Category: News

A 16-year-old Ennistymon girl who was struck by lightning in her home is fighting to be out of hospital for Christmas. Sixteen-year-old Aisling O’Connell was using a hairdryer in her home in Clonomera, just a mile outside Ennistymon when she was struck by lighting on Thursday, December 16.

Aisling, who is a keen basketball player and a student at Scoil Mhuire in Ennistymon, remains in hospital in Galway at the moment with burns to her head and neck. She has undergone a number of skin-grafts on the effected areas and is responding well to treatment.

Aisling is a member of the school U-16 basketball team who won the Munster U-16 title over the weekend. Members of the team contacted Aisling in hospital after the historic win.

“Everyone at the school is hoping and praying for a speedy recovery. We would also like to wish her and her family all the best over Christmas,” said a spokesperson from Scoil Mhuire in Ennistymon.

According to one Ennistymon local, Aisling is a brave girl and hoped are high that she will be out of hospital for Christmas.

“What we have heard is that she is doing well and is making a good recovery, she might even be out for Christmas,’ they said.

The last recorded report of a lighting strike in Clare took place in January of 2009

A TAXI driver in Shannon sustained multiple injuries in an assault after a dispute arose over a fare, a court has been told.

Arising out of the incident, Diarmuid Devanney (22) with an address at Cúl Na Gréine, Shannon, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm. Inspector Tom Kennedy told Shannon District Court on Thursday that the taxi driver was hit from behind with a crutch by the defendant, on February 20 last.

He said that the accused, his younger brother and a friend were in a taxi in Shannon.

He said that they were brought to the town centre and didn’t have the money to pay the fare.

“The taxi driver got out of the taxi and held on to one of them,” he said.

He said that while the taxi driver held on to the accused’s brother, the accused “assaulted him with a crutch”.

He said that the taxi driver sustained several injuries including bruises to the head, hands and arms, cuts to the lips and mouth, while he had a finger broken.

“It was minor enough in the Section 3 (assault causing harm) category,” said Inspector Kennedy.

Defending solicitor Jenny Fitzgibbon said that there was a misunderstanding on the night.

She said that her client’s brother had got out of the taxi to go to the bank machine to get money to pay the fare. “They realised they didn’t have money,” she said.

“There was a bit of a misunder- standing. I’m not sure if it was cultural or language,” she said.

She said that her client’s actions were “reprehensible” and he had “gotten out of control”, adding that he was “very protective” of his younger brother.

She said that her client has “very, very serious health concerns”.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy imposed a fine of € 300.

DESPITE a well-received bid, Clare has missed out on a € 200,000 music teaching windfall.

The Clare Music Education Partnership (MEP) is to meet in the New Year in order to consider making a third bid to the Music Generation a programme co-funded by U2 that aims to provide up to € 7 million to music education initiatives in Ireland.

Members of Clare’s music community met in October to formulate the bid, which was spearheaded by Clare VEC.

A successful bid would have seen € 200,000 invested in the Banner County over three years. Clare Music Partnership would also be expected to provide matching funding in the same period.

Local authorities, Maoin Cheoil an Chláir and the University of Limerick were among the groups who had backed the Clare bid.

In a report to Clare VEC, Dr Sean Conlan Music Education Officer confirmed that the Clare application had been unsuccessful.

He stated, “A second submission to Music Generation on behalf of the Clare Music Education Partnership (MEP) was made in November. Clare VEC was the lead agency. Unfortunately the application was unsuccessful again on this occasion. The Clare MEP application received a score of 71 per cent across the three key evaluative measures, core values, feasibility and value for money.”

Dr Conlan continued, “A further round of applications will be announced in the autumn of 2012. Successful projects will each received a maximum grant allocation of € 200,000 annually over three years. This has to be co-funded at local level and after three years the music education partnership is expected to be in a position to self finance its operation with collaborative funding from the Department of Education and Skills. The Clare MEP will meet early in the New Year to consider its position.

The second round of Music Generation funding was announced last week with partnership’s in Laois, Cork City and Wicklow receiving up to € 1.7 million.

In July 2009, U2 and The Ireland Funds announced a € 7 million donation to support music education programmes.

Music Generation will provide three-year seed funding to establish local services, which will be sustained by Music Education Partnerships on a long-term basis.

A PROMINENT County Clare solicitor has strongly criticised the decision not to re-open a courthouse in Ennistymon, describing it as “an assault on rural society”.

Eugene O’Kelly, of O’Kelly Moylan Solicitors, said he will have to consider relocating his office from Ennistymon to Ennis, as a result of the decision.

The Courts Service has ruled that from January all north Clare court cases will be heard in Ennis Courthouse. In the past few years, the cases were heard in Kilrush Courthouse, but have now been moved to Ennis as part of plans to centralise the service.

A few years ago, court sittings moved from Ennistymon after the then District Court Judge Joseph Mangan argued that the venue, Teach Ceol, was unsuitable as it was cold and acoustics were poor.

At the time, the Courts Service looked for a new venue in Ennistymon and temporarily moved the hearings to Kilrush.

Mr O’Kelly, whose client base mainly covers West and North Clare, said he understood that North Clare sittings would eventually return to Ennistymon.

“I am dismayed to see it being closed without any consultation. I would see it as an assault on rural society. It is one more step in the continuous erosion of the fabric of rural communities,” he said.

Mr O’Kelly said that in 2008, there were 71 district court sittings in Ennis and this will increase to 120 next year.

“It is not that the workload has increased in Ennis requiring these sittings. Since 2008 Kilkee, Kildysart, Miltown Malbay, Lisdoonvarna, Corofin, Tulla and Scarriff were abolished. When they were abolishing the North Clare ones it was said a very good facility would be developed in Ennistymon,” he said.

“That’s 31 court sittings (Ennistymon and Shannon) simply being abolished. It’s an enormous inconvenience and disruption for people in outlying villages and towns in county Clare. People are being made travel further and further to access basic services.

“The loss of a court from a town takes from the prestige of that town. The whole town suffers,” he said.

He said the decision was “centralisation for the sake of centralisation”.

“I accept that economic times such as we have require savings but these savings shouldn’t be made at the expense of rural communities. Rural society is degraded the more services are centralised,” said Mr O’Kelly.

Two years ago, Mr O’Kelly – whose main base is in Kilrush – opened an office in Ennistymon and says the proposed re-opening of a courthouse in the town was a significant factor in this decision. He said he will now have to reconsider his business options, based on this latest development.

“It is of considerable importance to my practice because we have a large client base around Ennistymon. We will have to look to opening in Ennis,” he said.

He said he fears that further services will be eroded in rural parts. “If the court is gone from Ennistymon, will the next centralisation be the garda districts? Is it going to be reduced to a 9 to 5 district as opposed to a 24-hour station?” he asked.

TWO women found in possession of a petrol bomb in an Ennis pub last year have been placed on probation.

Evelyn McNamara (34) with an address at 19 Ros an Oir, Ennis and Jacinta McNamara (39) with an address at 45 Oak Park, Ennis, both appeared at Ennis District Court on Friday.

Each woman was charged with having in their custody, a petrol bomb, at the Lifford Bar, Newbridge Road, Ennis on May 31 (2010) contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Damage Act.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy described the possession of a petrol bomb as a “very serious charge”.

In the case of Evelyn McNamara, Judge McCarthy placed her on probation for a period of 12 months, on condition that she attend all appointments as directed by the probation and welfare services.

He said this would include attending a day hospital and AA meetings. He granted the State and the probation and welfare services liberty to re-enter the case if there is non-compliance with the order.

Judge McCarthy said, “She seems to be doing well at the moment and I hope that continues”. In the case of Jacinta McNamara, Judge McCarthy said she too had been charged with possession of a petrol bomb.

Solicitor for Jacinta McNamara, Tara Godfrey, told the court that her client is attending adult education.

She urged Judge McCarthy to take the course of action recommended by the probation services.

Judge McCarthy ordered that Jacinta McNamara be placed on probation for 12 months. He ordered that she attend all appointments as directed by the probation and welfare services. He granted the State and the probation services liberty to re-enter the matter if there is non-compliance.

Judge McCarthy said he made the order with “reservations” but that it had been the recommendation of the probation and welfare services.

A RARE original copy of the 1916 Proclamation, belonging to a Clare volunteer who was wounded during the Easter Rising, was sold at auction last week for € 55,000.

The proclamation, which is one of just 40 originals copies of the famous document still in existence, was removed by Clare volunteer Murty Tubridy, who was wounded in the head while defending his post near North King Street, beside the Four Courts, on the day of the rising.

Just 1,000 copies of the proclamation were printed, under armed guard, at Liberty Hall on Easter Sunday 1916. The proclamation was printed on poor quality, newsprint-style paper – something which contributed to such a small number of such a small number surviving to this day.

Less than 40 copies of the original document still exist and few are in good condition. Murty Tubridy’s copy remained in excellent condition except for a section of the third paragraph of the proclamation – which was torn away when it was removed, in haste, from North King Street.

The area around North King Street saw some of the most intense fighting during the Easter Rising. The copy of the proclamation was removed by Murty Tubridy while his post was taking fire from British troops.

Mr Tubridy served in Ned Daly’s Battalion during the Rising and was part of a unit headed by Peadar Clancy. His main involvement centred around the Four Courts, where he was appointed as grenade thrower and was also responsible for constructing a blockade on Kings Street.

On the second last day of the fighting, he received some minor injuries and was grazed also on the ear. He was sent to Richmond Hospital for treatment and while being moved to the hospital by his comrades he first removed the proclamation from the hoarding at King Street which he had been blockading.

Soon after he arrived at Richmond he was advised to leave the hospital immediately as it was about to be overrun.

His battalion surrendered on April 29, 1916, but Tubridy was not detained at this time. He was later imprisoned at Dundalk Jail, where he was granted parole for four days to attend his father’s funeral in Clare. Following the Rising, Mr Tubridy also served in Belfast with Terence Mac Swiney, Thomas Mc Curtin and other prominent Republicans of the day.

STAFF were optimistic yesterday that work on a new building for Ennis National School will start by Easter 2012. It follows confirmation from the Department of Education and Skills that the school can precede to construction next year.

The funding announcement means that the Board of Management can proceed to tender, appoint a contractor and start construction in 2012.

The tendering process has so far received 30 expressions of interest. Tendering is to be completed within six months with construction to last 12 to 18 months.

“We would like to get going with the tender process as soon as possible”, said Deputy Principal Tom Glynn yesterday.

Students were informed of the announcement at the school’s Christmas concert. Mr Glynn explained, “It was for the junior infants and it was kind of appropriate in a way given they will be the prime beneficiaries of the new building.”

The school has been located on the Kilrush Road near the town centre since 1971. A long running campaign for a new school building resulted in the Diocese of Killaloe donating a site at Ashline.

In addition to 32 classrooms, the new building will include rooms for our reading class, special education teachers and library. The building will have an energy rating and a level of disability access, which is ahead of current regulations.

A campaign has been underway for the past 12 months to raise money for sports facilities, which will include a full-size sports hall with dressing rooms and a playing pitch.

Mr Glynn added, “It’s been a very long campaign. We got great support over the years from parents, teachers, pupils and the various different Boards of Management. We also got great support from the Parish, Ennis Town Council, our political representatives. We’re ready to roll now that the money is there.”

The announcement was welcomed by a number of Clare TDs. Fine Gael TD, Joe Carey stated, “At present, there are 16 pre-fabricated classrooms in use to educate children at the school that has a student population of between 600 and 700. Parents and staff stuck with this issue and ensured their voices were heard over recent years and they must be congratulated for this.”

According to Fine Gael TD Pat Breen, “Teachers and pupils have had to put up with prefabs for a number of years, but today’s announcement paves the way for the construction of a new state of the art facility.”

Labour TD Michael McNamara said, “The town of Ennis has badly needed a new national school for some time and that has been reflected in the Minister’s announcement today. It will, of, also bring some employment in the short term.”

A FORMER Fine Gael Senator and former running mate of Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been appointed the district court judge for Clare.

Westport native Patrick Durcan, who was appointed to the Seanad in 1983, ran unsuccessfully for the Dáil on four occasions – 1981, twice in 1982 and 1987 – and served a term on Westport Town Council from 1999 to 2004.

Mr Durcan, who was recently appointed a district court judge, will replace Judge Joseph Mangan who retired in October.

He has practised as a solicitor in Westport for several years, prior to his recent judicial appointment.

He studied at University College Dublin and the Law Society and qualified as a solicitor in 1973.

Mr Durcan is not likely to take up the role as district court judge in Clare until March as he will spend the next few months in judicial training in Dublin. In the meantime, the county’s district courts will be presided over by judges from a panel. Since Judge Mangan’s retirement, Judge Aeneas McCarthy has presided over most of the district courts in the county.

A spokesman for the Courts Service told The Clare People that a decision to locate a newly-appointed judge in a district court area “is unusual but it’s not unheard of”.

The President of the Clare Law Association, solicitor Mairéad Doyle said the new judge will be most welcome to the county.

“We are delighted at the appointment this week of Judge Patrick Durcan to the District Court in Clare as successor to Judge Joseph Mangan,” said Ms Doyle.

“Judge Durcan had a long and distinguished career in the district court in Mayo and as a native of the West of Ireland he will be familiar with the type of cases that will be coming before him during the course of his work here in Clare. We welcome Judge Durcan to Clare and look forward to working with him,” she added.

Meanwhile, changes to court sittings across Clare have been rubberstamped and will come into effect in January, as part of a centralisation process.

Under the changes, there will be specific dates for crime hearings, separate dates for civil hearings and other listed dates for hearings related to traffic offences. Crime sittings will take place on Wednesdays, with road traffic matters and civil cases heard on Fridays. Also, most of the hearings will be centralised to Ennis. Kilrush cases will continue to be heard in the west Clare town, while cases from north Clare are to be moved to Ennis. Shannon cases are already heard in Ennis.

East Clare district court sittings will return to Killaloe in January, for a trial period of three months. O’Donovan’s bar and restaurant, Derg Court, Ballina, Killaloe, will host the sittings from January 3.

The court will sit on the first Tuesday of every month and will also sit on extra days – on the six second Tuesdays (January, March, May, July, October and December).

It will sit at O’Donovan’s for three months initially, with the option of extending the lease on a monthly basis.

CONSTRUCTION work on a new € 4.2 million Cystic Fibrosis Unit will begin in the new year after a historic fundraising effort by parents in Clare, Tipperary and Limerick.

The sod for the new facility was due to be turned in September of this year but work on the facility has now been delayed until the new year. Despite this however, the TLC4CF group are confident that progress will be made on the new facility early in 2012.

The group have also just launched a new fund-raising cook book which they are hoping can raise as much as € 100,000 to help to fund the completion of the unit and the machinery needed to fill it.

“The sod turning has not taken place yet unfortunately but we are confident that that will take place early in the new year. We are confident of that,” said Corofin mother and member of TLC4CF Marcella Clancy.

“This is the second Food 4 Thought cook book that we are released for TLC4CF. The first book was released two years ago and it was compiled by Breda O’Shaughnessy from Adare who is a great chef.

“The first book was a great success with more then € 100,000 being raised between Clare, Tipperary and Limerick from its sale. We will see how this one goes now – a lot of people were asking for a second version of the book to be launched.

“The book has all new recipes in it and while some of the recipes might be a little bit advanced they are presented in a way that anybody could do them. It does through the whole lot, from starters to soups, main courses to deserts. It is the kind of thing that would make a lovely Christmas present and it’s not too expensive at just € 10.

“We would also like to like to wish a happy Christmas to everyone in Clare and beyond who have supported TLC4CF in the past, their support is greatly appreciated by everyone in the Clare Branch of Cystic Fibrosis and everyone involved with TLC4CF.”

When completed, the new facility will be the only dedicated facility for people over the age of 16 who have Cystic Fibrosis in the west of Ireland. The facility, which will be built on the grounds of Limerick Regional Hospital, will be built entirely with money raised by TLC4CF and while the HSE has committed to staffing the facility. Food 4 Thought is available at Mary Kelly’s news agents in Ennis, O’Mahoney’s Bookshop in Ennis, Donnellan’s Centra Service Station in Ennis and the Spar Supermarket in Corofin.

CLARE parents have been warned not to purchase a puppy as a gift for their children this year by the county’s dog warden Frankie Coote, who had to rehouse dozens of newly abandoned animals in the first week after Christmas last year.

Anyone interested in getting a pet for their family this Christmas is instead asked to visit the Clare Dog Pound with their children and speak to a trained professional about what is required to look after a dog prop- erly.

“Unfortunately, each year parents and relatives go out there and decide to buy a pet for a child for Christmas. We would advice anyone who is thinking of getting a dog at Christmas, and they have the right time and facilities, that they should go to a pound and rehouse a dog rather than going to a puppy farm. Puppy farms are just breeding establishments and you are going to buy from a puppy farm you really need to see the dogs parents and what sort of conditions they are being kept with,” said Frankie.

“Parents can rush into getting a dog as a present without really thinking about the amount of work that is involved in a dog.

“Last Christmas we saw a number of relatives bringing a puppy for their niece of nephew – that is a terrible thing to do with someone. The people are not prepared for the pup and all the work that that entails. Last year I had to go to several people immediately after Christmas because they just were not able to take care of their pups. It is a big commit- ment and people who get a puppy at Christmas don’t realise this.”

Meanwhile, a number of horses have been discovered dead at various locations around the county over the past two weeks. A large number of horses were effectively abandoned last year as the prolonged cold snap mean that the owners could not feed the animals.

Flooding has been the main difficulty for animals this year with a number of horses found dead in drains and wet areas in Kilmaley and Kilkishen in the past two week.