Category: News

LIKE all high profile races, the runners and riders are announced well in advance but punters can’t be sure that injury won’t remove a contender or that a new contestant won’t be added before the starting lineout is complete.

It is with the same trepidation that The Clare People looks at the participants in the upcoming General Election, also keeping in mind that a week is no longer considered a long time in politics – it is now an eternity.

With the political ground changing every minute the affect on the riders and the daily change in the odds is huge.

With just weeks until polling day, time is running out for Fine Gael however to add a fourth candidate to the ticket if it decides to change its current strategy.

With just three candidates now in the race it will more than likely be hoping for two seats, with the third candidate used as a vote sweeper.

While many have questioned the geographical positioning of its candidates so far, the party should be confident of retaining two seats; the question seems to be which of the two candidates are likely to take those seats?

Fianna Fáil in Clare has come out fighting, and despite its dishevelled appearance two weeks ago, it is better organised than many constituencies that still have to hold their conventions.

Geographically its candidates are well placed, but while for now Dr John Hillery has north-west Clare to himself, Deputy Timmy Dooley could feel the pressure in the east.

Not only is he the sole face of the current administration in Clare, he must also contend with neighbouring candidate – Labour’s Michael McNamara.

Mr McNamara is untested on general election ground, but fared well in the European Election in Clare as the only Clare candidate.

The Green Party in Clare has not really been a serious challenger when it came to the last counts in general elections in Clare and it is unlikely this will change this time around, with the party likely to pay the price for being the small party in a very unpopular coalition.

The Independents are also on stand by to run the favourites off the field with former TD James Breen (Ind) the most likely to spring a surprise and come home in the first four places.

A CLARE-based freight and transport service provider, Eoin Gavin Transport, has won a prestigious industry award at the third annual TPN Awards. The awards are designed to reward excellence and to raise the standards and public perception of the freight and logistics industry in Ireland. TPN (The Pallet Network) members from around the country voted in the awards, judging their peers on their performance in categories such as customer service and contribution to the national network.

Mairead Barrett, a longstanding employee, was awarded the TPN Outstanding Contribution Award 2010 for the depot. The award recognises excellent service for the customer and business and contribution to the overall success of TPN. Eoin Gavin, Managing Director, said, “We were delighted to hear that Mairead achieved such an award for the company, particularly in this difficult economic climate. The team have worked incredibly hard over the last year and it is great to be recognised by peers in the industry and within The Pallet Network. These awards demonstrate how the transport and logistics industry has radically changed the way it operates and reflects the forward thinking of transport, logistics and freight companies like Eoin Gavin Transport.”

Operating from a purpose-built 5,000 square foot warehouse in Bunratty, Eoin Gavin Transport currently employs over 15 staff with a fleet of 13 trucks. Via the TPN network, the company provides domestic overnight delivery to the 32 counties and 48-hour delivery to the UK, as well as international express deliveries. TPN is the only network in Ireland or the UK that has achieved ISO9001:2000 accreditation for all depots across the country and was also recently awarded the internationally recognised standard for Quality Management Systems, ISO9001:2008.

A NORTH Clare road, which was severely damaged during the construction of a water scheme more than two years ago, was described as nothing mote than a “cow path” at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting of Clare County Council.

The road, which is located in the Dromoher/Crossard area of north Clare, was down for inclusion in the annual roadwork’s programme in 2010 but was dropped due to lack of funding.

Speaking on a motion put forward on yesterday’s meeting, Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) urged the road to be included as a priority for the 2011 programme.

“It’s almost not a road anymore, it’s a cow path. Just because these people live in rural Ireland, they pay their road tax, it doesn’t mean that they are not entitled to a half decent road to go to work and to the shops on.

“If there is to be any road works budget this year, we need the message going forward to have this road dealt with. We had an understanding before that roads which were withdrawn in 2009 were on the programme for 2010. I think the same situation should be used for this road, which was withdrawn because of lack of funding in 2010.”

TWO Fianna Fáil councillors yesterday blamed the former Minister for the Environment and Green Party leader, John Gormley, for the failure of many rural sewage schemes in Clare to gain funded over the past two year.

Commenting on a motion in relation to the Miltown Malbay wastewater treatment plant put forward by Cllr Michael Hillary (FF) at yesterday’s North Clare Area Meeting, Cllr Richard Nagle and Michael Kelly claimed that a combination of red-tape and a bias in favour of Dublin projects, resulted in a number of Clare projects not going ahead over the past few years.

“I would hope that when we have a new Minister for the Environment, that the first thing that is done is to simplify the process of applying for a treatment plant,” said Cllr Nagle.

“Over the last number of years the system has been so bureaucratic that we did not do very well in the number of projects which got funding. It seems that the priority was given to larger development in places in the surrounds of Dublin. We were definitely the poor relation. The last thing that we need is that there remains so much bureaucracy that it continues to bogs down the whole process.”

According to Cllr Michael Kelly, the proposed redevelopment of the Miltown Malbay sewage system and a number of other projects would have received funding had it not been from red-tape from the Department of the Environment.

“We are now in the unhappy situation where sewerage systems would have been put through by now had it not been for the bureaucracy of the Department of the Environment,” he said.

“This was not the fault of Clare County County, it was a bureaucracy land mine,” Cllr Kelly concluded.

This debate was sparked off by a motion from Cllr Michael Hillery, who is worried that the Miltown Malbay wastewater treatment system will not be granted an EPA licence for 2011.

“We have been looking for a proper sewerage system in Miltown Malbay for many years but with the financial situation at the moment that wont be happening for awhile. However, the system in Miltown does need to be upgraded if it is to get a EPA licence,” said Cllr Hillery.

“The sewerage system there was built in the 1940’s and is not suitable to deal with the increase in population which has taken place over the last few years.”

THE MAIN road between Ennistymon and Lahinch came within an inch of being closed over the Christmas period, it was revealed at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting of Clare County Council.

The road, which carries an estimated 20,000 cars per week during the winter months, was severely damaged as a result of the pre-Christmas cold snap, with local authority crews forced to conduct daily emergency repairs on the road.

Despite these efforts, a large number of minor accidents were reported on the road during the Christmas period.

Responding to a motion put forward by Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) at yesterday’s meeting in Ennistymon, council engineer Stephen Lahiffe said that the road “was in danger of being closed” over the Christmas period.

This section of the N67 is one of the main routes in north Clare and is also a major tourism artery, carrying more than € 1 million visitors to the Burren each year.

Clare County Council yesterday confirmed that a new contractor has been hired to strengthen and tar the road with works expected to get underway in five weeks. This follows difficulty in engaging a contractor before Christmas, with one chosen contractor going into liquidation and a second being unable to raise a bond for the project.

“The money is still there and work will start in the next five weeks and that is good news. I would hope that when the work is completed that we will have a state of the art road between Ennistymon and Lahinch,” said Cllr Nagle.

“I have been inundated with complains about the state of the road over the last few weeks. That there had to be daily works carried the road just to keep it open shows how bad it was.”

Seconding the motion, local councillor Martin Conway (FG), said that the road should have been prioritised long ago.

“This is the main connnectivity route to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. Even at off peak we are talking about 20,000 cars per week and much more in the summer,” he said.

“This is one of the most used stretches of road in the county. Really and truly it should have been prioritiesed long ago. I would like to commend the council for the work they have done to keep it open. It is just such a pity that so many small acident had to take place on the road over the last while.”

CLARE COUNTY Council yesterday denied allegations that a road through the Meadowlands estate in Miltown Malbay had been changed from a cul-de-sac to a through road.

The local authority is at present drawing up an architectural plan for the road which will see it be opened to through traffic. However, according to correspondence received from a number of local residents, the properties were purchased in 2003 under the condition that the road would remain a cul-de-sac.

According to Cllr Michael Hillery (FF), this change could lead to major safety concerns for the local residents.

“I am concerned about the safety of children in the area and the public safety in general at this road. This was to be a cul-de-sac and now it is to be the through road. It is of critical importance that this is looked at.

“This road is soon to be used for though traffic and we don’t want any accidents.”

According to Cllr Martin Conway (FG), a number of local residents claim to have been given assurances that the road would remain a cul-desac before they bought the property.

“I have been speaking to residents and they maintain that when they bought the houses back in 2003 it was stated that the road was a particular type of road,” he said.

“They contend that negotiations took place between the contractor and Clare County Council and it finished up with the road being classified as a through road which is very different from the road that they thought they would get.”

This was disputed by a spokesperson from the council who said that the road was always intended to be a through road by the local authority.

“We did have a meeting with the residents. As a result of this meeting we undertook to look at the road and see could we come up with a way of alleviating their concerns,” said engineer Stephen Lahiffe.

“It was always intended to be a through road, it was stated before the planning for that houses that it was to be a through road. We have not yet completed the road design for that road and we will engage with the residents again before that happens.”

Meanwhile, the local authority has been asked to look into a way of improving the conditions the old traveler halting site at Ballymacraven in Ennistymon.

The site, which is to become the new council chip dump, has been targetted by illegal dumpers in recent months.

THE founding members of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard were recognised this weekend for the long and dedicated service to the people of Clare.

Six members of the Doolin Coastguard were awarded prestigious Long Service Medals at a ceremony at the new Costello Bay Coast Guard Station in Galway on Friday evening last.

Medals were awarded to founding members Mattie Shannon and Thomas Doherty, as well as long serving members Conor McGrath, Ray Murphy, Richie Jones and Ian Lambe. The coastguard, which has been the busiest in Ireland over the last 10 years, was founded 23 years ago by Mattie Shannon and Thomas Doherty – who are currently the stations officer in charge and deputy officer in charge respectively.

“The long service awards are given out to people who have been involved in the coastguard for 20 years so it shows the great commitment which has been there down the years. We also have a number of volunteers who have been involved for 17 or 18 years and they will qualify for awards in the coming years,” said Mattie.

“It is great for the volunteers who have given all that time over the years – it is nice to have that recognised. They will always have something now, they will have a medal as a token that they can pass on to show their commitment over the years.”

The Doolin unit of the Irish Coastguard has been so successful in attracting members in recent years that they currently have more volunteers than they can bring into the unit.

“We are recruiting at the moment. We have interviewed 12 people from the north Clare area and we are hoping to take five new members on over the coming weeks. The interviews are ongoing at the moment and we will be making up our mind come the end of February,” continued Mattie.

“We had a great response to this latest call for members but we are really looking to get members who are based as close as possible to Doolin. We had a lot of people applying from Ennis and different areas, which is great, but they really need to be based close to Doolin in case of an emergency. We will take on a few people living in the local area and then we will go a few miles outside of that for the last few people. But unfortunately for anyone who is living 10 of 15 miles away it is just a bit too far.”

A PAIR of developers who were granted planning permission for a 60 bed nursing home in Tulla earlier this year have lodged an objection with An Bord Pleanála against the planning permission granted for a separate nursing home in the village by Clare County Council.

John and Ted Nugent were granted planning permission for a 30 person single storey nursing home by Clare County Council in January. The nursing home, which will comprise a 26 bedroom main building as well as four semi-detached single units and four semi-detached two bedroom self-contained units, was given the green light by the local authority after more than one year in the planning process.

This planning permission will have to be scrutinized once more, however, after an objection was made to the granting of planning by Geraldine Cosgrove and Mary Coleman.

The pair, who had lodged a submission as part of the original planning permission for the Nugents’ development, were themselves granted planning permission by Clare County Council for the construction of a 60 bed nursing home in Tulla in March of last year.

As part of their submission against the original planning permission lodge by John and Ted Nugent – Geraldine Cosgrove and Mary Coleman said that the second nursing home was outside the “settlement boundary” as identified to them during their own planning process.

They claim that they were encouraged by the council’s planners to identify and obtain a second site which was inside the local settlement boundary, a condition which did not prevent John and Ted Nugent’s proposal from securing planning permission.

“My clients are of the opinion the requirements of the local authority have not been rigorously addressed by Ted and John Nugent,” said the submission of Geraldine Cosgrove and Mary Coleman.

“Ted and John Nugent have not adequately demonstrated that no alternative sites were available within the settlement boundary. My clients do not consider that this site is the optimum location for the development as it is not with the settlement boundary.”

A final decision on planning is due from an Bord Pleanála on May 17 of this year.

FORMER classmates of a “beloved” young Ennis student who died from cancer last year are aiming to pay tribute to her memory by raising awareness about the illness.

Sixteen-year-old Ciara Conroy passed away last May following a battle with cancer. A student at Coláiste Mhuire, Ennis, Ciara was also involved with Can Teen Ireland, a nationwide support group for young people who have or have had cancer, and for their family and friends.

Now many of Ciara’s friends and classmates are participating in a project aimed at raising awareness about cancer among young people.

A group of transition year students at Coláiste Mhuire are taking part in the Young Social Innovators (YSI) awards – a programme that aims to promote social awareness and activism among young people.

While one transition year class are basing their project around cancer awareness, all second and fourth year students will be involved in a fashion show to raise money for Can Teen in March.

Transition year student Mairead Cunnane explained, “The fashion show is in memory of Ciara Conroy, a beloved student who passed away from cancer last year”.

Teacher Margaret Harrold said students were eager to celebrate Ciara’s life. She said, “We’re raising awareness of teenage cancer and we’re also doing events in memory of Ciara. Ciara was very much involved with Can Teen. In our posters we will be mentioning that the money raised will be going towards Can Teen. It is the Transition Year 2 group that are involved in the young social innovators project but all of the transition year students are involved in organising the fashion show. The whole Coláiste community will be involved, teachers, students. There will be no outside models”.

Margaret added, “It’s because she was so young and style and fashion are important to young people. It’s a way of commemorating Ciara. It’s a celebration for the school, of Ciara’s life and who she was.”

Students will design some of the dresses but local stores have also donated dresses to be modeled also. The theme of the show is ‘Beautiful things we love and love to share’.

All second and fourth year students will model on the night while students from transition year will produce the show.

The show, which is being run in conjunction with the Martina Costelloe modeling agency, will take place on Thursday, March 3.

“YOU would have to be here to know how bad it is” – the words of one Tubber native following the tragic death of Mossy and Jimmy Quinn on Saturday morning last.

The community of Boston and Tubber is in mourning today following the deaths of well known father and son Mossy and Jimmy Quinn after a fire in their house at Kiltacky More.

Both men were well known in the local community having both represented the Tubber hurling club with distinction over the years.

According to local councillor Micheal Kelly (FF), who was a classmate of Mossy at Boston Primary School, the whole community is deeply saddened by the tragedy.

“The people of Boston and Tubber, and indeed the whole area, are deeply saddened by the death of Mossy Quinn and James in this tragedy. The fact that it was the family home makes this tragedy even sadder,” he said.

“The Quinn family are very well known and well respected in both farming and GAA circles. Mossy is an uncle of Clare hurler Gerry Quinn and they have all played hurling with Tubber – they are good neighbours and will be sorely missed in this community.”

No funeral arrangements have yet been announced for the father and son as it is understood that the family is waiting for one of Mossy Quinn’s daughter to return from Australia. The daughter had spent Christmas at home in Clare and had just returned to Australia days before the tragic blaze took place.

According to one local person, the community is ready to provide all the help and support that they can to the family.

“You would have to be here to know how bad it is. The whole community is in total shock. We were in our local pub here on Saturday night and I can tell you there was no one smiling. It is a tragedy for a small community,” said the Tubber native.

“It is times like this that the local community has to come together. We are a close knit community and we do stand beside someone when they need it and I know that help will be coming to the Quinns.”

A Garda forensic examination took place at the scene on Sunday with the investigation centering around a stove which they feel may have been the cause of the accident.