Category: News

SIXMILEBRIDGE’S ambitions to be crowned kings of the Irish language have come to an end.

The ‘Bridge lost out in the semi-finals of TG4’s ‘An G-Team’, which is a project aimed at reviving the Irish language across the country. A team from TG4 has travelled to towns and villages across the country in recent weeks as various areas competed against each other.

The people of Sixmilebridge had put in a huge effort in their attempts to win the overall prize of € 40,000.

However, they were defeated at the semi-final stage and the Glen of Aherlow will now go on to contest the final against Donabate from Dublin.

The ‘Bridge did well in the early stages of the competition and their new website promoting the use of Irish caught the attention of the adjudicators. As a result of their efforts, there has been a renewed interest in the Irish language in the area.

While they did well in the latest challenge, in which they were tasked with producing an hour-long radio programme, they were not chosen as one of the finalists.

During the radio show, they presented their own news and interviews, including an interview with Presidential hopeful Michael D Higgins.

Rita Costello read the news in Irish, assisted by reporters PJ Fitzpatrick and Eimear Murphy.

“Overall, it was very good. We were delighted with how it went. We couldn’t have done anything much better. We are waiting for feedback. They were very complimentary about the standard of Irish. The others (competitors) were very strong,” said the co-ordinator of the committee in Sixmilebridge, Brendan Walsh.

“There is a huge new interest in Irish. The big change is that there is a bit of Irish spoken in the pubs at night,” said Brendan.

“The big thing it did was connect community groups in the village,” he added.

“People have identified other people in the village who speak Irish. There was a core group of between 30 and 40.

“There are families who speak Irish in the ‘Bridge and nobody knew that,” he said.

Irish language classes take place every Monday, from 7pm to 9pm, in the old courthouse in Sixmilebridge, while a comhrá group meets at the Mill Bar every Friday at 9pm.

The village will feature prominently when TG4 broadcasts the G-Team initiative in January over 10 weeks.

NEW byelaws aimed at improving the operation and safety of the Ennis Market have been introduced in the town.

It follows confirmation from Ennis Town Council that an appeal against the new casual trading byelaws had been withdrawn.

Earlier this month, Town Manager Ger Dollard told a meeting of Ennis Town Council that the byelaws, which had been due to come into effect on October 1, could be the subject of a legal challenge.

In a statement on Friday, the council confirmed that the appeal had been withdrawn at Ennis District Court. The matter had been adjourned to Friday for consideration by the District Justice.

The byelaws provide for a revised layout for stalls at the market so as to improve general safety and operating arrangements.

Town Clerk Leonard Cleary, stated “The market is a very important part of Ennis town and is a key part of retail activity in the area. We wish people to enjoy the market experience to the maximum possible and it has been clear that the byelaws which had been in place since 1988 needed to be reviewed to reflect modern day requirements. We look forward to working with the traders on the full implementation of the byelaws so that the operation of the market can be improved in the interests of shoppers and market traders.”

The statement continues, “Ennis Town Council has major plans for the redevelopment of the entire market area and it is hoped to progress these plans in consultation with the various stakeholders when the current economic environment improves.”

Councillors voted through the byelaws at the July meeting of Ennis Town Council following two lengthy periods of public consultation.

A controversial proposal that would have allowed for the towing away of cars parked in trading spaces on trading days was removed from the final draft.

A TEAM of consultants have been charged with responsibility for deciding whether Shannon Airport’s links with the Dublin Airport Authority should be severed to allow private business take over the dayto-day operation of Clare’s international airport.

The move was heralded by Transport Minister Leo Varadkar on Friday when he announced the beginning of a “study of options” for the future ownership and direction of the airport.

This will be carried out by Booz & Company – a leading global management consulting firm, that helps businesses and governments and has branches in 39 countries worldwide, with its Irish operation headquartered in Dublin.

Booz & Company are to report back to Minister Varadkar by the end of year after “consulting as widely as possible with the stakeholders in Shannon” ahead of a proposal being put to government that will chart a new future for the 75-year-old airport.

“Some months ago I asked the boards of the three authorities (Dublin, Shannon, Cork) for their views again on separation,” Minister Varadkar revealed in launching the new consultation process on the future of the three state airports.

The most radical of the proposals submitted to Minister Varadkar in August is for Shannon to breakaway from the DAA by way of the State entering into a lease agreement with private business for a period of between 15 to 35 years.

“Given the current business environment and the recent trends in the aviation sector I was not surprised to hear back that there was no support for separation, as originally envisaged, that is as three independent State companies.

“However, the present half-way house arrangement, in place since 2004, whereby Cork and Shannon have their own boards but have limited autonomy from the Dublin Airport Authority, cannot continue indefinitely. Nor can the situation continue whereby losses at Cork and Shannon are absorbed by the remaining profitable parts of the DAA Group.

“I have decided therefore to seek wide ranging advice on all possible options for the future ownership and operation of Cork and Shannon Airports, so that I can propose informed recommendations to Government,” added Minister Varadkar.

WORLDWIDE business consultants Booz & Company have now emerged as major players in shaping Shannon’s future – their findings and recommendations to government will be key to whether a blueprint to semi-privatise the airport for between 15 and 35 years becomes a reality.

This radical plan is contained in the proposal put to government by the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) in August.

The SAA board, which is chaired by local businessman Brian O’Connell, tabled its vision for the future on foot of a request for submissions by Minister Varadkar on the break-up of the three state- owned airports – Dublin, Shannon and Cork.

The plan sets out in bold terms that going forward, profit is the bottom line for Shannon, with semiprivatisation option put forward as a way of achieving this objective in the changed economic landscape.

“It is not sustainable for any business to continue in a loss-making mode,” said SAA chairman Brian O’Connell after the proposal was submitted to the Department of Transport.

“Every business, including Shannon Airport, must re-configure itself and re-engineer its future in the light of the dramatically changed economic landscape. It is clear that the ways and means we have organised and managed business in the past have to change, to take into account the reality of present and future market challenges.

“As a board, we are very mindful that Shannon Airport is and should continue to be a powerful driver of the current and future economic vitality in the whole west of Ireland region, if it is adequately capitalised and superbly managed.

“We considered a wide range of options which could optimise and maximise the commercial potential of Shannon Airport. We analysed present international trends and examined locations similar to Shannon around the world, which are operating successfully. It is for the Minister to consider the views of the board as submitted and to deliberate thereafter,” added O’Connell, who is also managing director of Westpark Shannon.

In July, the publication of the DAA annual report revealed a 37 per cent decrease in passenger traffic at Shannon during 2010, contributing to losses at the airport of between € 7m and € 10m for the year. The extent of these losses is believed to have scuppered any prospect of a government move to separate Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports.

This is despite the DAA annual report has saying: “following restructuring, Cork Airport Authority and Shannon Airport Authority will act as fully independent and legally autonomous airport authorities for Cork and Shannon airports respectively.”

In 2003, the then Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, announced the Government’s intention to restructure State-run airports, with the 2004 State Airports Act proposing that the Dublin Airport Authority would cease to own Shannon and Cork airports.

However, four years later, Minister Brennan’s successor in the transport portfolio, Noel Dempsey, announced the deferral until 2011 of a decision on the restructuring given the very difficult circumstances in the aviation sector.

“It was the unanimous views of the Dublin, Cork and Shannon airport authorities at the time that given the very difficult circumstance for the aviation sector, the climate was not right for separation,” Minister Varadkar has revealed this week.

A PLAN to offer free flights from Shannon Airport at certain times of the year may not be completely grounded, despite comments from the Department of Transport over the weekend that the project is a nonstarter.

West Clare councillor Gabriel Keating (FG), who proposed the ambitious new scheme, says that he has no doubt that something will come out of the proposal. The Kilrush councillor yesterday put out the call to Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary, saying that the deal could be an ideal fit for Shannon and the low fares airline. The idea involved making some flights between Shannon Airport and some UK airports free between March 19 and April 16, and September 17 and October 15, each year to promote visitors to Clare and the beginning and end of the tourist season. The promotion would also act as a major marketing opportunity for Shannon Airport and the airline involved in offering the free flights.

“We have been doing the same thing with our marketing budget for years now and the time has come for us to think outside of the box and that is what this idea is all about,” said Cllr Keating.

“If people came and they stayed for four nights in Clare what impact would that have on the local tourism market? It would be a massive boost both for the county and for Shannon Airport.

“I have no doubt that someone like Michael O’Leary would see the potential in an idea like this. You have to spend money to make money and we have been spending our marketing budget sending people to promote Shannon to every corner of the world but I think there is an option to spend it in a different way.

“I have no doubt that something will come from this idea. As an elected councillor it is my job to come up with ideas that might help promote the county. Ideas like this will lead to tourists and investment and that leads to jobs.”

A spokesman for the Department of Transport said over the weekend that the government was “unlikely” to support the proposal saying that it might infringe on EU competition law.

A 19-YEAR-OLD who launched a “completely unwarranted and uncalled for” attack on a man who he overheard talking about him has been warned that he may face three years in jail.

Karl Haugh, of Marian Estate, Carrigaholt Road, Kilkee, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Darren Clarke and also admitted assaulting Denis O’Connell, in Kilkee on August 7, 2010.

Detective Garda Oliver Downes told Ennis Circuit Court yesterday that the defendant was refused take away drink in a pub in Kilkee on the night in question.

“Denis O’Connell was working in the premises and Darren Clarke was a customer,” said the garda.

He said that Mr Clarke and Mr O’Connell left the premises in the early hours of the morning.

As Mr Clarke made his way home he was attacked as he approached the entrance to a housing estate.

“A blue car pulled up and the accused jumped out. The accused caught Mr Clarke and punched him to the back of the head and then punched him a few times to the head and chest,” said the garda.

The court heard that Mr Clarke fell to the ground and was punched again as he tried to get up. “The accused grabbed him in an arm lock. He was choking as a result,” said the garda.

“Denis O’Connell came to his assistance. He received two punches to the face,” he added. Mr Clarke sus- tained a number of injuries including a graze to the forehead, small cuts to the lips and a shoulder injury. He was out of work for a month, due to the attack. Mr O’Connell sustained a swollen jaw and black eye.

Gda Downes said that Haugh “is well known to us in Kilrush and Kilkee. He has 24 previous convictions”. Asked about the motive for the assaults, the garda told Judge Carroll Moran, “The accused alleges he overheard Darren Clarke call him a scumbag in the pub and that was the reason for him to go after him. This hasn’t been verified.”

Defence Counsel Pat Whyms, BL, said that Mr Clarke did concede that he was talking about the defendant, but hadn’t realised that he was listening to him. “There is a discrepancy in relation to what was said,” he said.

The court heard that Mr Clarke did not wish to give evidence to the court.

Mr Whyms told the court that his client was involved in a serious car accident eight years ago and has been on disability since the age of 18. He said that his client wished to publicly apologise for what Counsel described as a “completely unwarranted and uncalled for” incident. He said that his client took umbrage as a result of “this perceived slight and not at the refusal of the drink as such”.

Mr Whyms said that his client was on his way home from his night out at the time and was “not pursuing Mr Clarke”.

“However it was completely unjustifiable to assault Mr Clarke in the way he did. Thankfully Mr Clarke was not seriously injured,” said Mr Whyms.

He said that his client had brought € 1,870 to court and was prepared to raise further compensation to bring the total to € 5,000. He said that the accused is selling his car and is hopeful of raising € 2,000 from this, which will go towards the compensation. “I think that is a reasonable offer on the basis of injuries sustained by Mr Clarke,” he said.

Judge Moran said, “It seems to me he is facing the possibility of three years in prison. Let’s see if he can sell the car in three weeks.”

He adjourned the case until November. “I’m not making any promises at all. This is a serious gratuitous attack,” said the judge.

YOUNG people are being encouraged to take part in a programme of events that has been launched at a new youth and community building in Ennis.

Clare Youth Service has announced a series of programmes to run at ‘The Junction’ on Cloughleigh Road.

Youth worker Jean Tierney explained that the activities are aimed at young people aged 15-18 years and will run at the building over the next few months.

A money bank programme will offer advice on setting up a community grants scheme, while young people can also learn life skills and participate in genealogy projects.

The centre is also open for teenagers every Tuesday and Friday from 4-6pm to drop in and meet their friends, access the internet, and listen to music.

Ms Tierney said that ‘fit out’ work on the building’s kitchen and computer room has recently been completed. “We have a few groups up and running. There are community groups running meetings during the day,” she said.

She explained that Clare Youth Service are aiming to increase use of the building over the coming months. Ms Tierney said that a number of different groups and organisations have rented space at the building to run classes.

For more details or to sign up to any of the programmes, call into The Junction or contact Jean Tierney on 065 6845356 or 086-1568560. Alternatively, check out The Junction Ennis on Facebook.

The Junction, which was constructed on land owned by Ennis Town Council, features a youth café/dropin centre and will be used as a base from which youth services and programmes to targeted groups will be delivered. The project costs amounted to € 645,000, of which € 357,000 was allocated to the council under the Social and Community Facilities Capital Scheme 2006. The balance of the capital expenditure was provided from the council’s own resources. The council was the contracting authority for the construction of the building and has leased the completed building to Clare Youth Service.

Set up in 1969, Clare Youth Service today provides direct services to over 3,000 young people aged 12-25 years around the county.

A 20-YEAR-OLD’s chronic alcohol problem and misuse of cannabis are at the root of his bad record, a court has been told.

The comments from a barrister came in the case of a defendant who pleaded guilty to burglary last year.

Ian Murrihy (20), of Lisdoonvarna Road, Kilfenora, was charged with burglary of a house in Ardnaculla, Ennistymon, on June 25, 2010. A mobile phone was stolen during the break-in.

Ennis Circuit Court heard yesterday that a man was woken up from his sleep by noise coming from a front room of his home.

Garda Christopher Healy told the court that the offence was committed at 4am. The accused was arrested some six hours later. He said that the stolen mobile phone was never recovered and that another man involved in the incident has since died.

The court heard that the accused had several previous convictions.

Defence Counsel Emer Carey, BL, said that her client, who was inebriated at the time, went into the house via a side door that was open. “They let themselves in,” she said, adding that her client’s recollection of the incident was “sketchy”.

She said that her client had been “a chronic alcoholic” and has abused cannabis in the past. She said that her client has had a difficult background and lived rough at one point.

“The majority of his previous convictions relate to his chronic alcohol problem and his misuse of cannabis,” she said.

Ms Carey said that her client became a father for the first time in August, but has not yet seen his child as he has been in custody since July.

Judge Carroll Moran said he was taking the accused’s poor background into consideration. However he said there were aggravating factors in the case: the accused’s “very bad record” – including 10 previous convictions for theft and one for burglary – and the fact that this was “an invasion of somebody’s home in the middle of the night when they are asleep”.

He said he had to impose a prison sentence and jailed the accused for four years, the last year of which was suspended.

He backdated the sentence to July 26 last, when the accused went into custody.

AN ESTIMATED 1,200 ESB customers were affected by a power outage, which struck parts of Ennis last week.

The outage occurred at 3.10pm on Thursday and supply was restored to all customers by 4pm. In a statement an ESB spokeswoman explained that the outage occurred when a landowner was cutting a tree on property in Guarus and it fell across an ESB line.

She stated, “An outage occurred at approximately 3.10pm yesterday (Oct 13). ESB Network crews were dispatched. A private landowner was cutting a tree on his own property in Gaurus and it inadvertently fell across an ESB medium voltage line in the area.”

The areas affected were Our Lady’s Hospital and the Gaurus Court Estate and Gaurus Bridge areas.

The spokeswoman added, “Approximately, 1,200 customers were affected. Supply was restored to all customers at 4pm.”

It is the second widespread power outage to hit ESB customers in Ennis in the past three months. An estimated 1,500 homes and businesses were affected by two major power outages in Ennis in July. On that occasion the outages occurred as a result of cable faults in the town centre.

Almost 1,000 homes and businesses were hit by the first fault. A second fault occurred in Francis Street later in the day leading to power disruptions for approximately 500 customers. At the time, banks were forced to close in the middle of the day while pubs, shops and restaurants were also affected.

FANS of television’s The Apprentice will be familiar with the new upcoming artist called TBC, who is set to take the Irish music scene by storm. The moniker TBC, or To Be Confirmed, was accidentally used by Team Spirit to describe the first act on a CD to be distributed free with the Irish Daily Mail .

The gaff eventually lost the team the task, which resulted in Yinka being shown the road by Bill Cullen in the boardroom. The Clare People has discovered that the mystery artist who was mistakenly named as TBC was none other than Sixmilebridge singer-songwriter Lou McMahon.

Despite the loss of the task, 100,000 copies of the CD, which features Lou’s song alongside her real name and details, will be distributed across the country in this Saturday’s Irish Daily Mail .

“I am overwhelmed by this, I really didn’t expect to make it onto the CD. I entered by song ‘The River’ into a competition being hosted by the newspaper and, out of the blue, one day I got a call saying that I had been shortlisted. At this point ,I knew noting about The Apprentice, I just made my way to Dublin for some interviews,” said Lou. “I managed to get my track as the lead song of one of the CDs which was great. I was called in by both teams – both wanted the song to be on their CD but I ended up being used on Team Spirit’s CD. Anyone who has seen the show will know that I was mistakenly not told about the photo-shoot for the cover art and was listed on the album sleeve as TBC – or ‘to be confirmed’.

“The Irish Daily Mail thought that calling one of the artists TBC was such a big mistake that they have decided to repackage the whole CD and my name will be included on the CD that people get this weekend – not TBC.”

One hundred thousand copies of the CD featuring Lou will be distributed in this Saturday’s Irish Daily Mail. Lou’s latest single entitled ‘Into the Wind’ will be released in November and all of her music is currently available on i-Tunes.