Category: News

AS MANY as 2,830 Clare students will sit state exams this week.

A total of 1,313 Clare teenagers and some more mature students have registered to sit the Leaving Cert exam.

Thirty one more girls than boys will take part in this final state secondary school exam in Clare, as 667 females are officially registers and 646 males.

Another 76 students from the county have already sat year long as- sessments and completed projects as part of the Leaving Cert Applied. As many as 47 boys have taken part in this exam compared to 29 girls in the county.

Another 1,441 Clare students will sit their first ever state exam this week, as 690 girls are signed up to sit the Junior Certificate exam and 751 boys. The number of male participants in the Junior Cert outweighs the female students, while the opposite is the case in the Leaving Cert.

Nationally for the 2013 examinations, 53,749 candidates are entered for the Leaving Certificate examination,

2,853 candidates for the final year examinations in the Leaving Certificate Applied and 60,243 candidates for the Junior Certificate examination.

And for those students who like to torture themselves by pouring over the exam they have just completed or for eager fifth and second year students, this year all written examination papers will be published on the state exam website on the evening that the examination is completed.

Leaving Certificate will only have to wait until Wednesday, August 14, to learn their fate, as the results will be available from 12 noon on that day for Leaving Certificate candidates.

Junior Certificate results will be issued in mid-September and the online results service will be available from 4pm on that day for Junior Certificate candidates.

Some spiritual intervention is also being offered around the county on the morning of the first exam, with a special Mass taking place in Churches like St Senan’s in Kilrush.

WHEN it came to designing the new Ennis constituency it wasn’t exactly rocket science; the boundary committee took the current local electoral areas of Ennis East and Ennis West and stuck them together.

“The committee is recommending a configuration that would provide for a local electoral area for Ennis that would include its hinterland,” the report said.

It added that in making the recommendations it was also mindful of the position of Ennis as the county town with a town council.

This town council will of course be absorbed up by the new Ennis Electoral Area leaving nine redundant town councillors, and nine county councillors (five from Ennis East and Four from Ennis West) vying for eight seats.

Most of the 33,010 people in this area live in the urban area of Ennis town, but rural areas such as Kilnamona, Quin, Doora and Templemaley will also be looking to have their say in this highly populated, low geographically spread area.

There will be a ratio of 4,126 people to every local representative elected to this area. ENNIS

IT IS hoped that a new directory featuring information on a range of services available to homeless people in Clare, will help to prevent the death of another person on the county’s streets and combat the growing number of people forced “to live rough”.

Josef Pavelka died on the streets of Ennis last month having come to public attention for sleeping in the county town’s public toilets.

The Clare Homelessness Alliance (CHA), which was launched in early 2012, is now making available a directory of services, while also launching a five-year action plan to combat homelessness in Clare.

The new Directory of Services has been produced by CHA member agencies including the Society of St Vincent de Paul, HSE, the Department of Social Protection, Clarecare, An Garda Síochána, Mid-West Simon Community, Clare Probation Services, Clare Haven Services, Clare County Council, and Kilrush and Ennis Town Councils, and is available from any of these organisations.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy, Chair of Clare County Council’s Housing and Cultural Services SPC (Strategic Policy Committee), said that homelessness in the county has been on the increase in recent years.

“The plight of the homeless and the need to ensure that every effort is made to redress the problem was highlighted in recent weeks as a result of the tragic death of a homeless person in Ennis,” she said.

“The agencies involved in providing services for homeless persons came together last year as they recognised the growing need to address the issue of homelessness in a coherent manner. The directory is the initial outcome of this coordinated approach and sets out information in relation to services and supports available to homeless persons, including necessary contact details.

“During the next month, the CHA will be publishing its Draft five-year action plan to deliver on the objectives of the mid-west regional homelessness action plan 2013-2018. The CHA will continue to provide a forum for the sharing of information and development of awareness of issues and services impacting on the homeless. Its members will also promote best practice in service delivery and provides essential links between services providers,” Ms McCarthy added.

THE new West Clare area will be the largest local election constituency in the county, almost mimicking in size a small county such as Louth.

The eight new councillors will represent 34,449 people spanning an area from Kilballyowen on the tip of the Loophead peninsula to Gleninagh on the constituency’s most northerly point.

The 96 kilometre-long local electoral area was designed by merging the current Kilrush area and part of the Ennistymon Electoral Area.

This new area will also absorb not one, but two, town councils, Kilrush and Kilkee – coastal towns with very distinctive identities who looked af- ter their own needs for more than 120 years.

In its report the Boundary Committee said, “It is proposed that there would be a local electoral area covering the western side of the county along the Atlantic seaboard to be titled West Clare. This would include the towns of Kilkee, Kilrush, Lahinch and Ennistymon.” Despite having a number of urban centres to base the name of this new constituency on, as it the preferred option, West Clare like West Mayo and Cork is unique.

“In a few cases the committee felt it more appropriate to recommend names that reflect a wider local community identity attaching to a geographic location. This situation arose, for example, in the case of the recommended new local electoral areas of West Clare, West Cork and West Mayo.”

It is hoped that this all encompassing name will merge all these very cultural distinctive areas, which have been traditionally considered North and West Clare.

To cover this vast area the eight new councillors will require a quick study of new towns, villages and parishes and a reliable car.

Each councillor will represent an average of 4,306 people. WEST CLARE

CLARE students are among those participating in a pilot drugs education project that highlights the dangers of solvent abuse.

Seven secondary schools in the mid-west, including a number in Clare, have taken part in the workshop series, which is aimed at both parents and teenagers.

The workshops provide information on the dangers of alcohol, cannabis and solvent misuse.

The programme, developed by the HSE and the Mid West Regional Drugs Taskforce, was piloted in the mid-west from January to May.

Dr Sancha Power, HSE post primary substance use education worker, explains, “We specifically target second year students in secondary system. The reason for that is they are the moat at risk. They are not the newbies and they are not third years doing exams. All the education research carried out in Ireland shows that if a child is going to disengage from education, it’s that year. A lot of the drugs research would show that if kids disengage with school, that’s when they are most at risk of getting involved in substance abuse.”

Dr Power said the number of children misusing solvents has grown in recent years.

“We only look at alcohol, cannabis and solvents. Solvents are on the rise. Aerosol cans, lighter fluid, petrol. It’s gone back to 1980s when there was a lot of glue sniffing. It’s cheap, it’s available, it’s affordable. It’s everywhere you look. Some of the parents would ask us why are you teaching us about it when we are looking at 14/15 year olds. We have to keep an eye out for it because it’s so affordable. Markers are another big one. They are back on the rise.”

The programme is due to be rolled out last this year. Dr Power is encouraging Clare schools to get involved.

She said, “We have had huge positive results. Parents have thoroughly enjoyed it and the confidence they got from it. The teachers are really positive about it. They feel that it is really supporting the work they are doing and primarily that’s what we are doing. We are not trying to replace teachers. This is a supplementary programme that directly links what they are doing in classrooms to the homes.”

She added, “If there are schools out there and they want to get involved, please ring us.”

COUNCILLORS at Ennis Town Council will next month decide if they want to follow the lead set up Clare County Council last year and impose a ban on fracking or hydraulic fracturing.

A motion will be put to the local authority’s June meeting by Cllr Brian Meaney (FF). The former Green Party councillor is hopeful that a second local authority vote will put pressure on the Minister of Communications and Energy, Pat Rabbitte (LAB), not to grant a fracking license to Energi Oil – a UK-based company who are exploring fracking options in Doonbeg and the Clare Basin.

“We welcome any occasion at which the issue of fracking is raised. We welcome that people are made aware of the dangers of fracking, and we welcome particularly the fact that, if successfully passed this motion will be forwarded to the other town councils in Clare and nationally,” said a spokesperson from Fracking Free Clare.

Any ban on fracking imposed by Clare County Council or Ennis Town Council has little or no actual legal standing. The decision to grant or refuse permission to frack is a reserved function of the Department of Energy.

The department are currently awaiting a report on the possible impacts of fracking, which is being carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA report is not due until mid-2014 and any proposed fracking in Clare will not start until late 2014 at the earliest.

Fracking involves injecting large amount of water and other liquids into underground shale rock at high pressures. This action shatters, or fracks, the rocks which release trapped natural gas. The biggest environmental threat from fracking is that the water and other chemical will enter the ground water.

NORTH Clare is set to become the world’s biggest film set in 2014 with two massive Hollywood blockbusters – with a combined budget of more than € 200 million – likely to film in the Burren.

The team behind the new Star Wars film are currently in discussion with the Irish Film Board (IFB) about filming in Ireland with the Burren mentioned as a possible site while it was confirmed over the weekend that a € 80 million on the life of Brian Boru will be shot in-part at the Cliffs of Moher.

The biopic, which is based on the graphic novel ‘Freedom within the Heart’ confirmed that some battle scenes will be shot at the Cliffs – but no other location has yet been confirmed. The bulk of filming could take place at Brian Boru’s traditional stronghold at Killaloe.

Director of the Cliffs of Moher Experience, Katherine Webster, said that the film could be a major boost for the North Clare Tourism.

“We would love to see parts of the Boru movie shot at the Cliffs of Moher and we know from experience how movie locations can help promote a tourism destination,” she said.

“We see the positive effect from a promotional perspective of the Cliffs being a location for Hollywood movies like ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’ and ‘The Princess Bride’ as well as Irishmade movies like ‘Into the West’ and ‘Hear My Song’. Hopeful the Boru movie will be the next big blockbuster to be filmed in County Clare.”

Meanwhile, Star Wars director JJ Abrams is currently in negotiations with the Irish Film Board about bringing some filming for the new Star Wars film to Ireland.

Abrams, who wife Katie McGrath is of Irish descent, spend a holiday along the Irish coast in 2011. The couple spent time in North Clare, as well as Donegal and Sligo and it is understood that these three areas are in a possible short-list for filming.

“The Irish Film Board, working with Trina Vargo of the US-Ireland Alliance, has been in discussions with JJ Abrams and his team at Bad Robot about filming a number of projects on their slate in the Republic of Ireland,” said IFM chief executive, James Hickey.

“We have provided them with briefings about Ireland’s tax incentive Section 481, our accessible locations, world-class crew and production companies.”

It is understood that original Star Wars cast members Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher will have roles in the new film.

CARS are being continuously broken into and vandalised at Clare’s most popular tourist beach because of a lack of basic security measures at a local authority car park.

This is despite a historic commitment made by Clare County Council to invest all money raised from parking charges at Lahinch in the local area.

The local authority took in more than € 600,000 in parking charges in Lahinch between 2009 and 2011, and Cllr Bill Slattery (FG) yesterday accused the local authority of not investing the money in the local area – specifically the local authority car park on the Liscannor Road.

“There is rubbish been dumped there every night, cars and being vandalised, windows are being broken and items are being stolen from these cars. I think that this [proposed changing the car park] would actually make the council money – as more cars would be able to park there,” said Cllr Slattery.

“Between 2009 to 2011 we took in € 613,000 in car parks in Lahinch. I can’t understand where this money is going. There was an agreement that this funding would be ring fenced. I don’t think that this money is going back into Lahinch at all.”

Clare County Council yesterday indicated that they would consider the proposal to upgrade the Liscannor Road car park.

“The figure mentioned [€ 613,000] is a gross figure but there are costs and expenses to come out of that, but there is a net balance of fund [from the car park charges],” said Niall Moroney, Senior Engineer at Clare County Council.

“We can look at this in the context of a plan, which is currently being prepared for the car park. It would certainly be possible to source funding for a project like this. There is a question of quantums to be addressed- we need to figure out what this will actually cost.”

THE owner of the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis says he expects the business to be fully back in action by Wednesday evening. A temporary closure was needed on Thursday last when a pipe was cracked during refurbishment work. A limited food menu is still available at the Old Ground while bar and accommodation services are running as normal.

In a statement, the hotel said an issue was identified with part of the drainage system of the hotel following a recent refurbishment of the ladies bathrooms.

The statement added, “As a precau- tionary measure, the hotel has taken the decision to temporarily close our main kitchen and we are working in conjunction with our local health authorities towards a speedy resolution of the problem.”

The hotel also apologized to customers for any inconvenience caused. The Old Ground Hotel employs 126 people.

Speaking yesterday, hotel owner Allen Flynn thanked the community and local businesses for the “avalanche of support” given to the hotel in recent days.

Mr Flynn said, “The industry that we are in is in very difficult times at the minute and to have this problem occur just coming into summer isn’t easy. But I suppose if anything has come out of it, it is truly the support of the local community and businesses since the problem arose.

“Truly we have received an avalanche of support from what I would have called competitors – I now call them friends – The Temple Gate Hotel, the Madden Family, Dromoland and especially St Flannan’s College who were more than willing to provide us with kitchen facilities over the weekend.

“They said they were willing to help somebody who does an extra special job of creating as much local employment as possible. It’s great to see support like that coming back to the hotel.”

He added, “We were doing a refurbishment of our ladies bathroom here. We were trying to solve a water issue that we had, we actually ended up cracking pipes underneath and that caused a problem with our drainage. Our drainage experts are back in with us and we’re trying to get all that sorted.”

Mr Flynn said, “At the moment we have a limited menu for food but the bar and accommodation is still running as normal.

“It was wonderful to see again over the weekend the atmosphere that could only be created in a place like Ennis with the Fleadh, with setdancing in the lobby until the wee hours.”

IT MAY have been a ‘school night’ but that did not stop the people of Loophead partying last night (Monday), as they gathered in the Longdock Bar in Carrigaholt to celebrate Loop Head peninsula being named Best Place to Holiday in Ireland.

Kilbaha woman Ailish Connolly was one of the many excited people delighted to see this area of west Clare get national recognition.

“I really can’t believe it. I was out dolphin watching on Saturday and I got a call saying they [‘The Irish Times’ sponsor] wanted to take a photograph. I got all excited but then was told that they were taking photos of all five finalists. I just kept telling myself we didn’t win, but coming in the top five was great,” she laughed.

Kevin Heapes of Pure Camping based in Querrin had spent Sunday night checking the web to see if an announcement had been made.

A win would have been a huge endorsement of the work carried out to date by Loophead Tourism, a group of local private businesses who, with the support of the Clare Local Development Company (Leader) and Clare County Council, got together to market the peninsula for sustainable tourism.

Of the 90 businesses on Loophead, as many as 45 are part of Loophead Tourism. And all 45 are in some way involved in the tourism industry.

Maps and information is published locally on recycled paper, the plaques for each building are designed and produced locally and all marketing and design work is produced locally, feeding back into the local economy.

“None of this would be possible without Leader. We would not have been able to pull it all together and market it,” said Ms Connolly.

“There are five businesses that want to get started in the next 12 months on the Loop and that cannot happen without Leader support,” she added.

Meanwhile Cillian Murphy, Chairman of Loophead Tourism said that with the company’s support sig nificant work had been undertaken during the past four to five years in establishing a community-wide approach to tourism development across the Peninsula.

“As a result of this, we have seen many members of the community establish their own tourism-based initiatives that are complemented by the supports being made available by other established local businesses, the Loophead Tourism network, Clare County Council, Clare Local Development Company (CLDC) and Fáilte Ireland,” he said.

“Loophead excelled in this competition not only because it possesses a rich variety of visitor attractions and activities and one of some of Ireland’s most unique scenery, but also because it matched the competition criteria that were very much focused on community, sustainability and the quality of the tourism product on offer. This reflects a shift within the tourism sector to visitors looking for a genuine and organic holiday experience, which is something that Loophead offers in abundance.”