Category: News

CLARE County Council received complaints against 60 of its tenants last year in relation to anti-social behaviour.

According to figures received from the local authority, complaints were made against 60 of the council estimated 1,500 tenants in 2012.

It is unclear, however, how often each of these 60 tenants were complained, with some people complained on several or even dozens of occasions.

According to Liam O’Connor of the Housing Section at Clare County Council, the complaints are evenly distributed around the council’s properties and there are no anti-social blackspots.

Mr O’Connor also said that the local authority takes a proactive approach to dealing with anti-social behaviour by any of its tenants.

“A small proportion, approximately four per cent, of all tenancies would be reported during any one year as creating a problem in their neighbourhood,” he said.

“The council investigates in each case and works to resolve the issues. In very serious cases, where there is no improvement in the situation following the council’s intervention, eviction proceedings are taken by the council. One or two such proceedings would be underway during the course of any year.

“The council has formed a network of residents’ associations in which there are now 46 residents associations participating. Periodic network meetings are arranged with training and help being provided to the associations, whose voluntary work in their neighbourhoods is highly valued by the council.

“There is also active participation in the council’s ‘best kept estates’ awards each year, with 25 groups receiving awards at various levels last year.

“Notwithstanding this preventative and positive work with residents which contributes to a higher quality of life in those estates, the council also takes an active role in addressing tenancy breaches where those are reported. The council also liaises with statutory organisations including An Garda Siochána and the Health Service Executive on a regular basis, with regard to anti-social behaviour and related issues.”

A FORMER Clare County Council worker who was found dead at his home in Kilrush last May died as a result of misadventure, an inquest has heard.

The body of Michael Noel Blunnie (61) was discovered by gardaí at his home at 2 O’Gorman Street on May 1, 2011.

An inquest into his death heard that Mr Blunnie died from positional asphyxiation, with alcohol intoxication and heart disease as contributory factors.

County Coroner Isobel O’Dea ruled that Mr Blunnie died by misadventure.

Door-to-door enquires were car- ried out in the area following the death and CCTV footage was also obtained.

Supt Gerry Wall of Kilrush Garda Station told Clare Coroner’s Court on Friday that “no evidence of criminality was established from these lines of enquiry”.

The inquest heard that an ambulance was called to the house on April 30 after Mr Blunnie complained of stomach and chest pains. Mr Blunnie refused to get into the ambulance. A friend, Paul O’Connor, said he placed a blanket over Mr Blunnie when he fell asleep that evening. When he left, he also placed a rag in the front door to jam it shut because there was no lock.

Mr O’Connor said, “He drank a naggin of whiskey while I was there.”

The inquest heard that Mr Blunnie’s house was in poor condition, with no electricity, heating or running water.

Michael Sweeney told the inquest that he had left his family home in Kilrush at around 6am to look for a lighter. After trying a number of houses, Mr Sweeney called to Mr Blunnie’s house. He told the inquest that he had known the deceased for a number of years. Mr Sweeney walked in, took the lighter and noticed Mr Blunnie lying down. He added, “I did not stay there. I panicked and left. I hate dead bodies.”

After calling to his brother’s house, Mr Sweeney phoned the gardaí, the inquest heard.

Of Mr Sweeney’s demeanor, Garda Gander said, “He appeared to be distressed and upset and struggled to get across what happened at 2 O’Gorman Street….He was very forthcoming.”

Deputy State Pathologist Dr Kahlid Jaber told the court that blood and urine analyses showed that Mr Blunnie “was drinking heavily at the time he passed away”.

He said the primary cause of death was positional asphyxiation with acute alcohol intoxication and hyper cardio-vascular disease as contributory factors.

Ms O’Dea said, “It is quite clear from the evidence there was no suspicion of foul play.” She paid her condolences to the deceased’s family and friends.

Retired garda Michael Ryan also paid his condolences to the Blunnie family. He said, “Mick Noel was nice, gentle man.”

AN ENNIS resident who has been a victim of recent anti-social behaviour says he will drive to the office of the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, and complain to him in person if action is not taken to improve the service being offered to the public by gardaí in Clare.

The Glenina resident, who asked not to be identified, says he is only raising the issue with Minister Shat- ter in the hope that it will spark a change in the way anti-social, violent and intimidating behaviour is treated by the gardaí.

“I don’t have anything against any garda, but I think the people have just lost faith in them.

“I know their resources have been stretched but that makes it all the more important to engage with the local people,” he said.

“All I want is for this to spark a change. It is no good for the gardaí to sit there and wait for the people to come to them – they have to part of some sort of community approach to solving this problem.

“Until they do that, nothing is going to change – it will only get worse. When I was at school, everyone knew the local policeman.

“He was part of the community. It is not about driving up and down the Gort Road. It is about getting out of the car and actually talking to people. It is an old fashioned idea but it will work. What is happening in Ennis is bad but it is nothing compared to situations which have happening in other places.

“So it can be fixed. But if something is not put in place to fix this then it will get worse.

“We cannot bury our heads in the sand any longer. I’m not interested in Dublin or Limerick, if something is not done in County Clare soon then it will only get worse.

“If I don’t get a reply from Alan Shatter I will get into the car and go and visit him in his constituency office,” he added.

KATIE Taylor’s historic Olympic triumph came as no surprise to one former teammate of the Bray boxer.

Ennis woman Edel Malone wore the green jersey alongside Katie on Irish soccer team from under 17 right up to senior level.

Having observed up close the dedication of Ireland’s newest Olympic champion, Edel says Katie is the perfect role model for any young sportsperson.

She continues, “When you speak with her, she’s the most humble person and she has this gentle spirit about her but when she gets onto the pitch and into the ring, the fire inside her, her passion for that sport, comes out. Her training was always number one. Any athlete should use Katie as a role model, for her attitude, work ethic and natural ability. Just look at how far it has taken her.”

Apart from their Ireland days, Edel and Katie also crossed paths on the club scene, most famously in 1998 when Clare took on Wicklow in the prestigious Kennedy Cup.

Edel recalls, “We probably know each other since we were 12. She played with Lourdes Celtic and I was with Lifford. We would’ve played against each other in All-Ireland competitions. If there was someone you had to really mark on the other team, that was Katie. Then we played in the Kennedy Cup. It’s traditionally a boys’ competition but that year there were three girls in the whole tournament. She was with Wicklow and I was with Clare. The two of us made it to one of the finals so we got to play against each other.”

A Clare team, managed by John O’Neill and Vinny McDermott, claimed a narrow 1-0 victory.

Now living in New York where she has just completed a Masters in Documentary Studies and Production, Edel had to rely on updates from her mother and friends to follow Katie’s nerve-shredding quest for gold.

She thinks that having fulfilled a life-long ambition, her former teammate could hang up the boxing gloves for a return to soccer.

Edel, who is currently nursing a knee injury, says, “It will be interesting to see if she returns to football. She could do that. She’s achieved everything in boxing. If it wasn’t a boxing tournament she was preparing for, she was getting ready for a soccer match. I think she could very well go back to playing soccer also.

“You can only imagine the amount of pressure she was under. One of our other friends who plays soccer and is quite close with her, she texted a few days ago saying she had met Katie after she’d won gold. She said that Katie was over the moon and that she was so relieved,” she adds.

Selina Moylan and Susan McNamara are two Clare women who also played with Katie Taylor on Irish soccer teams.

A 17-YEAR-OLD boy is recovering in hospital in Galway today after receiving head and neck injuries while diving in Kilkee on Sunday.

Limerick teenager, Killian Rae, received 30 stitches to a large headwound after he dived into shallow water at the East End of the pier in Kilkee just after midday on Sunday.

Mr Rae, who is a regular visitor to Kilkee with his family, struck his head off jagged concrete underwater the water and was airlifted to hospital. The Clare People understands that he has responded well to treatment and should be released later today, August 14, with no permanent neck or back damage.

The youngster was rescued from the water in a joint operation by the Kilkee Rescue Service and the Kilkee Unit of the Irish Coast Guard and was treated on site by the HSE rapid response unit.

The Shannon-based coast guard helicopter was dispatched to airlift the youth to hospital but it was unable to find a suitable landing spot close to the pier. Instead, Mr Rae was transported to the Kilkee Golf Club where he was airlifted from the first tee.

Spokesperson for Kilkee Marine Rescue Manuel Di Lucia said the lack of a dedicated helicopter landing site in Kilkee could put lives in danger in the future.

“It worked out okay in this situation – except that all the sand from one of the bunkers on the first tee was blown away – but this is not an acceptable situation.

We need a proper helicopter landing space closer to the pier in case of an emergency like this,” said Mr Di Lucia.

FORGET Katie Taylor, a woman from Miltown Malbay may have the most recognisable Irish female face on the planet.

For the last six months, Lourda Sexton, from Ahey Bridge in Miltown, has been broadcasting to hundreds of millions of people on the Chinese television network CCTV.

The Chinese state broadcaster has a potential reach of more than half a billion people in China, but also broadcasts internationally on a number of cable television platforms. Based in Dubai, Lourda has been back home for the last four weeks, compiling a number of broadcasts from Ireland, including one from the Willie Clancy Summer School.

“I worked in TV and radio in Dubai for a number of years and I was delighted to get this chance to work for CCTV. China Central Television is like the BBC or the RTÉ of China – it has 13 channels and I work for the news channel, which is an Englishlanguage channel,” said Lourda.

“I’m normally in Dubai and I cover a mixture of stories but I’m spending the summer in Ireland covering a lot of different stories from here. It’s exciting work, I get to go to a lot of interesting places and meet a lot of different people.”

After the visit of Chinese VicePresident, Xi Jinping, to a Clare farm and the Cliffs of Moher earlier this year, hopes are high that agricultural and tourism links can be forged between the Banner county and China.

“I’ve already covered the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway and the Willie Clancy Week in Miltown and I’d hope to do a few more stories from this side of the country. It really is a mixture of trying to show off Ireland, and what it can offer, and the links between China and Ireland,” said Lourda.

“In China, they do have an interest in Ireland. They have an interest in everywhere. There are around 60,000 Chinese in Ireland for one, so they do want to know what is going on here.”

Lourda will remain in Ireland until September and is on the look-out for any local stories which may have an interest for a Chinese audience. Anyone who thinks they may have an interesting story can contact Lourda on lourdasexton@gmail.com.

Anyone who wants to see Lourda in action can locate her on channel 510 on SKY.

SHANNON Development’s work as a driver for tourism in the mid-west is being rewarded with the results of increased numbers into region over the past year.

That’s the message delivered by Shannon Development chief executive Dr Vincent Cunnane following the publication of the company’s annual report last week.

Preliminary tourism figures from Fáilte Ireland for 2011 indicate that the Shannon region was one of Ire- land’s top performing areas in terms of the growth of international visitor numbers.

The region recorded 850,000 overseas visitors in 2011, an 11.7 per cent increase over the previous year, with Dr Cunnane highlighting Shannon Development key role in this upsured. “We are delighted with these preliminary results which clearly reflect the hard work that is being done on the ground and internationally to promote this region as a premier tourist destination,” he told The Clare People .

“While these figures are encouraging, we would acknowledge that not all businesses would have benefited equally. To support tourism businesses in the Shannon region, Shannon Development undertook a series of its own strategic tourism initiatives in 2011,” he said.

“These delivered 155,000 extra visitors, 310,000 bednights and an additional € 30 million in revenue. Over the past four years, tourism initiatives undertaken directly by the company have delivered a direct economic benefit of almost € 160 million for the region’s tourism industry.”

Tourism continues to be one of the key economic drivers in the Shannon region’s economy, employing more than 25,000 people in over 1,000 tourism businesses and attracting over 1.8 million visitors in 2011.

The continued success of Shannon Development subsidiary, Shannon Heritage, in this tourist drive was highlighted in the figures that show it recorded a five per cent growth in 2011 with 436,300 visitors across the board at all its tourist sites.

“The Shannon Heritage operation continues to be an economic driver by contributing an estimated € 15 million in revenue for the local economy,” said Dr Cunnane

“The Shannon region boasts a superb range of tourist attractions and Shannon Development’s Product Development team is constantly working to help the tourism trade devise new visitor attractions to entice the next generation of visitors.

“We want to ensure that this region is a ‘must visit’ destination.

“Our team is currently working on over € 22 million worth of tourism projects. A particular area of concentration for the company in 2011 was the development of sports tourism and conference business in the Shannon region,” added Dr Cunnane.

THE East Clare community of Ogonnelloe will say a final farewell this morning (Tuesday) to a father of three who drowned following a boating accident on Lough Derg.

Pat Danaher lost his life in the picturesque lake after his 20-foot speedboat capsized on Thursday. It is understood that the boat ran aground after hitting rocks.

It was later found upturned and a search of the waters was immediately carried out. The massive search involved volunteer members of the RNLI, Coast Guard, Civil Defence, Mountshannon Search and Rescue and Killaloe/Ballina Search and Recovery Unit.

Divers from the Killaloe/Ballina Search and Recovery Unit recovered the 44-year-old’s body on Friday.

His death has been described as a tragedy by Parish Priest Donagh O’Meara, who said the whole community was still in shock.

“Pat’s tragic death is an awful loss to his family and the local community. Pat was a great character, larger than life, and the community is still in shock at the news. It’s a terrible tragedy.”

Fr O’Meara was confident that the community would provide support to his widow Pauline and their three young children, Rachel, Laura and Leo.

“There is a fantastic community here in Ogonnelloe and people are great. I know they will all rally around Pauline and the children and Pat’s own family at this terrible time. Many from the community were down in Garrykennedy during the search to show their support for the family,” he said.

Mr Danaher was originally from Ballinacurra Gardens in Limerick, but the painting contractor had set- tled with his young family in Nancy’s Well, Ogonnelloe.

Gardaí and the Marine Casualty Investigation Board are continuing to conduct separate inquiries into his untimely death. Gardaí have confirmed that they are treating the death as a tragic accident.

Requiem Mass will take place this morning in St Mary’s Old Church, Ogonolloe at 11am followed by a private cremation.

Mr Danaher is survived by his wife Pauline and three children Rachel, Laura and Leo, his parents Bridie and Tony, and sisters Monique, Samantha, Sonia and Natasha.

SHANNON Development has stated that plans to develop a major new visitor attraction in Bunratty are still in the pipeline, with the company’s annual report revealing that the campaign to secure expressions of interest for the multi-million euro project is ongoing.

“Shannon Development is seeking expressions of interest for a major new international visitor attraction on its 120-acre landbank next to the world famous Bunratty Castle and Folk Park,” the report reveals.

“Research carried out by Shannon Development identified a number of possible suitable projects for the site, among them a diaspora visitor centre and genealogy centre, and a themed family adventure park,” it adds.

The deadline for expressions of interest for the project was extended earlier this year as part of Shannon Development’s attempts to spark interest in a multi-national investor coming on board to develop the project.

It was originally intended that the closing date for submission to the regional development agency would be the end of March, but in extending this deadline chief executive Dr Vincent Cunnane said, “additional time is required” because of the sig- nificant “nature of the project” that would be one of the largest to be undertaken under Shannon Development’s watch in decades.

“While the money may not be in Ireland, there is money elsewhere and the best value can be had at this point in time,” Dr Cunnane said.

This project has its genesis in a 2009 Clare County Council decision through the South Clare Local Area Plan to pave the way for the development of visitor facilities on the Shannon Development-owned site.

Shannon Development subsequently revealed that “informal discussions with Clare County Council indicated that they would welcome a tourism related planning application for this strategic site”.

In tender documents for the development of the site adjacent to Bunratty Castle, Shannon Development have highlighted gaps in the market that can be filled Bunratty – 50 years on from the start of medieval banquets in Bunratty Castle.

One of the proposals is to develop an Ireland Through the Ages History and Cultural Centre incorporating a diaspora visitor centre and genealogy centre.

“It is estimated that the size of the available market for cultural tourism in Ireland from main source markets of Britain, United States, France and Germany to be of the order of € 65 million,” the tender documents stated.

“The preferred option for Shannon Development is to enter into a development and management agreement with a preferred party for the development and operation of the new attraction,” the documents added.

Earlier this year, Dr Cunnane stated that the project “represents a unique opportunity beside an existing tourism attraction visited by 400,000 people per annum, adjacent to Shannon Airport and two hours by motorway from Dublin.

“We are hopeful that something very significant will happen at Bunratty. I’m confident that we will receive several expressions of interest,” he added.

PARTS of the mid-west experienced twice the amount of average rainfall during June and July, according to Met Eireann.

Figures for July recorded at Met Eireann’s station at Shannon Airport was 140 per cent of average in July.

Temperatures were also 1.4 per cent lower than average. The highest mean temperature, however, was recorded at Shannon Airport at 14.9 degrees. Met Eireann spokesman Hugh Daly explained that the rainfall for June and July was significantly higher than normal.

He said, “After a wet June and a wet July, we’ve had two pretty bad months. Not record-breaking bad or out of the ordinary like we’ve previously had. In June and July, rainfall recorded at Shannon was 240 per cent of average, which is significant. That’s twice the normal amount of rainfall for the two months.”

Mr Daly continued, “Having one bad month on top of another has really compounded the situation. A constant period of heavy rainfall meant the saturated soils did not have the time to recover. We had low pressure and northerly winds keeping temperatures down and rainfall high.”

“We had no string of pleasant days, it was constantly interrupted by rain. I was looking through the charts there and I couldn’t find one day in where it wasn’t raining in any part of the country. It was always raining somewhere,” he added.

Apart from being bad news for farmers, the poor weather is also contributing to a decline in domestic tourism in the west.

According to Eugene Maher, CEO of Shannon Ferries, the near constant bad weather is convincing many families to cancel short breaks and day trips.

He explained, “The biggest decline has been in domestic traffic. People just can’t afford to go anywhere anymore. People are not taking long journeys, long trips. That’s a consequence of both domestic economic woes, less money in the pocket, as much as it due to the weather. In tandem with the economic downturn, Ireland has probably experienced five of the worst summers in history that has had a huge damaging effect on domestic tourism.”