Category: News

ORGANISERS say there was a high turnout at a protest against new Government taxes and charges in Ennis on Saturday.

An estimated crowd of 200 people attended a protest march, according to the Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes (CAHWT).

The rally was organised as part of a national day of protest. Recent meetings held around Clare have highlighted growing public opposition to the new charges

CAHWT organiser Chris Quinn explained, “Protest marches were planned to go off all over the country at 2pm, which is why we planned the same start time.

“It was initially my idea to gather at the O’Connell monument and go from there, with the organising committee assembling earlier to pass out a few leaflets and pass out protest posters/placards. Just before 2pm, I got a phone call from the Limerick organisers wishing us well and letting me know they had roughly 450 at their march.”

He added, “My colleague Pamela Rochford first addressed those assembled, followed by Brian O’Coillin as the rest of us distributed the 70 or so placards we had.

“As more people gathered, we were asked to briefly delay our start time as more people were making their way to join us. Finally, we felt we could delay no longer, and set off from our start point at 2.15pm. We had, by my estimation, more than 200 with us at this stage, of all ages. As we headed up O’Connell Street, more joined our march.”

Chris explained, “After swinging through the Market Square and then up Parnell Street, we returned to our start point. I, along with the others at the head of the march, began to place our posters around the plinth, and others followed suit. By my estimation, we had at least 325 to 350 likeminded people with us.”

Chris believes the protest spirit is alive and well in Clare. He hopes that Saturday’s march can be the spark to organise other protest movements around the county.

He added, “I thanked all the marchers and asked for a round of applause for themselves, which was thunderous. Any and all people that wanted to volunteer were invited to present themselves to us so we can begin to organise in as many areas of the county as possible.”

THE VOICE of one of Clare’s greatest living traditional musicians is set to appear in a revolutionary new album – which has been composed entirely from a series of spoken word interviews with some of the leading lights in Irish music.

East Clare fiddler Martin Hayes will feature on a new record entitled ‘The Speech Project’ which is the brainchild of Mancunian fiddler, composer and producer Gerry Diver.

Diver has taken a series of interviews with Hayes, as-well-as the likes of Christy Moore, and Damien Dempsey and harnessed the technical cadence of their speech patterns and composed melody lines to complement the musicality inherent in their words.

This revolutionary new way of composing music has led to a number of interesting discoveries – not least of which being the fact that Martin Hayes speaks in the key of G-minor.

According to Diver, Martin Hayes’ Clare brogue “drips with musical- ity”.

“There was even some parallels between Hayes’ words and music. A lot of his tunes are in G minor and Martin speaks a lot in G minor, too,” said Diver.

“Really, this all started as a happy accident. I heard an interview with Galway accordion player Joe Cooley and just happened to notice his voice pitch. There was no grand plan.

“Some of it was about the speech melody – taking the pitch and rhythm and putting those into a musical context by finding the musical and melodic contours that are there. For me, the parts that tended to stand out were where the interview became quite emotionally charged.

“So, for example, when Christy Moore talks about something that was quite emotional for him, he tended to go into D minor. So there’s a link between emotion and the more tonal parts of speech.

“I think people might listen to The Speech Project at different levels. They might listen to the content – to what is being said, but, in terms of the context, there’s more of a slight of ear pattern happening as well. Music sometimes expresses things which words can, and I hope that I’ve managed to find that balance between content, emotion and context.”

After spending decades based in America, Martin Hayes returned to East Clare last year. He has recently released his second album as part of the Triúr group which also includes Peader O’Riada and Caoimhin O’Raghallaigh.

BUSINESSES and residents have been urged to dig deep to fund a € 10,000 “fighting fund” for the next phase of the campaign against a planned retail park on the outskirts of Ennis.

A public meeting in Ennis last night heard that € 3,000 had been spent by business groups so far against plans by Michael Lynch Ltd to build a 70,000 foot retail park.

The developers have appealed Ennis Town Council’s decision to refuse planning permission to the proposed development at Tobertascáin / Clare Road to An Bord Pleanála.

Local businessman and former En- nis Chamber President, John Dillane said towns such as Naas and Tralee had been “completely decimated” by out-of-town retail parks

“We are not afraid and we do not object to competition but we’re afraid of our town being destroyed,” he added.

He called on street leaders to appeal to businesses to donate money to the “fighting fund”.

He told the meeting that Tesco, the anchor tenant for the proposed development, would operate a “mini town under one roof” which would have disastrous consequences for jobs in Ennis. He added, “It should be a matter of pride that we’re not going to be steamrolled by them.”

Architect and planner Michael Leahy, who prepared Ennis Chamber’s submissions against the proposed development and planned changes to the Ennis Development Plan, told the meeting that An Bord Pleanála would likely deal with the appeal through an oral hearing.

He explained that the council re fused permission pending the upgrade of the wastewater treatment plant at Clareabbey and pending the implementation of the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme. He said it was “quite likely” that the Board would accept the developer’s suggestions to deal with wastewater treatment.

He said an oral hearing would allow specialist evidence to be given on flooding and wastewater issues. Mr Leahy said the likely cost of the appeal process would be € 10,000.

The purpose of the meeting on Monday evening was to inform the business community and others of the appeal process to An Bord Pleanála, which has a closing date of Friday, March 2, for acceptance of submission.

The meeting in the Old Ground Hotel also heard calls for a more community-orientated form of protest. One Ennis resident said businesses should be “cultivating” customers to adopt the same position as them.

A spokesperson for the Ennis Development Forum said that in a recent meeting, all of Clare’s four Dáil TDs had backed the business community’s position on the proposed development.

A NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS man remains in a serious condition in hospital following a weekend car accident in which his 33-year-old cousin was killed.

Wayne Fitzgerald was the passenger in the green Toyota Corolla that crashed on the main Tulla to Ennis Road on Friday night last.

The 22-year-old is believed to have sustained serious head and neck injuries during the single-vehicle accident.

The driver, his cousin Michael Maloney Jnr, was fatally injured in the accident.

Originally from Glencinnane, Kildysart, Michael had played under-age hurling for his county.

He captained the Clare under-16 hurling team, and had been involved with Clarecastle GAA club in his early years. Sport came naturally to him, according to local people, as he enjoyed both football and hurling.

The eldest of a family of three, Michael was the only son of Tina and Seán Maloney, and brother to Fiona and Lisa.

He is to be buried today (Tuesday) following a private ceremony.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Ennis are appealing for information about the accident.

The tragic incident occurred at approximately 7.50pm at Clooney, Quin, on the main Ennis to Tulla road, not far from Clooney Church.

The green Toyota saloon, which contained just the driver and passenger, collided with a wall and a tree.

The scene was attended by local emergency services and both occupants were taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, where Mr Maloney died from his injuries.

Gardaí are now appealing for witnesses to come forward.

“The key times of interest to the gardaí are between 7pm and 7.45pm. Did anyone see this car in the Clooney-Quin area during these times and did they notice anything about this car which should be brought to the attention of the gardaí?” a Garda spokesperson said.

NORTH Clare has lost one of its iconic local businesses with the closure of Crosbies shop in Ennistymon after 21 years in operation. The shop, which was located in a prime retail spot at the Square in Ennistymon, closed last month with the effects of low-cost air travel being blamed for the demise.

According to proprietor Robert Crosbie, the shop was already facing difficulty before the beginning of the recession. Robert, who is also one of the driving firces behind the Project Ennistymon local business iniatitive, believes that a mixture of Irish people holidaying abroad and tourists having more restricted baggage allowances has put pressure on many high-end gift retailers.

“The viability of shops such as Crosbies was already threatened in due part by low-cost air travel. Cheap flights out of Ireland meant a lot of Irish people were going abroad for holidays, thus not spending at home,” said Robert.

“This, you might say, was balanced by tourists coming to Ireland but, because of luggage restrictions, these visitors did not have the same capacity to spend. And this was happening long before the recession hit.”

The window displays created by Suzanne Crosbie have been a local highlight for many years. Accord- ing to Suzanne, the fun of interacting with the local customers will be one of the things that she misses the most.

“We catered for the high end of the gifts and home accessories market and, as everyone knows, when money gets scarce, luxury goods are the first to feel the pinch,” said Suzanne.

“We loved the shop. and our customers. There wasn’t a day when you wouldn’t have a laugh about something. We are not young enough or old enough to stay in this type of business.

“I had always envisaged that by 2010 I would be able to ease up on working hands-on in the shop but the reality was that I was there six days a week, and after two years, I felt it was time to turn the corner.”

Crosbies first opened in June of 1991 and very quickly became an iconic feature of Ennistymon and North Clare. The high profile of the shop was in part due to Robert’s creation of the Folding Apple Basket, which was featured on the Late Late Show in 1994 and became an overnight success for the business.

The shop received the Best Traditional Shopfront Award from Clare County Council in 1995 and Robert and Suzanne won Clare Retailers of the Year in the FBD Excellence Awards for 2010.

Robert and Suzanne are currently looking at a number of new possibilities for the premises.

AN Ennis man who stole a handbag containing € 3,000 from a woman as she was shopping has received an 18-month prison sentence. At Ennis District Court last Wednesday, Robbie Nestor (31) was also convicted on other charges of theft and of having heroin for sale or supply.

Nestor, with an address at 142 Hermitage, Ennis, pleaded guilty to eight offences committed between July 2011 and February 2012. Details of the offences were read out in court by Insp Tom Kennedy. He said that Nestor had been seen by gardaí selling a € 25 wrap of heroin to a woman in the Hermitage area of Ennis on Decem ber 1, 2011. The accused admitted selling the drugs, the court heard.

The court heard that Garda Francis Brennan carried out a search of 142 Hermitage on December 2, 2011. Insp Kennedy said 16 wraps of heroin valued at € 480 and € 460 cash were found during the search. He said Nestor admitted to having the drugs for sale or supply. He told gardaí that the money had been obtained from selling drugs.

On July 30, 2011, the court heard, Nestor was seen on CCTV taking a suitcase from a bus parked at En nis bus station. The case, which belonged to a student on her way to Galway, contained a laptop computer valued at € 500 and other items. Insp Kennedy said Nestor, who has 31 previous convictions, admitted the theft and told gardaí that he sold the laptop for € 100.

The court heard that at some time between September 16 and 17, 2011, Nestor took € 50 from an apartment in Barretts Lane, Ennis.

Insp Kennedy told the court that on January 31, 2012, the accused stole a handbag containing a mobile phone and € 100 cash from a woman in Tesco, Ennis. The phone was subsequently recovered. The court heard that the next day Nestor took a handbag containing € 3,830 from a trolley in Dunnes Stores, Ennis. Insp Kennedy described it as “opportunistic crime” and said the money was not recovered.

Solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client has suffered from a “very bad heroin addiction”. Ms Godfrey said her client, a single, unmarried man, had made full admissions regarding all of the offences.

She asked that the court consider adjourning any custodial sentence to allow Nestor receive residential treatment. Judge Aeneas McCarthy said he was not “doing that”. He imposed three separate six-month sentences to be served consecutively. He imposed a further four-month sentence to be served concurrent to the 18-month term. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

CLARE manager Davy Fitzgerald was keen to prevent supporters from getting carried away in the wake of the Banner’s impressive win over Limerick on Saturday night.

“It’s only the first round of the league so there’s no point in people of Clare getting carried away, but all they can expect, as I’ve said from day one, is a hard working team,” he told The Clare People after the game.

“We still have things to work on and we’ll have dips but in the long run, I think the lads won’t be too far away but it’s going to take time. But we are on the right track.”

A track that leads to O’Garney Park on Sunday for the challenge of All-Ireland finalists Tipperary in the Waterford Crystal Final where another win would be seen as Clare’s most significant scalp of the season.

MORE than € 140,000 could shortly be released to community groups in Inagh and Kilnamona by Clare County Council, once a number of projects have been evaluated by a panel that is expected to announce their decision following a meeting on March 8th.

The money is part of a community fund which was set up to compensate local organisations for the construction of the local authority’s Central Waste Management Facility in Ballyduff beg in 2002.

According to an agreement, a small percentage of the profit made by Clare County Council on every tonne of waste taken in at Ballyduffbeg would be allocated to local “environmental” projects.

Between 2004 and 2006, a total of € 267,000 was allocated to local community groups under the scheme. At present, the local community is due to receive more than € 140,000 for waste disposed of in Ballyduff beg during 2007 and 2008. In addition, while the amount of landfill waste going to the Central Waste Management Facility has decreased in recent years, it is estimated that the community fund can expect as much as € 100,000 for waste disposed of in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

“My information is that this money has not been paid out since 2007 and I can’t understand why this should be the case,” said Cllr James Breen (IND), who campaigned against the siting of the Central Waste Management Facility in Ballyduff beg.

Clare County Council invited applications for funding in late 2009 for sustainable community based environmental initiatives or projects in the parishes of Inagh, Kilnamona and Cloonanaha under the Central Waste Management Facility Community Fund. The total funding available is € 140,775. A number of applications were received and are presently under adjudication by an independent Evaluation Panel. The Evaluation Panel is made up of six members in- cluding the Chairperson, three representatives from the local community, a representative from the community sector, a representative from the educational sector and a representative from Clare County Council.

No timescale has yet put in place for payments from 2009, 2010 and 2011.

“A number of meetings have taken place and when a recommendation is received from the evaluation panel, it will be placed before the members of Clare County Council for consideration. The next meeting of the evaluation panel is scheduled for March 8,” said Betty Devanny of Environment and Water Services with Clare County Council.

A DISTRICT court judge has noted the potential risk to consumers posed by buying goods over the internet.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy said consumers “had to be very careful these days”, particularly when making purchases online.

Judge McCarthy was speaking last week as he ordered that a stolen van purchased for close to € 10,000 in good faith by a Newmarket-on-Fergus man be returned to an English-based insurance company.

Judge McCarthy granted a request for a four-week stay to be placed on the order, pending a possible appeal.

At Ennis District Court last Wednesday, Gary Howard, of Drumline Newmarket-on-Fergus, applied to have a 2006 sprinter Mercedes Van, seized by the Gardaí last February, returned to him.

During the case, it was accepted by gardaí and Judge McCarthy that Mr Howard was the bona fide purchaser of the van and had bought the vehicle in good faith, not knowing it was stolen.

Mr Howard, who runs a Shannonbased haulier business, told the court that he bought the van in Tuam, County Galway, in January 2010, after seeing an ad in Done Deal.

Mr Howard told the court that he paid € 7,250 for the van and spent a further € 2,500 on repairs. He ex plained that he obtained a loan from the credit union to fund the purchase.

“I thought I was getting a good deal but I knew I had to put a bit of work into it,” he added.

He said an online check of the van’s history had not shown it was stolen. His solicitor, Daragh Hassett, told the court that his client had also asked the gardaí to check the history of the van. Mr Hassett said, “He rang his local gardaí and the got the two thumbs up. There’s no more this man could have done.”

The court was told that the van had been stolen in the United Kingdom, falsely registered in the Republic of Ireland and subsequently identified as part of Operation Swallow – an investigation involving the gardaí, Police Services of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and Scottish and English Police.

Detective Garda David Magee of the Stolen Car Unit told the court that gardaí had issued a warning for falsely registered vehicles. Insp Tom Kennedy said that while Mr Howard was the “bona fide owner” of the van, this was a case of “buyer beware”.

Solicitor John Casey, representing NFU Mutual Insurance, said the company had paid out a £10,000 claim on the van, making them the beneficial owner. Mr Casey added, “They never relinquished ownership, even though it was in the possession of other people.”

Judge McCarthy said evidence had been given that the van was stolen by a professional criminal gang and exported to Ireland. He added, “I have no doubt that Mr Howard is the bona fide purchaser who bought in good faith.”

He said the insurance company had paid out a claim. Ordering that the van be returned to FNU Mutual, Judge McCarthy said, “I have great sympathy with Mr Howard.”

EAST Clare farmers and landowners, whose land will be subject to Compulsory Purchase Orders to facilitate the construction of the longawaited Killaloe Bypass, received letters from Clare County Council last week informing them which parts of their land will be affected.

The Killaloe Bypass has been identified as a Strategic Infrastructure Development, which means that planning for the development does not need to go through the local planning process with Clare County Council but instead go straight to An Bord Pleanála. Clare County Council last week lodged two documents with An Bord Pleanála, in relation to the Compulsory Purchase Orders and the Environment Impact Statement for the project.

“Any submission made to An Bord Pleanála will be very carefully considered. Ultimately, it is Clare County Council’s objective to achieve development of a high-quality road scheme in a manner that will address any concerns they may have as effectively as possible,” said Barry Keating from the Transportation Sector of Clare County Council.

“It will not be possible for Clare County Council or Roughan and O’Donovan, Consulting Engineers, to engage with the public in respect of this project during the course of the presently ongoing formal public consultation process. This is to ensure that everyone affected by the project is treated equitably and to protect the integrity of the process.”

The public consultation process finishes on March 30 of this year after which time An Bord Pleanála will make the final judgement on the future development of the bypass.

“It is most important that the views and concerns of all landowners in relation to the proposed road scheme are submitted in writing to An Bord Pleanála in the manner outlined in the correspondence they would have received recently by the specified closing date,” continued Mr Keating.

“Each individual landowner and occupier affected by the scheme received a letter and a map and schedule dated Monday, February 6, indicating the portion of their land and property associated with the aforementioned CPO.”

Further correspondence clarifying Clare County Council’s role during the current statutory public consultation process was issued on Tuesday, February 14.

Information on the Killaloe Bypass, including the Environmental Impact Statement and Natural Impact Statement, are currently available to to be viewed at www.clarecoco.ie.