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.”

A TOTAL of 2,682 Clare teenagers are registered to sit state exams from Wednesday.

As the sales of lucky rabbits feet, Mass cards and holy medals peak this week, 1,393 Leaving Certificate students from the county face their final tests in exam halls all over Clare.

A further 1,406 students will face state exams for the first time as they begin their Junior Certificate Examination, also beginning on Wednesday morning.

In addition, 67 Leaving Certificate Applied candidates will also complete their exam, which is made up of continued assessment.

And while many parish churches throughout the diocese of Killaloe are assisting with last minute divine inspiration with early morning masses on the morning of the first exams, nature is also playing its part with wet muggy weather promised for the early part on the examinations.

More male than female students are registered to sit the Leaving Certificate in Clare this year, with 664 girls and 729 boys scheduled to take the exam.

As many as 36 of the 67 students doing the Leaving Certificate Ap- plied in Clare are also male.

The gender balance of the number sitting the Junior Certificate in Clare is reversed however with 714 female students and 687 male students signed up for the exam.

Nationally some 118,673 candidates will take their seats in 4,962 examination centres countywide to begin their Leaving and Junior Certificate examinations.

From the June bank holiday weekend, over 4,962 superintendents involved in supervising the written examinations will take possession of the boxes containing the 3 million examination papers that are required by candidates over the 13 day exami- nation period. Over 4,000 examiners will be involved in examining the work presented by candidates in the written examinations. This is in addition to the some 2,000 examiners required to mark the exams.

The examinations run until Thursday, June 19, for Junior Certificate subjects and Friday, June 20, for Leaving Certificate subjects. The written examinations in the Leaving Certificate Applied programme finish on Thursday, June 12.

The results of the Leaving Certificate examinations will be available on Wednesday, August 13. Results of the Junior Certificate will be available in mid-September.

A WELL-KNOWN peace activist is seeking legal costs against the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) after the State failed in a criminal prosecution against him.

A charge against Edward Horgan (68) of failing to obey the direction of a garda to leave the vicinity of Shannon Airport was dismissed at Ennis District Court on Tuesday.

Judge Mary Larkin dismissed the charge against the retired Irish Army commandant and prominent anti-war campaigner following an application from Mr Horgan’s barrister, Brian McInerney.

Mr Horgan, with an address at Charnwood, Newtown, Castletroy, Limerick, and his co-accused Tim Hourigan (38), with an address at Cedar Court, Kennedy Park, Limerick, both denied a charge of failing to obey the direction of a garda to leave the vicinity of Shannon Airport on October 13, 2013.

The charge alleged the men were loitering without lawful authority or reasonable excuse in a public place in circumstances, which gave rise to reasonable apprehension for the safety of persons or for the maintenance of the public peace.

However Counsel for Mr Horgan applied to have the charge dismissed on the grounds that the direction given by Garda Thomas Downey of Shannon Garda Station in a car park on the day in question was “vague in the extreme”.

Garda Downey encountered the two men in a car park near Shannon Airport that was closed to the public, the court heard. He told the court he had gone there after receiving information that two people were in the car park. Garda Downey said he asked the men to leave the area. However Mr Horgan and Mr Hourigan said that when they enquired what area they had to leave, Garda Downey told them “Rineanna South”.

Counsel said this was a “colossal area”. In his application, Mr McInerney said, his client did not know the area from which he had to leave and that failure to comply with a direction that was “vague and imprecise” is not a criminal act.

He said no civilians were present during the brief exchange so a breach of the peace could not have occurred.

Mr Hourigan, who represented himself in court, also applied for a direction from the Judge.

Judge Larkin dismissed the charge against both men, saying there could not have been a reasonable apprehension for the safety of persons or the maintenance of the public peace.

Mr McInerney said he was compelled to seek costs against the DPP. He said he had advised the Gardaí beforehand of the issue existing in the case but the DPP had still decided to proceed with the prosecution.

Judge Mary Larkin said, “I have never been in a court where the court has made an order for costs against the DPP.”

She adjourned the matter to July 16 for submissions from Counsel.

A MEETING for parents of children affected by autism will this week be addressed by one of Ireland’s most experienced physical therapists.

Maria Miniter, a CranioSacral therapist, will be the guest speaker at the meeting hosted by Ennis Voices for Autism on Thursday.

Ms Miniter is a full time CranioSacral Therapist (CST). She is also a qualified nurse with a post-grad in disability nursing. Maria worked for 11 years with the Brothers of Charity in Limerick and Clare.

She brought her son to CranioSacral therapist in 2004, and was so impressed with the results she went on to study the therapy – and qualified in 2011. CranioSacral therapy is a gentle hands-on treatment, which helps the body to rid itself of any stresses or strains which may have a negative impact either on a physical or emotional level on the body.

It is non invasive and has been scientifically proven to work. Maria’s talk is free and open to all.

The meeting takes place at 7.30pm on Thursday, June 5, at the Auburn Lodge Hotel, followed by tea and coffee at 9pm.

Ennis Voices for Autism is a support group for parents of children with Autism and related disorders on the ‘Autism Spectrum’.

With the help of the Clare Local Development Company, EVA was set up as a support and information forum for parents of children whose children are experiencing severe difficulties accessing appropriate services and information to deal with this difficult and complex condition.

For more details contact Gearoid at 086 8120055.

THE number of Clare people who took their own life showed a marked decline last year, prompting hopes that the county may be turning the corner on the suicide epidemic.

According to official figures obtained from the Central Statistic Office (CSO), 14 Clare people, 12 males and two females, took their own lives in 2013 – giving a suicide rate of 11.9.

This shows is marked decline of the 13.7 suicide rate from the previ- ous year. The news comes on the two year anniversary of the tragic death of West Clare teenager William Winder, who passed away on June 3, 2012.

According to William’s father and founder of the William Winder Rainbow Foundation, Mark Winder, more needs to be done to keep the suicide rate in Clare in decline.

The foundation offers free information and access to councillors for Clare people effected by depression or suffering from other issues.

“It’s great to see the figures declining finally and people speaking about suicide is helping. It is my son’s second year anniversary and we’ve been dealing with that ourselves. But we had a family day last week in Lahinch.

“We see families coming up to us directly all the time and talking about suicide. That wound not have happened five years ago,” said Mark.

“Families are being broken up, people are being forced to emigrate and that has an effect. Families are suffering and the whole community are suffering.

“You can go through places now and it’s like going through a ghost town. But if you have a place to turn to and people are willing to talk, then it helps. There was nothing in Clare [for people who were feeling suicidal].

“You could get in your car and drive to Pieta House but if you are feeling suicidal, the last thing you should do is get behind the wheel. The kids don’t know where to turn.

“It happens, it’s can be a split second decision, and it is destroying people. I think they are seeing that now; they can see from the hurt [felt by the people left behind after a suicide]. I cry openly, my wife cries openly. We talk to kids and to school and we tell them. They can see the devastation in our faces.

“We saw the suicide stats last night and it’s great that they are declining but there is a lot not being taken into account. Like single vehicle accidents are not being classified as suicides even if there is a suicide note. But any decline is going in the right direction. Anything is good news. We’ve seen enough deaths in Clare. We’ve seen the devastation.

“We need to keep talking about it. We need to keep it on the forefront of people’s mind. The [Government] funding for this in non-existent. It hits me in the heart every time I see a suicide and hear of a suicide.

“You live it, you live it every day. Once you have someone in your family that died of suicide you never get away from it.”

For more information on the work of the William Winder Rainbow Foundation visit www.williamwinderrainbowfoundation.ie.

CLARE mothers are getting older with more than 100 babies born to women 40 years of age or older in the county last year.

According to figures obtained from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), just under seven per cent of all children in Clare are now born to women over 40, with the average age of a mother in the county now rising to 32 years and six month, well ahead of the national average.

Indeed, the average age of a first time mother in Clare now stands at 30 years and six month, one of the oldest in Ireland.

The vast majority of Clare births are to women in their 30s with 557 children born to women aged between 30 and 34 last year and 407 children born to women aged between 35 and 39.

A total of 776 boys were born in Clare in 2013 with Sean the most common named selected by parents. Sean, which was previously the most common Clare name in 2011 – overtakes Jack which was the most popular name last year.

Emily was the most popular name for the 715 girls who were born to Clare mothers last year.

Emily was the clear favourite name for Clare girls after the four-way tie between Aoife, Lily, Lucy and Sophie in 2012.

Meanwhile, just over 10 per cent of Clare babies were born to single mothers last year.

According to the CSO, 1,025 children were born to married mothers of mothers in civil partnerships in Clare in 2013. Of the 466 who were born to unmarried mothers, 309 reported that they we cohabiting with the father. This mean that a total of 157 babies, or just over 10 per cent of total, were born to single parents in Clare last year.

A CLARE TD has recalled the day he had to “bite the bullet” and let go a childhood friend from his job as parliamentary assistant.

Michael McNamara told an employment appeals tribunal in Ennis on Thursday that he decided to dismiss Conor Daly after a second period of probation ended in March 2012.

Mr McNamara said he made the decision because he was unhappy with Mr Daly’s performance in some aspects of the job.

He said he received complaints that constituent’s queries were not being treated sympathetically.

Mr McNamara said he also received complaints from Government departments about the manner in which Mr Daly made queries.

Mr Daly, who previously worked as a golf caddy in Doonbeg Golf Club, claims he was unfairly dismissed from the job. The tribunal heard Mr Daly was an on annual salary of approximately € 40,000.

The tribunal heard Mr Daly worked as a driver for Mr McNamara in the general election before being hired as a parliamentary assistant for the Labour deputy.

Mr McNamara said he extended Mr Daly’s initial period of probation for six months in 2011 because he was unhappy with his performance.

Mr McNamara said he advised Mr Daly to take constituent’s queries more seriously and be “clear and concise” when requesting information from government departments.

The tribunal heard the men have been friends since childhood in Scariff and Tuamgraney.

“I wanted to believe he could improve,” he said.

But Mr McNamara said he realised in March 2012 that he had to “bite the bullet” and let Mr Daly go.

He described the meeting with Mr Daly as “very hard”. He said he had never let anyone go from a job before.

Mr McNamara said Mr Daly started crying after being told he would not keep his job beyond the period of probation.

“He was emotional. He really needed the job,” he added.

Solicitor for Mr Daly, Kate McInerney, said that her client will say in evidence he did not get any clear guidance from the TD and was not given an opportunity to improve. She said the decision to dismiss Mr Daly was “disproportionate”.

Mr McNamara said, “I made it clear to Conor that he had to improve and he failed to do so.”

The hearing was adjourned to September 18 when Mr Daly will give evidence.

CHILDREN attending the region’s only paediatric ward can now attend school in a purpose-built classrooms, without leaving the hospital grounds.

The new purpose-built Children’s Ark School was officially opened in the University Hospital Limerick on Thursday, May 29. The school provides multi-denominational pri- mary- and secondary-level education for students attending the hospital.

The new facility is made up of a large classroom for primary students, a second classroom for secondary students, toilets, office space and an outdoor learning area.

The Department of Education and Skills has approved the installation of 100MB fibre broadband to enable access to the most up to date technology to support the education of the students.

Dr Liam Carroll, founding member and former Chair of the Children’s Ark School Board of Management and Jayden Conway Wood officially opened the new classrooms.

The school, like any other, is managed by a Board of Management and has two teachers. Both teachers, Mary Carr and Margaret McCarthy are members of HOPE, the organisa tion for hospital teachers in Europe.

Speaking at the opening, Ann Doherty, CEO, UL Hospitals, said, “We are very proud of having such a quality school on site and I want to acknowledge and thank the Board of Management and their staff for all the work they have done to make this school a reality.”

The Children’s Ark School was originally the brainchild of Dr Carroll, Consultant Paediatrician, who got sanction from the Department of Education and Skills to establish a school to cater for the ongoing education of children in University Hospital Limerick.

The school commenced in 2006 and originally operated from the dining room of the Sunshine Ward in the Children’s Ark Unit.

Frank Keane, Chair, Board of Management and former manager of Ennis Hospital, added that “the new school is a wonderful new development, encompassing the best available information technology to assist in providing continuity for those young people unlucky enough to be ill and requiring hospital care. Meeting the young person’s educational needs is a vital part of the holistic approach required to put them on the road to recovery.” Mr Keane also wanted to acknowledge the hard work of everyone involved but said that “a huge thank you must go to my predecessor as Chair of the Board of Management, Dr Liam Carroll, who was the true visionary who had the foresight to get the concept of education while in hospital off the ground back in December 2006”.

A STRATEGY aimed at encouraging job creation in Ennis will be unveiled at a public meeting in the town on Thursday.

Organisers say the ‘Ennis Jobs Strategy’ will help create the foundations for new employment and economic development. The strategy will be outlined at a meeting in the Temple Gate Hotel on June 5 at 6.30pm. The meeting will involve a number of five-minute solutionbased presentations.

According the organisers, the meeting will focus around the use of “synergy and develop a concise strategy covering various sectors with opportunity to get quick, medium- and long-term wins for Ennis in terms of job creation.”

The meeting will review several sectors of the local economy including retail, tourism, construction, community-based food production, creativity, industry. Johnny Flynn, a local Fine Gael councillor who recently regained his seat on Clare County Council, is one of the men behind the proposed jobs strategy.

“This meeting is about informed contributions from people from particular employment sectors on the ground – a task force of capable individuals with the common goal of jobs. It’s not about the problem it’s about creating and compiling strong and realizable ideas for job creation in Ennis,” he explained.

The aim of the meeting is to compile a result-driven report with actions for 2014 and beyond. The report will be made available to the new Ennis Municipal District committee asking for their support in the implementation.

Among those expected to address the meeting are David Fitzsimmons of Retail Excellence Ireland; Rita McInerney, CEO of Ennis Chamber; Brian O’Neill, Chairman of Promote Ennis and Ana Bella Alvarez, Director of Ennis Street Festival.

Cllr Flynn said, “In terms of jobs, I have been working with different sectors. However I believe there should have been a complete jobs strategy three years ago. There is no point now looking back in dismay instead I am asking business owners, decision makers and all who would like to contribute to come an join us on June 5.”

The meeting will be held on June 5 at Temple Gate Hotel at 6.30pm. All are welcome and organisers appreciate prior contact to prepare for the event, contact Johnny Flynn on 087 2571842 or jny.flynn@gmail.com.