Category: News

A NEW face is expected in the council chamber in Kilrush next month with the inclusion of a new town councillor. The Kilrush citizen will take the seat, which has remained vacant since the passing of former mayor of the town, Cllr Stephen O’Gorman (FF).

At last Thursday’s meeting of Kilrush Town Council, Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) said the Fianna Fáil party would begin the selection process shortly and the new member should be in situ for the next meeting of the council.

“Fianna Fáil will liaise with the family at first and then with the town clerk. The new councillor hopes to be in place at the February meeting,” he said.

Cllr O’Gorman died at home on December 14 following an illness. His passing left a vacant seat on the nine-person town council.

It is now the responsibility of the late councillor’s political party – Fi- anna Fáil – to co-opt someone to fill this seat. It is understood that the party will seek nominations for the position shortly, after consultation with the late councillor’s family.

The local Cumann will be tasked with selecting the candidate for the role, and the Cómhairle Dáil and Fianna Fáil will then ratify that choice. A spokesperson for Fianna Fáil in Kilrush said only, “The position will be filled in due course.”

Whoever is seconded to Cllr O’Gorman’s seat will likely serve one of the shortest ever terms on the 128-year-old council, as it is due to be dissolved during the summer of 2014.

Cllr O’Gorman served the council for more than 18 years, and was first elected in 1994. During his career, he served as mayor on two occasions.

Although he had been ill for a few months, his passing was considered sudden locally and was a shock to his loving family, friends, fellow councillors and constituents.

His colleagues described him as a “political colossus”.

CLARE has the fourth highest number of Gathering events in Ireland – with only Dublin, Cork and Galway currently hosting more.

A total of 130 Clare events have already been officially registered as part of the Gathering with more likely over the coming weeks and months.

These events combine a mixture of annual events which have been revamped or expanded to coincide with the Gathering and brand new events. Some of the new events include The Concertina Cruinniú which is com- ing to Miltown Malbay in February, the Stephen Roche Atlantic Challenge in Lahinch this March and the Burren Tolkien Symposium which will take place in Ballyvaughan and Lisdoonvarna in May.

Other notable Gathering events include the long-awaited return of the Festival of Finn to Corofin in May and Wavemaster Surf and Music International Gathering at Spanish Point with the Stunning and Sharon Shannon already confirmed on the line-up.

The Arts Office at Clare County Council have organised a number of training events for local group who are involved in the Gathering.

These events will take place in Ennis on February 2, Kilrush on February 9, Shannon of February 16, Ennis on February 23, Killaloe on March 2 and Ennistymon on March 9.

“The Gathering is having a big impact on the arts in Clare this year on a number of levels. Many festivals and events are viewing the Gathering as a platform to showcase the work they do annually and are looking to attract new audiences to their events. The support for Gathering events information sessions, networking opportunities are very valuable to arts festivals and events in terms of promoting themselves and making new connections in the county,” said Siobhan Mulcahy, Clare Arts Office.

“I think 2013 will be a positive year for the arts in Clare in terms of festivals and events. The publicity and excitement surrounding the Gathering is invigorating the arts sector. It will once again be a challenging year for individual artists in terms of exhibition sales, and performances, but hopefully the rising tide will gather all boats and we can all look forward to more positive times ahead,” she added.

For more information on the Gathering training events and to book a place contact Monica Meehan at mmeehan@clarecoco.ie or call 065 6846228.

NEW figures show a reduction in the number of people arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Clare during Christmas 2012.

Gardaí arrested 12 people between December 17, 2012, and January 6, 2013, compared to 15 people during the same period 12 months ago.

No fatal traffic accidents occurred during Christmas but there were five non-serious injury traffic accidents, an increase of four on the same period last year.

Road accident statistics released by the Clare Garda Davison also showed that there were 36 incidents of material damage to vehicles during Christmas 2012.

Chief Supt of the Clare Garda Division, John Kerin, welcomed the drop in the number of drink driving arrests.

However he described as “disap- pointing” the arrest of five people on New Years Day on suspicion of drink driving.

Gardaí are investigating burglaries, thefts and incidents of criminal damage that took place across Clare between December and January.

But overall Mr Kerin said the Christmas period had passed off without any serious violent incidents.

After a year in which Gardaí were forced to deal with a number of high profile public order disturbances, Chief Supt Kerin said December 2012 was “one of the quietest Christmases in a long time”.

Sergeant Joe Downey, Crime Prevention Officer, thanked members of the public for the help provided to Gardaí over the past 12 months.

He said, “I wish to thank all those people who assisted the Gardaí throughout the year as without their help our job would be much more difficult to perform.”

THE shock closure of Woodstock Hotel last Friday after less than an hour’s notice was given to many full-time and part-time staff represents the second time in four years that the four star hotel has shut its doors.

In October 2008 the collapse of the Dunne Hotel Group that once owned seven hotels around the country, from Waterford City up as far as Ballina in Mayo, led to Woodstock’s demise before it re-opened in 2008 under new management.

The hotel was built during the Celtic Tiger years and first opened its doors in 2000 and was acquired by the Dunne Group in 2004 as it expanded its portfolio of hotels from the Two Mile Inn in Meelick to include six more in a chain of hotels.

The primarily Clare-based hotel chain had three hotels in the county – the Two Mile Inn, the Bunratty Shamrock and Woodstock – while it also owned Patrick Punch’s Hotel in Limerick, the Fitzwilton Hotel in Waterford, the Clybaun Hotel in Galway and the Ridgepool Hotel in Ballina.

The family-owned business had revenues of more than € 36m in 2006 and has properties valued at € 86m, but two years later, after a downturn in business that was attributed to a fall-off in visitors from America, the business collapsed.

Woodstock Hotel went into examinership in June 2008 before a liquidator was appointed with the closure of the hotel in October of that year. It then re-opened in March 2008 as a result of a new partnership with Ennis hotelier Noel Mulhaire and Wyndham Worldwide, which operated a number of UK hotel franchises.

The new Woodstock Hotel, which initially created 45 jobs, operated under the group Fortmere Hotels, Ireland, while more recently was part of the Grand National Hotels and resorted that included 16 hotels around the country.

THERE is no role for Shannon Airport and its facilities in the international humanitarian relief effort, according to a feasibility report carried out by Irish Aid.

Plans to use the airport as a hub for storing aid material and medicine, and as an emergency training ground were included in the Programme for Government but rejected in the report by Ireland’s official overseas development programme.

According to the report, the 42 stakeholders from 27 different organisations showed a minimal degree of interest in using the airport as either an aid hub or an emergency training centre as they considered the airport fraught with “expected high cost and uncertainty”.

The cost of running an international aid storage hub at Shannon International Airport for just one year would be the equivalent of providing humanitarian aid to more than 23,000 people.

The humanitarian aid organisations consulted also maintained there was no major gap in the existing structures.

The stakeholders consulted did not see Shannon Airport as a strong site to fill a humanitarian role nor did they believe their organisation “would use, manage or fund such a role”.

The report stated that physical locations are primarily chosen due to cost, ease of access and proximity to disaster affected areas.

The majority of humanitarian headquarters are located in or near major donor capitals or other strategic cities.

Many humanitarian actors also pre-position supplies close to commonly affected areas to enable faster response time and less expenditure on transportation costs.

The report outlined deployment costs when delivering emergency humanitarian aid from Shannon compared to other countries with hubs.

The air cost per tonne from Shannon to Cameroon for example was 337 per cent more expensive than the cheapest option available, and 389 per cent more expensive in delivering goods to Haiti.

In its overall rating of the four possible roles proposed for the airport under the humanitarian umbrella, the pre-positioning of relief items and medical items at the airport was rated at 31 per cent and 39 per cent effectively.

A training centre was given a 53 per cent rating, while an EU Civil Protection base was given a 57 per cent rating.

While it was estimated that the benefits outweighted the risks of the role of a training centre in Shannon, the difference was marginal.

According to the feasibility study, many humanitarian actors saw the airport’s distance from major commercial traffic routes as inconvenient for participant travel.

It also seemed redundant to them to develop a centre in Europe when the greater focus is on Africa and Asia.

The start up cost and the need to attract an external training provider also led to this role for Shannon Airport being declined.

“This analysis leads the team to conclude that it does not presently see a role for Shannon Airport that adds clear value to the international humanitarian relief effort,” the author said.

“It should be noted that there is little doubt about the commitment of Shannon Airport and its various stakeholders to developing a new role for the site. Unfortunately, geography, costs, and existing structures do not make Shannon Airport an ideal location for humanitarian functions.”

IT WAS not all bad news for Shannon in the Airport Feasibility Study Commissioned by Irish Aid, however the light at the end of the tunnel was quite dim.

It outlined a potential opening for the airport in EU civil protection.

However the EU civil protection is in its infancy and most member states “are not yet fully on board” with civil protection.

According to the report, an EU civil protection role for Shannon Airport presents a more attractive risk/benefit ratio that the other three roles because the potential European disaster sites are closer the reports author maintains.

It also ascertained that Shannon’s neutral peripheral site could be useful in certain circumstances, and it could fit into the ongoing trends at EU level to strengthen civil protection co-ordination and response capabilities.

Setting up an EC civil protection base in Shannon would also be more cost effective than any of the other roles. The study argues that civil protection also shows as higher variable than other roles because European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has not yet defined its civil protection policy direction and is exploring various options.

This statement however also argues against such a role for Shannon Airport any time soon, as there is disagreement between different Eu- ropean bodies on the precise role of civil protection and any resolution will take time.

Ireland has provided some resources such as flood management experts in response to requests from other European states which strengthens the Shannon cause although dimming that light again is the National Directorate’s description of Ireland as “not a major player” relative to other states such as Germany, France and the UK.

The Shannon Feasibility Study maintains however, “While the specifics are by no means decided, an EU civil protection role for Shannon Airport may potentially represent better value for money, particularly because there are no clear service providers with whom to compete.”

EAST Clare has been identified as one of Ireland’s hotspots for UFOs (unidentified flying objects) with four separate sightings recorded in 2012.

According to new figures released by the Aerial Phenomena Research Association of Ireland (APRAI) there were two separate sightings in the O’Briensbridge area, one in O’Callaghan’s Mills and a fourth just over the Tipperary border in Cragg last year.

With further sightings in Loop Head and on Aughinish Island in North Clare, the Banner County was identified as one of Ireland’s busiest counties for UFO activity in 2012 after Dublin, Cork and Kildare.

The first two recorded UFO sightings of last year took place in O’Briensbridge on January 7 and February 6, with a third sighting recorded at Kilbaha North, close to Loop Head, on March 3.

A fourth sighting was recorded on Aughinish in North Clare on May 29 with the final sighting recorded at Killuran, just off the R465 in O’Callaghan’s Mills on July 24.

A spokesperson from the APRAI declined to give any specific information on the nature of the Clare sightings or to identify who reported the incidents.

According the the founder of the UFO Society of Ireland, the late Betty Meyler, the Burren landscape has an effect on UFO activity.

Speaking to The Clare People shortly before her death in 2010, Ms Meyler said that the unique geographic landscape of the Burren seemed to attract UFOs.

A short video of Clare’s most famous UFO, recorded in sky in the Inagh area in March 2009, has been viewed almost 20,000 times on Youtube.

ENNIS Town Council says it is working on a solution to traffic problems that have arisen following the installation of new traffic lights in the town centre.

Lights were installed at Station Road and Clare Road as part of works on the € 2.5 million Ennis inner relief road.

Concerns have been raised over the impact traffic lights on the Clare Road have had on traffic flows through Ennis.

The issue was raised at yesterday’s monthly meeting of Ennis Town Council. According to Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind), the lights lead to major traffic jams on the Mill Road and Clare Road during the Christmas period.

Traffic lights on the Clare Road were down for a number of days during December following a fault in the electrical control unit.

Cllr Neylon told the meeting that traffic flowed more freely when the lights were down.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said a filter lane is required on Station Road to allow cars to turn into Dunnes Stores.

Cllr Neylon said a similar system is also required to improve traffic flow on the Clare Road. Cllr Neylon urged the council to consider switching off the lights until new road markings are put in place.

Officials from Ennis Town Council are due to meet this week with the company that designed the traffic lights in order to discuss issues that have arisen with the system.

Town Engineer Eamon O’Dea yesterday acknowledged problems had emerged as a result of the new system.

He said difficulties have arisen at non-peak traffic periods. Mr O’Dea explained that drivers approaching traffic lights sometimes do not drive over underground sensor lines, a mechanism that sends a message to the lights to change colour.

He told the meeting that the council are addressing sequencing problems in order to improve traffic flows on the Clare Road.

DO NOT resort to moneylenders. That’s the stark message to people facing financial pressures this January. As Clare families face into the toughest financial weeks of the year, financial advice groups have warned that illegal money-lenders should be avoided at all costs.

Twenty years after it was set up to counteract illegal money lending in West Clare, MABS (Money Advice and Budgeting Service) has asked families under severe financial pressure not to opt for this form of shortterm loan.

By the end of 2012, numerous financially-stressed families in Clare had turned to unscrupulous money-lenders, who would charge huge interest rates and threaten them if they did not pay up. As these lenders are not legal, organisations such as MABs cannot negotiate with them on behalf of the person taking the loan.

People are particularly vulnerable to this type of lending at this time of year and Paul Woulfe from Clare Citizens Information said this is leading to worry and depression.

“Many people parked their problems and money concerns coming up to Christmas so the next few months are going to be difficult.

“People also borrow on the run up to Christmas and add to credit card and store cards debt which adds to the problem now,” he said. “There is help out there as long as people do not panic,” he said.

THE Cliffs of Moher recorded it third highest year for visitors ever in 2012 – and its highest since the recession started in 2007.

According to new figures released by the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience, 873,988 people visited the North Clare tourist attraction last year.

Significantly, the number of fully independent travellers (FIT), or people who did not come to the Cliffs as part of a package or bus holiday, was slightly up on the 2011 figures.

It had been anticipated that FIT figures would dip at the cliffs last year following disappointing numbers as a result of the London Olympics and the Euro 2012.

However, a strong rally in individual visitors in September and October helped boost FIT figures, along with a dramatic 30 per cent increase in the number of Chinese visitors coming to the site.

FIT numbers are especially important for the Clare tourism industry as they are much more likely to stay in Clare as part for their holiday, while other visitors usually travel to the Cliffs from Dublin, Galway or Kerry.

There was further good news in the coach visitors sector, with an increase of 17.7 per cent in the number of people visiting the Cliffs of Moher by bus as part of a package holiday.

According to Katherine Webster, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Experience, 2012 was the Cliffs’ third highest years for visitors ever, behind 2007 with 939,772 and 2006 and estimated 911,876 visitors.

“We are delighted with the 2012 visitor number performance at a time when the wider tourism sector across Ireland and the world has experienced considerable difficulties.

“This achievement is a tribute to the staff of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience and the agencies that have made considerable investments in developing the attraction during recent years,” she said.

“The challenge for us now is to explore new and innovative ways of attracting visitors to the Cliffs of Moher.

“Despite experiencing a second successive increase in visitors last year, we remain almost 7 per cent below the attraction’s peak year of 2007.”

Overall, the 2012 figure of 873,988 last year was almost 65,000 visitors over the 2011 numbers.