Category: News

CLARE’S flagship tourist attraction has been targeted by graffiti with the discovery of a large spray-painted mural on the rock of the Cliffs of Moher. A piece of graffiti, measuring roughly eight foot wide and six foot tall, has been discovered on a section of cliff close to Hag’s Head.

The graffiti is located outside of the main tourist centre at the Cliffs of Moher, on a portion of cliff just off the Cliffs Walking Coastal Walking Trail. The identity of the graffiti artist is unknown but he or she could face prosecution if discovered.

The graffiti artist would have had to climb onto a narrow walkway overlooking a sheer 500-foot drop in order to complete the mural.

Because of the porous nature of the sandstone rock which makes up the Cliffs of Moher, it may take years or even decades for the design to be weathered away.

“It’s a real pity that someone felt the need to express themselves in this way and negatively impact on other visitors’ enjoyment of the natural beauty of the area,” said Katherine Webster of the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience.

“It [the graffiti] appears to be towards Hag’s Head and off the marked coastal trail, as well as at some considerable distance from the visitor centre. This is well outside of the visitor centre land. The Atlantic wind, rain and sea spray will wear it away over time.

“The Cliffs of Moher are a Special Protected Area and it is possible that, if the person who did this could be identified, they might face action by the National Parks and Wildlife Service [NPWS]. But I imagine identifying them and proving they were the culprit would be a very difficult task.”

The graffiti was discovered by local photographer David Olsthoorn, who was in the area shooting seascapes when he discovered the graffiti.

“It’s not an easy spot to get to. It’s a good 15-minute walk on a zig-zag path down a cliff face. It is muddy and slippery so it’s certainly not the sort of place where you’d expect to see graffiti,” he said.

“It is totally out of place there. It looks like something that should be on an alleyway in a city and certain ly not on natural rock. Personally, I think it’s a good piece of art but I don’t think it’s in the right place. There could be much worse graffiti down there, there could be something totally stupid, but I still don’t think that this is the right setting for something like this.”

A MAN found selling quantities of alcohol from a car in Clarecastle has been told he is facing a four-month prison sentence. Kevin Maughan (21), with an address at 42B Lissadyra, Ballygaddy Road, Tuam, Galway, pleaded guilty last week to handling stolen property at Clarehill, Clarecastle on October 5. The case came before Ennis District Court on Thursday. Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that Gardaí found Mr. Maughan selling alcohol valued at € 539 from the boot of his car on the date in question.

Mr Maughan had 72 cans of Bulmers, 72 cans of Budweiser, 48 cans of Carlsberg, 48 cans of Guinness, two bottles of Huzzar vodka, one bottle of Tequilla, one bottle of liqueur, two bottles of Powers whiskey and cigarettes valued at € 132.

On hearing the “array” of alcohol discovered by gardaí, Judge Patrick Durcan said, it was “better than any you’d find in any cocktail bar in the county.” Insp Kennedy said Mr Maughan told gardaí he purchased the alcohol in Northern Ireland and intended to sell it in the South.

However the court heard that the accused later told gardaí that his wife bought the goods for € 160 from a man in a van in Crusheen. The court heard Mr Maughan has a number of previous convictions.

Defence solicitor Shiofra Hassett said her client suffered a serious head injury as a teenager and that the injury allied to a dependency on drugs had led Mr Maughan to make “very bad decisions.” She said Mr Maughan sold the alcohol because he was under pressure to pay off a drug debt.

She added, “He should not have done this. He is apologetic.”

Ms Hassett said Mr Maughan has taken steps to deal with his drug problems and is seeking employment. Judge Patrick Durcan said it that he had a four-month prison sentence in mind. He adjourned sentencing until April 3 to allow for a report from the probation services.

THREE men described by a Judge as being “armed to the hilt” outside a post office in Ennis last summer could have caused “huge injury and hurt”, a court has heard.

Details of the incident, which occurred at 11.30am at Bank Place, Ennis on June 6, 2012, were heard at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Michael Carr (22), with an address at Rose Cottage, Clarecastle and Martin Faulkner (23), with an address at Rose Cottage, Clarecastle were both charged with offences un der the firearms and offensive weapons act. Mr Carr pleaded guilty to the possession of a golf club intended by him unlawfully to cause injury to, incapacitate or intimidate a person.

Mr Faulkner pleaded guilty to possession of a timber bat intended by him unlawfully to cause injury to, incapacitate or intimidate a person.

A third man – Michael Mongans (23), with an address at Clarehill, Clarecastle, also appeared in court in connection with the incident at Bank Place. He pleaded guilty to possession of a machete.

Garda Trevor Shannon, of Ennis Garda Station, told the court that the three men became involved in a dispute between two other parties outside the post office.

The court heard the men had brought the weapons to intimidate another man who fled into the Bank of Ireland. The man did not sustain any injuries, the court heard.

Garda Shannon said the weapons were not recovered and the three accused men fled the scene.

The men were subsequently identified from CCTV footage of the area.

The court heard Mr Faulkner and Mr Carr have no previous convictions. Mr Mongans has previous convictions.

Solicitor for Mr Faulkner and Mr Carr, Daragh Hassett, said his clients had arrived at the “tail end of the dispute” and had been put under pressure to get involved.

He said Mr Carr is a “law abiding man” who had never been in trouble with the gardaí before. Mr Hassett said Mr Faulkner had never been to court before. He added, “He wishes to apologise profusely for his behaviour on the day.”

Solicitor Tara Godfrey said Michael Mongans’s attendance at the post office was “entirely coincidental.”

She told the court that her client suffers from depression and is the father of a seriously ill infant.

Judge Patrick Durcan said the people of Ennis had been confronted with the sight of three men actively involved with other third parties.

He said the timber bat and golf club were not for sporting purposes on the day while “there was no good purpose to have the machete.”

He said the three accused were “armed to the hilt” and could have caused “huge injury and hurt.”

Judge Durcan described the behaviour as “blaggardly”, “insolent” and “thuggish”. Noting Mr Faulkner and Mr Carr had shown a level of total cooperation with gardaí, he imposed 100-hour community service orders on each accused. Their cases were adjourned until March 20.

Of Mr Mongans, Judge Durcan said he had brought the most serious of the three weapons and the one that was most lethal. Mr Mongans was sentenced to six months in prison. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

GARDAÍ are appealing for information following an armed raid on an off-license in Kilkee last week.

A man carrying a knife entered the Next Door off-license, O’Curry Street, Kilkee on Monday, February 11. He threatened the lone member of staff to hand over the money.

Gardaí say he smashed a bottle of wine during the robbery in an effort to intimidate the staff.

He took the contents of the till and fled on foot. The incident occurred between 9.35pm and 9.45pm.

The man left the shop and turned left, staying on the left side of O’Curry Street and then onto Circular Road.

A garda spokesperson stated, “We are appealing for witnesses and any information concerning this robbery.”

Kilrush gardaí are investigating the matter. Kilrush Garda station can be contacted at 065 9080550.

Mayor of Kilkee, Cllr Claire Haugh (FF) said the incident has shocked residents of the quiet seaside town.

“We are all appalled. Our thoughts go out to the person who was working in the off-license on the night and was subjected to that horrific incident.

“It’s deplorable that, in this day and age, someone can go into a shop and threaten someone who is doing a day’s work. Kilkee is a lovely, quiet town. It’s a safe town. But unfortunately that didn’t apply last Monday night.”

Ms Haugh added, “At the end of the day, the fact that the person wasn’t hurt or injured is the only good thing that can be said.”

Ms Haugh believes the incident could have implications for the way businesses in rural areas operate.

“If you have a garage or a shop then something like this would make you think twice about opening late. It is horrendous that, in this country, if you are a business open at night, you can’t open in the comfort of knowing you are safe.”

Ms Haugh added, “You hear about things like this happening around the country but when it happens in your own town and to people you know, it’s a different story.”

GARDAÍ say investigations into prostitution in the Ennis area are ongoing following the arrest of two Romanian women in the Mill Road area of the town last Monday night.

The women were detained at Ennis Garda Station before being brought before Kilrush District Court on Tuesday morning.

Ann Maria Prisaca (19) and Anisoara Popa (25), both with addresses at 19 Millstream Court, Mill Road, Ennis, pleaded guilty to an offence contrary to the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences Act 1993).

The charge states that the women did knowingly live in whole or in part on the earnings of the prostitution of another person and aided and abetted that prostitution.

The charge states that the offence was committed at 19 Millstream Court, Mill Road, Ennis on February 11 (2013).

The women were each sentenced to 10 weeks in prison. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

Solicitor Patrick Moylan, who represented the women in court, said they had co-operated completely with the gardaí. He said the women had become involved in prostitution in order to get money to send home to their families who live in “dire poverty” in Romania.

Mr Moylan said it had been accepted that the money was not destined for a criminal organisation.

He said the women had been in Ireland for two weeks and are eager to return to Romania.

Speaking on Thursday, Inspector John Galvin of the Clare Garda Division confirmed the arrests are part of an ongoing investigation into prostitution in the Ennis area.

Last February, an RTÉ Prime Time Investigates programme focused attention on a brothel operating in the Mill Road area of Ennis.

Gardaí in Ennis confirmed at the time that the premises had been under investigation.

Garda sources told The Clare People at the time that brothel start-ups are not uncommon in Clare but that they close as quickly as they open.

Internet advertising and mobile phone technology means that brothels can be set up and dismantled within a couple of hours.

FRACKING may not be needed to extract the large reserve of natural gas from the Clare Basin.

In his first ever Irish interview on the subject, Nick Elwes of UK company Enegi-oil, told The Clare People that fracking is just one option being explored for the Clare gas reserve. Mr Elwes also confirmed that Enegi-oil will be applying for an exploration licence for the Clare Basic before the approaching deadline.

“We are aware of the opposition [to hydraulic fracturing or fracking]. As, when and if we get a licence, it is too early to say how we would drill it and whether we would frack,” he told The Clare People .

“We are in the process of applying for that [a exploration license]. We have an option over the area which, as you’ve seen in our announcement last year, showed the prospectively of it and we must apply for an exploration licence before the end of this month.

“It’s too early to confirm at this stage how we’re going to take it forward as we’ve only proved there is some prospective there. We are try- ing to get to the next stage, [which is] the exploration licence. I wouldn’t like to comment on alternative methods at this early stage.”

Hydraulic fracture or fracking is a controversial technique used to release the natural gas from rock. It involves pumping water and other liquids deep underground under high pressure to break shale rock and release natural gas trapped inside.

Opponents to fracking say it could contaminate ground water systems over a large area, especially in West Clare where the shale rock layer is unusually shallow.

A number of anti-fracking groups, including Clare Fracking Concerned, have formed in recent months. It is also unclear if fracking will create any local jobs if it is allowed to go ahead.

“It’s too early to say [how many jobs will be created]. I don’t mean to be difficult but, at this early stage, I wouldn’t like to comment on things like that. It depends on how the project progresses,” continued Mr Elwes.

Public submissions to the EPA regarding the use of fracking in Ireland must be sent by email on or before March 8, 2013. Tue19February13

TWO Kilrush brothers who beat a man with a golf club and stabbed him in the buttocks in the West Clare town two years ago have received prison sentences.

Daniel and Martin O’Brien were jailed last week for what a Judge described as a “concentrated effort” to assault the man at Place De Plouzone, Kilrush, in March 2011.

Daniel O’Brien (24) punched the man and stabbed him in the buttocks with a sharp object. Martin O’Brien (31) struck the victim four or five times with a golf club.

Ennis Circuit Criminal Court heard on Friday that the brothers assaulted the man over an alleged debt to Daniel O’Brien.

Daniel, with an address at The Square, Kilrush, and Martin, with an address at the Bungalow, Wood Road, Kilrush, initially denied the charge of assault causing harm at Place De Plouzone, Kilrush on March 1 (2011).

However the court heard that after the victim gave evidence at their trial in Ennis last October, the brothers changed their pleas to guilty.

The court heard that the man declined to give a victim impact report, indicating that he was satisfied with the evidence he had given.

Counsel for Daniel O’Brien, Brian McInerney BL, told the court that his client had been a chronic heroin addict at the time of the offence.

He said Mr O’Brien has since kicked his heroin habit and removed himself from the circle of people he had previously associated with.

Mr McInerney said his client, who is currently serving a prison sentence, has remained drug free while incarcerated.

He asked the court to consider suspending a portion of his client’s sentence.

Counsel for Martin O’Brien, Mark Nicholas, said his client had also been a drug user.

He said Mr O’Brien has since stablised his lifestyle.

Judge Gerard Keyes noted that Daniel has 23 previous convictions while Martin has 35 previous convictions.

He said the use of the golf club and sharp object showed the “viciousness” of the assault.

He said the man was “in essence beaten into submission.”

Judge Keyes added, “Neither of the two of you have shown remorse or offered an apology for your outra- geous behaviour.”

He said that on the evidence of Daniel O’Brien’s previous convictions, he had “displayed a violent temperament from an early age.”

Judge Keyes said Martin O’Brien had a propensity to violence.

He said that despite initially acting as peacemaker, Martin O’Brien turned violent and “viciously assaulted” the victim with a golf club.

Judge Keyes said he was satisfied the man had been seriously tramautised by the incident.

He sentenced Daniel O’Brien to three years in prison, suspending the final 14 months.

Judge Keyes sentenced Martin O’Brien to three years in prison, suspending the final 18 months.

Both men were also ordered to refrain from communicating with the victim.

TWO men who attempted to have an altered cheque lodged to a bank account in Ennis have received prison sentences.

Ondrej Pollak (23), with an address at 9A Dun na hInse, Ennis, and Peter Sivak (22), with an address at 311 Brookville, Drogheda, Louth, appeared before Ennis District Court last Wednesday.

They pleaded guilty to dishonestly by deception inducing a member of the bank’s staff to accept a fraudulently altered cheque in the amount of € 4800 to be paid to the Bank of Ireland held at Bank of Ireland, Bank Place, Ennis.

The incident occurred at Bank of Ireland, Dunleer, County Louth on May 24, 2012. Detective Garda Claire O’Shaughnessy said the cheque had been altered from its original amount of € 22.50 to € 4800.

The court heard that Ondrej Pollak supplied the account for which the altered cheque was intended while Peter Sivak lodged the cheque in Dunleer.

Both men claimed they had been approached by a man named Tony, to carry out the transaction.

Mr Pollak said Tony requested the use of the account as his own had expired. Mr Sivak said Tony asked him to lodge the cheque in Dunleer.

Both men told gardaí that Tony agreed to pay them each € 100.

Det O’Shaughnessy told the court that gardaí did not find anyone named Tony connected with the case. She said that the accused claimed Tony was either from South Africa or Nigeria. Bank of Ireland discovered the deception and contacted gardaí. No money was removed from the account. Solicitor for Mr Pollak, John Casey, told the court that his client has lived in Ireland since he was 11. He said CCTV captured Mr Pollak checking his balance at the Bank of Ireland after the deception had been uncovered.

Mr Casey added, “He was always going to get caught. It was his account, his address.”

Solicitor for Mr Sivak, Daragh Hassett told the court his client, a Czech National, has lived in Ireland since he was 13. He said the father of two was in difficult financial circumstances when he was approached by Tony.

Mr Hassett said it was indicative of his client’s amateurism that he had signed the bank lodgment slip with his own name.

Judge Patrick Durcan said the men were not hardened criminals. He said their story involved the introduction of a “most curious character named Tony.”He added, “I do not believe one word about the existence of Tony or the responsibility of Tony.” He said the men had engaged in “criminal thievery of the worst kind”.

Mr Sivak received a six month prison sentence. Mr Pollak also received a six-month sentence but had the final two months suspended. Reco gnaces were fixed in both cases in the event of appeals.

A NORTH Clare farmer who threatened to kill his brother has been urged to make peace with his family. Gus Howley (56), of Ballytigue, Lisdoonvarna, pleaded guilty to threatening to kill his brother at Larrakea, Kilfenora on November 8, (2012).

He also pleaded guilty at Ennis District Court on Wednesday to criminal damage of his brother’s car.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) directed summary disposal of the case. Judge Patrick Durcan accepted jurisdiction.

The court heard that Gus Howley called to a house where his brother Michael was working in a “fit of rage”. Garda Noel Carroll of Ennistymon Garda Station, told the court that Mr Howley smashed his brother’s car on his way to the site causing € 1500 worth of damage.

He said the accused brought a slash hook with him but broke it on the way to the site. Michael Howley was working on a scaffold and rang the gardaí because he feared for his life, the court heard.Garda Carroll said, “He (Gus Howley) ordered his brother to come out of the house, that he was going to kill him and if didn’t he was going to some day.”

Gus Howley told gardaí that was irate on the day because he had given his life savings of € 20,000 to his nephew and the money had not been repaid. He said the man had since moved to America. After hearing the evidence, Judge Patrick Durcan said slash hooks seem to be a popular weapon in Clare. “This seems to be slash hook county,” he added.

Judge Durcan said slash hooks were not readily available in his native Mayo. Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that farmers in North Clare would have slash hooks on their farms. Defence solicitor Jim Finnegan said his client is extremely remorseful and regretful for the incident.

“A complete frustration built up when this money was taken from him by a cruel deception,” he added.

The court heard that gardaí are not investigating the circumstances in which Gus Howley gave the money to his nephew. Mr Finnegan said his client would try to re-pay the money within six months. Judge Durcan said he believed Gus Howley to be a man of excellent character, a hardworking man who feels he has been duped.

He added, “The fact that he is supported by his neighbours in court impressed me.” Judge Durcan said Mr Howley is guilty of a very serious offence but that he is not a criminal.

Garda Carroll told the court that the incident has “torn the family apart.”

Judge Durcan adjourned the case until March 13 to await the outcome of family negotiations.

He added, “Situations like this can go through a rural community and create a division.”

NEW charges have been brought against three people alleged to have been involved in a public order incident at a roundabout in Ennis last October. Christopher McDonagh (38), Bernard McDonagh Jnr (22) and a 16-year-old boy are alleged to have committed offences arising out of the incident at the Maid of Erin on October 14.

Bernard McDonagh Jnr (22), with an address at 1 Ashline, Kilrush Road, Ennis is charged with possession of an article with intent to cause injury and the production of an article in the course of a dispute.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with possession of a hatchet with intent to cause injuries to John Doherty, Martin Doherty and Jimmy Doherty. He is also charged with the production of a hatchet. Christopher McDonagh, with an address at 1 Davitt Terrace, Cloughleigh, Ennis and Childers Road, Ennis, is charged with production of an iron bar and possession of an iron bar with intent to cause injury to John Doherty, Martin Doherty and Jimmy Doherty.

New charges of violent disorder were brought against all three accused at Ennis District Court on Wednesday. The court heard that in response to charge after caution, Christopher McDonagh said, “I’m very sorry for all of this.”

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed trial on indictment in respect of all three accused.

Solicitor Daragh Hassett applied to come off record for Christopher McDonagh. He told the court that Tara Godfrey is now representing Mr McDonagh. A book of evidence is also to be served on a fourth man charged in connection with the incident, the court heard.

Bernard McDonagh Snr (45), with an address at 1 Ashline, Kilrush Road, Ennis is charged with the assault of John Doherty.

He also faces three charges of criminal damage and one charge of dangerous driving. It is further alleged that Bernard McDonagh (45) drove a vehicle in a dangerous and reckless manner, which created substantial risk of death or serious harm to another.

Judge Patrick Durcan adjourned the cases until February 20 for service of the Books of Evidence.