Category: News

GARDAÍ are investigating an incident in which an elderly woman was robbed in her home in Feakle on Friday. A man selling clothes called to the woman’s house at around 1.30pm. While in the house, he stole money from the elderly lady’s handbag, before leaving in a red car.

The man is described as tall with dark hair, of slim build. He is believed to be in his 50s and clean shaven. He was wearing a black suit and spoke with a foreign accent. The man, believed to be from India or Pakistan, was driving a red car with a yellow number plate on the back. Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have seen the car to contact them.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Kilmihil are investigating an incident in which the Vodafone compound at Lack West was broken into, after the lock on the gate was cut. 200 litres of diesel and a Wilson generator were stolen.

In Killaloe, a suspicious fire is being investigated by gardaí. The car, which was parked on Radharc na hAglise on Convent Hill, caught fire in what are described as suspicious circumstances at around 3.30 on Sunday morning.

The theft of a car in Ennis is being investigated by gardaí. The grey coloured Fiat Punto hatchback was stolen from Park Avenue in Ennis town between 10pm on Wednesday and 8.30am on Thursday. Also on Wednesday night, two youths were seen running from the Tobarkeel area on the Drumcliffe Road, after a portaloo had been set alight. Both were in their late teens.

In Kilrush, the theft of lead from the roof of the library on O’Gorman Street last weekend is being investigated, while gardaí are investigating an incident in which four car tyres were slashed outside a house on Hector Street last Thursday. And in Sixmilebridge, the theft of two cast iron gates from the gateway of a private house at Castlecrine, Sixmilebridge last Wednesday, is being investigated. Gardaí across the county are investigating a number of burglaries over the past week. Houses in Kilkee, Quin, Kilmihil and Shannon were targeted. A licensed premises in O’Briensbridge was broken into in the early hours of last Tuesday. The cigarette machines containing cigarettes and money were stolen.

GARDAÍ in Ennis are following a definite line of enquiry after a scam involving the office of the Bishop of Killaloe and businesses in the town.

€ 3,000 worth of electrical goods were fraudulently ordered for the Bishop by an individual, during a number of transactions. A member of staff at the Diocesan office’s name was used by the individual who ordered the goods. A request was made that the goods would be collected at another business in the town and that the invoice be sent to the Diocesan office in Ennis.

A version of the Diocesan office stationery and the Bishop’s signature were used to confirm the order.

However, the Bishop of Killaloe Kieran O’Reilly and his staff didn’t have any knowledge of the order and did not receive any of the goods.

The Diocesan office was alerted to the incident when it received a phone call from the business indicating that the remainder of the order was ready for collection. This was after part of it had been collected by an unknown individual from another business premises.

Gardaí say that a number of transactions were carried out in recent weeks, but that similar issues have not arisen previously and say this is an “isolated incident”.

“We are following a line of enquiry on it,” said Ennis Superintendent Peter Duff.

“There were a few incidents but it is not endemic of a crime wave,” he said.

He advised business people in Ennis to be mindful of this incident. “If people get orders in a person’s name, they should check did they make an order. We would encourage all suppliers of goods to deliver to the address on the order,” said Supt Duff.

Killaloe Diocesan Communications Officer Fr Brendan Quinlivan said, “When we became aware of it, we contacted the guards straightaway.”

“We felt it was important to alert people, in case they got caught up in the scam,” he said.

“The idea was they would be left somewhere to be collected after office hours. This is the first time our offices have been used in this way. The Bishop would be very unhappy that his name and the Diocesan office would be used to perpetrate a fraud on small businesses especially in the current climate when they are trying to survive. Ennis is a small town. Trust erodes when you have to put businesses on alert,” he added.

THE final decision on whether Tulla will be home to a major nursing home project this year will be delivered by An Bord Pleanála within the next month.

The Clare People has learned that the planning appeals board decision on the application by John and Ted Nugent to build the nursing home in the east Clare town that would cater for up to 30 patients will be handed down on June 16 next.

The application for the 26-bedroom development together with living complex comprising of four semidetached one bedroom units and four two-bedroom units was originally lodged with Clare County Council in December 2009.

A number of objections to the de velopment were lodged, with Noreen Hickey from Cork saying “the proposed development contravenes the new HIQA standards with are underpinned by legislation” and the it “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 was granted 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”.

The appeal to this conditional permission was lodged with An Bord Pleanala in January of this year.

GARDAI are investigating vandalism which involved gravestones at an historic cemetery in East Clare being smashed.

Three headstones at Kilquane Cemetery in Parteen have been smashed and toppled over.

Previously, gravestones had pieces chipped away but the fresh vandalism is described as being of a much more serious nature

Locals are outraged at what they see as “wanton vandalism and sacrilege” after a committee formed locally put in trojan work to make the graveyard accessible for visitors and tourists.

The Kilquane Cemetery Committee have held meetings with local representatives and gardai have confirmed they are taking the destruction very seriously.

The historic cemetery, which is final resting place to a host of colourful characters, was made accessible last year thanks to a community effort and the generosity of a local business.

The Parteen resting place dates back to the seventh century. Local historian, Donal Ó Riain was closely involved in the project to create access to the overgrown and rubblestrewn area.

“The ruins of the church are from the 7th century and the first recorded burial there was in 1700. That was Phillip McAdams, the man who was said to be a traitor because he showed the Williamites a safe way across the river to attack Sarsfiled’s Jacobites.”

Also buried in the cemetary is the last man to say Mass in the Protestant Cathedral of St Mary’s.

Padraig O’Brian, the noted Úileann piper has also found a place of rest there.

“For years, there was a problem for people getting into the cemetary because you had to cross a field to get to it but then we got permission from the new landowners to make a pathway across the field and Bobby O’Connell quarries in Ballycar got involved and they gave us the materials to put in a path. Frank Sweeney, a local man came along with his truck and his JCB and laid it out,” he said.

IRISH shoppers are clearly gasping for a taste of Clare after water produced and bottled in the Banner County became the best-selling product of its kind at one of Ireland’s largest retail stores.

Clare Spring Water, which directly employs 15 people and a further 11 through sales, was set up in 2009. Managing Director, Paul Connellan told a meeting in Ennis last week that Clare Spring had become a bestseller at Dunnes Stores over the past 12 months.

Mr Connellan recalled the company’s success at a meeting organised by the Clare branch of Network Ireland. Mr Connellan said that LEADER funding of € 200,000, secured through the Clare Local Research Company, had been hugely important in the establishment of Clare Spring Water.

Mr Connellan said the company, which produces water at its € 4.2 million plant in High Street, Lissycasey, has sought to ensure its competitiveness through careful control of costs and efficient waste management.

The company made history last year by becoming the first ever to produce a biodegradable plastic bottle, an innovation that helped it win an annual contract to supply 14 million bottles of natural spring water Schipol Airport in Amsterdam.

He said that research into the area of plant-based plastics had led to the development of the biodegradable bottle. He added that the Schipol contract had given “tremendous confidence” to the company, which also exports bottled water to the UK. He said, “Foreign markets are interested in what’s evolving and changing and innovative”. Mr Connellan said the company had received a “lot of goodwill and local support”.

THE SHANNON chess club will represent the county in the All-Ireland championships in Athlone this weekend.

The club sealed entry to the finals in both the under-12 and under-16 events, having won the Munster finals. The under-12s defeated Ahane from Limerick in their final, while the under-16 team overcome Crecora from Limerick in their decider. A panel of 14 players will visit Athlone to take part in the finals.

Last year, the club finished in third place in the All-Ireland under-16 final and hopes to add to the success this year.

“We are hoping to do a bit better this year,” said coach Stephen Danagher.

There is a huge interest in chess in the Shannon area and the club has won dozens of competitions in recent years.

There are almost 30 members of the club in Shannon and they play at the library every Friday evening.

“There is a great interest in it and there is a great facility in the Shannon library. They enjoy it. Success breeds success. We have won quite a bit every year. When the children get a few medals and trophies, they are thrilled with it,” said Stephen, who set up the club more than 12 years ago.

“We are lucky in Shannon to have such a diverse population. Our culture doesn’t promote chess as much as the Indians and the Eastern Europeans and there is an influx of both in Shannon,” he added. The Danagher name will be prominent over the weekend. Stephen’s son James is the captain of the under-16 team, while his daughter Jessica is on the under12 team. Stephen has been interested in chess for many years.

“I played it going to school and I played it in the army. It is very addictive,” he said.

The local community in Shannon has been hugely supportive of the team’s efforts. They helped out with a fundraising flag day, while the local community games club has also contributed to the fund. The town council has also supported the club over the years.

“We are grateful to the people of Shannon for their support. The money raised from a flag day two weeks ago helped to buy t-shirts for the AllIreland,” added Stephen.

A “HANDFUL” of sites in the Ennis area have been identified for a potential new town library.

Earlier this year, Clare County Council sought expressions of interest from the public in their efforts to identify a site/existing completed building for the re-development of the main public library and head quarters for Clare library service in Ennis.

The council was looking for a site of 1,600-1,800sq metres or alternatively an existing building with a floor area of up to 4,000 sq metres.

Speaking last week, County Librarian, Helen Walsh said there had been a good response to the appeal. “We wanted to see what was out there. We didn’t want to be overloaded so that’s why we were specific in the notice.”

She explained that any new site would have to meet a specific set of requirements in order to secure government funding. A new site, she said, would have to be in close proximity to local schools; be located in Ennis town centre and have sufficient space for parking. She said that a “handful” of sites have emerged and will now be further examined.

The current De Valera library building has been in use since 1973 but is now considered too small for the population of the town.

Ms Walsh said that the “size and history of Ennis demands that it have a good civic building”.

She added, “Some of the library buildings that have been built up and down the country over the past few years have been fantastic, award standard. That’s the kind of building we would be looking at. It would have to be a building for the future.”

Ms Walsh said that a site would have to be acquired before any approach could be made to the Department of Environment for funding.

She explained, “Any big capital projects like that, they would have to be built within a year. There could be no overrun into the next budget.”

The Post Office field had previously been identified as a potential site for a new library building. However, Ms Walsh said that the field “did not present as a site this time around”.

A NEW initiative aimed at creating links between new Clare businesses and some of the country’s top research and development centres has gotten underway in Ennis.

Local authorities in Clare, Shannon Development and the west of Ireland’s two largest universities have teamed up to found the Ennis Inno- vation Centre.

Speaking last Thursday, Majella McNamara of Clare County Council’s Economic Development Unit said the centre had been set up to “help Clare-based businesses to access support in universities”.

She told a meeting of the Clare branch of Network Ireland that the centre has been opened to fill the gap created by the absence of a major third-level institution in Clare. She said that small businesses are often unsure how to avail of expertise offered by third-level institutions.

Modeled on the system of university transfer technology offices, the centre will help commercialise businesses ideas and encourage innovation, Ms McNamara said. She explained that the regional innovation centre offers start-up companies training and mentoring, expertise in business areas, linkages to academic institutions, technology transfer expertise and supported applications to development bodies. Ms McNamara said that while it isn’t the role of local authorities to directly create employment, it is their role to “facilitate job creation in Clare”.

The Innovation Centre is based at the Ennis Information Age Park on the Gort road and is overseen by recently appointed director, Gert O’Rourke. Ms O’Rourke has a background in training and consultancy and is the founder of Gert O’Rourke training and development. The centre is a joint initiative between Shannon Development, Clare County Council, Ennis Town Council, National University of Ireland, Galway and University of Limerick.

THE Irish tourism industry is being strangled by the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) system preventing the creation of thousands of jobs in the sector, the Director of the Shannon College of Hotel Management, Mr Philip J. Smyth has said.

In his keynote address at the 60th anniversary of the college last Friday, Mr Smyth said that Sunday trading has become a “write off” for many operators in the industry because of the JLC. Under the JLC, minimum terms and conditions of employment in the catering sector above and beyond the national minimum wage are set, including premium payment for weekend and overtime work.

He said that Shannon College is the only third-level college/institute in Ireland with a 100 per cent graduate employment rate. “The concept of having to protect workers in the tourism sector is outdated and the sooner we abolish the JLC, the sooner we will begin creating jobs and fulfilling the enormous potential of the industry,” he said.

Mr Smyth told the gathering of over 200 guests that the prospects for growth in the industry are being hampered by a lack of national pride in service delivery. “As a population, we do not have a sense of service to match our wonderful sense of hospitality,” he said.

Congratulating the Shannon College of Hotel Management – a subsidiary of the Dublin Airport Authority – on its 60th anniversary, Director of Shannon Airport, Ms Mary Considine said its dedication to excellence has been nothing short of remarkable and that the college “has made an enormous contribution to the hotel industry here in Ireland and, indeed, globally”.

“To think that today, in such a challenging global economy, graduates from the college not only enjoy a 100% employment rate but are essentially headhunted by some of the world’s leading hotel groups speaks volumes for the standards that the college continues to deliver,” she said.

Since the first class of 18 students joined Shannon College in 1951, the college has grown to accept 100 students each year. It now offers two level 8 degree programmes (BBS and BComm) in business studies and international hotel management. It currently has 400 students enrolled, 200 of them Irish and the other half from 25 countries across the globe. Current students are undertaking professional work placements in 100 hotels across 16 countries worldwide.

TRADERS and local food producers have given the thumbs up to a new market bazaar, which opened in Ennis earlier this month.

Local craft makers, growers, artists and musicians have been making use of Ennis’ newest trading area, which operates on Fridays and Saturdays at Cronin’s yard in the town centre.

Speaking at the market’s opening day, organiser Ann Cronin said the venture is aimed at supporting small local businesses. She explained that 60 per cent of the goods sold by traders must be made in Clare.

She said, “It’s been good fun. We have a nice mix of things, a nice mix of people. There are crafty, creative types. We’re looking at about 16 a day. So we’re trying to get the full compliment. We’ve had lots of people in, people coming in having a gawk and wondering what it is. It’s great that people are curious about new things still”.

She continued, “Traders book beforehand, that way we can guarantee them a space. Sixty per cent of the stuff has to be made in Clare so we try and support indigenous and small companies rather than having an extension of the outside market.”

One of those happy to take a stall in the bazaar is baker Tess Jones. Tess, who runs Perfection Bakery from her home in Morrissey Avenue, Cloughleigh, said markets are a cost-effective way for small businesses to get their product to consumers.

She said, “I think it’s absolutely fantastic. The town is dying a death. Landlords are charging too much rent. Businesses are closing down all over the place. This is the opportunity for someone with a good idea to get it out there with a minimum outlay. So it’s a really good idea.”

She added, “We’re all very enthusiastic. We seem to be getting a lot of interest. Not that many people know about it. Ennis is small town so its very much world of mouth, which obviously will come into play as the weeks go on”

She said, “I’m just baking from home at the moment. This is my first ever market. It’s going pretty well. There seems to be a lot of interest. Everyone likes my product and that’s the main thing.”