Category: News

WITH just two years until the local elections, Fianna Fáil leader Michéal Martin believes his party in still strong in Clare.

Traditionally a Fianna Fáil stronghold the party’s vote in Clare fell by 32 per cent during the last local election in 2009, while it was reduced to just one Dáil seat after the General Election in 2011.

As Fianna Fáil had no candidate in the Presidential election last November, the leader of the party made his first canvass of Clare on Friday last as he campaigned for a yes vote in the Stability Treaty.

During his visit he said, “I am under no illusion as to where people are. People are very, very upset with the turn of events.”

“I don’t expect transformation in attitude overnight so what we have to do as a party is renew and regain trust for people by honest politics, by changing the way we behave and the way we act as politicians. That is a big challenge for us and that is what we have to do. And actions speak louder than words and in many ways our stance on the treaty reflects that.

“Over time we will regain trust but also we want to bring new people into the party and younger people into the party in addition to what we have already. And what I have detected around the country is that people are offering themselves. We are witnessing people who are coming forward who want to stand and who want to contest the local election. That is encouraging and that is very reassuring and we need more women and we need more younger people and that is the key.”

“We have already appointed area representatives in areas we don’t have councillors and these people are already beavering away meeting with local organisations and community groups and working on the ground,” he said.

A SLOVAKIAN mother of two described in court as a “menace to the town” has received a two month prison sentence after being convicted of possessing stolen property in Ennis.

Eva Makulova (31), with an address at 3 Hazelwood, Clon Road, Ennis, pleaded guilty to three charges of theft and one charge of possessing stolen property at locations in Ennis over a 16-day period earlier this year.

Details of the charges against Ms Makulova were heard at Ennis District Court on Tuesday.

The court heard that Ms Makulova stole € 108 worth of children’s clothes from Dunnes Stores on Feb- ruary 17; perfume worth € 52 from Boots Chemist, on February 24 and perfume worth € 56 from Boots Chemist on February 25.

Ms Makulova, who has no previous convictions, also pleaded guilty to possessing stolen property valued at 412 euros at Lower Market Street, Ennis on March 3, knowing the property was stolen or being reckless as to whether it was stolen.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that the perfume found in the accused’s possession had been taken from Rochford’s Pharmacy, Ennis on February 29. The items were recovered and are re-saleable, he said.

Solicitor Tara Godfrey said Ms Makulova had stolen from Dunnes because she did not have money to buy clothes for her children. She said the clothes were recovered.

Ms Godfrey said her client, who is unemployed, had not been in receipt of social welfare at the time and had struggled to provide for her children. Ms Godfrey said the offences had occurred at a time when Ms Makulova’s husband was in prison.

She said her client had been compelled to steal out of a “victorian necessity” arising from “these hard times we live in.”

Insp Kennedy said he rejected Ms Godfrey’s depiction of Ms Makulova’s personal circumstances.

He said he disagreed that she was in “dire needs” and that no evidence of the unavailability of social welfare had been brought to court.

He said Ms Makulova had stolen “high value” goods.

He added, “I’m saying Ms Makulova is a thief and menace to this town.” Judge Patrick Durcan said he had to balance these “serious offences of a larcenous nature” with Ms Makulova’s guilty plea, good record and personal circumstances.

He applied the probation act in respect of the theft from Dunnes Store. Judge Durcan imposed separate fines of € 100 and € 200 in respect of the thefts from Boots. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal in both fines.

A two-month prison sentence was imposed for possessing of stolen property. Recogances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

THREE members of the same family accused of smashing windows in a house as five children slept on New Year’s morning have had the charges against them dismissed.

It had been alleged that Rosie Molloy Snr (39) and her two children Michael Molloy (19) and Laura Molloy (21) caused € 475 worth of damage to the home of Thomas Sherlock and Mary Maughan at 36 Westbourne Court, Watery Road, Ennis in the early hours of New Year’s Day this year.

Rosie Molloy and Michael Molloy, both with addresses at Bay 2 Ballaghboy Halting Site, Quin Road, Ennis and Laura Molloy, with an address at 21 An Pairc Bruach na hAbhainn, denied the charges of criminal damage.

The case was heard at Ennis District Court on Tuesday.

Mary Maughan told the court that she woke up to the sound of the Molloys “roaring abuse.”

She claimed that she saw the three accused standing outside the house. Ms Maughan said a silver Polo car owned by Laura Molloy was also outside the house.

Ms Maughan said by the time she and her partner, Tom Sherlock, got dressed, all the downstairs windows were broken.

She said, “The five kids in the house were screaming and crying. The kids were in an awful state.”

Solicitor for the Molloys, Daragh Hassett said it was an unusual reaction for someone to put their clothes on as the windows of their home were allegedly being smashed.

Ms Maughan told the court that she and Thomas Sherlock had been out for a few drinks in Ennis on the night.

Ms Maughan claimed that bottles were also thrown at the house.

Thomas Sherlock said he woke at around 4.30am to a lot of “shouting and roaring” outside the house.

He said he couldn’t remember how many bottles were allegedly thrown at the house but that he cleaned them up in the morning.

The court also heard details of an alleged altercation between Mary Maughan, Thomas Sherlock and Laura Molloy outside a pub in Ennis on New Year’s Eve.

Garda Bríd Troy, who attended the scene on the night, told the court that no independent witnesses came forward to make a statement.

Garda Kelly Doolan said that all the downstairs windows had been broken but that no bottles were found at the scene.

Rosie Molloy Snr said she had been at home all night babysitting. Laura Molloy said she had been out in Ennis on the night before returning home.

Michael Molloy said he was out for a drink in Kilmihil before going to the Queens nightclub.

All three said they were “nowhere near” Westbourne Court on the night.

Mr Hassett said there were “clear inconsistencies” in the evidence provided by the two complainants.

He said no independent evidence had been provided to support the claims of the complainants.

Judge Patrick Durcan said this was “curious case” in which the accused “absolutely denied” the charges against them.

He said there was an “absolute conflict in the evidence” provided by both sides.

He said, “There is a very slight doubt and as such, I dismiss the charges against Michael Molloy, Laura Molloy and Rosie Molloy.”

Judge Durcan also made an order binding all five parties – Thomas Sherlock, Mary Maughan, Rosie Molloy Snr, Laura Molloy and Michael Molloy – to keep the peace for a period of 12 months.

A TALENTED musician who has pleaded guilty to charges of theft of food, including a plate of chicken and pork has been told to concentrate on his music.

Judge Patrick Durcan was addressing Daryl Feely (18) of 92 Inis Clar, Kiladysert Road, at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Mr Feely pleaded guilty to the theft of sandwiches from Lynch’s Centra, Gort Road, Ennis on November 17 (2011). He was also charged with entering the West County Hotel as a trespasser to commit theft on September 28 (2011)

Inspector Tom Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the matters.

He told the court that the accused was discovered in the kitchen of the West County trying to take a chicken breast and two pork chops at around 4am on September 28.

The court heard that Mr Feely has no previous convictions.

Solicitor Daragh Hassett told the court that his client has a talent for music but had previously experienced problems with alcohol and drugs.

He said Mr Feely is involved a music programme run by the Clare Youth Services and plays with a local band.

Judge Patrick Durcan noted that Mr Feely is a talented musician who has the gift of playing music.

He commended Mr Feely for making a “very good effort” to deal with his problems. Judge Durcan, “Concentrate on your music and nothing else.”

He adjourned sentencing until July 18 to see if Mr Feely continues to make progress.

A MAN who admitted kicking a door of a West Clare hotel while drunk on vodka has been ordered to make a donation to one of Ireland’s oldest charities.

Judge Durcan told Daniel Wolf (23) to pay € 250 to the Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers Society – a 222-yearold Dublin based charity that provides support to hard-pressed individuals and families.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Mr Wolf, with an address at Flag Road Miltown Malbay pleaded guilty to a engaging in threatening, abusive and or insulting behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace at Dough, Spanish Point, Miltown Malbay on May 5.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that Gardaí were called to the Bellbridge House Hotel at around 12 midnight.

He said the accused was intoxicated and had taken issue with staff after they refused to let him back into the hotel.

He said Mr Wolf began kicking the door and was subsequently arrested.

Solicitor Fiona Hehir said her client was very apologetic for his actions and couldn’t really remember the incident.

She continued, “He was drinking vodka which does not agree with him. He has made a vow not to drink vodka again.”

Mr Wolf apologized in court for his behaviour at the Bellbridge.

He said, “I would like to apologise to the guards and the hotel. I promise it will never happen again.”

Judge Durcan said the accused had been “tanked up with Mr Smirnoff’s goodies” when he directed “ignorant and appalling behaviour towards the guards.” He said the appropriate order was a donation of € 250 to the Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers Society. Judge Durcan said that if the payment was made by June 13, the charges against Mr Wolf would be struck out and no conviction would be recorded against him.

“I WILL be monitoring every hospital to ensure cleanliness is up to the required standards,” vowed the new CEO of the Mid Western Hospitals Group.

Ann Doherty is almost five months in her new job and said the hospitals in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary have made measurable progress in relation to the control and prevention of the hospital bugs.

She claims this is evident through the reduction in MRSA and C difficile rates. “However there is a continuous need to increase our effort to support progress and ensure further improvements. In short we must do better,” she said.

At the Mid West Regional Hospital Ennis positive MRSA patients are isolated and remain isolated un- til a patient is deemed to be clear of MRSA. A patient is not deemed to be clear of MRSA until all three sets of screenings, taken 72 hours apart, return negative.

Patients continue to be screened at weekly intervals whilst in hospital. In Ennis all single rooms are vacated and prioitised for isolation.

There is a similar practice at the Mid Western Hospital in Limerick, which has 51 adult single rooms, 29 paediatric single rooms and 25 twobedded rooms.

“The principles and behaviours that prevent and control Healthhcare Associated Infections are well known and apply to all health and social care services,” according to Ms Doherty.

“These principles must be delivered by all staff who apply them as part of their daily routine, to eliminate the likelihood of a patient acquiring a Healthcare Associated Infection. Patients should expect nothing less,” she said. “It is therefore, important that everyone, both users and providers of all services, realise and embrace the principle that they, individually and collectively, have a responsibility to ensure that the National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infection are met and actively enforced across our hospitals.”

A SIGNIFICANT cut in hospital budgets, an increase in the number of seriously ill patients requiring hospital treatment and an urgent need for a new Emergency Department to cater for the growing needs of the mid-west area are all challenges facing the new CEO of the Mid Western Hospitals Group, Ann Doherty.

The woman charged with overseeing a new single hospital system for Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary is optimistic about the future despite the challenges.

Ms Doherty accepts that there are many shortfalls within the current system and does not dispute the “trolley watch figures” published daily by the nurse’s union – the INO.

A number of measures are already being put in place to deal with bed shortages including a patient flow system across the region’s hospitals, which sees day procedures transferred to Nenagh and Ennis.

She said the new emergency department, which has received approval, is also urgently needed.

Under the new hospital system a board of governors will be appointed to which Ms Doherty will report.

She explained that the new board of governance would provide a democratic input into the hospital system that many felt was lost with the dis- solution of the former health boards.

“We are engaged in building a single hospital system. If that sounds radical let me assure you that the Trust will not be an exercise in centralisation of services at the expense of the smaller hospitals. It is significant that changes in medicine and technology are leading to the establishment of region-wide specialist departments in fields such as radiology and cardiology. This had led to dramatic improvements such as in Ennis where tele-radiology was introduced in April 2011 as the main method of reporting X-rays and the development of outreach cardiology services such as the heart watch programme,” she said.

“The experience in Limerick over the last number of years is that three hospitals were organised to work as a single clinical unit providing acute care, orthopaedic and maternity services to the region. This concept is now being extended to include Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s hospitals as part of the Mid-West Hospitals Group and operating as one single hospital system of corporate and clinical governance.”

Complex medical cases will be treated at the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick.

“Facilities at the smaller hospitals (like Ennis) can be used to the maximum to ensure that people with less complex care needs get their treat- ment in a timely fashion and not experience delays as a consequence of pressure in the bigger centre,” said Ms Doherty.

“The challenge facing us is to bring about a unified hospital system in the mid-west at a time when we must focus on reducing costs while maintaining services. This year our budget has dropped by € 21.768 million or nine per cent on the 2011 figure,” she said.

“It is going to be extremely tough to maintain activity levels with this resource. It means we have to make what we have been given by the taxpayer go further through managing every aspect of our business more efficiently.”

A KILKEE woman has been hailed as one of Ireland’s up and coming fashion designers after being named as the overall winner of the prestigious 2012 Fashion Degree Show at the Limerick School of Art and Design.

Kaithlin McGrath from Farrihy in Kilkee beat off competition from 23 other young designers to claim the prize from a panel of judges that included designers Una Burke and Emma Kate Manley, and the Chairperson of the Council of Irish Fashion Designers Eddie Shanahan.

She scooped the prestigious award for her final year collection ‘Still Grew the Beat of Our Wings’ which was inspired by the old Irish tale of The Children of Lir.

The 21-year-old was a finalist in the recent Golden Egg Awards in Galway and did her work placement with Atilier Bordelle, a London-based lingerie brand established on bridging the gap between innerwear and outerwear.

In winning the coveted prize, Ms McGrath received the AIB Graduate Business Development Award which includes a bursary of € 2, 500 and a year’s mentoring programme with renowned retail and fashion consultant Eddie Shanahan and AIB’s Small and Medium Enterprise Specialist Maeve Duff.

Shanahan, who is the chairperson of the Council of Irish Fashion Designers works on fashion and new product development projects with Irish and international designers, deliver- ing new product development, fashion and branding seminars for Enterprise Ireland and the Crafts Council of Ireland and for several County Enterprise Boards in Ireland.

The Fashion department at LSAD, under the expert guidance of Anne Melinn, Head of Fashion Department and her team Siobhan Hanley and Michelle Molloy, has been named in the top 50 international fashion colleges and programs worldwide, a list which includes fashion colleges in London, New York and Paris. The LSAD Fashion Department is the only Irish college to be included.

THERE was unexpected good news for businesses in North Clare and South Galway yesterday with the news that the European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide a loan for the completion of the motorway connecting Gort and Galway.

The project, which has been stalled for more than two years, had looked unlikely to go ahead in the near future after a number of attempts to find a consortium willing to undertake a Public Private Partnership (PPP) on the site.

The Department of Transport confirmed yesterday that European Investment Bank had given approval, in principal, for a loan to be issued for the completion of the roads project.

According to the Department of Transport, the EIB will provide a loan of up to € 170 million for the Gort to Tuam route. This road is estimated to cost as much as € 530 million to complete in full.

It is as yet unclear whether this investment would allow the Government to further the roads using its own funds, in combination with the EIS money, or if the preferred method will be to continue on with the much used Public Private Partnership model.

A PPP would mean that a number of tolls would be put in place on the road to allow the private investors to recoup a profit from their investment.

Construction work on the road was due to begin more than two years ago but the British and Dutch partnership of BAM and Balfour Beatty pulled out of the project because of difficulties in finding investors because of concerns about Ireland’s sovereign debt.

CLARE designer, Jackie Maurer, stole the show at this weekend’s Future Makers Awards, bringing two awards back to the Banner County – including the main overall prize.

The Ballyvaughan-based designer won the inaugural Scarva Pottery Materials Award and also won the overall Future Makers Student Award.

The combined prize fund for winning both awards was € 3,000.

“These awards are fantastic. They will give me a platform and allow me to further my work. I’m absolutely thrilled,” she said.

“Nine years ago I got my work into a major exhibition in the RDS. I’ve been making pieces since I was 16 years of age.

“I started out as a functional maker, I trained with Stephen Pearce. In 2008, I went back to college and completely changed the style of my work.”

A graduate of the Limerick School of Art and Design, Jackie is renowned for her unique wearable ceramic neck pieces.

This weekend’s award recognises excellence, creativity and technical ability, and offers professional support for students to build their profile at a very early stage in their career.

With a total prize fund of € 30,000, the Future Makers awards and supports the next generation of Irish designers, helping them develop an exciting future in the craft and design industry.

Future Makers promotes and dis tinguishes craftsmanship and excellence in design for creative students and graduates at a critical stage in their career.

A total of 28 designers made it as far as the grand final, which was hosted by Sonya Lennon, host of the RTÉ One Off the Rails programme.