Category: News

A FORMER GAA coach who indecently assaulted two young boys in areas of Clare over a two-year period in the early 1980s will be sentenced next January.

James ‘Tony Lowry’ Maher (69), of Clonroadmore Beg, Ennis would drive the victims around Clare, buying chips, cigarettes and alcohol before performing sexual acts on them. Ennis Circuit Criminal Court heard yesterday that the abuse of one young boy began in 1982 when the accused was the manager of a hurling team.

One of his victims told the court that he was ‘scarred for life’ as a result of the abuse.

Mr Maher previously pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault in respect of this victim, committed in areas of Clare between January 1982 and July 1984.

Mr Maher, a founder member of the Banner GAA Club, would call to the boy’s house after going for drinks with his father.

A Banner GAA club spokesperson confirmed to The Clare People on Monday night that Mr Maher has not had any involvement with club ‘for well over twenty years’.

Detective Garda Beatrice Ryan of Ennis Garda Station told the court that the former Clare County Council employee would drive the boy home from training and matches.

Victims have told how they battled addictions and attempted suicide after the abuse they suffered at the hands of the Ennis man.

Detective Garda Beatrice Ryan read out the man’s victim impact statement in Ennis Circuit Criminal Court. The man stated, “It’s sad that I was always blaming myself and family for what this paedophile was doing to me.”

The man first met Mr Maher through his involvement with the Banner GAA Club. He stated, “At 15, I was hospitalised for drink and I tried to commit suicide.”

The man’s statement added that he tried to commit suicide for a second time aged eighteen.

Another victim of Mr Maher read his victim impact statement in court yesterday.

He told the court that he was 11 when Mr Maher first assaulted him. He said the incidents had a “horrific impact” on his life and that he would be scarred permanently as a result.. Judge Caroll Moran adjourned sentencing until January 14, 2013.

GLÓR’S continued survival as a centre of excellence for the performing arts in Clare is down to grant aid provided by cash-strapped local authorities in the county.

New figures released this week show that Glór wouldn’t be able to operate as a beacon for the performing arts, but for the grant aid given to it by both Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council.

The figures reveal that an addi- tional € 154,000 was given to Glór by Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council last year, so that historical financial losses could be addressed at the centre which first opened its doors 11 years ago this month.

This aid comes on top of the annual € 270,000 subsidy that the two local authorities provide between them to the state-of-the-art facility that can cater for up to 600 people.

Glór’s losses of € 112,103 last year were on top of the € 154,146 accumulated losses that were in place at the start of 2011.

The figures for 2011 show that Glor’s income last year decreased from € 1.16m to € 1m with its spend remaining static at € 1.164m.

The centre has received huge financially backing over the past 12 years, since it was announced as a flagship arts project for the county under Sí le de Valera’s watch as Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht from 1997 to 2002.

Only a few months before it opened, Minister de Valera stepped in to secure the future of the € 8.2m the centre after a short-fall of € 2.5m emerged in the project by securing the money through her departments Access Scheme.

That allocation now brought Minister de Valera’s total contribution to the project to € 5.7m.

Along with the € 5.7m allocated by the minister, the project also received € 1.9m from Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council, as well as € 635,000 in European Union funding.

Glór’s new director, Gemma Carcaterra, has said that the additional grant aid from the two local authorities was to deal with accumulated losses, with the centre projected to break-even for 2012.

“This is a significant achievement within the current climate when all arts organisations are facing considerable challenges,” she said.

“For the past number of years, the recession impacted on the organisation and continues to do so.

“This is a similar situation to the majority of arts organisation across the country and Glór is surviving well in comparison,” she added.

STAFF from Clare Vocational Educational Committee (VEC) are unlikely to be redeployed away from Clare or Limerick under the formation of a new Education and Training Boards, a meeting has heard.

Clare VEC will join with Limerick City and Limerick County VECs as part of a new structure that will see 16 ETBs replace the existing 33 VECs.

Legislation to allow for the establishment of new ETBs is expected to be finalised by March.

At the November meeting of Clare VEC, CEO George O’Callaghan said there was a “remote possibility” of staff being redeployed away from Clare or Limerick.

He said such decisions are unlikely as the new Clare/Limerick ETB will have responsibility for a large area.

Clare VEC currently has responsi- bility for more than 2,300 post primary school students.

He told the meeting that the new entity would be responsible for 19 post-primary schools in Clare and Limerick.

In response to questions from former committee chairman Flan Garvey, Mr O’Callaghan told the meeting that VEC staff are unlikely to be offered a specific early retirement package.

He said any offer would more like- ly apply across all the public sector.

Mr O’Callaghan has been named as CEO Designate of the new city of Cork and Cork County ETB.

Mr O’Callaghan told the meeting that following the establishment of Cork ETB, he will be seconded to the new Clare / Limerick ETB.

The new 18-member ETB committees will comprise 10 local authority councillors; four representatives from the community and business sector; two staff members and two parents.

The meeting heard that until the establishment of the new boards, all current 21 members of Clare VEC would attend ETB meetings.

In total, around 60 people will sit on the Clare / Limerick until after local elections in 2014.

Mr O’Callaghan said there had been some discussions around the formation of sub-committees.

He said such groups would not have statutory powers.

A FORMER GAA coach who indecently assaulted two young boys in areas of Clare over a three-year period in the early 1980s will be sentenced next January.

James ‘Tony Lowry’ Maher (69), of Clonroadmore Beg, Ennis would drive the victims around Clare, buying chips, cigarettes and alcohol before performing sexual acts on them.

Ennis Circuit Criminal Court heard yesterday that the abuse of one young boy began in 1982 when the accused was the manager of a hurling team. Mr Maher previously pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault in respect of this victim, committed in areas of Clare between January 1982 and July 1984.

Mr Maher, a founder member of the Banner GAA Club, would call to the boy’s house after going for drinks with his father. The boy was staying with another relative at the time.

Detective Garda Beatrice Ryan of Ennis Garda Station told the court that the former Clare County Council employee would drive the boy home from training and matches.

“He would’ve been classed as quite a close friend of the family,” she said.

The court heard that the abuse progressed from Mr Maher masturbating the victim to performing oral sex on him. On one occasion, Mr Maher assaulted the boy when they were parked at Drumcliff graveyard.

Detective Ryan said the abuse carried on for five to 10 times a month from 1982 onwards. She said the abuse stopped when the boy got old- er and decided to move away from Ennis. Mr Maher was arrested on January 6, 2010 and made admissions to gardaí, including to offences that the complainant had not told gardaí about.

Mr Maher told gardaí that he developed a liking for young boys after starting coaching with the GAA club.

Mr Maher also pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault against another young boy committed in areas of Clare between July 1984 and April 1985.

The court was told that Mr Maher first met the boy when he picked him up hitchhiking. The court heard that the boy had endured “quite a difficult upbringing”. Mr Maher would call to the house with clothes and food for the family.

Detective Ryan said, “He saw himself as somewhat of a helping hand.”

She told the court that Mr Maher told the boy to ring him at work. On one occasion, he assaulted the boy in the toilets of offices of Clare County Council.

Assaults also took place in the victim’s home while members of his family were in another room. The court heard that Mr Maher also brought the boy to a bed and breakfast in Dublin, checking in as father and son.

Mr Maher was interviewed in January 2010 and made admissions to gardaí.Mr Maher previously worked with Dublin Corporation and Limerick County Council before moving home to work as a draughtsman with Clare County Council. The court heard he played with the Banner GAA Club, as well as serving as President and PRO.

Counsel for Mr Maher, Andrew Sexton SC, told the court that he had been instructed at an early stage to apologise unreservedly to the victims.

He said Mr Maher suffers from depression and diabetes. He said Mr Maher had cooperated fully with gardaí but had lived his life in a “very bizarre way.”

Mr Sexton said prior to engaging in this “outrageous criminal conduct” Mr Maher had contributed a lot to his local community.

He said Mr Maher is very well known in the community and would suffer “utter shame”. Judge Caroll Moran adjourned sentencing until January 14, 2013.

He said reporting restrictions applied to the identity of the complainants but not the accused.

THE organiser of a vigil for Savita Halappanavar in Ennis on Saturday said there will be further demonstrations and other actions if the government does not legislate for the X case.

According to organiser Ann Cronin, who ran as an Independent candidate in the last general election, action must be taken in the coming weeks to resolve the legal uncertainty highlighted by the death of Savita Halappanavar at University College Hospital in Galway last month.

The vigil attracted a crowd of almost 150 people, with a large number of passers-by joining in to show their support.

“It was a really good turnout. We had a nice turnout and a lot of people joined the vigil from the street. It was very encouraging that so many people showed up. It just shows you that this is such a personal matter and it affects a lot of people,” said Ann.

“No representative from any of the political parties showed up but then we didn’t go out of our way to invite anyone. I don’t think anyone in politics wants to touch this – it is too much of a hot potato. I think it is notable that all four of our elected candidates voted against legislation for this when it was proposed last year.

“I think it shows you exactly that they think of women’s health and how important it is for them.”

According to Ann Cronin, more events will be staged in Ennis in the weeks ahead if the government does not move quickly to resolve the situation.

“We will hold another event if there is no action. This isn’t going to go away, this is an issue that really upsets me and a lot of other people and I think that people realise that they have to do something about it – because if you wait for other people to do something then it will never happen,” continued Ann.

“This wasn’t just me and a bunch of my friends. This vigil was made up of strangers – men, women and families with children. People feel really strongly about this and the issue is not going to go away. People are not happy to wait for this to be resolved.”

VICTIMS have told how they battled addictions and attempted suicide after the abuse they suffered at the hands of Ennis man James ‘Tony’ Maher.

One of the men stated that he was afraid to speak up after he was first assaulted by Mr Maher (69).

Detective Garda Beatrice Ryan read out the man’s victim impact statement in Ennis Circuit Criminal Court. The man stated, “It’s sad that I was always blaming myself and family for what this paedophile was doing to me.”

The man first met Mr Maher through his involvement with the Banner GAA Club. He recalled how he started to drink alcohol heavily at an early age.

He stated, “At 15, I was hospitalised for drink and I tried to commit suicide.”

The court heard that the man again tried to kill himself aged 18 and almost ended up taking the life of another person.

The man stated that he had battled addictions to alcohol and gambling.

He described Mr Maher, of Clonroadmorebeg, Ennis as a “monster” and said the abuse had a “dramatic effect” on his life.

He said he had never told his wife and children about the ordeal he had suffered. The man said his life had been robbed. “I hope that if there is a God, he (Mr Maher) will burn in hell.”

Another victim of Mr Maher read his victim impact statement in court yesterday.

He told the court that he was 11 when Mr Maher first assaulted him. He said the incidents had a “horrific impact” on his life.

He said he sank into a deep depression after Mr Maher “robbed” him of an ability to trust anyone. The man, whom the court heard grew up in poor circumstances in a rural part of the county, said he had attempted suicide.

He added, “I suffered enormous pain and I will always remain scarred by the actions of this man.” Mr Maher will be sentenced on January 14, 2013.

THE exploits of the “fighting priest”, Ballyvaughan’s Father Cornelius Sexton, have been revealed for the first time in a new book soon to be released.

Father Cornelius, or “Con”, joined the Australian army in 1940 and spent five years in combat areas in Malaya and Singapore.

During that time he suffered many injuries, was wounded in a Japanese shelling and was also captured and served time as a prisoner of war.

His story is now told for the first time in a new book, Hard Times, Decent Men by Neil Richards, which has just been published.

According to Richards, one of Father Sexton’s most dangerous nights came on February 8, 1942, when he was witness to a major Japanese offensive which forced a general retreat by Australian forces on Malaya.

During the ill-fated retreat, the truck that Fr Sexton was travelling in was hit with a Japanese shell.

“We had several wounded brought in during the night from the shelling and the colonel of our battalion sent up men to try and stop the enemy landing.

“It should never have been ordered, it was a massacre” he said in interview after the war.

“They didn’t stand a chance. The first two who were brought in were Chinese who were fighting with our forces.

“The doctor said to bring them down to the hospital so we loaded them on the back of the truck.

“The truck was struck with a mortar and myself and Jack [Australian soldier Jack Bowman] were blown out of the truck.

“I remember Jack said to me ‘are you alive, Father?’. And I said. ‘I am, are you?’”

Later that year, Fr Sexton was on a Red Cross truck bringing wounded men to the Selarang Barracks in Singapore which was fired on by Japanese soldiers.

Fr Sexton managed to make it through to the barracks only to become a prisoner of war when Aus- tralia surrendered the island on February 5, 1942.

During his three years as a prisoner of war, Fr Sexton continued in his ministries and delivered sacrament to both allied and Japanese soldiers.

He was eventually released in August of 1945 and was diagnosed with neurotic beriberi, a condition of the nervous system brought about by a lack of vitamins.

After the war, Father Sexton returned to Australia where he served as a parish priest until he retired in January of 1978.

FURTHER discussions are expected in the coming weeks over plans to erect a memorial in Ennis to Irish people who fought in wars in South East Asia.

Councillors and officials from Ennis Town Council held preliminary discussions with representatives from business groups and American war veterans in recent weeks.

It follows a contentious proposal tabled at the July meeting of Ennis Town Council calling on the authority to commemorate Irish men who fought in the Vietnam War.

The motion, tabled by Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn, provoked strong opposition.

Cllr Flynn said the council should consider marking the contribution of soldiers of Irish descent who served in the United States armed forces during the Vietnam War.

Cllr Flynn said, at the time, that such a memorial would send out a positive signal to ex-soldiers about Clare as a tourism destination.

According to Cllr Flynn, the Vietnam veteran tourism market num- bers close to 1.9 million people.

It is estimated that 2,500 Irish people served with the US armed forces in Vietnam.

However, some councillors were wary of the proposal.

Cllr Paul O’Shea (Ind) said that Vietnam is a “sensitive issue”, while Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) has expressed concern about the actions of some American soldiers during the war.

However, it is understood that following recent meetings, councillors are close to agreeing on a memorial for Ennis.

It is thought that any memorial would honour Irish people who fought for the Allied Forces in conflicts in South East Asia from the 1950s to ‘70s.

Meetings have also taken place with representatives of a group of Vietnam veterans who have been travelling to Clare in recent years to attend the Ennis Trad Festival.

The talks are still at a preliminary stage and no decision has yet been taken.

Friars Walk in Ennis has been mooted as one possible location for any memorial.

A PROMINENT North Clare hotelier believes that local surfers will have to be “held to account” if funding for a new pier in Doolin is lost.

John Burke, of the Burke Group of hotels, said yesterday that the majority of local surfers are in favour of the pier in principle but have been “misinformed” about the impact that the current design will have on the Crab Island wave.

The Burke Group currently employs 125 people in the area between the Armada Hotel, Hotel Doolin and Tír Gan Éan and believe that the development will be good for everyone in the area, including surfers. In a statement to The Clare People yesterday, he said that surfers will be “held to account” for their opposition, if plans for the pier are rejected by An Bord Pleanála and the funding is lost. “The surfing community is being misrepresented and perhaps misinformed by a number of people, as most surfers I’ve encountered claim that they do not in principle object to the development,” he said. “Some are misguided in believing that this pier will have a significant negative impact on the Crab Island wave, when in fact there will be no impact in most [weather and tidal] conditions on the most surfed portion on the wave. “The surfing community needs to be made aware of the facts of the situation and they need to assess their position based on those facts.

“If, after that, they still wish to object to the proposed pier development, that is their prerogative, but the current position taken by their representatives – that they don’t object to the pier but rather the level of research undertaken – does not represent a fair and honest approach.

“It’s now time to either object on clearly stated grounds, while accepting this may be to the detriment of the piers development, or apply pressure to their representatives to move forward with this.

“This pier will not have another opportunity for development, its funding will be taken, and there will not be energy or drive by any promoters to develop the pier. In this case, the surfing community will have to be held accountable for their position, it is imperative that they are comfortable with where they stand, they are obliged to the broader community and interests in the pier to satisfy themselves with their position.

“If they can’t do this, and can see the work and investigation, and that this can satisfy them, then now is the time to stand side by side and voice their opinion of support.

“The weight of history will rest on their shoulders.” The Clare People contacted the Lahinch-based West Coast Surf Club in relation to this story but no response was forthcoming at the time of going to print. We t fo r t h e e a rly p a rt o f t h e we e k b u t c le a rin g t o d ry a n d c o ld w it h t e m p s st a yin g we ll a b o ve fre e zin g

ELEVEN fire and rescue service personnel from Clare who, between them, have a combined service record of 260 years were the toast of the 11th annual National Long Service Awards Ceremony that took place in Dublin at the weekend.

At a ceremony hosted by the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Fergus O’Dowd, two fighters from the county were presented with 30-year awards, while the remaining nine received 20-year awards.

The 30-year award winners were Martin Rodgers, who is a Sub Station Officer with Killaloe Fire Brigade and Joe McMahon, a firefighter with Kilkee Fire Brigade.

The 20-year award winners were Clare’s Chief Fire Officer, Adrian Kelly; firefighters Cormac Quinlivan, Brian Rudd, Frank O’Gorman, Paddy Doyle and Joe Tuohy; as well as Killaloe Fire Station Officer Paul Mollaghan and Sub-Station Officer Robert Fitzgerald.

The National Long Service Awards scheme is administered on behalf of the Department of the Environment by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management.

The award in recognition of 20 years’ service takes the form of a medal bearing the traditional logo representation of the fire service – a helmet and crossed axes; the medal ribbon bears the Irish national colours, with a central column in red to represent the fire service.

The 30-year award is a representation of a flame in emblematic form. Both awards are accompanied by an appropriate certificate. Presenting the awards, Fergal O’Dowd TD, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment stated that awards scheme is the State’s way of honouring local au- thority fire service personnel for “being there over all the years, for being prepared to respond to calls for help, at all times, and in all weathers.”

“The commitment and professionalism of these long serving fire fighters is indicative of the highly experienced personnel employed by Clare County Fire and Rescue Service,” said Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald in congratulating the award recipients.

“Clare County Fire and Rescue Service has a proud tradition of Serv- ice to the people of Clare. Presently, our fire and rescue staff are among the most highly trained in the country and we are continually pushing to raise staff training levels even further,” said Chief Fire Officer Adrian Kelly.

“We remain fully committed to providing a multi-skilled approach not alone to the areas of fire fighting, but also to rescue and fire safety engineering. We are available for emergency response to the Community 24 hours a day seven days a week,” he added.