Category: News

A NEW website has been launched to help promote the folklore and oral history of County Clare, with the story tellers taking centre stage.

The site, www.clarememories.ie, is a result of the work of Cuimhneamh an Chláir, the Clare Oral History and Folklore Group, who have been documenting the memories of Clare’s oldest citizens for the last two years.

The voluntary group have already amassed considerable collection of material amounting to more than 330 interviews with people aged between 65 and 106.

The website, which was supported by the Clare Local Development Company, provides information on Cuimhneamh an Chláir’s collection programme as well as their outreach and education initiatives. Viewers can also play samples of the groups recordings as well as learn about aspects of Clare’s folklore, like old Irish words used by older people in Clare as well as Biddy Early, Bríd Uí Choisteala and other folklore figures in the county. An interactive map shows an example of where the group have conducted interviews across Clare and a sample of the summaries conducted for each interview can be read. Of the 300 plus people interviewed by Cuimhneamh an Chláir, more than 40 have passed away, including ten people who were over one hundred years old when they were interviewed.

According to Frances Madigan of the Cuimhneamh an Chláir Executive Committee, the group aims to continue with its intensive collection programme in the coming years andwill also maintain their ambition of taking the material back out the public at every opportunity.

“It’s vital that we make the material as available as we can to the people of Clare in the short term through our listening room concept, ‘Come here till I tell ya’ and through radio programmes as well as public workshops. However in the long term, we aim to make all the material available to the people of Clare and are working towards that on a continuous basis. Features will be added to the website over the coming months based on collected material all across County Clare, exploring themes such as farming in the old days, electrification, beliefs, and calendar customs.”

Former Mayor of Clare and founding member of the group Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) said, “Just three years ago, Cuimhneamh an Chláir was an idea. Now we have built one of the largest and most successful folklore collection groups in the country.”

LAST Wednesday’s temporary loss of water supply to parts of Ennis and its surrounds was a result of a burst mains on a main trunk supply from the Drumcliff reservoir.

Clare County Council identified the problem quickly and worked through Wednesday night to ensure supply was fully restored within 24 hours.

During the disruption Ennis General Hospital was without water for a short time but fire services using water tankers ensured that hospital supplies of water were unaffected by the loss of supply.

According to Senior Engineer with Clare County Council Sean Ward, the discovered leak was a serious one.

“On Wednesday morning we observed high flows through our district meter on Sandfield Road, indicating that there was a major leak or burst in that district.

“We shut the district off at 10am, located the burst and started to repair it,” he told The Clare People , adding that very quickly people were in contact with the council to report water issues.

“CCC staff immediately started inspecting the network to locate any other bursts that might account for this loss of pressure.

“With the assistance of the operating contractor’s staff at Drumcliffe water treatment plant, a major leak was found on one of the two trunk supply mains from Drumcliffe reservoir to the town,” Sean said.

To protect the town’s main water supply, the council took the decision to temporarily cut off the main supply route in question.

The burst section of main was exposed by 6pm and repaired by 9.30pm. Ennis area staff then worked during the night and again early the following morning to ensure that supply was getting back to all areas. Mr Ward praised the co-operation of local landowner Pat Tierney, who facilitated the early repair work.

“Clare County Council would like to record its appreciation to Pat Tierney, the owner of the land on which the trunk main burst occurred, for readily facilitating entry to his land to allow the big main to be repaired this greatly assisted the speed of our response,” he added.

CLARE has officially suffered its wettest June since 1947, with farmers across the county facing major bills this winter as grass growth and fodder harvesting are both well behind normal.

According to new figures produced by Met Éireann, June 7 was the wettest June day recorded at Shannon Airport in 65 years.

These record rainfalls have been compounded by unusually low levels of sunshine in the county – which have been disturbing beach users and holiday makers, as well as the county’s farmers.

Indeed, according to the the Irish Meteorological Service, Shannon Airport recorded its dullest June since 1993, 19 years ago, with average temperature for the month also below normal. This is despite the average temperature for the month being higher in Clare, at 13.6 degrees, than anywhere else in the county.

This unseasonably wet June has created a situation where many Clare farmers have yet to harvest their first cut of silage. A number of dairy farmers in the county have been forced to return cattle to shed at night and supplement their feed in order to keep milk supply up.

“This is adding serious cost to Clare farmers. They are keeping them inside and there is a big extra cost on meal in order to keep cows milking. If you let cows back this time of the year it is impossible to get them back again,” said Martin McMahon, Clare President of the ICMSA.

“This is a disaster for farmers. The ground conditions are unbelievable we never saw land as wet before as we are seeing it now. The big problem is coming down the line. A lot of farmers need two week of good fine weather before some farmers in the county will be able to cut anything.

“They are in trouble now but that is going to put them in serious trouble this winter when they don’t have the feed to feed their cattle. There are some farmers who would normally do two cuts of silage and they haven’t even got their first cut in yet.

“Farmers don’t know whether to chance cutting the land or not. Farmers are getting desperate and taking chances and they are needing up with fodder down for maybe a week or more and that means that the quality in the fodder will not be there.

“There is going to be a big scarcity of fodder over the winter – and the quality is going to be very poor,” he said.

THE team behind the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop have vowed to restart the commuter ferry service as soon as possible, despite the cancellation of the last three days of sailing during its week-long trial.

The service was halted on the morning of Thursday, June 31, with “unforeseen circumstances” on behalf of the chartered boat operator cited as the reason.

All sailings for Friday and Satur- day, July 1 and 2, were completely booked out, with more than 70 per cent of seats on the June 31 sailing also booked.

According to Gwen Ryan of Ballyvaughan Bay Hop, everyone who booked tickets for these days will receive a full refund.

“It was very disappointing that the service was cancelled but, on the up side, the few days we did run the service have indicated a huge demand and interest in this transport option,” said Gwen.

“It has also demonstrated for a lot of people, just how central the harbour is in Galway City. And we have learnt a valuable lesson from the unexpected aborting of the service. The project group will be meeting soon to reflect on the results of the trial service and to plan the next stage in the project.

“I can’t shed any light on what these next steps might be until we have met and decided them but we will certainly have to look at the funding options available to source a cabined passenger rib and we will have to engage Clare County Coun- cil on the possibility of getting a floating pontoon for passengers so that they can disembark comfortably.

“We have a lot of work to do yet before the service is up and running on a permanent basis but our efforts to date have been buoyed by the fantastic reaction and support the trial service received.”

The fastest crossing time recorded during the trial was 27 minutes more than an hour quicker than the average commute time by car of the same journey.

THE inclement weather put a dampener on the fun in Kilrush at the weekend as almost all of the Féile Sona festival had to be postponed.

Organisers decided on Thursday night to call off all the outdoor family events as the weather forecast pointed to a complete wash out.

The brainchild of Cllr Ian Lynch (FG) and Christine Murphy, the successful family fun weekend was in its third year.

“We hope to run the Saturday and Sunday events again later in the summer when the weather improves,” said Cllr Lynch.

Describing the weather so far this summer as a disaster, he said a heavy rainfall would make family entertainment such as the bouncy castle very dangerous.

As well as a health and safety risk, running the event under such circumstances was causing a headache for the event’s insurers.

It was therefore decided on Thursday evening to call off most of the events.

Cllr Lynch said it was very disappointing to have to make the decision especially as the weekend had grown so much in the last year with the FAI coming on board this year.

Not all was lost however as two of the indoor evening events went ahead.

The seven-aside soccer competition took place as did the singing pubs competition.

The competition involved all of the local pubs putting on a 30-minute act, with four pubs taking part in the final on Sunday night.

DESPITE predictions of a wash out, Ennis is after having a bumper weekend. The inclement weather of the last week did not dampen the spirits of visitors to the county town for the Street Festival, Senior Inter-county Hurling Championship game and general tourist activities.

It is not yet known the exact net financial worth of the busy July weekend, but local estimates put it at hundreds of thousands of euro, with the more optimistic suggesting up to € 1 million.

The county spirit as well as the local economy got a boost after the two days of activities topped by a Clare win against Dublin.

President of the Ennis Chamber of Commerce Brian O’Neill described it all “as the best weekend of the year”.

All accommodation was booked out on Saturday night as the Dublin hurling team discovered when they searched for a bed for the night shortly after 10pm.

Mr O’Neill, who owns the popular Rowan Tree restaurant and hostel, said that he had a lot of the Dublin hurling fans staying with him, and although there was no room at his inn when the team called, he was sure they were accommodated elsewhere.

As many as 2,000 Dubliners are understood to have stayed in Ennis on Saturday night to enjoy the party atmosphere, despite their disappointment.

The fallout of the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway saw more bed occupied.

Mr O’Neill explained that Ennis accommodated a lot of the overflow from the Ocean Race, as many people opted to stay in Ennis and travel to Galway for the different events.

Many also stayed around the town’s street festival, which brought life to the town on Sunday according to the chamber president.

He also paid tribute to what is proving one of the biggest tourist attractions in the town this year – Ennis Abbey.

“Since Ennis Abbey re-opened it is driving a lot more tourists into the town centre and keeping them there. It is free of charge but benefiting the local economy as people stay around to buy a bottle of water, a sandwich, cup of coffee or another gift,” said the business man.

“The attitude and atmosphere is so much better when people are seen around the town,” he added.

RIVER levels in Ennis remain under constant observation amid rising concerns from local businesses over flooding.

A senior official with Ennis Town Council said yesterday that rainfall and water levels in the Ennis area probably the most “watched pieces of data in the county”.

Eamon O’Dea was responding to concerns sparked by recent heavy flooding in Clonakilty, Cork.

Cllr Tony Mulqueen (FG) told a meeting of councillors in the Ennis West Electoral Area that businesses in the Abbey Street area fear a repeat of damage suffered during unprecedented flooding in November 2009.

He said, “When people saw what happened in Clonakilty, it made them more conscious of flooding.”

Mr O’Dea said council staff had recently conducted round-the-clock observation of water levels around Ennis.

He said an alert system is in place and that measures such as sandbags and electrical pumps are on standby in locations around the town.

However Mr O’Dea warned that there are certain extreme rainfall events that could not be planned for.

The meeting also heard that work on the lower Fergus Certified Drainage Contract is anticipated to commence in October.

The information was released in response to a motion tabled by Cllr James Breen (Ind).

“I am asking the up to date position in relation to the elimination of future flooding at Abbey Street Car Park. When will work on the river begin?” he said.

In his reply, Mr O’Dea stated, “The Office of Public Works (OPW) are presently carrying out a tender assessment on the lower Fergus Certified Drainage Contract. The works include the Abbey Street car park and area behind houses opposite the Abbey. The OPW anticipate that work will commence on the scheme in October 2012. The Council has requested that the work in this area is prioritised by the OPW contractor.”

The project was delayed earlier this year after the OPW was forced to abandon its tender process.

Mr O’Dea said that process had now re-commenced but that it may take some time before a contractor is appointed. “It is a fairly laborious process,” he added.

Cllr Breen said, “Its disappointing. This is the third year that this project has not started. Rate payers in the area are very concerned.”

The scheme will see improvements to river walls and other flood defenses on the Fergus from Bank Place to Doora Bridge. Phase one of the scheme is credited with preventing floods in large areas of the town centre during November 2009.

WATER levels on the River Shannon rose by a massive 500 centimetre in just 10 days in June, raising fears of unprecedented summer floods affecting parts of East and South Clare. Water levels on the river are currently on a par to the levels normally seen in October and November.

This has sparked concerns that an unprecedented summer flood could hit East Clare communities who are sometimes affected by winter flooding from the Shannon.

Concern has also been expressed that waterlogged area in parts of the county could be more susceptible to winter flooding this year – if the backlog of water doesn’t get a chance to clear.

The overall water levels on the River Shannon last month were more than 300 centimetre higher than the average for June of 2011.

According to figures released by the ESB, who control water flow at Ardnacrusha, water levels on the river rose from 37.7 metre on June 6 to 38.2 metres on June 16 and stood at 38.3 metres at the end of June.

The June water level was on a par with the November 2010 level, while it was marginally higher than the peak level in October 2009 – when many Clare towns were devastated by flooding.

It is as yet unclear how much of this massive backlog of water can be cleared by the ESB’s management of the Parteen Weir and Ardnacrusha.

A build-up of water which began in October of 2009 eventually contributed to widespread flooding across many areas in South East Clare later that year.

PRESSURE is mounting on An Post to bankroll a mid-week bus service for the people of Corofin who lost their local post office last week.

Following requests from members of the local community, Clare Accessible Transport have now started a Saturday morning service connecting Corofin and Kilfenora, one of the closest post offices to Corofin.

However, North Clare Senator Martin Conway (FG) met with offi cials at An Post last week and asked that the postal agency supply a midweek bus service to ease the pressure on locals.

“Many elderly people in Corofin and many of those on social welfare do not have transport and they will find it difficult to get to Kilfenora.

“I’m calling for An Post to provide bus transportation on a Tuesday and Friday for people without transportation, until an alternative premises can be found in Corofin,” said Senator Conway.

“An unfortunate set of circumstances led to the resignation of the postmaster in Corofin and to the closure of the post office.

“I acknowledge that An Post is doing its best, but the connectivity issue between the villages needs to be addressed,” he said.

Clare Accessible Transport hosted their first Saturday morning return service between Corofin and Kilfenora last week.

The not-for-profit organisation has committed to the service on a shortterm basis but could extend the service if required.

“The service leaves from outside Bofey Quinns in Corofin at 11.30am on Saturday and returns from Kilfenora at 12.15pm.

“We have a number of members in the Corofin area and they asked us to look at introducing this service,” said a spokesperson.

The Saturday morning bus service between Corofin and Kilfenora is open to anyone but users are asked to pay a € 10 yearly subscription to Clare Accessible Transport.

Following that, anyone with a travel pass can use the service for free, while a € 2 charge applies for the over 16s, and a € 1 charge applies for children under 16 years of age.

Children aged under five can use the service for free. Pre-booking is essential by ringing 061 924375.

Meanwhile, An Post have introduced an external postbox in Corofin to replace the posting facility in the Corofin Post Office and have confirmed that mail collections will continue at normal times.

It is still not clear when regular post office service will be resumed in Corofin.

A COMPROMISE appears to have been reached between Clare County Council and Minister Leo Varadkar over the involvement of the local authority responsible for Shannon in the decision making process for the Airport.

The main bone of contention between the two concerned Clare County Council’s lack of involvement in the three steering groups appointed to oversee the process.

Following a meeting between the two sides it would appear that a formal mechanism will now be put in place whereby there is communication between the Council and the three groups.

A Clare County Council delegation met with Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar on Thursday to discuss issues relating to Shannon Airport’s separation from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).

Following the meeting at the Department of Transport in Dublin, Mayor of Clare Councillor Pat Daly announced that the Minister had committed to putting a formal proc- ess in place to facilitate input by the Mayor and Clare County Manager, on behalf of the Council, with the Chairs of the recently announced Steering Group and two Taskforces.

“Minister Varadkar listened to our views and accepted we have a valuable contribution to make to the process,” stated Mayor Daly.

He continued: “The Council accepted that if the Minister was to add additional members to the Taskforces that he would have to reopen the entire process and that could have delayed the work of the relevant Taskforces. Therefore, the Council did not request to be included on the Taskforces. We asked for a process that would facilitate the Council influencing, and participating in the decision making process. The Minister positively responded to that request.”

Clare County Manager, Tom Coughlan confirmed he has already met with the Chairs of the Taskforces.

“The Chairs strongly indicated to me that the Council’s input to their deliberations would be essential to the process. The outcome of today’s meeting with the Minister is that a formal process is being put in place to facilitate that role.

“Clare County Council, as the Local Authority for Shannon and Clare, looks forward to playing a key role in devising a plan for the future development of Shannon Airport,” he added.

The Clare County Council delegation that met with Minister Varadkar included Mayor of Clare Cllr. Pat Daly, Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan, and Councillors Patricia McCarthy, Richard Nagle and John Crowe, each members of the Council’s Corporate Policy Group.