Category: News

THE announcement last week that Ennistymon will play host to the first ever Dylan Thomas Literary Weekend has already ruffled a few feathers across the water in Wales with one Welsh newspaper suggesting that the poets link to Clare are “tenuous” at best.

The Dylan Thomas tourism “industry” is worth an estimated € 4 million to the economy of Swansea – where Dylan Thomas was born. Welsh tourism expert, Anne Haden, who runs the Dylan Thomas House in Swansea, believes that the Clare festival will not damage the local business in Wales.

“Those who go to this literary festival in County Clare and become fascinated by Dylan will no doubt want to come and see where he was born in Swansea and that can only be good for us,” she said. “What we should be doing is putting trade stands up at the festival to let people know there is plenty going on in Swansea to remember this writer of ours.

“This is a fantastic advert for the life of one of Wales’ greatest exports. We are not only famous for rugby, football and choirs – a short little man from Swansea proved he was a brilliant writer and a great character and became renowned across the world.”

Swansea-based Dylan Thomas expert Jeff Towns says he may even travel to the Falls Hotel for the festival.

“I remember when the hotel was creating a Dylan Thomas room they asked me for some memorabilia which I sent on the grounds I would get a free night there. I never took it so now might be a good time to go,” he said.

“I don’t think the Irish event will harm what’s going on here and in many ways could create some new Dylan fans in Ireland.

“It’s also true Caitlin Thomas had a strong love for Ireland. She was born in London but her father’s links to the Irish arts scene led her to meet Augustus John, then Dylan himself. After Dylan’s death she travelled in Ireland to discover her roots.”

THE first PhD ever awarded on Clare soil will be handed out in Ballyvaughan this Wednesday as the Burren College of Art breaks new ground for education in the county.

Having studied in North Clare for almost five years, Eileen Hutton has been giving the honour of receiving the first PhD ever awarded on Clare soil. Her work is heavily linked with nature and she has used material produced with the help of Burren birds and bees as part of her PhD.

President and cofounder of the Burren College of Art, Mary Hawkes Greene, says the conferring will be a big day for the college.

“The awarding of the first PhD in Studio Art at Burren College of Art is a significant milestone not only for the recipient Eileen Hutton, but also for the college itself,” she said.

“The location of the college has been integral to the focus of Eileen’s work, investigating reciprocal relationships between artists and the natural environment. Her sculptural collaborations with the blue tits and honeybees in the Burren has not only strengthened their natural habitats but has provided valuable insight into the positive ways environmental art can impact on its surroundings.

“We are delighted that the first PhD studies conducted at the college have focused so specifically and benefitted immeasurably from the Burren itself, the very reason for the college’s existence.”

The PhD itself will be awarded by the National University of Ireland, Galway – who are the Burren College’s academic partners. Eileen’s final exhibition at the Burren College of Art was entitled ‘Being in the Land’ was included a series of shaped honey combs formed by Burren bees and hexagonal birds nests made by Helen and 20 families of local blue tits.

“I wanted to interact with the ecology of the Burren and ask what is ecology and what is biodiversity in the Burren context. I am aware of the different focuses that people have in the Burren between the eco-tourists and the farmers, the work that BurrenBeo is doing and also BurrenLIFE,” said Eileen.

“There are a lot of people trying to develop a contemporary relationship with the Burren that is beneficial both the people and the environment.”

THE family of a Clarecastle Christian Brother accused on RTÉ of child abuse while serving a missionary in Africa have renewed their call for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) for an inquiry to be launched by the Minister for Communications, Pat Rabbitte.

This demand for justice for Brother Gerard Dillon has been sounded out in the wake of the leaking of the BAI report into RTÉ’s defaming of Galway priest, Fr Kevin Reynolds, in the Primetime Investigates ‘Mission to Prey’ programme.

This programme also aired a claim by South African man Tyrne Selmon that he was abused by Brother Dillon.

Amanda Dillon, a grand-niece of Brother Dillon who died in 2005, has said there needs to be a full investigation into the research carried out by RTÉ.

She also reiterated her family’s call on the State broadcaster to provide evidence of the accusations made against Brother Dillon.

“We’ve had no solid evidence come back to us about how they managed to source this abused person who has never made his allegation in the public domain ever before, nor to the school, nor to the brothers, nor to the police.

“That allegation has just never, ever been made,” said Ms Dillon.

A spokesperson for the BAI has said it is “in correspondence with the family” and “it doesn’t comment on the correspondence as it relates to the families only”.

However, the Dillon family have been told that their complaint would not be investigated because it was made over 30 days after the RTÉ programme was broadcast last year.

“To not look at our complaint on the basis of what we would perceive as a small technicality, that really doesn’t feel fair and doesn’t seem balanced against the huge fallout from the programme,” said Ms Dillon.

A TALENTED young hurler sustained serious injuries after he was “rolled over” by a car in Ennis last year, a court has heard.

Clarecastle man Aaron Considine (20) suffered multiple fractures after being rolled over by a car driven by Stefan Coustrain (20).

On Wednesday, Ennis District Court heard that Mr Coustrain initially fled the scene before presenting himself at Ennis Garda Station, one hour and 20 minutes after the incident.

Mr Coustrain, with an address at 23 Ballymoneen, Tulla Road, Ennis pleaded guilty to failing to keep his vehicle at the scene of the occurrence at College View, Ennis on July 8, 2011, and also to having no tax.

Mr Coustrain was ordered to complete 175 hours of community service in lieu of five months in prison. He was also disqualified from holding a license for four years.

The court heard that, on the night, gardaí received a call about a man lying on the hard shoulder of the road outside St Flannan’s College.

Garda Sarah Murphy said Mr Considine, who had been on his way to his girlfriend’s house at the time, couldn’t move and had no re-collec- tion of what had happened.

Mr Coustrain stated that he had been driving home from the shop with his partner and young child when he felt the car “shake”.

The court heard that the incident occurred sometime between 00.51am and 00.59am.

In a statement to gardaí, that was read in court, Mr Coustrain said that when he realised he’d hit a person, he stopped the car and turned around. He said he then drove home, returned to the scene where he saw the ambulance and left again.

A driver who passed by shortly after Mr Considine was struck, stopped, administered CPR and rang the emergency services, the court heard.

The court heard that Mr Coustrain called to the station at around 2.20am. Garda Murphy said he was “distraught, pale and very upset.” She added, “There was no evidence that he was under the influence of any intoxicant.” The court heard that he told gardaí that he was not tired when the incident occurred.

Garda Murphy said the street lighting was not working well on the night.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said that it was accepted that Mr Considine had been lying on the road when the accident happened and had not been standing up.

His solicitor requested that the court not impose a custodial sentence as it would harm Mr Coustrain’s ability to keep his family together. “When he realised what happened, he panicked,” she added.

The court heard that Mr Considine is still recovering from his injuries. He was described as “academically bright” and a “skilled sportsman” involved in sport at a high level.

The court heard that Mr Coustrain has previous convictions for road traffic offences Judge Patrick Durcan said, “This is possibly the most serious driving case I have dealt with since my appointment six months ago.” He noted that this was not a case of dangerous driving.

He said the accused had “absented” himself from the scene for one hour and 20 minutes. He described Mr Coustrain’s beahviour on the night as “flagrant, ignorant and abusive disregard for the law.” He said the issue of lighting was “irrelevant” in this case. He said alcohol and tiredness were not issues either.

He imposed a community service order and ordered Mr Coustrain to appear in court on May 9. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

THE first meeting of Ireland’s newest political party, The Irish Citizens Party, will take place in Ennis in the coming weeks.

The party, which was founded last week by West Clare man, Jim Connolly, has styled itself as a humanitarian party which promises a number of “radical ideas” on how to approach the future of Ireland.

Mr Connolly, who has ran both as an Independent and Labour candi- date in previous elections, says he will not be putting his name forward for election again, but says that he hopes to have a number of candidates in Clare and other counties in time for the local election in 2014.

“I will extend an open invitation to everyone who wants to attend that meeting. There will be no membership fees charged, nothing like that. The meeting will be about throwing the idea of the party around and seeing what people think of it,” he said.

“I need people to get involved for this to progress. This is entirely peo- ple-orientated but there are a lot of radical proposals to it that people may need time to absorb.

“In my view, there is no alternative but to go back to basic humanitarian values, and a system based on rules that the people are happy to live under. I have decided to launch this party long in advance of any election. I have declared that I will not be running again for politics. I think there is need for this party, but it is the party itself that will select the candidates and I won’t be one of them.

“What I am bringing is the drive to set it up but also I have a track record for setting up organisations that work. This is not for financial gain or any other motivation like that; this is about me trying to respond to what is going on in Ireland over the next few years, however long I am alive. I want to combat what has been happened and where it is going.”

Mr Connolly, who is also the founder of the Rural Resettlement Ireland and the man behind the Open Fairs – which are designed to promote new small businesses – believes that his party can spread beyond Clare before the 2014 local election.

“Democracy starts at a local level but I have seen how quickly an idea can spread. The Open Fairs have spread so quickly, due largely to the internet, and they are now taking place throughout the country. We are in a new era and things can happen faster and bigger than ever before. We are talking about this in Ennis today but there is no question that this can be talked about in Donegal or Dublin next week,” said Mr Connolly.

A MOTION for a full moratorium on fracking in Ireland was not carried at this weekend’s Labour Party conference in Galway – with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, saying that the motion was not necessary.

The motion, which was put forward by the North Clare branch of the Labour party, was one of two motions concerning a ban on hydraulic fracturing heard at this weekend’s conference.

“Both motions were discussed and Minister Pat Rabbitte actually responded directly to both motion during the conference.

“The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) are currently producing a major report on fracking and he pointed out that nothing will decided on in relation to fracking in Ireland before that report is completed,” said North Clare party member, Seamus Ryan.

“The minister admitted that we don’t have expert opinion on the effects of fracking in Europe. He was very much of the opinion that we should not progress with anything until a time when the reports from the US EPA is completed.

“The North Clare branch were seeking a full moratorium on fracking and that motion was referred back to the National Executive of the part until such a time as more information in available.”

Meanwhile, a motion put forward by the Shannon branch of the Labour Party referred back to the party’s National Executive for “fine-tuning” before it become party policy.

“We are very much in favour of a debt-free Shannon. Shannon Airport has very much been the poor cousin of Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) for some time. Slowly the number have been falling off in Shannon as air traffic has been diverting towards Dublin. We want to see Shannon given the best footing that it can possibly get and that means that it gets the best possible deal that it gets.

“Eamon Gilmore has been in Ennis and Shannon on a number of occasions and he has always reiterated the Labour Party’s commitment to Shannon Airport.

“You could even see that last year when Clare was the first constituency visited by Eamon Gilmore when Labour began its General Election campaign.”

INDEPENDENT thinkers such as Ann Cronin, Madeline McAleer and Sarah Ferrigan would be welcomed into the newly formed Irish Citizens Party, according to party founder Jim Connolly.

Mr Connolly, who secured 978 firstpreference votes in last year’s general election, says that he would welcome the inclusion of anyone in the Irish Citizen’s Party but he hopes especially to give a voice to groups that currently lack political leadership.

“It is possible that a lot of the candidates [who ran in the 2011 General Election in Clare] would have similar views to the ones set out for the Irish Citizens Party. This party is open to everybody. I think if you look into it, you’ll find that the current political system does not give a voice to a lot of different groups and we would hope to address that,” said Mr Connolly.

“I think one of the great scandals of my lifetime is the tens of thousands of people who are locked into urban disadavantage and the endless cycle of despair and are never ever given a political voice. These people would be more than welcome in the party. I want it to cater to every group. There is no party in Ireland based on humanitarian principles and that is the gap that I wish to fill.”

According to Jim, one of the main motivations for setting up the party is to make Ireland better for his eight grandchildren, all of whom live in rural West Clare.

“I set up organisations that have involved thousands of people and brought thousands of people to live in the West of Ireland. But also, I have eight grandchildren who are now living out in West Clare; they are the people I am living for. They are the people who make me want to try and build a better Ireland,” he continued.

“I think you need to try. If you sit back and complain, then you have lost before you start. If you say no, maybe you are avoiding the possibility of failing down the line but you’re also making sure that nothing will change. If you say yes to something, then something may happen.”

AN Ennis woman has started a petition to have the disabled toilet in Dunnes Stores strictly reserved for disabled users. Siobhan McMahon’s campaign has so far attracted almost 250 signatories.

Siobhan, who suffers from cerebral palsy, has been a wheelchair-user since childhood. She was moved to start the campaign after becoming “frustrated” with the number of non-disabled people using the toilets in Dunnes. She explained, “I just wanted to do something because I was getting really sick of it. You have teenagers in there doing their make-up. I can’t tell you the amount of times I have found beer cans in there. Back before the smoking ban, the smell of smoke in there used to be disgusting.”

Siobhan said people give out while she is waiting to use the toilet because her chair blocks the door.

She added, “I just got a new powerchair and that barely fits in. Then you have people banging on the door and interrupting you. My two-and-a-halfyear-old son knows the word ‘wheelchair’ from me telling people that a wheelchair-user is in the toilet.”

Siobhan wants keys provided to regular users of the facility in Dunnes, while other people should have to get a key from security personnel.

She said the problem affects other wheelchair-users in Ennis. Siobhan added, “A lot of my friends wouldn’t have great speech so they don’t feel confident enough to speak out.”

Siobhan has handed petitions into local businesses and says so far she has had a fantastic response from the community. She said it is also “very difficult” to get around the streets of Ennis because of the narrow footpaths. Dunnes Stores last night declined to comment on the petition.

THERE have been calls for Ennis Town Council to build on plans to further exploit the potential of coachbased tourism.

Last week, the council announced that additional bus and coach parking spaces have been allocated in the Friars Walk area of the town centre, located adjacent to Clare Museum.

The council is also investigating a number of other capital projects, including the development of a dedicated bus park equipped with main- tenance facilities for tour operators.

According to the Chairman of the Ennis Municipal Policy Committee (MPC), Cllr Johnny Flynn, job creation could be boosted if Ennis taps into the estimated € 500,000 weekly spend generated by coach tourists.

He explained, “If just a quarter of the estimated 120 tour buses passing Ennis each day during the tourist season could be attracted to stop in Ennis, it would mean up to 30 busloads spending € 3,000 each – that is, € 90,000 per day in and around Ennis, or € 540,000 per week.

“With an average staff cost per- centage of turnover of 15 per cent in SMEs, this would be € 81,000 in wages each week. This could create up to 100 jobs in retail, hospitality, restaurants, etc.

“By having a minimum of 15 coach parking spaces that figure of 30 coach loads a day could be achieved, as the spaces would be used at least twice a day.”

The Fine Gael councillor continued, “I raised the topic last autumn, seeking urgent action in order to generate economic activity and therefore create local jobs that were being lost to other towns with proper bus park- ing facilities.

“In proposing the notice of motion, I advised the meeting that O’Connell Street had been voted one of the 60 best public spaces in the world by USA organisation Publicspaces.org and that we were not capitalising on coach tours.

“There was general support for the notice of motion at the October meeting and, during the 2012 Budget discussions in December 2011, there was a commitment to progress a number of actions in the parking area in 2012 which should assist in stimulating economic activity in the town.”

Cllr Flynn pointed to figures from Fáilte Ireland that show that tourism numbers were up in 2011 and further increases are expected this year.

He welcomed last week’s announcement from the council.

“It’s great to see some extra bus spaces being provided but we need urgent extra progress – for example, the eight bus spaces in Friar’s Walk short-stay car park that were previously for buses could be urgently added to the attractiveness of the town for bus drivers and to get greater capacity.”

THE tricolour flew at half-mast at the offices of Clare County Council yesterday as tributes were paid to former councillor Sean Hillery who passed away last month. Sean, who was originally from Miltown Malbay, played a significant role in the development of Shannon in recent decades and was remembered fondly by councillors from every corner of the house.

Councillors voted unanimously to adjourn yesterday’s proceedings, with the April monthly meeting of Clare County Council now set to take place later today, April 16.

Sean Hillery was a man of many firsts. He was the first man to establish a pharmacy in Shannon, the first head of the County Development Board in Clare and the first Clare president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland. Hillery’s Pharmacy in Shannon has been a family business for many years, first through Sean and his late wife Paula, and in recent times through their sons Seadn and Feidhlim.

Sean was the first cousin of the late President Patrick Hillery, and also a relation of current Clare County Councillor, Michael Hillery (FF).

Speaking at yesterday’s adjourned meeting, Clare County Manager, Tom Coughlan, described Mr Hillery as a leader and “a gentlemen in every sense of the word”.

“The respect that he commanded was very clear, especially when the County Development Board was being established. As the first chair of the County Development Board, he was able to command that respect and leadership that showed he was a leader,” he said.

Sean is remembered by his sons Barry, Seadn and Feidhlim, his daughter Majella and his family and many friends.