Category: News

IT LOOKS certain that one of Ireland’s most controversial clerics, Bishop Eamon Casey, will never again say Mass in public after he was taken into a Clare nursing home last week because of ill health.

The former Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora has been in a virtual limbo in the parish of Shanaglish on the Clare/Galway border since his return to Ireland in 2006.

Bishop Casey has been technically a practicing priests for the parish but has not been allowed to say Mass locally and has instead had to content himself by saying Mass for himself in his home.

Bishop Casey, who is a popular figure in the locality, was admitted to a Clare nursing home last week for a period of “respite”. One local man, who is a close neighbour of Bishop Casey, says that the disgraced bishop is “a proud man” and is hoping to return to his own home as quickly as possible.

“I was told that he would be making an appearance in the local pub this week, that he would be given a passout for the night, but we will have to wait and see,” said one neighbour.

“I know that the woman from the shop in Gort will be asking me when he [Bishop Casey] be back in to collect his daily paper again. But we don’t know. He is a proud man and I have no doubt that he will want to back to his house in Shanaglish again soon.”

A spokesperson from the Galway Diocese declined to make any statement of the health of Bishop Casey yesterday saying it was a personal matter but did confirm that there had been no change is Bishop Casey’s position regarding saying Mass again locally.

Bishop Casey was one of Ireland’s most popular religious figures before it was discovered that he had fathered a child with an Irish American woman, Annie Murphy, in 1974. This was one of the biggest scandals ever to hit the Irish Church when it came to light in 1992 and prompted Bishop Casey to tender his resignation and leave the country.

After 1992, Bishop Casey then chose to embrace the life of a foreign missionary in South America and worked with members of the Missionary Society of St James in a rural parish in Ecuador.

After a number of years in South America he moved to England before returning again to Shanaglish in 2006.

THE future of Shannon Airport should not be reliant on the activities of the United States military.

That’s according to the Labour Party’s presidential candidate Michael D Higgins who said last week that he thinks “it’s very wrong to be saying to the people of Clare that you approve war under conditions”.

New figures have shown that almost two million US military personnel have passed through Shannon since 2001.

The figures provided by the UD Department of Defence also suggested that the number of flights and personnel traveling through Shannon more than doubled in 2003 when America began its invasion of Iraq.

Asked on Friday for his views on the US military’s continued use of Shannon, Mr Higgins told The Clare People

FORMER Clare Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Daly was the unlikely name mentioned in the latest round of leaked cable released by the WikiLeaks organisation last week.

Mr Daly, who departed political life after the 2007 General Election, was mentioned in a communication between the US Embassy in Dublin and the American Government in Washington in relation to the “Shannon Five” who damaged an US plane parked in Shannon Airport.

The leaked top-secret document claimed that Mr Daly, who was a Senator at the time, contacted the Director of Public Prosecutions and requested an appeal against the notguilty verdict handed out to the protesters.

Speaking to The Clare People last night Mr Daly said that it was no secret that he was in favour of the use of Shannon Airport by the US Military.

He also said that he had no direct contact with anyone from the US Embassy but did remember receiving a call from someone who identified themselves as being from US Homeland Security around the time of the trial but had assumed that it was a crank call from some of his “friends in Dublin”.

“I felt at the time the we were right to allow the US to use the airport and my opinion on that hasn’t changed. It is something that is creating jobs locally and if we said no to it then they would simply fly out through Amsterdam or some other airport instead,” he said.

“I do remember at the time getting a call from someone saying they were from Homeland Security in America but I assumed at the time that it was Dooley [Clare TD Timmy Dooley] or some of my friends up in Dublin making the call.”

The Shannon Watch Organisation have been critical of Mr Daly’s stance on the matter, saying that it showed a lack of respect for the Irish judicial process.

“This cable suggests that he was not satisfied to take the decision of an Irish court – he wanted to interfere and find some way that the decision could be overturned,” said John Lannon of Shannonwatch.

“We don’t know what contact Mr Daly may have made with the DPP – whether that it was official or non official contact – but we do know that it became known to the American Ambassador that Senator Daly wanted to overturn the decision of an Irish court.”

THE men and women of the Irish Coast Guard’s helicopter search and rescue service based in Shannon will be the subject of a major new RTÉ series that begins

RTÉ cameras have been given exclusive access into the Irish Coast Guard’s helicopter Search and Rescue service based in Shannon. Filmed over a number of months, the six-part series follows the rescue crews at Shannon helicopter base, otherwise known as RESCUE 115, as they battle to save lives in one of the most hostile environments in the world.

Highlights from the series include the rescue of a group of young chil- dren stranded on a boat on the Shannon mud flats, and the dramatic rescue of a crew from a British nuclear submarine.

Even in the darkest nights and roughest seas, the men and women of the Irish Coast Guard continue to do a courageous job. With no second chances this small and efficient band of professionals and volunteers often put themselves in danger for the lives of others. In this episode the crew of Rescue 115 are called when a boat full of young children face danger on the River Shannon.

In another area a man is dangerously close to falling into rough seas and clings to some rocks with the hope of being rescued. And an injured woman on the top of Mount Brandon needs Rescue 115’s assistance.

Members of the Shannon-based rescue service joined Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind), at a special preview of the series in the Old Ground Hotel last week.

The Irish Coast Guard has contracted six medium-lift Sikorsky Search and Rescue helicopters deployed at bases in Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo. The helicopters are designated wheels up from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours and 45 at night. One aircraft is fitted and its crew trained for under slung cargo operations up to 3000kgs and is available on short notice based at Waterford.

GARDAI have outlined details of a number of recent burglaries that have taken place around Clare in recent weeks.

Gardai in Scariff are investigating a burglary that occurred at a house in Furnace, Whitegate, between 8.40am and 6pm on August 25.

Thieves gained access through a rear window. Items taken include a small amount of cash, two gold wedding rings, one diamond engagement ring (two small diamonds set beside a large diamond on a gold band), a gold wishbone ring, a thick gold chain with a weave design halfway round, a gold bracelet with red stone on the top, a gold chain and a gold ring with three red stones.

A burglary took place at a house in Lenabeg, Ennis, between 2.50pm on August 24 and 5.50pm and August 25. A 19-inch plasma television, an X-Box 360 console, a silver chain, a small sum of money and a black Nintendo DS.

A house in Tullagower, Kilrush, was ransacked between 8pm and 10pm on August 28. Burglars gained entry to the house by forcing open the rear door. A landline telephone and television were taken in the incident.

In Knockera, Kilrush, a quantity of diesel was stolen from two diggers parked in the area. The burglary occurred between 7pm on August 23 and 9am on August 24. Also stolen were two sets of sockets, tool box with tools inside, two large spanners and three ratchets.

A burglary took place at a house in Clarehill, Clarecastle, between 11.45pm on August 28 and 3.30am on August 29. Items stolen were a Dell laptop, a house key and a lady’s purse.

Also in Clarecastle, an incident of criminal damage occurred when two back passenger windows were smashed in a car parked outside a house at St Joseph’s Terrace.

In Kilnamona, the front bumper, front grill, front headlights and two wing mirrors were stolen from a Grey Isuzu jeep that was parked in a field. The incident occurred between 6pm on August 25 and 8am on August 26. Gardaí in Ennistymon are investigating.

AN ENNIS company has manufactured a new fish pass which could save a number of endangered species of fish from the threat of extinction.

Enform Plastics Limited, which is based in the Doora Industrial Estate, has played a major role in the development of Ireland’s first ever plastic fish pass. The company, which was selected by the MulkearLIFE, helped design and manufacture a series of hardened ABS plastic sheets, each containing of pegs, which would aid the passage of fish upstream.

The project is focussed on helping to preserve the stock of Sea Lamprey in the Shannon but the design could have far-reaching implications for other rivers and other breeds of fish.

“This is a revolutionary design – it is the first time that a plastic fish pass has been designed which can be easily attached to barriers to allow fish like these massive Sea Lamprey to pass successfully upstream,” said Ruairí Ó Conchúir, Project manager with the MulkearLIFE Project.

“Sea Lamprey are under serious threat at the moment and the River Shannon as well as rivers like the Fergus are very important for them. They have suffered a 50 per cent decline in their population numbers and one of the reason for this is man-made barriers which have prevented them from accessing their traditional spawning grounds.”

MulkearLIFE is a new € 1.75 million European Commission funded project which is focussed on the Lower Shannon Special Area of Conservation. An initial instalment of the passes has proved to be a great success in recent months.

“We have worked with researchers in America, Canada and France to develop the design that would work best for the Sea Lamprey. The easiest way of describing the design is like an inverted egg-box made out of a special type of plastic. Enform Plastic worked with us on the design and manufactured the sheets for us and so far it has proved to be a great success,” continued Ruairí.

“This is a unique design and the first time anything like this has been used in Ireland. We have been making night-time and early morning observations of weirs and that is what proved to us that the design have been very successful. On one of the most recent counts we recorded 170 fish used the wire itself and 140 of them used the fish passes. We are confident that this is proving to be a big success. We know that we can easily adapt this to other rivers.”

ENNIS took another large step towards hosting the All-Ireland Fleadh in 2012 this weekend when it hosted a delegation from the National Standing Committee of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.

With just 10 days to go until the announcement of who will host next years All-Ireland Fleadh, this was the local committees last change to influence the destination of valuable votes on the National Committee.

Ennis is currently in a three way competition to secure the Fleadh with Sligo and Cavan Town all bidding to host the event. Hosting the All-Ireland Fleadh is worth an estimated € 35 million to the locality which hosts it – and it could be worth a multiple of that in spin off tourism opportunities around the county.

“They seemed very pleased by what they saw in Ennis and we got a very positive response from them. There was a very impressive presentation for them, not just from he local branch but from the entire community here in Ennis,” said Rory Casey of the Local Steering Group.

“We took the delegation on a tour of all the prospective around the town and they were very pleased with what they saw.

“It was a really good presentation and we think that nothing more could really have been done to try and sway them. Whatever way things turn out we can look back at this and know that we did everything we could possible have done to bring the Fleadh to Ennis for next year.

“We have been so impressed by the amount of local support that we have received. Everyone has gotten together behind the bid. It hasn’t just been the local Comhaltas, all of the state agencies, the business and tourism communities – everyone has pulled together to try and make this a reality. What was really great about the presentation is the sheer amount of other interested bodies who took part.

“This could be the making of the summer for Ennis. You are talking in the region of € 35 million and in the current climate that will be a major boost not just for Ennis but for all of County Clare. That is one of the main things that we are pushing – that this will be not just an Ennis event but something that can be spread out to all of the county and something that can benefit all of Clare.”

AN ALL-IRELAND champion fisherman believes wetlands along a section of the N85 Western Relief Road could be transformed into a wildlife sanctuary. Ennis man Jimmy Allard says he has contacted Ennis Town Council about developing the area of land between Beechpark and the One Mile Inn as a sanctuary.

Jimmy and Clarecastle fisherman Michael Colleran recently released a new batch of 80 mallard ducklings into a lake in the area.

“I wanted to make a sanctuary out of it. It would be a great thing to have especially in the summer,” he says. “We released a few ducks in the lake; about 80 in the last two months. It’s a lovely area to put them in. They have plenty of freedom and room there and it’s grassy and they seem to be getting on well.”

Jimmy also believes that the re-built river wall at Parnell Street car park is too high and is denying children a chance to interact with wildlife.

The wall was built as part of works on the Ennis Flood Relief Scheme, a two-phase project to improve flood defences in the town centre.

The defences are credited with ensuring that large areas of Ennis town centre were not submerged under water when heavy floods hit the town in November 2009.

He says, “The big wall is a problem all the time. You have to lift a child to feed the ducks. It’s a pity you can’t raise the footpath or something. You see a lot of tourists down there trying to take photographs of the field.”

One of Ireland’s most successful fishermen, Jimmy is a three-time All-Ireland fly fishing champion and international gold medal winner. He was the first person to introduce ducks and geese to the River Fergus in 1990 and is currently chairman of the Clare Regional Game Council.

Jimmy believes that apart from a few lakes, it was a bad year for fishing because of the weather.

THE Merriman Summer School, which concluded in Lisdoonvarna on Sunday, has backed a campaign by a west Clare county councillor to create a bursary in honour of former Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald.

Fine Gael councillor, Gabriel Keating, was behind the motion that was tabled at the June meeting of Clare County Council, and now two months later, the 44th Merriman Summer School has endorsed his move that’s to be considered by local authority chiefs.

“Garret Fitzgerald attended a number of Merriman schools over the years and made a value contribution to this Clare festival,” a Cumman Merriman spokesperson told The Clare People on Sunday, “and it would be fitting indeed if this contribution was honoured in Clare,” he added.

Councillor Keating has called for “Clare County Council in conjunction with Clare VEC to award an annual bursary to promote the development of innovation in our secondary schools in recognition of Dr Fitzgerald”.

The motion won the backing of fellow councillors but Clare County Manager, Tom Coughlan pointed out that “the awarding of a bursary had financial implications” and that “the matter would need to be considered in the context of the 2012 Clare County Council Budget”.

“I would hope that this move to honour Dr Fitzgerald in Clare would happen,” Cllr Keating told The Clare People this week.

“Dr Fitzgerald was a man who helped shape modern Ireland and was a regular visitor to Clare and had connections with the county. In this context and as an educationalist, I think that it’s fitting that a bursary should be awarded in his honour,” added Cllr Keating.

“DON’T let it fail again”. That was the message from local priest Fr Harry Bohan at the official reopening of the Sixmilebridge Mart last Saturday.

Fr Bohan, who was deeply instrumental in the campaign to reopen the mart, warned that the only way that the mart could fail is if the local farmers stopped supporting it.

More than 500 cattle were sold at the mart last Saturday, far exceeding the number hoped for by the management committee. The mart, which was purchased by a co-operative style group of more then 600 local farmers earlier this year, has it’s first day of trade in almost two years.

The premises had been the subject of a protracted negotiations big between the local farmers and Golden Vale Marts (GVM) who had originally the land at almost twice the 300,000 that was paid for it.

According to local farmer Jim Enright, the first day of trading exceeded all expectations, and has firmly put the mart on the road to success. It had been feared that the protracted closure of the mart might have scared away it’s traditional sellers and buyers but that proved not to be the case on Saturday.

“It really was a great day, it exceed- ed all of our expectations. We had a massive crowd of people there for the launch itself and there was also a large crowd both buying and selling,” he told The Clare People yesterday.

“It is now a case of getting people back used to coming to the mart again and Saturday went a long way towards that.

“We had a lot of sellers from Clare but there was also a large crowd from Limerick and Tipperary and even some up from as far away as Kerry. We also had a good number of buyers in from the midlands and from the east coast which is also a good sign. In total we had more then 500 animals up for sale which was a good number.

“Fr Harry also gave a great address to open the mart. He said that if we are too lose this mart again that it would be our own fault for not using it.

“It was a great day overall. At lot of work has done into getting the mart up to scratch. Over the past weeks and months there has been teams of 30 of 40 men down there on the weekend and even in the nighttime cleaning, welding – doing whatever was needed to get the mark back into shape again.”

The Sixmilebridge Mart will be open every Saturday from now on between 12pm and 5pm.