Category: News

OVER 5,000 this people are set to descend on Miltown Malbay and district from this weekend for the annual Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy music festival that’s worth an estimated € 5m to the local economy.

The 39th festival, which commemorates the famous Miltown Malbay musician who died in 1973, will be officially opened this Saturday night by Sean Keane of The Chieftans, while a host of marquee names in traditional music will attend over the course of the event that runs from July 2 to 10.

“The key to the success of the Scoil Samhradh,” says festival Co-Director, Harry Hughes, “ is that we have always tried to maintain an excellence in the tuition that we offer ever year.

“This year we have the likes of Martin Hayes who comes to the festival every year, Edel Fox, Paddy Glackin, Mick Mulkerrins, Kieran Hanrahan and Rip Epping, while photographer Tony Kearns, who has been documenting the school over a long number of years will deliver the Breandán Breathnach Memorial Lecture, An Eye for the Music, which discusses the relationship between photography and Irish traditional music,” adds Hughes, who founded the festival back in 1973 with Muiris Ó Rocháin and Martin Talty.

For the past number of years, the Tuesday of summer school week has been devoted to celebrating the life and work of a musician who has made a significant contribution to the Irish musical heritage.

This year the honour goes to Clare’s own Peadar O’Loughlin, the Kilmaley flute and pipe player, who is regarded as one of the masters of the musical tradition.

The Peadar O’Loughlin tribute takes place on Tuesday next and will feature contributions from his friends and fellow musicians, will be coordinated by piper and RT presenter and producer, Peter Browne.

REMEDIAL works on 17 local authority houses in Scariff have been completed, at a cost of € 850,000.

The Mayor of Clare, Councillor Christy Curtin (Independent), was handed the keys of the 17 units at Connaught Road, Scariff, on Friday, following the completion of the project.

The project contract, which was awarded to Galway construction company Atlantic Developments Limited in October, involved upgrade works to the 17 tenanted properties in the estate. This included insulation, roofing, windows and doors replacement.

The houses are part of a batch of 31 homes which were constructed in the 1970s. The remaining 14 houses have since been purchased.

New heating systems, including high efficiency oil boilers supplemented with solid fuel stoves, have been upgraded to achieve a C1 Building Energy Rating (BER). Solar panels also have been provided on the roofs of four bungalows to achieve a high energy rating.

Other works include general environmental drainage and a new watermain, boundary treatment to all 31 houses, and improvement works to roads, public lighting and footpaths in the estate.

“The improvement to the energy efficiency of these houses in Scariff will make a great difference to the comfort factor for the occupants. I would like to acknowledge the excellent work carried out by the contractor and design team who successfully completed the project on time and within budget,” said Mr Curtin.

The Chairperson of the Council’s Housing Strategic Policy Committee, Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Independent), thanked residents for their “forbearance and co-operation while their homes were being upgraded”.

“Many residents voluntarily relocated for the duration of the works while those who remained in residence co-operated fully with the contractor and tolerated a level of inconvenience. They can now look forward to enjoying an improved quality of life in their upgraded homes,” she said.

The project funding of € 850,000 was provided by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

THERE was a large turnout in St Joseph’s Church in Whitegate on Friday as family and many friends gathered for Mass to remember a local priest and sportsman who died recently.

Canon Jim Mulvihill, a native of Capanthrane, Whitgate, passed away earlier this month aged 90. He is sadly missed by family members in Whitegate and Scariff and fondly remembered by those who shared his huge sporting enthusiasm.

He was the son of the late Johanna and Partick Mulvilhill and was one of five children – Anna, Maggie May, Tommie and Mikey.

He went to school at Lakyle National School and later attended St Flannan’s in Ennis.

Noted for his talent on the hurling field, Canon Mulvihill won several tophies when he played with the Ennis hurling nursery and he was part of the team which won the Canon O’Kennedy Shield against holders, St Finbarr’s of Farranferris. He also played for his native Whitegate.

When he wasn’t on the hurling field, Canon Jim was often to be found induging his other great sporting passion, fishing on Lough Derg.

He studied for the priesthood in St Patrick’s in Carlow and was ordained on June 3, 1945.

He was sent first to serve in the diocese of Tuscan in Arizona and then returned to Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales.

He was incardinated into the archdiocese of Cardiff in 1963 and was appointed as parish priest to Bromyard in Herefordshire in 1967. In 1997 he was appointed parish priest of St Basil and St Gwladys. He retired from that appointment in 2002 but continued to say daily Mass in the parish.

In 2005 he celebrated sixty years in the priesthood.

Canon Mulvihill was in constant contact with his native Clare and regularly welcomed visitors from the county.

He passed away in the care of the sisters and staff of Nazareth House, where he had lived since 2007.

Archbishop Georg Stack of Cardiff was the chief celebrant at Canon Mulvihill’s funeral Mass.

He is survived by his nephews and nieces: the Mulvihills in Whitegate, Marie, Pat, Jim Tom and Den; and im Scariff, the McMahon’s Paddy, Seanie, Noel, Michael and Mary; as well as many friends, both lay and clergy.

APPLICATIONS from people in Clare to have broadband provided under the Rural Broadband Scheme are fewer than from other counties across the country, it has been revealed.

In response to a query from The Clare People , a spokesperson for the Rural Broadband Scheme said that just 32 applications applications from areas in County Clare have been received to date, despite the fact that almost every area in the county is eligible to apply.

Only Ennis and a few other pockets in the county are ruled out of the scheme, but few Banner residents have opted to take advantage of it.

“Applications from Clare are definitely less than the national average but there is still some short time left for people to apply,” the spokesperson said.

Pointing out that access to broadband is vital for rural businesses and increasingly becoming a basic tool in homes and schools, the spokesperson said that it’s important that Clare people, who may qualify, get their applications in before the July 29 deadline.

The Rural Broadband Scheme was established to enable a basic broadband service to be provided to individual rural premises, which are not capable of obtaining a broadband service from existing internet service providers. The Scheme was set up in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture as a measure under the Rural Development Plan using funding from the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development.

This first phase involves inviting and processing applications. In the second phase of the scheme, the department will check with existing internet service providers to see if they are willing to provide a service to the premises concerned. If none of the companies concerned are prepared to offer a service, then the application will progress to the next phase in the scheme in which the department will engage an internet service provider who will offer a basic internet service to applicants. While the department will be paying part of the cost of the infrastructure necessary to provide a service, the applicant will be responsible for paying the costs of the service itself.

It’s expected that the scheme should be completed by the end of 2012 at the latest.

Anyone interested can apply online by visiting the department’s website www.dcenr.ie and following the links for the Rural Broadband Scheme, by downloading an application from the website and sending it in the post or alternatively by calling 01 6782020 or call save the RBS on 1850 678100. The link includes a map of Clare showing the eligible areas.

THE new mayor of Kilrush has called for a new coalition of forces to emerge in the west Clare capital to ensure that the town becomes a growth hub the development in the next decade.

Mayor Ian Lynch made his comments after the annual general meeting of Kilrush Town Council on Monday office after taking the chains of office from fellow Fine Gael councillor, Liam Williams.

“Kilrush has a lot of things going for it,” Mayor Lynch told The Clare People, “but the key for the town going forward is that everyone works together as a unit, so that the town can be created as a destination for living, a destination for commercial and industrial activity and a destination for tourism.”

Cllr Lynch, who served as Deputy Mayor for the last year, was unanimously elected unto become First Citizen on Kilrush, while independent member, Cllr Mairéad O’Brien was elected Deputy Mayor.

“This council must stand strong and face the people of Kilrush and indeed West Clare that look to us for solutions and inspiration in how we can effect change,” continued Mayor Lynch.

“While there is no doubt that the coming 12 months and possibly coming years will indeed be tough, but I’m a great believer in the reliance of our people to adapt and innovate.

“Kilrush Town Council will have to adapt to a reduced budget in many areas that will affect the services we can offer and how we prioritise the needs of the town. I hope as Mayor in the coming year to encourage and promote practicable and speedy solutions to the everyday concerns of the people of Kilrush.

“Many of theses concerns, such as the condition of our local roads, support for children be it education, after school activities or for those with special needs or indeed the urgent need to address unemployment and our local health care services are in fact the common concerns of all the people of Kilrush and County Clare,” he added.

Cllr Lynch, who was first elected to Kilrush Town Council in 2009, was proposed for the mayor’s position by outgoing mayor, Liam Williams and seconded by former mayor, Marion McMahon-Jones.

AN POST customers are asked to be on their guard against a new scam email, after Clare businesses were targeted.

The mail contains the subject line “RE: Information TV License #12488340238” and claims to come from service@tvlicence.ie. The email offers a refund of € 58.00 on an overpayment for a TV Licence.

Confirming that they have had complaints from “mostly business customers” a spokeswoman for An Post said that anyone getting the mail should delete it and under no circumstances click on the accompanying link.

“Anyone who provided personal information in response to these hoax emails should contact their bank or credit card company immediately,” she added.

John Halloran, from Westbury, who runs his own web-design company was one of the businesses who received the email.

“It was offering me a refund on my TV licence fee and I smelled a rat straight away because my wife is the one who always looks after renewing the TV licence and the mail cam to my business email. But I might have been drawn into it, at least to a certain point otherwise. I can see how people go along with it, thinking that if it comes from An Post, then it must be genuine. In fact I got a call from a customer of mine asking did I think she should reply and I told her no way. That’s why I contacted you, [ The Clare People ] in case anyone else is fooled.”

It’s understood that a number of businesses were targetted.

“An Post TV Licence never send emails which require customers to send personal information via email or pop-up windows. This was not a particularly sophisticated scam but if these people get even a tiny percentage of the people they contact to cooperate, then they have made money and it costs them nothing to email people,” the spokeswoman said.

She added that customer should also be on the alert about mails which inform customers that they have won a prize.

“These mails are just about legal. If you ring the number, you’ll be on hold at a premium rate for 20 or 30 minutes. If you persist and claim the prize, then there will be something like a book or a magazine. But we have to deliver these letters because they are paid for an mailed legally.”

ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour in a new playground in the Fair Green area of Ennis has settled down “significantly”, according to one local councilor.

The matter of improved monitoring of Tim Smythe Park was raised at the May meeting of the Ennis Joint Policing Committee (JPC).

Speaking ahead of the playground’s official opening, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said there had been detailed discussions about anti-social behaviour at the new playground.

Local residents had raised concerns over anti-social behaviour, saying the activities of teenagers were causing disruption to elderly members of the community. They had also highlighted parking problems that emerged after the playgrounds opened in March.

Double yellow lines have since been installed and according to Cllr Flynn, CCTV cameras will be up and running in the area in the next few weeks.

He explained, “The CCTV has been installed but we are just awaiting approval for a connection with the Garda system.”

Cllr Flynn continued, “We had a very detailed meeting about it at the last Joint Policing Committee meeting. The gardaí are very committed to monitoring the Fair Green. It’s a public amenity and people should be able to live in peace and quite around public amenities.”

In May, Cllr Flynn proposed that fencing be erected around the playground “in order to protect both the significant investment in the facilities, its users and local residents from anti-social behaviour.”

Cllr Flynn said at the time that his daughter had been physically “struck” while at the playground.

Speaking yesterday, Cllr Flynn said that while the “situation seems to have settled down significantly”, a fence could still be installed if antisocial problems re-emerged.

He added, “The public being aware that there is significant Garda interest in monitoring the area should help.”

Cllr Flynn said the recent opening of the playground and The Junction youth and community resource building in Cloughleigh showed the Council’s commitment to providing facilities for young people in Ennis.

He added, “There has been almost € 1.25 million spent on amenities and social facilities for young people and people of all ages in the town since the start of the year.”

ROCHE Ireland have applied for planning permission to construct a new three-storey building at the company’s plant in Clarecastle.

According to documents lodged with Clare County Council, the pharmaceutical company is seeking to construct a new three-storey building and ancillary works for the purpose of milling an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) at the facility.

A single-storey extension to an existing Nitrogen generation utility building, relocation of nitrogen tanks, a pipe rack, a solvent sump and pumping station and ancillary site works are also proposed within this application.

The proposed three-storey milling building is to be attached to an existing warehouse facility. This will necessitate the relocation of an existing smoking shelter, and the relocation of existing fire escape doors from the warehouse. The application consists of modifications to an establishment within the meaning of the European Communities (Control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances) Regulations 2006.

The proposed location of the milling building is on a green space ap- proximately 16m wide, between an existing warehouse and an existing site access road to the west of the Roche site.

The plant is located in the vicinity of two Natura 2000 sites – lower river Shannon Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and river Shannon and river Fergus estuaries. According to a Natura Impact Statement, prepared by Biosphere Environmental Services on behalf of Roche, “there will be no significant noise / vibration impacts resulting from the proposed building” and “there will be no emissions arising from the extension to the PSA (nitrogen plant) building which is being extended for the purposes of additional storage”.

The Clarecastle manufacturing facility was established in 1974 as Syntex Ireland. In 1994, Syntex Ireland became part of the pharmaceutical division of the Roche group when Roche acquired the Syntex Corporation. Currently Roche Ireland employs in excess of 240 people.

The planning report states that Roche Ireland is a “manufacturing centre of excellence for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients destined for conversion to medicines in dosage form at other Roche facilities throughout the world.”

THE outgoing Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Tommy Brennan (Ind), and Cllr Peter Considine (FF) cut the ribbon on a new € 240,000 playground in Ennis yesterday,

Ennis Town Council entered into a contract with the Crawford Group in January 2011 for the provision of the new playground facilities at Tim Smythe Park.

Speaking at the official opening Mayor Brennan said, “The provision of playground facilities at Tim Smythe Park is appropriate having regard to the playgrounds location at the centre of the town and its established use by many families. The new facilities are a recognition by the Council of the importance of play and playground facilities in the lives of children.

“It is encouraging to see such investment by a public authority at a time of economic recession. I would like to compliment my fellow councillors for their vision and indeed the management staff of the Council for developing and overseeing the provision of these facilities which will benefit the community for many years,” added Mayor Brennan.

The playground is designed to provide universally accessible, imaginative and interactive play. There are three play areas. The 0-12 years area has a variety of equipment including swings, a parrot see-saw, a spring rocker and a roundabout.

A rope net climbing structure, cable runway, drop shot and a trim trail are just some of the facilities of the teen play area, while the adult exercise area will incorporate exercise for all abilities.

The scheme has been complemented by CCTV and a public lighting scheme, as well as a pedestrian crossing at the northern end of Tim Smythe Park leading to the relocated playground.

Cllr Peter Considine who presided over the opening of the original Tim Smythe Park playground during the 1980s said: “The play facilities have been provided by the Council to supplement and enhance the sport and recreational facilities in Ennis. The Council is proud of its achievements in recent years by the providing of playground facilities in Cloughleigh, Stonecourt, Lees Road Sports and Amenity Park and now these fabulous facilities at Tim Smythe Park.”

AN BORD Pleanála has given the go-ahead for the development of a 26-bedroom nursing home to be built in Tulla that will be able to cater for up to 30 patients.

The planning appeals authority handed down its judgement last week, bringing to an end a process started in December 2009 when John and Ted Nugent originally submitted plans to Clare County Council to develop the nursing home facility in the East Clare town.

The decision to give the project the go-head comes even though an inspector’s report said the development would be contrary to proper planning.

“I consider that the location of a 26-bedroom nursing home together with 8 no. assisted living complex units, ancillary facilities and associated site development works on this site would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,” said Planning Inspector Patricia Young.

However, in making the order granting permission for the project, An Bord Pleanála said “in deciding not to accept the inspector’s recommendation to refuse permission, the board considered that a nursing home at this location would not contravene materially the development plan, having regard to its location and connectivity to the settlement of Tulla and to the pattern of existing and permitted development in the immediate vicinity.”

There were a number of objections to the original nursing home application, with Noreen Hickey from Cork saying “the proposed devel opment contravenes the new HIQA standards with are underpinned by legislation” and that it is “outside the existing town zoned area which contravenes the planning regulations of Tulla”.

Conditional permission for the development was granted by Clare County Council planners last December, with Director of Service Nora Kaye saying that “the proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity, would not be prejudicial to public health and would otherwise accord with proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.