Category: News

GORT is in mourning today after the tragic death of two local men is separate incidents in recent days.

Enda O’Donohue from Ardrahan was killed in a car accident in Australia on Friday night last, just five weeks after emigrating to work with his brother Eoin.

The is the second major tragedy to hit the family in recent years, following the tragic death of Enda’s brother Aidan in Ennis in 2005. Aidan went missing following a night out in Ennis and was discovered dead in the River Fergus after a week-long search.

This latest tragedy comes just days after the death of Enda’s aunt in Gort last week.

The young carpenter, who is described as being a hurling fanatic, played for the Gort hurling club and also played soccer for Kinvara. His parents, Bernie and Mary, along with his siblings Alan, Caroline and Christina, gathered at their home last week to try and come to terms with the tragedy.

Enda is understood to have been walking home alone after socialising with friends and was crossing the Bruce Highway when he was struck by a car. The alarm was raised by a passer-by and the young Irishman was rushed to Ingham Hospital in a critical condition. He was later airlifted to the larger Townsville Hospital around 60km away but died there on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Kerry are investigating if a Gort man whose body was found in the Ballylongford Bog in North Kerry had been involved in a row over a car before his death.

The victim, who was named locally as Brazilian national Bruno Limes de Souza Silva, was reported missing from his home in Gort last month.

Two men – a 19-year-old Irish man and a 24-year-old Brazilian – were taken into Garda custody on Sunday.

A spokesman for the Brazilian Embassy in Ireland said consular staff are in touch with the victim’s girlfriend in Gort, Patricia Silva, who first reported him missing.

“His family have been in touch with us before to say he was missing. At the moment, we do not know too much and we are waiting to see what happens from the gardaí,” said the embassy spokesperson.

Mr De Souza Silva came to Ireland eight years ago and was last in touch with the embassy in 2010 when he renewed his passport.

NATURAL food businesses in North Clare were to the fore last Friday when the Minister for Food, Horticulture and Food Safety, Minister Shane McEntee (FG) paid a special visit to Inagh Farmhouse Cheese and the Burren Smokehouse.

The minister was met in Lisdoonvarna by co-owner of the Burren Smokehouse, Birgitta Hedin-Curtin. Birgitta, who began the compa- ny with her husband Peter, had just returned from the Middle East, having met with a number of high-end retailers in Kuwait and Qatar.

“For the Burren Smokehouse, it is vital to meet face to face with our customers. I got an invite from my buyer in Kuwait two weeks ago and decided to immediately take up on his invite.

“This is à great opportunity for the Burren Smokehouse to further our brand in the global gourmet market and is part of our brand strategy,” she said.

The smokehouse will soon be launching their brand in specialty food shops in Portugal and Spain.

“This is not an overnight success. We have been building this business for 22 years, staying true to our core values of 100 per cent Irish raw materials, with excellent certification, building a great team, learning hard lessons and building trust with our customers,” said Peter Curtin.

The smokehouse began as a twoperson business with Birgitta and Peter but has since grown to employ 14 people in the low season and 20 in the very busy periods.

Meanwhile, Siobhan Ni Gháirbhith and her team welcomed the minister to Inagh for a tour of the farm and a tasting of their famed St Tola Organic Goats Cheese.

“We are delighted that the minister took the effort to come and visit us and it is a boost to us all that such importance and understanding is being applied to the organic agriculture industry,” said Siobhan.

“Over the past two years, St Tola Organic Goats cheese has grown its business from supplying the catering sector to having a major presence in the Irish retail market with product in all the major supermarkets. St Tola Divine and Logs will be on special offer this month and next in SuperValu and later in May in Tesco.”

THE war against drugs in Clare has taken a sinister turn this week amid claims that a meth-type substance disguised in a sweet was being distributed among school children in Ennis.

Coláiste Muire principal Jean Pound told The Clare People that the school authorities had been informed that a “highly dangerous” sweet-like drug was now available in the Clare area and that innocent school children could be targeted in its distribution.

And, amid fears that students at the all-girl secondary school in Ennis could be offered the drug during lunchtime when they are allowed to leave the school premies, Ms Pound, revealed that a warning for children to remain vigilant to the dangers of drugs was issued to all students last week.

“We got a warning for people not to take it from anyone that was offering it,” she said.

“We were told there was this substance going around that was highly dangerous and that it looked like a sweet,” she added. However, when contacted by The Clare People on Monday, Chief Superintendent of the Clare Garda Division, John Kerin, has moved to ally fears that school children are being offered drugs. “Part of school talks are to try to make children aware of the dangers of meeting strangers and not taking anything from them,” the chief superintendent revealed. “Maybe it was exaggerated by someone, but we don’t believe that there’s any basis for it that things like this are being handed out,” he added.

THE number of frontline civil service staff working in the county has been reduced by hundreds since the Government embargo in 2008.

The exact number is still unclear, but a least 100 more have been lost through the Government’s early retirement scheme, which ended on February 29.

Clare local authorities are suffering the greatest staff reduction, losing almost one fifth of its staffing levels since its peak in 2006.

In June 2006, there were 1,002 employees working for Clare County Council, Kilrush Town Council and Kilkee Town Council.

By March 1 this year, that number had dropped by 197 people to 805.

The council started to reduce its staffing numbers prior to the embargo in 2008, so as to avoid “a slash and burn” once the Government called for the cuts.

From June 2008 to March 1, 2012, Clare’s local authorities lost 159 staff members through retirement, voluntary redundancy and people leaving for other employment.

The councils are attempting to cover the staffing shortage by moving staff between departments and councils.

The number of Gardaí in the county has dropped by at least 41 members in the last 11 months.

At the January meeting of the Joint Policing Committee, Chief Superintendent John Kerins told the members that there will be at least 41 less members on the force in Clare at the end of February this year when compared to the end of March last year.

As a result of the drop in personnel and the ever-tightening Garda budget, Carrigaholt lost its garda station this year, with more stations expected to close in the coming years.

At least 31 primary school teachers have retired from the county’s schools in the last few months, with many more choosing to take their retirement package from the county’s secondary schools.

The number of teachers in the county is expected to be reduced further in September, when the Department of Education increases class sizes.

Last week, the HSE announced that as many as 1,222 people have retired from the HSE West since last September.

The health service area, which includes County Clare, lost 680 people, mostly frontline staff, to the Early Retirement Scheme since the beginning of the year.

In the former Mid Western Health Board area, made up of Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary, almost 300 staff had retired just one week before the cut-off mark of February 29.

A PLANNED introduction of new speed limits on the county’s roads has been delayed for a month following yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council.

The draft Road Traffic Byelaws 2012 were due to be adopted but have been put out for further discussion after a number of councillors expressed concerns about the consultation process.

Proposing the report for adoption, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) welcomed the introduction of a new 50 km speed limit around Barefield.

However West Clare councillor Pat Keane (FF) called for adoption of the byelaws to be deferred for another month to allow for greater discussion of the draft report at local area level.

Some councillors told the meeting that they had not received reasons why some of their submissions for amended speed limits had not been included in the draft report.

Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF) requested clarification why only two of his 23 submissions had been included.

Councillors Oliver Garry and Gabriel Keating (FG) asked what the implications would be if the council delayed adoption of the byelaws.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) told the meeting that he had proposed a 30 km/h speed limit for all roads near schools and healthcare buildings. Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) said the byelaws should be adopted by the council and a new process initiated to deal with outstanding issues. He warned that an accident could occur in the delay that it takes for the new speed limits to be implemented.

Cllr Meaney said “serious speeding situations” have emerged in villages around Clare. “I would like to see this passed as a matter of urgency.”

Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) proposed that the process be deferred for a month but that no new submissions be received in the period.

Cllr Cathal Crowe claimed that the process had been “completely flawed”, a suggestion rejected by Cllr Cooney.

Responding to comments made by councillors Meaney and Arkins, Cllr Crowe added, “I don’t think elected members should be cornered by scare tactics.”

Cllr Meaney withdrew his proposal for immediate adoption of the byelaws but sought “categorical assurances that this matter would be dealt with by April”.

Deputy county manager Ger Dollard told the meeting, “If it is the wish of the council to defer then it has to be dealt with by the April meeting.”

MUCKROSS Park in Killarney could soon have some serious competition from Kilrush as the council proposes to introduce jaunting cars to Kilrush Wood.

The wood, which surrounds the popular Vandeleur Walled Garden, is also the responsibility of Coillte, and members of the council executive are to meet with the state body to discuss this proposal and a number of other issues.

At the March meeting of the council, Mayor of Kilrush Ian Lynch (FG) asked that “Shannon Development and Coillte in association with Clare County Council to explore the possibility of opening of the Kilrush Wood existing road and track network to the seasonal attraction of jaunting, which would complement the existing attractions of the Vandeleur Walled Gardens and Kilrush’s Historic Trail while also providing tourism revenue to the town.”

He said that there are already old stables on the grounds of the Vandeleur Walled Gardens and the tracks are in place.

Marketing Officer with Kilrush Town Council, Síobhan Garvey said, “The Vandeleur Walled Garden and Kilrush woods remain a top priority when the town council engages in any tourism promotion and in recent years Kilrush Town Council has invested in resurfacing the roadway leading from the main road in through the woods to the car park as week as including it in the Historic Town Trails Walk.”

“In 2011, following consultation with coillte, they developed their walkways further by adding a new marked way and interpretational signs. It is acknowledge that the gardens and woods are almost a hidden treasure in the area and every effort is being made to promote both.”

LIMERICK County Council says they stand ready to play a major role in the future development of Shannon Airport, should a member of the local authority be appointed to the new management structure for the airport.

Following the publication of the Booz Report into the future of Shannon Airport last week, it looks increasing likely that both Clare County Council and the soon to be amalgamated Limerick City and County Council will have a seat at the table when a future management structure for Shannon is announced.

According to the Cathaoirleach of Limerick County Council, Mary Harty (FG), a public voice on board of the airport will prevent it getting “wrecked” in a similar way to the local health services.

“I think it is important that the locally elected representatives have their say when it comes to something as important as the airport. We all know the difference it has made to the health system not to have a local say in how that operates and we don’t want the airport to be wrecked in a similar way to this,” she said.

“Shannon Airport is a massive driver for everyone in the mid-west, for Limerick and for Clare. We are very keen to have a role to play, Shannon Airport is the biggest gateway location in area and there is no question that it is vitally important to everyone in Limerick that it is made to work.”

Cllr Harty also dismissed the notion that councillors would not have the expertise to operate a complex facility like Shannon Airport.

“At the moment we don’t have the experience but we will never get the experience until we have a chance to work with all the other stakeholders and make our points heard,” she continued.

“This is such an important facility for the area it is vital that a local representative has a say in its future.”

EAST Clare could soon become Ireland’s destination of choice for canoe and kayak trails following new proposal to first map, and then open up the scores of rivers and lakes in the area to tourists.

North Clare canoe enthusiast and businessman, Fergus Brogan, is currently at an advanced stage of negotiations with LEADER and the Clare LDC and, all going well, a canoe trail could be up and running in area before this summer.

“There was a book published last year, the first major list of canoe trails in Ireland, and there was not one trail at all in Clare. That got me thinking. It is crazy that a place like Clare, that has so much water, has no real canoe infrastructure. There is 30 lakes within a 10 mile radius of Peppers Pub in Feakle – 30 lakes and not one of them has ever seen a canoe,” said Fergus. “That is just one area. This is a major major resource that is not being tapped at the moment. I would estimate that there must be more than hundreds of lakes in East Clare alone – along the path of the Scariff River. I am going to be the first person to paddle the full length of the Scariff River.

“I know that the English tourists would absolute love to come to East Clare and go canoeing with their family. I am talking about an area between the M18 and the River Shannon – this is an area which at the moment has very little tourism and something like this could really get it going.”

Fergus is hoping to begin by developing between 10 and 20 recognised canoe routes in East Clare. This would require mapping the routes as well as collecting some valuable information for the canoeists such as the distance and time needed for each route, a details description of the routes and any points of interest or facilities along the way.

“I have been talking to LEADER and they do seem keen about the idea. The beauty about this is that with a very reasonable amount of investment you could have a product in place and ready to go very quickly,” continued Fergus.

“You don’t need signpost or things like you might need for a walking trail. It would be very very each to get this off the ground.”

CLARE County Council will only step up to take over the running of Shannon Airport if the Government stumps up enough money for ambitious plans to finally give the airport its freedom from Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) control.

And, the financial package for a local authority takeover in conjunction with Shannon Development would have to include diverting Aer Rianta International profits away from greedy hands of the DAA and straight into Shannon’s coffers, where the inspiration for ARI originated in the first place.

That was the resounding message sent out to Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, on Monday during a specially convened meeting of Clare County Council’s Special Policy Committee on Enterprise and Tourism.

“We need to fund the airport going forward if we are to get involved,” said SPC chairman Richard Nagle. “We are not in a position to come up with large-scale funding for Shannon – money that the airport requires. Funding, that’s the kernel of the issue,” he added.

“The Government owes Shannon,” said local hotelier, John Madden, who addressed the SPC meeting. “I would like to see Clare County Council and Shannon Development involved in the ownership, provided we get back Aer Rianta International,” he added.

“Until the financial data is made available and it’s made clear to local stakeholders what they’re being asked to take, I don’t think formal decisions can be made on this report,” said Director of Service, Ger Dollard.

“The financials at the end of the day have to add up for local stakeholders taking on a liability when they can’t fund that liability,” he added.

In putting the future of Shannon firmly back in the Government’s court, SPC chairman Cllr Nagle highlighted the pivotal role Shannon has to play in terms of balanced regional development.

“We have a spatial strategy. There is supposed to be balanced regional economic development. Shannon Airport is an international airport servicing the west of Ireland,” he said. “It is an integral and essential part of the infrastructure. If we are to have any form of rebalancing in terms of economic growth and development,” he added.

THE Clare branch of Legalise Cannabis in Ireland (CLCI) has vowed to continue to fight for the decriminalisation of the use of medicinal cannabis following the withdrawal of a case against one of the group’s key members last week.

The case, which was taken against one of the founding members of CLCI, Kevin Clohessy, was withdrawn last week because of a technical issue involving the search warrant used by Gardaí in the case. Mr Clohessy suffers from Osteoarthritis, which is a progressive condition that effects his shoulders, hips and knees.

“It is very painful for him to move, and he has reduced flexibility in certain areas. This is a progressive condition so it is going to continue to get worse as he gets older. Cannabis is an anti-inflammatory; it also provides pain relief and is a muscle relaxant.

“When he can smoke, all of his body frees up and he can flex his wrists and his shoulders in ways that he just couldn’t before,” said Niamh O’Brien, founder of CLCI.

“There is a chemical tablet for cannabis about to come on the market in the coming weeks. We can’t understand why it is okay for some pharmaceutical company to grow it, put it in a pill and sell it to people for a massive profit, and it is not okay for us to grow this natural plant for ourselves.”

According to Clare LCI, the decriminalisation of cannabis will help stop people with genuine medical conditions from coming into contact with criminals and help stop the drugs trade in Ireland.

Medicinal cannabis has been legalised in a number of European countries to date, including Spain and Portugal as well as a number of US states.

“We don’t want to be involved in criminality, we don’t want to go down any dark alleyways and be involved with unsavoury people. We want to know what we are smoking. We are being responsible, we know that this stuff works and all we want to do is to be able to treat ourselves in the best way possible,” continued Niamh.

“What we need is more education and information about this issue. The Clare organisation is still going strong but it is hard to get people actively involved.

“People are still afraid of what might happen if they speak up. We really do want to reach more older people in Clare. They are the people who are most likely to get a benefit from this.”