Category: News

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.

COUNCILLOR John Crowe (FG) is the new Mayor of Clare – the first Sixmilebridge councillor to be elected as Clare’s first citizen in exactly 100 years.

Crowe will be assisted in his duties by Deputy Mayor Tony O’Brien (FF), who returned to council chamber today after losing his council seat in 2009.

Cllr Crowe is the first Sixmilebridge Mayor of Clare since James O’Regan was elected in 1914. O’Regan was the father of the late Brendan O’Regan, who pioneered many developments at Shannon Airport including both Duty Free and the Shannon Free Zone.

Speaking just after receiving his chain of office, Cllr Crowe became visibly emotional when he thanked his family and supporters.

“This is my proudest day as an elected member. I look forward to representing my family, the ‘Bridge and the people of Clare,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure that I would be elected as a councillor this time around, never mind being afforded the hon- our of representing all of you as Mayor of Clare. I accept this honour knowing that I follow in the footsteps of so many councillors who have done great work for this county in the past.”

Crowe’s elevation to the office comes 100 years ago to the month that James O’Regan was made mayor in 1914. James and his son Brendan are synonymous with Shannon Airport – with Brendan leading many innovations in Irish and international aviation in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Brendan O’Regan’s spirit and innovating thinking are in this chamber, as his believe in local people. These are characteristic which are very valuable this day,” continued Cllr Crowe.

“Make sure you support our airport, because without our airport we have nothing.”

Cllr Crowe was formally proposed as Mayor by his party colleague Joe Cooney (FG) and seconded by Independent Shannon Cllr Gerry Flynn.

A GROUP that represents retailers in Ennis has said that pedestrianisation will not work and is bad for business in the town.

Michelle Madden, a member of Ennis Chamber’s Retail Committee, described pedestrianisation of the town centre as an “impediment to business”.

“It doesn’t help business, I’m afraid and I don’t think Ennis town is actually geared for pedestrianisation,” Ms Madden told a public meeting in Ennis on Thursday night.

The former Ennis Town Council has on several occasions attempted to introduce pedestrianisation on a trail basis in the town centre.

In recent years, a limited system of pedestrianisation has been in place during the weeks before Christmas.

Ms Madden, a former President of Ennis Chamber said, “Pedestrianisation is a big impediment to trade in Ennis.

“Four years ago we did a survey over the summer months. It was meant to last for six months on Saturdays. It lasted five weeks.

“I have a report here from Ennis traders, particularly O’Connell Street traders. Over the five-week period, 22 of them were strongly opposed to pedestrianisation on a Saturday. Only five of them were in favour of continuing.”

Ms Madden was speaking at a meeting on proposed measures to stimulate job creation in the town.

She put forward a “shopping list” of measures, including reduced parking and better motorway signage for Ennis that retailers want local councilors to deliver upon.

“That’s a big impediment to retail,” said Ms Madden on the current cost of parking in Ennis.

She continued, “We’ve done sur- veys ourselves on it. People are not happy paying € 1.40 an hour. I think € 1 an hour is plenty and maybe the first hour every morning free.”

Ms Madden praised the former council’s free parking policy brought in last December alongside pedestrainisation of the town’s streets in the week before Christmas.

“It was great. It brought people into town. They spent money in town. They stayed in town. That creates jobs, it retains jobs,” she said.

The meeting was attended by 67 business people from industry, retail, hospitality, construction, town centre management and other key sectors.

The aim was to provide initial enterprise and job creation input to the Clare Local Enterprise Office’s (LEO) six year economic plan as well as to compile a result-driven report asking the LEO’s and the Ennis Municipal District Council’s support in the implementation of measures outlined.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG), an elected member of Clare County Council and local businessman, told the meeting it is important that Ennis and Clare is “not left behind” when it comes to job creation.

“We need to pull back job creation to the West of Ireland,” he added.

A NUMBER of high profile positions were divided up at last Friday’s AGM of Clare County Council with the power-sharing ar rangement extending far beyond the appointment of Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

Following the abolishment of local councils in Ennis, Kilr ush, Kilkee and Killaloe – and the redrawing of the electoral boundaries to abolish a stand alone council district in north Clare – there will be four separate Municipal Districts, who will each have a yearly chair person.

The power-sharing arrangement agreed between Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Technical Grouping of Independents and Sinn Fein will see a Fine Gael chai rperson elected in Ennis this year, with a Fianna Fail councillor taking the West Clare and Shannon and a Fine Gael councillor taking the top job in East Clare.

The Ennis Municipal Chair person will be a Fianna Fail councillor in 2015, followed by a councillor from the Technical Group, Fine Gael and then the Technical Group.

Sinn Fein’s Mike McKee will serve as chair person of the Shannon Municipal District over the next five years, as will Independents PJ Ryan and Gerry Flynn.

The Fianna Fail councillor, understood to be Cathal Crowe, will be the first chair person later this month, followed next year by a councillors from the technical group, Fine Gael, and then two councillors from the technical group.

The chairperson of the West Clare area will be councillors from Fianna Fail, Technical Group, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Technical Group over the next five years respectively. In East Clare it will be Fine Gael, Technical Group, Fin Gael, and then two from Fianna Fail.

There was a host of other appointments made at last Friday’s annual general meeting with Pat McMahon (FF) and Bill Slattery (FG) appointed to the Regional Assembly.

All of the appointments were uncontested and received cross par t support.

THE head of the largest retail industry trade body in Ireland has said Ennis has been “forgotten” as a shopping and hospitality destination by the people of Clare.

David Fitzsimons, the CEO of the Ennis-based Retail Excellence Ireland, says new forms of customer communication and a fresh look at the town’s urban environment could aid retail activity in the town.

Mr Fitzsimons was speaking on the issue of how to make Ennis a retail destination of choice for local people in Clare.

He said Ennis could learn from Letterkenny, which recently established a Town Team to formulate policies to revive the town centre.

He told a public meeting in the Temple Gate Hotel on Thursday that the introduction of a rates incentive for hospitality and visitor-based businesses helped boost tourism in the Donegal town.

“They’ve realised they’ve been forgotten by the people of Donegal and in many ways Ennis town has been forgotten by the people of Clare,” Mr Fitzsimons said.

“As consumers we’re convenience based shoppers during the week, we nip into Tesco and Dunnes Stores. We do one thing and we go home. At the weekend we’re willing to travel longer distances for experiences and that’s why Kildare Village, Dundrum, Avoca… and all these destination venues are thriving.

“We need to remind people that Ennis is here, that it’s theirs, it’s their public realm. We need to maybe communicate with people differently. We need as a town to get out, we need to be communicating really professionally to citizens and give them a reason to come into their civic space. It doesn’t have to always be ‘shop more, spend more’. It’s just come in an enjoy the space. It’s yours,” he added.

CLARE County Council is to write to Health Minister, James Reilly (FG), demanding that A&E services are reopened in Ennis until a new state of the art building is opened at the Limerick Regional Hospital.

This comes in the wake of a damning report of services at the Limerick facility by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) which described the Limerick A&E as “not fit for purpose”.

At last night’s meeting of Clare County Council, councillors voted unanimously to contact the Department of Health demanding both the temporary reopening of A&E services at Ennis General Hospital and the fast-tracking of funding for the promised state of the art A&E services at Limerick General Hospital.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) also confirmed that local Fine Gael councillors held a meeting with TDs Pat Breen (FG) and Joe Carey (FG) yes- terday morning – and requested they secure a meeting with Minister Reilly and Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

It was also claimed at last night’s meeting that the Limerick A&E was “cleaned up” during a recent visit by Minister James Reilly, with 35 people on trolleys on the day before the meeting and only 10 during the meeting.

Last week’s HIQA review found serious delays and risks for patients and staff due to persistent overcrowding in A&E in Limerick.

It also found that there were delays in transferring patients from the Emergency Department to the Intensive Care Unit and the High Dependency Unit, partly due to the absence of a single clinical governance structure.

The report found that there was just one toilet in the Emergency Department for all patients, adults and children, and there were no single rooms to isolate patients with communicable diseases.

“The review also found that people in Clare were not using the minor injuries units in Ennis General Hospital.

In a statement to The Clare People

THE development of a “high-quality” market in Ennis would be a boost to the local food and tourism industry, a meeting has heard.

Doirin Graham, the CEO of the Clare Local Development Company (CLDC), last week recommended that Ennis be the location for a “flagship” market development.

“There are all these food produc- ers out around the county and I think what would really work for Ennis, is a good strong, high-quality food producers market in Ennis town centre,” she said.

“There is a really good attractive range for both local people and for the tourists, to draw both tourists into a market and have all the ancillaries of cafés and music. I think we need to look at something that is a good strong, flagship-type project for Ennis. The food businesses are out there to populate a market and sustain a market, particularly from March to September. There is potential for looking at that but you need a dedicated space that is really set up for it and meets the standards that people have become used to. It also has to be attractive for tourists and locals as well.”

Prior to its abolition, the former Ennis Town Council set in train a process that could lead to the re-development of the Ennis Market.

The € 1.5 million project proposes the installation of covered market spaces in Garraunakilla.

Ms Graham was speaking at a public meeting in Ennis on Thursday on the topic of community led job creation in the food sector. She said the CLDC, the company which administers LEADER funding, has supported the establishment of 86 food enterprises in Clare over the last five years. She said those enterprises have created 109 jobs in the county.

GARDAÍ are investigating early morning armed robbery at a business in Ennis town centre yesterday.

The incident occurred at around 7.30am at the Xtra Vision store in the market area of the town.

A man carrying a weapon entered the home entertainment and electrical goods store and made away with a quantity of cash.

A member of staff was opening up when he was set upon by the assailant at the front door of the premises.

It is understood the man who carried out the robbery was carrying a hammer. It was unclear yesterday if the victim suffered any injuries in the ordeal.

Gardaí in Ennis are investigating the robbery and are looking at CCTV footage from the area.

The incident follows a similar robbery at a family-run shop in Ennis last month.

At around 11.30am on Wednesday, May 21, a man went into a shop at the top of O’Connell Street in Ennis brandishing a knife and demanded money.

He was wearing a hoodie and a scarf to cover his face. He stole a sum of money from the till and then fled the scene on foot. No one was hurt in the robbery.

On May 27, Cassidy’s Pharmacy in Ennis was the scene of a raid occurred at around 2.30am.

Two raiders, believed to be males, used a sledgehammer to smash in the reinforced glass paneling on the front door of the premises.

The thieves filled bags with stock, mainly brand name men’s fragrances and cleared several shelves before leaving the scene in a black Volkswagon Golf.

Gardaí have urged business owners in the town to be vigilant and take appropriate security measures such as lighting and security cameras to protect their premises.