Category: News

A MAN charged with possession of items with the intention they be used for theft will appear before Ennis District Court tomorrow.

Martin Ward (27), with an address at Gort Na Rí, Galway, was brought before the court on Thursday and subsequently granted bail.

He re-appeared before the court on Friday where Judge Patrick Durcan agreed to an application from defence solicitor, Daragh Hassett, to amend the terms of Mr Ward’s bail.

Mr Ward is charged that at Roscliff, Ballynacally, Ennis on June 4, when not at his residence, he had possession of bolt cutters, gloves and a torch with intention they be used in a theft. Mr Ward was granted bail at Ennis District Court on Thursday on a number of conditions including one that he stay away from all piers, quays, marinas and areas containing boats and boat engines.

His co-accused, a 33 year-old man from Ennis, was remanded in custody and is also due to appear in court on Wednesday.

Mr Ward’s case was called again at Ennis District Court on Friday.

Mr Hassett applied to have the bail conditions amended to allow his cli- ent sign on at a different garda station than the one previously agreed.

Judge Patrick Durcan said he wanted an assurance the State consented to the amendment before making any order. He said the case is a “very serious matter”, one where he had insisted bail conditions be written down.

Mr Hassett told the Judge he spoke with the prosecuting Garda Inspector, Tom Kennedy.

He said Insp Kennedy consented to the amendment. Judge Durcan made the amendment and remanded Mr Ward on bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on June 11.

PEOPLE charged with criminal offences who are released on bail are now facing more regular inspection under a new regime of bail enforcement.

Gardaí in Clare have taken what has been described as “systematic approach” to the enforcement of bail conditions set down by the court.

The number of applications to the District Court from the State seeking to revoke the bail of persons accused of breaching conditions has markedly increased in recent weeks.

A senior garda last week told Ennis District Court there has been a “seachange” in the monitoring of people released on bail.

Insp Tom Kennedy was speaking after a man accused of burglary told the court that gardaí are calling to his home on a daily basis.

Judge Patrick Durcan asked Insp Kennedy if a daily level of vigilance was not counterproductive in terms of ensuring people on bail abide by conditions.

Insp Kennedy said it is unlikely inspections are carried out on a daily basis. But he said gardaí in Clare are maintaining a high level of vigilance.

“It wasn’t too long ago that we were being abused for not enforcing bail conditions but you can see there has been a sea-change,” he added.

His comments come in a week when a local Fine Gael councillor said more restrictive bail conditions could help address the issue of antisocial behaviour in the town.

“Really as a community we should be looking at very restrictive conditions put on every bail for offences on public order, theft or anything that is a threat to the quality of life in our community,” said Johnny Flynn.

Cllr Flynn added, “In our business we have 11 people employed and one day a seven year-old took out a knife demanding quicker service. That was about two years ago.”

He was speaking at a public meeting in Ennis on Thursday night. Ana Bella Alvarez, the Director of the upcoming Ennis Street Festival, said anti-social behaviour by teenagers is affecting tourism.

“When tourists come to the town and they see all this messing in the town, their experience is not positive, it’s negative,” she said.

Chairman of Promote Ennis, Brian O’Neill told the meeting “it is a statistical fact that Ennis has a very low rate of crime in comparison to other towns of its size and population in the country.

“It does superbly well. I think the gardai need to be applauded for the fantastic work they are doing. I suppose we also note that we would like to see an additional presence on the streets and additional community gardaí to assist in the reduction of anti-social behaviour,” he added.

AN application to revoke the bail of a Limerick man accused of breaking into a house in Ennis has been refused. However Judge Patrick Durcan warned Gerard Gammell (22) that he must continue to abide by the terms of his bail.

At Ennis District Court last week, gardaí sought to revoke the bail granted to Mr Gammell in April.

Mr Gammell, with an address at Ivy Home, Barrack Street, Ennis, is one of two people accused of entering a home at Glenview Road Cappahard, Tulla Road, as a trespasser and committing theft therein on April 12.

Mr Gammell’s co-accused had his bail revoked in April after a Judge found he had breached the terms of his bail.

On Wednesday, Inspector Tom Kennedy said the new application related to an alleged breach of Mr Gammell’s curfew. The accused was granted bail in April subject to a number of conditions including the observation of a curfew between 10pm and 7am.

Garda David Hannan told the court he called to Mr Gammell’s home at 11.20pm on May 18. He said he knocked on the door and received no response.

Insp Kennedy told Judge Durcan that under the terms of bail Mr Gammell has to make himself available for inspection to gardaí during curfew hours.

Mr Gammell told the court he was at home when Garda Hannan called. He said he was asleep after taking medication that helps him sleep.

“I was asleep that night. I was on cloud nine that night”, he said.

Mr Gammell claimed gardaí are calling to his home on a daily basis.

The court heard Mr Gammell was at home on other nights when gardaí called during curfew hours.

Judge Durcan asked Insp Kennedy if a daily level of vigilance, as outlined by Mr Gammell, was not coun- terproductive in terms of ensuring people on bail abide by conditions.

Insp Kennedy said it was unlikely inspections are carried out on a daily basis. But he said gardaí in Clare are maintaining a high level of vigilance on accused persons released on bail.

“It wasn’t too long ago that we were being abused for not enforcing bail conditions but you can see there has been a sea-change”, he added.

Judge Durcan said he was refusing the State’s application to revoke bail. He told Mr Gammell he must continue to abide by his bail conditions.

He remanded the accused on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court tomorrow, June 18.

A MAN who admitted driving a car with four bald tyres in Ennis last year has received fines totaling € 975 .

At Ennis District Court on Friday, Judge Patrick Durcan also banned Stefan Coustrain from holding a driver’s license for six months.

He told the 22-year-old he “was driving around the town of Ennis a most dangerous vehicle” when he was stopped by gardaí in the town on October 7 last.

He said the motoring offences occurred at a time of the year when conditions are wet and roads are covered with fallen leaves.

Mr Coustrain, with an address at Aisling, Shanaway Road, Ennis, was convicted of failing to wear a set belt, having a type that was not maintained in a condition so as to be fit for use.

He was also fined for unpaid excise duty on a vehicle contrary to the Finance Act.

The court heard Mr Coustrain has a number of previous convictions including one for a hit and run offence in Ennis

Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client had previously worked as a chef and a computer repair man but is now out of work.

She said he is currently doing a training course in Limerick.

Acknowledging her client has a “bad record”, Ms Godfrey said any disqualification would hurt Mr Coustrain and affect his ability to support his family.

She said her client was going through a difficult period in his life when he committed the offences.

Judge Patrick Durcan struck out a number of road traffic offences against Mr Coustrain.

However he imposed fines totaling € 975 for the remaining charges. He also disqualified Mr Coustrain from holding a license for six months, by way of ancillary order.

Judge Durcan said he was cognizant the accused had a young family. “He just has to wake up”, he added.

The Judge said Mr Coustrain had shown total disregard for his children by driving them around in a “rattletrap”.

He said parents who behave in such a way should be referred to the Child and Family Welfare Agency (CAFA).

MANY of the storm repairs announced by Clare County Council earlier this year will not be done – unless the government allocates a second wave of money to fund damage done during the February storm.

Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan yesterday expressed his frustration with a lack of information and clarity from government concerning a second allocation of money sought by the local authority.

Just over € 16 million in funding was allocated to Clare County Council to fund repairs sustained during unprecedented storms in January of this year. However, Mr Coughlan yesterday said that repairs works are being frustrated because of lack of information coming from the government regarding the second wave of funding.

Indeed, he also confirmed that some of the money allocated in respect of the January storm has been used to fund emergency repairs cause during the February storm. If no allocation is made by government in relation to the February storms, Mr Coughlan confirmed that the council will not be in a position to complete all of the work previously announced in relation to the first € 16.8 million in funding.

“The second allocation [in relation to the February storm] has been on the agenda for cabinet on a number of occasions but has yet to be decided on. We have sent a number of reminders to the Department [of the Environment] but we haven’t had a response to our request yet,” said Mr Coughlan.

“We’ve done works at Kilkee and a number of other areas hit by the February storm without funding being allocated. That’s fine if funding comes through, but if we don’t get funding for the February storms, then all we can do is use the funding for the January storm. That is not a satisfactory situation. We need to see the overall level of funding.”

Clare Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan, also said that a lack of clarity from government is hindering the repair works.

“We need clarity for government, that’s the nub of the issue,” said Mr Tiernan.

“We have taken half steps in some areas, but we can’t take half steps without going to full hog. We can’t engage consultants at the moment because we don’t know what work they will end up doing [because of a lack of information from government].

“We were allocated a programme, we want to produce that programme but we can’t do it because of a lack of clarity about the bottom line.”

THREE marine experts from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) will be in Doolin this Wednesday evening to oversee explosive detonations at Doolin Pier and ensure that Dusty or any other marine mammals are injured.

The detonations, which are part of the construction process for the new Doolin Pier, were due to take place last Thursday and Friday but were delayed for operational reasons.

This is the first time that the sonic impact of major coastal blasts on marine mammals has been taken into account during maritime construction and follows new guidelines being put in place by the Irish Wildlife Services in December of this year.

According to recent sighting, Dusty the dolphin has been basing herself on the Aran Islands in recent days and should be safe from harm unless she decided to return to the mainland.

Although based in Doolin, Dusty follows the local ferries to and from the Aran Islands and often spends a number of days off shore.

“Dusty is off the Aran Islands at the moment and she should be very safe out there but there are a whole array of marine mammals in the area.

“Dusty is just one, granted she is the most famous, but there are a large number of mammals that we are looking out for,” said Simon Berrow of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.

“Our objecting is to make sure that no mammals are harmed in the explosions.

“It is a good plan, we have spent a lot of time working on it, and we are hopeful that it will be successful.”

An exclusion zone will be put in place around Doolin Pier on Wednesday evening to ensure that no one gets too close to the detonation works.

Construction work on a new € 6 million pier got underway last month and it is expected to be completed by the middle of next year with Kilmaley based construction company, L&M Keating, carried out the complex build.

A new pier for Doolin has been in the pipelines for more than a decade but the development was subject to an extended planning process following objections by local surfers who felt the pier would damage local waves.

The new pier will also ensure that Doolin is accessible in all tidal conditions, which will be of particular benefit to Doolin Search and Rescue as well as the ferry operators, who currently have to trans-ship passengers onto their boats during low tide.

THE number of front-line outdoor workers employed by Clare County Council will remain broadly the same as the numbers previously employed by the local authority and the now defunct authorities Ennis, Shannon, Killaloe, Kilrush and Kilkee.

At yesterday’s June meeting of Clare County Council, County Manager Tom Coughlan said that the council has been instructed to put in place a single management system for the entire county but services will continue to be delivered by workers based in their own municipal area.

The change will see some of the management functioned centralised to Ennis, while the front-line services will be delivered by staff based out of local offices.

“We are very clearly directed by government that there will be a single authority.

“There has to be a county-wide structure, without duplication of services. That is the bottom line,” said Mr Coughlan.

“There will be no reduction in the outdoor staff.

“The outdoor staff will be working in the same areas as they are at the moment.

“There is no suggestion that staff in Loop Head, for example, will be assigned to work in other parts of the county.

“There is a limited number of staff in the organisation. My job is to manage the staff that I have as best as I can.

“We are recording the levels of activities in each municipal district and if there is insufficient staff in some areas, then we will have to deal with that.

“Let’s see how things work out for the first six months – if it is necessary to take staff from the central area and redeploy them to the municipal districts then that is what we will do.”

It was confirmed yesterday that large-scale projects, such as road works, will not be bound by the municipal boundaries.

NORTH Clare has a new animal superstar. A Snowy Owl, the animal made popular by the Harry Potter series of films, has set up home in the Burren, three thousand miles away from it usual habitat.

The massive bird was photographed by Welsh tourist Mark Lewis, hunting over Black Head near Fanore last week, but it is now thought that it has based itself in Clare since August.

Although Snowy Owls normally base themselves in Arctic regions, they are known to settle in warmer climbs on certain rare occasions and it is hoped that this owl has taken a shine to the Burren.

This is only the third time in more than 100 years that a Snowy Owl has been sighted in Clare – and in each of the previous occasions the animal did not make the county its home.

There is though to be a resident Snowy Owl based in Donegal, how- ever the exact location of birds are often kept secret to avoid poaching. The birds are much sought after in collections and the price and demand for Snowy Owls has increased dramatically since the character of Hedwig appeared in the Harry Potter books and movie franchise.

Snowy Owls nest in the Arctic tundra of the northernmost stretches of Alaska, Canada, and Eurasia and sometime winter in south Canada and parts of Greenland.

It is understood that the Burren Snowy Owl was part of a large group which migrated from Nova Scotia in August of last year.

“This bird possibly arrived with those birds that left North America last autumn. I would suspect that this bird came into the Burren last October or November. They have an incredible range. This bird might just make the Burren its home. If it is able to get a good source of food and it likes the place,” said John Murphy of Clare Birdwatching.

“These birds are kept in collections and falconers and have because very popular since the Harry Potter films. People may try and capture the bird for breeding with their own captive Snowy Owls.

“A wild bird like this could be bred with a tame bird in a collection to create a wilder offspring. I’m not overly worried about this bird being caught because this one will roam so much that it should be safe.”

The bird was photographed by Welsh tourist Mark Lewis and his wife last week.

“I recognised it as a Snowy Owl when I saw it but I didn’t believe that it could be a Snowy Owl. Having photographed it I decided that it just couldn’t be a Snowy Owl in this location – but it was,” said Mark.

“I’m glad we got the pictures – because if we hadn’t taken the pictures no one would have believed us.”

CLARE’S landmark tourism destinations are open for business this summer, despite the damages done to many areas in this winter’s severe storms.

That was the message from Clare County Council yesterday, despite the admission from the local authority that the damage done during this year’s storms will take years to rectify.

Speaking at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council, County Manager Tom Coughlan said that the local authority prioritised repair works which were essential to tourism location in the west and north of the county.

In response to a motion from Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind), the council admitted that repair works will take a number of years to complete.

“Ultimately, a multi-annual programme is required to deal efficiently with the extensive and varied instances of coastal damage which occurred in January and February last,” said a council spokesperson.

Cllr Curtin highlighted a lack of information coming from the Government, particularly concerning the allocation of money for damages caused during the February storm.

“There is concern out there, par- ticulary in the tourist parts of the county,” said Cllr Curtin.

“It has taken six months of locals enduring charges: they are paying property tax and housing tax, and their services are not being maintained.

“The delay is coming from a lack of response from Government. We got € 16 million [from the January storms], there was to be € 12 million from the OPW [sea armour and coastal defenses] and to date we haven’t had any of this.”

Cllr Michael Hillary (FF) said many areas will now face even greater damage as repairs and defense works will not be carried out before winter.

“In relation to a multi-annual programme which is needed now, we have reached an impasse.

“The funding which was promised has not been forthcoming,” he said.

“What is worrying me is that at this time of the year is when we should be carrying out this kind of work – while the seas are calm and the days are long, but there doesn’t seem to be any works being done on the ground.

“It looks like these people will have to face next winter without any works or defences being put in place. If we receive other storms this coming winter there will be a lot more damage next year.”

DIGGING has started on the remains of a Medieval structure in North Clare, which could reveal secrets of life in the county in the 10th and 14th centuries.

Work began last week on a major excavation at Caherconnell Stone Fort in Carron with a large area in the centre of a 1,000-year-old cashel. It is hoped that the excavation, which is being led by Michelle Comber from NUI, Galway, will uncover remains of a freestanding structure which is though to have stood in the centre of the cashel.

This structure is likely to have been the home of the highest status family in North Clare at the time and it is hoped that the excavation could provide new clues about the live in the area 1,000 years ago.

“We are excavating the centre of the cashel. When you excavate in the ringfort of a cashel you would normally expect to meet some sort of free-standing structure of house and that is what we are hoping for,” said Ms Comber. “This is where the person who owned the cashel, the most prominent family in the area, would have lived. We have opened a a 10 metre by 12 metre section and we are now getting down towards the stony area. We are getting slices coming through already, which are possible wall lines, but we will have to go deeper before we know for sure.

“What we are looking for could be from anything from the 10th to the 14th century. There were people living the cashel in the 15th and 16th century but we know where these people lived. So we are hoping for something much earlier than this.”

Excavation will continue in Caherconnell Stone Fort for the next six weeks and all the materials will be processed and dated over the winter months.