Category: News

BILL SLATTERY is set to fill the Clare County Council vacancy in the North Clare electoral, while there will be a two-way contest between Sean McLoughlin and Marinella Rafferty for the county council seat in the Shannon electoral area.

The closing date for nominations for the two county council positions was last Thursday and The Clare People has learned that Slattery, who stood for election in the 1985 and 1999 county council elections, will be unopposed for the council vacancy in North Clare, as he was the only candidate nominated for the position.

“I’m steeped in Fine Gael politics and have been a member of the party since 1977,” Mr Slattery told The Clare People this week.

He continued, “While my grandfather, Bill Murphy, was a member of the county council and a TD for 16 years between 1951 and 1967, I would be honoured to serve on Clare County Council.”

The north Clare vacancy was created by the election of Fine Gael’s Martin Conway to Seanad Éireann last month, which meant he had resign his council seat under the dual mandate rule.

A host of possible candidates were mooted for the council seat in the wake of Senator Conway’s election to the upper house of the Oireachtas on April 28 last.

These included the national president of Young Fine Gael, Eric Keane, local party activist Peter Davenport and David Quinn, son of former TD, Senator and Mayor of Clare, Madeleine Taylor Quinn.

However, Mr Slattery was the only name submitted to Clare Fine Gael Constituency secretary Sean Chambers by last Thursday’s 5pm deadline.

He will be confirmed in his new council role after a meeting of Fine Gael members of the North Clare electoral area on June 9th and his election will then be ratified by the national organisation.

It will represent fourth time lucky for the Lahinch man – he first stood for election in 1985 when he polled 645 first preferences, while in 1999 he polled 573 votes.

In 1995, he was the Fine Gael candidate for the vacancy caused by the death of party colleague Frank Henchy, but was election was blocked by Fianna Fáil who used their then council majority to elect Tom Burke instead.

Meanwhile, this Thursday a tight vote is expected in the race to succeed former Mayor of Clare, Tony Mulcahy as a member of the council for the Shannon Electoral area.

THE NEW seaplane service, which is about to begin in Mountshannon, aims to bring 100,000 visitors into Clare in the first three years of operation. Having undergone inspections with the Irish Aviation Authority, Harbour Flights Ireland is waiting for approval for the green light to go operational.

It’s envisaged that seaplane flights will be landing on Lough Derg before the high tourism season begins and company Chief Executive, Emelyn Heapes says it is his ambition to see tourist numbers in the area climb from a predicted 10,000 in the first year to a massive 100,000 in three years time.

“That is the potential of this service. We’re talking about bringing a level of business in that would change the face of tourism in this area,” Mr Heapes told The Clare People .

“To bring 100,000 people tourists into East Clare is our mission statement,” he said.

Harbour Flights has been in the process of building a number of links for the seaplane service around the country for the last eighteen months.

It’s understood that the company has so far invested € 1 million in the start-up of the business, which will fly visitors directly into Mountshannon and the Lough Derg area.

The company is also awaiting a decision from Clare County Enterprise Board on a funding application.

It is envisaged that, when fully operational, the company will run daily flights from and to Mountshannon, Galway, Aran Island Inis Mór, and Limerick.

The Harbour Flights Ireland boss said the company intends to start operations with two Cessna aircraft and upgrade them when Dublin, Cork and Waterford become operational.

The only other city in Europe hosting seaplane flights is Glasgow.

“Our mission is to change tourism by being able to offer, for the first time in the history of the state, a seaplane operation linked to existing accommodation and attractions based around Ireland,” Mr Heapes said.

It is intended that the seaplanes will be based in Mountshannon and all operations will start from there on a daily basis.

AN ENNIS woman has been honoured as an Irish Pride Hospice Hero for her work with Cahercalla Community Hospital and Hospice at a ceremony at the Mansion House in Dublin. The award was given at an event to mark the launch of Sunflower Days which takes place throughout Ireland on June 10 and 11.

Mary Guerin was chosen by the Clare Hospice at Cahercalla as their 2011 Hospice Hero as a representative of the entire Guerin family. Mary’s late husband Michael, who passed away in July 2010, was a leading figure back in 1985 when the very first hospice inpatient bed was provided at Cahercalla Community Hospital and Hospice.

Mary Moloney of Cahercalla Hospice paid tribute to Mary’s work. “It was mentioned several times last year, at the time of Michael’s passing, that there were many times when people were looked after by the Guerins when life and coping with its challenges were a struggle. Mary is the kind of person who never says no.”

She continued, “The entire family are stalwarts of the hospice. Mary Guerin is one of the faithful draw promoters and every week, quietly and without any fuss or fanfare, collects funds for our weekly draw. Mary also assists with Sunflower Day by selling merchandise in the family’s shops and by standing in the street at various locations during the two days in June. Any fundraising event that happens at Cahercalla will surely have some member of the Guerins assisting, be it the weekly draw, Sunflower Day or collection boxes.”

Describing her as a “golden nugget of love and compassion and caring”, Mary Moloney sent congratulations to Mary and family saying, “We are sure that Michael is looking on with pride as Mary receives this award.”

On Sunflower Days, the people of Clare will be able to support their local hospice service by buying a sunflower pin or sunflower seeds for € 2 each from collectors on the streets of cities, towns and villages around the country. Sunflower Days, which is sponsored by Irish Pride, is a major source of income for hospices and voluntary hospice groups countrywide. The IHF coordinates the event on behalf of the hospice movement but all of the funds raised locally stay locally.

There is an urgent need for volunteers to sell sunflower pins and anyone who has a few hours to spare on June 10 or 11 is asked to please contact Cahercalla Hospice.

THE former Two Mile Inn in Meelick, which closed in September of last year, has been bought with a view to re-opening it as a nursing home, The Clare People has learned.

The move would bring a substantial number of new jobs to the area.

Those directly involved with the sale were remaining tight-lipped about the detail, but sources in Meelick have confirmed that the plans are to have a state-of-the-art nursing home development on the site.

Tom Crosse of GVM autioneers in Limerick, who handled the sale, would say only that the property had been bought in trust by a firm of so- licitors, and that he understands there possibly may be plans to look at reopening as a nursing home.

The auctioneer would not comment on the purchase price but other sources have put the sale price in the region of € 1.25 million.

It’s not known when work might start on the new home. However, the property would be an ideal location for such a venture, with ample accomodation possibilities and car parking facilities.

The price tag on the value of the once popular hotel plummeted by € 6 million, from more than € 7 million, in the 12 months before it closed. There had ben interest previously but no deal emerged.

When the Two Mile Inn finally shut its doors, 15 full-time staff lost their jobs but many more than that would have been employed when the hotel was at its peak.

A series of efforts were made to find a buyer before Price Waterhouse Coopers put it on the market through GVM at a reduced price tag last November and invited tenders.

It is understood that the sale attracted considerable interest when the lower price tag was revealed.

One of Limerick’s longest-established hotels, the Two Mile Inn was built by Tom Ryan and later taken over by local hotelier Brendan Dunne in the mid-1970s.

In October 2008, Billy O’Riordan of PriceWaterhouseCoopers was appointed as receiver and he placed the hotel on the market as a going concern.

At the time, the price being sought was in the region of € 7 million. However, two years later, when a buyer could not be found, the asking price was slashed to € 1.2 million.

At the time, Mr Crosse described this as a “giveaway price” for such a substantial, high-profile property.

The property features 123 bedrooms, a bar/restaurant area and conferencing facilities as well as extensive car parking space. It occupies an 11-acre site on the Ennis dual carriageway, with easy access to Ennis, Shannon and Limerick city.

THE family behind one of Ennis’ landmark pubs, the Diamond Bar, will celebrate 30 years in business next month. The Kelly family have been pulling pints at the O’Connell street premises since it opened in 1981.

Dad Gerry had been involved in the bar trade nearly all his life, working in pubs in O’Callaghan’s Mills, Clonmel and Portlaoise prior to working in Ennis. He said, “I worked in the Cloister in 1977. I took over the Diamond Bar in 1981. There have been a lot of changes up and down the years.”

Those changes have included renovations to the building, which were first carried out in 1987 and again in 2003. The Diamond may have changed since those early days but the one constant has been the presence behind the counter of the Kelly family – Gerry, wife Theresa, and children Claire, Ursula and Mark.

The family has many fond memories from over the years but for Gerry, Clare’s unforgettable All-Ireland hurling triumphs in 1995 and 1997 really stand out.

“1995 was the highlight. ‘95 and ‘97. The night Clare came back from Dublin with the Liam McCarthy cup, on the Monday night, the like of it will never be seen in the town again. The biggest problem that night was trying to keep people out of the place,” he recalled.

Indeed, the Diamond was the place to be on Monday nights after a big championship game when musician Kieran McDermott could often be heard belting out ‘The Banner Roar’.

Gerry himself was no stranger to sporting success due to his involvement in a number of horse racing syndicates. He said, “We did a lot of syndicates down the years – Gold Anchor was our first success, trained by Liam Brown. Then we had Wimbledon with Dermot Weld. Then we had the ‘God of Love’ with Ger Lyons. Now we have Steele’s Rock with Kieran Purcell. It has been a lucky pub for syndicates and long may it continue.”

Of the changes he has observed in the pub trade over the years, Gerry said that the combined effect of the smoking ban, tighter drink driving laws and the low-cost selling of alcohol in supermarkets have made it a difficult time for publicans.

Mark worked alongside his father in the bar after returning from college in 2003. He now runs two bars in Ennis, Faffa’s and Johnnos.

Like his father, Mark says it is a difficult time for the pub industry. But like all the family he is looking forward to next Friday when the Diamond’s 30-year anniversary will be marked with a series of celebrations at the pub from June 3-6.

FR MARTIN Keane from Cranny takes a close interest in everything that goes on in his Kenyan parish but the organisers of a special fundraiser for the Building of Hope are a tad relieved that the latest project there does not directly involve him. “I’m not sure how appropriate it would be to hold a Vicars and Tarts night for a project Fr Martin is closely involved with,” said Cree volunteer, Marion O’Malley.

When Gerry O’Malley came back from the last Building of Hope project in Kenya, his wife Marion and their friends didn’t expect that he would be so moved by the plight of children he saw at another school there.

“People would ask him how he got on, probably expecting him to say ‘grand’ but instead it would become an hour-long conversation. I’ve never seen him so affected by anything.” said Marion.

After returning from Kenya and seeing conditions in the nearby School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Migombani, Gerry from Cree and two other volunteers, Michael Lillis, also from Cree, and Michael Haugh from Doonbeg had all become firm friends. The three were determined to go back and make life better for the blind children. They teamed up with Gerry’s friend, Paul Rees from Kilnaboy and pal Tina Fitzgerald from Ennis involved and the gang of six decided they would club together in their efforts at fundraising to reach the ambitious target of € 18,000 between them and so began a series of Thursday night planning meetings.

Their first fundraiser was a golf clasic held in Ennis Golf Course on May 14, and a night of fantastic music and dance was held with the Kilfenora Ceili Band and friends at the weekend in the Auburn Lodge. Both events were a great success.

“We’de really like to thank everyone who helped or supported us. It was a great night and people were so generous,” Marion said.

But the push dosn’t stop there and now the six amigos are planning two golf Four-Ball outings, one in Spanish Point and one in Kilrush, on June 18 and July 16 respectively. And going from sport to having great sport, they are also planning a Vicars and Tarts night in the Claremont Disco in Lahinch on July 29.

“Tina’s husband, Ger Fitzgerald, is giving us the disco and there will be music in the front bar as well on the night. We asked all the younger crew what sort of theme we could have for the night to make it a bit of fun. We got a lot of suggestions like a beach party, then one of the young ones suggested Vicars and Tarts and everyone thought it would be great fun.”

Willow in Ennis have kindly sponsored a Guess designer handbag for the tartiest tart and Ennis Fuji Center are sponsoring a digital camera for the vicar with the shiniest halo.

Tickets for the disco and registration for the Four Ball are available from McCarthy’s Garage, Miltown, from Marion at 086 2600844, Tina at 085 7645910, or by contacting any of the volunteers. Fu n d r a is in g e v e n t s gu id e

THE SEAT vacated by newly-elected Senator Tony Mulcahy on Clare County Council is likely to be contested by two candidates.

Town Councillor Seán McLoughlin and Bunratty teacher Marinella Raftery are expected to go head to head in a contest for the Fine Gael seat in the Shannon electoral area.

A decision on who will take the seat will be made when the Shannon District of the Fine Gael party meets on June 2.

The Shannon branch has selected Seán McLoughlin, a cab driver, while the members of the other sections of the Shannon area – Sixmilebridge, Cratloe, Newmarket-on-Fergus and Bunratty – will also cast their votes on that date.

Sources within the party have told The Clare People that Ms Raftery is likely to contest the seat. She narrowly missed out on a seat on Clare County Council when she polled an impressive 766 first preferences in 2009.

She comes from a family with strong political roots.

A lot will be decided on how the party members from the Sixmilebridge area vote.

There are almost 90 party members in the Shannon electoral area; more than 40 of which are in the Sixmilebridge area.

Meanwhile, the Shannon branch of Fine Gael has selected Vincent Coleman to take Tony Mulcahy’s seat on Shannon Town Council. 33-year-old Mr Coleman, who works in Servisair in Shannon, has been the branch chairman for the past year and has been strongly involved in the party in recent years. His selection will be rubber-stamped on May 26.

Secretary of the Shannon branch, Cliona Curley, said Mr Coleman is the best candidate for the vacant position on the town council.

“He is the only one going for that. Vinny (Vincent) has put a lot of time into the party and we feel he is the best person for the job,” said Ms Curley.

STUDENTS from Ennis National School are taking part in a major new study aimed at addressing dyslexia.

Pupils from the school’s reading class are taking part in a research project for 10 to 12-year-olds at the Institute of Neuroscience at Trinity College, Dublin. The DEFT study there believes that difficulties in the brain’s executive function system are at the core of dyslexia, and aims to address this through a computer-based brain-training programme.

So far students from the reading class, which caters for children of average or above average intelligence who have difficulties with dyslexia, have travelled to Trinity College to become part of the project.

At the initial visit, they completed pen-and-paper tasks, and computer tasks, while the electrical activity in their brains was measured using an EEG. They will then return to Trinity College and any changes in brain activity and task performance will be noted. The researchers are predicting an “unprecedented level of broadspectrum improvements” as a result of this novel brain function training.

Students have been tackling braintraining programmes, studying for half an hour a day, for eight weeks. The training is aimed at the section of the brain that is linked to difficulties to dyslexia.

Teacher Fiona de Buitleir explained that the college hopes that the research will lead to the development of software to help those struggling with dyslexia. She said students have enjoyed participating in the project. “It’s great for their morale and self-esteem. They get to go to Dublin to do this im- portant job!” she added.

THE THEFT of a boat engine, valued at € 15,000, in Mountshannon has prompted gardaí to plead with boat owners to protect their properties.

An engine was stolen from a boat at the pier in Mountshannon harbour last Monday. The boat was found floating without its engine about a mile from the harbour. The engine was just two years old and was worth around € 15,000.

Gardaí are urging boat owners to be vigilant and ensure they take precautions to protect their properties.

Crime Prevention Officer in the Clare Garda Division, Sergeant Joe Downey said that valuable properties should be well protected.

While the theft of boats is not a common occurence, he said that thefts of engines have become prevalent in Clare in recent years.

“We seem to have had a huge increase in thefts (of engines) in East Clare, on Loug Derg and Mountshannon. A lot have been stolen in those areas,” said Sgt Downey.

“In the past, we intercepted people who were stealing them to export them and sell them. The advice is if you are leaving your boat for a week, take the engine off.

“When they are of high value, put in a tracking device and then when stolen they can be tracked. A tracking device is hidden in the engine and if it is stolen, the device is activated and it can be located,” said Sgt Downey.

Tracking devices cost in the region of € 1,000 and ideally should only be used on valuable properties.

Meanwhile, gardaí in West Clare are investigating damage caused to a car at the weekend.

A substance, believed to be acid, was thrown on a car parked at Cappa Drive in Kilrush between 2am and 7am last Wednesday.

Also in Kilrush, the library on O’Gorman Street was targeted by vandals overnight on Thursday. A back window was broken on the premises, but nothing was stolen.

AN association with one of the stars of world rugby has helped transform a small Shannon company into a major player in the sports and nutrition market, a meeting has heard.

Founded in 2007, ABC Nutrition manufactures sports and health nutrition products for domestic and international markets.

The company sells a wide range of products, including muscle gain supplements, which are developed from dairy proteins.

Last year, the company was a winner at the national enterprise awards and in 2009 claimed the Bord Bia small business award. Ten people are employed at ABC, which recorded a 50 per cent increase in sales in 2010.

The company’s rise at a time of economic uncertainty was described by co-founder Willie Wixtead at a public meeting in Ennis on Thursday.

Organised by the Clare branch of Network Ireland, the event placed the spotlight on Clare companies who had set up and prospered in what branch president Alice Carroll called “the teeth of the recession”.

A native of Broadford, Mr Wixtead said the company is currently exporting to 12 countries. Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom are among ABC’s biggest markets while further business opportunities are emerging in Eastern Europe, he said.

Mr Wixtead, who earned his qualifications in food technology at the University of Limerick, said that exports account for around 85 per cent of the company’s total sales. He described sports and health nutrition as a “buoyant market” and said the company’s success was linked to Ireland’s reputation as one of the world’s premium producers of dairy products.

Rocky Elsom, captain of the Australian rugby team, is one of ABC’s most well-known customers while the company also manufactures products for GAA players and professional boxers. Mr Wixtead said, “We’ve been able to deal with people at a high level which has been good for the company”.

Recalling his own company’s difficulties during it’s first year of operation, Mr Wixtead, who played hurling for Broadford, urged budding entrepreneurs not to be disheartened by early setbacks. He said a strong online presence; the netting of a high profile customer and the assistance of state agencies are key factors in creating a successful business.

He added that ABC’s success in winning industry awards was “important not for the glory but for presenting the company to the world.”