Category: News

A GOVERNMENT TD has claimed that there is still hope for two Clare schools, which did not make the much-publicized five-year school building plan.

The Government was criticized for failing to include a new school for Sixmilebridge on its building plans.

Deputy Joe Carey (FG) said this week that the school would progress to final planning stages “in anticipa- tion of further funds being available to the Department of Education”, but for now the money for the school is not available.

“I welcome this clarification from the Minister and the job now is for us to continue to work with the school authorities and within Government to make a new school a reality. I have met with Minister Quinn to discuss Sixmilebridge National School and he has indicated to me today that he will meet with school authorities in the near future,” said Deputy Carey.

There is funding available for Quin National School to develop eight new classrooms as announced last November, according to the Fine Gael TD.

There was much concern locally last week when the school was not listed in the Government’s five-year plan.

Last November, the Department of Education and Skills informed school authorities of plans to provide eight additional classrooms at Quin National School in order to cater for current and future capacity needs of the school.

While the school was not part of the recently announced five-year school building plan, Deputy Carey said received assurances from the Department of Education that the school build will go ahead as planned.

“I have worked closely with Quin National School in recent years to ensure the school grows in line with the expected needs of the local area. I want to pay tribute to school principal Anne Fitzpatrick and the Board of Management for their tireless work on this issue,” he said.

“I can confirm that funding is secure for an additional eight classrooms, to allow Quin National School to develop into a 12-classroom school in accordance with the announcement of last November. A statement in response to my representations from the Minister for Education’s office confirms the project will be devolved and the technicalities of this are currently being worked through.”

CLARE’S new District Court Judge has led the tributes to his former student, Eugene O’Kelly.

Mr O’Kelly, a West Clare solicitor, was last week appointed as a District Court Judge by the Government.

It is expected that Mr O’Kelly will serve in Limerick.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, as news broke of Mr O’Kelly’s appointment, Judge Patrick Durcan paid tribute to his former student.

Judge Durcan, who was a lecturer of Mr O’Kelly at University College Galway, said he had been delighted to learn of the appointment.

Judge Durcan said Mr O’Kelly had been a “brilliant student”. He added that the bench will be “enlivened and enriched by someone of his capacity”. He said the fact that Mr O’Kelly was being assigned to Limerick illustrated the high degree of faith and trust that exists in him.

Mr O’Kelly thanked Judge Durcan for his words. He said he was “honoured and delighted” by the appointment. Speaking at the Ennis office of his law practice on Thursday, Mr O’Kelly said he was “stunned” when he received a phonecall from the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, informing him of his appointment.

He added, “It’s a great honour for me, my family, Kilrush and West Clare.”

The Kilrush native qualified from University College Galway in 1981. He joined the legal practice of Aylmer O’Doherty and worked with him until his retirement in 1990.

After practicing on his own, he took on a partner, Patrick Moylan, five years ago. O’Kelly Moylan Solicitors now has offices in Kilrush and Ennis.

Mr O’Kelly said, “I would not have accepted the post if I thought my clients were going to suffer. I have every confidence that I am leaving the practice in very good hands under the direction of Patrick Moylan.”

Mr O’Kelly has worked on many high-profile cases. He represented Ennis woman Sharon Collins in the ‘hitman for hire’ case. He said, “I will forever be associated with the high-profile cases but the smaller cases will always be as important.”

The 58-year-old lives near Kilkee with his wife Felicity. He is the father of two children. His son Eoghan works with a legal firm in New York, while daughter Aoiffe is an architect in Sydney.

Mr O’Kelly, who has previously spoken out against the closure of rural courthouses, is also a passionate landscape photographer.

He is looking forward to the next stage of his legal career. “I am apprehensive but not nervous knowing that there is an enormous responsibility to the court and the office of the court.”

CLAIMS by a nurse that she was verbally abused in Ennis Garda Station have been described as an “appalling attempt to muddy the waters” by a Judge. Judge Patrick Durcan was speaking at Ennis District Court on Wednesday as he disqualified mother of two Jane O’Leary (55) from driving for a period of four years.

O’Leary, formerly of 10 Main Street, Clarecastle, and now living in Cork, was charged with failing to provide two specimens of breath at Ennis Garda Station on August 2, 2010.

The court heard that on the day in question, the accused was arrested in the Kilrush Road area of Ennis on suspicion of drunk driving. Garda Val McCormack told the court that after stopping O’Leary’s car, he got a “very strong smell of alcohol from her breath”. He said, “She appeared to be very intoxicated and drunk”. Garda Shane O’Connell told the court that he operated the intoxalyser machine at Ennis Garda Station when O’Leary was conveyed there. He said that she twice failed to provide a breath specimen when asked to do so in the doctor’s room of the station.

Solicitor for O’Leary, Tara Godfrey, put it to Garda O’Connell that her client would say that he called her a “dirty c***” as she attempted to provide a breath specimen in the doctor’s room. This was instantly rejected by Garda O’Connell. He said, “I did not say that. I would never say something like that.” Judge Durcan said he was disregarding the accused’s allegation and accepting what Garda O’Connell said. He said, “It is totally not acceptable that this allegation is thrown out in criminal proceedings.”

The court heard that in the 18 months since the accused was arrested, no official complaint was made to any garda authority. O’Leary, a nurse and psychotherapist, told the court that she had been “really upset and anxious” at the time. She said she “felt under pressure” to provide the sample. “He was calling me names under his breath and that upset me greatly, she said. She told the court that when she left the room, she told another garda about the alleged incident. “He said he would put the complaint upstairs. I didn’t follow it up.”

Describing the allegation as “reprehensible”, Insp John Galvin said, “I feel this allegation was brought up to muddy the waters and to cast aspersions on the character of a guard.” Insp Galvin told the court there was “overwhelming evidence” heard that O’Leary failed to produce a breath specimen.

Judge Durcan said, “A most appalling and serious allegation was made in the privilege of this court.” He said he was satisfied that the accused was guilty. He continued, “I regard this as the most appalling attempt to muddy the waters and to bring into question the character of a garda.” Judge Durcan added, “I am totally satisfied that all gardaí conducted themselves properly in the matter of this case.”

Ms Godfrey said her client had gone through a difficult separation and her life had “fallen apart” at the time. She said O’Leary had not realised that she could make an official complaint.

Judge Durcan said this was not believable as O’Leary was a “highly trained and qualified person”. He said only for the accused’s personal circumstances, he would have imposed a fourmonth prison sentence. He disqualified her from driving for four years and imposed a fine of € 1,500. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

THE community of Lissycasey is holding a series of fundraisers to support a young local family faced with tragedy.

Louise Earle from Abhain Sleibh, Lissycasey, was left to raise four children under the age of seven following the tragic death of her husband Kevin.

The young mother is also battling breast cancer and dealing with the fall-out of the treatment, as she cares for her little children Caitlin, Thomas, Jack and George.

The local community is now rallying around to help the family as they face a very difficult time.

A committee representing the various community organisations in the Lissycasey parish has been set up to give some financial assistance to the family to help them through the dif- ficult coming months.

The fundraising will begin with a door-to-door envelope collection during the week for anyone who wishes to contribute.

“We understand that the recession has affected everybody but we know from experience that people’s hearts are in the right place and this recent tragedy has certainly touched the hearts of all,” said Linda Eustace, a member of the committee.

“All contributions, however small, would be gratefully accepted,” she added.

Members of the committee began calling to homes in Lissycasey last evening (Monday) and will return by the end of the week to collect the envelopes. The committee will also be organising more fundraisers in the coming weeks.

For more information, contact local county councillor PJ Kelly or Linda Eustace.

A CLARE man is among 20 people to have made a complaint or query to the Data Protection Commission- er over requests on the household charge’s website for additional personal information. James Fahy, who paid the € 100 tax, wrote to the Department of the Environment saying he had no problem paying the tax, but objected to handing over his PPS number, telephone number and email address to an anonymous body that “does not even have an address”. The Household Charge Operations unit had told him they could not set up his account “due to insufficient information”, namely the lack of a PPS number. The household charge website asks for a PPS number and also for email and telephone numbers to provide annual reminders or “to notify property owners of potential liability for household charges”. While Mr Fahy had issues with providing personal information but was willing to pay the tax, more Clare people are refusing to make the € 100 payment before the March 31 deadline. A group based in West Clare took its campaign against the household charge to three of the county’s St Patrick’s Day parades at the weekend. The Enough Campaign’s West Clare branch manned “information desks” at the Kilkee and Kilrush parades on Saturday, while they handed out leaflets at Sunday’s Doonbeg parade. Karen McCormack of the group objecting to the household charge said the information desks were very busy. “The only negative response we got at the parade was from people thinking we were handing out information on how to pay the tax. Once these people realised we were objecting to the payment, they were fine,” she said. “This is a stealth tax and we know it is not paying for any local amenities, but to pay back bondholders. They (the Government) have already cut € 170 million for local government funds.”

MORE than 4,500 family carers from Clare are “under siege”, according to an advocacy group that is urging them to stand up and be counted.

The county’s dedicated family carers provide more than 99,000 hours of care every week, saving the local social economy more than € 67 million every year, yet this year they faced cuts to their social welfare support.

The Carers Association claim that these carers are under siege as the Government reviews policies, including the Domiciliary Care Allowance.

The Government is currently reviving the National Carers Strategy, put on hold due to budgetary constraints in 2009.

As a result the Carers Association is urging carers across Clare to attend its upcoming ‘Listening to Carers’ forum and have their say.

This forum, being held as part of a number of events around the country, will give family carers the opportunity to tell The Carers Association what they would like included in the National Carers Strategy as well as inform Government policy.

“Given the current crisis faced by family carers in relation to cuts on Domiciliary Care payments, it is now more important than ever that their voices are heard. We are urging carers across Clare to come to our forum and have their say to inform Governmental Policy and the National Carers Strategy” said Catherine Cox, Communications Manager of The Carers Association.

The Carers Association’s ‘Listening to Carers’ forum for carers from Limerick, Clare and Tipperary will be held in Limerick’s South Court Hotel on Monday, March 26 from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm. This will include a presentation from The Carers Association and workshops to get the views of family carers.

“There are an estimated 161,000 family carers in Ireland, providing over three million hours of care per week and saving the state almost four billion euro every year. The Carers Association works towards recognition, empowerment and a better quality of life for Ireland’s family carers,” said Ms Cox.

ONLY seven on-the-spot fines were issued to Clare anglers in 2011, despite reports of a major fish-poaching problem developing in the county.

According to new statistics obtained from Inland Fisheries Ireland, a total of 3,342 man-hours of river and lake searches were conducted by the organisation last year.

These searches resulted in just seven fines, meaning that each fine took, on average, 477 hours of searching to be identified.

This is despite reports of an increase of poaching taking place on some of Clare’s salmon and trout rivers. According to Dr Ciaran Byrne, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland, West Clare has become a hot-spot for poaching during the summer months and the organisation has to draft in enforcement staff from other areas to combat the problem.

Anecdotal reports suggest that illegal angling is taking place on five Clare rivers which has been closed to legal fishing since 2007, to allow stocks of fish to recover.

Conservation measures were introduced on the Inagh, Annageeragh, Doonbeg, Aughyvacheen and Skivileen Rivers in 2007, following historically low stock levels in previous years.

Indeed, in the six years between 2001 and 2007, only 78 fish of 40cm or larger were caught on the rivers – or just more than 2.5 fish per river, per year.

“Protection of salmon and sea trout in West Clare has always, and continues to be, a major focus for staff in the lower Shannon area of Inland Fisheries Ireland and, while staff do encounter larger-scale episodes of illegal fishing, they do also come across individual anglers who are illegally fishing for salmon,” said Dr Byrne.

“During the summer months, staff work in teams and are frequently drafted from other areas to West Clare to assist officers with surveillance work, both on the Clare coastline for illegal drift net fishing, and inshore for illegal salmon fishing.”

A LOCAL history group is seeking to kick-start a movement to preserve the memory of some of Ennis’ bestknown people and places.

Members of the Clare Roots Society are appealing for people to share their memories of growing up in Ennis.

Speaking last Thursday at the launch of a new book on the history of Steele’s Terrace, Larry Brennan said the main purpose of the appeal is to try and collect more stories and personal accounts to aid the publication of further books about the history of Ennis.

He told a large crowd in the Old Ground Hotel that, with the exception of some authors such as Sean Spellissy, Ennis has been “badly served” with regards to local history books.

He said, “The purpose is to try and start a movement to get people to put down in writing the history of their areas and more importantly the people of their area.”

During a brief presentation on the history of Ennis, Mr Brennan encouraged people from parts of the town to come forward with their stories. He said the Turnpike is one such area that would be well served by a written history.

He told those in attendance at the launch of

FIFTH Avenue may have been covered in green white and gold this St Patrick’s Day, but the mayor of Clare was determined to have saffron and blue on show as he led a delegation to promote business in the county.

Mayor, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) led the 150-strong Clare contingent in this year’s New York St Patrick’s Day Parade with more than two million people lining the streets and US broadcaster NBC beaming live images across the United States of the Clare contingent.

The TV station’s commentators spoke of Clare’s tourist attractions, including the Cliffs of Moher.

The New York visit also featured a number of one-to-one meetings with key business and tourism representatives aimed at showcasing County Clare’s attractiveness as an investment location. Over 120 key business leaders in the United States attended a networking event in New York aimed at showcasing Clare’s attractiveness as an investment location.

Organised by Clare County Council and hosted by the Consul General of Ireland in New York, the event was attended by senior representatives and CEO’s of leading American companies, including Novartis, Horizon Medical Group, Abbott, OCO Global, Jana Foods and Medicomp.

The financial sector was strongly represented with the managing director of Credit Suisse and a senior analyst with JP Morgan attending. Clay Constantinou, a US Ambassador during former President Bill Clinton’s second term of office, also attended the event.

Mayor Hayes said the event provided Clare County Council with a rare opportunity to make a presentation to some of the key business and tourism players in the United States.

“The evening allowed for one-toone interaction with representatives of leading companies in the US. Specially prepared promotional material on the airport, Shannon Estuary and the renewable energy sector were distributed. This material was prepared with the support and assistance of companies in the Shannon region.”

The Clare delegation also attended meetings with Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, CIE Tours International and Tourism Ireland.

AN EMERGING writer from Shannon was the toast of the Clare diaspora in New York and the families of victims of 9/11 after her play ‘Liberty’s Ladder’ hit the Broadway stage as part of the St Patrick’s festival weekend.

Kelly O’Keeffe and the cast of ‘Liberty’s Ladder’, which includes John Higgins, a brother of the President of Ireland, were honoured at a number of functions after the play was performed in the Stage Left Studio off Broadway and Rory Dolan’s in Yonkers.

The play, which commemorates 9/11 and Ireland’s links with America, was written by 31-year old O’Keeffe 10 years after her own brush with 9/11 – she was on her way for breakfast in the Windows of the World restaurant at the World Trade Centre when the first plane hit plane hit.

“It was a very special moment for the cast as they met family members directly impacted by 9/11 and the loss of so many people,” Kelly told The Clare People . “They were really moved by the play and thanked me and the cast for the moving tribute. Teresa Mullan, the mother of Michael Mullan, presented a memorial patch to us as a token of her appreciation.

“Rosaleen Tallon, sister of Sean Tallon, a firefighter lost in 9/11, invited us for dinner in Yonkers and we used Sean’s Ladder 10 firefighter helmet for the performances in New York. There were people in the audience who had been in America 55 years; others, like Denis Meehan, had travelled 150 miles from upstate New York.

“New York Irish DJ Tony Fallon, members of Clare County Council and the Mayor of Clare, Pat Hayes, who have supported the project from the start, paid tribute to all involved and made a moving tribute to family members of those lost in 9/11,” she added.