Category: News

THE majority of teenage girls in Clare are now availing of the cervical cancer vaccination programme introduced in 2010.

A total of 88.9 per cent of first year students in Clare secondary schools have received the three vaccines as part of the human papillomavirus vaccination (HPV) programme, which ensures Clare is well above the HSE target of 80 per cent up take.

Overall, the figures show that 680 girls received the vaccine doses in the 2012/2013 academic year.

The vaccine protects against seven out of 10 cervical cancers, so health expert maintain that it is still important for girls to have regular smear tests when they are adults.

Critics of the vaccine programme maintain that it does not go far enough as it only targets 50 per cent of the population, even though the sexually transmitted infection that can lead to cervical cancer affects 80 per cent of the population both male and female.

As well as contributing to cervical cancer, HPV also contributes to rare cancers such as penile cancer and anal cancer in men.

Meanwhile 42,000 girls have benefited from the vaccine nationwide last year.

Labour TD Michael McNamara said he was glad the vaccine has been so well received in the county.

“It goes a long way towards ensuring our young girls are effectively immunised against the causes of cervical cancer.

“While we don’t have any com- prehensive data in Ireland yet as to the effectiveness of the HPV programme, we do know that in Denmark, where it has been widely used since 2007, there has been a 50 per cent reduction in pre-cancers, which are required to develop cervical cancer,” he said.

The 2014/2015 HPV programme will see the number of doses reduced from three to two doses, as new data has shown that two doses are just as effective as three. In addition, a Meningococcal C (Men C) booster is being introduced this year for first year boys and girls. The booster is recommended because immunity from the vaccine routinely given to babies can wane over time, so this provides additional protection.

As many as 250 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and 80 women die from the disease.

BLINGING up the chairpersons of two of the county council’s new districts is estimated to cost just under € 20,000.

Both the chair of the Ennis Municipal District, who will be referred to as Mayor of Ennis, and the chair of the Shannon Municipal District, who will be known as Cathaoirleach of the area, will both get a shinny new chain of office.

The councillors of the West Clare Municipal District and the Killaloe Municipal District have opted, in principal, to work without a chain of office, with the West Clare councillors suggesting they borrow the “county mayoral chain” for any official busi- ness that may require it.

The councillors in the west have not completely ruled out a new chain however as they await official confirmation that their colleagues in the east will also remain chainless.

It is understood that the Killaloe area councillors voted to do without a chain, which would ensure just two of the four municipal districts will have a chain.

A spokesperson for Clare County Council said that while the Shannon Area has not to date acquired its new chain, Ennis has footed a € 9,471 bill for the jewellery. This is a once in a generation cost however, he maintained. Ennis Town Council was abolished on June 1.

“The chains of office in use had the words Ennis Town Council inscribed on the medallion together with the Mayors of the Town Council over the years. The chains are an important emblem of office and together with the chains of other town authorities will be displayed here in Áras Contae an Chláir reflecting the history of the times,” said the council spokesperson.

“With the creation of a new municipal district titled Ennis Municipal District and most importantly the area being authorised to retain the title of mayor – the only area of the county now permitted to use that title – it was necessary to obtain a new chain of of fice. A procurement process was undertaken and the project was awarded to a local jeweller. The total cost involved, including VAT, was € 9,471.”

“The acquisition of a chain arises once in a generation or when a change in structures such as that which took place in June last comes into effect. It is important that the first citizen of the Municipal District can represent the area at formal and other ceremonies with the emblems of office that are associated with the mayoral function,” he added.

On Tuesday the councillors of the West Clare area agreed that a separate chain of office would not be required to represent their area, if the Killaloe district was in agreement.

Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) proposed that the chair did not require a chain. “I am sure the county cathaoirleach of the day would deputise someone from the area [for special occasions in West Clare] and that would allow the chain to be present.”

The current chair Cllr PJ Kelly’s (FF) suggestion that the councillors could break the retired Kilrush Town Council chain out of the display in the Town Hall was met with strong opposition from the other members.

Cllr Kelly said that while he personally does not want a chain he suggested, “we will see what East Clare do. We don’t want to be caught off side. I suggest we agree to defer.”

Meetings Administrator, West Clare Municipal District, John Corry said, “My understanding is that East Clare will not have one.”

“We will confirm that and it will make it easy for us,” said the father of the council.

Meanwhile the former town council chains of Ennis, Kilrush, Shannon and Kilkee are to be put on display in their respective towns.

CLARE County Council have no responsibility for Cregg Beach, in Lahinch. According to senior executive engineer Cyril Feeney, the only ac- cess to the beach is through private lands, making any potential public repair work there difficult for the council. Last month Cllr Bill Slattery (FG) asked that the local authority clean up the beach by pulling back the stones and gravel after the January storm to allow access for the general public onto the beach. He was told that the beach in question is not a beach routinely maintained by Clare County Council and is also situated on private property. Since then Mr Feeney has confirmed two registered landowners adjacent to the beach, with no public right of way recorded. “Where we have registered owners we should not or could not go in to do work,” he said. “So Clare County Council has no responsibility for Cregg beach?” Cllr Slattery asked at the West Clare Municipal District meeting. “Not that I am aware of,” replied the engineer. “I am not saying it is a private beach but that we have no presence there. “We would have to go through private land to access the beach,” he said. The local councillor maintained that; “For hundreds of years locals had gone up and took gravel and sand and seaweed from the beach.” It was suggested by some councillors that perhaps the work could be complete if the landowners would give permission for access.

SHANNON Airport’s strong revival continues according to figures released by the Irish Aviation Authority, which show a 27 per cent increase in flights from this time last year.

With an average of 71 flights dai- ly during the month of August the number is significantly up on the same month last year.

According to the figures, August saw 1,835 flights in Irish airspace, including approximately 700 flights at the three main airports – Shannon, Cork and Dublin.

Dublin is also continuing its steady climb with 528 daily movements up 2.6 per cent in August.

Cork figures were down however with a total of 63 flights using Cork each day in August and to date the airport traffic is down 3.7 per cent on August 2013.

The overall figure for Irish airports increased by 5.2 per cent in August over the same month last year, with Shannon’s success impacting significantly on that number.

The summer season saw strong growth in flights using Irish airspace, with air traffic up 6.5 per cent in August on 2013. North Atlantic traffic mirrored this trend with a 7.3 per cent increase on 2013.

THE community of Ballyea was plunged into mourning last week following the death of father of five Gerard O’Connell.

Mr O’Connell died following a farm accident in Ballyea last week.

Just before 10pm on Wednesday night, Gardaí and emergency services were called to a farm in Ballyea where the 57 year old was fatally injured in an incident, believed to have involved a tractor and trailer.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, which was sealed off.

The Health and Safety Authority were informed of the incident and an investigation commenced when a HSA inspector visited the site on Thursday.

It is understood the deceased was loading cattle into the trailer at around 7pm when the accident occurred.

His body was later discovered at the scene by a family member.

One local described Mr O’Connell as an “absolute gentleman”.

“It’s an awful thing to happen. He was a lovely man, a hard worker and an absolute gentleman.”

Mr O’Connell’s son Gearóid is a member of the Clare U21 hurling side that will play in the All-Ireland final against Wexford on Saturday. Another son, Paddy, is also well known club hurler and footballer.

The tragedy is the second to take place on a farm in Clare in a fortnight.

On August 20, a 38-year-old single man died while he was fitting a wheel to a vehicle near his home in Liscannor.

The chairman of the Clare IFA, Andrew Dundas, expressed his condolences to the O’Connell family on their tragic loss.

“This was certainly a very sad case,” he said.

Mr Dundas said farm safety has been at the top of the IFA’s agenda in recent months.

Mr Dundas said it is important farm families get together and compile a safety audit of their farm and farm practices to identify areas that may be of concern.

Mr Dundas said the association is also concerned by the growing number of farmers who are working longer hours in order to earn a living.

“Certainly that is something that we are hearing again and again. People feel that they have to work longer and longer. Very few people can make a living directly from farming so you find people are working a lot longer,” he explained.

THE late Jim White has been recalled as a “dynamic and generous man” who made an “immense” contribution to the tourism industry in Clare.

The former Fine Gael TD and businessman passed away aged 76 last Tuesday. Originally from Donegal, he has a long association with the hotel industry in Clare.

He purchased the Hydro Hotel in Lisdoonvarna in the mid-seventies, which laid the foundations for what is now known as White’s Hotel Group, comprising the King Thomond, the Burren Castle Hotel and the Imperial Hotel. The Group also runs hotels in Donegal and Kerry.

Chairman of Lisdoonvarna Fáilte Ltd, Paddy Dunne, said Mr White was an “extremely popular and wellrespected man who will be greatly missed both at home in Donegal and here in North Clare”.

He continued, “Since the 1970s Jim’s contribution to the promotion of tourism in Lisdoonvarna has been immense. The White family’s investment in the town created, and continues to create, much needed employment in the local area. Indeed from the moment Jim arrived in Lisdoonvarna, following the purchase of the Hydro Hotel and the Moher Inn, which is now the Burren Castle Hotel, he employed locals. Initially during the renovation of the hotels he employed local trades people and then subsequently hotel staff.

“There are not many families in Lisdoonvarna who haven’t had at least one member employed at one of the White’s hotels. Jim was a dynamic and generous man who will be remembered fondly, particularly in September when the hotels are full and Lisdoonvarna really comes alive to the sounds of music and dancing,” Mr Dunne said. “Lisdoonvarna Fáilte would like to extend their sympathies to Jim’s family, in particular to his son, Marcus, who is a great supporter of Lisdoonvarna.”

Taoiseach Enda Kenny also paid tribute to Mr White, “a man of enormous positivity and generosity with huge credibility in the area of tourism and business”.

Mr Kenny continued, “In particular, his hard work led to an increase in tourism – spend in the north west of Ireland. He was a man of enormous popularity in Donegal and the North West in general and even managed to head the poll against Neill Blaney in a general election.”

Mr Kenny added, “I would like to extend on my own behalf and on behalf of the Fine Gael party my sincere condolences to all his family, especially his children Caroline, Bettina, Marcus, Sinead, James Jr, Megan and Mitchell. I called to see him only last Sunday in the Mater hospital where I met and spoke with his family as Jim approached his last days.”

IT HAS been billed in the national media as the Irish celebrity wedding of the year, but the people of Kilrush were not allowed into their own church during the cermony.

One hundred plus people gathered in Kilrush to see Xposé presenter and former model Glinda Gilson marry Rob McNaughton on Saturday afternoon.

The group of onlookers were just as interested in the guests as they were the blushing bride.

While there was excitement as the celebrity guests gathered, some local people were annoyed that they were not permitted to enter their own parish church by private security guards during the wedding.

Two men wearing black suits and earpieces were on hand to stop photographers and locals stepping inside the gates.

However those gathered made the most of the celeb spotting.

A firm favourite among a group of women that gathered outside St Senan’s Church in Kilrush was X-Factor judge Louis Walsh.

The Mayo man posed happily with his west Clare fans ahead of the nuptials of the 33-year-old television presenter to her partner of three years, Dublin businessman Mr McNaughton.

Wearing an ivory € 10,000 Vera Wang dress with a sweetheartshaped bodice and layers of silk, Ms Gilson was 36 minutes late for the ceremony.

The local crowd were happy enough to wait however spotting celebrities such as Boyzone member and actor Keith Duffy and his wife Lisa, actor Liam Cunningham, models Alison Canavan and Gail Kaneswaran, model and actress Vivienne Connolly, TV presenter Louise Loughman, and celebrity chef Dylan McGrath arriving at the church.

The Xposé presenter finally arrived and posed for photographs inside a car before stepping out to cheers and whistles

The happy couple and guests later travelled to Donald Trump’s Doonbeg resort for their reception.

Ms Gilson is not the first celebrity to be married in Clare in recent times.

Last December, Sterephonics lead singer Kelly Jones wed MTV Journalist Jakki Healy in the same church and also held their reception at Doonbeg.

Meanwhile, in August 2009, Andrea Corr married Brett Desmond in Miltown Malbay. They also had their reception in Doonbeg.

A LOCAL man who advocates for one of the country’s largest suicide prevention services has paid tribute to the generosity of Clare people.

Tom McEvoy said support given by people in the Banner County is a key reason why Pieta House has been able to expand its services in the West and throughout Ireland.

“Clare people are unbelievable at supporting Pieta,” he said.

Mr McEvoy continued, “We had a great darts night there recently in the Grove Bar in Roslevan, run by Kieran Reidy. I’d like to publicly thank him very much for doing that for his huge efforts. It was huge success. There was nearly € 2,300 raised. For Pieta, that will go straight into therapeutic hours in Limerick. They are helping fellow Clare people down the line.”

Mr McEvoy said the support shown by Clare people to helping Pieta House provide support and coun seling to services to vulnerable people.

“The vision for Pieta is that we are looking to have a Pieta House within 100km of every person in the country. We opened four new centres last year: Roscrea, Cork, Galway, Tuam and Castleisland,” he said.

“That opened a huge part of the country to Pieta. What we are after now is to cover the North West, Donegal. We’re actually calling to people up there. I’m doing a lot of work up there. We’re also talking actively in Waterford where those areas are devoid of any help that we can offer. We’re planning to have those centres up and running. They are fantastic goals and achievable because of the community following we have.”

Mr McEvoy was speaking as new figures show a 44 per cent rise in the number of Clare people that sought help from the Pieta House centre in Limerick during the first six months of 2014, compared to the same period last year. He said greater awareness of suicide and the issues around is enabling more and more people to come forward to seek help for their problems.

“That can be down to people’s confidence and confidentiality. There can be a sense of pride as well; sometimes they wish to remain anonymous in the area where they come. We’re obviously trying to lift the stigma of suicide. Hopefully in time to come people will attend from the localities along with the surrounding areas,” he said.

Pieta House provides a professional, one-to-one therapeutic service for those who are experiencing suicidal ideation or engaging in self-harm.

A GROUP of Clare festival-goers had a lucky escape at the weekend when their tent was almost set ablaze.

The incident occurred at the Electric Picnic music festival in Stradbally in Laois in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The four friends, who are all from Ennis, were staying right beside the tent that burst into flames at around 5am in the Pink Moon campsite.

They were rushed from the tent by other festival goers as the flames threatened to set it alight.

A couple asleep in the tent were hospitalised after suffering serious burn injuries as a result of the blaze.

None of the four Clare people – Ross Finn, Grainne Fitzpatrick, Laura Conlon and Alan Costin were injured. It is understood the fire was started by a candle, which was knocked over inside the tent. Some aerosol cans in the tent exploded causing some panic in the immediate vicinity. Gardaí were not treating the fire as suspicious.

THE amount of Government money allocated to Clare County Council for social housing has nosedived in recent years – at the same time as the need for that social housing has soared in the county, with Ennis worst hit. According to figures obtained by The Clare People , the Department of the Environment allocated just € 6.7 million to social housing projects in Clare in the four years from 2010 to 2013.

This represents a drop of more than 85 per cent on the € 46.9 million allocated by the department in the four previous years – between 2006 and 2009. While the county was in the middle of an economic boom in 2007, the Government allocated € 11.5m to build social housing in Clare. However, in 2012 when the construction and property markets in Clare were at the lowest ebb Clare County Council received just € 839,925 to provide social housing for the needy.

The number of people on the social housing waiting list in Clare has grown from 2,312 in October of 2012 to 3,066 in July 2014.

This housing crisis has meant dramatically rising rents are forcing low income families to the brink – with rent allowance no longer enough to cover rent.

According to the Clare Citizens Information Centre, the organisation has dealt with at least two Clare people in recent months who have been made homeless because their rent allowance does not cover rising rents. As of September 1, there were only 48 properties for rent in Ennis – with 400 the number needed in an area the size of Ennis.