Category: News

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.

AMATEUR dramatics are alive and well in Clare, as groups from the county won out at the prestigious West Clare Drama Festival.

The Doonbeg Drama Group won the confined section on their home turf, while Corofin Dramatic Society was equally successful in the hotly contested open section.

As well as winning the overall confined section of the festival, Doonbeg also won three subcategories for its performance of Conor McPherson’s play ‘The Weir’.

Mark May won the best actor accolade for his performance as Jack, while his co-star Ken Blowers was announced as Best Supporting Actor when adjudicator Myles Purcell made his decision known.

The play’s producer Mary J Egan was also honoured on the night.

The Amphitheatre Company from Kilkee also did well at the Doonbeg festival.

The group came third in the confined section for its production ‘Agnes of God’.

Kilkee’s Emer Gleeson also won the best category award for her portrayal of Agnes in the play.

Schull Drama Group came second with its production ‘The Birthday Party’ and the group’s Joan Giller won Best Actress for her role as Meg.

As well as winning the open section for ‘The Subject was Roses’, Corofin Dramatic Society also secured the Best Producer award, when John Clancy was declared the Overall Winner.

The group’s Maura Clancy was also named Best Actress for her role as Nettie Cleary, with James Raleigh declared Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Timmy Cleary.

Last year’s All Ireland winners Kilmeen Drama Group came second in the open section for its production of ‘The Weir’.

While Nenagh Players came third in the category with their play ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, it also succeeded in winning the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress awards.

Kevin Walshe won Best Actor for his Dr Jekyll while talented young actress Jenny Bracken won Best Supporting Actress for Elizabeth Jelkes.

The adjudicator Mr Purcell also awarded Doonbeg for producing the most entertaining play; Helen Aherne from Brideview Drama Group for the best comedy moment; and named Bridget Keaveney from Garrymore Drama Group as the most promising actor. Best Set went to Nenagh Players, as did Best Lighting Effect.

A POPULAR new stone sculpture in Ennis will aid tourism in the town, according to the Mayor of Ennis.

Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said last week that the Market Day, installed in the market roundabout last week, has already generated huge interest on social networking sites such as Facebook.

Speaking at the March meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Guilfoyle said, “We need all the attractions we can get in this town at the moment”.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) described the piece as a “fantastic piece of sculpture”.

He added, “The amount of people getting their photos taken is amazing. It’s going to become a major tourist attraction”.

Made from granite, the near 20 tonne work depicts the two farmers discussing the purchase of a cow. The sculpture was installed on the market roundabout earlier this month as a replacement for the Icarus statue, which has been re-located to the Rocky Road roundabout.

The piece was designed and built by local sculptor Barry Wrafter. Market Day was commissioned by the Ennis Sculpture Initiative who also covered the cost of transporting the sculpture’s pieces to Ennis.

The Ennis Sculpture Initiative has installed numerous sculptures along the riverside in Ennis, as well as creating street furniture in the town centre. The sculpture trail takes many forms depicting cultural, historical and sporting events as well as more

abstract pieces.

In recent years, the initiative has spent close to one million euros on sculptures in and around Ennis in recent years.

Noel Crowley, Chairman of Ennis Tidy Towns, said there has been a fantastic response to the sculpture.

He also paid tribute to the efforts of the Sculpture initiative in ensuring the project was completed. “We commissioned it and paid for the transport.

“The Council paid for the re-enforcement of the roundabout so it could be installed there”.

ST PATRICK has his work cut out for him if he ever decides to return to County Clare, with reports of grass snakes in the Ennis sewer, corn snakes in a Kilmihil graveyard and a 14-foot anaconda living in one Clare council estate.

According to the Clare Dog Warden, Frankie Coote, the Clare snake population has ballooned in recent years and, with no laws or licensing system in place for snakes, there is little that can be done to control the numbers being introduced into the county.

While the number of poisonous snakes in Clare is believed to be low, Frankie has urged snake owners to be vigilant and ensure that their animals are not allowed to escape. A number of snake escapes have been reported in recent months, most recently a corn snake which was discovered in Kilmihil and has since been returned to its owner.

“The county has become a lot more cosmopolitan when it comes to animals and there are a lot of different types of pets in Clare these days. There were a lot of people, during the boom time, who started buying exotic pets like snakes,” said Frankie.

“The problem is that because they are so new, there is no law for them. It is against the law to go down the road with a Jack Russell if he’s not on a lead, but it is not against the law to walk down the road with a big snake or a tiger.

“We had an incident in Ennis recently where someone was leaving his snakes out to play as people were on their way down to bingo – in the middle of the town centre. People were getting worried and phoning me but it turned out there was nothing against the law going on.

“We had one snake that lived in the drains in Ennis for six months. It was found in the back of Paddy Quinn’s pub in the market. It had been seen by several people going in for a drink but no-one believed them, they thought they had drank too much. We managed to find the owner for that one.

“I am also aware of one particular man who had a 14-foot anaconda in a council estate in Clare.”

The corn snake, which was found at the Kilmihil Graveyard, had lived there for six months and survived by hunting mice and rats at the graveyard.

THERE have been calls for the 60 jobs created by the construction of a controversial new road maintenance depot near Ennis to be ring-fenced for Clare people.

40 jobs will be created during construction of the facility at the old GAMA site adjacent to the N18 motorway on the outskirts of Ennis. 20 permanent jobs will later be available at the 6, 500 tonne salt barn facility, which will be run by the National Roads Authority (NRA).

Details of the jobs were outlined at a meeting between officials from the NRA and Clare County Council last week.

The NRA will take charge of maintenance of the country’s motorway network with the proposed Tulla Road depot used to service the motorway in Clare and parts of Galway and Limerick.

Clare County Council has applied for planning permission to develop the site, a move that has attracted strong criticism from some local councillors.

The matter was raised at yester day’s monthly council meeting. Former Mayor of Clare, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said the county was already adequately served by salt depots at Beechpark.

He said Clare County Council could tender to operate the facility at Tulla Road and maintain the region’s motorway network.

He said, “Clare County Council carried out this work all along. Why should we have to tender. It’s a downright disgrace.”

Cllr Brennan added, “I still think this is another quango set up by the government.” He called for all jobs created by the project “to be filled by people in this county”.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said the junction layout near the proposed road depot should be re-designed to allow for proper on/off access to the M18.

He told the meeting that the current 100-metre access road was too short for buses and trucks to reduce their speed from 120 km/h to 30 km/h when they exit the motorway.

Acknowledging concerns over “compact junctions” along a stretch of the M18, county engineer Tom Tiernan said he was not aware if the NRA planned to address these issues through the development of the road maintenance depot.

He said the transfer of responsibility for the maintenance of Clare’s motorway network to the NRA would reduce the council’s workload by 10 to 15 per cent.

However he added that there was still a significant network of secondary and regional roads in the county to cater for.

In response to a question from Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald (Lab), Mr Tiernan said that he did believe the NRA’s new functions would have any impact on existing jobs at Clare County Council.

A FORMER All-Ireland-winning Clare hurler has scored a victory against Tesco in a defamation case taken over the purchase of a bottle of wine.

Scariff man Patrick Moroney (33) was awarded € 7, 500 and costs at Ennis Circuit Civil Court last Thursday.

However, Judge Donagh McDonagh granted a request from Tesco’s legal representatives to have a stay placed on the order for a period of 10 days in the event of an appeal.

Mr Moroney, who played wing forward on the Clare minor hurling team that won the All-Ireland title in 1997, took the case for defamation following an incident at Tesco, Corbally, Ardnacrusha on November 28, 2010.

The court heard that Moroney and his girlfriend, Claire Hayes, were on the way to his parent’s house when Ms Hayes suggested that they purchase a bottle of wine.

Ms Hayes, a trainee solicitor who was then aged 25, was refused purchase of the wine because she did not have identification.

Mr Moroney, a solicitor for Moroney Meehan Solicitors who have offices in Scariff and Limerick, was then refused the wine by Tesco employee Ann Devlin.

In refusing to sell the wine to Mr Moroney, Ms Devlin, it was claimed, said, “you might as well be buying it (wine) for the children on the street”.

This was disputed by Ms Devlin. However, in his judgment, Judge McDonagh found that “these words or words to that effect were used” by Ms Devlin.

He described the words as “inflammatory and unnecessary” and seemed designed to “put him (Moroney) in his place”.

Counsel for Tesco, Ronnie Robins SC, had previously told the court that Tesco were presenting a defence of qualified privilege.

He had stated that qualified privi- lege failed when malice is shown, claiming that Mr Moroney had failed to prove that there had been malice.

Judge McDonagh said he was satisfied that Mr Moroney’s reputation had been “impugned” and that Mr Moroney had discharged the appropriate proof.

He said that he had raised concerns over accepting jurisdiction of the case.

Judge McDonagh said no evidence had been given of “serious or any damage” to Mr Moroney’s reputation.

He added, “As defamation goes, it is not a serious defamation”.

He said the appropriate damages are € 7,500.

Noting that Tesco clearly recognise their responsibilities regarding the sale and supply of alcohol, Judge McDonagh said that the retail firm should also train their staff in the “limits of language”.

The court had been told that damages of up to € 50,000 could have been awarded by the court.