Category: News

THE only name coming from Kilkee Town Council as a possible contender for the county council election in 2014 is that of Paddy Collins (FG).

Cllr Collins is leaving his final decision until the boundary commission has decided the new electoral areas.

“On a personal level, it depends on legislation in March regarding the size of the districts. It looks like it would be impossible if seats are reduced and the constituency goes up as far as Ballyvaughan. I would need possibly 4,000 votes and there ain’t 4,000 votes back here,” he said.

In Kilrush, councillors Liam Williams (FG), Paul Moroney (Ind), and Tom Prendeville (FF) are likely contenders but again the boundary commission is reducing any commitment.

“I am not prepared to commit. I have an interest but it will depend on the boundary commission,” said Cllr Williams.

Cllr Prendeville said, “I will take all matters into consideration – my family, the people of Kilrush and the boundary commission. If it is favourable, I will stand.”

Cllr Moroney said his family are still young so he would have to take that into consideration. The inde- pendent councillor added that he has already been approached by two parties to run, a fact that he is also taking into consideration.

The boundary issue also proved contentious in Ennis, with Cllr Peter Considine (FF) leaving his decision until it reports.

For other councillors, the decision is more straight-forward. They will not be running in the county election.

Kilrush councillor Tom Clyne (Ind) had already decided to retire after serving 10 years on the council, but others were forced to make the decision.

In Kilkee, Mayor Clare Haugh (FF) said she enjoyed her 27 and a half years on the town council to date, but would not be contesting the county elections.

“I hope I have made a contribution to Kilkee,” she said.

Cllr PJ Lardner (FF) said “There’s enough of them there. I prefer working for the community of Kilkee as I have done since ‘94. Maybe 15 years ago but it’s a no for now anyway.”

Cllr Lily Marrinan-Sullivan (Ind) came to the realisation that being a county councillor to a vastly increased area would be a full-time job.

“I hadn’t even thought about it. I’m still hoping they’ll save the town council. I would have to say no. Well, I have a full-time job and I’m not in a position to give all my time, which is what you would have to do,” she said.

Cllr Elaine Haugh-Hayes (FG) has other priorities at the moment.

“No, not me anyway. I have no intention. I have a new baby so I’m a little busy at the moment,” she said.

In Kilrush, it was disillusionment with politics in general that will help former mayor of Kilrush, Liam O’Looney (FF), to leave the world of politics behind after the next local election.

He said, however, that the town council would be missed when it is gone.

“If I never went, I would like to see a council there.”

KILRUSH town councillor Tom Prendeville (FF) will not be standing down when the council meets this evening (Tuesday).

The father of the council threatened such drastic measures at last month’s meeting of the council, if parking is- sues outside a local primary school were not resolved within the month.

He told

THREE Clare properties, including two hotels will go under the hammer in another auction of distressed properties to take place next month.

The Allsop Space auction will feature the well-known Kilkee Bay Hotel in the seaside town, and the Ashford Court Hotel in Ennis.

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

The familiar landmark hotel on the Ennis Road into Kilkee will go to auction with a reserve not to exceed € 315,000. The 41-bedroom hotel together with bar and function room facilities extend to 18,910.45 square feet. The two-storey hotel neighbours The Kilkee Bay Leisure Centre, a basketball court, and several rows of apartments/holiday homes.

There is extensive car parking to the front of the property.

Meanwhile, the Ashford Court Hotel on the Old Mill Road, Ennis, has a smaller reserve than the West Clare hotel, set at a price not to exceed € 215,000. The 27-bed hotel is being sold on the instruction of receiver Kieran Wallace of KPMG.

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

The property comprises a hotel building arranged over ground and three upper floors. The property includes a restaurant, bar area and ancillary accommodation.

A freehold-detached four-bedroom house with views of Lough Derg will also be on the books at the March 1 auction in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin.

The Mountshannon house will have a reserve of no more than € 125,000.

THE Gathering Ireland 2013 will be the subject of a unique world recordbreaking attempt this June when the largest ever gathering of persons with the same first name is attempted in County Clare.

The Clare Volunteer Centre, supported by the Gathering Clare Steering Committee, is inviting people with the name Claire, Clair or Clare to travel to Ennis to participate in the potentially record-breaking feat on June 23.

The largest gathering of people with the same first name is 1,096 Mohammeds as part of the Dubai Shopping Festival at Creek Park, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on February 10, 2005.

The record-breaking attempt forms part of the ‘Welcoming Claires to County Clare, Ireland’ project, one of the estimated 230 Gathering festivals and events taking place throughout County Clare during 2013.

According to Sharon Meaney, Manager of the Clare Volunteer Centre, “This is a family event where everyone from babies to grandparents is welcome to attend. You don’t have to be from County Clare, you may not have even heard of County Clare, but you will share a name that is synonymous with being ‘clear, bright and famous’.”

Ms Meaney said the same-name gathering will form part of a weekend of welcomes featuring a free music event on Friday, June 21 in Ennis as part of the Love:Live Music event.

The weekend also will feature street entertainment on Saturday, June 22 and a special-edition ‘Welcome to Clare’ card, which will offer special offers and discounts to various attractions countywide for the weekend.

Tracy Crawford of BallyO Promo- tions and Director of the new Ennis Roots Music weekend added, “As it is the year of the Gathering, we are thrilled to extend the Love:Live event to incorporate a weekend of events, of which ‘Welcoming Claires to County Clare’ will form a part. We are all committed to getting the message out there, that if you want to visit Ireland, there is no better place to come to than County Clare.”

A short film is being filmed and produced by Martin O’Malley of Malbay Studios featuring Claire Daly dancing in various locations around the county showcasing what Clare has to offer.

EDUCATION Minister Ruairi Quinn has warned that it’s “unacceptable” that every national school in the Shannon and Newmarket-on-Fergus area remains under the patronage of a Christian Church.

Minister Quinn made his comments as the month-long school patronage survey close on Friday, just as fears have been raised locally that “pressure” was brought to bear on parents to demand that the status quo of eight Catholic schools remain in the Shannon and Newmarket-onFergus catchment.

“Ireland is a changed place and we have to reflect that change,” warned Minister Quinn, “so it’s simply not acceptable that 96 per cent of primary schools in the country be under the patronage of a Christian Church.

“The Shannon area has to play its part in that, so we have asked parents what kind of ethos they would like to have other than what’s already there. I would expect that in the Shannon region it’s not unreasonable to say of the eight Catholic schools, at least one of them should be in a position to be transferred by way of patronage to the Department of Education.

The eight Catholic schools in the survey area are Scoil na Maighdine Mhuire, Clonmoney and Stonehall in Newmarket-on-Fergus and Gaelscoil Donncha Rua, St Aidan’s, St Tola’s, St Senan’s and St Cronan’s in Shannon. A number of parents have complained that a letter circulated in Newmarket-on-Fergus amounted to pressure from the Catholic Church wanting three schools in the parish included in the survey to remain under Catholic control.

“The schools are rooted in the community and each one has its own distinct identity. A change of patronage would have major implications for staff, boards of management, parents and children,” the letter said.

The results of the survey of these schools will be made known to the Catholic authorities by the end of the month. The church authorities will then have to come back to the Department of Education within three months, ahead of a final resolution of the patronage issue by the end of the year.

“We want to reflect the change in Ireland and provide people with a choice,” said Minister Quinn. “We will assist the Catholic Church authorities in whatever way they want in identifying and selecting a school that could be reasonably transferred.

“In this day and age I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that one or two of those schools can’t change. If this is a true Republic and we accommodate and respect everyone equally. If this is the Banner County, where De Valera was elected for so many years, he would be to the forefront of a republican approach.”

A NUMBER of prominent environmental organisations came together last week to question the public consultation process being undertaken in relation to a giant Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) fish farm planned for six miles off the Fanore coast.

An Taisce, Coastwatch, the Irish Seal Sanctuary and the Irish Wildlife Trust released a joint statement last week in which they requested that all consultation documents related to the project be made public.

The controvertial fish farm has seen the creation of a rift between the two government fisheries agencies with BIM and Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) taking opposing position over the development.

The situation took a dramatic turn last week when BIM released the finding of a Irish Marine Institute study, which claimed that sea lice created by the farm would not cause any significant difference to the local wild salmon population.

IFI struck back in recent days, claiming the 1 per cent threat to wild salmon stocks predicted in the Marine Institute study could be the “tipping point” for wild salmon stocks.

“We welcome the fact that there is now a clear acceptance of the negative impact of sea lice on juvenile salmon and the debate can now progress to identify the best methodologies to reduce or eliminate this impact. IFI would also like to see similar progress in relation to the issue of escaped farmed salmon,” said an IFI spokesperson.

“In recent years approximately five per cent of all juvenile salmon going to sea return back to their native rivers as adults to spawn. Precisely because natural mortality rates of salmon are high, even a proportionally small additional mortality from sea lice can amount to a large loss in salmon returning.

“To put this average of 1 per cent reduction in return rates, as reported by the Marine Institute, in context, if 3,000 salmon return to a river, and this represents a five per cent return rate, a reduction in the return rate to four per cent translates into a reduction of 20 per cent of the adult salmon – 600 fewer fish returning.”

CLARE has one of the highest rates of sheep kills by dogs in Ireland, according to new figures released by the Irish Farmers Association (IFA). Figures compiled by the IFA reveal that Clare recorded the sixth highest number of sheep kills in Ireland last year, despite having a relatively low sheep stock compared to other counties.

According to Clare Dog Warden, Frankie Coote, the number of sheep kills recorded by the IFA is only the tip of the iceberg as most kills are never reported. “There would be an awful lot more attacks than that in Clare. That is only the number reported to the IFA. The real number is likely to be much much higher.

“Just four years ago we had 42 sheep killed by two dogs in one night down in Shannonbanks. That was € 5, 500 worth of damage in one night. We were lucky enough to catch the own- ers in that case and they had to pay for the damage done. The dog owner is always liable in that situation.”

Frankie also urged dog owners to be sure that their animals are secured properly over the lambing season – even if there are no sheep flocks nearby and your dog does not have a history of violence.

“Lambs have been born all over place in the last two weeks and it is inevitable that dogs will attack sheep. Dogs will travel; if they hear sheep far off in the distance they will travel to find them,” continued Frankie.

“Dogs will come out of towns, out of villages, out of housing estates and look for sheep, but also from farm houses. The law states that dogs must be on their own property and secure.

“All dogs will attack sheep, given the opportunity. Everybody thinks that their own dog won’t attack a sheep but the reality is that 95 per cent of dogs will. Dogs gather in packs and the wildness come out with them.”

A MAN was allegedly assaulted with a slash hook during a fracas that broke out at a wedding in Ennis last year, a court has heard.

Three men – Jimmy Doherty (39), John Doherty (47) and Simon Doherty (41) – have been charged with offences arising out of an incident that occurred at Ennis Cathedral, O’Connell Street, on October 11 (2012).

None of the accused were present when the matters came before Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Solicitor for all three accused, John Casey, told the court that he had received an email from the State advising that his clients stay away from the Courthouse for “security” reasons.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that he had been in contact with the Courts Service regarding the matter. He explained that the accused’s presence had been excused for “operational” reasons.

Jimmy Doherty, with an address at 8 Maiville, Kilrush Road Ennis, and Simon Doherty, with an address at The Cottage, Granard Road, Edgeworthstown, Longford, are both charged with the assault of John McDonagh at the Cathedral on October 11 (2012).

They are also charged with engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.

John Doherty, with an address at 60 Abbeyville, Ennis, is charged with engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace. John Doherty is also charged with assault causing harm to John McDonagh.

Insp Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the assault charge against John Doherty.

Insp Kennedy said it would be alleged that Mr Doherty struck Mr McDonagh across the head with a slash hook.

He said Mr McDonagh received 18 stitches as a result of the alleged assault. Insp Kennedy told the court that the incident occurred during a wedding ceremony.

The court heard that it would be alleged that a fracas developed and spilled outside the Cathedral.

Judge Patrick Durcan declined jurisdiction, saying the nature of the alleged injuries and the allegation that a religious service was disrupted were seriously aggravating factors.

The case is to be referred back to the DPP. All three accused were remanded on bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on March 27.

A FAMILIAR face will return to Kilrush Town Council this evening (Tuesday), when Christy O’Malley (FF) is welcomed back to the council. The former mayor of Kilrush, who lost his seat in the 2009 election, has been seconded by the Fianna Fáil party to take the seat vacated following the death of the late Cllr Stephen O’Gorman (FF) last December. At a Fianna Fáil convention on Sunday evening in the Haven Arms, Kilrush, the retired Garda sergeant was returned unopposed to take the seat. Law student Emmet Greaney, a native of Kilrush and member of the local Cumann, had also been nominated, along with Mr O’Malley, to contest the appointment. He withdrew his nomination on the night, however, and the more experienced Fianna Fáil man was returned uncontested. The soon-to-be-reappointed Cllr O’Malley is no stranger to local politics. As well as serving on the town council, he was also chairman of the Kilrush Special Olympics Committee when Kilrush Town hosted the Georgia Republic in 2003. His party colleague, Cllr Tom Prendeville, said the former mayor took some persuading as he was convinced to return to local politics. “He brings with him so much experience and expertise. I always felt he brought common sense to the council table,” he said. Cllr Prendeville added that Mr O’Malley’s selection was met with a positive response from the community as it pointed to continuity within the council. Christy will take up his appointment this evening when the February meeting of the council begins at 7pm. He will take part in just 14 more monthly meetings before the council is disbanded in 2014.

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.