this weekend, as she was named the over all winner of the contest on the eve of her 23rd birthday.

Una Dowling who represented Kildare at the 34th annual CooraclareCree contest beat off strong competition from 16 other contestants from all over Clare, Australia and England, hours before her birthday.

The Kildare woman has strong Cooraclare-Cree heritage as her mother Eileen Chambers comes from Dromelihy.

Una, the daughter of Eileen and Christy Dowling, grew up in Castledermot, Kildare.

She is a third year student at Mater Dei Institute of Education, where she studies English and religion.

Una wasn’t the only festival success on Friday night, as local man Pat McMahon was named Overall Escort following a vote by all the roses.

The popular engineer won them over with his quick wit and charm, and no doubt with tales of his charity work with the Niall Mellon Trust.

THE famous Kilfenora Céilí Band will lead an audacious attempt to bring a new Guinness World Record back to Clare later this month.

The band will lead an attempt on Sunday, August 25, to set the world record for the largest Irish band ever to play a tune. Amateur and professional musicians are invited to make the trip to Kilfenora on the day and help the Clare village set a new world record. Officials from the Guinness Book of Records will be in Kilfenora for the event and 250 musicians will be needed to set the world first.

“We want to get as many musicians as we possibly can in Kilfenora for the day and if we can get 250 or more to play then we will have set a world record,” said one of the organisers, Gerard Linnane.

“The attempt will be led by the Kilfenora Céilí Band who will come on stage at 3.30pm. We will have rows of chairs set up for the musicians in the square and the hope is that enough musicians will turn up on the day to help make it a reality.

“Anyone who is aged 12 years or older can take part and all that the need to know is how to play the famous Kilfenora Jig. There will be music in the village all afternoon and we will get a rehearsal in with everyone who is taking part before the main vent.”

Anyone who wants to take part can register in Kilfenora on the day be tween 12 noon and 2.30pm. Volunteers will also be collecting money for Kilfenora Senior Citizens and The Irish Cancer Society at the event.

More information is available from www.largestirishband.ie or by ringing Gerard Linnane on 065 7088157.

THE Bishop of Inis Cathaigh (Scattery Island) and Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn in New York Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano has apologised to the people of Kilrush for pulling out of plans to celebrate Mass on the monastic island at the 11th hour.

The bishop was forced to change his plans to celebrate the Mass last weekend due to financial constraints, both in his own budget and the budget of the local authority in Clare.

The bishop, who holds the ancient title of Bishop of Scattery Island since his ordination in August 2006, accepted an invitation from Kilrush Town Council and the local committee Comóradh Sheanáin Naofa to celebrate the annual Mass on the year of the Gathering.

In July his secretary wrote to Kilrush Town Council asking if the bishop would be reimbursed for his travel expenses.

The council members agreed that they did not have the funds to cover the costs, and did not usually cover any costs of visiting dignitaries to the town.

The bishop then contacted the town clerk John Corry just weeks before the Mass expressing his regret that he could not visit Kilrush due to budgetary issues.

“In the reply that I received from Most Rev Caggianos office regarding his visit to Ireland it appears that the cost of the trip to Kilrush appeared to be the problem,” Mr Corry told The Clare People .

“His offices indicated that because of the limited travel funds in their budget, they determined that it was not feasible for the Bishop to travel to Ireland for the Mass. They estimated the cost of this trip at $1,800 and with the bishop previously scheduled to participate in the Youth 2000 Summer Festival in mid-August, an additional cost like this would off-set their expenses.

“They expressed their sincerest apologies for the short notice and change in plans,” said Mr Corry.

Chairperson of Comóradh Sheanáin Naofa Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF), who first proposed the invitation to the council, said the group were disappointed that the bishop could not attend the special Mass.

Had he been able to make the trip he would have been the first Bishop of Scattery in living memory to visit the sixth century settlement.

“I understand why the county could not afford the bill, especially at such times of constraint. Maybe he might be able to come in the future.”

Cllr Prendeville said that other than the disappointment of not having Bishop Caggiano in attendance, the Mass and weekend of visits to the island was a huge success.

A DISTRESSED mother has told how she relied on the kindness of strangers who were themselves at the mercy of the health services, as she waited more than three hours to have her two-year-old daughter’s head injury assessed.

The long wait at the University Hospital Limerick’s Emergency Department (ED) began at 6.45pm on Tuesday.

The little girl had received a bang to the head earlier that evening after a gate swung back on her. The family travelled to the only hospital in the region permitted to take injured children under the age of five to have the head injury examined and treated.

After a long wait to see a nurse, the worried mother was less than satisfied when she was “asked how it happened, my name, my contact number and advised there were two people ahead of us and it would be approximately an hour before she would be seen”.

The little toddler was then sent back out to the waiting room with her wound open and uncovered.

“At 9.30pm, 2.45 hours later, I approached the reception desk at AandE and pleaded with the lady that she be reviewed as she was a child with a head injury. There were tears in my eyes by now,” said the upset mother.

“The lady behind the desk seemed surprised that she wasn’t reviewed and said she is a child who should be given priority,” she said, adding that she told her to go through to a room inside in the emergency department.

“I met a nurse there and I advised her that the lady in reception suggested I bring her in …. There was only one other patient in there at the time but the nurse advised I would have to leave and wait outside.”

Eventually more than three hours later she was called through to ED.

“During this time I stood with my child in my arms and tried to console her as much as I could. An elderly man on a stretcher bed actually got up and let her lie down on his bed for a few minutes so she could try and get comfortable. After a few minutes I felt bad for the man and moved her. Another woman gave me a chair.”

“When she was eventually called by the doctor at approximately 10pm she was extremely upset as she was tired, exhausted and sore. She got upset on entering the [examination] room and I tried to calm her down, she ran out and I followed her, as she was scared of what was going on. As I left the doctor shouted after me ‘you answer my questions and the nurse will go after her’. I kept walking after my daughter but I could hear a nurse saying to him the child needs her mother.

“I eventually calmed her down, with the help of a lovely woman who gave her some chocolate from her hand bag. The doctor approached us and asked if she was okay now and I advised yes – she understands what will happen, to which he replied, good I will see another patient and I will be back. I could not believe this, neither could patients or people in the area that witnessed it. My daughter is two and a half years old, had been waiting in a strange place for over three hours for a doctor and she got scared. She is only a child. I find it absolutely unacceptable that my daughter had to wait over three hours for a doctor to assess her head injury,” said her tired mother.

She paid tribute to the other patients who helped her through the ordeal stating “They were people who cared more about me than the nurses and doctors.”

Since the episode in the ED the little girl was taken to her GP at the weekend, as the cut was badly infected. She is now on antibiotics for the infection.

THE dolphin human relationship in Clare may have got some bad publicity in recent weeks, but two striped dolphins are back swimming off the west coast of Clare thanks to a group of children.

The young heroes floated the two mammals, who had become beached on Thursday evening at the west end of Kilkee beach, before the emergency services has arrived.

The Kilkee unit of the Irish Coast Guard were dispatched to the beach following reports of the distressed dolphins trapped in shallow waters.

The unit had been on a training exercise nearby at the time.

The call out came at around 7.30pm but the coast guard arrived just in time to see the dolphin swim away, after it was helped out of shallow rock pools.

A spokesperson for the coast guard told The Clare People , “By the time we got there a few local lads had floated the dolphins back out. Apparently it happens regularly enough.”

Members of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group also arrived at the beach shortly after the rescue.

It is believed that there were as many as four dolphins in the area on the night in question.

The striped dolphin is more likely to become beached in shallow waters that the more confident bottlenose dolphin.

Dolphins are social, living in pods of up to a dozen individuals. In places with a high abundance of food, pods can merge temporarily, forming a superpod; such groupings may exceed 1,000 dolphins.

ONE of Ireland’s most acclaimed painters is eyeing a former barracks on the banks of the River Fergus as the location of a proposed new artistin-residence project.

Ennis man and award winning artist Mick O’Dea (RHA) is part of a local group proposing to convert old stables located near the Garda Station into an artist’s studio.

O’Dea believes the site is rich with potential and the project could attract the very best artists from around the world.

He says, “Ennis is one of the few towns in Ireland without a studio or even a proper exhibition space. There is one in Glór, but that’s more of an annex, its part of the building. Ennis doesn’t have a dedicated space. It would be an interesting thing to happen for the town.

O’Dea adds, “Those buildings and that area from Steele’s Rock down by the river are what makes the town, I think. Can you imagine if that was a car-park or if those buildings were gone? They are amazing buildings and you have these stories that go with that area. It’s a good opportunity to get artists into the middle of Ennis.” It has been suggested that some of the work produced by artists using the studio would be gifted to local museums or local authorities.

O’Dea is currently working on a proposal document for Ennis based on artist in residence schemes from around the world.

He says the cost of transforming the stables into a working studio would be “minimal”. O’Dea says Ennis should also exploit its twinning arrangements with other towns and cities to bring artists from around the world to the town.

“We’re twinned with enough of towns. There must be artists in these places who would relish coming to Ennis.”O’Dea was part of a group of local people including Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn who recently visited the buildings.

Cllr Flynn is hoping that the Office of Public Works (OPW), who are currently carrying out major flood relief works on the river, will repair slates and the guttering of the building while scaffolding is in the water.

He says the artist-in-residence project could be the next step in promoting cultural tourism through a so-called Abbey Quarter, based around the town’s historic Franciscan Abbey.

“You’re talking about the best in international talent. Anything that would bring more culture into the town would be great.”

Cllr Flynn is also proposing that the OPW develop walkways and cycle paths along the Fergus in order to connect Ennis and Clarecastle.

A NEW York woman who spat at a flight on attendant on a transatlantic flight has been ordered to pay a fine of € 500.

The captain of a Delta Airlines flight was forced to divert the plane to Shannon Airport last week after passenger Marianne Thatcher (30) became difficult and aggressive, Ennis District Court was told on Thursday.

Ms Thatcher, with an address at 1257 Park Avenue, Apartment 3, New York City, pleaded guilty to three charges arising out of a drink fuelled incident aboard a Delta Airlines flight in the early hours of August 1.

She pleaded guilty to engaging in behaviour likely to cause annoyance or offence to any person on board the aircraft; being intoxicated to such an extent that might endanger herself or persons on board; engaging in behaviour of threatening and or abusive nature with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.

All offences are contrary to the Air Navigation and Transport Act.

The court heard that Ms Thatcher came to the attention of flight attendants four hours into the flight from New York’s JKF Airport to Athens.

The court heard that Ms Thatcher was drinking wine and became abusive towards staff.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said flight attendants offered Ms Thatcher a glass of water and some food.

“Ms Thatcher reacted badly and effectively demanded more wine,” he added.

The court heard Ms Thatcher was brought to a vacant seat at the rear of the plane.

Insp Kennedy said she spat at a flight attendant after being asked to sit down. She was restrained using plastic handcuffs.

He added, “The State will say she was intoxicated. Her behaviour was very aggressive.”

He said the episode lasted 30 minutes.

A total of 270 passengers and 13 crew were on board at the time.

The court heard the captain made the decision to divert to Shannon when the plane was 250km off the Irish coast.

Ms Thatcher was met by gardai at Shannon Airport and placed into custody. She has no previous convictions.

The court heard Ms Thatcher, who holds dual American and Greek citizenship, comes from a respected family and studied liberal arts and ceramics in college.

She previously worked in a Paris art gallery but returned to New York to care for her sick father.

Defence solicitor Catriona Carmody said her client suffered from depression and developed problems with alcohol following her father’s death.

She said Ms Thatcher was “terrified” to be in court.

Ms Carmody said her client had a drink at the airport and a few more on the plane and doesn’t remember anything about the incident on the flight..

“She is incredibly embarrassed about what happened.

“She feels she has brought terrible shame on herself and her family,” Ms Carmody added.

Passing sentence, Judge Aeneas McCarthy said passengers had been very much inconvenienced by Ms Thatcher’s behaviour.

“This is a clearly a serious matter. This airplane had to be diverted,” he added.

He imposed a € 500 fine with one month to pay and 10 days in prison in default.

Ms Carmody said the fine would be paid within 24 hours.

Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

THE NUMBER of people signing on the live register in Clare has risen for the second straight month with 9,849 people signing on in the county in July.

This second straight rise comes after an extended period of good news on the live register – with the number signing on in May of this year at its lowest level in almost five years.

This last two months have come as a blow to the county – with hopes having been high that an end to the recession might have been in sight, although seasonal facts may have affected the figures.

The recent increase has been driven largely by increase in the Ennis area where the numbers signing on have risen by almost 250 people since May. Over the same period however, the numbers in the Ennistymon area have continued to drop. A total 1,404 people signed on in Ennistymon in July, the lowest number since June of 2009.

It is unclear whether this two-speed live register in the county is being driven by an increase in employment in the North Clare area as a possible result of a recovery in the tourism industry or by prolonged emigration from the area.