Category: News

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.

THE sister of a north Clare priest who died tragically in 2002 when his car rolled off Liscannor Pier says her brother came to her in a dream and told her that he did not commit suicide. All The Michael O’Gradys is a new book set to be published later this year by Crusheen woman Helen O’Grady. The book tells the story of several generations of the O’Grady family, including four family members named Michael who each died in tragic circumstances surrounding water.

The main focus of the book is on the death of popular local priest Fr Michael O’Grady, who died when his car rolled off Liscannor Pier on April 4, 2002. The inquest into his death was held in July of that year and returned a suicide verdict.

This verdict was contested by the family, who described it as being “perverse” and “flying in the face of the evidence”.

After the O’Grady family threatened to instigate a judicial review into the verdict, a second inquest was held in November of that year which overturned the suicide verdict and instead returned an open verdict in the case.

In the book, Fr Michael’s sister Mary describes a visit from her dead brother to her dreams on the night following the tragic accident.

“That night as I prepared for bed, I reflected on the day and I was annoyed with all and sundry. But as usual, I said some prayers. During my sleep, Fr Michael came to me,” said Helen. “Fr Michael, along with a person on either side of him, told me three times in an angry voice,

‘it was an accident’.

After that I never

doubted.”

Fr O’Grady served

in the Killaloe Dio

cese for more than

30 year after he

was first ordained

in 1969. Originally

from Crusheen, he

was Parish Priest

in the neighbour

ing parish of Tubber

when he passed away

at the age of 58.

The then Bishop of

Killaloe, Dr Willie

Walsh, spoke at his

funeral, describing him as a “a man of deep faith and of loyalty to the priesthood”.

The book closes with Helen calling for more understanding and compassion for people of vocation in Ireland. “He was a priest. It was not an easy life; a priest’s life is a demanding one but also a rewarding one. Maybe we lay people should, from now on, think differently about the priests and church in general. Instead we should pray for our priests and nuns,” she said.

A GROUND-BREAKING service developed by the Brothers of Charity in Ennis is to get national exposure this week when the ‘Home Share Clare’ initiative is showcased on RTÉ.

The service that provides short breaks to adults and children with learning disabilities will be featured on this Wednesday’s Nationwide programme.

Over the past three years Home Share Clare, which is dependent on fundraising and charitable donations has successfully placed over 40 adults with families.

“Families of people with disabilities are telling us that one of the supports that they may need to enable them to continue to care for their family member at home are short breaks,” a spokesperson for the Brothers of Charity revealed.

“Short breaks give them a break from their role as carer and also provide their family member an opportunity to be with others and benefit from new experiences.

“The uniqueness of this initiative is that care is provided for people in family homes and can really be seen as a home away from home. Individuals enjoy the opportunity of developing new relationships and being part of new communities whilst enjoying a short break,” the spokesperson added.

With home-sharing the person seeking the service is carefully matched with a person/family that often have common interests and hobbies. “The family of the person requesting the respite meet and often build up relationships with the home sharers,” the Brothers of Charity spokesperson said.

“Breaks can be planned and crisis can be responded to quicker and more efficiently than more traditional ways of providing respite.

Home-sharing is a two way process in that the families who provide the respite gain hugely from the experience of having a person with an intellectual disability stay in their home. “Sustainable and unique relationships can develop that will last for many years to come.

“Home-sharing is a crucial way to support and expand the informal networks of families and build on capacity and strength of communities.

“Home share families are assessed, trained and supported by Home Share Clare,” the spokesperson concluded.

A FUNDRAISING concert to support four local women who will volunteer at a children’s orphanage in Belarus will take place in Ennis on Friday.

Hazel O’Connor, Karen Dunne, Breda Browne and Bridget Punch will spend a week providing support and assistance at the Gorodische orphanage, which is located two hours from the capital, Minsk.

The group are travelling to Belarus as part of the Burren Chernobyl Project, a north Clare-based group that provides support to victims of the Chernobyl disaster.

The group have organised a number of fundraisers over the past couple of months, the latest of which takes place at All Bar One, Ennis, on Friday night at 9.30pm.

For Ennis woman Hazel, this is her third trip to Belarus. She explained that money raised would go towards helping kids at the orphanage.

She said, “We will be spending a week there, helping out as much as we can. I haven’t been there since 2008. The conditions aren’t so great but because the Burren Chernobyl Project are so involved, they have improved.”

Hazel, who works at Lifford Child- care Créche, added, “The one thing they really need out there are nappies. They don’t have them and, without nappies, the children can’t really learn to walk properly. The Pampers are really important. And having the extra staff is really important as well. They need extra staff to help give the children one-on-one attention and support.”

The group are hoping for good support on Friday night. Gorodishche is home to 220 children and young adults who are aged between four and 25. Gorodishche is a remote village a little over a two-hour drive south west of Minsk. Since the project’s first visit in the late ‘90s, the place has been transformed. A new building which was 13 years under construction has finally been finished and most of the groups have moved in there. The Burren Chernobyl Project has three programmes running annually in Gorodishche.

The Burren Chernobyl Project (BCP) was established in 1993 to help with the child victims of the fallout from the Chernobyl reactor explosion. Many projects have been carried out to assist the children and their families who are enduring the effects of exposure to radiation and the other social and economic problems facing them in Belarus.

CLARE has been held up as a model for how the nationwide Rural Transport Programme can be a lifeblood to a community.

The success story of the Clare Accessible Transport (CAT) initiative that is operated in east Clare was hailed by the junior minister for transport Alan Kelly during a visit to its Feakle base on Wednesday.

“It was a great opportunity to show Minister Kelly the integrated transport model that has been developed in Clare since 2003 as part of the Rural Transport Programme,” a spokesperson for CAT revealed.

“The Minister saw one of CAT’s low floor buses which are essential to the delivery of a fully integrated service. The vehicle design maximises resources, particularly for rural areas by enabling everyone from the same locality to board the bus easily, avoiding the need for different types of buses to serve the same areas.

“CAT’s collaborative approach to investment in the service was emphasised as a means of providing excellent value for money while meeting the transport needs of people living in isolated parts of the county,” the spokesperson added.

The CAT schedule offers responsive and flexibly-routed public transport that is open to everyone. The number of people registering with the service since the first bus went out in 2003 is approaching 4,000, with passengers making up to 4,000 trips per month.

“The dispatchers who operate the travel centre are noticing an increase in bookings to connect with national transport services to Limerick, Cork, Dublin and Galway as well as calls for shopping, work and training. More and more people are calling in to find out about their local bus service and the annual Driver CPC training that CAT provides,” the spokesperson added.

AROUND 60 people attended a meeting at Barefield Community Hall on Thursday night to highlight concerns over recent Traveller encampments in the area.

The meeting was called after a number of caravans and vehicles moved into a section of road leading to the M18, near Barefield village, over the past two weeks.

Residents and landowners have raised concerns over allegations of rubbish dumping and the presence of dogs on popular walking routes.

There was a feeling of “anger” at the meeting, according to one man who attended. Sean Corcoran, Chairman of Barefield Tidy Villages, said locals are frustrated that action was not taken to force caravans to move from the side of the road.

The meeting was also attended by local councillors and members of the gardaí. Mr Corcoran said some local people have been “heckled” and feel “intimated”.

“People are losing patience with the whole lot of it. We are no farther down the road than we were 20 years ago. € 20 million has been spent in the past 10 years (on Traveller accommodation). It seems that whatever they want, they get.”

Mr Corcoran said the community have sought a meeting with Clare County Council. The issue was raised at yesterday’s meeting of the Ennis Joint Policing Committee.

Town Manager Ger Dollard said council staff are working on a daily basis, with all parties to try and resolve the situation.

He said, “The council is aware of issues regarding illegal encampments in Ennis town and environs. It is also noticeable that there has been some movement in recent days between encampments. The council has had daily contact with the gardaí in relation to issues arising and will continue to work with the gardaí and other parties to try and resolve the situation.”

Mr Dollard added, “Council staff have also been involved on a daily basis in managing the situation. We are fully aware of the difficulties that such illegal encampments cause for both the settled and Travelling community and our aim is to secure their removal as quickly as possible.”

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) told the meeting that Traveller encampments are causing stress to communities around Clare.

According to a council report prepared by Bernadette Kinsella, Director Of Housing, Social and Cultural Services, 201 statutory notices instructing the removal of temporary dwellings from unauthorised encampments were issued in the past two years.

UP TO 50 new jobs are to be created in the retail sector by a Clare company over the next 12 months, which will bring to 150 the number of people employed in the region.

Zest, a food hall that opened in Ennis’ Market area in June 2010, has announced they have purchased the old Avoca site at Bunratty, which will be developed in the next year as part of the expansion plans of the company.

“This fulfils a long-held wish to see the site resurrected and vibrant again in such a historic heritage area, since it burnt down four years ago when owned by Avoca,” a spokesperson for Zest, the retail arm of EFG Inflight Ltd based in Shannon told The Clare People .

Zest has also announced that they successfully won the tender to operate a café as part of the newly restored Limerick City Gallery of Art at The People’s Park, Pery Square, due for completion before Christmas this year.

The café, located in the beautifully restored Carnegie Building will afford an opportunity to Limerick residents to enjoy the range of Zest foods, handmade breads, cakes, pastries and meals.

“Our retail brand Zest! has enjoyed tremendous success since opening in Ennis last year, and we are keen to develop the brand further. The acquisition of the old Avoca site at Bunratty, together with our new presence in Limerick at the LCGA, will allow us to serve more of our customers who have been very loyal and supportive to us,” Ean Malone, Managing Director of EFG Inflight Ltd, stated.

“Our success is testament to our wonderful staff and chefs who have worked hard to build this brand, and developing further units will afford us an opportunity to create new lines and products,” he added

It is envisaged that the two new developments will produce another 50 jobs for Clare and Limerick over the next 12 months, adding to the 100 staff currently employed full-time by the company in Clare. Financial Director Fiona Barry stated, “The purchase of the Bunratty site is an indication of our long-term commitment to the area, and our desire to create much-needed employment in the locality.”

EFG Inflight Ltd is a wholly owned independent company, and has been in operation for four years based at Knockbeg Point, Shannon Airport. It primarily services the international inflight catering and private jet requirements, corporate catering and related services.

NEW figures indicate that the number of assaults, drug seizures and incidents of arson are down in Ennis for the year so far.

There were 23 incidents of assault causing harm in the first nine months of the year, compared to 25 for the same period in 2010.

Minor assaults are down from 81 in 2010 to 63 in 2011.

The number of on-street drug searches that took place in the first nine months of 2011 stood at 278, compared to 316 for the same period last year.

The figures were presented at yesterday’s public meeting of the Ennis Joint Policing Committee.

Supt Peter Duff of the Ennis Garda District told the meeting that criminal damage caused by fire had fallen from 27 (2010) to 13 (2011).

The report compared recorded incidents of crime in Ennis from January to September (2011) with the same period in 2010.

Arrests for drugs for sale or supply are down from 46 (2010) to 35 (2011) while the number of people caught in possession of drugs has reduced by almost 50 per cent (131 to 66).

Public order offences have fallen from 406 (2010) to 395 (2011) while robbery of persons fell from 10 (2010) to two (2011).

In relation to drug searches carried out under warrant, the figures show a reduction from 151 to 84.

Supt Duff told the meeting that a cannabis growhouse had been de- tected on the outskirts of Ennis during the summer.

He said a quantity of mephedrone had also been seized in Ennis earlier this year, a discovery that led gardai to conduct a follow-up search of premises in Lissycasey.

He said that both matters are now before the courts.

There was also a small reduction in the number of incidents of sexual offences recorded by gardaí (27 to 21).

Supt Duff said many of the cases are historic in nature and relate to alleged offences that took place in the 1960s and ‘70s.

He said people are now more confident about reporting sexual offences that occurred in family or institutional settings.

The meeting was attended by local councillors, council officials and community representatives.

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) expressed concern that apart from representatives of Ennis Chamber, no members of the public were in attendance.

A WOMAN yesterday told a court that getting caught with drugs was the best thing to happen to her brother, as it forced him to make changes in his life.

The man’s sister told a judge that her brother’s involvement in drugs devastated his parents, but that his family was fully supporting him every step of the way in his efforts to get his life back on track.

Carpenter Ian Kelly (41), of Capparoe, Scarriff, pleaded guilty to cultivation and supply of drugs.

Garda Aidan Sweeney told Ennis Circuit Court that on foot of confidential information, he obtained a search warrant and carried out a raid on the accused’s house, on the evening of June 21, 2010.

He said that the accused lived there with his partner and partner’s two children. “He was very forthcoming. He showed me the garden shed he was using to grow cannabis,” said the garda.

He said that the end of the timber shed was concealed into compartments and 23 cannabis plants were growing. 17 of the plants were small, he said. There was a number of shelving units and aerators in the shed.

Cannabis leaf, valued at more than € 4,700, was seized by gardaí during the search, along with 10 grammes of amphetamines and a small quantity of ecstasy. The total value of the seizure of the cannabis and the plants amounted to € 8,000, said the garda.

“He took full responsibility. He said he was addicted to drugs. It was for self-medication mostly. From his phone records, he was selling the drugs to approximately three peo- ple,” said the garda.

Defence Counsel Elaine Houlihan, BL, said that her client’s partner was not aware of his actions.

She said there was no cash seized during the search, adding, “He doesn’t have any of the trappings of wealth. He had an addiction to cannabis, amphetamines and alcohol at the time. He wasn’t a street dealer. He was dealing to a small group of friends,” said Ms Houlihan.

She said that two days after the discovery of the drugs, her client went for treatment and has not come to the attention of gardaí since. She said her client wouldn’t fit the “usual profile of a person who comes before the court in terms of previous convictions” and the garda agreed with this.

Ms Houlihan said that her client came from a respected family and that his father is a former school principal. “He has brought a degree of shame and hurt to his family,” she said.

The accused’s sister, Ruth Minogue, took the stand and said that “for years, he was a mess” but that her brother is now determined to get his life back on track.

“As a family, we tried but he was the only person who could help himself. His life was a complicated mess. Being caught was the best thing that happened to him because it forced changes in his life,” she said.

She said that her parents were “absolutely devastated, but we are behind him all the way”. She added, “He is trying as hard as any individual can try to get their life back on track.”

Judge Carroll Moran said, “This is a very serious matter and in the normal course of events would warrant a prison sentence.” However, he said the circumstances in this case were extraordinary. He said that the accused “made serious efforts to address his drug addiction” after he was caught, adding, “and he is now clean of illicit drugs”.

“I accept he wasn’t a street dealer. He was dealing to a small number of friends,” said the judge. He said he accepted Ms Minogue’s evidence and said he was taking into account the fact that the accused was making a serious effort to turn his life around. “He is going to have to abstain from drugs for a substantial period of time,” said the judge.

He imposed a four-year jail sentence, suspended for four years, on condition that the defendant does not commit any crime during the next four years; that he obey the directions from the Probation service and abstain from drugs.