Category: News

THE County Final of the Student Enterprise Awards supported by Clare County Enterprise Board was held in the West County Hotel, Ennis, on the March 8 last.

According to Sinéad Dixon of Clare County Enterprise Board, this year the county final has been a huge success with 260 students participating on 62 projects. The mentor visits provided by the County Enterprise Board for each team to work with a business consultant to help with their mini-company has also proven very beneficial to students getting their business plans completed. Sinéad said she was delighted to see so many innovative and good business ideas being showcased. Clare County Enterprise Board aims to foster and develop enterprise awareness among secondary school students and to use the experience of setting up and running an enterprise as the primary means of learning about self-employment as a career option – she said that speaking to some of the young entrepreneurs she was very impressed with the confidence, enthusiasm and business acumen displayed by the students. According to Sinead, participation in the Student Enterprise Awards Programme is a great learning opportunity for students as they gain invaluable, on the ground experience outside of the conventional classroom environment. The role of the teacher involved is also of great importance.

Clare County Enterprise Board sponsored all of the prizes at the event. The awards were adjudicated on by Seamus O’Sullivan and John Quinlivan, Business Consultants; Mary Rogers, Enterprise Ireland and Eoin Tynan O’Mahony, Manager of Plato Mid West. The first prize winners of the junior and senior categories will go on to represent Clare in the National Final of the Student Enterprise Awards, which takes place in Croke Park Dublin on April 18. For more information on the awards or on other services being offered by Clare County Enterprise Board contact Sinéad Dixon, Clare County Enterprise Board, Enterprise House, Mill Road, Ennis, by telephone at 065 6841922 or by email- ing sdixon@clareceb.ie. Winners on the day included: Junior Category Winner – First place went to Knot Me from St Anne’s, Killaloe; second place went to Green Lights from St Anne’s, Killaloe; and third went to Festive Fun, also from St Anne’s in Killaloe. Senior Category Winner First place was awarded to Inky Pinky from Colaiste Muire, Ennis; second to Rí Rá from Scariff Community College; third went to Vege Box from St Anne’s, Killaloe. The special award for Business Plan was awarded to Beatz, Colaiste Muire, Ennis, while the special award for Best Stand Presentation went to Fusion from St Joseph’s in Tulla. The special award for Innovative Concept was awarded to Communiflash, St. Patrick’s Comprehensive in Shannon. Teachers Draw went to Michele O’Sulluvan from St Joseph’s, Tulla.

A DREAM come true is how a Barefield pre-third level student described his experience of an all-expenses trip to Hong Kong last year.

In the meantime, Dan Hassett of Trinaderry was also awarded the President of Ireland’s bronze medal.

That accolade was achieved through a multi-activity programme which included community involvement working with inter-cultural youth groups, personal skills development with a voluntary network, physical recreation programme and an ad- venture journey which took him to the summit of Croagh Patrick and a 40km two-day cycle in Mayo also.

Dan was the first ever learner in the Youthreach Programme delivered by County Clare Vocational Education Committee in its Adult & Community Education Centre in Ennis to undertake a Gaisce award attempt.

Not alone is he now going for the silver level of the Gaisce awards but, by virtue of his exemplary success, the entire group of Youthreach learners in Ennis has begun to take part in the elementary level of the Gaisce adventure. Example is everything, it shows.

The Youthreach learners will, among other things, be out to match the achievements of students of St John Bosco Community College, Kildysart, who can boast a remarkable series of successes in Gaisce awards for several years.

Dan Hassett, son of Winnie and Brendan and sibling of five sisters and four brothers, put in for the trip to China after Eddie Keane, co-ordinator of the Ennis Youthreach Programme, indicated to his students that EIL Ireland was seeking four Youthreach applicants to join with an equal number from mainstream schools to sample what was on offer.

“My jaw dropped when I got a reply saying my essay application had been short-listed,” recalls Dan.

He will be forever grateful for the opportunity afforded by EIL Ireland, the learning organisation based in Cork. This is a not-for-profit body promoting relations through a range of cultural, educational and voluntary activities. Dan’s particular project is run in association with Hong Kong Commission on Youth.

“A truly life-changing experience I will never forget began on 9 August,” recalls Dan. “I had never seen a place like Hong Kong whose buildings are to close that all seem to be high-rise, apparently reaching the sky and going on for miles and million.”

Eddie Keane looks on Dan’s experience as a great honour for the Youthreach Programme and all associated with it in Ennis. Undoubtedly, he adds, it was a wonderful experience for someone never outside Ireland before. “Dan had to be admired for taking the challenge on board by virtue of the mentoring system in place in the Youthreach Programme,” he adds.

A FINAL exhibition of work by Roma families living in Clare will take place next month at Ennis Community College.

Clare Family Learning Project will welcome its Turkish partners for the final meeting and exhibition of families participating in the EU Comenius Regio Project.

The project has been successful in engaging Czech and Slovak families living in Ennis in a number of classes. In total, 42 adults are currently attending a number of classes including family music, family cookery and health and exercise with the Clare Family Learning Project.

Some of the participants have now moved onto more formal learning with workplace education and English language classes. Schools who are partners have now moved onto more formal learning with workplace education and English language classes. According to those involved in the project, schools that are partners have mentioned improved attendance by children of those parents. The exhibition takes place at Ennis Community College on April 30 and May 1.

A new booklet aimed at helping Czech and Slovak children to adapt to the Irish education system was launched in Ennis last September.

‘Helping Children To Do Well in School’ is collaboration between the Clare Family Learning Project, Ennis Educate Together School, Ennis Community College and Clare Immigrant Support Centre.

The views of Czech and Slovak parents with children attending Ennis Community College and Ennis Educate Together were sought during the preparation of the booklet, which received funding from the European Union’s Comenius Regio Project.

The Ennis project is twinned with a similar EU initiative in Aydin, Turkey.

The Clare Family Learning Project was developed by Clare VEC’s, Clare Adult Basic Education Service. The project provides support to parents helping their children’s literacy and numeracy skills.

THE local community in North Clare will come together next month to undertake the biggest independent tourism launch in the history of the county. Six community-run festivals, which has a combined benefit to the local economy of more then € 10 million, will be launched at the Aillwee Caves on April 13.

The “Super Launch” which is being co-ordinated by the Ballyvaughan Community Development Group, will include six existing and new local festivals, which will bring thousands of tourist to the area this year.

Included in the launch will be the month-long Burren in Bloom Festival, which takes place in May; the Clare Burren Marathon; the Tour de Burren cycling event; the newly revived Ballyvaughan Races; The Burren Law School and the Féile Na Samhradh weekend, which will take place in June.

“This shows you what can happen when small dedicated groups in a villages come together, instead of people going off and doing their own thing. When people work together it works out much better for the village and nobody is clashing,” said Patrick O’Donoghue of the Ballyvaughan Community Development Group.

“When you put all of these together it really is an impressive collection of events. This is about coming together for one big launch, and then each group is free to get down to the real business of organising their own event. This is a way for us to showcase the area in one big event. We want to create something different, something unique. There is a lot going on in Ballyvaughan and we want to show that to people.”

The Ballyvaughan Community Development Group would like to invite other local groups to become involved in the event.

“We want to make this launch into a really big event. This is our chance to showcase the village and what is has and to show that the village is working together. It is not about splinter groups. We want to show that we can work together and put on several events properly,” continued Patrick.

INJECTIONS, finger pricking, and measuring carbohydrate intake could be a thing of the past for 300 adults and children from Clare with type one diabetes, as progress in made on research into an artificial pancreas.

Latest developments in the area have given new hope to the 300 Clare people, and the findings of the latest research will be presented to those from the county with diabetes on Tuesday next, March 27.

While many Clare patients are still waiting to be fitted with the most up- to-date treatment form – an insulin pump, the new artificial pancreases, which would make life easier for those with diabetes, could be available within the next decade.

The long-sought system will be made up of insulin pumps and glucose sensors that deliver insulin to diabetics, mimicking the function of a real pancreas.

“While the current state of insulin replacement therapy is appreciated for its life-saving capability, the task of manually managing the blood sugar levels with insulin alone is arduous and inadequate. The goal of the artificial pancreas is to improve insu- lin replacement therapy so that blood glucose control is practically normal and to ease the burden of therapy for the patient with type 1 diabetes,” explained Gráinne Flynn, Secretary of the Diabetes Ireland Clare Branch.

Cambridge University researcher Janet Allen, who is working on the Artificial Pancreas Project, will be among the speakers. The Artificial Pancreas Project focuses on developing an artificial pancreas system, which hopes to solve one particular aspect of living with type 1 diabetes – controlling glucose levels overnight. The team at Cambridge are developing a system that would be able to take over managing insulin delivery at bedtime and will keep the glucose levels in check until the patient wakes up in the morning. They are also working towards getting a system ready for families to test out at home.

Organised by Diabetes Ireland Research Alliance (DIRA) in association with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) the meeting will take place in The Greenhills Hotel next Tuesday at 7.30pm during which the public can hear from the experts on the latest cutting edge type 1 diabetes research and how to help find a cure.

UP TO 50 councillors past and present formed a guard of honour on Saturday night to bid farewell to one of the former first citizens of Clare.

Former chairman of Clare County Council Seán Hillery had passed away on Thursday morning following a short illness, and thousands gathered in Shannon over the weekend to pay tribute to the former Fianna Fáil councillor.

Born in Miltown Malbay, he took a number of odd jobs after graduating from St Flannan’s College in Ennis, before moving back to his native town to take up a position in the West Clare pharmacy.

After serving two years in the working pharmacy, Seán went to university in Dublin and qualified as a pharmacist in 1963.

He then moved to Sixmilebridge and opened a pharmacy there.

After a number of years he relocated with his family to Shannon where he opened two new pharmacies.

A community activist, Mr Hillery was elected to Clare County Council in 1985 and served as a councillor and as chairman at different intervals until 2004.

He served on Shannon Town Council from 1994 to 2009.

The 76-year-old was also the first Chairperson of the Clare County Development Board and was President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) between 1982 and 1984.

Mr Hillery was a first cousin of former President of Ireland Dr Patrick Hillery and serving Clare County Councillor Michael Hillery (FF). Cllr Michael Hillery described Seán as a man that was very active and full of energy.

“He had great foresight and vision. Years back in the council he was talking about Radon gas in houses and the dangers before anyone else was. He was ahead of his time.”

Cllr Michael Hillery also paid tribute to the late pharmacist’s love of his native Miltown Malbay. “He came back whenever he could,” he said.

Sean Hillery was a keen sportsman, having played football with Miltown and was involved in one of the team’s last county final wins.

A strong swimmer, he served as a lifeguard in Spanish Point in his early years, and continued to be involved with water, boating and swimming.

He was also a keen golfer and enjoyed the social interaction of the sport.

Mayor of Clare Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) paid tribute to his dedication to elected politics and said, “Sean was well known and respected throughout Shannon and the wider county. He also was held in high esteem by colleagues as evidenced by his election as President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.”

Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan added, “Sean was a very popular public representative who will be remembered by those who knew him for his work ethic, humility and sense of humour. The fact that he held the office of Mayor in both Shannon Town Council and Clare County Council is something I know both he and his family were very proud of.”

Sean was predeceased by his wife Paula, and is survived by his sons Barry, Feidlim and Shane and his daughter Majella.

THE campaign by Clare turfcutters to continue what they say is their “age-old right” to cut turf at Tullaher Lough Bog in West Clare now moves to Brussels and will be won.

That’s the battlecry from chairman of the Clare branch of the Turfcutters and Contractors Association, Padraig Haugh, following last Thursday’s march on Leinster House and the passage of a private members motion in the Dáil in support of turfcutters in Special Areas of Conservation.

“I was up in Dublin,” said Mr Haugh, “and people were saying to me that I was hitting my head off a stone wall and there was no point going to Dublin marching and protesting, but we have achieved a lot.

“We have climbed the first hurdle against the directive from Europe which says that we cannot cut turf on Tullaher Lough Bog anymore. There are about 50 people who cut turf there,” he added.

Mr Haugh became chairman of the local branch of the Turfcutters and Contractors Association after a public meeting was staged in Garrihy’s of Moyasta last November and since then has taken the campaign to keep Tullaher Lough Bog open to turf cutters in west Clare.

“There is a high bog area and it’s very small and we are very happy to keep that preserved,” said Mr Haugh, “but there was another portion added into the Special Area of Conservation that’s 1400 hectares and there was no necessity to do that, because the EU is denying people a right to do what families have been doing for hundreds of years there.

“As turf cutters we are determined to fight for the right to cut turf. I’ve cut turf every year since 1948 and we are hopeful that these people in Brussels will see that what we’re looking for is only a small thing.

“We’ve already got concessions from the Government in that they are giving another € 1,000 onto the € 1,000 and a new top up payment of € 500. That’s down to the campaign and we won’t stop until we are allowed cut turf on Tullaher Lough again,” he added.

A GERMAN woman who developed a heroin addiction after moving to Ireland has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for drugs offences.

Imposing the sentence at Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Judge Aeneas McCarthy described Annette Hausmann (34) as a “dealer in heroin”.

Hausmann, with an address at Clare Villas, Clare Road, Ennis, pleaded guilty to having heroin for sale or supply in Ennis on August 12 (2011) and possession of heroin on November 4 (2011).

Insp John Galvin said gardaí carried out a search of the accused’s apartment under warrant last August. He explained that they discovered 36 deals of heroin with an estimated value of € 1,128. He said the accused was also found in possession of heroin during a Garda search of her home in November. Insp Galvin said Hausmann had previous convictions for drugs offences.

Solicitor Tara Godfrey said that it appeared that Hausmann had been sharing heroin with serious heroin addicts. She said that on none of the occasions had her client been found with a weighing scales or a tick list.

She added, “My client did not appear to be enriching herself at all from the sale of heroin”.

The court heard that Hausmann had moved to Ennis with a good work ethic and clean of drugs. Ms Godfrey explained that her client appeared to have “acquired a very serious habit in Ireland”. She said Hausmann had made every effort “to rid herself of this pernicious addiction”.

She added, “Her family have become exhausted by her addiction and appear to have distanced themselves from her”.

Ms Godfrey said that in attempting to distance herself from other heroin users, Hausmann had seen her property damaged and suffered offensive graffiti near her home. Judge McCarthy said, “This is a serious matter. This lady is dealing in heroin”.

He imposed two sentences of seven months to be served consecutively. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

CLARE faces an uphill battle if it is to regain the international tourists that have been lost to the county over the last 10 years. According to the Lahinch hotelier Michael Vaughan, who was elected national president of the Irish Hotel Federation last week, a new cooperative approach to tourism in Clare will need to take place before we start winning back the international tourists. “Tourism has been declining in Clare for seven or eight years now. This decline has been masked a bit by the buoyant domestic market but the flight situation has really made the situation worse,” said Michael. “We need to link our walkways, our cycling routes, our surfing holidays and package them more so that when people come into the county, they can get a real sense of the different touring loops that offer the tourists a whole package for the area.” Fáilte Ireland is currently piloting a project entitled ‘The Wild Atlantic Ways’, which Michael Vaughan hopes could be a major benefit to Clare once it is rolled out. “This is a series of iconic road-trips all along the west coast that will tie into festivals and other things happening in a locality. “The idea is to map out a few iconic routes through the county and provide people with a plan that tourists could follow. “So if a tourist was to base himself in Doolin, let’s say, he could see very quickly that there were two more days of activities for him to do in the area and plan like that,” continued Michael. “It is that type of awareness of product that we need to get better at in Clare. This is about tying together what we already have in the county. It’s about looking at things and packaging them in a different way. “Tourists in Germany plan in this way but they won’t go to a place until they know that there is an experience to be had in that area. We need to give them that information about Clare. “Fáilte Ireland are rolling this plan out on a pilot basis in Connemara next year but I know that Clare is being looked at very closely by them and is prime for this sort of investment.”

NO PAIN. No gain. That was certainly the case for one Ennis schoolboy who was the centre of attention yesterday as he proudly showed off a rugby ball signed by Irish international Ronan O’Gara. The ball was an unexpected souvenir from eight-yearold Oliver Cassidy’s first visit to an Ireland rugby match.

The Clarecastle National School student was with his father David, cousin Damien Reidy and uncle Peter Reidy for Ireland’s victory over Scotland in the Six Nations Championship in Dublin on Saturday.

The group were sitting behind the goals at the Aviva Stadium watching the teams go through their pre-match warm-up when Oliver was struck in the nose by a ball kicked by Irish flyhalf O’Gara. Oliver was brought across the pitch to the medical centre for treatment. His nose was bloodied but not broken.

Afterwards, as Oliver and his family celebrated Ireland’s 18-point victory, they were informed by a match stew ard that Oliver would be receiving the match ball signed by Munster legend O’Gara.

Oliver was presented with the ball after the game. It was signed ‘To Ollie, Best Wishes, Ronan O’Gara’. Dad David said Oliver, who plays for Ennis Rugby Club’s under-9s team, was over the moon with the gift.

“He brought it up to rugby training and soccer training. He brought it into school today to show it off. It was his first International game. He’s been to a few Munster games.”

Oliver’s brush with kicking king O’Gara was even recognised by the visiting Scottish fans as he walked to the medical centre at the Aviva Stadium. Mum Edel explained, “He was walking across the pitch after he was hit and one of the Scottish fans spotted him with the blood on his face. He said to him, ‘Here’s a fiver for being so brave’.”

A sports enthusiast, Oliver plays for Ennis Rugby Club and Ennis Town Soccer Club.