Category: News

THE search for the Banner County’s best new musical talent gets underway in Ennis next weekend with the opening round of the Mixtape Music Battle Extravaganza.

This year, the annual music competition, run by Clare Youth Service (CYS), sees greater emphasis on young musicians recording their own music and building their profiles as performing artists. Organised by members of the CYS Music Project, the competition will link in with the ongoing Mixtape series of live music events being run and promoted in Glór in Ennis.

The Music Project committee is comprised of young people supported by a number of staff and volunteers. The committee oversees the purchase of equipment, organisation of all performances and administration of training events.

Giving young bands, singers, DJs and performers of all stripes an opportunity to showcase their talents is one of the project’s central aims.

This year, the competition is again aided and supported by the Mid West Regional Drug Task Force and will take a different format to other traditional young band competitions. The Mixtape Music Battle Extravaganza will be staged over three separate events, each. The aim of the Mixtape competition is to attract all forms of musical creativity, from bands, DJs, producers, solo artists, beat-boxers, acoustic acts, rappers and traditional Irish music musicians.

The opening round commences on Saturday, October 15, in the main hall of the CYS building in Carmody Street in Ennis. Only four acts will progress from the first round to the next stage of the competition.

Contestants must register in advance before October 12. Application forms are available from the Bureau of Clare Youth Service in Ennis, as downloadable documents on our CYS Music Project Facebook page and also by email. Each act will receive 15 to 20 minutes of performance time on the day, and will be required to perform at least three songs, one of which must be original material. DJs and producers must include one of their own original productions in their sets also. The competition is open to the general public and performers are invited to bring along some audience support on the day. Audience admission is € 3. As with all Clare Youth Service events, this is a strictly drug and alcohol free event.

Four acts from the elimination round will be invited to progress to the second round of the competition, which will focus largely on composition and recording. Each act will be asked to compose an original song and will have one full day in the CYS studio, along with engineers, to write and record the song. The whole process will be captured on camera and each act will be asked to use the footage and recordings to develop their band identity online. The two acts that score the highest in this section will progress to the third stage of the competition and be invited to go head to head in the Mixtape Final to be held in Glor in early December.

RESIDENTS of Francis Street awoke with a bang on Monday morning when a delivery truck bashed into a pillar at the historic Franciscan Friary.

The incident occurred at around 7.30am at the entrance to the Friary. No one was injured when the delivery truck accidentally collided with the pillar, sending loose piles of broken stonework.

Details of the accident were provided to Gardaí. A Garda spokesman said there was “nothing untoward” about the incident, which he said resulted from a “truck clipping a pillar”.

The spokesman said all details have been provided to the Guardian of the Friary.

According to a history of building, “The precise date of foundation of the Franciscan Friary in Ennis is unknown but it is likely to have been in existence by 1250.

“The nearby residence of the O’Brien kings of Thomond at Clonroad probably attracted the friars to the site and the O’Brien’s were its chief patrons throughout the medieval period.

“The first substantial friary buildings were constructed on an island in the late thirteenth century under the patronage of Toirdhealbhach O’Brien who died in 1306 and may have been buried there.”

A new chapel was opened in Bow Lane in 1830 and the present friary at Willow Bank House was obtained in 1856. The friary church was officially opened on 11 June 1892. The present friary is the Novitiate house for the Irish and British Provinces of the Franciscans.

SHANNON businesses with queries on the tax system are being encouraged to attend a seminar at the Oakwood Arms Hotel next week. The event is of particular relevance to family-owned businesses.

An overview of the various tax reliefs available will be provided at the event, which is organised by Shannon Chamber of Commerce.

Tips on how to qualify and how to make the most of tax reliefs will also be provided at the breakfast event on Thursday, October 13, from 7.45am to 9.30am.

“Dwindling tax-free thresholds have meant that with each passing year, the tax cost of succession has increased. The four-year National Recovery Plan points to reliefs and exemptions from capital gains ttax (CGT), capital acquisitions tax (gift and inheritance) and stamp duty being either abolished or greatly restricted,” said Shannon Chamber’s Chief Executive Officer, Helen Downes.

“Family-run businesses need to plan their succession strategies, not let them happen haphazardly. Practical issues such as making provision for retiring owners need to be addressed, as does the importance of taking legal advice when formalising arrangements. This seminar is the Chamber’s way of bringing this critically important issue to the fore,” added Ms Downes.

“Handing over assets or businesses to the next generation is a major decision and recent and proposed changes to the tax system have made it an even more urgent consideration,” said Eamonn Murphy, Tax Director with Grant Thornton, Limerick, who will speak at the seminar.

Speakers will share their experiences on structuring succession plans to get the best results for the individuals involved, balancing the intentions of the parties and the tax implications which arise.

To reserve a place at this seminar, contact Jackie Finucane at Shannon Chamber, alternatively participants can email admin@shannonchamber. ie or phone 061 708341.

THE COUNTY’S dog warden has been forced to contend with abuse from several dog owners in Shannon in recent weeks.

Frankie Coote told The Clare People that Shannon is a blackspot for roaming dogs and said that many dog owners are not facing up to the laws that exist.

He said that the issue of roaming dogs is more prevalent in Shannon than in any other part of the county. Kilrush and Shannon were the blackspots in the past, but Kilrush is now less of a headache than it was.

“We have never worked harder than what we are doing in Shannon at the moment,” said Frankie Coote.

He has been forced to contact the gardaí, after dog owners verbally abused him on numerous occasions in recent weeks.

“Shannon is the worst at the moment. I have had to have the guards out with me in the last few months. I’ve issued fines and warnings and taken away several dogs from there,” he said.

“More and more people are getting abusive,” he added.

“If I go to a call in Ennis, it’s rare I have to contact the guards,” he said.

He made the comments as Shannon Town Council has been asked to contact Mr Coote amid concerns over the huge number of stray dogs in the town.

Fine Gael councillor Vincent Cole- man has placed a motion on the issue, which is due to be discussed at a monthly meeting of the council this (Tuesday) evening. Mr Coleman has said the issue is “beginning to cause problems once again”.

Mr Coote said he has received sev eral complaints about dogs running around without leads in sports areas including Lees Road and the fairgreen in Ennis.

“People don’t realise they have to keep their dogs on leads,” he added.

He is pleased with the reduction in the number of dogs roaming around in Kilrush. “Kilrush has improved. There has been a marked improvement,” he said.

In general, there are multiple com plaints about wild dogs on a daily basis. “I could be dealing with 10 complaints some days over dogs being loose, dangerous behaviour and barking,” he said.

THE spirit of enterprise will be alive and kicking in Clare next week as the county plays host to Enterprise Mid West, an event that has been dubbed a showcase for aspiring entrepreneurs in the region.

The event is being hosted by Clare County Enterprise Board in colaboration with four other enterprise boards from around the region.

The event will be targeting Clare’s small business community and also those who may be thinking of setting up their own small business within the county. The programme was launched this week. It includes a wide range of intresting events including a new visitor-friendly map for tourism providers, an interesting and inspirational talk from mountaineer and entrepreneur Pat Falvey, a building workshop from Therese Ryan and many more.

The CEO of Clare County Enterprise Board, Eamonn Kelly, said that the small business community in Clare continues to rely heavily on enterprise supports, delivered at a local level.

On Monday, October 10, the event will start with Therese Ryan and her building workshop at Bunratty Castle Hotel at 9.30am.

Best known from her appearances on RTÉ’s Hea lth of the Na tion and How Long Will You Live , her workshop will focus on the aspects of managing stress in the workplace.

Stephen Kinsella will be delivering a talk around the Irish economy and local development on Tuesday, October 11, at 12 noon at the Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis. Stephen himself will be discussing the economic landscape for Clare businesses.

Mountaineer, adventurer and entrpreneur Pat Falvey will be helping small businesses to ‘Reach for the Stars’ during his motivational talk on Wednesday evening at the Woodstock Hotel, Ennis.

Miriam Ahern and Anne Corcoran from Alighn Management Solutions will be the ones to run a interactive networking session just before Pat’s talk which starts at 6pm.

A full day-long mentoring clinic will take place on Thursday, October 13, with three experienced business mentors – Theresa Mulvihill from Smart Marketing, Michael Brynes and Associates and Sharon Cahir, from Cahir & Co solicitors.

Free mentoring appointments will be available from 10am to 5pm. Each session will last 50 minutes with the three mentors at the meeting rooms at the Vandeleur Walled Garden in Kilrush.

Closing the programme of events will be the launch of a dedicated tourism map of North Clare entitled ‘Rugged North Clare – Ireland As It Once Was’.

All of the events are to be presented at free of charge or highly subsided by the Clare County Enterprise Board.

A MEETING attended by 85 people in Ennis last week heard serious concerns from the business community about the impact proposed changes to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan could have on retail activity in the town centre.

An element of the variation of the development plan, which is to be voted on by members of Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council, proposes changing the zoning provision for a site at the junction of the Limerick Road and the Tobertascáin Road. If passed the site would be deemed suitable, under the Ennis and Environs Development Plan, as a location for a new district centre.

Michael Lynch Ltd is seeking planning permission at the five-hectare site for the development of large retail park, which businesses fear could have a negative impact on the town centre. Documents filed with Ennis Town Council state that the project has the potential to create up to 500 jobs in construction and retail. Permission is also being sought at the same site for the development of a new access road.

The applications are currently the subject of a further information request. The proposed variation to the development plan is the subject of a lengthy submission by Ennis Chamber of Commerce.

The submission outlines the Chamber’s concerns at the possibility of a new district centre being developed away from the town centre.

The matter was discussed at a meeting in the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis last Tuesday.

Brian O’Neill, Vice President of Ennis Chamber, told the meeting that the review of the variation was commissioned by the Chamber and the streets associations of Ennis.

He said Ennis Chamber represents 230 businesses, employing over 4,000 people.

He said the review had been un- dertaken due to concern over the potential development of a new district centre away from the town centre.

Michael Leahy, architect and urban planner, said the submission was not an assessment of the Tobertascáin application. He explained that the variation would allow for the development of a new district centre. He warned of a “donut effect” whereby all retail activity would be attracted from the town centre to the outskirts. Mr Leahy said cars exiting the site would turn left on the motorway. “It’s a possibility that there would be very little benefit to the town centre.”

Mr Leahy said businesses are very concerned about the proposed dis- continuance of the requirement for a sequential test – a test requires that any applicant for a substantial retail development must first show that there are no suitable locations closer to the town centre than that which is proposed.

He added, “The location of the development is likely to act as a counter-magnet to the town centre.”

Businessman Oliver Moylan said the lack of a suitable retail mix is harming the town centre. He urged councillors who will vote on the proposed variation to “wake up” and oppose it. He said, “The town is dying in the centre and anyone with a brain can see that we don’t need this.”

PLANS to develop an incinerator in the county to help deal with the disposal of waste in the mid west region have been scrapped, a decision that comes ahead of the imminent closure of the Inagh landfill facility.

The incinerator, labelled a thermal treatment facility, was earmarked for Gillogue, near Clonlara in south east Clare and with the application lodged by Energy Recovery Limerick in conjunction with Clare County Council. The move to develop an incinerator was first mooted in 2009 when then Minister for Defence, Willie O’Dea, launched Energy Recovery Limerick, which pledged to invest € 80m into the mid west economy by developing thermal treatment facilities for the Clare, Limerick and Kerry catchment.

News of the decision to terminate the project, for the time being at least, for the Gillogue site has been learned by The Clare People this week, with An Bord Pleánala confirming that a preapplication consultation by Energy Recovery Limerick and Clare County Council has now been withdrawn.

An application was submitted to An Bord Pleanála in October 2010, but the Clare Green Party immedi- ately railed against the proposal with Cllr Brian Meaney saying “this is not a solution to our waste problems and I would be opposing any application that involves thermal treatment”.

However, the development of thermal treatment facilities for the county is contained in the 2005-2011 Clare County Development Plan, with the blueprint noting that “within the greater Limerick area there is a need for a thermal treatment facility to treat residual combustible waste”.

A feasibility study found that the “Limerick/Clare/Kerry Region could benefit from the development of thermal waste treatment capacity” and that “thermal waste treatment is environmentally, technically, and economically feasible at the recommended scale”.

However, plans for developing such a facility at the old Burlington factory in Gillogue, which was considered a suitable given its location away from high density residential development, were terminated with An Bord Pleánala signing an order to this effect on September 22. The Clare People contacted the environment section of Clare County Council this Monday, but a spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

THE current site of Ennis National School would be more suitable for large retail developments than a location away from the town centre, a meeting has heard.

The school is due to move from its present location on Kilrush Road to a new site at Ashline with construction work due to commence this autumn.

In addition to 32 classrooms, the 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. Facilities for sport will include a full-size sports hall with dressing rooms and a playing pitch.

The current site was put forward as an alternative to a proposed major urban development at lands at Tobertascáin and the Limerick Road, at a meeting in Ennis last week.

Organised by Ennis Chamber of Commerce, the meeting was held to discuss a proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

Vice President of Ennis Chamber, Brian O’Neill said the Chamber favoured the development of smaller scale developments located closer to the town centre.

Mayor of Ennis Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) questioned the suitability of Ennis National School as location for a major retail development.

He said there were questions to be asked over how the site could accommodate heavy traffic flows.

Referring to the suggestion of Ennis National School, Cllr Guilfoyle said, “If you’re going to mention something, mention something that works.”

Responding to Cllr Guilfoyle’s comments, Ennis based architect and urban planner Michael Leahy, said a full assessment would have to be carried out at Ennis National School before any definitive answer could be given. Mr Leahy, who prepared Ennis Chamber’s submission on the proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan, told the meeting that the possibility of constructing a shopping centre at the Ennis National site could not be ruled for traffic reasons alone.

“There are always engineering solutions to engineering problems,” he said.

Asked about other town centre locations for potential new shopping centres, Mr Leahy said Cusack Park had been mentioned as a possibility.

“There are definitely sites that are closer to the town centre that could be used,” he added.

GARDA services in Clare face one of the largest upheavals in the history of the force early next year when the number of Clare gardaí who have retired since the recruitment embargo will force a major restructuring of services throughout the county.

The number of guards retiring from the force since the ban on new recruits was introduced will reach 37 in March of 2012 – with no guards being replaced and only one being transferred into the county.

Speaking at last night’s Joint Policing Committee meeting in Sixmilebridge, Clare Chief Superintendent John Kerin said that all of the major Garda stations in the county were safe from closure but could not comment on the future of smaller, rural stations. The Chief Superintendent did admit that law enforcement in Clare would have to undergo a major change in the months ahead.

“Last year, 18 gardaí retired in Clare and there was no recruitment. This year we lost one garda, sadly, through illness and five others have retired so far. We have seven who have indicated that they will retire before Christmas and another seven or eight who will retire early next year, before the end of February. The people who are retiring are hugely experienced and valuable gardaí.

“I can’t tell you exactly what is gong to happen but there are going to be changes, there is no doubt about that. We have to provide a professional police service with less resources than we have had in the past. Later on this year or next year, the whole situation is going to have to be looked at, especially in late February or early March. We will have to see what is going to happen.”

Ennis Superintendent Peter Duff has been tasked with the job of saving money in the Clare area and it was stressed that no decisions on any station closures have been made yet.

Meanwhile, the crime figures in Clare for the first nine months of 2011 have shown a reduction across the board in most categories compared to the same time in 2010. Robberies are down 40 per cent, sexual offences are down 15 per cent and public order offences have also been reduced.

“There is no doubt that the public order reduction has been caused by the economic recession – people don’t have the money to go out that they once had,” said Chief Supt John Kerin. “But that said, we are satisfied with the figures and satisfied that we are working hard to tackle the situaton. Having said that, there is still the equivalent of a burglary a day in County Clare.”

PARKING, or the lack of, is never far from the debate when the health of businesses in Ennis is being discussed. And last Tuesday’s meeting to discuss proposed changes to the Ennis and Environs Development was no exception.

The issue arose when former Mayor of Ennis, councillor Frankie Neylon (Ind), claimed he hadn’t been able to secure free parking for his ‘Super Tuesday’ initiative because the President of Ennis Chamber of Commerce, John Dillane was not in the country.

Super Tuesday took place in Ennis earlier this month. Cllr Neylon put forward the idea as a means of promoting local businesses and encouraging shoppers into the town.

Speaking in the Old Ground Hotel, Cllr Neylon claimed he had wanted parking charges to be suspended for the day. However, he said that when he raised the matter with officials at Ennis Town Council he was told a decision could not be taken because Mr Dillane was in China. This claim was immediately rejected by both Chamber Vice President Brian O’Neill and Chamber CEO Rita McInerney.

Speaking last Wednesday, Ms McInerney confirmed that while Mr Dillane had been away on holidays at the start of September, he returned to the town on September 3, three days before Super Tuesday.

She explained, “He [Mr Dillane] was never contacted about anything to do with free parking and neither was I.” Ms McInerney also confirmed that Mr Dillane had not been in China at the time. The discussion prompted further calls for changes to the system of parking charges in Ennis, which businesses say is essential to bringing more shoppers to the town centre.

Ms McInerney said the introduc- tion of free parking in Limerick city in the lead up to Christmas last year had been a “huge success”. She said councillors had already started calling on Limerick City Council to repeat the policy this year. Aoife Madden, Chairperson of Ennis Development Forum, claimed the high cost of parking is turning shoppers away from Ennis. Addressing local councillors, she said, “If ye can bring down the cost of parking it would bring the people back into town.”