Category: News

THE activities of “cowboy coal-sellers” are hurting Ennis businesses and damaging homes, a meeting has heard.

At last week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) had sought support for a motion calling on the Minster for Finance to exempt domestic solid fuel from the carbon tax.

Cllr Neylon, who runs a coal and smokeless fuel distribution business, told the meeting that coal-sellers from outside Clare had operated in the county over the past two years. He described the coal as like “burning rubber” and claimed, “the people who were selling coal, 90 per cent of them are on the dole”.

He said coal distributors in Ennis had been hit hard by “outside suppliers bringing in rubbish coal”.

He added, “If we keep going like this, we are going to pay a massive price in terms of pollution.”

Cllr Mary Coote Ryan (FG) told the meeting that a neighbour had almost been injured by coal purchased from people she described as “cowboy coal-sellers”.

“A big stone flew out of the fire and broke everything and just passed this man’s head,” she explained.

Cllr Peter Considine (FF) urged the council to write to the Minister of Finance and the Minister for Social Protection.

Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) said the past two winters had been unprecedented. He said it had been so cold that elderly people “had gone to bed early to conserve coal”.

THE bonds between Tony Killeen and Brian Lenihan ran deep – theirs was a special relationship honed by their status of being from Fianna Fáil’s 1990s generation of TDs, their connections with North Clare and their very private battles with cancer over the last couple of years.

These recollections of a friendship and relationship forged through their time spent together on the backbenches and in Cabinet, talking about North Clare and their own mortality came flooding back to Mr Killeen this week as he reflected on Mr Lenihan’s passing at the age of 51.

“The Clare connection gave us something in common in the early days,” said Mr Killeen. “The North Clare connection was the critical part, rather than the Clare part, and we would have been considered very close. Certainly over the last year and a half, since Brian was diagnosed, we would have had a lot in common.

“We talked a lot about it. I was dealing with illness for a year and a half before Brian. There was one enormous difference in that I had a substantial prospect of recovery and, when I was mulling over whether to run again, I talked to Brian more than most and was taken aback the way he talked about terminal cancer as opposed to an illness that had some hope of being dealt with.

“He was very clear that it would be grossly irresponsible for me to endanger health prospects and that he was in a different position because his cancer was terminal,” added the former Minister for Defence.

“Brian was a great people person,” continued Mr Killeen. “He did have a presence, a great personal presence and he had great time for people. He was genuinely interested in talking to ordinary people and hearing their views. People instinctively felt that. It was one of his qualities and one of his strengths,” Mr Killeen.

And Mr Killeen, who retired from politics ahead of the last election after serving as a TD for 19 years from 1992, paid tribute to Mr Lenihan for the tough decisions he took as Minister for Finance.

“He was very clear that there was a path out of the troubles the country was in and that path was politically disastrous. He said to me, ‘Tony, we have a responsibility and our responsibility is to do the right thing. You and I know what the right thing is and we know we’ll be hated for it’.

“He was very clear about that and he wasn’t interested in being popular. He didn’t have a need to be popular, but he was, because his personality transcended the difficult and unpopular decisions he had to make,” added Mr Killeen.

PLANS to begin a commercial commuter ferry service connecting Ballyvaughan and Galway City took its first major step forward last week when Leader granted funding for a feasibility study into the project to take place.

Over the next few weeks, an independent UK agency will compile a report on the proposed link which it is hoped will provide the technical and economic information to allow a private operator to begin the service.

While the campaign is being spearheaded by a Ballyvaughan-based group, the survey team will examine whether an alternative location in Clare could be more suitable for the ferry connection.

The proposed link is being spearheaded by the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop organisation, who believe that a non-subsidised commuter ferry could turn a profit by transporting people to and from Galway each day.

“This is a community-based project so what we want them to do is to see if this will be a feasible service to have in the long term. I live in Ballyvaughan, so I have been coming at this from that point of view but they will examine which are the best places to locate this service from – it could be Ballyvaughan, it could be New Quay or it could be somewhere else,” said Gwen Ryan of the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop group.

“The survey should take about eight week to complete and they will be contacting all the local stakeholders to get their opinions. There will be a report completed by the end of August so we should know by then how this ferry connection could work.”

The ferry connections is envisioned primarily for people living in North Clare but working in Galway, however it could also transport tourists during the summer season. The ferry trip from Ballyvaughan to Galway City will take less than half an hour, shaving more than an hour off a person’s daily commute.

“This would firstly give the people living in North Clare more transport options but it would also give tourists in Galway a different way of getting to the Burren as well. So hopefully it can work both ways,” continued Gwen.

“On a calm day, it will take between 20 minutes and half an hour to get from Ballyvaughan to Galway city. We want to prove that this will be sustainable without subsidies subsidies are not what we are looking for at the moment.”

For more information on the Hop, visit www.ballyvaughanbayhop.com or contact Gwen on gwen@ballyvaughanbayhop.com.

A QUIN man will take on a kayaking challenge of a lifetime in an effort to raise money for the Clare branch of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland.

52-year-old Brendan Cooney is aiming to kayak the 124-kilometre trip from Athlone Weir to Two Mile Gate in Killaloe, between June 23 and 26.

Brendan is taking on the challenge in memory of his mother Nancy who had suffered from Alzheimers prior to her death in 1999.

He is looking forward to the task that lies ahead.

“It is happening at a good time of the year. The days are long and the weather should be good,” he told The Clare People .

“I will do it over four days. I will be calling to various harbours on the way down. It should take me two days to do Lough Derg. I have been doing a bit of training. You just have to play by the weather,” he added.

He has had to prepare carefully, train zealously and embark on a strenuous exercise regime in order to complete this challenge. Throughout the course of the challenge Brendan will be setting up camp each night and surviving cold wilderness of the Irish countryside.

“Down the years I have been doing a bit of canoeing and boating and I thought I would put it to good use,” he said.

He said he has not set any targets in terms of fundraising. “People haven’t the money at the moment. I don’t know how much I will raise. If I make € 100 or € 10,000 I don’t mind as long as I raise something. It is just to raise awareness of the Alzheimer Society. They are always at the end of the phone,” he added.

Brendan has never done anything like this before but is considering doing something similar on an annual basis. “I am hoping if it goes well to make it an annual event,” he said.

To support Brendan in his challenge please contact the Clare branch of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland on 065 6868621.

YOUTHWORKERS have warned that a “high degree of homophobia” still exists in Clare ahead of a meeting to address issues of relevance to gay and lesbian young people in Ennis next week. Hosted by Clare Youth Service (CYS) and County Clare VEC, the event is primarily aimed at parents, young people aged 16 to 25 and those working with young people and families. The meeting will be held at the Temple Gate Hotel on Thursday, June 16 at 8.30pm.

The keynote speaker is Dominic Hannigan TD. The Meath East polltopper, one of two openly gay TDs in the current Dáil, will share the platform with a young person who will talk about their experience of growing up gay in Clare, the parent of a young gay person who will share their story and a CYS youth worker who will outline developments to make mainstream youth provision more welcoming of diversity. There will also be an input from Siobhan Maguire, LGBT Rights Officer with the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).

Brian McManus, CYS youthworker, said the event is the outcome of a series of seminars and focus group meetings that have taken place in Clare over the past year. He said the main issues raised through the meetings involved the availability of information to young gay people and their parents, and the “high degree of homophobic bullying, not just among teenagers but in society”.

Mr McManus explained that young people are often subjected to bullying and physical intimidation “because they are perceived to be gay”. He said, “It ranges from people feeling discomfort, depending on their resilience, to people leaving their own area because they can’t really cope with the problem.” He explained that there had been some instances of suicide “driven by bullying”. He said the CYS had carried out a number of awareness campaigns over the past 12 months aimed at fighting negative attitudes to gay and lesbian people.

Seamus Bane, youth officer with Clare VEC, said he hoped the meeting would help challenge prejudices and stigmas attached to gay and lesbian people. He said while he had not personally come across instances of homophobic bullying, he said there had been reports of “harassment, bullying and physical intimidation”.

He added that there was still a “culture of antipathy towards difference” and that young people were, in some cases, afraid of being “victimised” because of their sexual orientation.

Mr Bane said the work carried out through the Clare Social Inclusion Strategy 2010-12 is helping to challenge old prejudices. But, he added, “It’s hardly surprising, I suppose, that in a small mainly rural community, rapid change can’t be expected. It’s going to be incremental.”

AFTER hours drinking has become an issue in Kilkee pubs, but will no longer be tolerated, gardaí have pledged.

Two pubs were taken to court last week where fines were imposed for allowing people to be on the premises after hours.

Gardaí say that they will not tolerate law breaking and will crack down on after hours drinking in the coming months – as the tourist season reaches its height in the seaside resort.

Superintendent Gerry Wall, who is responsible for policing in the West Clare area, said the issue is particularly prevalent in Kilkee.

“It is more of an issue in Kilkee. Commonly, public order is blamed on late hours and drink being sold late. Exemptions cost around € 400 to serve alcohol for one-and-a-half to two hours outside the normal closing hours. Publicans need to understand that fact. They cannot be expected to be allowed to trade unless they have an exemption,” Supt Wall told The Clare People .

“The message is not one of putting licensees out of business. It is mere- ly to have reasonable compliance with the legislation. People who apply for exemptions will have the full benefit of exemptions,” he said.

Supt Wall also said that underage drinking will be targeted over the forthcoming summer months.

“We will target licensed premises and off-licences for underage drinking and selling to young people. People who complain of public order and disorder should recognise the fact there is huge responsibility on licence holders to sell drink only to people who are entitled to receive it,” he said.

“Adults buying alcohol for underage people is an issue. They do contribute to public order. It is very important in 2011 that businesses are allowed every opportunity to sell their area to prospective businesses. However, these people are damaging the community,” he said.

“Business in Kilkee is seasonal. We don’t want to hammer them, but they must act responsibly,” he added.

“They have my full support in promoting their businesses, events and festivals. Most of the retailers with wine licenses do act responsibly,” he said.

THE first time Don Ryan, from Parteen, travelled to Africa with the Building of Hope project five years ago, it was a last-minute decision.

He had been asked if he would go because the team needed someone with his specialist training in putting down high-tech soft floor covering.

Don came on board just as the team prepared to fly out to South Africa on its first mission.

As it happened, when he got there, the concrete floors had been too recently poured (the entire building went up in less than eight weeks) and he couldn’t use the special flooring. But he was hooked.

Don has travelled with the final finishing team on the Building of Hope ever since and 2013 is no diferent.

And besides, as Don observes, “Olive Halpin (the project organiser) is a hard woman to say no to and every time she gets on to me to see am I coming back!”

On the last two trips, Don was tiling but this time he hopes to be putting down the soft flooring, the team having planned for it with the experience of the first trip behind them.

Don was one of the many volunteers who built a polytechnic in Kenya in Fr Martin Keane’s parish in 2010 and what he saw when he visited the School for the Blind and Visually Impaired would bring him back, even if Olive let him off the hook.

“Conditions were very bad there. I’m glad we’re doing this project for the kids,” he said.

To help raise the € 3,000 he needs to travel to Mombassa again, Don has organised a quiz night in Flashes, the Tailrace Bar in Parteen.

A great night of fun is promised and there will be finger food as well, making the outing great value for € 10 a head.

“We’ll have tables of four so it’s € 40 a table and I’ll have spot prizes on the night,” said Don.

The quiz night takes place on Saturday, July 2, starting at 8.30pm.

Anyone who would like to donate a spot prize should contact the Tailrace Bar after 4pm on 061 451527. Anyone who wants to go along and support Don can pay in on the night.

SEVERAL stretches of road across Clare will be improved, after funding was injected into various schemes.

Some of the routes were earmarked for funding after concerns were expressed by local residents, who were anxious that improvement works be carried out.

In total, funding amounting to € 230,000 has been allocated for the projects under the Low Cost Safety Improvement Works on Regional and Local roads. The works are expected to be completed this year.

Junctions at local roads in Bodyke and Kilnoe in East Clare will receive € 40,000, while Monument Cross near Newmarket-on-Fergus will receive € 40,000.

A stretch of road at Clonderlaw in West Clare will receive € 30,000 for improvement works, while the R474 at Inch and the R487 road near Carrigaholt have also been included in the scheme. A stretch on the Kilrush Road, Ennis, has also been included.

The funding was allocated after Clare County Council compiled a list, which was then submitted to the National Roads Authority, which in turn granted the allocations.

According to Clare County Council, the scheme is designed to improve road safety at various locations around the county where it is believed there is a genuine safety risk. The Council makes submissions to the National Roads Authority, which decides on whether to grant funding.

“We make applications based on crash statistics and volumes of traffic. It looks at the history of locations,” said Clare County Council’s road safety officer Barry Keating.

“We make numerous applications,” he added.

VISITORS to the world-famous Poulnabrone Dolmen will be greeted by the most unusual site when they visit the iconic tourist location later this month – a twice-life-size replica of the dolmen made as a functioning bouncy castle.

On the eve of the summer solstice on June 21, local artist Jim Ricks will complete a two-week trek across the Aughty Mountains at the site of the Poulnabrone Dolmen. Each day, Jim will be inflating ‘The Bouncy Dolmen’ as part of a public arts programme supported by Clare County Council’s Arts Office, Galway County Council and Ground Up Artists Collective.

Jim, who is a former Master of Fine Arts student at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan, dreamed up the bizarre outdoor installation as a means of contrasting the ancient her- itage of the dolmen with the excesses of Celtic Tiger Ireland.

“I found it so interesting that something that was so old but had so little really known about it had become this symbol of Ireland and all things ancient. It had become a marketing symbol for B&Bs; people were making dolmens in their front yard using diggers. There were even coffee cups made in the shape of the dolmens,” said Jim.

“I started thinking, what is today’s monumental structure – what the dolmen would have been 6,000 years ago – and the answer that I came up with was the bouncy castle. Particularly a few years ago, bouncy castles were everywhere and they were a symbol of Celtic Tiger Ireland. I thought building the bouncy dolmen would be a pretty absurd way to pull together these different identities for Ireland.”

The castle was designed and built by Jim and the English company who invented the first bouncy castle over the last four years.

“The consumption of the Celtic Tiger, as seen through the bouncy castles, has changed Ireland forever. While this project is not a scathing critique of that, it is a commentary on it – a playful commentary anyway,” continued Jim.

‘The Bouncy Dolmen’ will appear at different locations in the North Clare and South Galway area between June 7 and 21. It will come to its last destination at the site of the Poulnabrone Dolmen on June 21. ‘The Bouncy Dolmen’ is a functioning bouncy castle and people will be allowed to jump on it while it is on tour.

THIEVES are turning up the heat on home-owners with reports of thefts of copper heating cylinders and home heating oil.

A combination of the rising cost of heating oil and the increasing value of copper is leaving householders in hot water as criminals target both commodities around the county.

Thieves have targeted homes in East Clare and syphoned off large quantities of home-heating oil from unlocked tanks.

A Garda spokseperson said that oil is now so expensive that it is worth the thieves while to wait for the cover of darkness to get at the tanks.

In some instances oil was stolen while the householder was at work or it was taken from unoccupied holiday homes.

Gardaí are advising that people whose tanks are outdoors and accessible should consider extra security precautions, such as gettig a lock for their tank.

The fact that most tanks are in back gardens and, in rural areas in particular, often easy to get at while the house is empty is making oil theft easier.

In other incidents, copper cylinders have been removed from homes in the county, mostly while the houses are empty.

And to add to the householder’s difficulties, removing the cyclinder can result in serious flooding. Gardaí believe that the cylinders are being stolen for re-sale or for the valuable copper.