Category: News

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 PROBLEM resident has taunted neighbours plagued by anti-social behaviour by claiming he will buy their homes if they want to leave a troubled estate.

The man, a convicted criminal, made the claim in a letter delivered to homes in the estate in Ennis.

Residents have suffered numerous instances of anti-social behaviour and raised their concerns in a meeting with senior Gardaí in Ennis last month.

The situation got so bad for one mortgage payer that he has been forced to leave the area to live in another part of Ennis.

Other residents are also believed to be considering leaving.

According to one person who has seen the letter, the document contained an element of threat.

Gardaí have been made aware of the situation and extra patrols have been visible in the estate.

The typed letter was hand delivered by members of the man’s family to certain homes in the estate.

In it the man boasted that he could afford to purchase homes in the estate and give them to members of his family.

In the letter he refers to a wide circle of cousins who he would like to see move into the estate, if his neighbours felt they wanted to leave.

It’s understood that the letter was delivered after a local newsletter highlighted the presence of Garda patrols in the area.

A Garda spokesman confirmed yesterday that a delegation of residents of the estate had raised their concerns during a meeting at Ennis Garda Station.

Ennis councillor Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said new legislation is required to protect residents from anti-social behaviour.

“People who live in estates and other areas should be able to live in peace.

“People should be living and working together to make estates better environments to live in,” he added.

CONFUSION reigned at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council where the councillors appeared to be asked to vote twice on the same issue – with the result of the first vote being reversed on the second occasion.

The situation concerned two motions in which Clare County Council asked the elected members to allow the council to raise two loans to cover firstly, the costs of overspends on road projects – including more than € 3 million on the Gort Road distributor road in Ennis – and a second to cover the extra cost an affordable housing scheme at Glaise na Rinne.

An applications to approve a loan for overspends involving road was approved – but only after a motion put forward to Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) to defer the vote was defeated. Cllr Flynn requested that this vote was conducted on a roll-call basis, where the votes of each councillor would be recorded in the minutes of the meeting – but this motion was rejected by the Mayor of Clare Pat Daly (FF). The vote was then decided on a show of hands, with the way in which individual councillor voted not recorded on the minutes of the meeting.

The vote resulted in 13 councillors voting to defer the decision for a week to allow for more information to be presented with 17 voting to approve the motion as it stood.

A similar motion, which asked that a decision on taking out a loan to cover the extra costs of the afford- able housing scheme at Glaise na Rinne, was proposed by Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind).

A show of hands vote was called on this motion of deferral and 16 councillor votes in favour of deferring the decision – a majority of the 30 councillors in the chambers at the time.

This vote was not completed however, and the number of councillor who were against the proposal to defer the decision, and those who planned to abstain from vote was not recorded.

Following a heated debate, Mayor of Clare Pat Daly asked councillors to vote again on the motion and this time, with all 32 councillors present, they voted by a majority of 18 to 14 to approve the loan and not to defer a decision for a week.

PARENTS of children with diabetes are not just fighting to control their child’s condition, but the majority of Clare parents are fighting to get on a waiting list for an insulin pump, for better on-going testing and for a dietician and specialised nurse promised two years ago to be finally appointed.

Adding to their worries is the claim by Diabetes Ireland this week that the HSE is presiding over a health disaster as diabetes amputations have climbed by 20 per cent.

Newly available HSE statistics show there were 781 diabetes related lower limb amputations in Ireland during 2010 and 2011, a 20 per cent increase on the previous two year period.

Diabetes Action says the HSE is amplifying this public health disas- ter by failing to fill critical posts and make retinal screening available, despite funding being available since 2010.

The diabetes clinic in Limerick, which serves the majority of Clare people, is still without a designated dietician promised two years ago.

Gráinne Flynn, Secretary for Diabetes Ireland Clare branch, said, “Management of diabetes revolves around matching doses of insulin to the food we eat. A dietician is responsible for teaching people with diabetes and parents of children with diabetes how to measure the food eaten and learning how to match insulin. Limerick does not have a dedicated dietetic service for either adults or children with diabetes, despite the fact that the funding has been provided since 2010.”

NO FURTHER warning letter concerning payment of the Household Charge will be issued by Clare County Council until a complete and accurate list of those who have not paid is made available to the local authority.

That is following a motion put forward by Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council. Standing orders were suspended last night to allow councillors to fully debate the recent issuing of 33,000 letter to people in Clare.

It has also emerged that County Manager Tom Coughlan contacted the Department of the Environment and asked that letters be issued by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and not by Clare County Council. According to Mr Coughlan, the Department of the Environment said that Clare County Council was required to issue the letters because it was the agency who the fee was payable to – despite the fact the the LGMA was tasked with collecting the payment.

Mr Coughlan also said that it would be the responsibilty of Clare Country Council and not the LGMA to take any legal action against home owners who do not pay the housing charge.

More than 33,000 letters were issues by Clare County Council to homeowners in Clare, despite the fact that less than 16,000 people still owe for the property charge. A large number of people in Clare received multiple letters, including many household who received letter for deceased relatives.

“This is totally counter productive. All this has done is convince the 30 per cent of people who have not paid that they should not pay. Because nobody has a clue who has paid and who hasn’t,” said Cllr Richard Nagle (FF).

“I think at this point we should issue a letter of apology to those who received letters for relative who were deceased.”

Mr Coughlan said he was unhappy in the way the issue was handled. “I am unhappy as well. I am unhappy about the reputational damage which has been done to Clare County Council about this. I am unhappy about the time and resources that were spent on this and I am very unhappy that people got letter from this council which caused them upset.”