Category: News

IT IS not so much the possible hotel rates as much as the commercial rates that are concerning one possible bidder for an Ennis hotel that goes on sale at a basement price reserve this Friday.

An interested party in the sale of the Ashford Court Hotel on the Old Mill Road, Ennis, said commercial rates is a concern for most potential business owners.

According to the Valuation Office of Ireland, the commercial rate on the hotel to be sold as part of an auction of distressed properties, is set at € 185. The current rate set by Ennis Town Council is € 65.45 bringing the annual rate for this property to € 12,108.25.

The 27-bed Ashford Court Hotel is being sold on the instruction of receiver Kieran Wallace of KPMG at the Allsop Space auction in the Sherbourne Hotel, Dublin. Its reserve is not to exceed € 215,000.

Set on 0.072 hectares, the property will be sold with all contents to be included.

The Ennis hotel is not the only Clare property going under the ham- mer during the auction.

The Allsop Space auction will also feature the well-known Kilkee Bay Hotel.

The familiar landmark hotel on the Kilrush road into Kilkee will go to auction with a reserve not to exceed € 315,000.

A house in Mountshannon is also included among the 155 properties listed.

ENNIS’S bid to some day bring the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann back to the town has received the Presidential seal of approval.

Ennis lost out to Sligo as the host town for the 2014 event, missing out on an estimated € 20 million boost to the local economy.

It marked the third time in three years that Ennis has missed out on staging the country’s largest festival of traditional music, song and dance.

However, at an event in Ennis on Friday, President Michael D Higgins said he believes the town will host the event again.

He said, “I hope that you have every success. In Ennis you have a wonderful history in which you can showcase your distinctive heritage that is there.”

Asked later if he thought Ennis would make a good host town, President Higgins said, “Yes I do. One of the things you have to be ready for for the Fleadh Cheoil is the volume of people that come. Cavan used to be swamped. What’s good about it now is that it isn’t defined to just the competitive side of it. You have all sorts of competitions, art and other competitions. It’s a major influx of population and of course Ennis will be very good. The spirit of Mrs Crotty will be celebrating I’m sure.”

President Higgins also expressed his admiration for Ennis, the town where he attended secondary education.

He said, “I think the narrow lanes and streets of Ennis have a particular character of their own all in different ways, from the legal atmosphere that comes out of Bindon Street. I think Ennis has had an extraordinary history. It has a great history of resilience be it from the cholera epidemic of 1832 or the extraordinary losses of life from the famine of 1845 to 1848.”

He said Ennis also had a deserved reputation as a welcoming town.

He said, “Ennis could give lessons in inclusion to many, many places. The people that came of the planes in Shannon, often without the pro- tections of modern guarantees of law that we have now, they would stay overnight in Ennis. And then it would become a few weeks, and then a few months. There are so many of them. I spoke to the President of Chile and we spoke about the Chileans that came here. And that is how it should be. We have sent our people from Ireland all over the world and people have come to us. And what binds us all together is that respect for human dignity and particulary for migrants and people who may be in need of assistance and assurance.”

A PROPOSAL by Dublin City Council to extract water from Lough Derg has been described as a “disastrous plan for the River Shannon” by Clare’s councillors.

Cllr Pat Burke (FG) sought the support of the regions MEPs to prevent such a move at all costs.

“This would be a loss of water from this area and a loss of investment,” he said.

“It is being strongly promoted by the east coast TDs and MEPs and is a total disregard for those living outside the pale,” he said.

Cllr Burke said that areas around the lake, close to which he farms, have restrictions, as they are special areas of conservation (SAC).

“A neighbour was refused planning permission to build a house because it was in a SAC. So how can Dublin come down and put a pump on the shores of Lough Derg when a local farmer’s son cannot build a house on the family land?” he asked.

“We don’t trust them [DCC] when they say they will only take it at times of flooding.”

Pat “The Cope” Gallagher (FF) suggested that Dublin capture all its own “wasted water” before it looks elsewhere.

“I know from being the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount of water that is wasted every year through corrosive pipes,” he said.

Jim Higgins (FG) said that in 21 years times there would be a € 350 million litre of water shortage in Dublin.

“Let them sort it out themselves in terms of replacing corrosive pipes,” he added.

A LOCAL entrepreneur has launched a new competition aimed at showcasing the best of Clare to a worldwide audience. My Destination, the global travel resource powered by a community of local experts, is set to unleash travel’s ‘Biggest, Baddest, Bucket List’ and offer one lucky person the prize of a lifetime – a six-month, all-inclusive, blogging trip around the world to a minimum of 25 international destinations and $50,000 (USD) prize money on their return. The competition will be in partnership with a series of interna- tional associates including Hotels. com, Travelex and Viator. It closes on March 31.

Applicants must create a video application in English and up to three minutes in length telling about their favourite destination around the world, whether it’s where you live or a dream holiday destination.

The Clare branch of My Destination was set up by Ennis businessman Gerard Lynch. Gerard says the competition is a great chance to show off Clare in the year of the Gathering. He explained, “People from County Clare and the Shannon Region would surely love to know about this and even enter. And wouldn’t it be great if the winner was from Clare?

“Secondly, every video and written entry acts as an advert for Clare. One that can be shared, talked about and tweeted about for the duration of the competition and beyond. The shortlisted ‘top 10’ and the eventual winner’s videos are likely to be watched by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of potential tourists. What a great way to promote our region.”

He continued, “The winner gets to choose their own trip. However, at least 25 destinations that they choose have to be from the My Destination network, which includes County Clare.

“So, when we help them plan, if you are able to promote the competition, maybe through your web site and network, we will encourage them to come and see County Clare, so even more exposure can be had”.

He added, “There is a massive opportunity for Clare to gain incredible exposure to a worldwide audience through the campaign, especially with The Gathering also happening”.

Videos with completed application form and a travel blog-style entry can be uploaded to www.mydestination. com/bbb.

THE majority of GPs in Clare are signed up to be involved in primary care teams, although “one or two” remain outside the new HSE initiative.

At a special presentation into Primary Care Centres in Limerick last month, it was revealed that a number of GPs throughout the mid-west area were not taking part in the programme.

In Clare however the majority of GPs have signed up according to the programmes co-ordinator Alice McGinley.

The teams are made up of GPs, practice nurses and other health professionals who provide a single point of contact to the health system for a patient. There are 11 teams in Clare with the Westbury team coming under Limerick for convenience and access.

In rural areas these teams are often spread over a number of areas, with more urban areas striving to put all services under one roof.

Ennis is close to getting a Primary Care Centre for its four primary care teams, but it is yet unclear what GPs will relocate to the one stop shop.

Not all GPs that are signed up to the primary care teams are required to be under the same roof as the team of other health professionals, but they will attend team meetings every two weeks to discuss patients’ care.

Ms McGinley admitted that patients of GPs who are part of the primary care teams are likely to be streamlined into follow on services such as physiotherapy quicker than those outside the system, as their doctor will be working in a team environment directly with the professional.

She explained that prior to the formation of the primary care teams people over 65 years of age in Clare requiring physiotherapy were sent to St Joseph’s Hospital and those under 65 were sent to Ennis General Hospital. Under this new system patients will be referred directly to the physiotherapist in the community’s care team, irrespective of what age they are.

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NORTH Clare could soon become Ireland’s capital for civil partnerships, including same-sex couplings, following plans to create a centre for civil ceremonies in Doolin.

Documents have been lodged with Clare County Council for the development of a conference centre at Ballyvara House in Doolin where events, such as civil ceremonies could take place. The plans were lodged in the name of Lazarus Investments, a new company which is understood to have roots in the North Clare area.

With the development’s proximity to desirable wedding locations such as the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher, coupled with the shortage of registered locations for civil ceremonies in Clare and Ireland generally, it is thought that North Clare could prove a very attractive location for couples looking to tie-the-knot outside of the church.

Clare has already been identified as a hotspot for same-sex partnerships, with the Banner County having the second highest rate of same-sex civil partnerships in Ireland. According to figures released by the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), 15 Clare same-sex partnerships were awarded between January 2011 and the end of last year. Indeed, Clare has the second highest incidence of civil partnerships per head of population in Ireland, with only Dublin registering a higher rate of civil partnerships.

Despite these figures, only two same-sex civil partnerships have taken place on Clare soil, with no Clare locations registered to conduct civil partnerships until late last year.

According to Kilrush man and Director of GLEN, Brian Sheehan, the large uptake in civil partnerships will prove a stepping stone to full marriage for gay couples.

“It has been an incredible take-up in such a small space of time. I think once same-sex couples become more visible in Clare and other places, more and more people will see that a same-sex couple is no different from a heterosexual couple – this is people making a really profound commitment to each other,” said the West Clare man.

A decision is expected from the planners at Clare County Council on March 20.

LESS legal aid and more gardaí was proposed by Fine Gael councillor Tony Mulqueen at Friday’s adjourned meeting of the county council.

The Ennis-based councillor received the support of Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) from Shannon in his motion to “call on the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, TD, that free legal aid in criminal cases be given only once and that repeat offenders pay for their legal costs with their own money.”

“Widely known criminal and serial criminals are abusing the system day in day out,” said Cllr Mulqueen.

He added that many of these criminals have undeclared money and money hidden away in off shore accounts.

“The savings from such a move could be used for Garda recruitment,” he said.

“I think we need to strengthen up free legal aid. People are using and abusing the system,” added Cllr McCarthy.

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KILRUSH’S designation as host town for the 2013 National Famine Commemoration will be kickstarted in a big way this Tuesday as the ‘Famine in Clare Exhibition’ is formally opened in the West Clare capital.

The exhibition will be staged at Kilrush branch library, where it will be on display from now until the National Famine Commemoration on Sunday, May 12, which will be the highpoint of week-long events in the town.

The exhibition concentrates upon the famine in Clare (1845/52) and explores each Poor Law Union, its electoral divisions and workhouses.

Reports are included from those such as English Poor Law Commissioners and Relieving Officers, the Board of Guardians and Poor Law Inspectors.

Lists of names of those who died in the Kilrush and Ennistymon Workhouses will be displayed.

“This is an important part of the commemoration of the event,” said Paddy Waldron of the local Kilrush Historical Society, which was the prime mover in bringing the commemoration to Clare for the first time.

“The week itself will be a week of lectures and tours leading up to a commemoration ceremony on Sunday afternoon.

“It will bring what happened in Kilrush to national attention again. It will bring people with a history in that period to Kilrush.

“It will enable us to put up permanent memorials to some of the more tragic events of the period. It will hopefully engender an interest in history in the people of West Clare,” he added.

Among the memorials that will be put in place will be one to the victims of the Poulnasherry ferry tragedy of 1849 when 41 people drowned.

“They were turned away from the workhouse and were going home to the west and drowned. There should be some permanent marker on the shore that a terrible tragedy occurred there,” revealed Mr Waldron.

“What really happened to Kilrush town was that the people who were evicted anywhere from Quilty to Loophead to Kildysart all headed for the workhouse in the town. The town was swelled with the poor and the starving and the original workhouse was built for 800 and they ended up opening a total of six auxiliary workhouses and they were all overcrowded.

“There were 19,000 living in workhouses during the Famine and well over a quarter of them were in Kilrush at one time,” he added.

PARENTS from a North Clare primary school are to use online “crowd funding” to raise the € 2 million needed to build their new school.

A new organisation entitled Build Mol An Óige will be officially launched later this week, with the aim of convincing people all over the world to pledge € 1 or € 2 to help fund the construction of the Ennistymon school.

In recent years, crowd-funding has become a popular method for bands to raise money to fund recordings, with fans pledging donations before a record is made in return for receiving a copy of the finished project.

This is the first time, though, that crowd-funding has been used to fund the construction of a school in Ireland or for such an expensive project.

Mol An Óige is currently based in a temporary location between the Ennistymon Vocational School and the Falls Hotel.

They are on the current Department of Education waiting list but department funding for the project is at least five years away.

“We are on the list to be built even- tually but it could take years and years before any funding is made available. We have this beautiful new site and we would just like to move there.

“The outreach online and on the social media is huge. Two million euro is a lot of money but we are aiming to reach hundreds of millions of people through this project – and if a million people were convinced to donate € 2, then we’d have our school,” said Stuart Woolley of Build Mol An Óige.

“Many times, with crowd-surfing projects, people set themselves a funding target and, if they hit that target, they will go forward with the project, and if they don’t then the money goes back.

“We are not going that way – we are considering these small, charitable donations and we will make some progress on the school no matter how much money we receive.”

The funding project will be officially launched in Ennistymon this Friday when parents, teachers and students from Mol An Óige will walk through the town to the site of the new school, beside the Teach Ceoil at 12 noon.

For more information or to donate, visit www.buildmolanoige.org.

CRUSHEEN storyteller Eddie Lenihan will begin a new and unusual chapter in his career next month when he appears in one of the most underground Irish albums to be released in 2013.

Mr Lenihan, who captured the nation’s hearts with his 12-part RTÉ series ‘Ten Minute Tales’ in the 1980s, is to feature on a new album by London-based dark-ambient outfit ‘From The Bogs of Aughiska’.

The album, which is due for release on March 18, includes a nine-anda-half-minute-long track featuring samples of the Crusheen native over the dark and ominous instrumental of ‘From The Bogs of Aughiska’.

The track, which is entitled ‘An Seanchaí’, is the second song on the album and has already started to create a stir within the UK underground and dark-ambient communities.

‘From The Bogs of Aughiska’ is the brainchild of musician and record producer Conor Droney, also known as the Human Jigsaw.

Originally from Lisdoonvarna, where he was half of speedcore duo Drugzilla, he has been working in the record industry in London for nearly a decade.

“I remember Eddie performing in the Spa Wells in Lisdoonvarna when I was growing up and, when it comes to an Irish storyteller, there really isn’t anyone better,” he said.

“I found a piece of him telling a story on Youtube which was perfect for a piece of music I had written. So I wrote him a letter, expecting to hear nothing back, but I get this lovely letter back from him saying I was wel- come to use the piece and the whole thing just grew from there.

“His voice is great, it really brings the story he is telling to life. I mean, this track is over nine minutes long and once you get to the end of it, you just want to go back to the beginning and play it again and again.

“The reception has been great already – we’ve already had a few reviews back and they have all been very positive.”

Dark ambient music is a type of industrial music that features foreboding or discordant sound with usually no lyrics. The songs are typically around 10 minutes long and can often feature sampled speech.

Despite the alternative nature of the project, Eddie was happy to give it his blessing.

“I am always looking for new and different things and it is not a bad thing to try something that you’ve never tried before. Like next month, I’ve been invited to speak in Russia at the University of Moscow. If I can get a visa sorted, that will be an amazing experience – and something that I never thought would happen. So I think it’s better to try out something than not to try it at all,” he said.