Category: News

GROWTH to the middle and eastern part of the county and depopulation in the west and north Clare. These were the two contrasting tales told by the official release of the 2011 Census of Population for Clare by the Central Statistics Office last week.

In the map of the county that’s carried above, the vast tracks of land that are coloured white represent areas where the population has decreased, going against the overall trend in the county that saw population jump by 6,396 over the space of five years to over a 100-year high of 117,196.

The census figures are broken down by electoral district, rather than on a parish to parish basis, the statistics revealing that many parts of west and north Clare are now in the grip of a big population decline.

Tullig on the Loophead peninsula is one of the worst hit in west Clare, with its population declining by 16 per cent in five years.

Cahermurphy in the parish of Kilmihil saw its population decrease by 10.9 per cent, Mullagh’s dropped by 7.4 per cent while up in north Clare, Carran’s population declined by 8.7 per cent.

However, not all parts of the west and north were hit – Doonbeg’s population is on the rise as, with 60 more people living there when compared to the last census, which represents a jump of 8.6 per cent, while nearby Dromellihy in Cooraclare saw its population jump by 10.1 per cent.

The same is true of Clondegad, which enjoyed something a surge in population over five years as a 23.9 per cent increase translating into 124 extra people living there.

The urban area of Kilrush saw its population decline by 4.4 per cent, but it was a different story in Kilrush rural as the population grew by 20.5 per cent.

This growth also took place in Kilmihil, which created headlines recently because of the extent of the emigration from the parish actually experienced a population increase of 8.1 per cent. In north Clare the area of Killaspuglonane increased its population by 20 per cent.

The biggest increase in west or north Clare was experienced in Liscannor, which saw its population increase 282 to 374, which represents 32.7 per cent.

However, it’s further east that the biggest increases in terms of numbers are to be seen.

The Ennis urban area actually saw its population decline by 9.8 per cent, in the Ennis rural electoral area an in the outlying parishes there was a big increase.

Ennis rural increased by 6.5 per cent, while along the western corridor this upward trend was mirrored in many places. Crusheen’s population jumped by 20.1 per cent, Doora by 18.5 per cent, the Newgrove area of Doora-Barefield parish by 32.6 per cent, Newmarket-on-Fergus by 6.1 per cent, Mountievers and Castlecrine in Sixmilebridge by 35.5 per cent and 24.8 per cent respectively, Quin by 38.7 per cent, while the biggest percentage shift in the county occurred in Cappavilla in east Clare with the increase from 674 to 1,038 representing 54 per cent.

A WHEELIE bin was allegedly thrown against the rear window of a Garda patrol car while it was parked in Ennis Garda Station, a court has heard.

The allegation was made at Ennis District Court on Tuesday at the case of Stephen McCann (28)

Mr McCann, with an address at Willbrook, Corofin, is charged with damaging the rear window of a motor vehicle belonging to the Chief Superintendent of An Garda Suíochana, Transport Section contrary to section two of the criminal damage act.

Garda Shane O’Connell gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution. Solicitor for Mr McCann, Tara Godfrey applied for bail on her client’s behalf.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the Court that the State were objecting to bail.

Garda O’Connell said that something had been thrown at a garda patrol car causing damage to the window and dents to roof.

He alleged that a Garda colleague had observed Mr McCann pick up a wheelie bin and throw it through the rear window of the car.

The court heard that the estimated cost of the damage was between € 500 and € 1500. Judge Patrick Du- rcan granted bail subject to a number of conditions.

He ordered that the accused reside at Willbrook, Corofin; to observe a curfew between the hours of 10pm and 8am and to sign on three times a week at Ennistymon Garda Station. Judge Durcan granted the State liberty to re-enter the matter at 24 hours notice. He remanded Mr McCann on bail to appear at Ennis District Court on April 25.

THE affects of the building boom have been hammered home with the findings of the 2011 Census, which have revealed that there are now over 11,000 houses in the county with no one living in them.

The official 2011 Census returns which were published by the Central Statistics Office last Thursday revealed that there are now 42, 534 houses occupied in Clare, but that there are 11,782 unoccupied.

These figures mean that the va- cancy rate among houses and flats in the county is now running at nearly 21.2 per cent, 7.5 per cent higher than the national average of 14.7 per cent, with the western seaboard being the worst part of the county affected.

The county’s population increased by five per cent between 2006 and 2011, but despite the upward graph that gives the county the highest population it has had in over a century, there are more houses than ever vacant.

This can be directly attributed to the building boom that took place in the county – with one statistic emerging from the Census returns being that there are more vacant family homes in the county now than there are vacant holiday homes.

The numbers of vacant houses is 5,936, while there are a further 1,236 flats unoccupied, while the number of holiday homes in the county stands at 4,610.

The Census figures revealed that the number of new housing stock in Clare increased by 14 per cent in between the 2006 and 2011 censuses, which means that Clare house builds ran ahead of the national average of 13.3 per cent.

However, the breakdown of these figures have also revealed that this in housing numbers has contributed to a sharper increase in the number of vacant dwellings around the county.

A map of the county produced by the CSO shows that vacancy rates in west and north Clare are now run ning at over 25 per cent.

Only seven other counties have higher rates of vacant housing than in Clare, with Leitrim topping the league table with 30.4 per cent, while within Munster, Kerry on 26.5 per cent is the county with a higher rating than Clare.

PATIENTS at the region’s largest hospital are left without “privacy and dignity” while stretched nursing staff are finding it impossible to provide safe care to their patients.

The Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick is chronically overcrowded, according to its nursing staff, and last week their warnings were verified when the hospital cancelled all non-emergency surgical procedures on Thursday.

As many as 21 day-ward surgical procedures, two angiograms and two broncoscopies, as well as 45 outpatient appointments, were cancelled.

In the course of the day, the HSE appealed for patients not to attend the Emergency Department and to visit their general practitioner instead.

The health service said the cancellations were as a result of a sudden surge in emergency attendances at the hospital that saw some 36 patients on trolleys at the Emergency Department at 5.45pm the previous evening and an unprecedented demand for inpatient beds.

“Extra ward rounds took place during the day to release beds through discharging patients who could safely be sent home,” a spokesperson said.

“These are choices we do not make lightly. Every patient is important to us but, in the current situation, we have to make hard decisions. We very much regret the inevitable delay and inconvenience but dealing with the situation in the Emergency Department must take priority,” said Hospital CEO Ann Doherty.

Doctors were unable to ascribe any single explanation to the surge in the Emergency Department.

Meanwhile, the INMO trolley watch figures demonstrate the hospital endures chronic overcrowding in the Emergency Department, plus up to 50 additional patients on the corridors and in annexes of the hospital daily, awaiting a designated bed.

“Safe and proper care cannot be given to patients while they are placed in undesignated in-patient areas and while there is inadequate staffing to provide a safe level of care,” a spokesperson for the nurses union said.

Mary Fogarty, INMO Industrial Relations Officer said, “It is imperative that the HSE, together with the Special Delivery Unit, act immediately to address the current situation, and remove the very real risk of an adverse incident which currently exists in this region.”

Tessie HARTMAN nee Farrell
of Moore Street, Kilrush, at Regina House, Kilrush. Funeral mass onTuesday at 11 o’clock with burial after in All Saints Cemetery, Shanakyle. May she rest in peace.

Susan CABEY nee McGrath
of Cahermore, Kilmaley. Peacefully at Limerick. Wife of the late John. Funeral mass onTuesday at 11.30 with burial after in Kilmaley cemetery. Family flowers only please, donations, if desired, to Kilmaley Day Care Centre. May she rest in peace.

Sister Paul PILKINGTON
of Good Shepherd Convent, Pennywell Road, Limerick and late of Ahaga, Kilmihil. Peacefully in the loving care of the nurses and staff of Caherass Nursing Home. Sr, Paul, Good Shepherd Sisters. Deeply regretted by her sisters in Community, nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews, relatives and friends. Laid to rest in Mount St Oliver Cemetery. May she rest in peace.

Nora CLANCY
of Kildysart. In her 92nd year. Laid to rest in Kilfidane Cemetery. May she rest in peace.

Ann (Nancy) MULREADY (née Flynn)
of 25 ChurchView, Sixmilebridge. Laid to rest in Kileen Cemetery. May she rest in peace.

Helen MOLONEY (née Duffy)
of Cullina. Laid to rest in Killofin Cemetery. May she rest in peace.

James (Jim) MANGAN
of AshView,Tulla Road, Roslevan, Ennis. Laid to rest in Doora. Donations, if desired, to your favourite charity. May he rest in peace.

Michael HOWLEY

CLARE’S population boom over the past 20 years has been highlighted by the 2011 Census returns, which reveal the county now enjoys its biggest population since the 1890s.

The returns published by the Central Statistics Office on Thursday last have revealed that there are now 117,196 people in the county, a figure that’s broken down between 58,898 females and 58,298 males.

This statistic means that for the first time in 140 years there are now officially more females than males in county Clare. The last time this was so was in 1871 Census when females were in the majority, when the breakdown was 74,422 to 73,442.

Meanwhile the overall figure of 117,196 represents the first time since the 1901 Census when there 112,334 people in Clare that the county’s population has broken through the 110,000 barrier.

Over the past 20 years Clare’s population has risen by 27,190, while every Census since 1991 has shown an increase in the numbers of people in the county.

Between the 2006 and 2011 Census returns, Clare’s population increased by 6,396, which represents a 5.3 per cent increase, while the average increase across the country is 8.1 per cent.

The percentage increase in population in Clare represents the lowest increase since the 1996 Census when the number of people in the county jumped by 5.46 per cent. The highest percentage increase occurred in 2002 when the county’s population jumped by 9.9 per cent.

However, the headline grabbing statistic is female to male ratio in the county. The number of females in the county grew substantially in the five years between the 2006 and 2011 Census reports. The number of females grew by 4,098, while male numbers only grew by 2,298 in the same period.

In 1926 Clare’s population dipped below the 100,000 for the first time since official records were kept, with the Census of that year showed that there were only 95,064 people in the county.

From there Clare’s population declined in six successive Census reports from 1936 to 1966, before the a record low population of 73,597 was recorded. At four subsequent Cen sus’ the population increased, with a figure of 91,344 returned in the 1986 Census, before the economic recession of the 1980s saw the population decrease to 90,918 by the time of the 1991 Census.

However, in the last 20 years the county has enjoyed a population explosion, with the number of people in the county increasing by 28 per cent. It wasn’t until the 2002 Census that the county’s population topped 100,000 when that year’s Census revealed a return of 103,333.

A JUDGE has refused jurisdiction in the case of two Cork men who were allegedly in possession of machetes and stab proof vests at a funeral at Drumncliff graveyard last week.

Bernie McDonagh (27) and Peter McDonagh (19), both with address at Nashes Boreen, Knocknaheeney, Cork are charged with having machetes which had a blade or which was sharply pointed contrary to the firearms and offensive weapons act.

Both men appeared at Ennis District Court on Tuesday. Detective Garda, Dominic Regan of Ennis Garda Station gave evidence of arrest charge and caution.

He told the court that he arrested Bernie McDonagh at Drumcliff Cemetery on Sunday March 25. Detective Regan said that after being cautioned, Bernie McDonagh said, “I didn’t have a machete.”

Both men were released on bail from Ennis Garda Station to appear in court last Tuesday.

After both men initially failed to appear in court, Judge Patrick Durcan issued bench warrants for their arrest. Solicitor Tara Godfrey ex- plained that her clients had agreed to show up later in court to avoid any “emotiveness” with the other side of an alleged dispute.

Judge Durcan said the court does not run “an a-la-carte menu.” “You’re here when you’re obliged to be here,” he added. Judge Durcan later vacated the warrants. The court heard that Gardai arrested both men after they were observed attending a funeral at Drumcliff graveyard last week.

Ms Godfrey said both her clients would “strongly” and “vigorously” dispute having the items in their possession. Detective Regan said both men were also wearing stab proof vests at the time. He said Gardaí believed that a “serious incident was about to occur.”

Saying he was not happy to deal with the matter in the district court, Judge Durcan refused jurisdiction.

Ms Godfrey requested that the vests be returned to her clients, who she said accepted they wore them at the graveyard. Judge Durcan stated that as he had refused jursdiction, he was making no more orders on the case.

He remanded both men on continuing bail to appear again in court on April 24.

THE majority of Clare’s 847 travellers are living in permanent housing units, while the number of people who describe themselves as Travellers has risen.

According to the 2011 census the travelling community makes up 7.3 of every 1,000 people in the Clare population, a figure that is two per thousand higher than the national average.

In fact the number of travellers now living in Clare has increased by 187 since the last census in 2006 when 660 Clare people registered as members of the travelling community.

In 2006 travellers made up 5.9 per thousand of the Clare population.

According to the 2011 census, as many as 794 members of the travelling community in Clare are resident in permanent homes.

A further 23 are living in caravans or in temporary housing units while a further 30 did not state the type of accommodation they lived in.

There are more women than men from the community registered as living in Clare, with 438 traveller women registered as living in the county and 317 men.

The number of people enumerated as Irish Travellers in Census 2011 increased by 32 per cent from 22,435 to 29, 573, with all counties apart from Limerick and

Waterford showing increases greater than the increase in the general population.

There were 97.8 males for every 100 females within the Irish Traveller population. The equivalent sex ratio for the general population was 98.1.

Irish Traveller numbers increased in every county with the exception of Waterford where the numbers declined by over 7 per cent.

Only 12 per cent of Irish Travellers nationally lived in caravans and mobile homes in 2011. This was a big fall from 2006 when one in four Irish Travellers lived in temporary accommodation.

Almost 84 per cent of the Traveller population live in permanent housing.

A 53-YEAR-OLD woman has appeared in court charged with damaging a house in Sixmilebridge with derogatory graffiti.

Elizabeth O’Connell, with an address at Cappa, Sixmilebridge, is charged with alleged criminal damage offences.

It is alleged that on dates unknown between September 18, 2011, and September 30, 2011, at Cappa, Sixmilebridge, Ms O’Connell did without lawful excuse damage the walls of a house with graffiti of an intimidating, insulting and derogatory nature causing damage to the value of € 1,929 belonging to Carmel O’Connell Kagahazchi contrary to the criminal damage act.

Ms O’Connell is also charged with damaging and breaking windows, doors and drainpipes at Cappah Sixmilebridge on dates unknown between September 1, 2010, and August 8, 2011.

The value of the alleged damage is € 7,452.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Inspector John Galvin gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution by schedule.

Solicitor Caitriona Carmody made an application for free legal aid.

She said, “These are two quite serious offences.”

Judge Patrick Durcan approved legal aid.

He remanded Ms O’Connell to appear again at Ennis District Court on April 25.

A DOCUMENTARY that will showcase the Burren is set to be filmed over the next year in a major project that aims to reconnect people with their natural surroundings.

Lahinch-based filmmaker Katrina Costello is behind the project, drawing her inspiration from the Burren hinterland that she calls “the most spectacular and most beautiful place in the world”.

“It’s taking metaphors for the natural world to create a better understanding of our own nature and who we are and the circle of life. It’s basically getting enlightenment from nature,” she says. “We will take metaphors from the landscape and reflect them back onto our own lives. Nature is a great teacher that it’s enlightening and inspiring and that’s where we get our ideas. There will be a number of strands to it. We’ll be following a farmer who produces organic produce in his livestock and his crops. The grasses are all species rich – all the livestock are grazed for a longer time than they would in highintensity farming.

“Also, I’d like to hear from people who know the locations of dens and nests, be they squirrels, foxes, birds of prey, barn owls etc. We will be looking at the wildlife of the Burren, ex- otic flowers, everything that people flood to the Burren to see,” she adds.

According to Ms Costello, it’s the current economic climate that makes it ripe for a documentary of this type to be filmed. Her project has a working title of ‘Landscapes of the Heart’.

“When it’s finished it will be a onehour documentary film and it’s about people and places in the Burren,” she says. “Maybe it’s a time to go back to the land, reconnect with nature, reconnect with our spirituality.

“People are more receptive to nature now. People are more receptive to producing food in a way that people want to go back to traditional methods of farming,” she adds.

THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is due to issue directions next week in respect of three people charged with alleged offences arising out of an incident at a primary school in Ennis earlier this month.

Conor Mahon (21), Rose Mahon (22) and Laura Molloy (21) are charged with alleged offences arising out of an incident at the Holy Family Junior School, Station Road, Ennis on March 20.

Conor Mahon, of Ballaghboy, Quin Road, Ennis is charged with possession of a slash hook at the school contrar y to the firearms and offensive weapons act and with engaging in threatening and, or, abusive behaviour.

Conor Mahon’s wife, Rose Mahon, a mother of two, also of Ballaghboy Quin Road, Ennis, is charged with causing € 1, 500 worth of damage to the windows of a vehicle belonging to Thomas Sherlock on Station Road.

Her sister, Laura Molloy, of 21 An Pairc, Bruach na hAbhainn, Ennis is also charged with causing € 1, 500 worth of damage to the windows of a vehicle belonging to Thomas Sherlock on Station Road.

Both sisters are also charged with provoking a breach of the peace.

The charges all relate to alleged incidents at the Holy Family Primary School, Station Road, Ennis on March 20.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Inspector John Galvin requested that the matter be adjourned until later this month to allow for directions from the Di rector of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Solicitor for all three accused, Daragh Hassett said that the matters should not be adjourned for longer than a week in order to “incentivise the DPP to make up its mind.”

Mr Hassett told the court that the cases had gained “a certain degree of notoriety”.

He said that he did not want the cases to “slip to the bottom of the pile.”

In respect of Laura Molloy, Mr Hasset said she was a single mother who has not seen her two young children since she went into custody.

Judge Patrick Durcan remanded both Conor Mahon and Laura Molloy in custody to appear at Ennis District Court on April 11.

He ordered that the DPP’s directions be ready on that date.

The judge remanded Rose Mahon on bail to appear in court on April 11.