Category: News

THE new Emergency Department for the mid-west region will not be open and ready for its first patient for at least another year and a half.

The region’s only 24-hour Accident and Emergency Department, the Mid West Regional Hospital, Limerick has on-going overcrowding issues as emergency cases from Clare and Nenagh are routed through the Limerick hospital.

Last April the HSE announced that 20 beds would be reopened in a bid to alleviate chronic overcrowding.

Patients from Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary had been subjected to long waits and hours on trolleys as staff struggled with patient numbers.

A spokesperson for the HSE said at the time;

“We are very much aware of the inadequacies of the present Emergency Department and construction has commenced on a new department which is expected to be operational in two years.”

Ann Doherty, CEO, Mid Western Regional Hospital Group now says that the new Emergency Department would be open and ready for occupation in late 2015.

“Construction has commenced for the new Emergency Department. The project is being delivered in two phases.

“Phase one is due for completion by end of March 2014. Phase two which is the ‘fit-out’ of the Emergency Department is due to commence in June 2014,” she said.

Meanwhile the five-storey critical care block development on the site of the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Dooradoyle will be officially opened once full services have moved in.

The cardiac services have already moved in to floors three and four. The first and second floors are currently being equipped and commissioned. Staff recruitment has also commenced.

No date for the opening had been released by the HSE however.

A CLARE artist will travel to the Kennedy Foundation in Boston with one of his three paintings of John F Kennedy’s visit to Ireland, just weeks after he sold a second for well over the asking price at auction and presented the third to the late American president’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy.

Michael Hanrahan, Lahinch, was inspired to paint the trilogy after reading Ryan Tubridy’s book on the 1963 presidential visit to Ireland.

Remembering his own sighting of John F Kennedy in Ireland, he wrote to Caroline Kennedy explaining that he was an artist in Clare, and a few weeks later he was sent archival images of Kennedy in Ireland from the Kennedy Foundation.

“I did three pictures, photographed them and sent the photos back to the foundation,” he said.

The foundation was impressed by the work and was particularly interest in the painting of Kennedy in Cork in 1963, so Mr Hanrahan offered it to them.

He will be flown by Aer Lingus to Boston in the coming weeks to present the painting to Tom Mc- Naught, CEO of the Kennedy Foundation, where the picture will be put on display.

Whytes Art auction then expressed interest in a second painting – Kennedy addressing the Dáil – and this was sold for € 2,500, with a guide of between € 1, 500 and € 2,000 on the piece. The buyer remains a mystery.

The third painting depicting John F Kennedy speaking at New Ross will be presented to Caroline Kennedy by New Ross Town Council when she visits Ireland to mark the 50th anniversary of the late president’s visit, on June 22.

Mr Hanrahan, a former bank manager, is no stranger to providing paintings to significant art collections.

His painting is the only one by a living Irish artist in the private collection of Queen Elizabeth II.

One of his paintings of Mary Mc Aleese is part of Aras an Uachtaran’s art collection, while another of his paintings of Barack Obama hangs in the White House following the American President’s visit to Ireland in 2011.

CLARE will have a contestant at this year’s Rose of Tralee for the first time in almost a decade as Newmarketon-Fergus live-wire Marie Donel- lan upset the odds to qualify for this year’s prestigious final. The 25-year-old wowed judges at the semi finals in Portlaoise on Sunday, claiming one of the six grand final slots reserved for Irish roses. “I can’t believe it. I really wanted to get through but it is really hard, especially for the Irish roses, to make it through. There were 29 Irish roses in Portlaoise and only six of them go through, so it is very hard,” she told The Clare People . “Once I got there and met all the girls I thought that I didn’t have a hope [of reaching the final], so I decided to really enjoy the few days. When they called out Clare last night I could not believe it. “It is really tough for Irish roses to make it – it was 2006 that Clare last had a rose in the final. Every year there are more and more international roses looking to take part so that means that there are less places for the Irish roses. It really is such an international competition now and I just can’t believe that I was one of the roses chosen.” Marie is a qualified accountant and working at Apple and she has just returned from a year travelling the world. “Being the Clare Rose was the real victory. That is when my dream came true. Even going to Portlaoise was a bonus, never mind getting to Tralee itself. No matter what happens, I’m the Clare Rose and that is really the things that matters most,” she continued. “But that said the emotions of getting through was something else. I was bawling all over the place when Clare was called out. I was that shocked.” The final of the Rose of Tralee will take place from August 14 to 20.

AND SO it begins. Since Phil Hogan announced a new structure to local government there has been a cold war of sorts over the local elections next summer.

The town councils were going to be dissolved, so there were potentially 36 new candidates with experience of elections already circling the county council seats.

It was also known that those county council seats would be fewer in number, the only question was by how much.

All was to be revealed in May, and on the second last day of the month all became clear.

There would be four constituencies or Local Electoral Areas in Clare as opposed to the six that are currently in place. The areas, particularly two, would be larger with fewer councillors to serve them as the county council membership is to be cut from 32 to 28 after the 2014 local election.

In total the number of local elected representatives in the county will drop from 68 (including town councillors) to 28. That is 40 elected representatives that will retire between now and next summer, or risk swimming in a much bigger shark infested pond.

Those overseeing the next election for the major parties know they have a busy few weeks ahead, but all agree that at least now they know what they are dealing with in terms of the boundary.

The “war” can begin – and nowhere is that more fierce than the battles within political parties.

Ask anyone in the world of politics, the most difficult part is not the election, but the selection process to make it on to a party ticket.

As well as the young guns already signing up and showing an interest, and other councillors changing party allegiances, the incumbents will also be concerned about the impact their party colleagues decision to re-run will have on their own chances of reelection.

There are significantly less seats, and this is even more of a concern when you include eager and in many cases accomplished town councillors in the race.

There will be a lot of soul searching during the coming weeks and months as councillors decide if there is a place for them in their newly-designed electoral area, and if a move to a new one would increase there chances of survival.

When surveyed by The Clare People in February, the majority of county councillors said they would contest the next election.

I would suspect there will be a number of minds changing with the changes to the boundary in the coming weeks, and the reality that two thirds of the town councillors have expressed an interest in the 2014 contest.

The major parties must now decid- ed strategies. Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have admitted that they will be drawing up strategic plans as soon as possible.

Conventions will need to be held soon, but a long summer ahead will probably postpone the majority until September at the earliest.

The independent candidates will also have a lot of soul searching to do. In many cases the area to canvass has become significantly larger, and the people behind the doors are no longer neighbours and friends. The added financial cost of this election must also be a consideration for independents as they have more area to cover and people to connect with.

Whatever decisions are made by councillors and potential candidates, there will be some interesting times ahead for political anoraks.

Let the 2014 games begin.

THE office of the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) says an investigation into the placement of a CCTV camera in a classroom of a Clare school is continuing.

The school installed the CCTV system recently and within days of their installation a complaint was received by the DPC.

The DPC asked the school to turn off the cameras pending the comple- tion of the investigation. The Clare People understands that the school have been in contact with the office of the DPC and urged them to reinstate the CCTV. The school’s Board of Management are dealing with the issue, it is understood.

A spokesperson for the DPC said the office could not comment on details of the investigation other than to say it is ongoing.

Within the complaint it is alleged that the school in question installed the CCTV cameras in classrooms without consulting parents of children in the school.

In a letter sent by the senior compliance officer of the DPC to the Chairperson of the Board of Management of the school, which has been seen by The Clare People , the officer stated the DPC “will not tolerate the use of CCTV cameras in the classroom”.

The letter stated that an investigation of the complaint is underway.

“The position of this office is that is it is not acceptable under the Data Protection Acts of 1988 and 2003, to have a CCTV camera operating in a classroom,” the compliance officer wrote.

The DPC asked the school to clarify four points as regards the CCTV cameras, namely the scope of the operation, why cameras were installed, what the school are doing with footage captured by the cameras and if there is any signage in the school outlining the purpose of the cameras.

The letter does not identify the complainant who brought the matter to the attention of the DPC.

A BOUNCER who broke the jaw of a West Clare man outside a pub in Ennis has had the charge against him dismissed.

Colin O’Donoghue (33) denied the charge of assault causing harm to Diarmaid Kelly (23) at Yolo Bar, Abbey Street in the early hours of March 11, 2012.

CCTV footage of the incident shown at Ennis District Court on Wednesday showed Mr O’Donoghue punching Mr Kelly in the face.

Mr O’Donoghue told the court that he lashed out because he feared for his life. Mr Kelly, the court heard, had earlier been ejected from the premises.

The court heard that after a 10minute period during which Mr Kelly demanded to be let back into the pub, he told Mr O’Donoghue;

“I’ve got something in my pocket for you. I’m going to cut your throat.”

Mr O’Donoghue, with an address at 19 Waterside, Cappahard, Ennis told the court that Mr Kelly was very drunk, kept cursing at him and banged his hand on the door behind the Mr O’Donoghue’s head.

Giving evidence, Mr O’Donoghue said, “I thought he had a knife or blade in his pocket. I wasn’t waiting to find out.”

The court heard that Mr Kelly contacted gardaí on March 14 to say that he “thought” he had been assaulted. He said he had received text messages from friends to say he had been assaulted.

Security officer Declan Flynn was working with Mr O’Donoghue on the night.

He told the court that Mr Kelly was very loud, aggressive and intoxicated. He said he heard Mr Kelly making the threat to cut Mr O’Donoghue’s throat.

After the punch was thrown, Mr Flynn attended to Mr Kelly.

He said he brought him a glass of iced water. He said Mr Kelly got back on his feet and walked away with a friend.

Mr Flynn added, “He seemed dazed and confused. I asked him if he needed an ambulance and he said he didn’t.”

Under cross-examination from defence solicitor John Casey, Mr Flynn said Mr O’Donoghue had a “non-aggressive” stance and kept his hands by his side while Mr Kelly demanded to be let in.

Mr O’Donoghue told gardaí that hit Mr Kelly to protect himself.

Staff from the nearby Queens nightclub and Front Bar gave evidence that Mr Kelly had earlier been ejected from the premises for being a nuisance and “squaring up to people.”

Mr O’Donoghue apologised for the injuries suffered by Mr Kelly. He claimed that Mr Kelly told him he would “get him and the pub.”

Mr O’Donoghue said Mr Kelly has passed the pub on several occasions since the incident, “making gun gestures.”

Under cross examination from Inspector Tom Kennedy, Mr O’Donoghue said he had never been assaulted in 14 years working as a doorman.

He added, “At the time I thought my life was in danger and I struck him.” Solicitor John Casey said his client “reacted in full defence of himself.”

He added; “This wasn’t a concentrated assault.

“It was one punch.”

Judge Aingeal Ní Chonduin dismissed the charge of assault against Mr O’Donoghue.

Mr Kelly, with an address at 6 Kilrush Road, Cooraclare, was convicted of provoking a breach of the peace arising out of the same incident. He denied the charge.

He has no previous convictions. Mr Kelly was ordered to pay € 300 to the court poor box within two months. Judge Ní Chonduin said;

“He was the author of his own misfortune, very clearly.”

A NEW form of calculating beach water standards has muddied the waters to such a degree that beaches with safe bathing water such as Miltown Malbay and Lahinch are losing their prestigious Blue Flags.

The Blue Flag in an international symbol to visitors that the beach is safe and the water clear, yet a calculation anomaly is leaving some of the county’s cleanest beaches without the flag, according to Clare County Council.

The local authority was informed by An Taisce and the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that the two County Clare beaches had lost their Blue Flags for 2013.

Environmental watchdog An Taisce admitted to The Clare People however that the water quality at both beaches is safe and clean, but said there was little that could be done to return the flags as an EU directive had to be followed.

Clare County Council has claimed a “mathematical anomaly” in a new system of evaluating the Republic of Ireland’s beaches this year has resulted in the Clare beaches losing their Blue Flag status.

Describing the bathing water quality at White Strand and Lahinch as “excellent”, Clare County Council suggested that the anomaly would have resulted in both locations retaining their Blue Flags had ‘greater levels of e-coli’ been discovered in the water at both locations.

According to Paul Moroney, Senior Engineer with Clare County Council, “Even by the newly-introduced Blue Flag standards, which are 2 to 2.5 times more stringent that the previous standards, both Lahinch and White Strand have excellent bathing water, as evidenced in the EPA report on Bathing Water Quality published earlier this month. However, a mathematical anomaly that arises when low single figure e-coli test results, generally signifying pristine water, are included in the calculations would now appear to have resulted in both bathing waters losing their Blue Flag status.

“The methodology for assessing water quality in determining eligibility for Blue Flag status is based on the EU Bathing Water Directive, which was transposed into Irish law in 2008. The directive has previously drawn criticism from international experts who claimed that in some circumstances application of the methodology to good results could actually result in failures, a scenario that has now presented itself in this year’s Blue Flag Awards in the case of some Clare bathing waters. Ultimately, Clare County Council believes that the new system of calculating the results which is currently utilised for the Blue Flag scheme is not adequately equipped to deal with clean waters and should be reviewed.”

A spokesperson from An Taisce told The Clare People “no one was saying anything negative about the water”. She said the watchdog had reported the issue to Blue Flag International, who in turn was reporting the issues to the EU.

“This is something we are aware of and are working on,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Blue Flag Awards have been retained by six other Clare bathing areas, namely Fanore, Kilkee, Cappa beach in Kilrush, White Strand (near Doonbeg), Ballycuggeran and Mountshannon.

A TEAM of paranormal investigators have finalised the report into their findings at Loop Head Lighthouse, and maintain there are ghosts at the lighthouse and surrounding buildings.

Modern day ghost buster Anthony Kerrigan of GhostEire said that the team have learnt specific information about a number of the 24 spirits – 14 men and 10 women – they contacted during their experiments which included the use of a lazar board dial that could be manipulated by spirits and a ouija board.

A lot of the “activity was detected” in the modern day light keeper’s cottage.

Mr Kerrigan reported that in the mess room “the initials W.G. for a name questioned and the year of ‘21’” were picked up using the laser board.

“Only did we find out a couple of weeks afterwards that a William Gordon worked at the Lighthouse around 1830 and a William Gardener pre 1860, other names that came through were ‘JEF’,” he said.

Upstairs in the cottage Mr Kerrigan said the team made contact with the spirit of a body washed up on the shore line in the 1940s.

The body had no head or arms, just a tattoo.

The paranormal investigator claimed that the spirit was an agent or spy.

“He was very secretive. The only name we got was the nickname Faz,” said Mr Kerrigan.

He added that spirits by the name of Michael and Trayloch detected in the lighthouse might have existed even before the building.

Dates were also detected during the investigation he explained, including the date March 3, 1916.

Mr Kerrigan believes this is re- sidual energy that refers back to the week before the Easter Rising, during which Eamonn Fennell of the Clare eighth brigade got information about Bristish boats along the coast from his brother who worked at the lighthouse.

Asked how he answers those sceptical of his work and findings, the founder of GhostEire said that he looks at all findings with a sceptical eye and that the team do not always find spirits or ghosts.

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.